We received this timeline and update from a church member at the Mount Rainier SDA church in Maryland, regarding the Stephen Bohr meetings which begin tonight,
In July of this year the Mount Rainier Spanish Adventist Church extended an invitation to Pastor Stephen Bohr. This would be the second time, as the Church hosted Pastor Bohr in 2017.
The Church Board recognizes that one of its main responsibilities is to promote evangelism in all its facets. As such, “…one of the primary functions of the board to ensure that its members are nurtured and mentored in a personal, dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ” (CM 135).
Pastor Bohr is believed to be a preacher of present truth, a member in good standing and minister of the Seventh-day Adventist church, and a blessing to the members of the Mount Rainier Church.
To make it official the board brought this motion to a vote. The pastor however, said that a vote on the motion would not be allowed. The local pastor informed the leaders that by order of the Potomac Conference, Pastor Bohr was not permitted to enter this territory and therefore would not be allowed to set foot in the church. No real reason was given other than “doctrinal discrepancies and teachings”. At the insistence of church board members, the vote was taken with unanimous approval despite the pastor's unwillingness to participate in the vote.
Once Pastor Bohr confirmed his availability, the board concluded that the local church building would be too small to host the event. A new location was found: 6201 Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782. In a subsequent vote, the church board brought another motion to vote, closing the church building and hold the event as a church at the new location. The pastor refused to allow the vote and attempted to close the meeting. However, as the church board was unanimous in their resolve, the vote was taken despite the pastor’s unwillingness once again to recognize the board’s vote.
The elders informed the church of the event and the votes taken by the board as well as the refusal of the pastor to recognize the votes. Understanding that the local Pastor was overriding the board because of the Conference leadership’s dislike of Pastor Bohr, a business meeting was held without the pastor to discuss these issues among the congregation. This decision was made because the church grants the board the authority to make these votes, and no one has the authority to override these votes but the church in a business meeting.
The church has an unbreakable conviction that the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy are the supreme authority under which God’s church and his children live and operate.
Additionally, the church leaders have a clear understanding of the Church Manual specifically in the following relevant sections:
1. “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 (CM 17). The Church leaders believe that prohibiting an ordained minister from preaching and prohibiting church members from hearing messages of present truth are a violation of the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy. This transcends the correct use of the church manual and arrogates to themselves authority not granted to Conference leaders.
2. “I have often been instructed by the Lord that no man’s judgment should be surrendered to the judgment of any other one man. Never should the mind of one man or the minds of a few men be regarded as sufficient in wisdom and power to control the work and to say what plans shall be followed“ (CM 31). No administrative leader has been given the authority to violate the freedom of conscience that God has given us all. Nothing less than a “it is written” or “to the Law and the Prophets” will be accepted in matter of freedom of choice. The issue is more than simply rejecting a pastor, it is about telling Adventist around the world that a select few are allowed to subjectively prevent people from listening to a preacher of present truth.
3. We have a representative form of governance, "….which recognizes that authority rests in the membership and is expressed through duly elected representatives at each level of organization….” “This form of governance recognizes also that ordination to the ministry is recognized by the Church worldwide..”(CM 28). This recognition must be applied to Pastor Stephen Bohr.
4. “Church organization is based on God’s principles. “Never allow anyone’s ideas to unsettle your faith in regard to the order and harmony which should exist in the church. . . .” (CM 25). There can be no order and harmony in a world-wide Church where certain leaders subjectively choose not to recognize the ministry of a pastor in good standing or prohibit the preaching of messages that are firmly in Scripture as present truth.
The church elders called a business meeting on September 2, and the matter was fully explained to the congregation. Members had the opportunity to speak freely and express any questions, comments or concerns. One of the questions that arose was, why had the meeting been called without the pastor being present? The events described above were shared with the Church. Furthermore, the actions taken by the Conference against Falls Church Spanish (discipline of members), Roanoke SDA and Gaithersburg Spanish were discussed as unbiblical actions taken against our churches and brethren by the Potomac Conference. This allowed members to be duly informed of the possible consequences of such a vote, such as membership threatened, congregations dissolved, and bank accounts seized.
