The thoughts running through my mind are mixed and varied. It is as if my parents had called me and told me that they no longer wished for me to be their son, they had disowned me. As I went out the doors of the Indian Creek Church where I had pastored for three years I could hardly believe what had happened. The pain was intense, I was prepared to leave and yet it was at the same time a great release from the tension and strain that I had been under for the last three years. As sympathetic brethren offered their condolences I prayed that when their time should come that they would be able to stand for the truth and that there would be brethren there to encourage them as they were there to encourage me. It is for those who have been cast out of the synagogue before me and those who will be cast out after me that this experience is being written out. "Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."

Recently, while planning this article for the Commentary, a document was laid on my desk written by former Ohio Conference pastor John Croskey about his experience with the Ohio Conference. (Those who are familiar with the John Croskey story will understand why I was interested in his document after reading this issue of the Commentary.) While looking through the article I became disturbed with several parts. Let me state before I comment about the document that I believe that there was an injustice done to Brother Croskey by the conference. How much injustice, only God knows. However, this documented commentary will not be of the same nature as Croskey's. The leadership will not be labeled as having "Satanic Characters" nor will they be called "wretches" as in Croskey's paper.

On page nine of the manuscript written by Croskey is a picture of Elder Marwood Hallett whom Croskey was assigned to intern under at Akron. Across from the picture of Hallett is the caption: "Now does this man look like he'd make a good 'BOSS OVER ME' for Motschiedler (Ohio Conference president) - or what??? One thing is certain: when I saw the man's picture, I was not the least bit 'encouraged'." (See document - SPIRITUAL WICKNESS IN HIGH PLACES - Emphasis supplied.) Since when did the appearance of an individual have anything to do with his character? If one were to look at a picture of M. L. Andreasen (perhaps the greatest theologian and standard bearer for the truth the church as ever had), he or she might not have much confidence in the messenger if the verdict was based upon Andreasen's picture.

While it is our desire to write the Commentary in a Christian manner, our thoughts are reminded of what the servant of the Lord wrote: "So men who should be standing as faithful guardians of God's law have argued, till policy has taken the place of faithfulness, and sin is allowed to go unreproved. When will the voice of faithful rebuke be heard once more in the Church?"

"' Thou art the man.' 2 Samuel 12:7. Words as unmistakably plain as these spoken by Nathan to David are seldom heard in the pulpits of today, seldom seen in the public press. If they were not so rare, we should see more of the power of God revealed among men." (Prophets and Kings, p 141 Emphasis supplied ) Using this statement as a basis, I would like to state my convictions regarding my experience with the Mountain View (West Virginia) Conference.

That conviction is: I have no hard feelings toward any of the people connected with the conference or the local church in any way. This includes Elder Herbert Broeckel who is the Mountain View Conference president, the Conference Committee, as well as those who voted for my disfellowshipment. I account many of them brothers and sisters in Christ regardless of how they :* wish to account me. My desire is not to unnecessarily call names or label people. This is not a laughing matter. (There will be no smiling faces in this commentary as there was in the Croskey document.) The materials of a most serious nature and deserves a careful study.

To be able to understand the events that led up to my disfellowshipment, I shall give a brief chronology of events during the last five years, three of which I was pastor of the Indian Creek S.D.A. Church in the Mountain View Conference. (Contrary to accepted standards, the chronology will be in both past and present tense.) 2

We received our first call to the ministry in the summer of 1983. I was to work in a similar capacity to that of an intern under an ordained minister in a small church in West Virginia. I chose to teach public school for the support of my family while the

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conference would give me a travel allowance. At that time, I could only envision the church as doing good and being on the straight and narrow path to the kingdom. I had heard of Desmond Ford and knew that I wanted nothing to do with "offshoot" theology such as his. However, thanks to the Ministry magazine, my vision of the church was soon to change. It was in the Ministry magazine that I learned that the pastor did not have to seek "New Theology," the church would bring it to his mailbox every month. One of the first issues I received (December 1983), created great problems for me. The first article of that issue was certainly not Historic Adventism. This article, "Within the Veil," written by Erwin Gane, has since become quite well known. I wondered, why would the church publish such material? I asked my fellow ministers about it at the workers meetings and found none, that I asked, had read it. Finally I talked to the district pastor. His comment was, "I don't see anything wrong with it." (That was the last time that I asked him for any theological advice!) Little by little, the Lord was showing me the error that was being taught.

