A Masterpiece Attempt at Jesuit-Style, Double-Speak White-washing Deception by the SDA ChurchClick to go to our Home PageDear Reader, http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/other_documents/other_doc3.html I comment on the article below. My
comments will be in this color font. The Adventist article will be in black
print. I have never read anything by the professing SDA church that is more
double-speak and whitewashing in my life. Better pray hard to the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob before your read this friend, because you are about
to read one of the most masterful rationalizations for gross apostasy you
will ever read. Seventh-day
Adventists and the Ecumenical Movement The General Conference Executive
Committee has never voted an official statement regarding the Seventh-day
Adventist relationship to the ecumenical movement as such. A book has been
written dealing at length with the subject (B. B. Beach, Ecumenism-Boon or
Bane? [Review and Herald, 1974]) and a number of
articles have appeared over the years in Adventist publications, including
the Adventist Review. Thus, while there is not exactly an official
position, there are plenty of clear indications regarding the Seventh-day
Adventist viewpoint. Ron’s Commentary: The leaders are trying to say that
since the General Conference Executive Committee has never voted an official
statement regarding the Seventh-day Adventist relationship to the ecumenical
movement as such, it is okay to be a member of and pay representatives to go
to the ecumenical Associations, Councils and Confederacies and become
involved in a “working relationship” with those bodies. Here is what the Directory of Christian Councils, published
by the World Council of Churches, has to say about its relationship with the
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists: “Ecumenical relationship: In addition to the
relationship with regional and national councils of churches mentioned above,
the WCC is in working relationship
with many Christian World Communions, including the Anglican
Consultative Council, Baptist World Communions, including t6he Anglican
Consultative Council, Baptist World Alliance, Disciples Ecumenical
Consultative Council, Friend World Committee for Consultation, General
Conference of Seventh Day Adventist, Lutheran World Federation,
Mennonite World Conference, Old Catholic International Organization, Reformed
Ecumenical Synod, Salvation Army, World Alliance of Reformed Churches, World
Convention of Churches of Christ, World Evangelical Fellowship, and World
Methodist Council. Since 1967 there has been a Joint
Working Group between the WCC and the Roman Catholic Church.” Directory
of Christian Councils, p. 244. SDA church leaders are trying to say that since the
church never voted in General Conference Session to become a member and in
working relationship with the WCC and/or its subsidiary organizations such as
the various National Council’s of Churches, and its Ministerial Associations in every major community of the world,
that the SDA church is not indictable for its ecumenical relations with the
WCC and its subsidiary organizations. That is tantamount to saying it does not matter what
apostasy the church imbibes, it is okay and there is no corporate
responsibility for such apostasy unless the church in General Conference
World Session has voted on it! That is one of the greatest lying abominations
the church leaders have ever perpetrated. The church has tried over the decades to foist that
same lie upon the laity by the devious tactic of saying that representatives
of the SDA church have gone to the WCC and its subsidiary organizations on
their own cognition as “independent observers.” That is a Satanic lie. The
church has salaried every representative to the WCC and its subsidiaries. And
the above statement from the Directory
of Christian Councils proves that the GC itself is in working
relationship with the WCC! I will send photo-copies to anyone who desires
them. I bought a dozen copies of that directory for members in my home church. Many of the major apostasies of the church have
NEVER been voted on by the General Conference in World Session. Rather than
an out, that is an abomination in and of itself! What gave the power to a few
men to adopt the following apostate measures without taking such serious
issues to the General Conference in World Session?: · Adoption of the World’s Accreditation Standards for
education, circa 1930, thus marrying the church to the world via its youth
and education. Satan could have no finer track to the youth of the church!