A vote was taken and by all accounts it was unanimously agreed to move forward with the event at a larger venue. The sentiment was, “…we ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29.
On November 2, the local pastor and the Potomac Hispanic Coordinator, Rafael Soto, led a church board meeting. The church leaders were told that the Business meeting held on September 2 was invalid and that the vote taken would not be recognized. Furthermore, they were told that the Church was violating the Church Manual, which could lead to serious consequences. In a meeting that lasted until 10:30 pm, the Coordinator used nothing but the manual to discredit Church leaders and counter any discussion of Scripture and Spirit of Prophecy. Once again, no substantial reason was given for the ban against Pastor Bohr. It was reiterated that the Potomac Conference has the authority and is essentially the only one qualified to select speakers for a local church.
On Saturday morning, November 4, the local pastor called a surprise business meeting after worship service. The elders expressed to the pastor that he had not given the church proper notice of this meeting and that all the members who were absent would not be given the opportunity to participate. The meeting was held in disregard of this objection.
The pastor said that the September 2 meeting was held without his knowledge or consent and that the vote was therefore invalidated. He informed the church that the event was being run and funded by a “group of people” who could continue the event on their own but that it would not be an official church event. He also stated that, according to the (Potomac) conference, because of Pastor Bohr's teachings he was banned from this conference as well as several others. As such, the church would remain open simultaneously during the event and all members were encouraged to attend the church instead of going to the event with Pastor Bohr. Lastly, he stated that the church and members could face significant consequences for violating the conference manual and policy.
The elders then explained to the congregation once again the events that had occurred leading up to the business meeting on September 2. Members expressed disappointment over the misuse of the Church Manual to nullify Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy by levying threats against them in a clear abuse of authority.
Questions were asked such as, how can the Conference discredit an ordained minister without concrete biblical evidence? How can his reputation be attacked without giving him a chance to address any accusations made against him? And how can the Conference abuse its authority in dealing with churches and their members? Additionally, it was stated that because only conference employees with no administrative or executive authority had attended the meeting, such threats were without foundation. The Pastor alone cannot discipline a member and no employee or even executive member of the conference has the authority to dissolve a church. The Manual outlines a process for dissolving church congregations that concludes with a vote taken by constituency delegates. Therefore, the conference was the one in violation of the Church Manual and more importantly, the Scriptures for abusing its authority and issuing such threats. Their objective should always be to promote reconciliation and a spiritual tone to all meetings rather than to flaunt their ill-perceived authority. After all, how can they say we are all the body of Christ, but then treat churches and members who disagree with the Conference agenda in this manner?
Finally, the Pastor was told that the September 2 vote could not be invalidated. This was a vote taken by the church board and then passed along to the Church as a whole. However, if he wished to proceed in that manner, a new motion was made to vote on the matter. The Pastor said the previous vote was invalid but also would not allow a new vote either. He suddenly tried to close the meeting by asking everyone to stand and pray after which he started walking away. Then the first elder said the meeting couldn't be closed because there was an open motion on the floor which had to be addressed. While the Pastor was still in the Sanctuary, a vote was again held. Once again, a unanimous decision was made by all members to attend the official church event with Pastor Bohr and to close the local church building during the event. Then the business meeting was officially closed.
In the days since, we have been called by members of the neighboring churches. They have been told by their pastors that they are not allowed to attend the event and any who do will face consequences, including being deleted from the church. We just want everyone to know that all are welcome and free to attend these events without fear of repercussions. Follow your conscience and most of all follow Scripture. It is disappointing to be facing this kind of religious persecution by our conference leaders. And if the Division and General Conference leaders do not intervene, the Lord will.
WHEN: November 15 – 17 starting at 7pm and Saturday November 18 at 8am, 10:30am, 2:30pm and 3:30pm.
WHERE: Mount Rainier Spanish building will be closed during the event. All are invited to: 6201 Belcrest Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20782.
LIVESTREAM: If you are unable to attend in person the event will be streamed in Spanish through our Facebook page “Iglesia Adventist de Mount Rainier” and through the YouTube channels “Impacto 7” in Spanish and “Last Impact 7” in English.
God bless you all.
Mount Rainier Seventh-day Adventist Church member
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“As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths” (Isaiah 3:12).