"Have faith in God. Unbelief can only deny and destroy. Faith lifts the head in confidence and trust. True workers walk and work by faith. Sometimes they grow weary with watching the slow advance of the work, when the battle wages strong between the powers of good and evil. But if they refuse to fail or be discouraged, they will see the clouds breaking away, and the promise of deliverance fulfilling. Through the mist with which Satan has surrounded them, they will see the shining of the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
"Work in faith, and leave the results with God. Pray in faith, and the mystery of God's providence will bring its answer. At times it may seem that you can not succeed; but work and believe, putting into your efforts faith and life and hope and courage. After you have done what you can, wait for the Lord, declaring his faithfulness, and he will bring his word to pass. Wait, not in fretful anxiety, but in undaunted faith and unshaken trust" (Southern Watchman, December 4, 1902 par. 6 & 7).
"Feeling is not faith; the two are distinct. Faith is ours to exercise, but joyful feeling and the blessing are God's to give. The grace of God comes to the soul through the channel of living faith, and that faith it is in our power to exercise.
"True faith lays hold of and claims the promised blessing before it is realized and felt. We must send up our petitions in faith within the second veil, and let our faith take hold of the promised blessing, and claim it as ours. We are then to believe that we receive the blessing, because our faith has hold of it, and according to the word it is ours. 'What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.' Mark 11:24. Here is faith, naked faith, to believe that we receive the blessing, even before we realize it. When the promised blessing is realized and enjoyed, faith is swallowed up. But many suppose they have much faith when sharing largely of the Holy Spirit, and that they cannot have faith unless they feel the power of the Spirit. Such confound faith with the blessing that comes through faith.
"The very time to exercise faith is when we feel destitute of the Spirit. When thick clouds of darkness seem to hover over the mind, then is the time to let living faith pierce the darkness and scatter the clouds" (Christian Experience and Teachings of Ellen G. White, p.126).
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 81
Late in November 2009 Brother G and Elder Ramirez crossed paths and the conversation turned to conditions at Takoma Park. Brother G told Elder Ramirez how the situation had gotten worse rather than better. Later (on November 24, 2009), Brother G sent Elder Ramirez an email to document the exchange.
“Dear Jorge,
“I trust this letter will find you and your family well and enjoying your vacation.
“At our last meeting you had asked how the Takoma Park church was progressing. Sadly, there is no good news.
“After the Executive Committee recommendation, we refrained from further action to see what changes would be made. Unfortunately, it seems that Alan took this as a sign of victory. The new list of church officers, the majority picked by Alan, is further proof of his statement to eliminate those people that had opposed him.
“For over two years we have prayed and worked to stop the decline of the membership of the Takoma Park church. The Conference must address these issues, so that our church can return to its former glory and be a witness to the community.
“With God’s blessings,
“[Brother G]”
About a week later (on November 30, 2009) Elder Ramirez wrote back.
“[Brother G],
"Thank you for your update. I will share this with Bill, and take the necessary steps to revisit this issue. Have a blessed day.
“Jorge A. Ramirez”
We don’t know what Elder Ramirez deemed to be the “necessary steps,” but we have yet to discern any intention on the part of the Potomac Conference to revisit the issue and address the ongoing impediments to improvement in the conditions at Takoma Park.
Next: Discordant
Religious
“Dear Jorge,
“I trust this letter will find you and your family well and enjoying your vacation.
“At our last meeting you had asked how the Takoma Park church was progressing. Sadly, there is no good news.
“After the Executive Committee recommendation, we refrained from further action to see what changes would be made. Unfortunately, it seems that Alan took this as a sign of victory. The new list of church officers, the majority picked by Alan, is further proof of his statement to eliminate those people that had opposed him.
“For over two years we have prayed and worked to stop the decline of the membership of the Takoma Park church. The Conference must address these issues, so that our church can return to its former glory and be a witness to the community.
“With God’s blessings,
“[Brother G]”
About a week later (on November 30, 2009) Elder Ramirez wrote back.
“[Brother G],
"Thank you for your update. I will share this with Bill, and take the necessary steps to revisit this issue. Have a blessed day.
