SETTING SOME FACTS STRAIGHT
The James White Library of Andrews University opens its "Register of the William H. Grotheer Collection" with the following biographical sketch:
William H. Grotheer was born in Boone, Iowa, on October 14, 1920, as the son of Henry and Nora Bohner Grotheer. In 1942, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Union College at Lincoln, Nebraska. He married Dorothea Miller. As a young man he worked as a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada and then in the United States serving at the First Toronto Seventh-day Adventist Church (1950) among others. By the mid-1960s he was the head of the Bible and History Department at Madison College. He then went to Andrews University where he completed a Master of Arts degree in 1966 graduating “cum laude.” Afterwards he requested a leave of absence in order to be free to write and speak. Soon after, he established Adventist Laymen’s Foundation, which also accepted tithe and offerings. The Foundation built a campus in Ozone, Arkansas, where monthly convocations, annual fellowships, and other meetings took place. Grotheer spoke at many meetings around the country. He also published the periodical, Watchman, What of the Night? from 1967 to 2006. On March 26, 1972, he was dropped from membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He was well acquainted with Greek, and studied the writings of Ellen G. White, M. L. Andreasen, and other writers. He was active and well-known among Adventist independent ministries. He died on May 2, 2009.
While the biographical sketch does substantially represent the stature of the man, the passages highlighted above may not convey an accurate picture of his relationship with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In the following documents Elder Grotheer himself sets the record straight:-
Since the first Thought Paper was published in January, 1968, we have endeavored to keep each issue as free as possible of "personalities". What we have written which involved individuals was not regarding their personal idiosyncrasies, but only those acts for which all of us in responsible positions must stand accountable. We have at no time written behind one's back, but said what had to be said plainly and openly in a way which we believe that Christ would have said it. We do not profess to have achieved this objective perfectly, but we have tried to keep this goal ever before us.
When accusations and innuendos continue to be made behind one's back so that honest people might be deceived, it becomes necessary to speak forth so that the facts may be known, and that those persons who want to know, can know and make intelligent decisions in regard to the matter. The copy of the letter below is one exhibit of such behind-one's-back activity, and our reply follows.
General Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists
6840 Eastern Ave. NW, Washington D. C.
February 26, 1976
Division Presidents
Division Ministerial Secretaries
Dear Fellow Leaders:
I understand that one who styles himself Elder W. H. Grotheer has been sending you some of his material from time to time. I happen to be on his mailing list, too.
I understand from one or two of you men that you have been under the impression that this man is a Seventh-day Adventist minister in good and regular standing. I feel that it is the best thing for me to tell you that he is not a Seventh-day Adventist church member. He used to be a worker. He has been disconnected from the church for several years on what grounds I do not know, but his subsequent activities lead me to believe that the brethren must have had good grounds for separating him from the organized work.
He has set up his own organization, and he has done it in such a way that he can ordain his own ministers, grant them credentials, and do all of the other things that usually a church does. I think that the kind of material that he sends out is self-evident. If he were interested in the unity of the church and the preparation of a people for the coming of the Lord, he would not write in the caustic, critical manner in which he does.
I wish that you would warn the folk in your division and if he is sending his material out your way, you will know what to do with it. What a wonderful thing it would be if some of the people with mimeographs would direct their efforts into a finished work instead of pulling down.
God bless you all.
Cordially yours, (Signed)
Robert H. Pierson
OUR REPLY
July 12, 1976
Elder Robert H. Pierson, President
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Takoma Park, Washington D. C., 20012
Dear Elder Pierson;
Your letter dated February 26, 1976 which was sent to all Division Presidents and Division Ministerial Secretaries has come to my desk. It is sad that it came in a round about way, and that you did not manifest enough Christian courtesy to send me a carbon copy when you sent it to each of these men. Before publishing any issue that I might have with you directly, I have, as I am doing now, written to you prior to such publication. Further, what I have had to say in regard to your official actions in monthly thought papers, I have placed you on the regular mailing list so that you might know just what had been written and why it was written. I have documented the same so that it could be verified. This is not the case with your letter which contains gross misrepresentations.
