Andrews pastor did not speak for church, Adventists say

Monday, May 17, 2010

THE Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica yesterday distanced itself from the sharp tone of a pastor's sermon and the brandishing of placards in church, aimed at Prime Minister Bruce Golding, in the continuing 'Dudus' affair.

"He was not speaking for the Seventh-day Adventist Church," Pastor Adrian Cotterell, president of the East Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, said of Pastor Lorenzo King's fiery sermon at the Andrews Memorial Church on Saturday.

Pastor Derek Bignall, the president of the West Indies Union of Seventh-day Adventists, is off the island on church business and Cotterell, under whose conference the Andrews church falls, spoke on his behalf.

He described the display of placards -- with the words "We want truth" -- during the Sabbath morning service as unprecedented and a break from Adventist practice as a way of expressing a position against the ills of society.

"The placards were unnecessary. The church should not be used for that purpose. We have never done that. It's the first time that we have seen that in church," Cotterell said. "Whenever we have spoken against the ills of society, such as drugs and guns, the placards have been outside the church."

King, who is Governor General Sir Patrick Allen's pastor, was reported by the Sunday Observer as calling on Golding to give "the truth, the stinking truth, because out of that will come the resurrection".

It was a direct reference to widespread belief that the prime minister had lied to the nation over the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips affair, triggered by the dispute between Jamaica and the United States over the US' request for the extradition of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke to face drug- and gun-running charges.

King, who has been pastor of the Andrews church for the past two years, led the placard waving by the choir prior to delivering his heated sermon, in which he declared he was willing to demonstrate in the streets for truth, and prayed for Golding to be truthful and honest.

Sir Patrick was absent from the service, but present was the prime minister's wife, Lorna Golding, who was led to say her husband could not tell everything he knew and that church members should read between the lines, setting off further controversy.

Cotterell insisted that commentary on such a delicate public issue would be dealt with at the highest level of the church leadership, a role reserved for Pastor Bignall.

"This is not the ethos of the church. We would have preferred if Pastor King had, in keeping with the mission of the church, used the pulpit to communicate to everyone the everlasting gospel of God's love as revealed in the high-priestly ministry of Jesus Christ," he said.

He said that individual pastors had the right to express their own views but that it should be done in line with the mission of the church.

Asked if any action would be taken against King, he said the pastor would be "counselled and reminded of what we stand for", noting that he was a "good pastor who is expected to co-operate". He added that King felt his comments were "taken out of context".

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COMMENTS (23)

anthony dunn
5/17/2010

the adventist church is just as coward as Portia and Matalon.. when the extortionist eventually come fe dem money from you adventist people i hope you distance yourselves from that too. you are all going to die a cowards death eventually.

Don perry
5/17/2010

@God Bless
A line has to be drawn somewhere. Bruce and his party has displayed such an arrogant behavior we have never seen before. Personally, i think their attitude and demeanor is saying "We running this country and if you dont like it, BITE IT".
You and i, the people of Jamaica, CANNOT turn a blind eye to this matter. Pastor king's actions is reminding of when Jesus went into the marketplace and raised hell.
The Pastor chastised a fellow member of his own denomination. Lets see if they gonna "READ OUT" bruce out of the church for this.

mark jones
5/17/2010

It is manifestly obvious poitics has infilitrated this church, remember the GG was put in his present position through "association"
Now its coming back to put the SDA in a compromising position first with the Casino legislation and now the Manatt issue...............So Rev. Bignall since pastor King does not speak for the SDA church.........what is the official position of the church on the matter?

avid equin
5/17/2010

Pastor King,
Be guided only by WWJD and not by man.
Jesus would have done exactly what you did

Paul Lewis
5/17/2010

So the head of the S.D.A. wasn't around....does that mean all hell can break loose and there is no one to say a thing. I thought God was the ultimate head of the Church and those that do right by him... need no sanction from man. The pulpit is where some of the greatest prononcements have been made, for there is a platform for honouring the tenets of any Religion. Shout it out Pastor King....for you are a harbinger of the lack of righteousness and decency and what it can do to a Society.

