Papua New Guinea

Letter from Secretariat, General Conference of Seventh day Adventists

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Dear Brother and Sister:

Elder Folkenberg asked me to reply to your letter of December 1996 in which you expressed concern over violence that erupted toward two men, Livingstone Kul and Jonathan Gray, in Papua New Guinea, and you expressed the hope that some disciplinary action might be taken toward the church officials.

I had not heard of the incident until I read your letter, so I made contact with the South Pacific Division officers in Australia to discover what took place. They had not heard either. Isn’t it strange how stories circulate the globe, and create criticism and anger, while the people where the incidents are said to have happened sometimes know nothing of it.

In this case, there is some truth to the report, and some error. We now have a report from our leaders in Papua New Guinea. It appears that the trouble began when a group of disloyal independent Adventists held a camp meeting in a province of Papua New Guinea, and, without any authority from the Church, ordained two of their number to the gospel ministry. This was done by a man from the African country of Zimbabwe who has no authority to ordain. These independents had built their church alongside the Adventist church, and then proceeded to brand the Adventist church as “Babylon,” and the leaders of our Church as corrupt.

It is true that a fight broke out and two men, Jonathan Gray and Livingston Kul were beaten. But it was not the officials of the Church who did this. It was ex-Adventists who beat these two men. You see, in Papua New Guinea, most of the people are uneducated, superstitious village people, not far removed from heathenism. In their culture, if someone accuses another to the point where it is hurtful, he gets a beating for it.

Our church leaders have encouraged our Church members to leave off these old customs, and to ignore the taunts of the independent group. And apparently our members have accepted the counsel. But the ex-Adventists were not inclined to let it go unpunished. These former Adventists were very jealous for the Church to which they used to belong. They are not prepared to hear it criticized and abused the way the independents do it, so it was they, the ex-Adventists, who dealt out what they consider to be just punishment. In fact, they went even further and burnt down the church which the independents had built.

We do not condone such conduct, nor do the Papua New Guinea Union officers. But we have no authority to discipline ex-Adventists. Now that you have a clearer picture of what happened, I’m sure you will understand some of the difficulties our leaders face in trying to shepherd the Church along the pathway of life.

Our prayers ascend with yours for peace and progress in the work of God.

Your friend in Christ,

Athal H Tolhurst

Undersecretary

(301) 680-6643

Letter from Papua New Guinea

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President, Eastern Highlands-Simbu Mission of Seventh-day Adventist Church,

P.O. Box 966

Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province

Dear Pastor,

It is with great sorrow that we write to you regarding the shameful treatment of Pastor Livingstone Kul by Elders, Deacons and church members at Bena Bena on Wednesday the 11th of December. Pastor Livingstone was severely beaten and a church building was burnt down at the time of this assault. Elders and Deacons led the group of church members who beat and kicked Pastor Livingstone as he was fellowshipping with fellow believers.

Pastor this is not the first time this has happened in the Eastern Highlands and we are aware of cases of assault in Kabuifa and Bena Bena in the past. No action was ever taken against the people involved in these assaults even though they were Elders and Deacons of God’s church. To make this situation worse these assaults occurred on Sabbath following divine services.

In Matthew 5:21–23 Jesus tells us, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement. But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement.’ We are also counseled in Isaiah 58:1 that we should “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet and shew my people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins.” In Ezekiel 3:17–21, God requires us to warn people of their sins or their blood will be required of us.

Pastor, we humbly request that you call the perpetrators of this assault to the church discipline following the Biblical counsel in Matthew 18:15–17. As you are aware, God requires all of His true followers to repent of their sins and true repentance requires making things right with the person you have offended, as well as with God. We are praying for these individuals who committed this assault and asking the Lord Jesus to forgive them for their unconsecrated and unchrist-like behavior.