Our next call was to take the Indian Creek Church in May of 1984 as a stipend pastor. I would still be working in the public schools for the support of my family while pastoring the small church (average attendance was about 20). While at Indian Creek, the picture of what had been taking place in the church started to become much clearer. The book, Letters to the Churches, came to my attention for the first time. With wonder I read about the S.D.A. Evangelical Conferences of 1955 and 1956. This sparked my interest in studying the "Alpha and Omega" of apostasy. As I studied and researched, I found that we had deviated from the "blueprint" in the medical work, the education work, the ministry, etc.

After reading Wieland and Short's manuscript, 1888 Re-Examined, I would discuss the hope of repentance by our people with the head elder Glen Ford (no relation to Desmond Ford). Many hours did we discuss, study, and pray for a repentance to take place in the church. During this time we both felt that it was at least possible for the church to be turned around, although we were not sure if she would. With the passing of time, and more light coming to us, our hope of denominational repentance began to fade.

About this time I met Marty Wold who had recently become a stipend pastor in the conference. This brief introduction to Marty left me with the impression that he was one of the finest Christians I had ever met. Marty was not lifeless like so many of the other ministers, but rather he was vibrant, and on fire for Christ. It came as a great shock when I soon after heard that Marty had been dismissed from the ministry. Desiring to know what had happened, Brother Ford and I invited Marty to Indian Creek.

In visiting with Marty I was convinced that I had not misjudged his Christian experience. We found Marty was more informed about the apostasy than we were. In his studies he had drawn the conclusion that the S.D.A. Church would become a persecuting power in the last days. (While at first skeptical, I believe that Marty's hypothesis will prove to be deadly accurate.) Since much of Marty's interest and study was in the topic Righteousness by Faith, I asked him to give some studies to the church members that were interested. These studies were held in my mobile home (the home was set up on a portion of the church lot that we had leased) on a Sabbath afternoon; and at Brother Ford's house the following Sunday. The dates for the meetings were December 29 and 30, 1984. 1

Marty was invited back to visit the last weekend of January 1985. Most of the church members as well as the former pastor of the Indian Creek Church attended the studies held at the Ford's home. A month later - the last weekend of February - Marty spoke at the Ford's home on religious liberty and health reform. When the news returned to the conference office that I had had Marty in our area, specifically in my home, the conference president (Elder Wayne Coulter) wanted to see me. In a kind way he told me that I had given sanction to Marty's views by having him visit, and that this should not be done anymore. He told me that some of Marty's ideas were correct, but that the church was going on to the kingdom and not to worry about it.

During this time, my loyalty to the church was beginning to waver. When I entered the ministry, I promised the Lord that I would always be loyal to the truth. Now it was becoming more difficult to be loyal to the truth and loyal to the church at the same time. I remember telling Sister Ford after an evangelistic meeting that it was getting a little scary to preach on apostate Protestantism. The more I studied the picture, the more we were beginning to look like one of the daughters of Babylon. The struggle was great, yet I continued to support the church and its programs every way I could.

As we saw the vain attempts the church was making to give the three angels messages in the form of "New Theology," we decided to increase our efforts in the part of the vineyard that God had entrusted to us. Since most of the members, including myself, held full time jobs, our little church decided to support a full time Bible worker. Though the salary was small ($600/month), a young church school teacher (Ken Lebrun) who had been trained for the ministry, accepted the call to come to Indian Creek with his family. Ken had studied the "New Theology" at Southern College and had just recently been converted to "Historic Adventism." His earnest desire was to help others to see the truth that he had just learned.

May 2, 1985 - I met Elder William Grotheer for the first time at Brother Ford's home; his presentation was on Bible prophecy. The former pastor of Indian Creek and his wife, the Fords, my wife and I were the only ones present. Although there are just a few, the meeting was quite stimulating for all attending. There was nothing presented that could not have been given at any worker's

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meeting. Elder Grotheer gives each family the document: Times of the Gentiles. My copy goes to the shelf.

Sunday, May 19, 1985 - The regular constituency meeting of the Mountain View Conference is held at our church camp Valley Vista. Elder Coulter has recently taken a call to the Chesapeake Conference and Potomac Conference secretary, Elder Herbert Broeckel, is elected president of the conference.

