Why did you start this website?

Ex-Seventh-day Adventist pastor Dale Ratzlaff recently visited Lincoln, Nebraska, where we live. He denounced his former denomination in a series of weekend meetings at a local church. His ad poster claimed that he has “helped thousands transition out of Adventism.” It promised he would expose what he considers “the Sabbath trap” and “the 10 important differences between Adventists and evangelicals.” Each of three meetings featured reaction from a panel of other ex-Adventists—but no live interaction with the audience.

Martin Weber, editor of the regional magazine serving the 62,000 Adventists of Mid-America, requested (in advance) the courtesy of representing what our church actually believes by participating on that panel. Dale refused Weber’s request for Christian dialogue. His “Q&A” sessions even forbade all live questions from the audience, accepting only written inquiries that his team could select from during the limited time made available.

Because we didn’t have opportunity to address Dale Ratzlaff’s accusations that SDA leaders are unwilling to tolerate biblical dialogue among its members, we are launching this informational website. Our goal is to address issues of Dale’s concerns in a spirit of Christian conversation. We are reaching out to have the discussion he made impossible during his visit.

Richard Lawson commented on 15-Aug-2009 06:20 PM
I am a pastor of 4 SDA churches in upstate NY. I learned of the SDAFORME website yesterday and I am struggling with what to do with it. People here are not widely aware of many of the controversies that exist. One of the 4 churches has some links to Desmond Ford and is considered by the other 3 to be apostate (although the infection affects only a small number of members), but I have never heard any mention of LAM or Dale Ratzlaff from any of them. I do not know if I want to publish your website for them and have them learn of a controversy with which they are not yet infected.