Pastor you should be aware that as a result of this assault, many church members will question the behaviour of the leaders of God’s church and many more will join the ranks of the laymen who are preaching the need to prepare, by sanctification, for the soon return of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

As Pastor Livingstone had a speaking engagement in Australia immediately after the assault, I have also been advised that many Adventists in Australia who have heard the story are also questioning the leadership of God’s church in PNG and believe that they see prophecy being fulfilled. In Great Controversy, Chapter 33, “The Loud Cry,” we read: “As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the Third Angel’s Message, but have not been sanctified through it, abandon the position, and take refuge under the banner of the powers of darkness . . . Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren.” [Great Controversy, 608.]

Two thousand years ago the leaders of God’s church took the Son of God, beat and tortured Him and hung Him on the cross to die. Jesus had a very small number of true and faithful supporters, who, in a very short period of time following His death and resurrection, took the Gospel of Salvation to the world, despite experiencing fierce persecution by church leaders. Last year in Kainantu, the Easter Highlands Simbu Mission saw fit to use unbiblical authority to disfellowship a handful of faithful laymen for the “sin” of preaching the Three Angels’ Messages in the streets. In a matter of 18 months, thousands of faithful church members have stood and joined the laymen in order to finish the work of the Gospel. Wherever these laymen have been persecuted, the more church members take their stand for truth. Pastor we are in the shaking time and Jesus will soon return as He is now separating the wheat from the tares.

Pastor, the Leadership of SDA Church can disfellowship all who support the laymen’s movement, but this is not important to us. Names do not need to be written on church roles. The only place that we need to have our names written is the Lambs Book of Life and no church leader can remove our names form this book. Unbiblical civil authority can be employed to try and prevent us from using the term “Seventh-day Adventist” but you cannot erase this from our hearts because Jesus Himself called us in this belief.

The Laymembers Association was not established to destroy God’s church but to preach the soon return of Jesus Christ. We would like to work along side the church in PNG, but we are treated with suspicion and persecution by the SDA church leadership. We pray that God will open the eyes of the leaders of the church in PNG and allow us to work cooperatively to finish the work of the Gospel. The counsel given by Gamaliel in Acts 5:38–39 is so relevant, “And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.”

Pastor we have not been given the opportunity to fully discuss matters of concern with yourself or other leaders in Eastern Highlands Simbu Mission. We would appreciate receiving your response to this letter and we would be happy to meet with you if you so wish.

Your Brethren in Christ Jesus,

SECRETARY

Laymembers Association of Papua New Guinea

Response Letter…

News Update from the South Pacific

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Burning, Killing, and Going to Court

The following [except for comments in brackets] is taken by permission from the January 1997 issue of The Anchor. This is only a small portion of the account.

Pastor Ahomed and Brother Jonathan Gray were set upon by a group of local men in Madang, Papua New Guinea. A group began stoning Jonathan, as the blows came he prayed that God would help him and as the men dropped their stones Jonathan picked up his bag and walked straight through them returning to the airport building to find that Pastor Ahomed was under attack. A group of men began poking, slapping and threatening to kill him. Jonathan Gray was told by this group that if he ever returned to PNG they would kill him too. Jonathan Gray asked if this person was an SDA to which he replied that he was. [It should be remembered that according to Great Controversy, 628, these professed Seventh-day Adventists will be held guilty of murder in the judgment if this is not made right. Please continue to pray that Jonathan Gray will suffer no permanent injury to his vision from the broken blood vessel in one of his eyes.]

About 300 kilometers from Madang Pastor Kul and the laymen were asked by conference church elders, deacons and others to come out to the main road and tell them more of their work. Hoping for another chance to witness, they accepted this invitation. But it was a trap. The moment Pastor Kul and his laymen were clear of the safety of the house, more Conference supporters materialized from the surrounding bush area, and commenced a vicious attack upon them. Pastor Kul and the laymen were punched, kicked, beaten and chased. One was struck unconscious, and had to be taken to a hospital. Several laymen received gashes to their faces, bleeding noses, and significant bruising all over. Some could not afterwards eat because of painful jaws and teeth, and swollen lips.

