“When men endanger the work and cause of God by their own wrong course of action, shall they hear no voice of reproof? If the wrongdoer only were concerned, and the work reached no farther than him, he alone should have the words of warning; but when his course of action is doing positive harm to the cause of truth, and souls are imperiled, God requires that the warning be as broad as the injury done” (2SM 153)
Before proceeding, please know that I have prayed while writing this — to be meek, humble, truthful, and kind. I have asked the Lord that if I am not seeing things correctly that He will open my eyes. I invite you to pray the same before you proceed. I love God’s church and its mission and everyone I’m writing about. I truly want to go home without one of us missing.
Last year, September 24, 2023, Upper Columbia Conference [UCC] delegates at Constituency session, voted down a recommendation from UCC Administration and the Constitution and Bylaws Committee, to follow the North American Division [NAD] Constitution rather than the General Conference [GC] Constitution. It failed.
However, struggles between the NAD and the GC continue in the UCC. For example, UCC administration has scheduled a Posture Shift Course on LGBT+ issues, taught by non-Adventist Bill Henson, for conference teachers and pastors on March 31- April 3, 2024. Sponsored by the NAD,[i] its core teachings about LGBT+ church inclusion[ii] do not harmonize with our official baptismal and membership standards contained in our Church Manual. The Manual is voted in General Conference [GC] session, the very highest level of authority in the Seventh-day Adventist church.
For two full days I attended Posture Shift in 2019. Henson indicated he had already trained people at the NAD, the Oregon, and Arizona Conferences, and that the NAD version of his book Guiding Families was slated for its 2nd printing. He also had taught at the NAD teachers convention in Chicago in 2018.
Henson registered everyone present, gaining our contact information. He brought a leadership team who identified with various branches of LGBT+. A team member met with each small breakout group.
Furthermore, in his NAD sponsored class in 2019, Henson offered to bring Posture Shift to our local churches and explained how he would do this without destroying the local church. Just as he had NAD endorsement, likewise he would first gain top-down support from pastor, leaders and the monied people in the local church.
Class teacher, Henson writes,
“we do not seek a public platform. Instead, we quietly train leadership teams and allow leaders to shine brightly at a local level in your own voice. Our website discloses the cities in which we serve, but usually post-event and without mentioning those we served (unless permission is granted for us to reference those we serve for the sake of credentialing).”[1]
So, who knows how many administrators and pastors in Seventh-day Adventist conferences he has “quietly” trained since 2019?
Henson’s team included a number of individuals who identified in various LGBT+ categories—enough to include one representative in each of the small groups when we had breakout exercises.
I spoke with UCC President David Jamieson Feb 24, 2024 and asked if he had ever read the Course Handbook for Posture Shift, or ever attended the full 2-day class. He said no, but he had watched digital presentations and spent two hours on the phone with Henson vetting him. He shared 6 points which have been given to each of the speakers for the pastors/teachers meeting:
We believe in heterosexual marriage for life
We believe homosexuality is a sin
We believe homosexuality needs to be repented of
As we repent and surrender homosexuality can be overcome.
We have to welcome people, be in conversation, and love them, minister to them just like Jesus did
We do not affirm the LGBT+
He added a seventh from a personal perspective: We do not believe we should baptize, bring into membership, anyone who is living in the lgbt + lifestyle
I admire Jamieson’s stated principles for the workers meeting, but I am unable to correlate these good goals with my personal experience with Posture Shift. I have shared my experience with Jamieson in writing.[iii] And I’m praying for his success in reaching his aforementioned goals.
We spoke again March 5, 2024. Jamieson told me he couldn’t cancel the class. I learned that pastors and teachers in our conference want the class and that in general younger teachers and pastors tend to be more affirming towards LGBT+. That’s not surprising.
A October 2013 church study showed that almost half of Adventist college students and recent graduates would accept practicing homosexuals as SDA church members in good and regular standing.[2] What kind of religious education are they receiving in our churches and schools? On what basis do they retain church membership? Only because we ignore our own official membership standards found in the Church Manual. Read on!
And I wonder what current (2024) statistics would show regarding our beliefs about membership for gays? Since the Supreme Court ruled on June 26, 2015 to legalize gay marriage nationally, public opinion has shifted dramatically to accept the gay lifestyle.[3] Does our church mirror this shift? Since then, Loma Linda University now has both students and staff in the LGBT+ categories.[4]
Church Manual Authority. So what does the Church Manual say about its authority to govern membership parameters in each local church?
“The standards and practices of the Church are based upon the principles of the Holy Scriptures. These principles, underscored by the Spirit of Prophecy, are set forth in this Church Manual. They are to be followed in all matters pertaining to the administration and operation of local churches. . . . No attempt should be made to set up standards of membership or to make, or attempt to enforce, rules or regulations for local church operations that are contrary to these decisions adopted by the General Conference in Session and that are set forth in this Church Manual”[5] Emphasis mine.
