Re: Church Board and Subcommitte membership

sasps · Guest

In an earlier attempt to delete my account from this forum, I discovered that there was no access or information given as to how this could be done. Therefore, I chose a direction that put me directly into your notice, by deleting my message.

With this type of assumptions being displayed I am all the more determined to depart from this forum and find a location that is more open minded and less restrictive in ideas and suggestions. The assumption that you made from my message that the meeting was "secret" was highly inaccurate. If you notice in the "quoted" message you retrieved there was no mention of a secretive meeting taking place. Therefore, with such inaccurate words being used, that were never imposed on the original message, I was disturbed by the direction it was taking, especially by someone who is listed as being a moderator/administrator. Such closed minded ideas will prevent our church from ever growing.

I have a more open minded site that I have joined and have received numerous replies in a more professional and Christian manner. REMOVE ME FROM THIS FORUM, or else provide a link for future disgruntled members (such as myself) to remove themselves without causing chaos to your well constricted forum.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to handle this matter.

May God bless you in all your future endeavors.

:)

Eugene Shubert

The word secret means “not open or public” which is precisely the answer you were hoping for.

Eugene Shubert

Since I’ve been made an offender for a word, I thought I should define the offense.

Men often commit wrong through ignorance or want of judgment. In many instances there is no premeditated wrong; it is caused through a lack of thoughtfulness. The one who treats this as sin is himself a sinner. There is with many a keen imagination that makes them offender for a word or action. But often the one judged is innocent in the sight of God. The accuser, who has permitted the tempter to ruffle his feelings, needs to humble his soul before God, to be purified and refined by the Holy Spirit, to love as brethren, be kind, be courteous. The promise to all is, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:7). If one errs, remember that this is no more than you yourself have done. Put away evil surmisings. Christ says, “All ye are brethren” (Matt. 23:8). 11MR 371.

We must bear with one another, remembering our failings. With some have compassion, making a difference; others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire. All cannot bear the same rigid discipline. All cannot be brought up to just another’s ideas of duty. Allowance must be made for different temperaments and different minds. God knows how to deal with us. But my heart has been sick as I have seen brother deal with brother and the disposition to catch another in his words and to make a man an offender for a word. . . . 2MCP 632.5.

The soil of the hearts of the Pharisees is a hopeless and profitless soil, where the seeds of heavenly truth cannot take root. Oh, how self-deluding is this feeling of superiority that all Pharisees cherish! They suppose that others are at fault, and speak words of reproof and condemnation, and their words are strong and hard as nether millstones, and crush all hope and courage out of the soul. The goodness of heart manifested in the works of true Christians, puts into the heart of Pharisees roots of bitterness whereby many are defiled. They are full of evil thoughts, and suspect the purest. They make a man an offender for a word. Exalted self claims all their faith, honor, and love. {ST, December 17, 1894 par. 2}

Making a man an offender for a word is a grievous sin in the sight of God. 20MR 360.

Many of you are self-willed, proud, hardhearted, and condemnatory, when on the contrary the whole heart should be aroused to devise ways and means for saving souls. You draw apart from your brethren because they do not speak and act to please you, when in the sight of God you are more guilty than they. You do not seek that unity that Christ prayed might exist among brethren. What impression do these variances, this emulation and strife, make upon your families and your neighbors, upon those who do not believe the truth? “By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.” How many of you are unsanctified in heart, and while sensitive yourselves to any reproof, you make another an offender for a word? How many of you speak words that cannot produce union, but only heartache and discouragement? How many give cause for anger, and are themselves angry without cause? Manuscript Releases Volume Fifteen, page 192-193.

A hard, unjust, critical spirit has been indulged among those who have held positions of trust in the work of God. Unless those who have indulged this spirit are converted, they will be relieved of the responsibility of acting a part in committees of counsel, even in the transaction of business. Unless they are converted, their voices must not be heard in the council, for the aggregate result is more injurious than beneficial. Wrong prevails, man is made an offender for a word, and suspicion, distrust, jealousy, evil-surmising, evilspeaking, and injustice reproduce themselves even in connection with the cause of God. A false zeal passes for jealousy for the cause of God; but the miserable, filthy garment of self must be destroyed, and in its place men must accept the righteousness of Christ. The persecution that is carried on among church members is a most terrible thing. It is true that some have committed errors and made mistakes, but it is equally true that these errors and mistakes are not nearly as grievous in the sight of God as is the harsh and unforgiving spirit of those who are criticizers and censors. Many of those who are free to pass judgment on others are committing errors which, although not made manifest, are tainted with deadly evil that is corrupting their spiritual life. TM 185-186.

Another grievous sin existing in our midst, is self-sufficiency,—Pharisaism,—feeling that we are righteous, and all our acts are meritorious, when we are far from cherishing the right spirit toward God or toward our brethren. It is a spirit of wanting to be first. Self-esteem has been cherished, and you have had a spirit of criticism toward others because you were not first. Envy, jealousy, suspicion, fault-finding, and false witnessing have existed. There are unconsecrated hearts among you, who turn everything said or done, even under the special direction of God, in a wrong way. The power of Satan's temptations is strong upon these, and they view things in a perverted light. They please the enemy by their criticisms, and by making a man an offender for a word. In many of these cases that are criticised there is no actual sin; the suspicion is the result of the condition of the mind that entertains it. If one crosses their path, they have no unity or fellowship with him. They feel disgusted with all he may say or do. Those who have confidence in them share their feelings and sentiments. A spirit of retaliation is secretly at work; yet those who are thus creating disaffection and disunion, and planting the seeds of jealousy, all the while claim to be firm believers in the truth. Such do not practice the spirit of the truth. The leaven of their evil surmisings permeates the company where it exists, and God is dishonored, the principles of truth are degraded, and the Christian experience is marred and dwarfed. Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, December 18, 1888.