Pastor Kul was the central focus of this assault. Throwing sticks at him, they chased him into the little laymen’s church. There around the pulpit, they punched and kicked him to the floor. [In the House of God!] Several laymen rescued him and carried him to the house for safety. By this time, the whole village, including numerous non-Adventists, had gathered around. While the crowd watched, one Conference attacker stood and, pointing to the laymen’s church, defiantly announced, “My name is . . . I am going to burn down this building.” Even the non-Adventists pled with him not to do it, but to no avail. He lit a match, and the church burned to the ground. Many cried, including a host of non-Adventist onlookers. “It is very clear,” they said, “who is on God’s side.” They were not referring to the Seventh-day Adventist Conference church leaders. [If its obvious to non-Adventists, why isn’t it abundantly clear to Adventists?]

Pastor Kul called all who had been attacked to join in prayer and ask God to forgive their persecutors.

[If you have read the letters in last month’s magazine and the one in this magazine you know that the structure (General Conference and subsidiaries) are threatening believers of whom they disapprove with lawsuits.] The plot has been completely lost: The spirit exhibited by our Savior in Mark 9:38-42 is not seen; the registered title deeds holding Association is NOT the “Church.” It is a faceless entity supposedly holding in trust the assets of all Seventh-day Adventists. God recognizes as a church, a congregation of believers from two or three to any number having Jesus in the midst. How dare these hired servants claim the exclusiveness that was one of the mistakes of the Jewish organization at the time of the first advent? Their actions do not exhibit any faith that God can and will provide for the needs of His work! Or do they know the agenda so intimately that they recognize that God is no longer in the house, that He is knocking at the door of individual hearts (Revelation 3) and as in the days after Christ’s ascension, a program of persecution and destruction is in place.

A Letter from Papua New Guinea

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Dear Pastor and Mrs. John Grosboll,

Greetings to you in the name of the Lord. I’d like to take this time to thank you for the hearty and God inspiring message that you left it with us.

Your presence and the ordination of Evan Sadler into the Gospel ministry is a greatest blessing to us, you know what happened after you left us is that many thinking people responded positively to the Present Truth. I thank God that wise people are beginning to understand what is about to happen soon.

You left us around 3:30 pm on the Sabbath for Goroka, and you know what happened in the afternoon? I’ll tell you. A Lutheran pastor came and shared his testimonies in the closing of the Sabbath day worship. This is what he say: “I heard from my house the very truth that I am looking for. (His house is located 5-6 kilometers away from the camp site.) This SDA is backed up by God. And this SDA will finish God’s work on the earth. Many people from Sunday keeping churches who practiced holiness or promote holy living will come and join this movement.”

We were spellbound as we heard him spoke to us from the pulpit. One thing that enthrilled us was that his house is located 5-6 kilometers, but he got the message clear, just like a friend sitting next to him talking.

Finally may God bless you in His service from him.

With Christian Love,

Bisho Begorah

Papua New Ginea

Reporting from Papua New Guinea

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Last year the lay preachers in Papua New Guinea made a resolution to go out to every city, town,and remote area to preach the Three Angels’ Messages.

The following is a brief account of how God has used the lay preachers to accomplish our plans and strategies during the last four months.

January: Five teenagers walked to a remote village in another province and discovered a group of people who worship an old man as their god. They stayed with them for three months. At present, the villagers have accepted Christ and worship on Sabbath.

February: Most of the lay preachers traveled throughout the country to preach the Three Angels’ Messages. One group with twelve members, including four young women, walked to Port Moresby through the jungles, climbing the high mountains. They shared the Three Angels’Messages among the Sunday-keeping churches. One Lutheran church has accepted the Sabbath truth.

More Bibles have been received from Tree of Life Fund, Sydney, Australia. We appreciate the group’s help.