Church Manual membership requirements. On page 44 the Manual says,
“prospective members must agree with our “fundamental beliefs” and “by practice and conduct demonstrate a willing acceptance of Church doctrines and principles of conduct which are the outward expression of those doctrines.[iv] Conversely, “denial of faith in the fundamentals of the gospel and in the fundamental beliefs of the Church or teaching doctrines contrary to the same” is the very first reason listed for church discipline.[v]
The increasing numbers of members among us who believe you can be a good Seventh-day Adventist and a practicing homosexual at the same time [affirming] actually violates membership standards even if they never personally engage in immorality themselves.
Members who affirm LGBT+ behavior should be helped to biblical belief. I pray the UCC workers meeting can help. But it is one thing for administration to say they believe in our membership standards. It is another thing to actually carry out redemptive accountability administratively in the conference with affirming pastors and teachers.
But both belief and actions are essential if we wish to be in harmony with the General Conference. If affirming members, pastors, teachers and leaders cannot be helped to faith, they should have the integrity to leave. If they don’t leave, they should be removed.
Moral causes for discipline in the Manual:
3. Violation of the commandment of the law of God, which reads, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14, Matt. 5:27-28), as it relates to the marriage institution and the Christian home, biblical standards of moral conduct, and any act of sexual intimacy outside of a marriage relationship and/or non-consensual acts of sexual conduct within a marriage, whether those acts are legal or illegal. Such acts include but are not limited to child sexual abuse, including abuse of the vulnerable. Marriage is defined as a public, lawfully binding, monogamous, heterosexual relationship between one man and one woman. 4. Fornication, which includes among other issues, promiscuity, homosexual activity, incest, sodomy, and bestiality. 5. The production, use, or distribution of pornographic material. 6. Remarriage of a divorced person, except the spouse who has remained faithful to the marriage vow in a divorce for adultery or for sexual perversions.
Who is eligible for ministry and leadership? “Members in regular standing”[6] which means that one is not under discipline. This applies even to “choir members and other musicians.”[7]
What Posture Shift actually teaches. The title of the Handbook says it all: Posture Shift: A Missiological Model for LGBT+ Inclusion and Care. In a nutshell, Henson sells inclusion of LGBT+ in the church based on a partial reading of the scripture, and justifies it under the guise of mission in the name of pseudo-love. (Read what actually happened in class in the endnote 3.)
Henson’s membership/ministry model, found on page 70 of his Course Handbook, only requires doctrinal agreement for pastors, elders, and paid staff. All others are allowed ministry on a sliding scale with pastoral oversight. As seen above, our Seventh-day Adventist membership model requires agreement to our beliefs for everyone, not just people at the top. And ministry requires membership. Membership requires repentance and baptism and both belief and practice. And our membership guidelines also address life practices. These are 2 distinct and non-congruous models for membership & ministry.
Henson’s inclusion strategies, the very core of Posture Shift, lead naturally to his membership model, not to ours. As such, Posture Shift is actually a very effective pragmatic program to shift our church to Henson’s position of inclusion model instead of our own. And if you still doubt, read inclusion quotes from his Course Handbook at endnote number 2.
Of course, the doors of our churches should be open to sinners of every type who are seeking to know God and who remain open and responsive to biblical teaching and preaching. But Henson’s actual training teaches more than this. It teaches inclusion [See endnote 2].
Additionally, in 40 years of active ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist church, I cannot remember one time that administration ever sponsored a ministers meeting on the authority of the Manual and the importance of following its baptismal and discipline guidelines. The result? Today, we have multiple gospels within the church. Discipline is widely ignored even on moral issues like pornography, adultery, divorce and remarriage, and premarital sex and pregnancies. And how many of us administrators, ministers, and teachers, actually preach, teach, and promote all 28 of our fundamental beliefs? So, we are ripe for Henson’s teaching on LGBT+ inclusion. Posture Shift comes to us in the context of this vacuum.
