The Southern California SDA

Gay Church

A remarkable letter was sent on May 10, 1999, to a number of leaders on different levels in our denomination.

The following presentation is an edited version. Certain explicit—and other—material has been omitted.

The Glendale City Church is in the Southern California Conference and is located in Glendale, on the north-east edge of Los Angeles.

The pastor of that church, Mitch Hensen, was transferred there following a remarkable lawsuit in central California, in which he was sued by a woman who was associate pastor of his church. She claimed that Mitch had required that she have sex with him; and, when she later complained, the conference office fired her. Mitch, financed by the conference, won the lawsuit—not with an innocent plea, but by her admittal that she had done it with him for a lengthy period of time. According to court documents, of which I have a copy, this exonerated him in the eyes of the court,—but not in light of the law of God or, what used to be, the upheld standards of our church.

This letter was written by a deeply concerned church member, in southern California, who fears that our church will become a desolate cage full of perverts, if certain men are permitted to continue teaching their corrupting beliefs.

 Here is this letter:

 I write you because of my concern for the Seventh-day Adventist members, especially the children who are under the leadership of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Region (also known as the “Anglo Region”) of the Southern California Conference.

The “gay Christian” movement, that is plaguing other Protestant churches, is now penetrating our churches in this area. I believe SDA Kinship, an organization of gays with Adventist ties, is the “war room” which plans and infiltrates ongoing penetration of Adventist churches.

This infiltration has been especially prominent in the Glendale City Church Seventh-day Adventist Church. Mitch Hensen, the pastor, has opened the door of Glendale City Church to SDA Kinship by stating from the pulpit that his church will not “judge nor investigate anyone’s lifestyle.” He has openly said that if anyone has been disfellowshipped from another church for any reason, Glendale City Church will love and adopt such persons. It is reported that, when the choir director of a church had an affair and was disfellowshipped, Glendale City Church immediately accepted him as a member.

Mitch, it appears, has surrounded himself with advisors who think as he does. For the past few years an increasing number of gays have been attending Glendale City Church. They are not hearing a message of repentance and reformation, but variations of false teaching, quoted in Jeremiah 23:17.

Most of the gays are men, but one woman comes dressed in a man’s suit and haircut. They mostly sit as a group, frequently sharing hugs when they come and leave. Some wear tight T-shirts or knit semi-casual shirts to better show their body. Several gays sing solos, and have other offices. One greeter at the door hugs everyone as they enter the sanctuary.

Mitch Hensen has openly preached gay revisionism. He says that, “since the Bible teaches that slavery is acceptable, we must see that its condemnation of homosexuality must be viewed in light of an unjust culture.” In other words, the Bible is wrong and gays are all right after all—just as they are.

Mitch purchased a copy of The Good Book, a book by Peter Gomes for his Sabbath School class. Gomes is a gay preacher at Harvard and has been in the press debating Jerry Falwell with gay revisions of traditional theology on homosexuality.

Mitch has given the church’s Fellowship Hall to SDA Kinship, so they can hold regular potlucks at the church.

About two years ago, Mitch got the church board to appoint a man to a leading position in the church. A former Adventist pastor, that man left his pastorate in the Central Sacramento Adventist Church about 20 years ago, for a life as a gay man. He also left his wife and a son.

He hides neither these facts, nor his associate leadership in SDA Kinship, membership in the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, and the fact that he lives with a gay partner. He has discussed these details with many members in the church.

It is reported that Ferguson openly advocates the gay revisionist theology of two extreme gay authors, Gomes and Boswell, and that he and other gays have taught these concepts to small group Sabbath School classes.

Gays twist words and concepts, so that certain types of direct homosexual activities are said to be merely “playing around” (as Monica said about her relationship with Bill) while others “do not do” until they are “married” to a gay partner. Thus, in their view, they never sin.

I have been told by another conference pastor that the gays are rewarding Glendale City Church by sizeable offerings. I understand that at least a hundred gays are giving on a regular basis, and about 20-30 attend each Sabbath. Money talks. When listened to, it perverts standards.

These gays are enthusiastic promoters of their way of life. On their web site they have announced that they are very interested in counseling young people who may feel confused about their sexuality. They are also anxious to give Bible studies to any interested persons on how neither the Bible, Jesus, nor the Spirit of Prophecy mentions or condemns what they call “constitutional homosexuality.”

One young lady told me that she had been dating a young man, at Glendale City Church, whom she was beginning to fall in love with. A true friend of hers became concerned when she mentioned that the young man had several close gay companions.

