09/2020 The Innovative Jesus Page 10 The Blessing of Isolation Page 20 The Angels From Supply Page 28
A Legacy of Innovation
Innovation That Transforms BY BILL KNOTT
10 The Innovative Jesus Eike Mueller
12 The Brilliant Brain That Innovates Daniel Bruneau
14 Leadership Innovation Lowell Cooper
16 Displaced, Hopeless, Unchurched, and Searching Karen Glassford
18 Global View God—The Ultimate Innovator Ted N. C. Wilson 20 Devotional The Blessing of Isolation Gerald A. Klingbeil 22 Millennial Voices He Still Calms Our Storms Frederick Kimani 23 Faith in Action The Journey Home Karen J. Pearson
26 Bible Questions Answered The Fourth One in the Furnace 27 Health and Wellness Lessons Learned From COVID-19 28 May I Tell You a Story? The Angels From Supply 30 Growing Faith A Scream and a Rabid Dog
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the finances of the world church, the October issue of Adventist World will appear only in digital format, including also most translations, and will be available at www.adventistworld.org as well as on division and media center websites and other available venues.
“The best devotion is the discovery of a new idea.” The speaker paused to scan the upturned faces of 150 college students who looked at him with puzzlement. He repeated the line— slowly—for emphasis: “The best devotion is the discovery of a new idea.” We weren’t so much opposed to what he said as struggling to assess its truth against our years of trying to practice a consistent devotional life. At 19, 20, and 21, college students serious about their faith don’t often understand their daily time with God as a venue for experiment or innovation. Anything so vital as connecting with the God of the universe required pattern, rhythm, sameness—or so we thought. You rise at 5:00 a.m.; begin your day with earnest prayer; open up God’s Word to spend a thoughtful hour; and end with prayer informed by the reading of the Word. What was this new idea of which the preacher spoke? In kindness, he unpacked his challenging expression. Devotional life, he reminded us, too frequently devolves into expected and unchanging routine. The structures we construct for how we pray and how we read God’s Word are often built on time, not quality: we meet our goal if we endure an hour, or even half of that. But a God of such enormous creativity, a God who made the intricate complexities of the human brain—and cherishes the neurons He created—is best met when we grow passionate about some new way we encounter Him. Routine and rhythm have their place, but the Father seeks a vital and dynamic relationship with both prodigals and elder brothers—where something happens that invests new life in us, new power, and opportunities to grow. Like Luther, we may find the truth of grace while climbing up the stair of ritual. Like John Wesley, we will learn that our hearts, too, may be “strangely warmed” when we discover love so vast and deep we have no category to contain it. Like Ellen White, we can begin to practice what she so often called “experimental religion.” “Instead of relying upon the word of another, taste for yourself. Experience is knowledge derived from experiment. Experimental religion is what is needed now. ‘Taste and see that the Lord is good.’”1 The sanctified curiosity that faithfully asks “Why?” and “How?” and “When will you restore Your people, Lord?” gets answers from a Lord who delights in being asked what we consider “hard things.” The Bible’s record of the faithful questions framed by those who knew God well—in Job, in Psalms, in Lamentations—reminds us that a question mark (?) can be as fully a symbol of faith as an exclamation point (!). Each time that we grow passionate about God—each time we seek a deeper life of holiness and worship—our daily time with God is reinvigorated. “He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?” (Rom. 8:32, NRSV).2 As you read this bright, new issue of Adventist World, pray for the grace to faithfully experiment in building a revived, renewed relationship with Jesus. 1 2
Ellen G. White, God’s Amazing Grace (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1973), p. 252. Bible texts credited to NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.
We believe in the power of prayer, and we welcome prayer requests that can be shared at our weekly staff worship every Wednesday morning. Send your requests to prayer@adventistworld.org, and pray for us as we work together to advance God’s kingdom.
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News Moment
Sara Luz and others have prayed for many years for a new church building for their Mi Peru C congregation on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. Maranatha Volunteers International had planned to construct a new church building for the congregation in spring 2020, but volunteers could not enter Peru because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans are underway to accomplish this goal in early 2021. Photo: Tom Lloyd, Maranatha Volunteers International
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News in Brief
163
Number of towns with populations of 1,000 or less located in the territory of the Rocky Mountain Conference, based in Denver, Colorado, United States. A new initiative, #TinyTowns4Jesus, refocused the energies of student canvassers, who could not physically visit people living in Colorado during the pandemic, to raise enough funds using phones and social media to mail GLOW tracts and copies of the book The Great Controversy. Thousands of people living in these smaller communities will receive the materials.