In light of Posture Shift, notice this inspired powerful quote from the Church Manual:
“As the bride of Christ and the supreme object of His regard, the church is expected in all its functions to represent the order and the character of the divine. “At this time the church is to put on her beautiful garments—‘Christ our righteousness.’ There are clear, decided distinctions to be restored and exemplified to the world in holding aloft the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. The beauty of holiness is to appear in its native luster in contrast with the deformity and darkness of the disloyal, those who have revolted from the law of God. Thus we acknowledge God, and recognize His law, the foundation of His government in heaven and throughout His earthly dominions. His authority should be kept distinct and plain before the world, and no laws are to be acknowledged that come in collision with the laws of Jehovah. If in defiance of God’s arrangements the world be allowed to influence our decisions or our actions, the purpose of God is defeated. However specious the pretext, if the church waver here, there is written against her in the books of heaven a betrayal of the most sacred trusts, and treachery to the kingdom of Christ. The church is firmly and decidedly to hold her principles before the whole heavenly universe and the kingdoms of the world; steadfast fidelity in maintaining the honor and sacredness of the law of God will attract the notice and admiration of even the world, and many will, by the good works which they shall behold, be led to glorify our Father in heaven.”—TM 16, 17”.[8]
Does Posture Shift, ever mention obedience to the law of God in connection to the righteousness of Christ—our unique gospel? Will Posture Shift restore the “decided distinctions” between the world and the church, or blur them further? Do we want betrayal of sacred trusts to be written against us?
Bill Henson, by 2019, had taught nearly 50,000 church leaders in the evangelical world.[9] He has also authored a book sponsored by the North American Division leaders, widely distributed through Advent Source: Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones: For Adventist Families, Ministry Leaders, and All Who Care.
In Upper Columbia Conference [UCC], some pastors and lay people have contacted UCC Administration expressing concerns about Bill Henson coming to train our pastors and teachers with Posture Shift principles at Mivoden March 29-April 1. Administration correctly says that they believe in no membership and no ministry for LGBT+. Then why would they insist on inviting Henson to present to their teachers and pastors when he is teaching inclusion measures that lead to his membership model and not to our own?
This concern led to a letter[vi] from some pastors and laity which was mailed to all UCC pastors, teachers, and head elders in UCC, along with a free book by Wayne Blakely. In Line by Line, Blakely evaluates Bill Henson’s NAD sponsored book called Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones.
Additionally, Wayne Blakely is coming to Deer Park, WA for a weekend symposium on March 8 and 9, 2024. The other speaker will be Ron Woolsey of "The Narrow Way Ministry" who has attended Bill Henson's seminar and who has also written "Navigating the Storms of Contemporary Sexuality . . . ," which is a biblical alternative to the Guiding Families book and the Posture Shift message. The meeting times are Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. Sabbath afternoon at 2:30, 3:30, 4:50 and 7p.m. A light supper is at 6 p.m.
Location: Deer Park Middle School
347 S Colville Deer Park, Wa 99006
What can you do?
Ask God to show you your duty in His Word. Pray earnestly for an outcome in the UCC and the NAD which will glorify God, result in salvation of souls for His kingdom, and uphold the decided—and official—distinctions between God’s church and the world, bringing glory to Him.
****
Notes
[1] Posture Shift: A Missiological Model for LGBT= Inclusion and Care: Course Handbook, July 2018, p. 2. Hereafter Course Handbook.
[2] https://news.adventist.org/en/all-news/news/go/2013-10-17/landmark-survey-reveals-in-depth-beliefs-perceptions-of-adventist-members/ Last accessed 9/28/2017
[3] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/obergefell-v-hodges-ruling-same-sex-marriage-legalized-nationwide
[4] https://spectrummagazine.org/news/2022/loma-linda-university-and-its-lgbtq-students-and-faculty
[5] P. 16. 2015 edition. All Church Manual citations are from this edition.
[6] Church Manual, p. 71
[7] Church Manual, p. 95.
[8] 2015 ed. p 21ff
[9]Course Handbook, p. 1
[i] When I arrived April 3, 2019 in Sacramento for Posture Shift class, I discovered that the symposium was actually sponsored by the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists [NAD] though hosted by the NCC. Elder Kyoshin Ahn, the NAD Secretary, introduced the class and stayed for the duration. About 50 NCC administrators, pastors, and teachers attended.
[ii] Selected quotes from Posture Shift: A Missiological Model for LGBT+ Inclusion and Care, Course Handbook 2018
P 4 “Our focus is nourishing faith identity and helping individuals access support.”
Under the title “Loving LGBT+ People in the Church” p.4.
“We help church leaders enhance care and inclusion of LGBT+ people within a biblically-sound orthodox framework . . . Our consulting helps structure inclusion and minimize risks.”
P 5 “Acceptance and inclusion are needed to nurture faith identity. A gospel of exclusion has no power to reach already banished persons. . . . We cannot nourish faith identity in people who are not accepted in our midst. . . . We best reveal Jesus to people by fostering an inclusive atmosphere for people in the church. For this reason, we seek to foster a . . . safe church home, so LGBT+ persons can develop spiritual identity in Jesus Christ. . . . belonging is a necessary minimum requirement for the cultivation of faith identity.”
