On April 3rd, we published an article about the sad case of the Fort Worth Northwest SDA Church. Theological and financial differences among the membership and between the Texas Conference leadership and Pastor Joe Gresham led to the Texas Conference taking control of the church’s funds and locking the church building. NOTE: This is not a standalone article. It is an update. It will not make sense unless and until you have read Holly Joers’ article posted last month.
Some readers have asked for an update on the Ft. Worth NW Church situation in advance of the Texas Conference Constituency meeting which will be held this Sunday, May 19th, in Bryan, Texas. As far as we are aware, the situation has not changed significantly.
There is one item that we have received that we did not have when Holly’s article was published. A few weeks ago, we received an unsigned letter from some of the members of the Fort Worth Northwest SDA Church. These members are responding to the Texas Conference Executive Committee’s official statement, which is immediately below:
Based upon their names and contact information appearing at the end of the letter, it appears that the letter is from: Edsel Sapian, the head elder, Gay Mathis, the clerk, and Judith Mndbele, the treasurer.
In their rebuttal to the Texas Conference Ex.Com’s response, the Ft. Worth NW members make several points, including:
The conference leadership has not met with them
Conference President Carlos Craig contacted the Sunday church where some of the members have been meeting
The issue is not the pastor, because Gresham had already stepped aside when the conference seized the church funds:
