Fight or Flight

We all know that we encounter a stressor adrenaline shoots through our bodies to give us the strength we need to either fight the danger or run away from it. In the case of literal physical danger, the choice between the two is usually made in a split second. When it comes to theological or ecclesiological danger, however, the choice is not so automatic. In this crisis at Takoma Park, many have chosen flight. In classic Adventist conflict-avoidance style, they have simply taken to attending other churches so that they will not have to deal with the situation. (That's a luxury that can be afforded around here - there are 124 other Adventist churches and companies within 30 miles of Takoma Park.) Others, like Liberty and I, have chosen to stay and fight.

So, why have we chosen fight over flight? I suppose the lists of reasons would be off to a good start with the Spirit of Prophesy, “The greatest want of the world is the want of men-- men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall” (Education, p. 57). We have not yet experienced falling heavens, but there are days when it feels like they might be getting shaky! My point here is that this is wrong, and someone needs to stand up and say so.

Reason number two is that God doesn't give us the luxury of letting some other guy do what we're capable of. When we have an opportunity to work for God (and, yes, I do believe that fighting this is a work for God), then God expects that we step up and do it. "And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: 'Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?'" (Esther 4:13,14).

Another reason is that we're doing it to draw the proverbial line in the sand. As we have investigated Paul Borden and what he stands for we have discovered that he has weaseled his way into Adventist churches from Colorado to New Zealand. This mindset is spreading over Adventism like a disease, and the infected rarely realize the problem until it has gone too far to reverse without incredible fallout. It is our fervent hope that putting our story "out there" will serve as a warning to save other congregations from going through this same heartache. More locally, Borden was brought to our congregation as a test case for our conference. The rest of our conference is watching Takoma Park, and stopping this madness here means we save the entire conference.

Finally, we are fighting to bring this matter before the highest levels of Adventist leadership. We are uniquely positioned to be within driving distance of our conference, union, division, and world headquarters, and with that proximity comes access. Because this problem has spread so far through the denomination, only action from the top will bring a complete cure. So far, the good news is that all of the leaders above the conference level that we have spoken to so far have privately voiced wholehearted agreement with and support for our position that this is wrong. The bad news is that we have yet to convince them to turn their private convictions into public action.

Sticking with this fight isn't easy. There are days when it is incredibly tempting to just "shake the dust from our feet" and follow our friends to other churches. But we've put our hands to the plough and, by God's grace, we're not about to back out now.

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