It’s Time to Stop Playing Church

By Arnie Suntag

In the aftermath of a rather unorthodox General Conference Session and the NAD’s CALLED Conference – events that unfortunately illustrated just how much we can mimic the rest of the world, perhaps a few Seventh-day Adventists are waking up to the fact that the corporate church no longer resembles the organization established by our pioneers. However, there is something even more concerning than that. There has been a longstanding phenomenon in our church that I have observed over the years, much to my chagrin. It is an attitude, or perhaps a lack of one, that transforms sound reasoning into wishful thinking. It is a proclivity to tune out the obvious by donning rose-colored glasses rather than facing reality and responding accordingly. It is a process of denial that ultimately results in sheer impotence when it involves calling out error so that the work of the Gospel can go forward unhampered.

While it is understandably difficult for some to fathom the hypocrisy being manifested in church leadership today, it is also a poor excuse for rationalization and inactivity. Somewhere along the line a vast majority of those in our church have learned never to challenge authority and to keep their mouths shut even when confronted with unreasonable and unbiblical actions perpetrated by leadership. At best, they will attempt to rationalize a controversial action by pointing out its “positive” aspects, even though it is an axiom that it is Satan who mixes truth with lies. What happened at the GC Session is surely a fait accompli for those in the upper echelons whose agenda hinges on a partnership with secular authorities and nowadays with Rome itself. The inherent supremacy and unilateral decision-making by leadership this has spawned is the antithesis of the Biblical model in which we are all brethren in Christ Jesus. It has led even those in our church who might normally have no difficulty challenging political pundits advocating for worldly policies, to become mired down in self-doubt, timidity, and confusion over the paradoxical actions of Conference leadership. Instead of providing the motivation to take a stand and to call sin by its right name, this cognitive dissonance has propelled them to hide under a rock and wait for the fallout to end. It has caused them to become reticent and to acquiesce for fear of being censured or deplatformed. It is a truly dysfunctional development that has created compliant automatons out of many of our church members who kowtow to Conference dictates. It threatens to dilute our beliefs as Seventh-day Adventists by playing into the hands of radical forces at the highest level, hell-bent on eliminating the fundamental teachings and principles that founded our church.

What will it take to awaken those who are slumbering comfortably in a pew every Sabbath? The 61st General Conference session should clearly be seen as the defining moment for our church. The use of a secret ballot to re-elect leaders whose tenure was already in question by a number of faithful Seventh-day Adventists around the world is an anomaly, ironically similar to the questionable practices that caused the controversy surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The plea by Conference leadership to “trust” them with the authentication of the votes is a sheer absurdity in light of the way they managed Covid-19 mandates and their intractable stance on the vaccine. I cannot even fathom the level of naivety involved in accepting this incongruous plea for such an illegitimate political maneuver. Although no one seemed to have made the point, it is diametrically opposed to the tenets of Christianity. Our faith is all about transparency – not secret or covert activities.

Then, of course, there was the pièce de résistance by Ted Wilson when he overstepped his authority in a blatant effort to pressure delegates to keep any Covid-19 discussions off the table. In his unconventional monologue, he even resorted to subtly shaming those with legitimate concerns about the Covid-19 vaccine by touting the numerous vaccinations he received in order to do mission work overseas – obviously discounting the vast differences in the technology behind those vaccines and the now well-documented dangers of mRNA vaccines. As out of place as his comments were to begin with, they should be viewed as an affront to all sincere Seventh-day Adventists around the world whose legitimate concerns and refusal to take a questionable vaccine represent the cornerstone of an individual’s freedom of conscience and their fundamental human rights. Instead of acknowledging this, Wilson threw kerosene on the fire by misstating the Conference’s position on the vaccine, declaring that he supports an individual’s right to choose. Shutting down discussions related to Covid-19 completely marginalized the millions of Seventh-day Adventists around the world whose lives were adversely impacted by the decisions the Conference promulgated without legal or scriptural authority to do so. Many hearts were broken, jobs and homes lost, and lives destroyed by the Conference policies that merged with the world’s. If anything deserved a forum for discussion, this was surely it. There is nothing about the action taken by Ted Wilson and the surprising silence and subsequent compliance by most of the delegates that bears a resemblance to a compassionate, caring, Holy Spirit-led people. In short, this was not what one would expect to find in any church setting.

