A STATEMENT REGARDING THE SUSPENSION OF THE RECORD KEEPER

ATTENTION:
Officials of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Supporters / signers of the Cancel The Record Keeper page and petition
Crew members and cast of The Record Keeper

To our GC brethren:

We would like to commend you for making the difficult and unpopular decision to suspend this series, a decision made all the more difficult since much time and resources had gone into the making of the series. We support you in this difficult decision. There have been, and there most likely will be, expressions of disapproval and even derision. But in suspending The Record Keeper from release, a good decision has been made, and we pray you might remain steadfast in that decision. The reputation of the man steadfast in the Lord cannot be blackened.

While we are heartened by the suspension of The Record Keeper, we express disappointment that there has been no acknowledgement of the error of using the medium of theatre and fiction for evangelism, nor of the error of yoking up with world in our methods of outreach. The noble thing to do when mistakes or sins are committed individually or corporately is to make a clear confession of the wrongs involved. We are reminded in that classic book, Steps to Christ, that confession should always be specific. The fact is, we did, as a church, associate with the world in filming The Record Keeper and we did create a theatrical production to use in connection with our evangelistic mission. These are actions that were taken contrary to divine counsel. We had wished that these missteps had been clearly confessed, but a decided stand against these practices has not been made. The Israelites failed to drive out all the inhabitants of the land they were given, thereby leaving open the door to the idolatrous practices of the heathen. As a result, the Israelites were soon led into idolatry themselves. In another place, King Saul was commanded of God to destroy everything belonging to the Amalekites. This he failed to do:

“And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:13-15)

God has given us clear counsel in the Scriptures and the testimony of Jesus Christ regarding union with the world and regarding theatrical methods of outreach. Yet, this counsel has not been acknowledged. (Is this because we still desire to spare “the best of the sheep and oxen” of worldly methods for sacrifice unto the LORD?) But “hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” (1 Samuel 15:22) Therefore, we urge you, our leading brethren, to close the door to this thing entirely and make a decided stand for the truth, lest we are faced again with its baleful influence. Acknowledge the mistake that has been made, and let us move forward, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the path of righteousness. We will continue to pray for you in this and other important matters regarding God’s Church. May God’s Spirit be sent to you—our leading brethren—to strengthen you and uphold you as you seek to hold high the standard of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

To the supporters of this page and those who signed the petition:

We thank you for your prayers and for your efforts made to make others aware of our concerns. Our heavenly Father has seen each of you in the posture of prayer as you made your petitions before Him. Christ Himself has been among the two or three gathered in His name, listening to you as you presented your concerns for His bride that she might be found without spot or wrinkle. He has heard and acknowledged your prayers. Yet, now is not the time to lay down the amour of God. Fierce conflict in the audience chamber of God, and fiercer still, continues to be necessary. While we can be grateful that The Record Keeper has been suspended, the only reason clearly specified so far is the objection to the theological content of the series. The plainest of counsel prohibiting the use of the theatrical and of worldly performers in connection with our mission has not been acknowledged. Therefore the words we have seen thus far from the General Conference have left the door open for another dramatic, theatrical production like The Record Keeper being created with the only difference being it would be “theologically sound.” Continue to stand as watchmen on the walls of Zion, and, with pen and voice, warn of the approach of the enemy. Speak the truth, but always in the love of Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins. Let us learn of the willingness to die for our brothers and sisters. I fear that we have not seen the last of this thing. Unless thorough work is done in reforming our practices in implicit obedience to the Holy Spirit’s instructions concerning the theatrical arts and separation from the world, this battle may have to be fought again and again. Therefore, be watchful unto pray. Keep our leaders in prayer; they carry an enormous weight with every decision that needs to be made. Pray that they might be filled with the Spirit and that the weight of their decisions might be rolled upon the Lord. Pray they might lean not unto their own understanding, as it is so easy to do, but to trust in the Lord with all their hearts and acknowledge Him in all their ways.

To the crew and cast of The Record Keeper:

Please do not think that we delight in the full implications of this decision. We are fully aware of the time and energy you have expended in the creation of this series. While you have been remunerated financially, we fully understand the disappointment of not seeing the fruit of your labours. While we are not sorry for the decision, we are sorry that it had to impact you in this way. We live to follow the two great commandments: To love to God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We hold love to our God as supreme, even at the risk it may upset others. Before all earthly considerations, we must honour our heavenly Father and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. Yet, our efforts to see The Record Keeper cancelled were not because we do not love you, but because we do. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is to be light in the midst of the darkness, a city set on a hill, sounding the prophetic message of the three angels of Revelation 14, which message is a call to the world to “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (vs. 7) It is a message that contains the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself to become like unto us, to become our brother, and take upon Himself the sins of the world—your wrongs and mine—suffering the torment of a hopeless death that we might have the gift of an eternal life—that life being a life of righteousness. This our message cannot be compromised; it cannot be cheapened; it cannot be yoked together with the world. It must stand above the entertainments and methods of this world, because it is not of this world. We, as Christians, are not of the world either; therefore we cannot unite with the world to give the message of heaven. It is for Christ’s sake and for your sakes we “set [our] affection[s] on things above, not on things on the earth” and “mortify therefore [our] members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” (Colossians 3:2-6) We seek that our lives might be an example of “the beauty of holiness” and the love of Jesus Christ, who bids us that we deny ourselves, take up His cross, and follow Him; who invites us to “come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Jesus is enough; He is the answer to all the longings and questionings of your heart. He is too dear of a gift for us to misrepresent Him to you. We encourage you to read the book the web series was attempting to promote—The Great Controversy—and you will understand what the controversy is about, and why we must stand where we do. We are sorry that this is how you have been introduced to the Seventh-day Adventist Church and apologize that we have caused you trouble by inviting you to be a part of this film series. We hope that this will not leave a bad taste in your mouth, and, while we might not be your favorite people right now, we hope that one day we can meet on that other shore—in the heavenly city—to worship our Redeemer together. We will pray for you, and, if we are able, we humbly offer our services to you if you have any questions or needs.