“Jorge A. Ramirez”
We don’t know what Elder Ramirez deemed to be the “necessary steps,” but we have yet to discern any intention on the part of the Potomac Conference to revisit the issue and address the ongoing impediments to improvement in the conditions at Takoma Park.
Next: Discordant
Religious
Monday, September 20, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 80
When the nominating committee’s results were presented to the congregation on November 14, 2009 it was clear that Pastor DeSilva had made use of his position as chairman of the committee to carry out his longstanding threat to remove from office those who had opposed the change in governance. Every member of the church board (formerly church ministries board) who had publicly spoken against the change was removed from office. (Since all elders are also members of the church board this also meant that all elders who had publicly opposed the change were removed.)
But Pastor DeSilva had not been content to stop there. He also used his influence to remove as many white people in general as he could. The only ones who escaped his targeting were those who had actively supported him in the governance change. In one example of this, a white retiree had long served as a representative on the school’s board. During the nomination process Pastor DeSilva went to visit this woman and asked if she wished to continue serving in this capacity. She replied that while some ongoing health issues might prevent her from attending every single meeting she very much wanted to continue serving. Pastor DeSilva turned around and reported to the nominating committee that because of her health issues she did not want to continue serving, so naturally she was not renominated.
This woman (and others like her who fell victim to this purge) had not taken a side on the governance issue or done anything else to provoke Pastor DeSilva—other than being white. We could offer several theories in explanation of this behavior, but ultimately the “why” is irrelevant. There is no explanation which makes such behavior acceptable (and yes, we would object just as strongly if there was evidence that he had targeted any other racial group this way). The bottom line is that this is yet another example of Pastor DeSilva abusing his power and no one making any attempt to stop him.
Next: Inaction
Religious
But Pastor DeSilva had not been content to stop there. He also used his influence to remove as many white people in general as he could. The only ones who escaped his targeting were those who had actively supported him in the governance change. In one example of this, a white retiree had long served as a representative on the school’s board. During the nomination process Pastor DeSilva went to visit this woman and asked if she wished to continue serving in this capacity. She replied that while some ongoing health issues might prevent her from attending every single meeting she very much wanted to continue serving. Pastor DeSilva turned around and reported to the nominating committee that because of her health issues she did not want to continue serving, so naturally she was not renominated.
This woman (and others like her who fell victim to this purge) had not taken a side on the governance issue or done anything else to provoke Pastor DeSilva—other than being white. We could offer several theories in explanation of this behavior, but ultimately the “why” is irrelevant. There is no explanation which makes such behavior acceptable (and yes, we would object just as strongly if there was evidence that he had targeted any other racial group this way). The bottom line is that this is yet another example of Pastor DeSilva abusing his power and no one making any attempt to stop him.
Next: Inaction
Religious
Friday, September 17, 2010
Letter and Spirit
How is Pastor DeSilva’s interpretation of the conference’s recommendation that the church board study the Church Manual contrary to both the letter and the spirit of the recommendation?
If we were engaging in the much-abhorred elementary school exercise of diagramming sentences we would find that the subject of the sentence, “The newly renamed Church Board should study pp. 90-92 in the manual to make sure the Board functions as stated,” is “Board.” It isn’t “individuals” or “members [of the board].” If the recommendation had used either of these terms Pastor DeSilva’s interpretation would have merit, but it didn’t use either of them. The action of this sentence is clearly targeted at a corporate body known as a “board” in its official, assembled, corporate capacity.
The verb applied to this subject is “study.” This specified action requires something deeper than the simple “reading” that Pastor DeSilva called for. It also requires more than being notified of the contents by a third party, which Pastor DeSilva stipulated as the proper course of action should any board member discover a deficiency in the board’s function. “Study” requires “a close and prolonged process of observation, inquiry and thought.”
The “letter of the law” in this recommendation, therefore, is that the corporate body which is the “board” must come together in an unhurried official gathering and not only read but discuss and carefully think about the contents of the specified material for the purpose of gaining a corporate understanding thereof.