Wa Tch
5/17/2010

@ George Watson so why didn't he accept it.
Calumny is now the hallmark of the JLP.
Blast it away like Jesus in the temple Pastor. This slackness requires unprecedented action.
BAWL OUT! We not pussyfooting around.

Richard Wayne
5/17/2010

No wonder the church is losing is relevance because they have wishy-washy men at the helm. Thank you Lorenzo King you are fearless and a breath of fresh air!! Jesus Christ probably would entered Gordon House with a piece of rope and buss some arse - from Portia to the devil himself, Bruce!!!

avid equin
5/17/2010

WWJD - Jesus would have done exactly what Pastor King did. He was no sissy, and had no fear of confronting evil. He had no patience for barefaced liars who steadfastedly refused to confess their wrong and repent.

Kweli Simba
5/17/2010

The church's chief function is to bring reconciliation between God and man. In this case the church's proper function would be to blast the hyprocracy but reconcile the hyprocrite to the Jamaican people. We all know that while God forgives the sinner there is still the consequences for the sin. The church in this issue has overstepped its bounds to become judge. Leave all vengeance to God. Mrs. Golding went to church for solace and she got aggravation. Yes we have asked the church to have their voices heard and they have been reluctant...now we know why. It appears that the church cannot be an independent arbiter. We have seen pastors asking for the death penalty as a solution, to extent that one even volunteered his services. Where is the love. Jesus said; It is your love for one another that will show that you are my disciples. It is these times that "I feel like bombing a church now that we know that the preacher is lying" (Bob Marley)

george watson
5/17/2010

I apologise unreservedly to Dr. Baugh. I misread him in the newspaper. What he acutally said was, THE PRIME MINISTER'S RESIGNATION WAS THE HONOURABLE THING TO DO.
Whew!!!

pat green
5/17/2010

This is the problem with Jamaica everybody fraid. The Church like everybody else should demand the truth from goverment, dem a go kill the pastor now instead of supporting him for the bold and right move he made to demand the truth. Granted this may not be the church's way to do things but if you do the same thing all the time you'll get the same result. We have been asking for the truth from our leaders for years using the same methods and got nothing but lies and half truth. We need to get in their faces with our demands just as how they blatantly face us with their lies. Mark my words they are going to move that pastor, the church is going to punish him because he dare challenge the honourable PM and worse his wife was present!!!

Alec Singh
5/17/2010

From the reports, Pastor Lorenzo King was simply highlighting the need for us all to be truthful and especially where our political leaders are concerned.
It is indeed sad to see the Adventist Church taking a stand on the matter, to distance itself from the call for truth. From my understanding, at no time did Pastor King imply that he was speaking on behalf of the Adventist Church. Jamaicans have always excelled because we do not follow blindly like sheep. We are a rebellious lot and I personally think that this “rebellious” nature can be a positive aspect. It is through rebellions that we threw off the yoke of slavery and it through rebellion that we will “emancipate ourselves from mental slavery”, where we will reach a stage where we no longer feel obliged to shelter murders, racketeers, thieves and rapists. To the Adventist Church, you should be very proud that you have a pastor who calls out for the truth, “cause it what it will”, and encourage others to speak the truth.

josh davis
5/17/2010

That coward man that is against the church getting involved in the running of the country is not a Christian. Big up to yourself Mr. King.

Jeanette Calder
5/17/2010

If the Church is the moral compass and voice for a society...its so disappointing (though not a shocker) that some believers here think the pastor was out of order. For these folks national prayer breakfasts with politicians and prayer vigils are all they are willing to sanction.
I am a seventh day adventist and I applaud the position taken by this pastor to point to what the nation expects from our leaders. The Pastor did not take sides beyond demanding truth and asking us to pray for courage and strength that the PM leads as he should and provide full disclosure.
I challenge every and any that disagree to explain why in so many instances in the Bible the minor and major prophets chastised the kings for their wrong doings. I suppose that is not "politics". Dig deeper fellow believers and be of greater value to your fellow man.

josh davis
5/17/2010

Too many idiots in position of power in jamaica. What did the man say that the seventh day adventist is against?
Who put these cowards in the position they hold?