In your letter you state "that the brethren must have had good grounds for separating him from the organized work." The facts are that I took a voluntary leave of absence from the organized work. in a statement dated November 29, 1966 on official stationary, Elder H. H. Schmidt, President of the Southern Union Conference stated: -"This is to establish the fact that Wm. H. Grotheer left the employ of Old Madison College and the Southern Union Conference strictly on his own, June 1, 1965. He was in good and regular standing as a denominational worker when he took this voluntary leave of absence." Not only has this statement been written, but my credentials were maintained until 1967 by the Southern Union Conference, when at the Session in that year, they were allowed to "lapse". At no time have my credentials ever been taken from me, nor requested from me.
You also state in your letter that "he has set up his own organization, and he has done it in such a way that he can ordain his own ministers, grant them credentials nowhere in our charter granted by the State of Mississippi, which is a public document by the way, nor in our By-Laws have we been granted the authority to ordain men to the ministry, neither have we attempted to do so! Our charter reads that we support that which is in harmony with "the tenets upon which the Seventh-day Adventist church is based, viz: the Bible and the writings of Ellen G. White." We do have power to grant credentials to "any minister ordained according to the rites of the Seventh-day Adventist church." This was written into the charter so that any minister who seeks to speak forth against the evils prevailing in the church, and who can no longer receive support from the church because he chooses to so speak, may still continue to exercise his rights legally as an ordained minister of the Gospel.
My brother, if you cannot write honestly concerning your fellow men whom you can see, how can you write truthfully about Jesus Christ and the Father whom you have not seen?
In your letter you state that you do not know "what grounds" were given to disfellowship me from the church several years back. Has one of your division presidents been so derelict in his responsibilities that he did not inform you of the committee he appointed to hear the case, and did he not give you a copy of the report issued by the committee? Let me refresh your memory by outlining for you the facts involved.
When the charter of the Adventists Laymen's Foundation of Mississippi was granted, action was forthcoming to remove me from the church roll on the grounds of insubordination as I was not recognizing properly constituted church authority. It was first attempted by board action alone, and then under pressure of the fact that such was not in keeping with the Church Manual, a business meeting was called for the purpose. At this business meeting, attended by the local conference president, action to disfellowship me was taken without me being able to speak in my own defense as is guaranteed in the Church Manual. Interestingly, also, is the fact that not another single board member of the Foundation at that time, and none since, have been called in question as to their membership. If I were in “sin" because I was a member of the board, then were not all members of the same board also in "sin"?
So I appealed the unScriptural and unconstitutional action taken. A committee of administrators, pastors, and laymen was set up, who came to Mississippi to hear the case. They issued a report entitled - "Grotheer Hearing Committee". Among the recommendations made was that the Foundation be dissolved and that "any assets of the Foundation be paid over to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and an accounting be given of prior receipts and expenditures." In 1972, I was totally unaware that you and other church leaders were playing in the legal "crap game” the world uses with the money the laity entrusted to you. (I use the term, "crap game" because that is how a Seventh-day Adventist layman in good and regular standing, and who is himself a stock broker, described the transactions of the stock market.) Now let me assure you that at no time has the Foundation had enough money to cover the paper and/or real losses sustained by your administration in the stock market. Further, at no time have we had enough money to invest in such a game, and even if we did, we would not play the stock market. We believe that the funds placed with the Foundation are a sacred trust to be used in harmony with the will of God for this time so that His people might be warned of the apostasy in high places.
Now there are other aspects of this Committee report that you may not know. In a letter from one of the members of the committee after the hearing, I was told that if I met the conditions noted in the above paragraph, and others such as personally recognizing myself as no longer a minister of the Gospel, then I could be restored to church membership "on a basis different than would be in the case in most circumstances." This was explained verbally to me by the individual to mean that I would not need to be rebaptized, nor make a profession of faith. Now let the implications of this fact sink into your thinking. Further, I received a letter from still another member of the same hearing committee which stated - "On several occasions he [Elder L. L. Bock, the chairman] made it emphatically clear that whatever the problem was, it was certainly not in the area of theology."
Now let us do a little reasoning together. You know that I was once a minister in the organization - some twenty-five years holding regular credentials, the prime years of my life. From your viewpoint, I am now a lost sheep of the house of Israel. Have you as the first minister of the church as you style yourself, adopted a shepherd's role, and made any attempt to find the "lost sheep"? If I am in a lost condition, should you not seek to rescue me as you encourage your ministers to seek the lost in the world? Did not Christ die for me, as well as for them? Is my soul of no value to you? Or are you afraid if we sat down together, you could not defend the heresy and error you have placed your imprimatur upon?