Ellen White said that if the church was married to the world, it would become
the cage of every unclean and hateful bird, and so it has. The youth are thus
sacrificed on the alter of Baal. The Jews held actual human sacrifices. Those
of SDA’s are more subtle! Time delayed for another literal fulfillment of
Ezekiel 9. · Adoption of the Trinity Doctrine in the 1930’s
before it weas ever taken to the GC in Session years later. · Ecumenical parleys with Walter Martin and Donald
Grey Barnhouse in the 1950’s, which resulted in ecumenical forays into
Babylon, and the compromise of many truths such as Ministry magazine printing
at that time, that the human nature of Christ was like Adam before the fall. And that before it
was ever taken to the General Conference in Session for a vote. · Certain SDA conferences have permitted the
ordination of women without the voting approval of the General Conference in
Session. · The adoption of the false gospel of Desmond Ford
which is informally taught by many of Adventism’s highest leaders at the GC
level. Thus, the church is teaching a false gospel to the church laity and
the world without ever having taking such a strictly forbidden practice to
the General Conference in World Session for a vote! · The church linked its Medical work in business
partnership with Babylon, Rome and the World, without ever taking such a
serious matter to the General Conference in Session for Vote. · Vance Ferrell, a former credentialed minister of the
SDA church, who operates a multi-million dollar SDA book printing business,
has said that he has proof that SDA leaders made secret agreements with the
ecumenical bodies they joined, to water down the Sabbath and “beast” issues,
taking the heat off Rome and her fallen Protestant daughters. · The church pays large sums of money annually to the
WCC and its various subsidiary organizations such as the National Councils
and local Ministerial Associations. Butler, the GC Treasurer in 1988, told me
that the church gave over $8,000 that year to the National Council of
Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Finance Babylon and you are responsible for
its errors! If I financed the church of Satan in San Francisco, I would be
responsible for its errors! · Are the members of the SDA church corporately
responsible for the apostasies of the church whether or not they are voted on
by the General Conference in Session? Yes indeed: · "The plain straight
testimony must live in the church, or the curse of God will rest upon His
people as surely as it did upon ancient Israel because of their sins. God
holds His people, as a body
[corporately], responsible for the sins existing in individuals among
them." Testimonies, vol. 3, p. 269. · Did the camp of Israel
vote in General Conference Session that Achan could steal booty and thus sin
against God, Joshua 6, 7? No! Was the entire camp held responsible until the
act was discovered and killed from the camp in the person of Achan and his
family? Yes! · The church went to
Babylon seeking the Holy Spirit in Robert Folkenberg’s tenure as GC
President. It came back with the Satanic Celebration Movement and implemented
that program without ever taking the issue to the General Conference in
Session and voting on it! Does that excuse the church for that apostasy in
God’s eyes? Just because it was not formally voted on? Nay friend, Nay! · We were not to isolate
ourselves, but Ellen White and God said that we were never to join Babylon’s Associations, Councils and Confederacies. There is
one option after doing so, broken in pieces, Isaiah 8:9-14, and Ezekiel 9:2
(see margin definition of slaughter weapons). Then there is Jeremiah 11:9-15,
and what happened to Israel of that generation for conspiring with God’s
enemies. Then there is Word to the
Little Flock, p. 14, where it says it is IMPOSSIBLE to get back on the
path again after violating the Midnight Cry of Matthew 25, “to go ye out to
Meet Him.” Out of the world! Out of Babylonian fallen churches that cannot be
distinguished from the world, Early
Writings, 273. Here is what the SDA church leaders who wrote the
SDA Bible Commentary prior to 1957,
had to say about the ecumenical movement and churches who are part of it: SDA
Encyclopedia on the Ecumenical Movement—“On the basis of Bible prophecy and
the writings of Ellen G. White, SDA’s anticipate the eventual success of the
ecumenical movement, both in eliminating the divisions of Protestantism and
in reuniting Christendom by bridging the gulf that separates non-Catholic
communions from Rome. The ecumenical
movement will then become a concerted effort to unite the world and to secure
universal peace and security by enlisting the power of civil government in a
universal religio-political crusade to eliminate all dissent. SDA’s envision this crusade as the great
apostasy to which John the revelator refers as “Babylon the great.” They
understand, also, that God’s last message of mercy to the world prior to the
return of Christ in power and glory will consist of a warning against this
great apostate movement, and a call to all who choose to remain loyal to
Him to leave the churches connected with it. See Rev. 13:15-17; 14:6-11; 16:12-14;
17:1-6; 18:1-4; GC 444, 445, 573, 588, 589, 615.” SDA Encyclopedia, p. 411, and page 362 in
some later editions. The
above statement will most likely be expunged from later publications of the SDA
Bible Commentary. Note the following links: https://omega77.tripod.com/bbbeachparticipant.htm https://omega77.tripod.com/bbbeachreviewart.htm http://tampabay.bizjournals.com/tampabay/stories/1997/09/01/story5.html https://omega77.tripod.com/isaiahchap8.htm What you will read by GC leaders herein is a
whitewash rationalization for disobedience to God’s commands in the Midnight
Cry, the first and second angel’s messages and the first and second
commandments—a prime reason as to why Ezekiel 9 will be literally fulfilled
again BEGINNING AT THIS SANCTUARY, the SDA churches around the world. If you
will be whitewashed by the following article by the church, you will be
whitewashed by anything and may the Lord have mercy on your unstable soul.