It seems that there will always be those dyed-in-the-wool Seventh-day Adventists who will support the Conference regardless of the reckless or irreverent actions they may take. Their slogan might just as well be, “my Conference right or wrong.” Nonetheless, whether one would like to admit it or not, these events at the GC Session exhibited the same kind of collusion and deceit that have become commonplace in authoritarian government agencies and corrupt secular institutions today. The actions and demeanor of those in leadership are symptomatic of a religious organization that has sold out to the world – from accepting government funds to clasping the hand of Pope Francis in a show of ecumenical solidarity. Surely it is no surprise that the Vatican flag was flown at the GC Session, an outrage that was subsequently rationalized with the flimsiest unbiblical explanation. The very same leaders who have been forging an alliance with Rome through their ecumenical agenda, now illegitimately reelected, are responsible for this incursion. They are playing with the big boys now. Favored by the globalists whose agenda it is to subjugate the masses through pandemic mitigation efforts, racial strife, and other divisive political ploys, these men were bound to be reelected one way or another because the Seventh-day Adventist Church is central to the globalists’ efforts to point the world’s compass back toward Rome.

The key to accomplishing this feat is suppression of individual rights – the hallmark of totalitarianism. It is a throwback to the paradigm that characterized the Inquisition, thus the unprecedented effort to stonewall any potential challenge to the authority of Conference leadership. It is the Catholic Church incarnate. If those who are devoted to the Conference would only remove the blinders that years in the church have placed upon them, they would see that, other than perhaps a few prayers, familiar ceremonial traditions, and gratuitous acknowledgements of some doctrines, this administrative body of today’s corporate church no longer looks much different from mainstream secular organizations and technocracies like Google and Amazon. After all, we are supposed to be a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). What happened? The early pioneers would not even recognize this as the church they founded. It is that far gone.

What transpired at the GC Session surely represents the final coffin nail for religious liberty in the corporate church. It is the result of the clandestine merger with Rome and the need to suppress any dissention between church members and leadership. Ironically, religious liberty was one of the most cherished principles associated with the founding of our church. Yet, the politics at the GC Session illustrate its antithesis. Adding insult to injury, an article in the Adventist News Network (ANN) from June 16 audaciously highlights the major contributions to religious liberty made by the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department (PARL) of the General Conference. The purported accomplishments were of course touted by none other than its director, Ganoune Diop – a Jesuit-inspired advocate of ecumenism whose cordial relationship with Pope Francis seems to have gone right over the heads of many church members. Despite photos of Diop shaking hands with this enemy of religious freedom, they still fancy him as an advocate for their rights. It is a stunning paradox. The ANN article is a self-aggrandizing and all-too-obvious effort to whitewash what happened at the GC Session. It is a sickening contradiction of the truth. ANN with its perpetual propaganda is now on par with publications like the Enquirer and other secular rag sheets. What is coming out of ANN today is nothing more than a highly politicized public relations effort designed to persuade people to accept the contradictory decisions and edicts being dished out by Conference leadership.

If all of the preceding is not bad enough, one needs to consider the recent CALLED Conference hosted by the NAD. Of everything I have seen in recent years in our church, this may very well have been the most striking example of just how far our church has wandered from its foundation. The dancing, the music, and other activities at times looked remarkably similar to what one would see in a Pentecostal church. The theme of speakers such as Ty Gibson, was essentially to transition away from the “legalism” of the Seventh-day Adventist church, i.e., the Three Angels Message, the State of the Dead, and the Sabbath, and instead focus on the Gospel and the love of Christ. Of course, the Gospel is of vital importance. No one will argue against that. But to strip away our fundamental beliefs and bury present truth or lessen its importance, is in dire opposition to what we should be doing in these last days, as EG White herself stated:

“While the Protestant world is by her attitude making concessions to Rome, let us arouse to comprehend the situation and view the contest before us in its true bearings. Let the watchmen now lift up their voice and give the message which is present truth for this time. Let us show the people where we are in prophetic history and seek to arouse the spirit of true Protestantism, awaking the world to a sense of the value of the privileges of religious liberty so long enjoyed.” {5T 716.2}

To relegate prophetic insights to the sidelines in favor of a love message, is to undo one of the most effective tools we have available to us in reaching those struggling to understand why the unprecedented current events in our nation are transpiring and where they are tending. Ty Gibson’s assertions, and those who concur with him, represent the very reason that our church is now moving toward an alliance with Rome. To counter what should be rather obvious, Gibson used quotes from Ellen White’s writings, taken out of context, to support his rather fallacious and misconceived perspective. It is the same practice frequently employed by many liberals and pseudo-liberals in the church, as well as in the mainstream. While they denounce Ellen White’s writings as out of step with contemporary society, they nonetheless use quotes from her writings when it suits them, piecing them together in such a way as to support their narrative. The General Conference has been guilty of the same practice in relation to Covid-19 mandates and the vaccine. In any case, there is no surprise about the events that took place at the CALLED conference, since NAD is steeped in the secular ideologies that are turning our society upside-down. Clearly, this is NOT the church of Ellen White’s day.