This girl’s friend convinced her that she must discuss the matter of homosexuality with the young man. Upon doing so, she discovered that, not only did he say he was gay, but he also wanted to marry and have children. He said that whoever he married would have to accept his ongoing bisexual activities, but that he would take “good” care of a wife, be heterosexually faithful only to her and never leave her.

Totally shocked, the young lady left the church and, fearing to meet him again, will not return.

Young women need to beware of such men. Because gays cannot form lasting companionships with men and they want children, some of them prefer having a wife on the side to bear and raise them,—while they go out at night with other men.

I even brought this matter to the attention of a reporter at the News-Press, Glendale’s largest newspaper. But Mitch refused to say much and her editor ultimately killed the story before it could be released.

In the winter 1999 issue of Scanner, the quarterly publication of the Glendale City Church, Rene Dupertuis, part-time associate pastor, interviewed a “Donald J. Freeman.” Although the article does not state this, I was told by a pastoral staff member that “Mr. Freeman” is an elder in a Los Angeles area Adventist church. I have reason to believe he is a certain individual at Glendale City Church.

This Glendale City Church article is of interest, because it presents a number of concepts which SDA Kinship and the gays at Glendale City Church openly believe and teach: (1) Gays are “born that way.” Like race, it is something genetic. (2) Gay desire and activity is morally neutral, and therefore not sinful. Therefore there is no need to pray for victory. (3) Gays must strive for equality and social justice.

There was nothing new in that article, and no rebuttal of any kind accompanied or followed it.

What is new is that it is printed by a local Adventist church, and the conference office is totally silent!

I suspect that SDA Kinship is making progress in other large Adventist city churches, as well. One example would be the Loma Linda University Church, where its senior pastor, William Loveless, dedicated the baby of two lesbians. I phoned the church office and the secretary confirmed this. She said that several people were standing with the baby. I am trying to get a tape of the service, to see if Pastor Loveless addressed the two lesbians as “parents.”

The counsel of 1 Thessalonians 5:12 should be followed by our church pastors and leaders. Doing so, in the fear of God, would solve the problem.

“We beseech you, brethren, know them which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you.”

Most Adventist churches today do not question those who are nominated to church office. Many church leaders, even though they may not be gay, do not believe the twenty-second belief in our 27 Doctrinal Beliefs.

“Marriage was divinely established in Eden and affirmed by Jesus to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman in loving companionship . . Regarding divorce, Jesus taught that the person who divorces a spouse, except for fornication, and marries another, commits adultery . .”

Instead of adhering to Bible standards, far too often church workers and leaders have chosen “political correctness” and being “nice.” If all leadership nominees were required to pledge fidelity to the twenty-second fundamental, and to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, we could avoid the crisis that is rocking many Protestant churches. We could avoid the wrenching process of trying to impeach church leaders.

As in the recent Presbyterian gay elder trial, it is not adequate to attempt to prove that leaders, who say they are gay, are actually practicing homosexuality. The church is not a detective agency. Instead, we should demand that church workers be not gay at all.

The world church of Seventh-day Adventists has voted to not ordain women, yet it is well known that many local churches are doing just that. Will the world church allow some Adventist churches to ordain gay clergy and conduct gay weddings? I pray not, but gradually the situation is worsening. Standards keep dropping, and few seem to care.

Although other Protestant bodies do not have the church structure, allowing them to cut out such a cancer when it begins growing,—our denomination can do just that! The conference has the authority to disband and reorganize Glendale City Church, if the church board does not repent of this heresy and remove the gay leaders.

Southern California Conference is now divided into ethnic regions, and Glendale City Church is under the Los Angeles Metropolitan (Anglo) region, which is so liberal it is not likely to recognize heresy for what it is. If the Metro Region will not act, will the other ethnic regions in the conference act against the Anglo Region? Probably not.

Gradually, we are slipping down to perdition. What can be done to stop this?

My hope is that the world church—the Division and General Conference—will remove local conference officers, if they will not take action against such perversion. If no action is taken, we will see this heresy spread to other Adventist centers. In the past, it has far too often seemed that southern California has led out in worldliness, and gradually the rest of the denomination has followed.

In the 1970s, Southern California Conference used its authority—and its title to the deed—to close the Burbank Church. It judged Burbank to be heretical. The conference went to court with their deed and obtained the right to lock the church. Burbank members came to church one Sabbath morning and found the church padlocked and a sign stating that the conference had disbanded the church. It was not reorganized till about a year later.