P 5: Under the title of “Vision” it says “We best reveal Jesus to people by fostering an inclusive atmosphere for people in the church. For this reason, we seek to foster a secure family bond and safe church home, so LGBT+ persons can develop spiritual identity in Jesus Christ.”
a subtitle under “Vision” includes to “Enhance Church Inclusion”
“Inclusion does not mean anything goes. It also does not permit any of us (regardless of our sexual orientation or gender identity) to serve in any position we want. When we encourage inclusion , we are asking ministry leaders to recognize that belonging is a minimum requirement for the cultivation of faith identity.” p.5
P 9 “We are good at communicating doctrine. We are not always so good at caring for people. Tragically, doctrinal misuse, or overuse may actually deconstruct faith identity or chop at the roots of growing faith.”
“many [churches] were unable to grasp the vision of reaching and directly caring for gay people in the church. We also missed the reality that gay kids are already in our churches. They are our kids” p. 12.
“We can walk in complete victory in Christ. In this place of abiding, sin completely loses its grip on us. We must live this out as believers, rather than demand others to get it.” p 13
“God’s call to shift our posture in love never requires us to abandon God’s truth. We find this reality in the Psalms, the parables, the beatitudes and even how God calls his people to care for the stranger and the foreigner in the Old Testament. We find amazing passages calling for inclusion of people with unbiblical beliefs and life practices” p 15. Emphasis mine
P. 16 “We play the role of Pharisee when we so quickly applaud missionary efforts to contextualize Christ on foreign soil, but suddenly cry syncretism (heresy) when domestic church do the same. . . . Becoming a place of belonging for LGBT+ people is an opportunity, not a threat. . . . A gospel of exclusion has no power to reach already banished persons. . . . We must remember that LGBT+ outreach is not just about people out there—it is also about nourishing faith identity in the hearts of gay kids growing up in our churches. They are here. They are our children.”
P 17 “Missionaries never blame people, fight people reject people. Exclude people. Judge people, avoid people. Effective missionaries are not shocked by sin, disgusted with people, unmoved by others’ pain.”
P. 20 “We are late in getting the Gospel right for LGBT+ folks. It is never too late to apologize and repent. We start with sharing Jesus with people where they are—as they are. It is impossible to demand that another person change their beliefs or behaviors out of their own strength. It is very possible to bring Jesus in us to people where they are: right here, right now.”
p. 20 “The best way to build holistic personal identity in vulnerable and victimized person is to offer authentic acceptance, radical love and true safety in the name of Jesus.”
P 21. “What we do with our sexuality, with whom we do it, and the context in which sex occurs is ALWAYS a matter that is either moral—or immoral. In this respect, sexual rights are to be handled responsibly and humbly in submission to Scripture.. . . . .Jesus . . .clarifies what defiles us: murder, strife, envy—and sexual immorality.”
P. 22. “Does love demand unity of belief”
“in our day, there is a prevailing (and rapidly growing) philosophy that love requires unity of belief. In other words: believe what I believe, or else there is no friendship between us. It is deeply convicting that this is exactly the demand we have placed on LGBT+ folks for decades—only in reverse. When we held cultural power, we often demanded that their life and beliefs match our position in order to belong. Now that they possess greater societal power. They are demanding that our beliefs match theirs—or else they cannot trust us.”
“With all sensitivity to the pain many LGBT+ people feel, this is not a sustainable definition of love. The sad part is that we had a role in teaching this false definition”
P 28 “Religious bigotry, judgment and exclusive practices that prevent an LGBT+ person from belonging will necessarily lower or entirely prevent the acculturation process.” . . . Many youth and young adults are routinely propelled away from the church and Christ due to family rejection and church exclusion. . . .—all for the sake of disciplining infractions such as identifying by sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Acculturation is the level of ease with which a people group can adapt to a new place (geographical, cultural, or philosophical). . . .Religious bigotry, judgment and exclusive practices that prevent an LGBT+ person from belonging will necessarily lower or entirely prevent the acculturation process.” P 28[ii]
P 29 “Historically, our engagement of LGBT+ persons has exhibited low complementarity. . . . .As a major example, we tend to question the faith of anyone who identifies as Gay Christian. Rather than taking the posture of honoring their Christian faith and mutually sharing faith, we target them with a suspicious focus on proving that they are not really a Christian . . .
p 29 “We have piled on urgent and exclusive burdens. We have demanded a complete change of thought, belief, and action without allowing much time or people to journey. We have held LFBT+ people responsible for failing to achieve what only God can accomplish. We have been one-dimensional going at people with doctrine, rather than loving them and laying down our lives for them .. . . We have constructed rigid barriers making it difficult for LGBT+ people to have much of an entrance into the church.”
P45 They will need social inclusion, unconditional acceptance and love, a sense that others see their gifts and talents as valuable and plenty of verbal affirmation and healthy physical affection.
P 46 Barriers to Church Integration and Faith Formation
You may already be working with an LGBT+ young person in your youth group. You are doing everything to make church safe for them.
