Usually, admitting your wrong is a big first step to correcting that wrong.

After admitting their wrong, normal people and situations take steps to right the wrong. This is what people with a functioning conscience do.

Mic Thurber, president of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC), wrote in the recent RMC News Nuggets that the voted action of the RMC is “not in accordance with church policies or the General Conference Session actions.”

He further acknowledges that the Mid-America Union is in violation of church policy and General Conference Session decisions and the North American Division policy,

Clearly, neither the General Conference Executive Committee nor the General Conference in Session voted a variance of its policy on women’s ordination for any organization including the MAUC and the Rocky Mountain Conference. By our vote, the Rocky Mountain Conference was voting to do something different than the GC/NAD Policies provide regarding women’s ordination, which was legal to do at a duly called constituency meeting, even though it was not in accordance with church policies or General Conference actions.

We also all realized that our vote would do nothing to change GC policy, or the action voted at the 2015 GC Session but resulted only to change the position in the Rocky Mountain Conference based on the action of the Mid-America Union which was also not in accordance with church policies or the General Conference Session actions.

There is a lot in these two paragraphs.

Thurber admits that the RMC is in defiance towards the SDA church but in harmony with the Union.
He admits that the Mid-America Union is in defiance (rebellion) towards the NAD and GC.
He says it is “legal” for the RMC to rebel against the Division and General Conference. That’s an odd statement. Paraphrase: What we are doing is ‘legal’ but not ethical (rebellion is never ethical for a Christian). He is throwing the Union under the bus here, by acknowledging that the RMC action is defiant towards the SDA Church, but in harmony with the Mid-America Union. In this way, he attempts to excuse himself. “The Union made me do it…”
Why are Seventh-day Adventist Church entities who are in open rebellion towards the Seventh-day Adventist Church allowed to keep using the name ‘Seventh-day Adventist’? Who controls the name? If a person or group decides to call themselves the Seventh-day Adventist Pedophilia Group, is that ok? Why not? Because it is against the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as expressed through its decisions and policies—which are in turn based on the teachings of the Bible. The Seventh-day Adventist Church also has decisions and policies regarding ordination, which the Mid-America Union and their daughter, the Rocky Mountain Conference are violating.
Failure of the GC Executive Committee to address and correct these violations essentially says that General Conference Session decisions are meaningless—a paper tiger, if you will. It also exposes an alarming hypocrisy in the church. Anyone who resists a local Conference or Union Policy will be met with marginalization and consequences, but rogue Unions and Conferences can resist the NAD and GC Policy without consequence.
Bottom line. Mic Thurber admits that the Rocky Mountain Conference August 21 Constituency vote to ordain women is in violation of the NAD/GC policy on ordination, but he is unwilling to correct the problem. That makes the Rocky Mountain Conference an offshoot.
Are the RMC members ok with being in an offshoot? How does it feel to be cut off from the World Seventh-day Adventist Church?
Apparently, being in violation of the Seventh-day Adventist Church does not bother the conscience of this individual. How then, is he fit to be a leader in an organization that he is violating?

What should be done to resolve this cancerous problem? The Executive Committee of the General Conference should downgrade these rogue Unions as missions and reformulate new leadership in these Unions. That puts the Church in a position to address the rebellious Conferences. The NAD isn’t going to fix it—they are complicit. It’s up to the GCEXCOM to resolve this cancer.

Or just acknowledge that General Conference Session decisions are meaningless.

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