Dear Patrons,
I, Ron Beaulieu, contacted Des Ford's Website and asked whether or not there was a move afoot to reinstate him. Des works with Ron Allen, and Ron responded as follows:
A response to your question.
Question: Dear Ron (Allen),
I have heard through the Internet grapevine that there is a movement afoot in Australia to reinstate Des. Rather than spreading rumors, I thought it better to consult with you folk. Ron Beaulieu
Response: Dear Ron. There is a group of men of good will (most of whom are working in or around Avondale College) who believe that the denomination dealt poorly with Des Ford, and that he should be given the freedom to bless the church with his talents, before he is too old to preach any more. This group is in dialogue with the church in Australia. That's all I can tell you apart from the advice: "Don't hold your breath." Cheers. Ron Allen.
The following item is a response to me from Glenice Standish of The Remnant Herald, published by Hartland Institute:
Dear Brother Beaulieu
There certainly is such a move afoot. The Avondale college church put out a document entitled "Mapping the Past and Sketching the Future", which has precisely this aim. The Special March issue of the Remnant Herald prints this document in full, along with my husband's analysis of it. You will find it compelling reading.
In Christ's service
Glenice Standish
-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Beaulieu [mailto:rsbeauli@telusplanet.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 3:25 PM
To: remnantherald@optusnet.com.au
Subject: Des Ford Article
Dear Sirs,
I understand that there is a move afoot to reinstate Des Ford. Do you have that information? Please forward to me if you do.
Many thanks
Ron Beaulieu
The following item was gleaned from the Internet:
"The Australian church leaders are, in my opinion,
hopelessly lost in the "new" theology. They protected &
allowed this pseudo-thologian sophist to grow in their
intellectual nursery before shipping this fellow to
America. Now they want to have this guy to help incubate
new ones.
If I paraphrase a comment of my friend who has
ministered to young Australian Adventists, Australian
adult Adventists in general hinder their young people to
know & grow in the real Adventist faith. They are in
rebellion, and, because many of General Conference
leaders themselves are in rebellion on matters of
certain doctrines and other church policies, they are
impotent in dealing with rebellions of other
organizations under their umbrella. This is why our
beloved church is in such a disarrayed & confused state.
We have no leaders who are williing to lead, only
politicians and professors who beg and crave for
popularity and vanity. My two cents.
Yes, we need to weep and plead for God's mercy.
Justin
We received the following from a correspondent in Australia. Read it and
weep.
G. M. Freeman
Montani Semper Liberi
"All,
Ever since Dr Des Ford returned to Australia there have been decided moves by the Avondale College church and the South Pacific Division (SPD)
to reinstate him. To draft proposals to this end edited with the assistance of the SPD have been circulated the first on Nov 2001 and Dec
2001 entitled "mapping the past and sketching the future"
Amongst other things this document contains statements such as "From the
1950's to the 1970's circumstances in our denomination aided Dr Ford and
many others in making a clearer expression of "the everlasting gospel."
It then follows by describing the inroads of the new theology as
"constructive" (further down (read carefully to catch the full import of the words and
the subtle implications):
"We are impressed with the possibility that our elected leaders may be
able to facilitate a reconciliation process in the foreseeable future"
"A cluster of circumstances lead us to believe that the need and
opportunity exist for the SDA church to normalise its relations with a
number of persons including Dr Desmond Ford. Due to the lapse of 21 years
since the historic meeting of the Sanctuary Review Committee, we believe
that the possibility of this normalisation can be explored in a
transparent and responsible manner. Further we submit that this is less a
doctrinal issue than a relational one. However to those wishing to
understand the doctrinal context we offer the following counsel. Read
Carefully the twenty-seven fundamental beliefs of Seventh day Adventists,
noting the Sanctuary Review consensus statement entitled Christ in the
Heavenly Sanctuary is a succinct commentary on certain features of
Fundamental 23. Compare to Dr Ford's letters dated 26 August 1980 and 1
September 1980 with his September 1997 sermon in Sydney. Then listen to
the seven part camp meeting series by Dr Richard Davidson delivered
during October 2001."
"... the early 1980s.... indeed at the time, because of his [Ford's]
symbolic importance, we felt we must banish Dr Ford as an Adventist
Scapegoat and marginalise, exile or dismiss others. However, on calmer
reflection after twenty years, we see Dr Ford is not only still pressing
toward the City of God as a committed Adventist: his path and ours are
essentially one in direction despite short-term divergences. More than
that, he still has a measure of symbolic importance for the journey of
the church. So the church has a new opportunity to understand the leading
and teaching of our Lord as it tries to sketch the future [notice the
subtle reference to the title of the proposal "mapping THE PAST and
sketching the future"]. It is apparent that since the 1950s despite his
evident humanness, Dr Ford may have done as much as any other Adventist
to help the church achieve the maturity of its present position. The
trend lines show paths are converging not diverging."
The Australian church leaders are, in my opinion,
hopelessly lost in the "new" theology. They protected &
allowed this pseudo-thologian sophist to grow in their
intellectual nursery before shipping this fellow to
America. Now they want to have this guy to help incubate
new ones.
If I paraphrase a comment of my friend who has
ministered to young Australian Adventists, Australian
adult Adventists in general hinder their young people to
know & grow in the real Adventist faith. They are in
rebellion, and, because many of General Conference
leaders themselves are in rebellion on matters of
certain doctrines and other church policies, they are
impotent in dealing with rebellions of other
organizations under their umbrella. This is why our
beloved church is in such a disarrayed & confused state.
We have no leaders who are williing to lead, only
politicians and professors who beg and crave for
popularity and vanity. My two cents.
Yes, we need to weep and plead for God's mercy.
Just in from Mitch Williams:
A couple weeks ago, I began Bible studies with Pastor Erwin Gane. If you don't know him, he was instramental in removing Ford from PUC in the late 70's early 80's (he's an awesome pastor, wish I was a member of his church). He is also an aussie. He told me a couple weeks ago that Ford is back in Australia working with the conference there. It's unimaginable. What is happening to us! God come quickly!
Thanks for this imformation.
Mitch