Ron Beaulieu Generally, it can be said that while the
Seventh-day Adventist Church does not completely condemn the ecumenical
movement and its main organizational manifestation, the World Council of
Churches, she has been critical of various aspects and activities. Few would
wish to deny that ecumenism has had laudable aims and some positive
influences. Its great goal is visible Christian unity. No Adventist can be
opposed to the unity Christ Himself prayed for. The ecumenical movement has
promoted kinder interchurch relations with more dialogue and less diatribe
and helped remove unfounded prejudices. Through its various organizations and
activities, the ecumenical movement has provided more accurate and updated
information on churches, spoken for religious liberty and human rights,
combated against the evils of racism, and drawn attention to socioeconomic
implications of the gospel. In all this the intentions have been good and some
of the fruit palatable. However, in the total picture, the banes tend to
outweigh the boons. We shall examine some of these. Adventism a Prophetic Movement The Seventh-day Adventist Church stepped
upon the stage of history-so Adventists firmly believe-in response to God's
call. Adventists believe, it is hoped without pride
or arrogance, that the Advent Movement represents the divinely appointed
instrument for the organized proclamation of the "eternal gospel,"
God's last message, discerned from the prophetic vantage point of Revelation
14 and 18. In the focalized light of its prophetic understanding, the
Seventh-day Adventist Church sees herself as the eschatologically
oriented "ecumenical" movement of the Apocalypse. She begins by
"calling out" God's children from "fallen" ecclesial
bodies that will increasingly form organized religious opposition to the
purposes of God. Together with the "calling out" there is a
positive "calling in" to a united, worldwide-that is, ecumenical-movement
characterized by "faith of Jesus" and keeping "the
commandments of God" (Rev. 14:12). In the World Council of Churches the
emphasis is first of all on "coming in" to a fellowship of churches
and then hopefully and gradually "coming out" of corporate
disunity. In the Advent Movement the accent is first on "coming
out" of Babylonian disunity and confusion and then immediately
"coming in" to a fellowship of unity, truth, and love within the
globe-encircling Advent family.
What are some of the problems Adventists
have with ecumenism? Before we endeavor to give a summary answer to this
question, it needs to be pointed out that the ecumenical movement is not
monolithic in its thinking, and one can find all kinds of views represented in
its ranks (that in itself, of course, is a problem!). We will try to make
reference to what can be considered mainstream thinking within the World
Council of Churches (WCC), an organization now representing more than three
hundred different churches and denominations. Ecumenical Understanding of Unity The New Testament presents a qualified
church unity in truth, characterized by holiness,
joy, faithfulness, and obedience (see John 17:6, 13, 17, 19, 23,
26). "Ecumenthusiasts" (to coin a word) seem
to take for granted the eventual organic unity and communion of the great
majority of the churches. They emphasize the "scandal of division,"
as if this were really the unpardonable sin. Heresy and apostasy are largely
ignored. However, the New Testament shows the threat of anti-Christian
penetration within "the temple of God" (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). The
eschatological picture of God's church prior to the Second Coming is not one
of a megachurch gathering all humankind together,
but of a "remnant" of Christendom, those keeping the commandments
of God and having the faith of Jesus (see Rev. 12:17). There is clearly a point at which
unorthodoxy and un-Christian lifestyle justify separation. The WCC misses
this point. Separation and division in order to protect and
uphold that purity and integrity of the church and her message are more
desirable than unity in worldliness and error. Furthermore, Adventists are
uncomfortable with the fact that the WCC leaders seem to give little emphasis
to personal sanctification and revival. There are indications that some may
view such emphasis as a quaint pietistic hangover, not a vital ingredient of
a dynamic Christian life. They prefer to soft-pedal personal piety in favor
of social morality. However, in Adventist understanding, personal holiness of
life is such stuff as the morality of society is made (with apologies to
Shakespeare). Without genuinely converted Christians, any formal
organizational unity is really of a plastic nature and of little relevance. Ecumenical Understanding of Belief In many church circles broad-mindedness
is seen as an ecumenical virtue. The ideal ecumenist, it is suggested, is not
dogmatic in belief and is somewhat fluid in doctrinal views. He greatly
respects the beliefs of others, but is less than rigid about his own belief.
