Process as detailed in the NASU Ballot:
“In our earlier communications, we asked for feedback but did not request ecclesial decisions. We now believe it will be helpful for all concerned to determine the support for the enclosed (highlighted) NASU Unity Proposal, before asking for a final decision to proceed with implementation.
We are asking for an ecclesial decision on the enclosed (highlighted) NASU Unity Proposal. It outlines a two-phase process:
1. The first (current) phase is intended to determine support for the highlighted NASU Unity Proposal in the enclosed document.
2. In the second phase, this information will be reported to the community, and provided there is support, it will be used to formulate more specific recommendations for the implementation of unity in North America.
Important Note
Any decision in Phase 1 does not bind any ecclesia to a course of action.
It is not until Phase 2 that ecclesias will be asked to express their support for a definitive course of action.”
The above is a direct quote from the NASU Unity Proposal Ballot included in the NASU Unity Proposal – November 1, 2004. Please be aware of the Important Note included with the Ballot instructions that clearly state this was a Phase 1, non-binding survey.
It must also be remembered that when the request for the continental vote was made in November 2004, not all Amended Steering Committee members were aware they had a significantly different understanding of the NASU’s doctrinal teaching than the Unamended Steering Committee members.1 As this was never communicated to either community during the voting process, the validity of the voting results remains in doubt. When this subsequently became known, along with the recognition that the NASU was written to accommodate both Amended and Unamended beliefs, some Amended ecclesias who had voted in favour of the NASU withdrew their support for it.
The Chart below is a summary of the official NASU Unity Proposal – Phase 1 Results published in April 2005.
NASU Survey Results 2005
Amended Ecclesias
|
Ecclesias |
Accept |
Reject |
No Decision |
|
|
Complete Response |
103 |
91 |
12 |
|
|
Incomplete Response |
10 |
8 |
2 |
|
|
Incomplete No Decision |
1 |
1 |
||
|
Total Responding Ecclesias |
114 |
99 |
14 |
1 |
|
Non-responding Ecclesias |
35 |
35 |
||
|
Total Ecclesias |
149 |
99 |
14 |
36 |
|
Responding Ecclesias % |
86.8% |
12.3% |
0.9% |
|
|
Total Ecclesias % |
66.4% |
9.4% |
24.2% |
As a result of the Phase 1 ballot, the second Phase was never pursued and the NASU Steering Committee disbanded.
Some may ask if the vote was non-binding and the effort was abandoned, why talk about the results at all? Unfortunately we need to at least look at the results since these numbers are often quoted by UA08/NASU supporters as evidence of overwhelming support for the NASU document. Unfortunately, the numbers quoted do not tell the complete story.
The published NASU results were reported in the form of Complete Responses [99 ecclesias that reported in the manner requested], Incomplete Responses [11 ecclesias that did not report in the manner requested] and Non-Responding [35 ecclesias that did not respond at all].
The number percentages being quoted by the UA08/NASU supporters [86.8% or sometimes 88.4%] do not include the Non-Responding ecclesias. The Chart above shows that when the Non-Responding ecclesias are included, the percentage of ecclesias approving further discussion in regard to the NASU was only 66.4% or 99 of 149 total Amended ecclesias.
I’m a bit concerned about the numbers you are reporting…they do not agree with the handout my son received following the June 2007 meeting held in London Ontario. The total acceptance numbers are below the numbers you have posted. Please respond.
Sincerely, Troy Haltom
Hi Troy,
I imagine that the area of confusion here is that these are only the numbers for Amended ecclesias, and don’t include those of Unamended ecclesias. The numbers given in this Appendix should be identical to the official NASU results reported at http://www.nasu.ca/NASU_Final_Report.pdf. If you’re still noticing discrepancies though, please let us know what they are exactly, and we can try to track down exactly what the issue is.
Thanks!