Another group of lay preachers walked the famous Kokoda trail to Port Moresby. It took them three days to reach Port Moresby.

Another group walked from the Madang Province to the Simbu Province. They shared the Sabbath truth with a predominantly Catholic village and the leaders of the Catholic church accepted the Sabbath truth.

One group discovered a nomadic people in the Owen Stanley Rangers. These people have never had any contact with the outside world. After lay preachers discovered them, they stayed with them for three weeks sharing God’s message of love. Three souls were baptized.

Other small groups went out preaching the Three Angels’ Messages and distributing Bibles. Many people are joining the church through the Bibles, and more are requesting Bibles.

March: Two churches stood for the truth in Mt. Hagen and now they are under censorship.

Two pastors from the United church had accepted the Sabbath truth. Three churches in the Madang Province are standing for the present truth.

 

Two churches in the Simbu Province and one church in Lae, Morobe Province are also standing for the present truth.

April: Pastors Colin and Russell Standish held a Loud Cry campmeeting in Kainantu Papua New Ginuea. Over 1,000 people attended the campmeeting and forty-one souls were baptized. Six former hard core criminals had joined the laymen movement.

A big nature campmeeting was hosted in Simbu Province where over fifty new converts were trained. God is calling the common people to give the loud cry. It says in Testimonies to Ministers, 299: “God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hand.”

Please stand firm as prophecies are fulfilling before us and pray for the work in Papua, New Guinea.

Letter From Papua New Guinea – February 19, 1996

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Dear Brother Wal & Sist. Betty,

Hello and good day to you. Greetings and Christian loves from ONG laymen. Hope you are fine down there. I’d like to extend greetings from the fellow brenthren and the L.M. Kainanatu, to you and your family and the Brethrens. Thanks for your good companionship and encouragements at the Loudcry Camp last year at Brisbane. What a good time.

Well, it’s a busy year for me and our laymen and fellow workers. We are busy getting things organized in our Lay Ministering. The Laymembers Association of S.D.A. Church—PNG has already sponsored seven permanent workers. Two evangelists, Pr. Livingston and myself and five missionaries who will be pastoring about 25-30 churches. We’ve also sponsored 60-70 volunteer lay missionaries over almost 15-19 provinces or states. There are about 5-7 churches (new ones) under construction and more churches are splitting up from the organized church because of the shaking going on here.

We’re under threats from the Conference. The pastors and church leaders have given commands to stone us. This was been announced thru their preachings in the past weeks on the rostrum during the service. Commanding them saying we were “the Achans” and are to be stoned. Last week the pastors and church members mobilized the heathens to stone me in the public preaching in Geroka town and this week they captured me with bush knives while I was running an evangelistic meeting in one of the big villages. The Lord put me out of their way and they just came and destroyed the pulpit so we have to build it again, and continue with our meeting. It may sound to you as an early persecution, yes! Please pray for us.

The biggest project is also underway amidst such disturbances. The L.M.A. Office Complex which will contain the printing press, the library, the bookshop, the main office, the guest house, the pastors house, and the computer room. We are still short of funds to start and complete the project. As an Interium Secretary and Treasurer, I’m busy writing letters for appeals and doing some secretarial work for the churches and most of my time I’m preaching here and there with Pastor Livingston side by side, and the laymen. Hope you don’t mind the long stories I’ve told. So far we’ve dedicated two new churches and we’re looking forward to dedication of 15-17 new churches this year.

Well, may God bless you. Hope to hear from you sometimes. Thank you for your attention. Bye Bye.

Please don’t forget that: “It’s our duty to do all in our power to avert the threaten danger . . . a vast responsibility is devolting upon men and women of prayer thru out the land to petition that God may sweep back the cloud of evil, and give a few more years of grace to work for our Master.” Review and Herald, December 11, 1888.

Your brother in Christ,

Harold S. Peiko