OK. Here's the latest. I've been stonewalled by IL Conference, Lake Union, NAD, GC and BRI. In fairness to Maurice Valentine (Lake Union President) and Dr. Brasil de Souza (BRI Director), they did respond to my initial communications. However, all follow-up thereafter met with a wall of silence.
To all Leadership taking a stand to correct the non-biblical Abortion Guidelines policy from 1992:
Take heart and be of good courage. The Lord is on our side. The majority of our members are, too. And, believe it or not, the majority of Leadership knows that the guidelines are wrong (93% per survey results). It's just that they aren't doing anything about it. I cannot explain their cowardice. Please know that we are lifting up your arms in support and prayer.
Please push for the following biblical MOTION to be voted on at GC 2020:
MOTION:
The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is against abortion except where there is the threat of loss of life to the mother.
To Ron Aguilera, IL Conference President:
Ron, personally, I like you. You have an amiable personality. But you can't hide behind deferring to BRI for their decision. Pilate deferred to the throng and you see where that got him.
To Maurice Valentine, Lake Union President:
Maurice, I like you, too. You seem like a genuinely nice man. But did you send along my written concerns to fellow executive committee members prior to the last IL Conference constituency meeting? Per policy, you should have. And I didn't hear a peep from any of them.
To Dan Jackson, NAD President:
Dan, I don't know you. I'll give you credit. You've got a good sense of humor. That's not the main quality I look for in a leader but it helps. How come nobody from the NAD took the survey about abortion? Does everybody at the NAD think that we are all full of Hooey?
To Ted Wilson, GC President:
Ted, I was encouraged by your sermon at GC 2010 in Atlanta. It gave me a spark of hope. I'm also encouraged by your recent statements in Jamaica about the sanctity of life. Will your actions now align with your words on this subject? You can prove it to us by backing the aforementioned MOTION.
To Dr. Elias Brasil de Souza, BRI Director:
Thank you for your initial response to my query. I'm glad you are working on the abortion issue. Why haven't you responded to my request for an update to the resolution of this matter? (See emails below for detail)
To all interested PROTESTants/Protesters (Leadership and Laity alike):
Bullhorning will begin the day before GC 2020 starts in front of delegate's hotels. We need news coverage and pressure applied to delegates before the Agenda is set in stone. Anyone interested in joining the Protest Committee please contact me. Again, it's critical that we start the day ahead in order to have a chance at getting Abortion on the Agenda. Also, start filming in HD (remember to turn your phones sideways for better cinematic effect). We will collect and compile these in documentary format -- showing the lead up to, the events during and the follow up thereafter. I suppose the documentary will be aired at some film festival somewhere (not to mention Youtube) and be an everlasting reminder of 50 years of shame in the SDA Church ... and counting! However, I want to reiterate what I stated in the email below:
I can assure you that I will cease and desist immediately if God's church takes a stand that aligns with the Bible.
Believe me, I'd rather be concentrating on working with Christ to win souls for His kingdom then badgering our Leaders to do the right thing! Let's remove this stumbling block from souls wanting to join the remnant church!
Following are recent emails sent to Dr. Brasil de Souza:
Robert Hart <hart2hart.biz@gmail.com>
Fri, Jan 11, 12:56 AM
to Biblical
Dear Dr. Brasil de Souza,
Greetings again in the name of our good Lord, Jesus and Heavenly Father. I hope and pray that you and your family are doing well and that our leaders remain faithful. As a reminder, we corresponded via email on June 5, 2018. I appreciate what you shared with me with respect to your committee's work on the abortion issue.
Would you be kind enough to give me an update as to the projected timeline for completion and final approval of your work (including final stamp of approval for different administrative levels)?
I certainly hope and pray that this policy error in God's church will be corrected prior to GC 2020. In the event that it is not corrected then a groundswell of support is building for a protest at the convention in Indianapolis. This is the last thing God's church needs -- another potentially divisive issue. I hope it doesn't happen. But, we know that God is on our side and that this policy is wrong. So, we plan on protesting in case it is not corrected. Potential protest planning include the following tasks:
PR releases to local, regional and national news media outlets
Bullhorns
Signs and graphic images
Documentary of the experience (lead up, during and following)
Live-streaming
Petitions
Etc
I can assure you that I will cease and desist immediately if God's church takes a stand that aligns with the Bible. I hope and pray that this happens.
Please respond at your earliest possible convenience. Feel free to forward this email to other leaders of God's church. I may or may not send it along in the future. As a courtesy, I'm allowing you the opportunity to respond. I sense that you are a Brother and I want to afford you charity and respect as is your due. However, I don't have the same sense for all in Church Leadership so I will wait and see what develops in the near future.
God's blessings to you Brother,
Bob Hart
Robert Hart <hart2hart.biz@gmail.com>
Fri, Feb 1, 10:14 AM (4 days ago)
to Biblical
Brother Brasil de Souza,
Will you please let me know if you will or will not respond to the email above?
I left a voice mail message at BRI's number yesterday. Thank you.
God bless,
Bob Hart