He appears humble and not assertive about doctrinal beliefs-except those
regarding ecumenical unity. He has a sense of partial knowing. To show
religious doctrinal arrogance is, ecumenically, especially sinful.
Typical of some ecumenical
presuppositions is the idea that all denominational formulations of truth are
time-conditioned and relative, and therefore partial and inadequate. Some
ecumenists would even go so far as to advocate the need of doctrinal
synthesis, bringing together various Christian beliefs in a kind of cocktail
approach. We are told that each church is imbalanced and it is the task of
ecumenism to restore balance and harmony. Within the reconciled diversity of
the ecumenical movement, presumably everyone, in the words of Frederick the
Great, "will be saved in his own way." Adventists believe that without strong
convictions, a church has little spiritual power. There is the danger that
ecumenical quicksands of doctrinal softness will
suck churches into denominational death. Of course, this is precisely what ecumenical
enthusiasts hope for. However, Adventists feel that such doctrinal irresolutions must be vigorously resisted, otherwise
spiritual self-disarmament will be the result and a truly post-Christian age
would be upon us. Ecumenical Understanding of Scripture Adventists see the Bible as the
infallible revelation of God's will, the authoritative revealer of doctrinal
truth, and the trustworthy record of the mighty acts of God in salvation
history (see Fundamental Beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists: 1. The Holy
Scriptures). Adventists see the Bible as a unity. For many WCC leaders the
Bible is not normative and authoritative in itself. The emphasis is on
Biblical diversity, including at times demythologization of the Gospels. For
a large number of ecumenists, as is the case for liberal Christianity in
general, inspiration lies not in the Biblical text but in the experience of
the reader. Propositional revelation is out; experience is in. Apocalyptic prophecy is given
practically no time-of-the-end role. Pro forma references to the Parousia are made, but have no implications for urgency
and make little measurable impact on the ecumenical concept of evangelistic
mission. There is here the danger of eschatological blindness. Seventh-day Adventists see the Biblical
picture of sin and redemption within the framework of the "great
controversy" between good and evil, between Christ and Satan, between
God's Word and the lies of the impostor, between the faithful remnant and
Babylon, between the "seal of God" and the "mark of the beast." Adventists are, first and foremost,
people of the Word. While believing in the unconditional authority of the
Scriptures, Adventists recognize that the Bible was "written by inspired
men, but it is not God's mode of thought and expression. It is that of
humanity. God, as a writer, it not represented. . . . The writers of the
Bible were God's penmen, not His pen.Selected
Messages, book 1, p. 21. Many ecumenists would say that the Biblical text
is not the word of God but contains this word as men respond and accept
it. In contrast, Adventists would say that the utterances of the Bible
writers "are the word of God" (ibid.). God is not on trial;
neither is His Word, form criticism notwithstanding. It is man vis-à-vis the
Bible who is on trial.
