Open Letter to AUC Exec. Comm. - Sept. 2011
Dear Member of AUC Executive Committee:
On July 28th the President, Executive Secretary and Treasurer of the Atlantic Union Confernce were sent messages accusing them of willful neglect of duty resulting in professional misconduct in accordance with Working Policy L-60 Section 15 which says . .
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NAD Working Policy L-60 section 15
- Integrity of Organizational Officers -
In the event the integrity or the moral or professional standing of an executive officer of a division, union, or local conference/mission/field is called into question, the process to be followed to safeguard the integrity of the ministry shall be as set out in the division policies. Should those processes fail and the matters involved be of such a character that the executive committee of the organization served by the officer is unable to resolve the difficulty, the matter shall be referred to the next higher organization. The administration of the higher organization shall call, and its president shall chair, a meeting of the executive committee of the organization served by the officer in question. The officers of the higher organization shall meet with the executive committee of the lower organization in an endeavor to resolve the matter, provided those exercising voting rights shall not exceed ten percent of the membership of the executive committee of the lower organization present . . . ( Discussion )
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The reason all three Executive Officers have been accused will be explained below. As of Sept. 4th the Executive Officers have not acknowledged these accusations or performed the duty that they have neglected since June 17, 2011. According to Don King, "the AUC Administrators are accountable to the Executive Committee" however, not all the members of the Executive Committe are aware of the accusations. Repeated requests were made for the contact information for the Executive Committee members since July, finally on Sept. 1st Carlyle Simmons, Executive Secretary wrote a decision which denied this request. Therefore, this may be the first you are hearing about these accusations of misconduct. |
Explanation of the charges against Don King, Carlyle Simmons and Leon Thomassian
The Executive Committee of the Greater New York Conference met on Thursday, June 16th and failed to deal with accusations of professional misconduct by Conference President, G. Earl Knight. This caused the process in Working Policy L-60 section 15 to fail. At the GNYC, the conference President, Executive Secretary and Treasurer determine the agenda of the Executive Committee meeting, and they decided not to put this matter on the agenda.
The policy is written so that if the accused person influences or uses his authority to prevent an investigation of the charges against him the matter goes to the next higher level in the church. When the process failed at the GNYC on June 16th a 'new' process is defined by the policy giving "emergency" powers to the Administrators of the Atlantic Union Conference. We can also call this "extraordinary authority" to call a meeting of the same Executive Committee to deal with the matter that they failed to deal with and the policy also requires the President of the Union Conference to be chairman of the meeting. |
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No one else except the Local Conference Administrators can call a meeting of the Executive Committee, but when accusations of misconduct are made and the Executive Committee fails to address or resolve them, the Union Conference Administrators can call a meeting. It is their duty to do this. After the process failed in June 16th - the Union Conference was aware of their duty and could have requested the matter be put on the agenda of the next meeting. |
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Accusations of neglect of duty resulting in professional misconduct were not brought against the Administrators of the Atlantic Union Conference until after the Greater New York Conference Executive Committee failed to deal with the accusations against it's president a second time at their July 24th meeting. Their failure to do anything contributed to the second failure on July 24th and showed a willful neglect of duty. They decided not to do what this policy required them to do. |
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God takes sin seriously. When Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, He came to the garden Himself to deal with it Himself. He dealt with both the sinners and with the one who tempted them and influenced them to sin. Details are in Genesis Chapter 3. |
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When He pronounced the punishment he also announced His solution for sin. His plan of redemption involved forgiveness through Jesus Christ who would pay the penalty for the sins we have committed. God’s plan brings remission, reconciliation and restoration for those who repent with a Godly sorrow for what they have done. |
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But God no longer comes personally every time we sin, instead we need to understand that every sin is recorded and will be dealt with at a future judgment. |
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"The Lord reads every secret of the heart. He knows all things. You may now close the book of your remembrance, in order to escape confessing your sins; but when the judgment shall sit, and the books shall be opened, you cannot close them. The recording angel has testified that which is true. All that you have tried to conceal and forget is registered, and will be read to you when it is too late for wrongs to be righted. Then you will be overwhelmed with despair. O, it is a terrible thing that some many are trifling with eternal interests, closing the heart against any course of action which shall involve confession.”
Review & Herald, December 16, 1890 paragraph 22 |
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For those who are alive now, we have a time of probation to understand God’s plan and to apply the remedy to our sins and the sins we have influenced others to commit. |
"I ask you who are handling sacred things, I ask the individual members of the church, have you confessed your sins? If not, begin now; for your souls are in great peril. If you die with your mistakes concealed, unconfessed, you die in your sins. The mansions that Jesus has gone to prepare for all who love him, will be peopled by those who are free from sin. But sins that are not confessed will never be forgiven; the name of him who thus rejects the grace of God will be blotted out of the book of life. The time is at hand when every secret thing shall be brought into judgment, and then there will be many confessions made that will astonish the world. The secrets of all hearts will be revealed. The confession of sin will be most public. The sad part of it is that confession then made will be too late to benefit the wrong-doer or to save others from deception. It only testifies that the condemnation is just. He gained nothing by his pride and self-sufficiency and stubbornness, for his own life was embittered, he ruined his own character so that he was not a fit subject of heaven, and by his influence he led others to ruin.