Elder Pierson it is time that you come clean with truth, and not continue to hide behind assumed ignorance and misrepresentations in dealing with your fellowmen for whom Christ died as well as you.
May the Lord help you to be intellectually honest and forthright, and what I request for you of the Lord, I ask likewise for myself.
Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
Wm. H. Grotheer
XVI -11(83) Excerpt
“Watchman,
what of the night?”
"The hour has come, the hour is striking and striking at you,
the hour and the end!"
Eze. 7:6 (Moffatt)
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Editor's Note
On
our recent trip West in September, the issue of money - tithes and
offerings - was raised in several places. In most instances,
individuals, aware of the apostasy in the midst of nominal Adventism
asked in sincerity - "Where shall I pay my tithes and/or offerings?"
Others sought to raise the money question to discredit the presentation
of historic Adventism. In one place, the first elder told members of the
local Seventh-day Adventist Church that he had a "ten year file on Elder
Grotheer." This sounded impressive. When confronted, it turned out to be
simply that he had received the Thought Paper - "Watchman, What of
the Night?" - for ten years! But based on his "file," he asserted
that we were there merely to collect tithes and bleed the people of
their means. What did he think - that we had some kind of a "Davenport
Connection"? The simple truth is that at no Watchman Meeting do we even
take an offering, much less solicit funds from anyone. However since the
issue was made so prominent in recent meetings, we believe that all of
our readers are entitled to know where we stand on such a crucial issue
as tithes and offerings. The following presentation was prepared several
months ago when the same issue was raised by Lewis Walton in his
exchange of correspondence over the Questionnaire. We believe that its
release now can serve an useful purpose in the light of further
questions and baseless insinuations.
LET’S TALK ABOUT MONEY
In
the long shadows cast by the Davenport scandal, the subject of money is
not very apropos. However, there is much that can be revealed as to real
conviction when money and the work of God coincide. No one launching a
program or a business can do so without first counting the cost, and to
meet that cost, the question follows - "Where is the money going to come
from?" Jesus Himself stated that no man "intending to build a tower,
sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have
sufficient to finish it?" (Luke 14:28)
About twelve years ago, a group of five men sat down in their first
session as the Board of Directors of the Adventist Laymen's Foundation.
Already the Thought Paper, "Watchman, What of the Night?" had
been in circulation for four years. The mailing list was growing. Folk
were writing in - some sending contributions unsolicited and asking for
tax deductible receipts. To answer these requests was one of the main
reasons why the Foundation was formed. One of the first items on the
Agenda was how we would relate to the subject of money - money to
operate. Should we solicit funds through the Thought Paper? Just how
shall the work be underwritten? Though legally formed as a Foundation,
there had been no grant, or any capital for its base. It would have to
be solely dependent on the means provided by those who received the
Thought Paper, and appreciated its objectives. Should we in circular
letters let the readers know our needs? These and other questions were
freely discussed. The final decision - voted as a regular operating
policy - was that at no time under any circumstance would we solicit
funds for the operation of the Foundation and its outreach.
There have been times when I, as the Executive Secretary, have been
tempted to go to the Board and suggest - "Let's revise this policy.
Perhaps with more funds, we could move forward more rapidly." But
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no, we have rigidly held to this policy and at no time have we through
the Thought Paper asked for money for the Foundation, nor have we sent
letters to those on the mailing list soliciting funds. Why?
The discussion on the Board at that first meeting when formulating this
guideline went something like this: Did we believe that which we were
doing was of the Lord? The answer was emphatically - "Yes!" Then it was
the Lord's work. Was He not, therefore, responsible to see that His work
was sufficiently funded? The answer was again, "Yes. " This being so, He
would provide through the moving of His Holy Spirit on human hearts. If
we had to "beg" - and that is what soliciting is - then we would know
that it is of human origin, and it was not the work we should be doing.
Soliciting money for religious purposes is quite revealing. If one
appeals to men, and by so doing receives their support, then he will
modulate his messages so as not to cut off the money supply. In whatever
form a message is published - journal, paper, or folder - if there is a
"begging" for money, you can mark down that work as of man, dependent on
man, and will lead ultimately to the mark of the beast, which is really
the mark of a man. See Rev. 13:18. God still owns the cattle upon a
thousand hills; all the gold and silver are His. He has never made His
work dependent upon man - the very stones would cry out, if human
hearts, - many of them harder than stone - would not respond to the
moving of the Holy Spirit.