A while back, I preached a sermon identifying the “true church” from a Biblical perspective, for which I was subsequently lambasted by a number of church members. It helped me to realize just how enamored many in our church are with the Conference. They are mired down in the presumed devoutness of Conference leadership to the extent that some consider the Conference the voice of God. Ellen White herself had that perspective at one point, but soon came to recognize that such an affinity was grossly misplaced:

“It has been some years since I have considered the General Conference as the voice of God.–17MR 216 (1898). That these men should stand in a sacred place, to be as the voice of God to the people, as we once believed the General Conference to be–that is past”–GCB April 3, 1901, p. 25. {LDE 50.4}

Considering the Conference to be anything but a worldly organization with a penchant to remain in good standing with world leaders, ecumenists, and papists by being “politically correct” is a terribly misguided perspective that unfortunately holds sway over many in our church today. It is a sad commentary on what has become of the pure apostolic faith from which our church evolved. It leads me to wonder how far those in Conference leadership will be permitted to go unbridled in establishing policies or issuing directives and mandates that contravene what we believe as Seventh-day Adventists before our misled brothers and sisters wake up and see the organization for what it has become. What will it take? Perhaps closing down our churches again due to another purported pandemic, or issuing vaccine mandates for church members as well as for workers? How about installing women or transgenders as pastors? Or maybe it will be a directive to keep Sunday as a special day of rest in response to the Green Movement, climate change advocates, and the relationship with Pope Francis?

It is just a matter of time until any semblance of Biblical truth and our foundational beliefs are wiped away from the church by its own leadership – all in the interest of being politically correct so as to ensure acceptance by the world. Frankly, I do not believe that even these transgressions coming to fruition will free church members from an unyielding allegiance to the Conference. Many will simply resort to the very same rationalization and justification that has permitted the church to fall as deeply into the abyss as it has. They will simply refer to EG White’s comment about the church appearing to fall, but it does not fall (2SM 380.1). But despite any pushback from the White Estate or church leadership, Ellen White was not speaking about the Conference. She was referring to the true church, which is what she called the Church Triumphant. This is the church that will overcome and prevail to the very end – not the Church Militant. I will delve into that shortly.

The overriding goal in the Conference’s actions today is to harmonize with the world and its perks – and that means ensuring political correctness. A good illustration is Ted Wilson’s comment from some time ago about the Mark of the Beast being any day but the Sabbath. Many are familiar with this. But, when I brought it up in a recent sermon, there was an immediate backlash contending that he later corrected that statement. Indeed he did. I acknowledged that. But consider this: Ted Wilson has a long family history in the church. He has no doubt heard, recited, and taught about the Mark of the Beast hundreds, if not thousands, of times. His comment was no accident. It was not a slip of the tongue. He was merely trying to be politically correct so as not to draw the ire of the ecumenists and papists with whom he and Ganoune Diop have formed a relationship. This practice of political correctness is the same problem that reared its ugly head during debates over women’s ordination and other controversial issues. Yet, few in our church seem to grasp the obvious. Instead, they rationalize it. This is driven by their perception that Conference leadership is of strong moral rectitude and that they have the best interests of the flock at heart. Thus, to them, the General Conference has become synonymous with the church. They will vehemently argue that the Conference is the church.

Unfortunately, the Biblical version of the true church does not resonate with those who are die-hard Conference advocates. Through my interaction with our brothers and sisters at various churches, I have learned that the concept is apparently too abstract for many to grasp, even though Scripture clearly provides the guidance:

In other words, the true church is represented by the people who are on the Advent path – those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is the church of which Christ is the head. It is what the Spirit of Prophecy describes as the Church Triumphant. And, despite the protestations of those who hopelessly cling to a traditional viewpoint from bygone days, the General Conference is NOT the church. It no longer upholds the principles that identify us as Seventh-day Adventists, except perhaps for gratuitous statements and sermon references that serve as nothing more than window dressing for the uninitiated. While there may be those working for the Conference who are genuinely converted individuals that belong to the true church, the organization itself has become nothing more than an IRS-recognized corporate entity mirroring the ideologies of the world.