Playing a shepherd role in helping teens replace thoughts of exclusion with invitations of Christ is a top priority. Images of rejection disrupt personal identity, development, deconstruct faith identity and damage church integration.
P 47 “Some ministry leaders try to relate to LGBT+ at the level of theology or doctrine. This is a one-dimensional approach that is not the most important need; and it most certainly will come across as religious judgment. It will propel LGBT+ young people away from you, the church and possibly Christ.” . . .
The more that we aim to guide or force conversations toward a biblical truth that confronts sexuality, the more LGBT+ young people will detach from us. They are asking questions about whether they are valuable, accept and welcome. . . .
“With a doctrinal approach, we come across as so religious that they feel judged. We may try to move away from harder doctrines but remain focused on trying to get them to get it. We might share an element of the teaching of Jesus that generally address the need for repentance. They will often see through us and know exactly what we are doing. They will interpret this as a Pharisee game. .. . .
“Finally, avoid removing a young person from their ministry position. Removal is going to seriously trigger every fear of rejection in their system. It may at some point be necessary to ask them to take a break from a particular service area, but this should be a last resort that is fueled more by a disruptive attitude rather than the mere facts of their LGBT+ identity. Foster inclusion at all costs.”
P 48 “Alternate Lifestyle, Lifestyle Choice, Sexual Preference, Homosexual and cliches like love the Sinner, Hate the Sin are particularly hurtful. Lead Them Home’s Guiding Families is an excellent resource for identifying – and preventing –common mistakes made by even loving families and pastors.”
P 50 “Lord, let me so love You that I actually repent of my sins. And like the love that You showed me when I least deserved it, let me take that amazing love to all other people – whether they ever repent of not.”
“if there is no such thing as a gay Christian, then there cannot be an evangelical, born-again, porn-using Christian. God will not be mocked by majority sinners trying to convince minority sinners that they are not Christian because of sin. If sinners cannot be Christian, then most of us are in trouble.”
P 51 “I am not convinced that “we” admit our sin. We refer to pornography as every man’s battle. This cliché has become a license for us to repeatedly sin. I am not sure we are truly coming to terms with how egregious pornography and other sins (gossip, greed, slander, idolatry) really are. The fact is that every one of us has blind spots that prevent us from seeing our sin.”
P 51 “ If I only have a small voice into someone’s life, I would rather expend my prayers and evangelistic passion cultivating another person’s dependence upon Christ, rather than deconstructing the faith identity to which they hold. If I only have the privilege of helping someone discover God as their refuge and shelter (Psalm 91) or as their Father (Psalm 103), I may have done more to build into their life the potential for future repentance than confronting their sin in ways that drive them away.”
P 52 “Some Posture Shift attendees begin to get nervous because they are thinking, “We have to go into the Gay Community and invite a bunch of LGBT+ people back into our church.” Please do not let Lead Them Home stand in your way! At the same time, a caution is warranted. You have just been trained, but most of your church has NOT been trained. . . . The last thing we want to do is invite dozens of people into our church only to watch them run back out of our church within days or weeks. They will never return again.”
P 58 “Parents attending Lead Them Home’s Family Care Seminar routinely report that they have loving church leaders, yet they anticipate that their pastor or elders expect them to harshly respond to (or rejct) their children—in order to be godly.
“We, your pastors, call upon parents of LGBT+ children to love your kids well. We also ask others in the congregation to support these parents well. As your pastors, we love all children in this church and in our local community. We want all young people to feel safe at home and here at church.”
“In order to fully care of LGBT+ youth who will come out in the months and years ahead, you must prepare parents to be ready for this conversation: ideally, before youth come out. The opportunity in a pulpit message is to set a congregational tone from the top-down that our church will generously love LGBT+ youth in the church. This is a justice action step that can save lives.”
P 62 “Importantly, what our world often calls social justice is actually biblical justice. It turns out that God and His people have been doing justice for thousands of years.”
“Your congregation and local community need to hear your voice. How is God calling you to collaborate with local LGBT+ leaders on anti-bullying efforts? Pray over these questions, and let us know how we might come alongside you in this calling.
P 68 “ As we previously noted, a gospel of exclusion has no power to reach already banished persons. It has no power to covey love. It has no power to covey community or fellowship. Finally it has no power to nurture faith identity in Jesus Christ.”
“As complex and controversial as this may be, giving highly traumatized and rejected persons an opportunity to grow in their faith identity will require enhanced inclusion. Settings where nearly anyone can be a member (and remain a member_ -- except an LGBT+ person – express bibilical truth against a sexual minority while giving many other people a heterosexual-sinner pass.