Why would the conference executive committee make such a recommendation? In The Lord’s Anointed, Pt. 3 (posted 12-4-09) we discussed the concept of different levels of knowing. Here we see the concept come into play again. What this recommendation calls for is the highest, most direct and personal level of knowing. It is not enough for the board to be told by one or even several of its members that something isn’t right. Even if they were to accept such a declaration it would be far too easy to slip back into the old way of doing things without a personal conviction about the importance of the change. Another difficulty with such a scenario is that those who accept the declaration of a few without knowing the truth for themselves can be accepting error. Finally, direct corporate study is necessary for the members of the board to take ownership of the principles covered in the specified material.
The “spirit of the law” in this recommendation, then, is that the members of the board cease to be passive agents swayed by the pastor or anyone else with passion and charisma and become knowledgeable, rooted leaders who clearly understand and can articulate, defend, and act in accordance with the principles of the Church Manual. This is what Pastor DeSilva refused to permit because it would be a waste of time. The result of this refusal was that the recommendation, which had been approved by the business meeting, was set aside and ignored.
If we were engaging in the much-abhorred elementary school exercise of diagramming sentences we would find that the subject of the sentence, “The newly renamed Church Board should study pp. 90-92 in the manual to make sure the Board functions as stated,” is “Board.” It isn’t “individuals” or “members [of the board].” If the recommendation had used either of these terms Pastor DeSilva’s interpretation would have merit, but it didn’t use either of them. The action of this sentence is clearly targeted at a corporate body known as a “board” in its official, assembled, corporate capacity.
The verb applied to this subject is “study.” This specified action requires something deeper than the simple “reading” that Pastor DeSilva called for. It also requires more than being notified of the contents by a third party, which Pastor DeSilva stipulated as the proper course of action should any board member discover a deficiency in the board’s function. “Study” requires “a close and prolonged process of observation, inquiry and thought.”
The “letter of the law” in this recommendation, therefore, is that the corporate body which is the “board” must come together in an unhurried official gathering and not only read but discuss and carefully think about the contents of the specified material for the purpose of gaining a corporate understanding thereof.
Why would the conference executive committee make such a recommendation? In The Lord’s Anointed, Pt. 3 (posted 12-4-09) we discussed the concept of different levels of knowing. Here we see the concept come into play again. What this recommendation calls for is the highest, most direct and personal level of knowing. It is not enough for the board to be told by one or even several of its members that something isn’t right. Even if they were to accept such a declaration it would be far too easy to slip back into the old way of doing things without a personal conviction about the importance of the change. Another difficulty with such a scenario is that those who accept the declaration of a few without knowing the truth for themselves can be accepting error. Finally, direct corporate study is necessary for the members of the board to take ownership of the principles covered in the specified material.
The “spirit of the law” in this recommendation, then, is that the members of the board cease to be passive agents swayed by the pastor or anyone else with passion and charisma and become knowledgeable, rooted leaders who clearly understand and can articulate, defend, and act in accordance with the principles of the Church Manual. This is what Pastor DeSilva refused to permit because it would be a waste of time. The result of this refusal was that the recommendation, which had been approved by the business meeting, was set aside and ignored.
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 79
When the church board finally met on October 4, 2009, Sister L asked as a matter arising from the minutes when the church board would be following through on the conference’s recommendation to study the Church Manual. Pastor DeSilva responded that he didn’t recall that there was a recommendation to study the Church Manual. Sister L reminded him of the obligation by quoting the recommendation, “The newly renamed Church Board should study pp. 90-92 in the manual to make sure the Board functions as stated.”
Pastor DeSilva declared that he understood that recommendation to mean that individual members of the board should read the Manual, and if they saw any deficiencies they could bring up the matter. This was contrary to Sister L’s understanding of the recommendation, which was that the entire church board was supposed to review the stipulated pages in the Manual as a body during an official meeting in order to achieve a unified corporate understanding, and she said as much. Pastor DeSilva refused to listen. He insisted that there was “no consensus needed” because the church had already adopted “everything that’s written there.” Even further, he claimed that such a corporate study of the Manual would be a waste of time. After Pastor DeSilva made these statements he abruptly changed the subject by calling for other business.
