@webEd @website_editor
May wish to edit the links in the original article
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The answer to your question can be found in the German statement. The manner in which the 2015 GC vote was managed has been previously documented. It was sad to the point of embarrassment to watch the conduct of some live via the Internet during the time. The reports of leadership coercion of their delegates has also been discussed. The German statement, as with a series of articles in Spectrum and elsewhere, rightly question and now challenge the GC leadership’s apparent attempt to takeover and centralize nearly all church authority. In doing so, they are attempting to fundamentally change our church in ways that will divide and seriously wound our denomination, it’s reputation and our central mission. I join with the German unions, George Knight and many others in questioning the proposed “unity” and disciplinary structures. I believe if there is no progress toward true reconciliation and Christlike leadership in our church officials at the GC during and after the Autumn Council, then it is time for a change. Merely backing off may not be enough now that many feel their trust has been violated. Unity and Christlike love and tolerance cannot be coerced. Whatever happens, my prayers will remain centered on receiving the healing Remedy of Christ individually and in our church.
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Maybe we must up the stakes and be more proactive, spread a more realistic and true version to what is happening by following a strategic plan. A step by step plan, not to change members minds, but rather giving them the option to choose, because at present members can’t choose anything, but they are only told a slanted version of the truth.
So I was thinking, and using all my training of counter …, and with what has been said here, I have this idea.
- Africa and India has an substantial about of SDA’s, so how does one persuade people, maybe we use the term neo colonialism in what the GC is doing, taking away the authority and power of the local church, and conference, as did that colonial Empiy so many years ago, and how that Empire put African people “charge” of “important” stuff.
- E G White writing has been hijacked, so let us produce a timeline of events, explaining what God envisioned through the writing of EGWhite, especially on the church governance, from the initial stage up to1903. People must be reminded.
- Discrimination and transparency. Discrimination includes; gender, racial bias, any type of handicap, skin disorders and marital status. Transparency ;money and property of conference, and how are resources managed, etc.
These topics are almost universally in the SDA church, we only have to enlighten our brothers and sisters about their rights, in their own languages. As I said, they will have to make a choice, and whatever the choice they make, it will be done freely. Just something I thought about. Sorry for such an long reply.
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I stand with Germany.
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Now just imagine watching them this October when they will be resembling the looks of those old days, some 180 years ago.
I wonder if the idea of growing their beards has something to do with hiding from being recognized so nobody actually knows who said what… 
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probably everyone in NAD, TED, EUD and SPD does…but sadly, chances are that we’ll be out-voted by the same majority that won in san antonio…we are likely facing a built-in inability to affect any change in outcomes at annual council as long as significant membership increases are happening only in the third world…
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What is ironic about this lopsided GC voting issue is the fact that for generations, North American Division Adventists faithfully funded massive ongoing evangelistic efforts in many of the third world divisions through the GC. Now these other unions/divisions can out-vote the NAD, TED, EUD, AAD, and SPD. Their loyalty has been tied over time to GC leadship instead of understanding the representative form of Adventist church governance carefully explained above by the German church representatives and others. How did this happen?
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You would think that should work, but it won’t. Africans, Indians, and many Asians and Middle-easterners are indoctrinated by the a colonist mind. Africans will follow what the white missionaries have to say because that’s the religion of Jesus. South Asians are that way too. As much as they hated the colonists, when it comes to religion no one can speak from the mouth of God like a white man telling the natives what to do. Watch them during an Annual Council session! They vote as a bloc. Why? Because their leadership told them to. Why is that? Because their leadership is promised leadership or benefits. Think of Ratsara in South Africa; even when there was a witness, there was testimony, there was impropriety, he still got a nice job in an tropical island and his son is well taken care of as you can see at the last GYC sitting next to Ted Wilson. In the leadership circles of the current administration if you are faithful you and your family will be taken care of. If you are not, every single person connected to you will know hardship.
in 2013 and 2014, Ted Wilson and his cabal travelled through Africa, India, and the less parts of Asia and China considerably. There were marches, and parades, and large gatherings of mindwashing. And it paid in votes at GC session. If these places are highlighted in news reports, Adventist Review stories, and propaganda, their leadership is happy for the free press and the payoff. It will not be different this time around. Why do you think they lead with Rwanda for the evangelism tourism scam that is TMI. According to some that work with TMI, the numbers were inflated because Dwayne Mckey had a moratorium on baptisms from around the neigboring Divisions and Unions; none were allowed to baptize so the numbers would be large. Even the story about the boy who preached at the last minute was staged. The boy was kicked out of school before the meetings, was baptized before leaving, and then kicked out of school after for racist remarks and violence. But his mother works with Wilson and was part of TMI. None of that mattered because the propaganda was perfect for missioning in Africa and for the donors who need to feel that we are saving the darker members. There is no TMI in Scandanavia, England, Australia, or the USA because there won’t be any large numbers. Large numbers bring in large voting blocs that vote according to what leadership says. If you audited the baptism numbers in Africa, India, and all the “baptism” gold mines you will find fool’s gold and nothing that was ever there.
A pity the compliance committees were not set up to vet the baptisms from these regions. But then again if they were, Mike Ryan’s legacy of the 10-40 window would disappear.
