We can change, but will we?

Sometimes there are blog articles that really get you thinking. Nathaniel Bickford’s article, “Solutions?” is just that kind of piece. Honestly, I’ve thought along his lines for awhile, but I couldn’t help noticing how it grabbed the attention of so many of you.

I’m not going to re-hash his article (just read it), but the gist is that altered realities in our denomination should prompt us to consider if changes need to be made. That sounds reasonable enough, but I also know that some of you were left aghast by his suggestions. Those for whom this applies will immediately point to several changes suggested as possibilities: reconsidering the utility of regional bodies for our small denomination, reconfiguring conference boundaries, and reviewing whether the immense job superintendents valiantly strive to fulfill might be better shared among several persons more locally positioned.

Big changes? Yes. Unprecedented? Hardly. After adopting the Declaration of Principles in 1881, our denomination did a complete rewrite of those principles less than 20 years later. Before the 1940s, there were no regional associations as they exist today and thus no superintendents. There was a time when ACGC was hardly anything more than a paper organization - and then from the 40s onward offices were centralized and finances united. Make no mistake, those were HUGE changes. They were pursued not merely for their own sake, but because our predecessors believed that it would further the Gospel mission for their time.

Brothers and sisters, our all-surpassing desire should be that our denomination will take whatever form will further the Gospel for our time. Any permissible forms that the Church takes beyond those instituted by Scripture must always be subjected to the test of usefulness. There is nothing commendable in maintaining forms that bear little fruit. Loyalty is perverted when it is assigned to denominational tradition rather than the Gospel commission.

Please hear what I’m saying - we need to have a conversation. You have questions, concerns, or other ideas? Excellent, let’s talk about them. Absolutely nothing is settled. If your impulse is to shut down conversation, to dismiss these concerns out of hand, I must ask you: why is that? Is such an attitude in keeping with Christ, especially when there is concern among brothers and sisters?

Sadly, I must say that such an impulse does exist in our midst. It’s for this reason that Advent Christian Voices was created - to create an open platform where these conversations could take place. On its own, there is merit in an enterprise like this. However beyond this, experience has continued to prove that the formal business meetings of our denomination at all levels have been unable to facilitate this much needed dialogue. Leaders do not encourage conversation and delegates have been conditioned to expedite the passage of business with all haste. Do we rush so vigorously because Christ is coming? Color me skeptical.

Others have noticed this and I have admired their efforts to create town hall style forums of discussion. Even so, the results have rung hollow. People express their concerns, appear to be generally pacified by the opportunity to speak, and denominational leaders walk away seemingly under the impression that their work is done. In truth, it has just begun! We need all of our denominational leaders to take the initiative in stimulating critical conversations and then move to act based on those conversations.

Whether today or tomorrow, our denominational trends verily suggest that we will need to have discussions along the lines suggested by Nathaniel. There is a momentary comfort in delay, but there may be a serious price to pay in doing so. Moreover, if changes should be made, but we refused to even discuss the possibility, we of all people should be warily conscious of how the Lord will assess us when he returns. We cannot afford to blithely bleat “Maranatha” and not take that as a call to act with anticipation. Our forefathers worked significant change in their times with great toil. We may wish to escape that responsibility, we may desire to continue in the comfort of the familiar, but all that must be consumed by the reality that our Savior holds us responsible and has called us to a cross.

So, let’s talk.

PS - If you feel poked or prodded by this piece, I hope you won’t spend much time litigating your own personal guilt or innocence. It’s not my interest to prosecute anyone individually - the past is the past and I think we all carry some blame. My appeal is that we would take responsibility for the present and future. The important question is not, “What have I done?”, but rather, “What will I do?”