This exchange was recorded in the meeting’s minutes as, “It was asked whether the Board was going to spend time studying the pages in the Church Manual recommended by the Potomac Conference. The Pastor suggested that each member should study the pages privately and bring up any items [that] were not being addressed.” Interestingly, when the subject came up again at the board meeting held on November 8, 2009, that meeting’s minutes spun it that, “Support and Accountability Council’s responsibility is to make sure the Church Board is following the Church Manual.” At no time since the approval of the conference’s recommendations has the Support and Accountability Council met to evaluate whether the board is following the Church Manual. (Pastor DeSilva’s interpretation of the conference’s recommendation will be analyzed in a separate post.)
The matter of membership transfer procedure came up somewhat later in the meeting. When it did Pastor DeSilva again attempted to explain the supposed new transfer approval system, but this explanation came out more convoluted than the one he had given to Elder E. He followed it with a declaration that since the church had decided to follow the Manual, and since the Manual speaks about transfers, they were going to start enforcing the Manual’s requirement that transfers be approved by the church board before being listed in the bulletin. (As worthy a step as this is, it ignores the fact that the Manual also requires all transfers to be voted on by the congregation, which had not been happening either.)
Other items of business discussed at this meeting included the finance committee’s creation of the budget for the next year (which was being done without consulting the department heads about their needs because the committee was confident that it already knew them), the estimated conclusion of the nominating committee’s work in mid-November, and Pastor DeSilva’s plans for the new year. The latter included a leadership retreat at the beginning of the year and a 10-day vegan fast for the entire church. Pastor DeSilva explained that he had chosen a period of 10 days for the fast because that was the amount of time which had elapsed between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the baptism of the Holy Spirit which had been given to the disciples on Pentecost.
Two other items received somewhat more detailed attention. The first was the dwindling number of children showing up on time for Sabbath School. There was an extended discussion about the cause of this trend, which was generally concluded to be a lack of commitment. (Why members were no longer committed was not explored.)
The other discussion was about the preparations for the annual Thanksgiving baskets and holiday decorations for the sanctuary. For years these tasks (and others like them) had been attended to so quietly and faithfully that they hadn’t required any discussion in board meetings about how they should be accomplished. This work had been done by the same “old white people” who had recently been told that if they didn’t like the way things were in the church they should leave. They hadn’t left the church, but they had left the pastors and their supporters to their own devices, and the voids they left were now being felt.
Next: Purged
Religious
Pastor DeSilva declared that he understood that recommendation to mean that individual members of the board should read the Manual, and if they saw any deficiencies they could bring up the matter. This was contrary to Sister L’s understanding of the recommendation, which was that the entire church board was supposed to review the stipulated pages in the Manual as a body during an official meeting in order to achieve a unified corporate understanding, and she said as much. Pastor DeSilva refused to listen. He insisted that there was “no consensus needed” because the church had already adopted “everything that’s written there.” Even further, he claimed that such a corporate study of the Manual would be a waste of time. After Pastor DeSilva made these statements he abruptly changed the subject by calling for other business.
This exchange was recorded in the meeting’s minutes as, “It was asked whether the Board was going to spend time studying the pages in the Church Manual recommended by the Potomac Conference. The Pastor suggested that each member should study the pages privately and bring up any items [that] were not being addressed.” Interestingly, when the subject came up again at the board meeting held on November 8, 2009, that meeting’s minutes spun it that, “Support and Accountability Council’s responsibility is to make sure the Church Board is following the Church Manual.” At no time since the approval of the conference’s recommendations has the Support and Accountability Council met to evaluate whether the board is following the Church Manual. (Pastor DeSilva’s interpretation of the conference’s recommendation will be analyzed in a separate post.)
The matter of membership transfer procedure came up somewhat later in the meeting. When it did Pastor DeSilva again attempted to explain the supposed new transfer approval system, but this explanation came out more convoluted than the one he had given to Elder E. He followed it with a declaration that since the church had decided to follow the Manual, and since the Manual speaks about transfers, they were going to start enforcing the Manual’s requirement that transfers be approved by the church board before being listed in the bulletin. (As worthy a step as this is, it ignores the fact that the Manual also requires all transfers to be voted on by the congregation, which had not been happening either.)
