Group Opposes Pastor Alex Bryan

There is a new controversy going on from the Adventist Traditionalists. It concerns the Pastor of the Walla Walla University Church; Alex Bryan possible appointment to become the New President of WWU. I personally was a little skeptical of such an appointment since his educational experience seems to be greatly lacking when it comes to being the President of a University, but then Presidents of universities are probably mostly political appointments made up of who you know not what you know, I can't be too upset about it.

The Traditional Adventists seem to object to Bryan based largely upon his use of other Christian thinkers and writers. Under the rubric spiritual formation and the new Adventist fear that is popular in certain articles over on Adventist Today about the emerging church movement. Most specifically see the rantings of Herbert Douglass.

Here is the PDF article currently going around the internet expressing the concerns of some of these Adventist Traditionalists. It only has any power of persuasion if you are already afraid of new ideas of spiritual formation and the emerging church. something of course against any good Traditionalists conceptions as... well tradition is all you need. I find it hard to take this people seriously but I realize that they are on an arc of ascendance in Adventism. My thinking is they will rise and they will drive the rest of the people out of the church, creating their very own self fulfilled prophecy of the shaking (and Ellen White prophecy not a Biblical prophecy).

Really you think they would be more concerned about Bryan as a Pastor of an influential church rather then being a University President. But I don't pretend to understand their thinking. I am just passing it along.

The Specifics of Sameul K. Pipim's Failure

There has been a lot of discussion on Dr. Pipim's sexual misadventure because of his proposed rebaptism (now canceled). You can read about it at Spectrum and Atoday, click the proceeding links for the articles. The question seems to be was it actually rape. They have a transcript of the telephone conversation which is rather interesting and I assume pretty responsible for Pipim's resignation. Reading it though does not seem to resolve the real question. Rebaptism is not the problem, I don't even think such things are necessary but the question for the denomination is to allow this man to be placed in any type of authority if he is indeed a sexual predator. There really has to be a lot more investigation and openness from those involved, if not then accept him back as a member but invest no authority in him again. We are to forgive but we are also to protect and we as a church must balance those ideas.