Weightier Matters: What Are the Real Issues?
31 Jan 2025 - Michael Hess II
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In early December 2024, the Michigan Conference removed Ron Kelly from his position as Senior Pastor of the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church. Since then, much of the discourse in the conference has focused on Kelly himself: some attacking him, some defending him, many seeking his reinstatement as their all-important goal.
Before his removal, and to a lesser extent afterward, similar focus was placed on Conrad Vine. Along the way there have been conversations about vaccines, tithing, and the ins and outs of the Church Manual.
While the conference’s treatment of Vine and Kelly needs to be addressed, it is not the primary issue at stake. Rather, it is a symptom of deeper problems. Reinstating Kelly and lifting the ban on Vine would treat those specific symptoms, but the underlying causes must not be ignored. Similarly, debates about vaccines and tithe, while they have their place, can become distractions if allowed to eclipse the fundamental principles at stake.
Primary Issues
The primary issue at stake in the current controversy is this: What kind of church are we? Several topics relate directly to this issue, and may be considered primary issues alongside it:
- What is the church?
- What is the mission of the church?
- What does liberty of conscience mean and how should the church protect it?
- What is the purpose of the church organization and leadership?
- What is the role of the local church? Of the conference? How do they relate to each other?
- How should church leaders relate to members?
- How should members relate to church leaders?
- How should members and leaders hold each other accountable to follow biblical principles?
- What are the boundaries of freedom of expression within the church? In particular, what constitutes heresy for which a member may be subject to church discipline?
- What steps should church leadership (at all levels) take when dealing with a member believed to be in error?
Secondary Issues
These issues have been raised in the course of the controversy. They are important in their own right, but secondary to the primary issues listed above. Those who differ on these issues should still be able to find unity on the primary issues.
- How and through whom should tithe be paid?
- Should Seventh-day Adventists claim religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines?
- What will the structure of the church look like in the last days?
Tertiary Issues
To call these tertiary is not to deny their significance, but to place them in perspective. Addressing these without dealing with the above will simply “kick the can” down the road to the next crisis.
- Should Ron Kelly be reinstated as Senior Pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church?
- Should Jim Micheff be removed as President of the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists?
What Jesus Said About the Primary Issue
What kind of church are we? What kind of church should we be? Jesus had this to say at the Last Supper, when his disciples were fighting with each other for dominance:
The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:25–27, NASB)
Jesus drew a sharp distinction between the way the world works and the way His church should operate. Power struggles and political aspirations, coercion and domineering, top-down enforcement of hierarchical control—all of these are foreign to the way of Jesus Christ. They must likewise be foreign to any church claiming Christ as its head.
It is not enough for the church to abide by the standards of secular businesses and governments. Its standard is not merely higher, but of an altogether different quality. Nor should the church seek approval from the world at the expense of its mission. Rather, it must remain an entity separate from, independent of, and wholly dissimilar to the kingdoms of this world.