“It was a struggle for many years until now, that we see the fruits of our efforts. [It is something that] will further boost the church’s initiative to develop the land for the benefit of all.” —Kepsie Elodo, Papua New Guinea Union Mission president, commenting on the 33-year-long process culminating in the official handover of the land title of the Buimo Road Seventh-day Adventist Church in Lae, Papua New Guinea.
3,000 Number of leaders, including administrators, departmental directors, institutional leaders, church pastors, and elders, from the Inter-American Division who met online via Zoom July 6-9, 2020, to discuss leadership in uncertain times. The leadership conference offered 10 plenary sessions and 42 breakout seminars directed at specific leadership needs. 4
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Number of People Served by One Medical Doctor . . . Access to such health-care professionals as nurses, midwives, and medical doctors differs widely between world regions. = 1 Doctor = 1 Person
Source: Data based on the 2020 World Health Statistics, gathered by the World Health Organization (WHO).
EUROPE: 293
AMERICAS: 417
1,000+ Number of free podcasts available in Portuguese on 7Cast, a podcast site launched by the South American Division in July. Podcasts of varying lengths are divided into 15 categories, including current events, Bible, meditations, teenagers, Pathfinders, music, health and lifestyle, and Christian life, among others. The podcasts are also available on other platforms, including Apple, Deezer, Spotify, and Google.
WESTERN PACIFIC: 533
EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: 989
SOUTHEAST ASIA: 1,239
AFRICA: 3,324
“I am first indebted to God for His call to ministry, and second, to those who have poured into my life over the years. I am deeply humbled by the confidence Elder Wilson, our chair, and the NAD and GC executive committees have placed in me with this assignment. This task is too big for one individual or office. It is abundantly clear to me that it takes all of us working together to advance God’s kingdom. I deeply covet your prayers.” —G. Alexander Bryant, following his election as president of the North American Division by the General Conference Executive Committee on July 9, 2020.
News in Brief
“If I’m able, I need to go. Some situations require a response if you have the capacity to respond.” —Stephen Scheffler, a graduate of Union College in the United States, reflecting on his decision to leave his job as a charge nurse in Loveland, Colorado, to take a temporary assignment at a hospital overrun with COVID-19 cases in New York City. In 2015, Scheffler, a registered nurse, volunteered to serve for nine weeks in Sierra Leone during an Ebola outbreak.
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“All of us have more or less obvious disabilities and barriers. We all face mental, emotional, and spiritual problems daily—no one excluded.” —Larry Evans, Adventist Possibility Ministries director, during a threeday virtual advisory of about 200 global ministry leaders working on behalf of people with disabilities. Evans highlighted the importance of programs and activities aimed at inclusion and sharing “to create a climate of acceptance for all forms of diversity.”
Number of innovative handwashing machines built by students of the Kismayo Technical Institute, a vocational school in Somalia. The initiative is supported by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in response to the emphasis on handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic. ADRA has been supporting Kismayo Technical Institute since 2015. Since then, 1,758 (1,142 male and 616 female) youth and vulnerable women have been trained in vocational skills.
Photo: ADRA Somalia AdventistWorld.org September 2020
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News in Depth
In the United Kingdom, Lockdown Increases Pathfinders’ eHonors Offerings
Podcasting and Media Broadcast Ministry are among the latest options.
By Marcos Paseggi, Adventist World
Like many others around the world, Seventh-day Adventist Pathfinder Club members in the United Kingdom have lost a lot after a lockdown was declared in March 2020. Camps and large youth gatherings, for instance, have been canceled indefinitely. Some leaders think there’s an upside to “the new normal,” as it has triggered an increasing offering of eHonors, or courses members can take online to learn new skills covering a wide variety of interests. In the British Union Conference (BUC), a church region that includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the new reality has translated into a growing use of technological tools to attract and train a new generation of Pathfinders, said Adventist Review Media Lab director Daryl Gungadoo. UK-based Gungadoo has been instrumental as a developer and instructor of several of the new eHonors options. “This is an initiative that started in conversations with BUC youth leader Dejan Stojkovic,” Gungadoo said after hosting one of the eHonors courses in late June 2020. “It has been held over Zoom and Facebook Live initially for the territory of Great Britain, but quickly expanded as a global service.”