P 70 Ministry chart:
“those who lead with sexual identity will experience lower inclusion”
“Those who lead with faith identity will experience greater inclusion”
[iii]
Email Dialogue with UCC President
From: larre kostenko <prlarrek@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 28, 2024 8:09 AM
To: 'David Jamieson' <DavidJ@uccsda.org>
Subject: RE: thanks for the sermon and visit yesterdayDear Elder Jamieson:
Thank you for your gracious openness to continuing our dialogue. As I answer your request to tell me more about my experience with Posture Shift, I have asked God that my heart would be emptied of self and that I will be humble, kind and truthful in a way that honors God, respects Bill Henson, and respects you. Likewise, I am praying for your heart as you receive this communication. I ask that you read it prayerfully and carefully. Love for God and His beloved church motives me in writing. Nothing else.
I have pulled some material from my class notes for Posture Shift to share with you. Before proceeding, please know that I find Bill Henson to be likeable, gifted, and he says so many things we would agree with. Many of his insights are excellent for approaching LGBT+ in personal conversation. That’s what makes him dangerous. His teaching is not consistent either with itself, or with our official doctrines.
For example, he claims that his program does not water down biblical teaching or preaching, yet his membership model allows for people who don’t believe everything to be teachers. And his instruction about avoiding language that will turn off the LGBT+ person, including minimizing doctrine, leaves me feeling I must water down my preaching/teaching despite his explicit claim to the contrary.
I have found in recently rereading the Posture Shift class handbook multiple times that he has seductive hypnotic power. His starting premise is mission, which he admits, has no Bible basis. Mission, which mandates inclusion of LGBT+ in the church, is the controlling hermeneutic. Everything must bend to this. He also includes a healthy dose of history and psychology.
He claims that gospel is at the heart of his program, but he never presented the cross in its living connection to the law of God, which joins justice and mercy in the character of God. It is this biblical picture which has the capacity to capture our hearts, to bring every thought into captivity to Christ, and to crucify us to the world and the world to us, and to do in us above what we can we think or imagine. Yes, this is all in the Bible, but I never heard a word of it in Posture Shift.
Henson never specifically identifies gay behavior as sin in the Posture Shift Handbook. I combed it. He never covers biblical conditions for baptism. Church discipline is entirely absent. He never defines repentance nor explains how we get it, nor explains that justification and acceptance with God and baptism is conditional upon repentance.
In contrast, he teaches unconditional love and acceptance, which is really a distortion of the love of God and His character—a Christianized version of spiritualism.
His version of love endorses pluralism in the church. Pluralism negates Christ’s teaching in John 17, that truth is a necessary unifying factor for the church.
He teaches we don’t judge LGBT+ within the church. We include them. And we need to apologize where we have gotten the gospel wrong for gays by not including them.
In my dialogue after class with Bill Henson, he wrote:
I work with a lot of different kinds of churches and ministries some of which do not have formal membership (such as campus ministries). Some strongly orthodox evangelical churches also do not have membership. For them, the inclusion model tightens up where inclusion can occur in order to protect the teaching and governance authority leadership level from heresy.
The only problem is that neither Henson, nor the NAD, nor the conference leadership present at his Posture Shift class, ever gave any statement about how far his inclusion model applies within the Seventh-day Adventist context. Instead, they fully endorsed him.
Neither are any such clarifications present in Henson’s book published by the NAD, Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones, nor in his class manual Posture Shift: A Missiological Model for LGBT+ Inclusion and Care.
The NAD forward to Guiding Families claims Henson’s book is without compromise because we still maintain our biblical belief about sexuality. Henson claims the same for Posture Shift. However, neither book says anything about upholding the practice of our belief among membership through applying official baptism and discipline standards. But both belief and actually upholding membership standards are needed to not be in compromise.
In keeping with his endorsement of pluralism, Henson’s class manual Posture Shift on p. 70 only requires “mandatory doctrinal agreement” for paid staff and elders and pastors. And this is what he taught us in class. However, in the Seventh-day Adventist church, doctrinal agreement is officially required for members. Again church leadership said nothing nor made any recommendations to the pastors and teachers present.
On Ap 3, 2019 in Posture Shift Class Henson made a negative comment about church discipline. I replied by stating that our church requires church discipline for sexual immorality including LGBT+. I said the Bible has a lot to say about church discipline, including 1 Cor. 5, which I asked Henson explain.
I did not hear Henson make any connection of this passage to discipline for LGBT+ though the connection is there in the Bible. I did not hear him affirm the importance of upholding official SDA membership standards, while at the same time we seek to love people to the Lord. He only said I didn’t have to agree with him. No church administrator spoke up to clarify these issues, including Kyoshin Ahn from the NAD who was present for the duration.
