The Epic, Pt. 47

At an elders' meeting the next morning (January 18, 2009) there was great discussion regarding the appropriateness of the proposed vote regarding the vision Pastor DeSilva presented, both because of the lack of discussion opportunities and the because of the vote being scheduled on the Sabbath. Eventually the elders brought to a vote the matter of whether or not the decision should be made on Sabbath. Five elders voted in favor of the vote being on Sabbath, four opposed, and one abstained. It was agreed that the vote would not occur until January 31, and that two additional discussion meetings would be held, one on the afternoon of the 24th and the other the following Wednesday evening.

The first Wednesday night meeting was held as scheduled, attended by only seven people. The Sabbath afternoon meeting drew a larger crowd, though still not large. Pastor DeSilva began by stating that the meeting was only going to last an hour. He spent the first 35 minutes rereading the vision statement and talking about it.

When the floor was finally opened to comment the communications director stood up to speak to some of the substantial expenditure items. She explained that since the ministries board meeting on the 17th, she had done some research on exactly what it would cost to set up the envisioned videography program. Her numbers were based on discussions with other SDA churches with video recording programs like the one Pastor DeSilva proposed. The likely figure was $1.5 million. When the communications director finished the chair of the finance committee jumped up to speak and, without any substantiating numbers of his own, said there was no way it was going to cost that much. Pastor DeSilva echoed the belief (again without any documentation).

Six other people spoke (two of which were asking for unity among the church members, three who were likewise concerned by the document, and one in support) and then Pastor DeSilva declared that the meeting had to end because the hour was up. There was some protest at this because others wished to speak who had not been recognized, and two more were allowed to speak before the meeting was formally closed.

The second Wednesday night meeting included a protracted discussion on the appropriateness of business votes on Sabbath, but Pastor DeSilva would not change his mind about the vote taking place on the Sabbath morning during the Divine Service. He contended that to vote on the vision statement on Sabbath was no different than voting on a nominating committee report on Sabbath. This issue will be explored in a separate post.

Next: The Straight Story

Religious