Gungadoo revealed that between 200 and 500 participants are coming every week from the United Kingdom, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. PODCASTING EHONOR
One of the newest eHonors options is Podcasting, a joint initiative between the BUC and Adventist Review Ministries. Podcasting is a market, Gungadoo said, that has been growing exponentially since the mid2010s because of a societal trend of people wanting mobility, flexibility, and choice. “What Netflix created for a TV audience, podcasting did for radio, following the motto ‘Any Content, Anywhere, Anytime,’” he explained. According to Gungadoo, the first goal of the new eHonor is that Pathfinders can expand their knowledge regarding specialized podcasts (as consumers) in a day and age of confinement. “Technologically savvy Pathfinders can help their elders figure out how to subscribe to podcasts, which is especially useful for people who are ‘stuck’ in retirement homes,” Gungadoo said. At the same time, he believes that by creating podcasts based on their church or personal experience,
The Podcasting eHonor badge Photo: Getty Images/Adventist Review Media Lab 6
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Pathfinders can reflect and express their faith. PODCASTING SYLLABUS
The Podcasting eHonor syllabus includes learning to define the terms Really Simple Syndication (RSS), aggregator, and Digital Audio Workstation (DAW), among others. Pathfinders have to show that they are familiar with recording hardware, including microphones and mixers, and digital audio workstation (DAW) tools such as Adobe Audition and Audacity. “Pathfinders must also demonstrate proficiency publishing their podcasts, showing them online, and sharing them,” Gungadoo said. “As they do, they are also invited to reflect on how podcasting can be used for evangelism and nurture.” Gungadoo said it is not difficult to start a podcast as long as you have a good microphone, a computer, and audio editing skills. It is more challenging, he said, to persevere and continue to produce episodes on a daily/weekly/monthly basis when ideas run dry. “Successful and popular podcasts are the ones that are consistent over time,” he said. PROSPECTIVE EHONORS
Gungadoo believes this is not the end, as other sets of skills that were somehow marginalized are now being used to adapt to the “new normal.” “We could increase our offering with such topics as ‘How to Livestream Your Church’ or ‘Live-streaming a House Church,’” Gungadoo said. “In the near future, these kinds of skills might see themselves as Pathfinder honors as well.”
News in Depth
In Cuba, Adventist Church Celebrates “God-sent” Shipment
International response helps circumvent a paper shortage.
By Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division, and Adventist World
Church employees receive the pallets of paper and Sabbath School lesson quarterlies shipped to Cuba. They arrived months after the church’s print shop had to close because of a shortage of paper on the island. Photo: Aldo Perez, Cuba Union
When a paper shortage hit Cuba, the Seventh-day Adventist printshop was forced to close. Not being able to find paper anywhere on the island when the world began its lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, the church in Cuba faced a serious problem. Because access to Christian radio, television, and online programs is restricted or too expensive for most Seventh-day Adventists and the community in Cuba, printed Sabbath School Bible study guides have become the most valuable resource to strengthen the study of the Bible among the membership, said Aldo Perez, president of the Adventist Church in Cuba. Local leaders looked without success for paper options outside of Cuba. “We prayed about it, made plans to inform the membership to begin studying the previous Sabbath School lesson based on the book of Daniel, and presented our situation to the administration of the Inter-American Division in April,” Perez explained. “It was a very stressful situation.”
In the 1980s and 1990s, the church was forced to repeat the use of several Bible study guides, but during more recent decades the church had not faced such a dire situation, Perez said. Because of the high cost of shipping, the Inter-American Division Publishing Association (IADPA) sends the Bible study materials to Cuba to be printed locally. The division pays for the printing in the church’s printshop in Cuba. The studies are delivered to conference offices, and local pastors pick them up and deliver them to their congregations. When, on June 29, 2020, a shipment with 11,000 Sabbath School Bible study guides for adults and children and pallets of paper arrived in the port of Havana, church leaders and members rejoiced at the sight of God’s answer to prayer. “This is like pure gold for our church here,” said Dayami Rodríguez, communication director for the Adventist Church in Cuba. “The church in Cuba had never seen such a high-quality quarterly, and so beautiful.”
