A special business meeting was called for September 15, 2008 to deal with the matter of discipline that had been recommended by the Ministries Board. The board of elders had met with Elder Miller for about an hour before the business meeting. As they and the other business meeting attendees filtered in to the larger meeting room there were a few surprises. The first was Elder Kloosterhuis, a former member of Takoma Park and longtime Vice President of the General Conference, who chose to attend the meeting that night. When he walked into the room Pastor DeSilva blanched, then made a big show of welcoming him and his advice but pointing out that he was not permitted to vote as he was no longer a member of the congregation. The second surprise was that Elder Bediako also chose to attend. (He usually doesn’t.) The third surprise occurred at the back of the room and consequently was witnessed only by a few. It consisted of Elder Miller starting in through the rear door, seeing Elders Kloosterhuis and Bediako, and turning around to leave the meeting (and the building).
This desertion by Elder Miller was rather inconvenient for Pastor DeSilva. The Group got it on good authority afterward that their intention had been to “ride the wave” of the primary disciplinary motion of the evening and orchestrate to discipline the Group as well while they were at it. But without Elder Miller there to support him Pastor DeSilva’s courage failed him and he didn’t attempt any action against the Group after all.
Pastor DeSilva opened the meeting with a quick pitch to empower the building committee to select an air conditioning contractor without bringing the decision back to the business meeting in order to “save the time.” This suggestion went over like a lead balloon. The consensus decision was that a matter of that magnitude had to be reviewed by the business meeting. While this attempt failed, it is worth noting that this was an incredible power grab by Pastor DeSilva. If it had been successful he would have had a committee that he could manipulate making a decision worth hundreds of thousands of dollars (not an exaggeration) with absolutely no accountability to anyone.
When the disciplinary matter came up Pastor DeSilva read a letter from the individual in question asking that his membership be removed from the church books, which preempted action by the church to do it for him. With that the meeting was brought to a close. It had lasted less than 20 minutes. As an aside, we should mention that the candidate for discipline denied ever having been visited by any member of the congregation in an attempt at reclamation as the Church Manual requires. If true, this would make yet another time when Pastor DeSilva had ignored the Church Manual and then lied about it.
Next: Concession
Religious
Monday, October 19, 2009
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2 comments:
Dear Friends,
What troubles me is that ever part of your epic is an attack. I find it hard to see from another viewpoint when I only get it from your viewpoint.
It isn't unexpected, as this is a biased description, as it's from your viewpoint, and it isn't wrong, but misguided in that those who read this blog are probably doing so because they like your viewpoint and not exactly the viewpoint of DeSilva and the Conference.
I can tell you frankly I know Alan, the Conference men you speak of, and they are fine Christian men who exemplify the best in spirituality. I know them all, and while I call them friends, it doesn't mean I am not willing to examine things critically from all perspectives and give them a pass on anything just because they are friends. However, in searching over the Epics written, I have not seen much that would indicate you are seeking a balanced opinion from both sides, but presenting your opinion only.
I would point out one other thing; how do you know your memory so well from events that happened over a year ago? Did you record via audio or video the events? Did you journal them immediately to preserve the best possible memory of them? I ask because if you didn't, then the more time that goes by the more facts can be colored by your own dissatisfaction of what has taken place.
I would add other items in regards to our church manual that would be something to consider, but I don't know that it would be received well.
As Stephen Covey stated; "seek first to understand before asking to be understood". Whether Mormon or not, which doesn't disqualify him from having good ideas, this is a good statement that has served me well in working with people. Perhaps if you honestly sought to understand, then you would find you have gained a right to be understood.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:16-18, 20).
You say you know these men. Have you ever had the experience of standing between these men and something they want? It is easy to be fine Christians who exemplify the best in spirituality when your desires aren’t threatened. It is often said that you can tell how a potential spouse would treat you after marriage by watching how they treat their pet. In other words, a person’s real character is best revealed by how they treat those who are under their power or whose needs sometimes conflict with their own. We speak as individuals who have experienced the way these men treat those who are under their power, and our experience doesn’t seem to be the same as yours.
Let’s take a look at some of the measurable fruits of Pastor Alan DeSilva’s time at Takoma Park. He has been there for about 13 years without realizing any substantial church growth, but we’ll stick to indicators from 2009. As of October 10, 2009 Takoma Park’s offerings are $15,041 under budget. Tithes to date (also as of October 10) are $77,120 less than 2008 and $261,402 less than 2007 (a 24% drop over two years).
At the beginning of the year Pastor DeSilva announced in Ministries Board a goal of increasing weekly worship attendance by 70 people this year. The deacons were to take weekly attendance and the figures were to be posted on the Accountability Board Chair’s website. The figures have not been posted as promised, but we can say from our own observations that the weekly census has been decreasing, not increasing. To be fair, Takoma Park had a service over the July fourth weekend which included 16 baptisms, but many of those were attendees of another local church that is in turmoil who chose to be baptized in Takoma Park rather than have the service performed by their unpopular pastor, and they do not seem to be attending Takoma Park since their baptisms. In fact, in the months of August and September alone there were 15 memberships transferred out of Takoma Park (compared to three transferred in during the same period). Twelve of the 15 were local, rather than out-of-area relocations.
Members of the Group were elected to 24 different positions for the 2008-2009 officer cycle. The nominating committee for the 2010-2011 officer cycle has been meeting for a month. So far, we have not heard of any Group member being asked to continue serving. At the same time, for the past two weeks Pastor DeSilva has included exhortations in his sermons that people should accept positions if they are called by the nominating committee. What this tells us is that is that 1) Pastor DeSilva is carefully selecting people he perceives to be loyal “to the cause” to fill elected positions , and 2) the congregation at large is choosing not to hold office.
Yes, we did make written records of events promptly as or after they occurred. The Group realized fairly early on that this was a complex situation that required documentation, and even elected an official record keeper who collected data for posterity and kept the rest of the Group informed.
“Perhaps if you honestly sought to understand, then you would find you have gained a right to be understood.”
Your evaluation assumes that if we understood our pastors and conference leaders we would agree with them, and therefore not be maintaining this blog, so that its existence proves that we must not have sought such an understanding. Actually, we have made repeated efforts to understand these individuals, but this understanding has taken us further from agreeing with them, not closer to agreement. Sometimes when you get a good look at another person’s position you decide that it cannot be your position.
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