The traditional understanding of mission
highlights evangelism, that is, the verbal proclamation of the gospel. The
ecumenical approach sees mission as involving the establishment of shalom,
a kind of social peace and harmony. Adventists have problems with any
tendency to downplay the primary importance of announcing the good news of
redemption from the stranglehold of sin. In fact, the traditional, including
Adventist, view of salvation has always been the saving of individuals from
sin and for eternity. Ecumenical evangelism sees salvation as primarily
saving society from oppressive regimes, from the ravages of hunger, from the
curse of racism, and from the exploitation of injustice. The Adventist understanding of
conversion means for a person to experience radical changes through spiritual
rebirth. The majority emphasis in WCC circles appears to be on
changing-converting-the unjust structures of society. As we see it, in the area of evangelism
and foreign missionary work the fruits (or maybe we should say lack of
fruits) of ecumenism have often been less evangelism (as we understand
it-from Paul to Billy Graham), less growth and more membership decline, fewer
missionaries sent out, proportionally less financial support coming in. In
fact, the missionary outreach has shifted away from mainline
"ecumenical" churches to conservative evangelicals. It is sad to
see such a large evangelistic potential lost to the missionary movement,
especially at a time of increasingly active and militant Islamic outreach and
the awakening of Eastern and indigenous religions. The recent and successful Seventh-day
Adventist One Thousand Days of Reaping campaign ran counter to the ecumenical
low-key "joint mission" approach. The latter may sound good in an
ecumenical study paper, but soul-winning results are really not there. The
paraphrase of an old saying has some relevance here: "The proof of the
ecumenical pudding lies in the evangelistic eating." Ecumenical Understanding of Sociopolitical
Responsibility Admittedly, the whole question of
Christian social and political responsibility is a complicated one. The WCC
and other councils of churches (such as the National Council of Churches in
the United States) are heavily involved in what are usually seen as political
questions. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is very much more circumspect in
this area (in comparison to evangelism, where the tables are turned!). Much ecumenical thinking in the area of
political responsibility includes or involves: (1) a secularization of
salvation; (2) a postmillennial view advocating the gradual political
improvement and social betterment of humankind and the establishment through
human effort, as divine agents, of God's kingdom on earth; (3) adaptation of
Christianity to the modern world; (4) evolutionary utopian faith in progress;
and (5) socialistic collectivism, favoring some form of egalitarianism and
the welfare state, but not Communist materialism.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church
believes it is necessary to distinguish between sociopolitical activity of
individual Christians as citizens and involvement on the corporate church
level. It is the church's task to deal with moral principles and to point in
a Biblical direction, not to advocate political directives. The
WCC has at times been involved in political power plays. While Adventism will
sow seeds that will inevitably influence society and politics, it does
not wish to be entangled in political controversies. The church's Lord
did state: "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36), and like
her Lord the church wishes to go "about doing good" (Acts 10:38).
She does not wish to run the government, either directly or indirectly. Ecumenical Understanding of Religious
Liberty In the early years of the WCC, beginning
with its first assembly at Amsterdam in 1948, religious liberty was placed on
the ecumenical agenda. Religious liberty was seen as a vital prerequisite for
ecumenical unity. In 1968 a religious liberty secretariat was set up at WCC
headquarters. However, in more recent years, the WCC religious liberty stance
has been somewhat ambiguous. In 1978 the secretariat was closed down, mainly
for what was seen as a lack of funds. This, of course, in itself speaks
regarding the priority given to religious liberty in the organized ecumenical
movement. Today the ecumenical tendency is to view
religious liberty as simply one of the human rights instead of the
fundamental right that undergirds all other human
rights. This is, of course, the approach used by the secular mind.
Secularists or humanists refuse to recognize religious belief as something
apart or above other human activities. There is here the danger that
religious liberty will lose its unique character that makes it the guardian
of all true freedoms. It must not be forgotten that
historically it has been the balance of power and denominationalism that have
neutralized religious intolerance and worked for religious liberty. Formal
religious unity has existed only with force. There is thus in society an
inbuilt tension between unity and religious liberty. In fact, the
eschatological picture of the final events is a dramatic tableau of religious
persecution, as the massive forces of apocalyptic Babylon try to squeeze the
church of the remnant into the mold of united apostasy. Finally, the religious liberty outlook becomes
increasingly clouded when it is realized that certain ecumenical activists
accept fairly easily religious liberty restrictions affecting believers of a
different religiopolitical stamp, who are exerting
what is perceived to be a negative social stance. Furthermore, some
ecumenical leaders are quite willing, in revolutionary situations, to see
religious liberty interfered with and "temporarily shut down," in
order to promote unity, nation building, and the "good" of society
as a whole. The Influence of Prophetic Understanding
Looking to the present, Adventists see their task as preaching
the everlasting gospel to all men, calling for worship of the Creator,
obedient adherence to the faith of Jesus, and proclaiming that the hour of
God's judgment has come. Some aspects of this message are not popular. How
can Adventists best succeed in fulfilling the prophetic mandate? It is our
view that the Seventh-day Adventist Church can best accomplish her divine
mandate by keeping her own identity, her own motivation, her own feeling of
urgency, her own working methods. Ecumenical
Cooperation? Should Adventists cooperate
ecumenically? Adventists should cooperate insofar as the authentic gospel is
proclaimed and crying human needs are being met. The Seventh-day Adventist
Church wants no entangling memberships and refuses any compromising
relationships that might tend to water down her distinct witness. However,
Adventists wish to be "conscientious cooperators." The ecumenical
movement as an agency of cooperation has acceptable aspects; as an agency for
organic unity of churches, it is much more suspect. Relationships With
Other Religious Bodies Back in 1926, long before ecumenism was
in vogue, the General Conference Executive Committee adopted an important
statement that is now a part of the General Conference Working Policy
(O 75). This declaration has significant ecumenical implications. The concern
of the statement was for the mission field and relationships with other
"missionary societies." However, the statement has now been
broadened to deal with other "religious organizations" in general.
