Unauthorized wording change allowed female conference presidents

February 7, 2012 Shane Hilde

A one-word revision in 2009 of Working Policy E-60 allowed for female ministers who are commissioned to serve as conference presidents within the North American Division. The revision, which added the word "commissioned," was voted in 2009 by the North American Division Executive Committee (NADCOM). However, after a review of the General Conference Constitution, working policy, and church manuel, NAD's legal counsel found that NADCOM did "not have the right to establish policies which are out of harmony with the General Conference Model Constitution or General Conference Working Policy." This means the North American Division Committee did not have authority to vote the inclusion of the word "commissioned" into the E-60 Policy, because it was out of harmony with the General Conference Working Policy.

In his letter to the full NAD committee, NAD President Dan Jackson said, "The editors will be directed to omit the word 'commissioned' from the E-60 Policy contained in the 2011-2012 edition of the NAD Working Policy."

He added, "In bringing this matter to the floor in 2010 and 2011 we were doing so under the assumption that the North American Division had a constituency separate and distinct from the General Conference. Unfortunately, we were wrong and we sincerely apologize."

Read the North American Division press release.

Slavery and the Bible (Part II)

February 6, 2012 David Read

In the Roman world, slavery was a more variegated institution than the African-American slavery we remember. In the empire, there was some debt slavery, some criminals sentenced to slavery, and some people enslaved through piracy and slave-hunting raids, but most slaves were taken in wars of conquest.

Slavery and the Bible (Part I)

February 2, 2012 David Read

Unbelievers often point to the failure of the Bible to condemn slavery as a proof that the Bible is uninspired, a merely human, culture-bound product of its times. They reason that a just and loving God would never countenance slavery, much less issue a series of regulations for the operation of such an institution. But what does Scripture actually say, and what type of institution does it regulate?

Rules don't matter

February 2, 2012 Mary Hilde

Gray smokey air circled thumping speakers. Occasional bursts of strobe light bounced off white shirts, sparkling on cheap jewelry. I was on the dance floor, intoxicated, as many Friday nights before.

The Sabbath: A day to celebrate

February 2, 2012 Stephanie Dawn

As Seventh-day Adventists our observance of the seventh day Sabbath is a practice that sets us apart from most Christians, and this doctrine is embedded in the name of our Church. But is it possible that we observe the seventh day Sabbath without truly understanding or appreciating the wonderful attributes of God that this day represents?

Evolutionary worldview lacks rational foundation

February 2, 2012 Shane Hilde

Scientific evidence, by itself, will never resolve a worldview dispute. Anyone who claims that scientific evidence proves their worldview right doesn’t understand the nature of evidence or worldviews. A worldview is a network of presuppositions about reality, untested by natural science, and in light of which all experience is interpreted.

Making babies

February 2, 2012 Brittany Warren

“I just want you to know that I think you’re a very talented mother.” My friend continued speaking for a moment, and I almost dismissed her seemingly off-handed comment. I was about to begin a very long road trip and supposed that she was simply offering words of encouragement as an extension of her farewell.

Branding 101 for the remnant church

February 2, 2012 Jared Thurmon

One of the greatest statements I heard from Steve Jobs was, “It's really hard to design products by focus groups. A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them” (Steve Jobs, Business Week, May 25 1998).

Oh no! Not another genealogy

February 2, 2012 Rob Wilcox

Genealogies, at least in the scripture sense and usage, are out of fashion these days. By many the past is considered an imposition, its categories too confining for a liberated age, its conceptions irrelevant. And yet the very societies that would cut the umbilical cord of the past bare already suffering the results of their false bids for freedom.

Pain, intellect and the faith experience

February 2, 2012 Mark Warren

Greg was a close friend in late high school years. Our fathers knew each other well and had forged a relationship largely over their study of the Bible and some shared personal struggles. Greg had grown up in a fractured home and had early turned to substance use as a way to escape the chaos of his environment and the emotional pain he found unbearable.

The Bible: book of suggestions

February 2, 2012 Brent Shakespeare

Historically, Protestants have held a high view of the Scriptures. Parents taught children that the Bible was the inspired word of God, and that except for some possible scribal and translational errors (none of which affect any truths or teachings), it was God‘s infallible word to humanity.

God’s presumptuous gravediggers and the postmodern agenda, Part I

February 2, 2012 Monte Fleming

The word “postmodern” is often used to describe the age in which we live as if the hand on a great cosmic clock struck “Postmodern” at the turn of the 20th century. The implication, of course, is that anything that’s not postmodern is outdated.

Public Letter to the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission

July 14, 2026

Lemuel Sapian

Public Letter to the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission

A Christian majority may be tempted to assume that state support of Christianity would be benevolent because Christianity is true or morally beneficial. History counsels caution. Once government acquires power to define and support “Christianity,” government must determine which Christianity qualifies. It must choose among denominations, doctrines, moral teachings, institutions, and religious authorities. What begins as governmental protection of religion can become governmental supervision of religion. The church may believe it has gained a powerful ally, only to discover that the state has become its regulator.

July 10, 2026

A Respectful Discussion on Last Generation Theology and Justification By Faith

The online debate over Last Generation Theology between Kevin Paulson and David Leone.