What is unity? (conclusion)

In thinking about what I wrote last week I don't think I made my point as well as I could have. I offer this conclusion to bring my remarks into sharper focus.

There are proper official forums in which to address church disputes. We tried to use them and were driven out. When we tried to use unofficial forums that would not "interfere with church business" we were told we were wrong for not using the official forums. The pastors thereby created a "catch 22" situation in which the only "correct" thing to do would be to shut up and let them do whatever they wanted.

Aside from being in direct opposition to the democratic rights of open, sincere dialogue embraced by the SDA Church worldwide, this was wrong because it failed to resolve the underlying issue. Even if the Group were to dutifully shut up and go along with the pastoral program we would know in our hearts that what we were doing was wrong and the whole unresolved matter would fester within the congregation. This would do far more to disrupt the unity of the congregation in the long run than simply allowing the matter to be addressed fairly in the beginning. This process has been so long and hurt so many people not because of any malicious act on our part but because the powers that be in the SDA Church refuse to deal with the situation. In short, what we have is an open wound that has become infected because the medical personnel prefer to pretend it doesn't exist rather than treat it. The blame for this disunity-causing negligence lies squarely with the Takoma Park pastors and the Potomac Conference.

Religious