Review & Herald, December 16, 1890 paragraph 20 |
This same principle regarding confession is found in Psalm 51 in the words of David
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"Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me. . . (9) Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit. (13) Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise."
Psalm 51: 1 - 3; 9 - 15 |
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The transgressors that most need to be taught are the ones that allowed themselves to be influenced to commit sin, and especially, if it was the influence of a church member that led them into ruin. |
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There exists in the Greater New York Conference a situation that has effected the President of the conference, there has been no confession by the one who created this situation, and the conference President seems to be ensnared by Satan, because he has supported the wrong side. He has decided not to even investigate what has happened or allow a proper investigation by others. |
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When the matter was brought to the conference Executive Committee in accordance with church working policy (quoted above), the President (who was accused of professional misconduct), the conference Treasurer and the Executive Secretary decided not to put this matter on the agenda of the next Executive Committee meeting, and therefore the process failed on June 16th when the Executive Committee did not consider or investigate the charges. |
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The conference leaders have decided to clear the guilty without an investigation into the charges. It is contrary to the nature of God to ‘clear the guilty’ outside of His plan of redemption. He has made provision for forgiveness and He is abundant in mercy but he will not ‘clear the guilty’ by no other means. God does not excuse sin. |
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God talks to Moses
And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord, (6) And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, (7) keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and fourth generation.
Exodus 34: 5 - 7
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The writers of Church Working Policy understood this principle and policy L-60 section 15 says, that when the process fails to resolve the matter. It defines a 'new' process, with the administration of the next higher organization calling a meeting of the same Executive Committee to deal with the same matter that they failed to resolve or were in any way prevented from dealing with the matter. |
NAD Working Policy L-60 section 15
- Integrity of Organizational Officers -
In the event the integrity or the moral or professional standing of an executive officer of a division, union, or local conference/mission/field is called into question, the process to be followed to safeguard the integrity of the ministry shall be as set out in the division policies. Should those processes fail and the matters involved be of such a character that the executive committee of the organization served by the officer is unable to resolve the difficulty, the matter shall be referred to the next higher organization. The administration of the higher organization shall call, and its president shall chair, a meeting of the executive committee of the organization served by the officer in question. The officers of the higher organization shall meet with the executive committee of the lower organization in an endeavor to resolve the matter, provided those exercising voting rights shall not exceed ten percent of the membership of the executive committee of the lower organization present . . .
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This has reached the point where the administration of the Atlantic Union Conference will not do their duty in accordance with the working policy and since God keeps an account of every sin, this situation has now placed more souls in peril. |
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Those of us who understand this peril, call out to the Atlantic Union Conference administrators to do their duty and allow the process to continue. The members of the Executive Committee need to be made aware that almost three months has passed and the administrators have not done their duty. |
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The working policy that deals with misconduct by an Executive Officer at the GNYC clearly assigns the venue for investigating accusations of misconduct to the Executive Committee. The accountability I speak of is that God puts the sin that they neglected to deal with on the members of the Executive Committee. Here is one text from the church manual that I will include in the letter . . . |
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"God holds His people as a body, responsible for the sins existing in individuals among them. If the leaders of the church neglect to diligently search out the sins which bring the displeasure of God upon the body, they become responsible for these sins.” Testimonies, Volume 3. page 269
Church Manual, page 188 (17th edition)
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I’ll give you a second text from the inspired writings, in case you are not impressed. |
In the case of the sin of Achan, God has shown how he regards sin among those who profess to be his commandment-keeping people. Those whom he has especially honored with witnessing the remarkable exhibitions of his power, as did ancient Israel, and that will venture to disregard his express directions, will be subjects of his wrath. God would teach his people that disobedience and sin are exceedingly offensive to him, and not to be lightly regarded. He shows us that when his people are found in sin, they should at once take decided measures to put the sin from them, that his frown should not rest upon all his people. But if those in responsible positions pass over the sins of the people, his frown will be upon them, and the people of God, as a body, will be held responsible for the sins that exist in their midst. God, in his dealings with his people in the past, shows the necessity of purifying the church from wrongs that exist among them. One sinner may diffuse darkness which will exclude the light of God from the entire congregation. When the people realize that darkness is settling upon them, and they do not know the cause, then they should earnestly seek God in great humility and self-abasement, until the wrongs which grieve God's Spirit are searched out and put away from among them.
Review & Herald, Sept. 23, 1873, par. 1 |
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The serious wrong that was done at the local church level is described in the inspired writing of Ellen White as "worse than the sin of Achan" - and this matter should be taken seriously by every Adventist. |
"There are many in this day that would designate Achan's sin as of little consequence, and would excuse his guilt; but it is because they have no realization of the character of sin and its consequences, no sense of the holiness of God and of His requirements. The statement is often heard that God is not particular whether or not we give diligent heed to His Word, whether or not we obey all the commandments of His holy law; but the record of His dealing with Achan should be a warning to us. He will in no wise clear the guilty . . . . {2BC 998.1}
Review & Herald, March 20, 1888, par. 4
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Diggingfortruth.org is concerned when church leaders in responsible positions chose which procedures and church working policies they want to follow and reject or ignore the ones they do not like. We join the servant of God who has accused them of professional misconduct in praying that members of the Executive Committee will read this message and talk to Don King, Carlyle Simmons and Leon Thomassian about putting this matter on the agenda of the next AUC Executive Committee meeting. |