Sabbath, June 8, 1985 - Indian Creek is the first church in the Mountain View Conference that Elder Broeckel visits to speak in. We open the doors with a loving welcome hoping that here would be one who would stand for the truth. As sincere as Elder Broeckel may have been, we were later to be bitterly disappointed.

July 1985 - The manuscript, Times of the Gentiles, comes off the shelf. I have been looking for the missing piece to the church puzzle and I now believe that it may have been found. As I study the prophecy of Jesus in Luke 21:24 the scroll unrolls. Here is the answer to why the church has gone down hill so much in recent years. I write Elder Grotheer and ask him to come and study Luke 21:24 in detail with me.

Friday, August 23, 1985 - Elder Grotheer and I study Luke 21:24 for the entire day. Every facet of the prophecy is looked at, every angle is carefully examined.

Sabbath afternoon, August 24, 1985 - Elder Grotheer presents a three part study, "Times of the Gentiles" in my home. Most of the church people attend and the response is varied. Some have strong objections to the material presented, yet they cannot refute the prophecy of Jesus. Some realize that the prophecy has been fulfilled and begin to understand its implications. Brother LeBrun is quite disturbed. In talking to him after the meeting, we concur that the S. D. A. Church organization is no place to bring the souls we were working for, but rather we would have to bring them into a local fellowship. This decision of Brother LeBrun is soon forgotten.

In learning about the 1980 Dallas General Conference session and what had taken place, I decided that it was time to talk up louder. Not only did I have to speak up, but I could no longer financially support what I knew to be apostasy. Yet even at this time, I financially supported the local conference wherever I could. The support of the local church was little problem since I was the pastor. When I found out that the General Conference had millions of dollars invested in the stock market I was very surprised. From talking to those who "play" the market I found out that it was "gambling." Not only were we gambling away God's money, but we were doing much of it on products that were not in keeping with our standards.

Sabbath, early September 1985 - My sermon is on the tithe. The first 80% of the message is straight from the Bible and could be preached in any S.D.A. Church. However, the last 20% would not have been so well received. After reading texts such as Isaiah 58:1; Joel 2:1; Ezekiel 33:3-9; 1 Peter 5:2; and 2 Timothy 4:2, I read part of the General Conference auditing report from the previous year and discuss our involvement in the stock market. I emphasize to the people the scriptural obligation of returning a faithful tithe, and then offerings. However, I also emphasize that we cannot put God's holy money in unholy hands. I do not tell anyone not to tithe to the conference, or where to put their tithe. (It has been more than two years since then, and I have never asked or advised anyone not to send their tithe to the conference. When asked about my personal position, I have been clear and "make no bones about it" - I cannot support apostasy.)

October 1985 - Knowing that the conference president has received word of the tithe sermon and wanting to be up front, I write to him about my concerns. On Sabbath October 19, I preach what I believe will be my last sermon as a Seventh-day Adventist minister. The conference president will be visiting me the next day and my mind goes back to the way that Marty Wold was fired.

Sunday, October 20 - Elder Broeckel comes to talk to me about my concerns. I express to him that I do not see how we can fulfill the characteristics of the remnant church with the apostasy that is going on. Believing that the pastors in Mountain View Conference were teaching Historic Adventism, I offer to return my tithe to the conference if it will stay there. To this Elder Broeckel responds that that is not possible because of the world wide nature of the church and the polices would not allow it. I offer to study from the Bible the basis of my concerns with Elder Broeckel, his reply is, "Allen, I'm no theologian." He does offer to let me study with any minister of my choice in the conference to see if my concerns can be cleared up. He expresses to me that he believes that if I could attend one of our schools I could get things straightened out. (I have never been a student in an Adventist school.) I tell Elder Broeckel that if I went to the seminary that it would be my ruination. If the seminary cannot prepare a conference president, to study theological issues with an untrained (by church standards) pastor, then I didn't that it would help me. Instead of releasing me of my pastoral duties Elder Broeckel says that he will ask the Conference Committee to give me two months to study the issues out with the pastor of my choice and then if things are not straightened out, something will have to be done about my pastorate.