It affirms that Seventh-day Adventists "recognize every agency that
lifts up Christ before men as a part of the divine plan for the
evangelization of the world, and . . . hold in high esteem the Christian men
and women in other communions who are engaged in winning souls to Christ."
In the church's dealings with other churches, "Christian courtesy,
friendliness, and fairness" are to prevail. Some practical suggestions
are made in order to avoid misunderstandings and occasion for friction. The
statement makes it very clear, however, that the "Seventh-day Adventist
people" have received the special "burden" to emphasize the
Second Coming as an event "even at the door," preparing "the
way of the Lord as revealed in Holy Scripture." This divine "commission"
makes it, therefore, impossible for Adventists to restrict their witness
"to any limited area" and impels them to call the gospel "to
the attention of all peoples everywhere."
Adventist leaders should be known as
bridge builders. This is not an easy task. It is much simpler to blow up
ecclesiastical bridges and serve as irresponsible "Christian
commandos." Ellen White has said: "It requires much wisdom to reach
ministers and men of influence. Evangelism, p. 562. Adventists have
not been called to live in a walled-in ghetto, talking only to themselves,
publishing mainly for themselves, showing a sectarian spirit of isolationism.
It is, of course, more comfortable and secure to
live in a Seventh-day Adventist fortress, with the communication drawbridges
all drawn up. In this setting one ventures from time to time into the
neighborhood for a quick evangelistic campaign, capturing as many
"prisoners" as possible, and then disappearing with them back into
the fortress. Ellen White did not believe in the isolationist mentality:
"Our ministers should seek to come near to the ministers of other
denominations. Pray for and with these men, for whom Christ is interceding. A
solemn responsibility is theirs. As Christ's messengers we should manifest a
deep, earnest interest in these shepherds of the flock.Testimonies,
vol. 6, p. 78. Usefulness of Observer Relationships Experience has taught that the best
relationship to the various councils of churches (national, regional, world) is that of observer-consultant status. This
helps the church to keep informed and to understand trends and developments.
It helps to know Christian thinkers and leaders. Adventists are provided the
opportunity to exert a presence and make the church's viewpoint known.
Membership is not advisable. Those ecumenical organizations are usually not
"neutral." They often have quite specific goals and policies and
play sociopolitical advocacy roles. There would be little point in being
halfhearted members (at best) or pro forma members (as many member churches
are) or often in opposition (as inevitably would be the case). On local levels, dealing with more
practical and less theological issues, one could envision some forms of
Seventh-day Adventist membership, with caution, however. We are thinking of
such organized relationships as ministerial associations/fraternals,
local church organizations, Bible study groups, specific groups or networks
to study community needs and help solve local problems. Adventists must not
be perceived as simply opting out of any Christian responsibility for the
local community. In recent years, Adventist leaders and
theologians have had opportunities for dialogue with other church
representatives. These experiences have been beneficial. Mutual respect has
been engendered. Worn-out stereotypes and inaccurate and untrue doctrinal
perceptions have been removed. Prejudices have been unceremoniously laid to
rest. Theological tools and understandings have been sharpened. New
dimensions have been recognized and new vistas of outreach opened up. First
of all, however, their faith in the Advent message has been enhanced. There
is no reason for Adventists to have an inferiority complex. It is a wonderful
privilege to be a Seventh-day Adventist and to know that the theological and
organizational foundation of the church are sure and
secure. Heralds of the True Oikoumene
_______________ This study document, intended for
internal church use, first appeared in Pattern for Progress, The Role and
Function of Church Organization by Walter Raymond Beach and Bert Beverly
Beach, was authored by Bert B. Beach, and was released in connection with the
General Conference Session New Orleans, Louisiana, June 1985. It is
available from the office of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty of the
General Confere |