But that happened before our conference was split into ethnic regions.

Glendale City Church is in the process of departing further and further from the twenty-second fundamental doctrine on marriage and sexuality; yet the conference, thus far, has consistently done nothing about it. They are playing “don’t ask; don’t tell.” The conference office is using whatever strategy will work to keep the pro-gay leadership in power at Glendale City Church.

I am writing this letter to church leaders, and asking you to investigate this matter. You might wish to start this process by inquiring of Mitch Hensen (818-244-7241), if he is allowing gays to hold leadership positions in his church. As he has said to others, he may mockingly say, “I never ask members personal questions. How am I supposed to know what my members do in their private bedrooms?” You can reach Gerard Kierneney, Southern California Conference Director of its Anglo Region at 818-546-8400.

There is a book which, in June, will be off the press. Entitled, Crisis in Ministry: A Wesleyian Response to the Gay Christian Movement, it is published by Bristol House (800-451-7323). It will tell the Methodist history of dealing with the gay Christian movement. From reading the newsletter, Transforming Congregations, edited by Methodist pastor, Robert Kuyper, I think this book should be helpful reading.

Currently 150 Methodist churches have declared themselves a “Reconciling Congregation,” which means they do gay weddings and allow gay clergy. Six Methodist conferences have declared themselves to be “Reconciling conferences.” That means the entire conference is pro-gay!

Seventy Methodist churches have declared themselves to be a “Transforming Congregation,” which means they have chosen to stay with Biblical standards,—yet only two Methodist conferences have declared themselves “Transforming Conferences.” What about the other 38,000 Methodist churches? They have not yet decided which side they will join. They think they can safely straddle the fence. How does the God of heaven look upon such professed Christians?

—And what is the reaction, from top-level leaders of the “United” Methodist Church, to what is taking place? In this terrible crisis, they want everyone to remain in lukewarm mediocrity! They are pleading with the churches, “Stop declaring yourselves!” Why? They fear a split will occur.

What about church leaders who are more concerned with holding the organization together than in upholding Biblical standards? How will they fare in the Judgment? How will you and I weather the searching gaze of God in that day, if we do not now take a stand on His side of this matter?

Pastor Kuyper has fought the fight for Biblical morality in the Methodist Church for over a decade. Will you have a part in saving the Adventist Church from this scourge?

Sincerely,

(Name)

Judges 5:23 is one of the most-quoted Bible verses in the first eight books of the Bible, by the Spirit of Prophecy:

“Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”

Another frequently quoted passage is Isaiah 56:10:

“His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant. They are all dumb dogs; they cannot bark: sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.”

And lastly, do not forget this passage from the Spirit of Prophecy, which we have quoted many times:

“If God abhors one sin above another, of which His people are guilty, it is doing nothing in case of an emergency. Indifference and neutrality in a religious crisis is regarded of God as a grievous crime and equal to the very worst type of hostility against God.”—3 Testimonies, 281.

The claim is made by homosexuals that the Bible does not speak negatively about homosexuality. Reprinted on the next page is a statement I wrote in April 1981, refuting that error.

Surely, we are nearing the end!    — Vance Ferrell

The “cities of the plain” (Genesis 13:12) were located at what is now the southern portion of the Dead Sea, near the tongue of land protruding from its eastern shore. These five cities were Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar (Genesis 14:2; Deuteronomy 29:23).

This “vale of Siddim” (Genesis 14:3) was once entirely above water. But, when God destroyed those cities because of their great wickedness (Genesis 18 and 19), the ensuing holocaust tore such a hole in the ground that this area now has the lowest elevation of any continental point on planet earth.

This destruction by fire was so terrific that it was mentioned repeatedly for centuries afterward (Deuter­onomy 29:23; Isaiah 13:16-19; Luke 17:29; Matthew 10:15; 11:24; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:12; Romans 9:29, etc.). Its destruction, by falling fire, was cited by a New Testament prophet as the method by which all the wickedness of this world will finally be engulfed in oblivion (Jude 7).

What was the great wickedness of those people? It was homosexuality—open and unrepentant (Genesis 19:4-9). The cry of this wickedness had gone up to God (Genesis 18:20-21; 19:13). Therefore, He destroyed it (19:14) with such devastating fire sent down from heaven (19:24-25, 29)—that it became a smoking furnace (19:28). The north end of the Dead Sea is 13 feet deep; the south end, where Sodom and its companion cities once lay, is 1,300 feet deep. What an awesome lesson for all peoples who should afterward live.