Sunday evening, October 20 - I remove my personal belongings out of the pastor study at the church. I determine to seek after truth, change where I am wrong, but not to compromise just to stay in the ministry.

November 1985 - I study with Pastor John Oddie about the tithe. John is a close comrade of mine and I respect him very much. John pastored the Parkersburg S.D.A. Church when I was canvassing. He had the funeral for our first child and the dedication for our second. I believe him to be a true Christian (and still do). Although the studies are friendly and we each learn some new things about tithes and offerings that neither of us knew before; however, neither John nor I convince each other on the question of what the "storehouse" is.

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On my monthly workers report for November I request to be able to meet with the Conference Committee at their next meeting, the 16th of December, to explain my position. I receive a letter dated November 16, 1985 from Elder Broeckel. In it he states, "We are noting this request and will follow through on it if it is deemed needed." He also recommended that we get together on Sunday night, December 15. He then states: "As per your request, John Oddie called me today and reported that he felt you and he had made significant progress. If it's not necessary for a full airing at the committee of this whole matter, I would just as soon that we handle it that way. In any event, if you and I can have some time together on Sunday evening along with Charmaine, to go over these matters we can determine then whether it is necessary for you to be in Parkersburg the next day."

From his letter and a follow up phone call Sabbath morning the 14th, I am under the impression that I will be able to meet with the Conference Committee on Monday. Sunday evening, when I requested to be able to meet with the committee, Elder Broeckel explained that there "wouldn't be time" to bring up these issues at the Conference Committee meeting the next day.

Winter and Early Spring 1985, 1986 - Things ride along without much controversy. We feel it is the calm before the storm. Elder Bacchiocchi is invited to camp meeting and I protest to the Conference President. His reply is kind, but instead of studying the issues out with me, he again proposes that I consider "summer school, graduate educational experience, or time with selected brethren at the General Conference."

March 1986 - Our small church is placed in a district with the Valley View Church, a large congregation about 50 miles away. Harold Wightman, the new pastor will be the district pastor for both churches. Until Pastor Wightman completes his studies at Southern College, retired pastor Elder Raymond Broderson will fill in. I am still to continue at Indian Creek as stipend pastor. However, the new district pastor will be responsible for "board meetings, business meetings, and preaching in Indian Creek at least once a quarter."

April 21, 1986 - Elder and Mrs. Broderson visit us and have supper with us. They are very friendly, yet Elder Broderson tells me I am too critical of the brethren. He is very outspoken against Elders Wieland and Short calling for corporate repentance.

May 2, 1986 - I have an appointment at the conference office to see the president. I visit with Elder Broeckel, Elder Ken Wright (conference treasurer), and Elder Broderson. They believe that it would be best if I resigned from being the pastor of the Indian Creek church. The last Sabbath of May is set as my last Sabbath as pastor, after that Pastor Wightman will be in the area and ready to take over. It is a long three hour drive home that day.

May 5, 1986 - I write my letter of resignation.

May 14, - 1986 - Elder Broeckel writes to confirm that he has received my letter. He writes again on June 6, 1986 to acknowledge that the Conference Committee accepted my resignation the week before at their regular meeting.

May 18, 1986 - Pastor Wightman has nominating committee meeting.

May 27, 1986 - Pastor Wightman visits to speak in the Indian Creek Church for the first time. He has come to discuss the tithe issue. (During this time a minority of the membership are returning their tithe to the conference.) There is no question about the need of tithe paying. The question is, "What is the storehouse?" Pastor Wightman reads a lot from the Church Manual and quotes from both Ellen G. White and Arthur White, but does not read one Bible text.

June 5, 1985 - Tonight there is another nominating committee meeting because some of those nominated at the prior meeting are not returning their tithe to the conference. The nominating committee is given a list of those members in "good and regular standing" to choose from.

June 7, 1986 - Pastor Wightman's first Sabbath service at Indian Creek. Some tense moments come up about voting on the officers and church board members the nominating committee has selected. His sermon is on "LOYALTY."

June & July 1986 - Relations are strained between those who are supporting the hierarchy and those who are speaking out on such issues as: the use of the tithe, the preaching of "New Theology," etc.

August 30, 1986 - Discussion begins for the first time about the possible need to meet separate from the Indian Creek Church if the tensions do not let up. Those of us that some would call "dissidents" decide that we will devote the month of September to fasting and prayer about the matter of what to do.