In recent days, it has been joined at the hip with the government, ecumenical leaders, and as current events illustrate, has become a purveyor of public policy irrespective of its impact on what we believe as Seventh-day Adventists. Those in leadership have promoted vaccine mandates, instituted draconian Covid-19 mitigation policies, and have embraced ecumenism, the LGBT movement, critical race theory, transgenderism, publications of infidel authors, and much more. And if all of this is not enough, as previously pointed out, the recent GC Session revealed their covert agenda when discussions related to Covid-19 were arbitrarily stonewalled and dubious methods were employed to ensure the re-election of the same individuals responsible for such affronts. These are serious breaches of the fiduciary responsibilities those in Conference leadership have in relation to church members. Indeed, this does not in any way represent the church of the pioneers. And while Ellen White herself had issues with the Conference, one has to realize that the improprieties that existed in her time do not even come close to comparing with the outrageous offenses of today. Nonetheless, she had some strong words to say back then:

“The opinion of men was looked to as the voice of God. The enemy took possession of minds and their judgment was worthless, their decisions were evil, for they did not have the mind of Christ. They were doing continual injustice to the persons they talked about, and they had a demoralizing effect upon the conference.” February 1890, Ms. 37-1890.

Her comments from the turn of the twentieth century should resonate more than ever with those today who have witnessed the unprecedented actions by Conference leadership in complete disregard for the key elements of our faith, particularly matters such as freedom of conscience:

“It is working upon wrong principles that has brought the cause of God into its present embarrassment. The people have lost confidence in those who have the management of the work. Yet we hear that the voice of the Conference is the voice of God. Every time I have heard this, I thought it was almost blasphemy. The voice of the Conference ought to be the voice of God, but it is not, because some in connection with it are not men of faith and prayer, they are not men of elevated principle.” April 1, 1901, Ms. 37-1901.

Yet, despite the extraordinary illustrations of apostasy in the corporate church today, many church members continue to pay homage to Conference leadership in the same manner that they engage in the ceremonies and rituals that have been carried on for decades. The problem is that these sincere individuals are placing their faith and loyalty in the wrong institution. There is no way to reasonably characterize the Conference as the church today. It is an oxymoron. The Conference stepped over the line by issuing mandates that adversely affected the lives of millions of Seventh-day Adventists, disparaging those who do not fall into line with their edicts, joining forces with the ecumenical movement, encouraging flawed theology that originates from infidel authors and speakers, and teaching children in our schools concepts that have little to do with the foundational principles of our church. In short, the Conference has conformed to worldly policies and principles and, as such, has besmirched the church’s name in the eyes of the Lord’s faithful servants and those in the mainstream who would relish attending a church where Biblical truth is paramount. EG White describes the impact of conforming to worldly customs quite aptly:

“Conformity to worldly customs converts the church to the world; it never converts the world to Christ.” {GC 509.1}

The greatest challenge to our church today is the penchant many have to avoid confrontation, to shy away from challenging authority, and in short, to knuckle under and be good little Adventists no matter what is foisted upon them by church leadership. This is a Catholic perspective. It originated with people like Ignatius Loyola and the Jesuit principle of never challenging one’s superiors. As a result, many continue to follow practices that have become inconsistent with the realities of present truth, blindly going along with the crowd and pedestalizing leaders who have sold their birthright for a morsel of meat. Is this why many delegates at the GC Session sat silently while Conference leadership ran roughshod, imposing their covert agenda on the entire world church? What excuse is there for this inaction? It is high time that those who boast of remaining resolute in the face of persecution when it finally comes, as it surely will, to take a firm stand in constraining an organization that is working against the foundational beliefs of the church it supposedly represents. Ellen White could not have stated it more clearly:

“The greatest want of the world is the want of men–men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” {Ed 57.3}

This prevailing Seventh-day Adventist practice of failing to look reality square in the eye is a very dangerous phenomenon because those outside the church can easily discern the paradoxes, even though we may have deluded ourselves into believing otherwise. What incentive would such individuals then have to join a church where such hypocrisy reigns? It is not only inconsistent with what Christianity is supposed to be, but it is simply not rational. When tradition, rote practices, and devotion to renegade leaders take the place of reason and rationale, this is the stuff that cults are made of. It is time to wake up and recognize things for what they are – not for what we fancy them to be. It is time to stop playing church and get back to our founding principles.

About the author: Arnie Suntag is the founder and president of Walk of Faith, an organization that conducts seminars and educational series on health and disease prevention and provides outreach services to the community. For inquiries or comments call (866) 359-2640 or email Arnie Suntag at arniesuntag@walkoffaithmedia.org.