To
every one to whom means has been given, that individual becomes a
steward of those means. To the child of God, this becomes an awesome
responsibility. His monies dare not be used to support error, but only
truth. Only the Spirit of Truth, through the Word of God, can tell him
where truth is being proclaimed. Furthermore, his monies to be blessed
of Heaven, can support only that which is of heavenly origin and
planning: in other words, God's program, not one of human devising, no
matter how seemingly worthy. This takes faith and the guidance of the
Holy Spirit on the part of all parties - those proclaiming truth,
believing that God is able to provide for that proclamation, and faith
on the part of the giver that the Holy Spirit can speak to his heart and
tell him what is right, and where the means entrusted to his stewardship
are to be placed.
I
know of individuals who have some money. I believe that I could go to
these persons and by persuasion obtain from them some funds to be used
in the work of the Foundation. However, if they did respond to my
pleadings, I could only tell them, "Thank you." I could not bless them.
Only as they gave freely - and that doesn't mean only liberally, but
also free from pressure - can they receive a blessing from Heaven, if in
their giving they responded to the moving of the Divine Spirit. How much
better the blessing of Heaven, than the "mouthings" of men!
There are various human motivations that have been and are being used to
obtain money. There is the poverty appeal. One is so poor, yet he is
devoting his time and pittance for the proclamation of historic
Adventism - even living on "Food Stamps" so that the work might go
forward - surely you must give to support that program.
I
am reminded of the time when we first accepted the Truth - now decades
ago - that a retired minister in whose home the Sabbath services were
conducted each week assumed as his responsibility the annual
solicitation of the business men in the small Mid-western town in which
we lived. During the year - on Sabbaths and other special occasions -
this minister would dress as if coming right out of the most expensive
men's store in town. But in doing Harvest Ingathering, as it was called
then, he dressed as if in dire poverty - and he got the money! My mother
was acquainted with some of the business people and when they found out
we had become Seventh-day Adventists, she would be asked, "Are you
unable to pay your preacher adequately?"
Then sometimes the appeal of sensationalism is used: The Number 666 is
appearing out of nowhere, and if you are not careful, you are going to
be "marked" without even realizing it. Just anything to catch a
headline! Sometimes we forget that the God of Elijah is not in the fire,
whirlwind, or storm, but in the still small
Page 3
voice of truth. To proclaim the truth, pure and unadulterated, is
sensational enough today in the midst of the winds of apostasy and
heresy which are blowing with gale force.
What is the appeal of heaven? "Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to
the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, eat, yea, come, buy
wine and milk without money and without price." (Isa. 55:1) He that is
thus sustained - with the wine of pure doctrine, with the milk of the
Word, and who has drunk freely of the waters of salvation - will respond
in deep heart-felt appreciation whether out of his poverty, or out of
his abundance. How then can any human motivation be in any way
justified? It cannot. The appeal to the senses by human devisings,
whether by sensationalism, the cry of poverty, or ill health, removes
the need and opportunity for the Holy Spirit to move upon the human
heart in either appeal or a test. And God is testing us in how we use
our means, even as He is testing us as to our discernment of truth.
Often these two tests blend into one.
Some folk believe that they can use the monies entrusted to them as
"leverage" to obtain some desired objective. I recall as a pastor in a
certain large city, a member became unhappy with my ministry. He went to
the Conference President and told him that he was withholding his tithe
until I was removed as pastor of that church. Fortunately, the
Conference President was one of those rare men who could not be
motivated by pressure. He told the young man to keep his funds; the
conference did not need such money. A few years ago, I was invited to a
fine home, and in the course of the conversation I was informed that
they had laid up a sum of tithe which they did not feel free to place
with the Conference. They suggested that if I would tone down the
Thought Paper this money would be given to the Foundation. My answer was
a simple but firm - "No." (This has occurred more than once since then.)
God's message does not carry a price tag; it cannot be bought neither is
it for sale. Believing what God has given me to do as Editor of "Watchman,
What of the Night?" is of Him, I must remain free to speak His Word,
and let the "chips" fall where they will, so long as the axe is laid to
the root of the tree. This concept is shared by each member of the Board
of Directors, and they do not seek to influence my work, nor bind it
about with directives. This leaves me answerable to God alone to Whom I
must give a final accounting.
