For nearly a year, the Hendersonville North Carolina SDA Church has had scheduled (and announced each week in the bulletin) a weekend series which was to be presented by Stephen Bohr on Feb 23 -25.
Yesterday, their Pastor David Wright announced to his congregation that those meetings will not take place. He said that the Carolina Conference has determined that Pastor Bohr is too divisive because of his opposition to WO. Pastor Wright made it clear that he did not share this assessment and has great respect for Elder Bohr.
Prior to this Sabbath announcement by Pastor Wright, the Carolina Conference Ministerial director Haskell Williams called Secrets Unsealed and told them the Conference had asked the church to cancel Elder Bohr's speaking commitment at the Hendersonville Church. When asked why, Haskell Williams said that Elder Bohr was divisive because Secrets Unsealed held a symposium on women's ordination in September 2017.
Haskell Williams, Carolina Conference Ministerial Director
Fulcrum7 reached out to Secrets Unsealed to confirm the story, and Elder Bohr had this to say:
"The ministerial director, Haskell Williams called me and told me the conference had asked the church to cancel my speaking commitment at the Hendersonville Church. When I asked him why, he told me that I was divisive because we did the symposium on women's ordination just before Annual Council. I told him [Haskell] that I believe that pulpit decisions belong with the local church, not with the conference. I also told him that I would keep the commitment on my calendar until I personally heard from the church itself. The next day I got a call from Pastor Wright who is conservative and was very distressed about the cancellation but I told him that I certainly understand the predicament that he is in. So after a few minutes we I agreed to cancel the invitation."
So the opposition can hold strategy meetings in London for out-of-compliance Unions, and Conferences in the NAD can ordain women against the formal will of the World Church and the official Magazine of the Church (the Review) can demonstrate open support for WO and that's not "divisive."
But anyone who opposes WO with truth and grace (like Elder Bohr has) is "too divisive." This is--in our opinion--controlling, and spiteful. It's a sad day when faithful pastors cannot support the World Church position without the NAD opposition machine shutting you down.
I hope that the Carolina Conference rethinks this situation, and that Stephen Bohr is allowed to come to North Carolina on the appointed date. They should.
"Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words" (2 Timothy 4:14-15).
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