Again, when we talk about church discipline, we are talking about upholding membership standards. But an aversion to church discipline came through in other statements from Henson and HIs team:
a. For instance, at one point He said, why do we pick on LGBT for discipline when we don’t deal with adultery, fornication, or porn? I responded that our official membership guidelines require us to deal with all of it, and that we should do so consistently. He did not express support or agreement. Not one church official from the NAD or NCC said a word. They should have.
b. A member of Henson’s team who identified as lesbian, said my remarks about church discipline were unsettling to some of the other team members, but that she defended me to them, saying I had a good heart. [Conclusion: Henson’s team members are not used to biblical teaching about church discipline].
c. Next Henson’s team member and I talked about baptism. Consistent with Henson’s inclusion model, his team member said that to baptize LGBT people would help them forward in their Christian experience. I pointed out that this would violate our official biblical baptismal standards. Again, we have major differences about baptism, which is biblically the door of entrance to the church. Furthermore, baptism without church discipline is cheap grace.
d. At one point someone asked Henson if the church he belonged to allowed membership for LGBT+. As I remember it, he said “no” but “we would if we could.”
The above expressions, stand in stark contrast with official Seventh-day Adventist doctrines voted at General Conference. The sponsorship and silence of the church administrators gave Henson credence and influence as a change agent. He was very effective.
If we believe in the Bible as the inspired word of God, it’s teaching about church discipline must be harmonized with the love of God and the gospel. I did not hear Henson do this. He sold inclusion based on a partial reading of the scripture and justified it under the guise of mission in the name of miscalled love.
This raises many questions. Why would NAD and local conference leaders retain him when he believes so differently? Do they in reality believe as he does about membership parameters? Do they see the cultural trends, and their impact on the church, and are they trying to get ahead of the curve and lead us where they think the majority of us are headed? I’m not accusing, I’m just asking.
At Henson’s class, he took our contact information at registration, solicited more engagements in the local conference churches. He told us how he would avoid destroying the local church by using a top-down approach. Just as he came to the class with NAD endorsement, in the local church he would have the pastor’s endorsement, would get endorsement from the elders and the monied people.
Henson told us his NAD book, Guiding Families was being republished, and that he had already taught at the NAD teachers convention and Oregon conference. [I also heard from concerned teachers who attended.]
By the way, last fall I tried to order Henson’s NAD version of Guiding Families and learned that it had been pulled for revision. Do you have any idea as to why? Might it be a good idea to pull his speaking appointment here as well?
A number of others have written critiques of Guiding Families. Have you seen any of them?
The critique I am writing, which is well over 50 pages at this point, includes many of the above incidents, much documentation from his books, but also gives scriptural material and written rebuttal.
Many Seventh-day Adventists already have relatives who are gay [LGBT+]. A 2013 church study showed almost 50% of college age young people believe you can be a practicing gay and a Seventh-day Adventist member in good and regular standing. I wonder where the figure would stand today?
These facts and increasing cultural pressure are causing some pastors, teachers, and even administrators to believe that we should accept practicing gays as members in the church. I personally have known Seventh-day Adventists in all three categories.
Other Seventh-day Adventists believe that our current membership standards, voted by the General Conference, are sound biblically and need to be upheld.
It is more than likely that we have both sides in our conference. Which side do you suppose Posture Shift appeals to? Those among us who want to include gays, or those who believe our current membership standards are biblically sound and need to be actually followed?
Which side do you want to identify with? The current lineup for workers meeting gives me the message you want to identify with both sides. But I am not sure that is possible.
on August 6, 2019, I emailed Henson after class:
If we follow your methods and teachings, the end result will be a change in membership parameters for the Seventh-day Adventist church, in practice, if not in principle.
So what did I have in mind? Your membership model, the end result of your inclusion processes for LGBT+, requires doctrinal agreement only for staff and elders.[i] In contrast, our Seventh-day Adventist membership model requires both doctrinal belief and lifestyle practices for membership. See endnotes.[ii] If we adopt your inclusion practices, isn’t it likely that we too will end up with your membership model in practice if not officially over time?
He understood and we parted as friends.
In reality, Posture Shift is actually a very effective pragmatic solution to shift our church to the position of following his membership model instead of our own—despite all the good things Henson says. Yes, Posture Shift is a program that will normalize the inclusion of gays in our membership.
7600 Methodist churches have left the denomination over compromise re. gay issues. The Catholic church is in turmoil over this issue. Many Catholic leaders are speaking out against the pope. Is this the kind of division, you wish to bring to UCC?
I love this church. I want to see us honoring God fully. I don’t know if I can complete my critique, before class, but I hope and pray that you will consider the possibility of cancelling Henson even at this late date. Pay him in full and cut the loss. By the way, the title of my critique will likely be Dismantling the Soul of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Hope this is helpful, whatever your decision may be. Look forward to further communication. My love and prayers to you and for your success during these difficult times.