Other items of business discussed at this meeting included the finance committee’s creation of the budget for the next year (which was being done without consulting the department heads about their needs because the committee was confident that it already knew them), the estimated conclusion of the nominating committee’s work in mid-November, and Pastor DeSilva’s plans for the new year. The latter included a leadership retreat at the beginning of the year and a 10-day vegan fast for the entire church. Pastor DeSilva explained that he had chosen a period of 10 days for the fast because that was the amount of time which had elapsed between Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the baptism of the Holy Spirit which had been given to the disciples on Pentecost.
Two other items received somewhat more detailed attention. The first was the dwindling number of children showing up on time for Sabbath School. There was an extended discussion about the cause of this trend, which was generally concluded to be a lack of commitment. (Why members were no longer committed was not explored.)
The other discussion was about the preparations for the annual Thanksgiving baskets and holiday decorations for the sanctuary. For years these tasks (and others like them) had been attended to so quietly and faithfully that they hadn’t required any discussion in board meetings about how they should be accomplished. This work had been done by the same “old white people” who had recently been told that if they didn’t like the way things were in the church they should leave. They hadn’t left the church, but they had left the pastors and their supporters to their own devices, and the voids they left were now being felt.
Next: Purged
Religious
Friday, September 10, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 78
At the beginning of 2009 the church office issued an events calendar to the church officers as a template for filling in their events. This template calendar listed several administrative events. The most notable of these was the beginning of the election process with selection of the large committee on September 12, 2009. Subsequent calendars featuring events from the various departments had this item removed, but the Group had already taken note.
When September 12 came the Group was puzzled by an apparent lack of action on this item. We concluded after the fact that some bulletins had been stuffed with nomination forms and others had not. When questioned about it Elder J claimed that there had been an announcement about the process from the front, but none of the Group were able to testify to having heard such an announcement. The results of these nominations were not brought back to the church for confirmation of the exact makeup of the large committee. When questioned about how the committee had been selected Pastor DeSilva stated on separate occasions that the committee was made up of those with the most votes on the nomination forms and that “they” had tried to get a diverse group that truly represented the church. These statements cannot both be true as they are mutually exclusive.
For many in the congregation the first indication that the election process had begun was the report of the large committee (recommending the membership of the nominating committee) which was published in the bulletin on September 26, 2009. Pastor DeSilva made a point of claiming his right to be chairman of the nominating committee, saying that if we wanted to do things by the Church Manual we would get exactly that. However, this new-found zeal for playing by the rules only seemed to come upon him when the rules somehow benefited him. For example, contrary to the Church Manual (p.153, edition 17) the church board did not make a decision about the proper size for the nominating committee before the nomination process began.
Next: Circumnavigated
Religious
When September 12 came the Group was puzzled by an apparent lack of action on this item. We concluded after the fact that some bulletins had been stuffed with nomination forms and others had not. When questioned about it Elder J claimed that there had been an announcement about the process from the front, but none of the Group were able to testify to having heard such an announcement. The results of these nominations were not brought back to the church for confirmation of the exact makeup of the large committee. When questioned about how the committee had been selected Pastor DeSilva stated on separate occasions that the committee was made up of those with the most votes on the nomination forms and that “they” had tried to get a diverse group that truly represented the church. These statements cannot both be true as they are mutually exclusive.
For many in the congregation the first indication that the election process had begun was the report of the large committee (recommending the membership of the nominating committee) which was published in the bulletin on September 26, 2009. Pastor DeSilva made a point of claiming his right to be chairman of the nominating committee, saying that if we wanted to do things by the Church Manual we would get exactly that. However, this new-found zeal for playing by the rules only seemed to come upon him when the rules somehow benefited him. For example, contrary to the Church Manual (p.153, edition 17) the church board did not make a decision about the proper size for the nominating committee before the nomination process began.
Next: Circumnavigated
Religious
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 77
The Takoma Park Church held a special business meeting on September 13, 2009. The primary purpose of this meeting was to approve the selection of a new youth pastor. (The previous youth pastor had left for another position at the beginning of July.) Elder Ramirez was present as the conference representative who had been working with the accountability council in making the selection. Pastor DeSilva made sure to play to this audience in managing the meeting.