Local leaders received the shipment on July 6 and quickly moved to distribute the materials across the island. “The church in Cuba is so happy because it has seen the hand of God working yet another miracle in our favor,” Perez said. “Many have called our offices grateful that they can study this third quarterly filled with such important messages for the time in which we are living.” Perez said that just the week before, churches had begun to partially open for worship services, and members are rejoicing in God’s blessings. Members still face many challenges on the island, but no COVID-19 cases among members have been reported. The church’s printshop will soon begin printing the fourth quarter’s lessons and make them available at the end of September. “Beyond that, it’s in God’s hands,” Perez said. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba has nearly 38,000 church members in 491 churches and congregations. The church oversees four conferences, a theological seminary, and a printshop. AdventistWorld.org September 2020
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News Focus East-Central Africa Division (ECD)
4,445,737 Membership of the East-Central Africa Division (ECD) as of March 31, 2020
7,430 Number of square meters (about 80,000 square feet) available in the new Lindsay Thomas, Jr., Ph.D., Multipurpose Complex on the campus of the Adventist University of Africa. The multipurpose complex contains a 1,200-seat auditorium; eight technologically up-to-date classrooms with breakout capacity for groups; indoor and outdoor amphitheaters; social veranda terraces with views of the surrounding hills and environs; administrative offices; and a spacious cafeteria.
CFMS
The new Church Fund Management System designed to streamline collection, management, and reporting of tithe and offerings within the territory of the ECD. Payments can be made by phone, online, bank transfers, checks, and cash. The CFMS is available in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda. Ethiopia, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Djibouti should have access to the system by the end of 2020.
“Volunteers from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) came for me at my place of work and took me home after receiving supplies from the Kibera Adventist Church. I felt loved and cared for. No one has ever done this to me before.” —Samuel Onang’o, a cobbler with a disability living in Nairobi, Kenya, who received a hygiene kit provided by ADRA, enabling him to meet government requirements for handwashing stations and keep his cobbling business open. During the COVID-19 pandemic, ADRA Kenya has sought to support families with individuals who have disabilities. (^-)
“The God who has done so much for us is also the One who has called us to be one family. . . . When we come together in worship, we are reminded that we are what we are because of Him, and that together we are a family and a body under the leadership of the Creator— and the Creator alone.” —Blasious Ruguri, EastCentral Africa Division (ECD) president, in a Facebook sermon shared with ECD members, released on May 16, 2020. Many countries in the division had enacted lockdown orders for their citizens in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: ADRA Kenya 8
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Perspective
By Marcos Paseggi, Adventist World
Photo: Eberhard Grossgasteiger
Blood Will Be Shed Being spared from COVID-19 doesn’t mean we are free from its consequences. “Known unto God.” The epitaph commonly used on the gravestones of nameless soldiers who died in battle could well be applied to official tallies of the infected and dead from COVID-19 in 2020. Despite public and private entities’ best efforts, it is estimated that actual numbers might never be known.1 Current figures purportedly include thousands of Seventh-day Adventists who, in many countries, have also been infected. It is believed that hundreds of church members have lost their lives during the pandemic.2 As it rages on, the pandemic seems to hit closer to home, as more Adventists say they know at least one relative or acquaintance who got infected or died from the virus. CLEAN FROM THE PLAGUE
Leviticus 14 details the law lepers were expected to follow after they thought themselves cleansed. The text reads, “He shall be brought to the priest. . . . If the leprosy is healed in the leper, then the priest shall command to take for him who
is to be cleansed two living and clean birds” (verses 2-4). The following verses detail how the priest would command that “one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water” (verse 5). It adds, “As for the living bird, [the priest] shall take it . . . and dip . . . the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall sprinkle it seven times on him who is to be cleansed from the leprosy, and shall pronounce him clean” (verses 6, 7). Most Christian commentators point out the straightforward messianic undertones the ceremony entailed. An innocent bird sheds its blood, and the mixture of blood and clean, running water is sprinkled on the formerly diseased person, who is then declared clean and free to go. DIPPED IN BLOOD
