The Pacific Union Conference published a nominating committee report on May 26th, prior to their 2021 Constituency on August 15-16.
The nominees for the Pacific Union Conference Officers 2021-2026 are:
President: Bradford C. Newton
Executive Secretary: Sandra E. Roberts
Treasurer: Stephen V. Mayer
Vice President: [undetermined]
Coordinator, African American Ministries: Virgil S. Childs
Coordinator, Asian-Pacific Ministries: VicLouis Arreola III
Coordinator, Hispanic Ministries: Alberto Ingleton
Our Response
Ricardo Graham announced his retirement from the position as PUC president on May 4 of this year. That opens up a position for his replacement, which will be decided on August 15-16.
You may recall that Ricardo Graham’s legacy includes his rebellion against the world-wide Adventist Church by presiding over illegitimate ordinations throughout the Pacific Union. For these fragmentary actions, he has demonstrated no remorse, and no willingness to correct the problem. Graham also presided over the unauthorized placement of Sandra Roberts as the president of the Southeastern California Conference (SECC). The GC model Constitution (in harmony with three GC Session decisions) indicates that a conference president must be an ordained male. Failing to persuade the Seventh-day Adventist Church that ordaining women is biblical, two unions (now three) chose to defy the world Church and do it anyway.
The nomination of Sandra Roberts as Pacific Union Secretary raises important questions. Who will take her place—if elected—as SECC president? Will it be a One Project founder, will it be another unauthorized female? If a male individual identifies as a black hispanic female, will they be considered for this office? Those of you who are currently unemployed, may wish to ponder this opportunity.
This is—in our opinion—clearly a move to make Roberts’ Union President. She was secretary of SECC before being appointed Conference President. Will Bradford Newton (if elected) retire soon, allowing the PUC Excomm to appoint Roberts in his place?
According to the Bible, the goal of discipline is to appeal to the heart of a defiant person and bring the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” back into their lives (Hebrews 12:11). The Pacific Union received a formal warning from the 2019 Annual Council for their headstrong actions. Likewise, Sandra Roberts was denied a spot in the Adventist Yearbook, due to her willful violation of three General Conference Session votes regarding the ordination of women.
These disciplinary measures have not yielded the peaceable fruit of righteousness in the lives of PUC constituents and Miss Roberts. They have instead hardened their hearts further.
The fact that Sandra Roberts has allowed herself to be ordained in violation of mutually agreed-on church policy demonstrates that she is unfit to serve as secretary of the Union where part of her job description is to support church policy. She has also participated in ordaining other females, helping to spread insubordination within the NAD.
Glenward (Alexander) Bryant (president of the North American Division) is chairman of the PUC nominating committee. By presiding over (and approving) this nomination, he is demonstrating that he is not in harmony with the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
There are tremendous destructive forces massed against the Judeo–Christian identity of the SDA Church, determined to bring it down. It is a revolutionary ideology which believes it can make all things new apart from the confirming witness of Scripture.
As with all revolutions, the old (conservative) order of the Adventist Church has to be brought to its knees before the new order can take control. That is why WO is such coveted ground by insurrectionists in the Church, it symbolizes the conquest of this new order over the old order. The spoils of this conquest are the rich Adventist storehouses of our heritage, health message, and mission. The new order gets to redefine Adventism for those that are left.
By yielding to feminism and its animosity for biblical distinctions, these people will discover too late that they did change the Church—they destroyed it’s biblical foundation. The broken fragments of truth will rise up in the Judgment and condemn them.
What should we do? We should repent that we live in a rebellious division. We should seek truth and pursue it (Psalm 34:14). Love your neighbors, your family and your Lord supremely (Mark 12:30).
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And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matthew 22: 37).