The discussion of matters arising from the minutes gave Pastor DeSilva an opportunity to impress Elder Ramirez. He began by describing how wonderful the reconciliation meeting had been. He referred to it as having been “successful,” “very well conducted,” and “profitable for our church.” He then took a question about the matter of the school merger, confirming that the initiative had been defeated and was therefore dead. The next question asked was whether the church board had yet met to fulfill the executive committee recommendation of examining the Manual to see whether the board was functioning properly. Pastor DeSilva responded that it hadn’t happened yet, but that it would be looked at the next time the church board met.
After these questions on matters arising from the minutes the meeting moved on to its primary agenda item, approval of the new youth pastor. After a brief introduction and a few questions from the floor (which were made even fewer by Elder Ramirez’s recommendation that a limit of one question per member be enacted) the candidate was approved. After this vote Elder Ramirez left.
The next item considered was an adjustment of the church’s annual budget to compensate for an offering shortage. Oddly, this voted belt-tightening was entered into the minutes of the meeting as, “Finance Committee Report: [The finance committee chairman] presented the finance report.” The best guess we can offer about the reasoning behind the decision to be vague about this item is that on at least one occasion during the course of this conflict Elder Miller had insisted on seeing minutes from various church meetings to see for himself what was going on, and should this happen again Pastor DeSilva didn’t want it coming to his attention that the church was unable to meet its initial budget.
The final subject of this meeting was a change to the order of service for the divine worship hour. This wasn’t suggested as a matter for discussion and vote; Pastor DeSilva simply announced that the change was going to occur and allowed questions for clarification. The most significant change was that the offering collection was being moved to immediately after the sermon. The reason given for this was that many members habitually came in late, in time to hear the sermon but after the offering had already been taken. This shift would allow these latecomers to participate in the offering and presumably increase intake. The announcement of the change in order of service didn’t make it into the minutes of this meeting at all.
Next: Hit or Miss
Religious
The discussion of matters arising from the minutes gave Pastor DeSilva an opportunity to impress Elder Ramirez. He began by describing how wonderful the reconciliation meeting had been. He referred to it as having been “successful,” “very well conducted,” and “profitable for our church.” He then took a question about the matter of the school merger, confirming that the initiative had been defeated and was therefore dead. The next question asked was whether the church board had yet met to fulfill the executive committee recommendation of examining the Manual to see whether the board was functioning properly. Pastor DeSilva responded that it hadn’t happened yet, but that it would be looked at the next time the church board met.
After these questions on matters arising from the minutes the meeting moved on to its primary agenda item, approval of the new youth pastor. After a brief introduction and a few questions from the floor (which were made even fewer by Elder Ramirez’s recommendation that a limit of one question per member be enacted) the candidate was approved. After this vote Elder Ramirez left.
The next item considered was an adjustment of the church’s annual budget to compensate for an offering shortage. Oddly, this voted belt-tightening was entered into the minutes of the meeting as, “Finance Committee Report: [The finance committee chairman] presented the finance report.” The best guess we can offer about the reasoning behind the decision to be vague about this item is that on at least one occasion during the course of this conflict Elder Miller had insisted on seeing minutes from various church meetings to see for himself what was going on, and should this happen again Pastor DeSilva didn’t want it coming to his attention that the church was unable to meet its initial budget.
The final subject of this meeting was a change to the order of service for the divine worship hour. This wasn’t suggested as a matter for discussion and vote; Pastor DeSilva simply announced that the change was going to occur and allowed questions for clarification. The most significant change was that the offering collection was being moved to immediately after the sermon. The reason given for this was that many members habitually came in late, in time to hear the sermon but after the offering had already been taken. This shift would allow these latecomers to participate in the offering and presumably increase intake. The announcement of the change in order of service didn’t make it into the minutes of this meeting at all.