I’m having a Trans Esophageal Echo Cardiography today at the hospital at 1 p.m. and my water problems are not yet resolved for my house. Would deeply appreciate your prayers. Praying for you.
Wishing you good day,
Larre
Notes:
[iv] Thorough Instruction and Public Examination Before Baptism— Candidates individually or in a baptismal class should be instructed from the Scriptures regarding the Church’s fundamental beliefs and practices and the responsibilities of membership. A pastor should satisfy the church by a public examination that candidates are well instructed, are committed to taking this important step, and by practice and conduct demonstrate a willing acceptance of Church doctrines and the principles of conduct which are the outward expression of those doctrines, for “by their fruits you will know them” (Matt. 7:20). . . . “The test of discipleship is not brought to bear as closely as it should be upon those who present themselves for baptism. It should be understood whether they are simply taking the name of Seventh-day Adventists, or whether they are taking their stand on the Lord’s side, to come out from the world and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Before baptism there should be a thorough inquiry as to the experience of the candidates. Let this inquiry be made, not in a cold and distant way, but kindly, tenderly, pointing the new converts to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. Bring the requirements of the gospel to bear upon the candidates for baptism.”—6T 95, 96.
[v] Church Manual P61 ff Reasons for discipline of church members
Reasons for Discipline
The reasons for which members shall be subject to discipline are: 1. Denial of faith in the fundamentals of the gospel and in the fundamental beliefs of the Church or teaching doctrines contrary to the same. 2. Violation of the law of God, such as worship of idols, murder, stealing, profanity, gambling, Sabbathbreaking, and willful and habitual falsehood. 3. Violation of the commandment of the law of God, which reads, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14, Matt. 5:27-28), as it relates to the marriage institution and the Christian home, biblical standards of moral conduct, and any act of sexual intimacy outside of a marriage relationship and/or non-consensual acts of sexual conduct within a marriage, whether those acts are legal or illegal. Such acts include but are not limited to child sexual abuse, including abuse of the vulnerable. Marriage is defined as a public, lawfully binding, monogamous, heterosexual relationship between one man and one woman. 4. Fornication, which includes among other issues, promiscuity, homosexual activity, incest, sodomy, and bestiality. 5. The production, use, or distribution of pornographic material. 6. Remarriage of a divorced person, except the spouse who has remained faithful to the marriage vow in a divorce for adultery or for sexual perversions. 7. Physical violence, including violence within the family. 8. Fraud or willful misrepresentation in business. 9. Disorderly conduct which brings reproach upon the church. 10. Adherence to or taking part in a divisive or disloyal movement or organization. (See p. 59.) 11. Persistent refusal to recognize properly constituted church authority or to submit to the order and discipline of the church. 12. The use, manufacture, or sale of alcoholic beverages. 13. The use, manufacture, or sale of illegal drugs.
[vi] COUNCIL OF ADVENTIST PASTORS
January 9, 2024.
Greetings to UCC Pastors, Educators and 1st Elders,
In 2018, the North American Division contracted non-Adventist, Bill Henson, to write “Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones;” a publication reshaping the church’s approach toward homosexuality, from a biblical to a cultural one. He has gained a voice in the church, speaking at pastoral/teachers retreats across the denomination. We, as well as many other pastors, are very concerned about his approach that is not in harmony with the Scriptures and the official position of the World Church.
Henson is scheduled to be one of the key speakers at the UCC pastors/teachers retreat at Mivoden, scheduled for March 31- April 3, 2024. We believe this is a mistake. Henson’s approach is simply an adaptation of the LBGT+ agenda of “inclusion” and “diversity” that is being promoted in the general culture.
Wayne Blakely, former gay and Director of Know His Love Ministries, authored a biblical analysis of Henson’s book, entitled, “Line by Line – A Biblical Analysis of Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones.” Blakely, who was raised an Adventist, left the Lord and the church and lived in the LGBT+ culture for forty years. He recommitted his life to Jesus Christ in 2009.
Blakely shares in his book how the Lord delivered him and others from the LGBT+ culture. He believes that the same divine power can deliver every repentant sinner. We concur and believe that we need to be true to the biblical teaching that these practices are not in keeping with God’s will, while at the same time sharing God’s demonstrative love for the sinner and His power to save. We “all have sinned” (Romans 6:23) and each of us must come to the Savior, confessing and repenting of our sins. He will save us “from sin”—not in sin. Matthew 1:21 (See Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13; Romans 5:8; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Romans 1:16- 32; Romans 6; I Timothy 1:8- 11; Jude 7).
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? …Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.” Romans 6:1,2,12.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17.
Please, read Blakely’s book prayerfully in light of biblical teaching.
With Confidence in Christ’s power to forgive and to cleanse!
CAP/Council of Adventist Pastors and concerned laity.