Incidentally, this unusually deep hole in the southern Dead Sea is something of a geological wonder. How could such a deep place exist on a continental mass—and not be found elsewhere?

It stands as a powerful witness to the accuracy of the Bible—and to God’s reaction to stubbornly-held sin.

The wickedness of the sodomites was so debasing as to become proverbial (Genesis 13:13; Lamentations 4:6; Isaiah 3:9). And the judgments that fell upon its companion city, Gomorrah, are also held up as a warning to us (Genesis 18:20; 2 Peter 2:6; Jude 7).

Jesus mentions the terrible wickedness and destruction of those bold apostates (Luke 17:29; Matthew 10:15; 11:24; Mark 6:11; Luke 10:12).

Even Paul and John refer to the evil depravity of the inhabitants of those cities (Romans 9:29; Revelation 11:8).

Repeatedly, in Scripture, the sin of those cities is held up as an example of Divine judgment and punishment (Deut­eronomy 29:23; Isaiah 1:9; 13:19; Jeremiah 23:14; 49:18; 50:40; Ezekiel 16:46; Amos 4:11; Zephaniah 2:9; Matthew 10:15; Romans 9:29, etc.).

Sodom was a vine whose juices and fruit were so corrupt that it had to be totally eradicated (cf. Deuter­onomy 32:32).

The Bible also tells us about a later group of men—who were also called “sodomites.” This was because they shared in the sin of the cities of the plain. Yet they were not inhabitants of Sodom, nor were they or their descendants. They were men who had consecrated their lives to this same unnatural vice. This is why homosexuals are “sodomites.” Some of those ancient sodomites declared it to be a part of their religion and acceptable to God! What blasphemy!

Regarding such people, Moses said that it was expressly forbidden to tolerate a sodomite (Deu­tero­nomy 23:17), and that the wages, which a sodomite might receive for his services, dare not be put into the temple treasury—lest the treasury be defiled (23:18). God did not even want their money.

“The price of a dog” is a figurative expression used to denote the wages of a “qadesh” (sodomite); in the Greek called a “kinaidos” (dog) because of the dog-like manner in which such people debased themselves. It was for this reason that John, in Revelation, spoke of them as “dogs” (Revelation 22:15).

There were also female sodom­ites. The word, “harlot,” in Genesis 38:21-22,  Deuteronomy 23:1,  and Hosea 4:14, is the translation of a Hebrew feminine form of the word translated elsewhere as “sodomite.”

With the passing of centuries, the dreadful devotion to this perversion spread itself through many lands, and became consecrated by the churches as a part of their worship.

This included nations such as Phoenicia, Syria, Phrygia, Assyria, and Babylonia.

Do you want homosexuality (the worship of sexual organs) to be consecrated as a parallel worship in your church, along with that of the true God? Ashtaroth (the Greek Astarte) was the ancient goddess of this twisted lewdness.

Sodom, so closely associated with sexual perversion, thus permanently gave its name to it. This vice, popularized in Sodom (Genesis 19:5; 2 Peter 2:6-8), fastened itself on Israel (1 Kings 14:24) and the entire ancient world (Romans 1:26-27), although God through Moses expressly forbade it (Deut­eronomy 23:17).

It is a shocking fact that, eventually it debased the very religion of God’s own people (2 Kings 23:7).

But there were men of God who sought to bring the people back to Heaven’s standard. About the year 890 B.C., Asa removed the licentious grove idols and the sodomites from the land (1 Kings 15:12). Some thirty years later, Jeho­sha­phat again rid the country of this problem (1 Kings 22:46). Approximately forty more years, and Josiah removed the sun-worshiping priests and tore down the sodomite houses in Jerusalem (2 Kings 23:7).

Hardened sodomites today, as those anciently, glory in their shame and tell us that their vile delights are acceptable to God and should be acceptable to men. But carefully read what Paul has to say about this perversion.

First, he tells about the power in the gospel of Christ to deliver us from our sins (Romans 1:14-17). Then he tells us about men and women who, scorning this redeeming grace, chose instead to remain in homosexual sin (Romans 1:18-32). Carefully read each verse. And do not forget that an entire tribe of Israel was nearly wiped out because they refused to acknowledge that this practice was sinful (Judges 19:11 to 20:48). Most of the Benjaminites probably were not homosexual; but, in defending it, they perished along with those who indulged in it. That is a solemn warning to us today. The Bible says that “they which commit such things are worthy of death” (Romans 1:32).

There is no neutral ground; you are either for this perversion or you are against it.

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