Next: Hit or Miss
Religious
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Epic, Pt. 76
The constituency meeting of Takoma Park’s school, which was to be the last step in finalizing the merger with the neighboring school, was held on August 27, 2009. The initiative to merge the schools had come from the Potomac Conference. Both schools were dropping in enrollment. Money was tight and getting tighter. When the conference was contacted about possible solutions to the problem, the idea of a merger was proposed. This idea was not at all new. Merging the schools had been discussed off and on for at least 25 years. This time the conference hired a consultant for the specific task of accomplishing the merger of the two schools. This final meeting did not go as the conference expected or wanted.
It was an extremely hot summer evening and the meeting was held in the school’s gym, which is not air conditioned. The passion of the discussion rose as high as the temperature. Many parents got up and spoke of their love for the school. They said that there were valid reasons that their children were not at the other school. Some people even mentioned that they drove by the other school on their way to and from school each day. Teachers were standing in the back of the gym crying. They were so sure that their school would be closing.
The decision was finally put to a written vote. After the votes were collected several members of the audience got up and helped to tally the votes. Then the consultant got up to announce the results. He announced that the vote was 19-18 to merge the two schools. At this, one of the gentlemen who had helped count the votes got the consultant’s attention and there was a whispered conversation. The consultant turned pale and his smile disappeared. When he came back to the mic, the consultant stated that he had misunderstood the results and that the vote was 19-18 to keep the school open.
The conference was not prepared to accept this. After a few minutes of discussion among some of the top conference officials in attendance at the meeting, the consultant got up again and offered the delegates three possible next steps to choose from. They could 1) vote again, 2) take a break and pray awhile and then vote again, or 3) the original vote could stand. The delegates did not feel that another vote was necessary. They had been told that whatever they decided would be final. Neither did they feel that additional prayer was necessary. Delegates to the meeting had been praying for months about the decision that was to be made. They also did not feel that anyone was likely to change their vote. Finally, Pastor DeSilva got up and suggested to the conference officials that they accept that the plan was defeated.
When the meeting was over teachers, parents, and alumni met together in small groups at the back of the gym. Some of the teachers went to one of the classrooms so that they could cry in private. They were so amazed at the miracle God had performed for them. One person was heard to say, “The hard work has just begun.”
Supporters of the school left knowing that God had intervened. They also knew that there was a long road ahead of them. Much was left to do, but God had shown them in a mighty way that they were not alone.
Next: For Show
Justice
It was an extremely hot summer evening and the meeting was held in the school’s gym, which is not air conditioned. The passion of the discussion rose as high as the temperature. Many parents got up and spoke of their love for the school. They said that there were valid reasons that their children were not at the other school. Some people even mentioned that they drove by the other school on their way to and from school each day. Teachers were standing in the back of the gym crying. They were so sure that their school would be closing.
The decision was finally put to a written vote. After the votes were collected several members of the audience got up and helped to tally the votes. Then the consultant got up to announce the results. He announced that the vote was 19-18 to merge the two schools. At this, one of the gentlemen who had helped count the votes got the consultant’s attention and there was a whispered conversation. The consultant turned pale and his smile disappeared. When he came back to the mic, the consultant stated that he had misunderstood the results and that the vote was 19-18 to keep the school open.
The conference was not prepared to accept this. After a few minutes of discussion among some of the top conference officials in attendance at the meeting, the consultant got up again and offered the delegates three possible next steps to choose from. They could 1) vote again, 2) take a break and pray awhile and then vote again, or 3) the original vote could stand. The delegates did not feel that another vote was necessary. They had been told that whatever they decided would be final. Neither did they feel that additional prayer was necessary. Delegates to the meeting had been praying for months about the decision that was to be made. They also did not feel that anyone was likely to change their vote. Finally, Pastor DeSilva got up and suggested to the conference officials that they accept that the plan was defeated.
When the meeting was over teachers, parents, and alumni met together in small groups at the back of the gym. Some of the teachers went to one of the classrooms so that they could cry in private. They were so amazed at the miracle God had performed for them. One person was heard to say, “The hard work has just begun.”
Supporters of the school left knowing that God had intervened. They also knew that there was a long road ahead of them. Much was left to do, but God had shown them in a mighty way that they were not alone.
Next: For Show
Justice
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