Last Friday we wondered whether Conrad Vine would still be speaking at the Berrien Springs Village Church Religious Liberty weekend, which he had organized, and at which he was scheduled to give the early service sermon on Sabbath morning, entitled, “Silent Men.”
This morning, we inquired of Village Church staff and were informed that Elder Vine will not be speaking this weekend. He has been cancelled, apparently because of the personal ban voted by the Michigan Conference executive committee.
There is an argument to be made that, under the SDA Church Manual, a conference lacks the power to prevent a member in good standing from speaking in his own local church, and Conrad Vine is a member at the Village Church. There is also a colorable argument that, under the SDA Church Manual, a conference does not have the power to impose a personal ban on a member in good standing—in this case also a local elder and an ordained minister in the SDA Church—who has violated no preexisting church law or policy, and has not been subjected to discipline after a church-wide business meeting, which is in effect a lay church trial.
But notwithstanding these arguments, Elder Ron Kelly, the senior pastor at the Village Church, is enforcing the Michigan executive committee’s personal ban on Elder Conrad Vine.
This is a developing story, and we have not been able to confirm it with either Ron Kelly or Conrad Vine, but we wanted to post it as soon as possible so that those making travel plans to attend the Religious Liberty Weekend, which begins tomorrow evening, could cancel those plans.
It would also be appropriate to let both Michigan Conference President Jim Micheff and Village Church Senior Pastor Ron Kelly know what you think of this decision:
Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
5801 W. Michigan Ave
Lansing, MI 48917
communication@misda.org (517) 316-1500
Hours: Monday-Thursday: 8:00am-5:30pm (closing for the weekend in less than two hours)
Village Seventh-day Adventist Church
635 St. Joseph Ave.
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
Church Office: 269-471-7795
Email address: villagesda.church@gmail.com
Website: villagesda.org
WhatsApp: +1 269 471 7795