September 29, 1986 - The Bible worker has accepted a call to New Hampshire and the church must decide who to call as a replacement. Many of those who have not been returning their tithe to the conference have been using it to support the Bible worker. In fact, over 90% of the funds for the Bible worker have come from the "dissidents." A church business meeting is called to discuss guide lines for the new worker with the new head elder as the chairman. The meeting

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becomes quite tense and controversial as the leaving Bible worker states that the new Bible worker should teach new members loyalty to the church regardless of what the church does. Not only that, but no mention of any apostasy should be made. While the "dissidents" do not wish for our family problems to be aired to the public, they believe that one should not be brought into the family without being informed of what the family was involved with. The "dissidents" desire the new Bible worker to be loyal to the truth, not necessarily the church. Arrangements had been made for some of the church members - dissidents and non-dissidents alike - to continue the present Bible studies that Brother LeBrun was conducting. At this meeting the "dissidents" are informed that they will not be giving any of these Bible studies. The message is clear, the local leadership is afraid of what we might teach prospective members about the apostasy. The meeting continues until 11:30 that night. We see that peace and harmony cannot exist as things are. Something must give!

Sabbath, October 4, 1986 - The "dissidents have a meeting at Brother Ford's house after church services at Indian Creek. We decide that if the brethren at Indian Creek do not wish us to share our faith either in or out of the church, then we should meet where we can do so. I read a letter to the group that Brother Ford and I composed for the people at Indian Creek regarding our purposes and desires. (See Exhibit A) The rest concur and sign the letter also. It is decided that I will read this letter to the church Monday night at the next business meeting and give a copy to pastor Wightman.

Monday, October 6, 1986 - At the church business meeting I ask for the floor at the beginning of the new business section. The letter is read, I give a copy to Pastor Wightman and excuse myself. (To be continued)

Footnotes --

1. -- Since the time of these studies, Marty's theology has taken a different turn. While we at the Foundation love and care for Marty, we cannot endorse his resent theology on Righteousness by Faith.

2. -- Most of the notes concerning the chronology of events are from the materials found in my wife's diary.

EXHIBIT A

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Indian Creek S.D.A. Church,

We the undersigned, members of this body of believers wish to express to you our future intents, purpose and desires.

First as to intent: As we believe most of you are well aware that since about the first of June of this year there has been serious differences over the issue of the "Storehouse". These differences have created a serious division among us that has manifested itself indifferent ways at different times. We are not accusing anyone for the problem. All we have asked is that we be allowed the conviction of conscience in this area. It is our understanding that we are all together doctrinally except on this issue and the issue of how we should relate to the present apostasy in the church. On these issues, and any others, we would be happy to sit down with an open Bible and discuss the reason for the hope that is within us.

Because of the above problem, we have come to realize that to have peace and harmony which we believe is just as important to you as it is to us, we are going to take the following action. We will form a little company of believers to meet separate from the present Indian Creek Church and depend upon God to provide us with a meeting place. We have only been able to secure this decision after much fasting, prayer and anguish of soul especially through the entire month of September. We cherish no hard feelings towards anyone. We are not bitter toward any man, woman, or child of the entire corpus of believers in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

As to our purpose: We do not desire to go out to the world and publish what has happened to any of us. We believe this is a family issue and sharing family issues with the world would not please our Saviour. We have the same burden for souls that any of you have. If you will recall we have always been willing to sacrifice for this purpose. We will be praying for your prosperity in doing a good work for the Master in this area. It is our purpose to serve Jesus in all that we do. We believe that there are many to be saved from the world even at this time in earth's history. However, we also realize that there are millions within the Seventh-day Adventist Church that are going down to a Christless grave. Therefore, we will try to wake up as many of our own members as we possibly can as to present truth for today. We believe that the Truth, not man or organization, is the most important thing that we can follow. (Please see Testimonies to Ministers page 93). We have no desire to follow any man or organization except that the Holy Spirit of God is leading. We do not purpose to make any "raids" on any of our churches, however, if in our visiting someone comes seeking to know more about our Saviour or the apostasy, we will not hold our peace for anyone. We will definitely not try to persuade anyone to be of our group except as they would voluntarily wish to do so. Anything other than this would be a perversion of the love revealed in the Gospel. If we learn that any of our brothers and sisters are in a strait place, we are here to be of service and help and will extend ourselves to you in every way possible.

