10.11 Annual Council 2017: Ending on an Uplifting Note
October 13, 2017
PC: Wayne Blakely speaking at Annual Council 2017 by Brent Hardinge / ANN via Flickr
The last day of the 2017 Annual Council was filled with inspiration. It truly brought this year’s meetings to an end in a positive and uplifting way.
Elder Wilson’s introduction to the morning worship set the tone for the day. He informed the delegates that Wayne Blakely, the speaker from Coming Out Ministries, was uniquely positioned to help the church understand the power that God’s Word possesses. Blakely, who lived a homosexual lifestyle until 8 years ago, has surrendered his life to Jesus, and is walking day by day in His light. Blakely’s testimony is featured in-depth in the documentary Journey Interrupted, which was shown to the delegates at Annual Council last year.
Blakely noted that we (as a church) have allowed disunity to creep into our ranks to the extent that we can no longer identify with those who disagree with us anymore; this is a time, not for division, but for unity. Blakely discussed how the church has repeatedly stated that homosexuality is a sin, and yet for many years has never presented a way out. As a result of this lack of engagement on the issue of homosexuality, Blakely grew up feeling like a freak who was not part of his church family.
Addressing the current political trend towards same-sex marriage, Blakely clearly points out that the Bible never sanctioned marriage between two members of the same sex. God is the same as He has always been, and His Word has not changed. Blakely pleaded with delegates to not give into the lies of Satan, but to stand firm on God’s Word and to claim His promises. He reminded us that Jesus will never abandon us, even when we fall; however, we must choose to get back up, and not allow our feelings to trip us up.
It took 40 years of prayer on the part of Blakely’s parents before he turned his life over to God. This doesn’t mean that things are now easy, and it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t make mistakes. However, regardless of these things, he is redeemed. Blakely stated that he will forever have to live with the consequences of his past actions, but that the cross is now his focus.
As morning worship ended, Elder Wilson encouraged everyone to pray for Coming Out Ministries, and to reach out to them as a resource in the times we are living in. Hope Channel followed with testimonies of how their ministry and programming is changing lives around the world.
While the report that ADRA presented was encouraging, detailing the many people they have been able to assist, it was emphasized that there is a great deal that still needs to be done. Jonathan Duffy (ADRA President) pointed out that there remains a huge need in Myanmar due to the recent refugee crisis in which 750,000 have fled the country. Of those, approximately 40,000 are pregnant women fleeing into Bangladesh, which does not have adequate medical facilities. Over the last year, ADRA has responded to 105 disasters in South America, Africa, and Asia, and has helped 15.5 million people worldwide.
Following the ADRA report, Adventist Review wowed delegates with their updated media platform, which includes the website, ARtv, and, of course, the Adventist Review magazine. They previewed visually stunning documentaries and programs that are designed to engage the viewer and draw attention to God.