Peter Lawrence
5/17/2010

Just looking through plain uncoloured glasses(neither green-tinted nor orange-tinted,) what's wrong with this call for the "truth" in a church? Not wrong in itself , and quite creative and militantly Christian in intent , but the GREAT danger is that it may set a precedent for REAL overt political demonstration in the churches. That's what the SDA church leaders should focus their remarks on, LOL.. NEXT they should preach a FIERY SERMON DENOUNCING JESUS FOR USING VIOLENCE IN THE TEMPLE, which is far worse than a few smiling young people holding up a few undersized placards. They obviously did not take the whole thing seriously, but as youth were tickled with the novelty. hahaha!!! After all, Mrs Golding herself did the most damage in the whole affair, by saying plainly that her husband was , not only not speaking the whole truth, but could not do so, due to circumstances. Golding is a formidable opponent. She had better get a great lawyer to back her in the HOME PARLIAMENT.WOW!

God Bless
5/17/2010

Jesus Christ is the way the TRUTH and the life everything else is mouth talk. All who want truth must seek Christ. The church have no business in politics. Pastor King was vulgar and way out of line the church must always be a place of refuge for the sinners. Jesus never came for the self righteous he came for the SINNERS so these church organisations need to stick to the mandate of saving souls. Jesus Saves!! selah

Brooklyn Jamaican
5/17/2010

The man spoke a "THus Saith the Lord" So it does not matter what the bigger heads say. To what he said, the nation says, "Amen"

Anthony II
5/17/2010

I wish to commend Pastor King for the stand that he has taken. In times like these, we need people who are willing not only to think outside the box, but get outside it and speak. Congratulations, Pastor King for your terse reminder, that we should call up those who lead to be truthful. We are in a good place to start to demand that now. Congrats, members of the choir. We need more people such as you. We are on a path to self-destruction. Your actions are the least of my worry right now.

For Crying Out Loud
5/17/2010

This is a political manner. The church has no right to try and incite dissent against a legally elected government. The church should focus on the pressing social and moral issues, such as the rapid decay of the society they claim to serve, both inside and outside the church. For decades, Jamaica has been spiralling ever so much deeper into a dark abyss of slackness, indiscipline and moral decadence. Focus your energies there where it is needed and belongs. To continue on this path is to (further) politicize the church and interfere with matters of a consitutionally elected State.

bless williams
5/17/2010

he who sees the truth and keep a blind eye is called a hypocrite........so the rest of SDA are wolf in sheep clothing(down right a bunch of hypocrites)

JA Cynic
5/17/2010

The pastor may not have been speaking officially on behalf of the SDA in Jamaica.But he spoke on behalf of a larger grouping: all decent, upright and well- thinking Jamaicans at home and abroad.
SDA Officialdom, continue your deafening silence on the cowardly role on your elevated one.He who sees something and says nothing has no place in leadership.
JA Cynic

Jay Brown
5/17/2010

The church should lend its support for truth and justice. Am I to understand that's not what the Adventist church want.
Traditions is not getting us anywhere, we need to break from the past and chart a new way forward.
Its this backward thinking of the church which has allowed us to be where we are in the moral decay. They do not stand up for nothing !!
As in this case they are ready to back away and leave this pastor on his own, that's how we all become exposed, and become one man against the world.
I am disappointed deeply in the head of the church, but not surprised. After, the do not want a fallout in their congregation from a numbers perspective.
This is the reason why many Jamaicans do not want to speak up today, as they will be left out to dry !! Shame Shame Shame.

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Andrews pastor did not speak for church, Adventists say