Now as to our desire: Some of us have been members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for many years, others not so long. The reason for this membership is that we believe that God called this movement into existence and committed to them truth as a precious legacy to share with the world. We love this truth and we love the S.D.A. Church, however we realize that the leadership betrayed that sacred trust given to us over 100 years ago. That trust was betrayed at the 1980 Dallas General Conference and no repentance has yet come, or appears to be coming. We do not desire to be disfellowshiped as some may think. We do care about the body, perhaps more than others. That is the reason that we have this burden to speak out. Only unloving parents would allow their children to stick a hand in fire without warning them. Today the S.D.A. Church is playing with "strange fire."

If you find us to be going out and living in open sin then come to us and discuss it. Our prayer is that we will be open to receive spiritual help from you. We do not believe ourselves to be better people than anyone. We only desire our brothers and sisters to love and to overlook our faults and failures, but not our sins. We desire to be a help and not a hindrance. We write this with love and appreciation.

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Editorial

While doing research for the story: "Cast Out of the Synagogue" three articles from the Mountain View Conference Newsletter, Challenge, caught my eye. The first article was in the October 1986 issue. The title was: "We Deserve Better." This article, written by a conference worker, began: "About half our membership attends church on any given Sabbath. We deserve better than that!" After discussing some of the various goals that the conference has for "Harvest 90" the article closes with the following two paragraphs. - As we seek our spiritual gifts, our place in God's work, we will accept no compromise for excellence. With God's help, we will all join together to make our Sabbath Schools the most exciting anywhere; our worship services the highlight of our week.

We will go forth from our worship spiritually rejuvenated, charged for another week of service, happy people reaching out to bless others. We are going to do a better job of practicing and living our faith. We're going to do it -- because we do deserve better! (Challenge, October 1986, page 1 - Emphasis in the original.)

Do we really deserve better? Perhaps we should ask, do we deserve anything? The answer is yes! We deserve something, the grave! This is all that you and I can earn and truly deserve. When the emphasis is on what we can or will do, the emphasis is no longer on Jesus, even if the works are works of service and not works of salvation. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to do the best that we can, or wanting more people to attend worship services, "Coming events cast their shadows before." (D.A., p. 636)

In the February 1987 issue of the Challenge the lead article is entitled, "'On Being 'Number one.'" In this article the terms "number one" and "one" occur with emphasis no less than 19 times. While the article describes the desire to have Jesus as "number one with you" and "number one in your life" the overtones of "New Age" philosophy are present whether the writer is conscious or not. 1 The emphasis in the first part of the article is on being number one. The first three paragraphs state:

A recent survey reported that West Virginia telephone operators were rated number one in courtesy, efficiency and service.

Our region of the country also is fortunate to have a whole conference filled with loyal, active and effective members. Adventists in western Maryland and West Virginia are also number one.

We're number one in that this is the year we celebrate our one hundredth anniversary as a conference. This is also the year that we have set our sights on reaching our full one hundred thousand dollar goal for Conference Advance. Last year we reached a long-desired financial goal, one million dollars in tithe. (Emphasis in original.)

The writer goes on to state, "God is anxious to prove to us that we are number one." (Emphasis in original.) Why would we be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the conference? Perhaps it would have been more practical to "sigh and cry" over the fact that we have been around 100 years with the work unfinished rather than to have a celebration. Are these appeals to the pride of the church member what they need today? Are we really "number one?" Is there anything so good about us as to be praised and told that we "deserve better?" What a different view the apostle Paul had concerning self. He wrote, "For I know that in me (that is in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing." (Romans 7:18) In Galatians 2:20 Paul declares (according to the Greek) that his ego is "crucified with Christ."

In the September 1987 Challenge the lead article, "We're Still Celebrating," begins: "General Conference President Neal Wilson, and West Virginia Governor Arch Moore Jr., are a tough act to follow. But our celebrating 100 years of Adventist activity in West Virginia and western Maryland is not over." Personally I have a hard time understanding how one could celebrate the fact that a political leader could enter the Lord's sanctuary on the Sabbath day to speak to our people. Yes, "Coming events cast their shadows before." No longer does B.B. Beach hold a monopoly on the presentation of medallions. 2 On the second page of the Challenge is the following notice:

Our Lay Advisory Council has produced special Centennial coins. Donations for them go to the Mountain View Lay Advisory Fund (MVLAF 1987) for improvement projects at Valley Vista.