By the way, Ryan replaced Lemon as chair of the committee on unity and now is instrumental in setting up compliance and KPIs. Mark Finley is instrumental in getting Dwayne Mckee in TMI. Dwayne Mckee is instrumental in bringing Justin Kim, Ramon Canals, James Howard, Andrea Nagy, the entire AWR crew (that is now using funds dedicated for AWR as TMI money which a violation of law, but who cares when it is for Jesus right? Jesus and their perks while travelling) and also working with Jerry Page in setting up policy for ministers. Wilson and gang, at so many levels, have people placed strategically for issues and monies.That doesn’t account for all those in select committees who were selected to do the bidding of Wilson, who does the bidding of Finley; Finley, Ryan, Mckee do the bidding of donors.
Want to know who runs the church? Follow the money in NAD’s Koch brothers. If Wilson runs the GC like Trump runs the country. Clinton Wahlen is Stephen Miller and rest have almost matching people in the administration. Nancy Wilson is Ted’s Ivanka; just as much say and pull. There are principalities and powers who shape the corporate church while utilizing the indoctrinated church members to fund their ministries and mistakes. And if you draw concentric circles around Finley, Ryan, Dwayne Mckee, and Wilson you will see who really runs the church, sets up the new policies, and profits from the change in the marketplace. And when the Messiah does come again, will be the ones who denounce him because he does not look like the Messiah they want. And, they will broadcast that on 3ABN (our own Fox Network) while they are at it.
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i think it could very well be an inevitable outcome of culture that no-one foresaw…my impression is that third world culture is about the many being loyal and subject to the one, no matter what…we may be seeing that emerge in our world now with trump…but most of us are still singing from an individualism hymn book…we value thinking and acting for ourselves…
but the third world is about collectivism…it’s about being part of a group that thinks and feels as one, under one ruler…many places in the third world have rulers that live on a scale far above anyone else…and they never move on…even after they die, you sometimes see relatives step in…
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Colonial rule rules. You cannot change their minds because they’ve seen it on 3ABN, they’ve heard it from TMI organizers, Michigan Conference evangelists, GYC, and others that NAD is leaving the faith and only third world countries are keeping the faith (here’s some more money for an evangelism, by the way). Each of the rulers in these third world Divisions live richer than they did before they got their seats of power. The short Division president from ECD is our very own Napolean. Each of the Division presidents from third world countries are complicit; their vote it tied to their job security and the amounts they can make in the process. Follow the money.
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and that’s another thing: third world countries are often characterized by a lot of corruption…again, very much like trump…
i wonder what can be done about it…
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tighten funding. Audit figures. Discipline leadership on use of monies and power. ADRA sort of cleaned house. We, the members of this church, need to do that from the top down. But, like you said, it will be hard to get third world countries to challenge leadership when in their minds these leaders are the same as priests, bishops, cardinals, or any variant of those from the religions of their origins; they walk on holy ground and speak directly from God. That is what our current leadership manipulates and monopolizes.
But, there is a young, more affluent, more reasonable generation coming up. Lay members for the most part. When they pull their local funds, the despots will have to listen. Unless, they get transferred to an island as pastors.
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George, the NAD presidents are, as usual, (except the North Pacific Union) sitting back, content to let someone else lead the way, I am exempting the NPU because they are standing in solidarity with the 1 female conference president in the NAD…
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It is so symbolic of TW’s mental processes. Remember what he said in his inaugural address that God’s words never changes? Not only has be placed brakes on the present truth, he now has to dress like it.
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Which focuses on the real problem. Whose original idea was it to make uniform that which should not? This would be similar to forcing Jewish food on every Christian simply because Jesus was of Jewish ancestry. If a third grader can understand this, why can’t someone who has earned a MA and PhD?
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Thanks for calling our attention to this! The links have been updated.
-WebEd
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The Annual Council does not have the same kind of world representation as the GC Session does. I believe that the AC18 will probably have a very similar representations to the AC17. If this is the case, then there is a chance that the 5-tentacle-KGC-task-force will NOT be approved.
If they have the guts to vote “the infamous 14-page agreement” they may be still more inclined to vote down something that is way worse and more damaging to the Church.
Dictators do not always win. I wonder if after so many defeats (if this one happens as well) Ted Wilson will be ashamed enough to step down. Will he???
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You are talking about Donald Trump, right?.. 
Ufff, for a minute I thought you were talking about Ted Wilson… 
This is not the only similarity between them. 
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I suppose it is also possible that the very ones in the GC leadership who have started us down this path will in the not distant future find themselves on the outside looking in. I can easily imagine that the appeal for unity and conformity will be used against these leaders. Should a majority of those eligible to vote feel these same leaders are not being diligent in expunging non-compliance from the ranks they may use this power to vote themselves someone who will. Replacing GC leadership in various capacities and moving those deemed not-in-compliance out. Taking the church in exactly the direction that Dr. Knight wrote about.
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Just imagine what those other cultures may have thought when they saw TW trashing over $1mi on a project like TOSC, that he then discarded in one minute since it did not produce the conclusions it was meant to - in TW’s mind.
Then the abuse of power, by just replacing any TOSC conclusions with one single question created probably in a few minutes, and probably long time before TOSC finished its work. It was certainly good to have an optional tool, just in case TOSC arrived at the conclusions it actually did… That’s when the “famous infamous question” was used to manipulate the crowds. It was a blessing that that Machiavellian failed. I hope the next plan in line fails as well!
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