May God Bless Him

[Richard OFfill]

I was thrilled and thankful that Ted Wilson is the new president of the church.

He is a conservative Christian Seventh-day Adventst. I attended the church were he is a member and was so pleased to discover that he was a Sabbath School teacher and an elder in the church.

I was moved to see in his opening statements reaffirmation of the role of the Spirit of Prophecy in the church. Though he may not be able to turn back the clock on certain  worldly trends in the corporate church, may his leadership serve to encourage faithfulness and the holy life among us all.

[V. Hahn]

Yes, Pastor.  I've been reading "Prophets and Kings" about Nehemiah and Ezra, and how the people were inspired to reformation by these leaders.  May God lead and bless Elder Wilson as he undertakes this important and difficult job.

[SDA4Life]

I don't know much about Elder Wilson, but going by those who are upset by his election (Spectrum, AToday) and Elder Wilson's remarks when he was elected, this seems to be a positive step in the right direction for God's church.

[Raven]

If Spectrum is unhappy about it that is a good sign.  He will be getting a lot of negative feedback, if he is serious about reformation.  Let's pray that God will give him the strength to stand for truth.

[Raven]

I pulled this from the Spectrum website.  It's from an article by Keith Lockhart.

"One head of a prominent Adventist institution who asked not be named felt nothing but foreboding about Wilson’s election. This individual observed:  The new president has always been perceived as coming from a conservative point of view. The question now will be whether he will lead from the center and he has an opportunity to do that within the next few days. But the early indications from his speech, with all that emphasis on the remnant, are not good. He has to show that he is president of the entire church and not just one point of view."

One can only speculate about who it was that made this statement, but one must also wonder why they stay in the SDA Church if they don't believe we are the remnant church of Rev. 12:17.  That "point of view" which he so obviously disdains, is one of the core doctrines of our church.

[SDA4Life]

Keith Lockhart is not a SDA. Why does a non-SDA provide analysis for Spectrum on SDA church events? Because it is Spectrum.

[Raven]

That leads to another question:  how Adventist is Spectrum?  Maybe in name only, based on some of the material they publish.

[Dean Waterman]

Interesting that the idea of Elder Wilson being a conservative is the headlilne.  As if there is a significant importance in being conservative over liberal.  I believe the labels of conservative and liberal are overused and inappropriate.  Rather, what about the label of Biblical?

Think about it... is it more important to be liberal, conservative, or Biblical?

Many on this forum would believe that to be conservative is to be Biblical, while others who represent the "liberal" side of Adventistm would believe they are Biblical as well.  It's possible that neither are, while both are.  It isn't the label that makes one Biblical, it's their commitment to adhere, and obey, God's Word, and the character of Christ present in their own lives.

In this measure, I sincerely hope Elder Wilson is Biblical.  For Christ alone modeled "conservative" behavior, while living out "liberal" acceptance.  Christ brought people's attention to the Scripture, and the neccesity of a character that exhibited His Father (conservative), while being found hanging out with sinners in the places they were familiar with (liberal).  Christ loved people where they were, and accepted them at the point He met them.  He could be found in places the conservative leaders wouldn't be caught dead in, but also was at home where liberals dared not tread.  For Christ there was no label of conservative or liberal that would fit, but Biblical surely would.

For all neccessary measurements of our new GC President, isn't this (being Biblical) the label that should count most?

[SDA4Life]

It isn't the label that makes one Biblical, it's their commitment to adhere, and obey, God's Word, and the character of Christ present in their own lives.

Dean, I very much agree with this statement. The terms liberal and conservative are relative terms anyway. Upholding the Bible and daily seeking the Holy Spirit's work in our life will be what keeps us on the straight and narrow. I am encouraged by Elder Wilson's emphasis on these things in his acceptance speech. We need to both individually and corporately have a revival of primitive godliness in our church and be about our Father's business.

[Raven]

Interesting that the idea of Elder Wilson being a conservative is the headlilne.  As if there is a significant importance in being conservative over liberal.  I believe the labels of conservative and liberal are overused and inappropriate.  Rather, what about the label of Biblical?



For all neccessary measurements of our new GC President, isn't this (being Biblical) the label that should count most?

The term "conservative" was only used once, at the beginning of this thread.  None of the responses referred to that until you brought it up.  But since you did . . . . 

The terms may indeed misleading at times, but they do serve a purpose.  If one studies the terms, as used among SDA's today, one finds that liberal thinking leads to a diminishing of the authority of Scripture--because it is not considered the infallible, inspired word of God, but, rather, a culturally conditioned resource, subject to reinterpretation.  That reinterpretation usually takes the form of whatever is currently acceptable in society as a whole.  It borders on relativism.

Conservative thinking, on the other hand, treats the Bible as what it claims to be--the infallible word of God, not subject to cultural whims, or political correctness.  It is the fountain of absolute truth--a term that is objectionable to many liberals.  The authors of the Bible were inspired by God--not culturally conditioned, as our liberal friends believe.  Having said all that, I realize that there are fanatics among conservative, just as with any other group.  That does not, however, detract from the validity of the conservative philosophy, as it relates to Scripture.

Of course we want the new president to be true to the Bible.  His comments upon election appear to have a conservative flavor.  That is cause for hope.  His call for reformation, and a "reaffirmation of the role of the Spirit of Prophecy in the church,"  sounds quite conservative.  It also happens to be Biblical.