Leaderboard

There is an exception to what lI have stated above, that applies to some people and has applied to me in the past. As a chaplain for he U.S. Army, I was supervised by Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries (ACM), which for me was mostly located in the General Conference. Under the present organization of the SDA Church, ACM in both the General Conference and in the North American Division might be involved in supervising me as an Army chaplain. So, if a Conference President had questions about my ministry for the U.S. Army , in the area of the Local Conference, that President would need to take it up with ACM. However, if I stepped outside of the area of my military ministry, I was under the authority of the Local Conference President, and I was expected to follow that policy.

In response to Photodude: Doug Batchelor was not singled out for persecution. There is a world-wide standard of clergy behavior that exists in both written form and common practice. That applies to all. It applies to official organizations such as Hope TV, and to independent ones such as 3ABN and "It Is Written," which has recently become an independent organization. It applies to individuals, including clergy who are credentialed by the General Conference (as I have been), or credentialed by lower organizations. It applies to retired clergy, including those presently credentialed, such as me. This policy, briefly stated, as practiced, provides for the following: * The Local Conference President is in overall charge of SDA ministry, in the geographic area assigned to that Local Conference. * No person or organization will conduct public ministry in that geographic area without the permission of the Local Conference President. * No person will speak in a SDA Church absent the permission of the Local Conference President. In actual practice, in North America, the Local Conference President will allow the local pastor to determine what local people may speak in the congregations that the pastor is in charge of. But, the expectation remains that any attempt to bring in a speaker from either outside the local area, or from an organization will be coordinated with the Local Conference President. This applies to me: As a result, I keep in regular contact with any Conference President in the area where I life and/or work. When I am approached by a local pastor with a request for ministry, my first response is to ask if that has been coordinated with the Conference. If it has not been, I tell the Pastor to do so. [NOTE: Once I have been give overall permission, I do not require further requests.] In addition, I coordinate my ministry so that I do not work in conflict with the policy of the Conference. I will be the first to say that this overall policy, is not fool-proof, and is not always complied with. In addition, there are aspects of the policy that can not easily be enforced. But, Some responsibility rests upon the local pastor. That pastor must comply early on, well before plans are made to bring in an a person/organization either as a speaker or to run some meetings. In any case, there is a method to resolve any issues. In one country where I once lived and worked, as an Army Chaplain, Some had some concerns about me (Surprised ?). They voiced their concerns. A decision was made. I preached and baptized in that country. Folks, Doug Batchelor knows the policy.

If we are referring to Doug Batchelor, he lived in a cave above Palm Springs. However, like many others, God has called him from darkness into His marvelous light. Unfortunately, "fine upstanding" members of the church have chosen to persecute him. He was forbidden to go forward with an evangelistic series in a Florida church. https://sdaprophecies.com/2016/02/08/adventist-gag-order-against-doug-bachelor-from-preaching/ Some conference official in the State of Illinois has forbidden another Adventist pastor from speaking in a church in Illinois. http://www.fulcrum7.com/news/2019/7/1/illinois-conference-forces-downers-grove-church-to-cancel-secrets-unsealed-event?rq=illinois Both of these actions occurred after preparations were well underway and happened to pastors who did not support the NAD rebellion regarding WO. According to the Fulcrum article, "Some sectors of our church are currently making a big deal out of abuse, as a social justice initiative. This action by the Illinois Conference is spiritually abusing people."

Well, my first question is WHY? There is a recommendation in SOP that we be students of history and current events. Since a significant portion of Daniel & Revelation is concerned with understanding the beast and end time events, it seems that we have been given permission and encouragement to know what is going on in the events occurring around us. We do need a proper balance in all studies. Also it is important to remember that even if we are studying the beast, Revelation is a revelation of Jesus Christ. He seems to be missing in most discussions of the beast.

Moishie Rosenberg was having trouble in school so his father decided to start tutoring him. Unfortunately his grades were not improving. "Look at this paper!” Mr. Applebaum said to Moishie, frustrated. “How could one person make so many mistakes!?" "It wasn't one person!” Moishie replied defensively. “My father helped!"

Shloimie Mandel, the owner of Kosher City, a local grocery store reached out to one of his larger volume customers after Passover. "Thank you, Mr. Markewitz, for shopping at my store. I wish I had twenty customers like you." "Wow, it's nice to hear that, but I'm kind of surprised," admitted Mr. Markewitz. "You know that I argue every bill and always return a bunch of items." Mandel replied, "I'd still like twenty customers like you. The problem is, I have hundreds!"

So says a man who lived naked in a cave above Hollywood.

5 Radioactive Facts About Marie Curie_2 On April 20, 1902, scientist Marie Curie successfully isolated the element radium while researching pitchblende from her laboratory in Paris. Here are 5 things you never knew about Marie Curie… She Won Nobel Prizes in Two Different Sciences Curie won a Nobel Prize for physics in 1903, along with her French physicist husband, Pierre, and physicist Henri Becquerel for the advances they had made in the subject of radioactivity. In 1911, Curie won a second Nobel Prize in the category of chemistry for her discovery of the elements polonium and radium. Madam Curie is the only person to have ever received Nobel Prizes in two different sciences. Her Daughter Also Won The Nobel Prize In the case of Marie and Pierre Curie’s eldest daughter, Irène, it can safely be said that the apple did not fall far from the tree. Irene grew up to marry Frederic Joliot-Curie, and the two were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the breakthroughs they had made in the synthesis of new radioactive elements. Though it had been Curie's pleasure to have witnessed her daughter and son-in-law’s successful research, she did not live to see them win the award. She Worked Out of a Shack It may come as a surprise to know that Curie and Pierre conducted the bulk of the research and experimentation which led to the discovery of the elements Radium and Polonium in what was described by the respected German chemist, Wilhelm Ostwald, as “a cross between a stable and a potato shed.” In fact, when he was first shown the premises, he assumed that it was “a practical joke.” Even after the couple had won the Nobel Prize for their discoveries, Pierre died never having set foot in the new laboratory that the University of Paris had promised to build them. Curie’s Study of Radium Is What Killed Her Curie died of aplastic anemia on July 4, 1934, which is believed to have been caused by her long-term exposure to radiation during her career. Safety measures had not yet been developed to improve safety while working near or with radium, but scientists now use protective clothing, gloves, and other protective gear and keep the element in boxes lined with lead. Her husband, Pierre, had died in 1906 at age 46 when he slipped and fell under the wheels of a vehicle being pulled by horses. Her Laboratory Notes Are Still Radioactive Though Marie and Pierre were at the forefront of research into radioactivity, the duo had no idea how harmful the elements they studied were to the human body. Both scientists handled radium with zero protection. Pierre supposedly kept a chunk of uranium in his pocket for the curious to observe its heating and glowing properties while Marie kept some by her bedside as a night-light. It wasn't until well after Marie's death that the effects of radioactivity on the human body were thoroughly understood. Given their reckless handling of the elements, many of the Curies' possessions remain so radioactive today that researchers cannot safely handle them.