On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, I had the opportunity to speak with Pastor Samuel Neves, the newly elected Associate Director of the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) Department at the General Conference level. Pastor Neves, who previously served in the General Conference Communication Department, was just elected and is now transitioning to his new role at the Religious Liberty Department. He attended the press conference to announce that it would be the last one he would lead in his former capacity.
Seated on stage alongside Pastor Neves were Josue Pierre, GC Associate Treasurer; Alyssa Truman, GC Communication Director; Pastor Williams Costas Jr., former GC Communication Director; Dr. Samuel Gil, GC Associate Director for Communication; and representatives from various media departments, ministries, and communicators.
In the video, you will see the question I posed to the new Associate Director for PARL and his subsequent response. I asked what safeguards the General Conference has in place to prevent PARL officers from compromising the Church’s public witness and prophetic mission by promoting agendas aligned with the UN’s 2030 Agenda or the Vatican’s Fratelli Tutti encyclical, which seek to diminish our message.
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Good question, good wording. Praise the Lord.
Good question, good wording. Praise the Lord. The answer? Not so good, but could have been much worse. Thank you for speaking out for the sighing and crying. God bless you and lead you onward.
🎙️ Summary of Andy Roman’s Exchange with the GC (July 2025)
👤 Who’s Involved:
• Andy Roman: Advent Messenger reporter and watchman
• Pastor Neves: GC Communication Officer
• Arthur Steele: GC Vice President
• 23 million SDA members: Represented at the 2025 General Conference Session
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🧠 Key Moments & Meaning
1️⃣ Andy’s Question: Clear, Direct, and Necessary
“Two days ago, you said the delegates declined to revisit the 2015 immunization statement. But yesterday, VP Arthur Steele said the GC will begin a re-examination process. What happened? What does that process look like?”
🔍 Andy exposes a contradiction:
• GC delegates voted not to address the issue publicly.
• But then GC leadership says they’ll quietly revisit it internally.
⚖️ Spiritual Commentary:
This suggests damage control rather than repentance. They didn’t want open debate but now want backdoor review — away from public scrutiny.
📖 “God has not placed upon any man the burden of making decisions for the church.” — Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 8, p. 236
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2️⃣ Pastor Neves’ Response:
“Moving a body of 23 million people through democratic process is hard… but in a healthy church, we listen to each other.”
🔍 He praises the democratic structure, but also subtly warns against lay members thinking they can ‘move the church’ via social pressure or videos.
⚖️ Spiritual Analysis:
This sounds like a rebuke toward grassroots protest — yet it’s the very voice of reformers and watchmen like Andy that God raises up to shake Laodicea.
📚 “There is as great a need of reform in the Protestant world as ever there was in the Roman Church.” — The Great Controversy, p. 384
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3️⃣ Internal GC Dialogue? “I’m not privy…”
“I’m not privy to the officer conversations… but I presume they saw concerns and said, ‘Let’s talk about it.’”
🔍 Translation: Zero transparency. Not even the GC’s official spokesman knew what was decided behind closed doors.
⚖️ Spiritual Implication:
How can members be asked to trust their leaders when leadership decisions are veiled?
📖 “The high-handed power that has been developed… is a repetition of the course of Rome.” — Testimonies to Ministers, p. 361
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4️⃣ GC’s Posture: “Don’t Gloat. Just Pray.”
“Gloating isn’t of the Holy Spirit. Pray. Don’t think your video or protest moved the church.”
🔍 This is a spiritual guilt trip toward activists and watchmen like Andy.
⚖️ Spiritual Insight:
Yes, prayer is vital — but rebuke, public testimony, and protest are all biblical. Remember Elijah. Remember John the Baptist.
📖 “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet…” — Isaiah 58:1
📚 “We are not to cringe and yield our liberty in matters of conscience and duty.” — Testimonies, Vol. 5, p. 713
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5️⃣ Final Thought: “We’ll Find Out Together…”
“Is this being revisited before the next session or at it?” – Andy
Neves: “I’m sure we’ll find out together.”
🔍 Still no clear answer. Just a shrug and “we’ll see.”
⚖️ Prophetic Application:
This is precisely the lukewarm, evasive leadership style Laodicea embodies — ambiguity over accountability.
📖 “Because thou art lukewarm… I will spew thee out…” — Revelation 3:16
📚 “The message to the Laodiceans is applicable to Seventh-day Adventists who have had great light, and have not walked in the light.” — Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 357
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🔥 Final Reflection:
This moment reveals:
• A church under pressure but not yet under repentance.
• Leaders acknowledging concerns, but stalling action.
• A prophetic parallel to Nicodemus coming by night — afraid to go public.
“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” — Proverbs 28:13