At the same time, others highlight the concurrent human elements of the ritual. The priest chooses, among two seemingly identical birds, which one shall live or die. After the selected bird is slaughtered, the priest dips the living bird “in the blood of the bird that was killed” (verse 6), to “let the living bird loose in the open field” (verse 7). We might envision how difficult and even traumatic it could have been for the released bird to fly after its wings had been smeared in the
blood of one of its own. Perhaps unable to soar in the sky because of its companion’s blood weight and stickiness, the bird would opt to wobble, dumbfounded, across the field. Imagine the purported dialogue that would then ensue between two people who happened to come across that bird. “That bird is bleeding! Is it dying?” Upon closer inspection, the answer would come, “No, the bird is not dying. But it’s bleeding because somebody else has died!” THEIR BLOOD IS ON US
Even if, by God’s grace, most of us are spared from the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the burden of the many who were not will undoubtedly stay with us. Like the bird in Leviticus dipped in blood, we’ll carry the marks of those brothers and sisters who, in God’s unfathomable wisdom, must either endure long-term consequences of the virus on their bodies or were called to rest for a while. It is the legacy of the living to make sure those who have succumbed to the disease do not stay known only unto God. It is imposed upon us to tread along on their behalf until, free from any trace of blood, we can soar again. Together. COVID-19-free. Bursting with life. 1
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www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/why-the-exact-death-tollfor-covid-19-may-never-be-known-1.4881619 www.adventistreview.org/church-news/story15171-275adventists-have-died-from-covid-19-in-southern-mexico
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Focus
The Innovative Jesus More than meets the eye
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t the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century the missionary and theologian Albert Schweitzer, in a classic book on the life and ministry of Jesus, indicted the religious establishment of his time for turning Jesus into a “Jesus of its own making.”* The values and culture of nineteenth-century Europe had influenced theologians, pastors, and church members to such an extent that, knowingly and unknowingly, the “constructed Jesus” fit comfortably into the pews of churches and cathedrals. Instead of being transformed by “beholding Jesus,” Christians had transformed “Jesus” into a construct of their imagination. Schweitzer’s indictment is equally true of the religious establishment of Jesus’ time. Religious leaders did not recognize Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and crucified Him instead. Even though the first-century generation was steeped in the public reading of the Old Testament, followed the law of Moses as a matter of national identity, and understood themselves at the crossroads of biblical prophecy, they failed to recognize Jesus as their Savior. Jesus 10
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did not fit their expectations. Most were unwilling to allow Jesus to reshape their view of the Messiah. THEOLOGICAL INNOVATION
The landscape of first-century Judaism was in many ways similar to today: a fragmented and polarized Jewish nation amid a widespread end-time sentiment. Everyone waited for God to appoint some human agent as the promised “Anointed One,” who—like Cyrus— would deliver them. Sadducees and Herodians had arranged themselves with the prevailing political and cultural system and were interested in maintaining a delicate balance of power. The Pharisees waited for a political messiah who would deliver them from pagan Rome and usher in a Jewish nation-state. The Zealots looked for a military solution to the problem. The Essenes, frustrated with corrupted religion, retreated to isolated hills to work out their own salvation. They meticulously observed all purity rules and awaited the “Teacher of Righteousness” to confirm their holiness and righteousness. Each of these groups cited favorite proof texts for their view of the Messiah and the end time, but Jesus rejected all these perspectives. Instead, He encouraged His listeners to be immersed in all of Scripture, not just their favorite passages. Jesus’ first innovation was to pull together multiple Old Testament strands in His teaching and ministry. Jesus understood Himself (and in line with Jewish expectations) as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant and the royal Davidic line. But He also claimed the role of the new Moses, who would deliver Jews and Gentiles through His blood; the antitypical position of Elisha, who cared for and renewed
Photo: Scott Rodgerson