One of these coins is enclosed so every family in our conference can have a remembrance of this special year.

The Mountain View Lay Advisory group has made wonderful improvements at our conference camp and convention center. Thanks for participating in this important fund-raising effort as well. (See the gold sheet [Re-produced facsimiles on white paper, page 7. enclosed for more information.)

With the "We Deserve Better" and "Number One" philosophy being taught by the leadership it is no surprise that the laity are following in the same track with appeals to pride, by offering solid brass coins. Where is the simple appeal of the gospel? Why is it that we must use "5th Avenue" tactics to get to the pocketbooks of the people? The simple reason is that the pure love of Christ is not present to be the motivating factor!

Another question must be addressed. Can the Holy Spirit move upon people to contribute to a work that He is not involved in? The answer is of course no. Then when "the Lord withdraws his presence from those who have been blessed with great light," it comes as no surprise that 5th Avenue tactics will have to be employed!

Footnotes:

1. For further study on the "New Age Movement" the reader is referred to the following: 1) The Seduction of Christianity

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by David Hunt & T. A. McMahon published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon 97402. 2) Monthly Moody, Feb. 1985. Two articles: "New Age or Ancient Error" and "Saying No to the New Age." 3) The General Conference Biblical Research Institute has recently prepared a 27 page paper on the New Age movement within the church entitled, New Age Movement and Seventh-day Adventist. This can be obtained from the Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, 6840 Eastern Ave., NW., Washington, D.C. 20012.

2. See page 27 of the Adventist Review, July 16, 1987 for Beach's latest presentation of the Adventist Medallion to Czechoslovakian, Vladimir Janku, Secretariat for religious Affairs in the Presidium of the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia. Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." (John 18:36) Of His followers He said, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." (John 17:16)

Facsimile Reproduction:

ATTENTION MEMBERS AND MOUNTAINEERS INTERNATIONAL -----

The back of this sheet shows promotional information used by the Lay Advisory Council prior to and during our 1987 Centennial Camp Meeting. This brought inquiries, donations, and requests for keepsake coins. But some aren't aware that these lovely coins were minted.

The original plan was to involve Pathfinders, school students, or those with a burden to get capital improvements at Valley Vista on a solid footing, to invite members to donate to Mountain View Lay Advisory Fund (MVLAF 1987) and receive coins in return.

With each donation of $20.00 or more, the donor would receive not only a beautiful coin but also a certificate good for one free night's lodging at Valley Vista (except during campmeeting). The size of the donation would determine how many coins were received.

THIS PLAN STILL HOLDS

But seeing is believing. Now you can see and feel these golden coins that have actually been pressed under tremendous pressure in a former Government press, from solid brass. Your coin is enclosed inside the tithe envelope with this CHALLENGE. Just drop it on the table and hear it ring. Then realize that both General Conference President Neal Wilson and West Virginia Governor Arch Moore, Jr. prize these enough to have them on their desks as a memento of this Centennial Camp Meeting and the beautiful camp we have been developing for our Mountain View youth and members.

THINK CHRISTMAS -- You may want more than one of these limited edition coins for gifts to friends and relatives.

Pathfinders helped prepare the enclosed tithe envelope containing your coin. You can use it to donate to Mountain View Lay Advisory Fund (MVLAF 1987) through your local church before the end of 1987. Your church treasurer has been requested to send names and addresses of donors of $20 or more to the conference office so the Valley Vista certificate for one night's free lodging can be sent to you. Or if more convenient, you can direct to Mountain View Conference, 1400 Liberty Street, Parkersburg, WV 26101.

IF YOU WANT MORE COINS FOR GIFTS, please write direct to the conference at the above address. (Select from the chart on the reverse.)

The enclosed coin is sent to you at no obligation. You may keep it -- but we hope you will also make a donation for it to MVLAF 1987.

We believe all who receive the coin will enjoy it. And all who promote this will gain a blessing knowing they've helped continue the ministry of our Valley Vista Adventist Center.

Mountain View

Lay Advisory Council