In a letter that is both affirming of women ministers and apologetic to the General Conference Executive Committee, North American Division President Dan Jackson wrote to his Executive Committee today to give a first-hand account of the continued dispute between between the North American Division and the General Conference over the issue of commissioned ministers being elected conference presidents.

Mayormente vivimos en América. Vivimos en Europa. Compartimos la lengua de Cervantes, Rubén Darío, Isabel Allende, Vargas Llosa y Laura Esquivel.

Estudiamos en el seminario. Somos abogados, ingenieros y filósofos. Trabajamos en la Asociación General. Estamos sin trabajo. Nos hemos jubilado. Buscamos un lugar en el que hacer un post-doc.

Hemos dejado la iglesia. La iglesia nos ha dejado.

Nunca dejamos la iglesia. La iglesia no nos deja tiempo para nada más.

Nos hemos ido y hemos vuelto.

Somos de izquierdas, de derechas, de centro y también anarquistas.

We live in Africa. We live in Australia. We live in Lincoln, Nebraska.

We are seminary students. We are lawyers.  We are Sabbath School teachers. We work at the General Conference. We’re out of a job. We’re retired. We’re looking for a post-doc position.

We run from the church. We run the church.

We are all the 99% Wall Street occupiers. And some Tea Party members, too.

We love the church. We left the church.  We love to talk about the church. We defend institutions. We love the people.

For the official Seventh-day Adventist church organization, 2011 was a year marked by major realignments in the world field and grand plans for the future contrasted by struggles with employees and divisions.

Journeys is your book about a motorcycle trip across the US visiting Adventist churches? Why did you go?

When the Northern California Conference announced that they would allow three pastors a year to take a sabbatical of up to three months, I thought that would be a great opportunity to do what I have wanted to do for some time—visit churches all across the country. And wow, I’ve always wanted to ride my motorcycle across the country. So I submitted the proposal, and it was granted.

It was a time for the sharing of ideas and questions, for networking lunches, academic presentations, and community building as Adventist scholars of religion recently gathered in San Francisco for their annual meetings. Charles Scriven and Alexander Carpenter have already shared some thoughts about the sessions. There has been a lively conversation from readers, too. I would like to add some details and impressions.

Shortly after 11:30am today, the North American Division Committee voted 162 to 61 to reaffirm the E 60 policy voted by the 2010 NAD Year-end Meetings.

Before Annual Council ended last week I left Maryland on a plane headed to Southern California for the Association of Adventist Women conference that was held on the campus of La Sierra University, a serendipitous appointment that offered a glimpse into the contrasts, politics, and delightful complexity of Adventism.

Women were the topic of the day at the meeting of the Executive Committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An upbeat report from the Women’s Ministries Department kicked off the morning. Then the body spent nearly four hours discussing a request from the North American Division that would allow the growing number of women (and men) with "ordained/commissioned" credentials to be elected president of a conference.

What is the goal of the Great Commission? Is it just to baptize or to also make disciples? What is the future of the church in the Middle East?  

Those were the significant questions of realignment that marked Sunday’s session of the Executive Committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.