Perhaps it would be in order to tell you how this work began. I was
employed in an educational project in the State of Mississippi which
required driving a 120 mile round trip each day. [At that time, I had
requested, and received a leave of absence from the ministry.] Due to
testing that I had to supervise, sometimes it was late at night -
midnight and after - when I would return home. This left me with little
time for my first love - study, and research. The dark clouds of
apostasy were getting darker and heavier, and voices of warning were few
indeed back there in 1967. Already the last sign Jesus had given was in
the process of fulfillment. I had not perceived this fact at that time -
that came a few years later. One morning - after one of those nights of
testing in this Adult Learning Program - I was returning to the Center
in Yazoo City. My mind was agitated - torn between what I was doing, and
what God was calling me to do. I pulled over to the side of the road,
and broke down in crying. It was then that I told the Lord that if He
would find me a job closer to home so that I would have time to study
and write, I would do it. He did, and I, by His grace, kept my word -
the first Thought Paper was published, January, 1968, and has been in
continuous publication since then.
There are also other ways in which individuals seek to use their
entrusted means to manipulate a work to their own ends. We were informed
earlier this year that a sizable sum of money was to be given to the
Foundation. It represented a sum equal to 60% of what the total annual
receipts were for 1982. However, there were some strings attached. We
would be asked to use the channels of the Foundation to transfer monies
to some of this person's well-to-do relatives so they could avoid taxes.
The integrity of the Foundation is not for sale - the man still has his
money.
Page 4
When we talk about money, there always arises the question - what about
the tithe? Where do I pay my tithe? This is not an easy question, for to
answer this question some other questions must be answered. What is
truth, and where is truth being proclaimed? We dare not follow the
tradition to which one has been subjected to over the years. We have
been told - "The Lord has not specified any regular channel through
which means should pass." (EGW, Spalding and Magan Collection, p.
498, Letter dated, August 15, 1898) Turning to the Word of God, we have
some specific instruction: "Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse." (Mal. 3:10) And here is where the hierarchy would like the
text to stop. They interpret the word - "storehouse" to mean the
Conference via the local church treasurer. But the text in Malachi does
not stop there - it states the purpose of the tithe - "that there may be
meat [food] in Mine house." Now the "house of God" is His church - no
question about that. But what is His Church - a building? The Bible
clearly states that the Church - His Church - is to be "the pillar and
ground of the truth." (I Tim. 3:15) Since the food which God provides is
His word, which is truth, He designs that the tithe be used to support
those who provide truth to His household. Those who so proclaim truth
are called "faithful and wise servants" who have been set by God as
overseers of "His household to give them meat [food] in due season."
(Matt. 24:45) There can be no justification in using tithe to support
error, and the spread of apostasy. Those who continue to so use their
tithe will have to give an accounting in the day of judgment as to how
they
"All the tithe ... is the Lord's." (Lev 27:30) It has been defined as
the tenth - "the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord." (Lev. 27:32) Over
this we have no control,
except in its allocation as a steward. The guidelines specify
- "I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an
inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the
tabernacle of the congregation." (Numbers 18:21) From the Levite who
carried away the ashes of the Altar, to the High Priest who ministered
in the Sanctuary, all were supported by the tithe. The tithe was not
used for non-Levitical ministries. In the New Testament, Paul asks - "Do
ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the
things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers
with the altar?" He then concludes - "Even so hath the Lord ordained
that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." (I Cor.
9:13-14) To appropriate the tithe to any other use, is a misuse of the
tithe.
Beyond the tithe, there are offerings. (See Mal. 3:8) Now what is an
offering? It is something freely given of an undetermined amount. This
comes back solely and squarely on the individual with the entrusted
means. It is beyond the tithe, monies which God recognizes as belonging
to the individual. How then do we determine an offering? How did God use
what belonged to Him - His Son? Our offerings reflect what we think of
the gift of Jesus. This is why no man has the right to "beg" from you
your means. Your appreciation of Jesus must be determined in communion
with the Holy Spirit alone at the Altar of Prayer in the study of the
Word. There at that Altar, both he that is doing the work of God, and he
whom God gives the privilege to support that work find their common
fellowship.
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