Jim Reinking is an evangelist in Washington. He is currently holding an evangelistic series in Spokane Valley. When it comes time for baptisms at the close of the meeting, he has been told by the Upper Columbia Conference that he cannot use an Adventist Church to baptize people.
We questioned Jim about this last Thursday. Here is what he said,
“UCC administration will not allow me to hold our baptism in an SDA church, because I spoke up about Bill Henson’s LGBTQ+ inclusion program here last spring. We have some really good interests, with 7 wanting to be baptized. I’m preparing them to become Seventh-day Adventists and are into our baptismal class. This is crazy. I am having to get baptismal certificates outside of the conference. I have gotten permission to use the baptistry of the Mormon Temple here in Spokane Valley. Please, pray that this will be turned around.
The position of the administration is that I cannot be a part of the baptism in any public way, not even one word. Having brought people to the point of decision and having prepared them for their baptism, the practice is for me to administer the baptismal vows and then recommend them for church membership.
There is an angle here of "religious freedom" in the Adventist Church. Again, all of this is because I dared to question leadership's decision to bring Bill Henson's LGBTQ inclusion program to this conference. I was banned by the May, Conference Committee and accused of being divisive and of "false allegations." You will see in the "open letters" I have written that I have repeatedly asked to meet with the Conference Committee, without response.
It's becoming fairly widely known in the Spokane area what is happening and according to Rick Davis, head elder of our Deer Park church as he called Eric Brown, the Ministerial Secretary, the conference is getting a lot of calls asking why we have to use a Mormon Church instead of an Adventist Church.
I received a phone call this morning from the head elder of one of our churches, who is so upset about the fact that we will not be able to baptize people in a Seventh-Day Adventist Church that he was going to resign his position and his membership in the local church to join a SDA Simple Church.
I spent considerable time encouraging him to stay the course. None of us are going to leave the church that we love and believe in, in spite of ungodly things that are happening. This is exactly what the evil one would like us to do. We have to stand firm in the love of Jesus for the truth. We need to spend much time on our knees in prayer, asking for God‘s grace and wisdom.
As the song says, the darkest hour is just before Dawn. I am hoping that is true. I grieve over having been put into this position. I feel I am being pushed out of my church against my will, and for no good reason except I stood up for truth against LGBTQ+ inclusion coming to our conference.”
Thank-you for publishing the previous "open letter."
Your publication is an important means of shining a light on some of the inappropriate things that are happening in the NAD. This case of spiritual abuse that my wife and I have been victims of has importance because it highlights the issue of "spiritual abuse" and is a case study of what can go wrong when we fail to follow biblical principles and the importance of the Church Manual in the processes of the church.
Thanks for considering publishing it for the benefit of your readers.
Blessings,
Jim
Jim Reinking’s Recent Open Letter:
Observations
Jim’s Bio:
Evangelist/Revivalist at Astonishing Revelations In Bible Prophecy
Former President and Chapter Founder at Adventist Theological Society Northwest Chapter
Former Evangelist at Upper Columbia Conference
Former Evangelist at Montana Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Former Evangelist at Dakota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Former Pastor at Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Email- astonishingrevelations@gmail.com
Website- astonishingrevelationsinbibleprophecy.com
Facebook- facebook.com/AstonishingRevelationsinBibleProphecy
Now that you have read this story how do you feel about it? I believe what we are seeing here is a case of spiritual abuse. Increasingly, we are seeing Seventh-day Adventist Conferences become heavy-handed towards church members. It is my conviction that we are going to see more of this oppressive behavior. Potomac, Michigan, Upper Columbia, the list is growing.
Feel free to contact the Upper Columbia Conference administrators about how their treatment of this evangelist is causing him to baptize converts in another church — because they won’t let this man use an Adventist Church.
David Jamieson email LINK davidj@uccsda.org
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Jim Reinking and his family