the faith of those seeking God; and the eschatological Judge as presented in Daniel’s vision of the Son of man (Dan. 7; Matt. 24). No wonder that all efforts by Jesus’ compatriots to pigeonhole Him failed miserably. Against notions of a national messiah, Jesus cited the founding covenant with Israelites: All nations will be blessed through Abraham (Gen. 22:18; Matt. 1:1-14). Contrary to a messiah for the righteous, Jesus shared His mission to “save the sinners” (see Mark 2:17). Against the claim of earthly power, Jesus pointed to His throne at the right hand of God. Though Jesus founded His ministry on Scripture, but His compatriots were so consumed by their own view of the messiah that they could not see Jesus for who He truly was: the Savior for all humanity—not from each other, but from sin. THE LIVING TEMPLE
Jesus’ first innovation was certainly controversial, but not worthy of a death sentence. His second innovation, though, carried the charge of blasphemy and a death sentence: Jesus claimed divinity by asserting authority over the temple, even replacing the physical structure with His own body. “Anointed” or messianic figures in the Old Testament could be kings, priests, or foreign dignitaries acting on behalf of God for His people (Isa. 45:1). In general, nobody expected the messiah to be a divine figure. Jesus, however, claimed to be more than a human messiah. He is Messiah and Son of God (Matt. 4:17; 16:16). To convey this message to His audience, Jesus chose to compare and contrast Himself with the temple. The high priest in Jesus’ trial unwittingly acknowledged Jesus’ claim in his
sentence: Jesus proclaimed His body to be the replacement for the temple (Matt. 26:61). For Jews this was sacrilegious. The temple was not only a holy place, but the most holy place. It was God’s personal dwelling place among humanity, and therefore synonymous with God and His character. Claiming authority and superiority over the temple was usurping God Himself. Beginning at Creation, God carved out sacred time, the Sabbath, but also holy meeting space: the first “temple” was the Garden of Eden, where God walked with Adam and Eve. Then at Sinai God instructed Moses to build a sanctuary according to a divine model, adding sacrificial rituals to symbolize the restoration of the relationship between humanity and God. Solomon turned this temporary tent into a magnificent architectural marvel occupied the shekinah appearance of God Himself. But Jesus challenged this permanent, physical housing in a variety of ways: First, He claimed authority over the temple premises by cleansing the temple (Matt. 21:12, 13). Second, Jesus—by His own authority (“I say to you”)— issued commandments (Matt. 5-7) as though He was the author of the Decalogue Himself. Third, in defiance of the temple rituals (Mark 2:1-11), Jesus even forgave sins without requiring a sacrifice. Finally, Jesus, standing in the temple premises, contrasted His own body with the physical building. “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Jesus anticipated that the cross would render the physical temple meaningless. God would no longer reside in the temple. Instead Jesus would fully replace the function of the temple through His broken and raised body. In Jesus, God
Jesus did not fit their expectations, and most were not willing to allow Jesus to reshape their view of the Messiah. met humanity and through His blood delivered all from sin. From beginning to end, Matthew’s Gospel affirms that Jesus, as the Son of God, rightfully replaced the temple. In Jesus, God walked with us. He is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23). And through the cross, God restored humanity. The temple’s significance is now fulfilled (Matt. 27:51). Schweitzer’s assessment also indicts believers today. It’s natural to create a mental image of Jesus and to associate values, character traits, and physical characteristics with this image. Much as the people around Jesus’ first coming, Christians await the Second Coming with equal certainty about their Savior. Often these ideas are a reflection of the culture and time in which we live, of our personal desires and the struggles we endure. The real Jesus will always surprise us. He is more than our image of Him, and more than the sum of our favorite Bible passages. Of course He is, otherwise He wouldn’t be “God with us.” * Albert Schweitzer, The Quest of the Historical Jesus: A Critical Study of Its Progress From Reimarus to Wrede, trans. W. Montgomery, 2nd ed. (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1911), p. 397.
Eike Mueller, Ph.D., is an associate professor of New Testament studies and assistant dean of the Theological Seminary at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies, located in Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
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Focus
The Brilliant Brain That Innovates
Becoming an innovative thinker
In the myriad possible definitions of innovation, this comprehensive one stands out: “Innovation is the process of creating value by applying novel solutions to meaningful problems.”3 The practice of innovation has often only been thought to be the purview of an exclusive club of disruptive thinkers who have rattled the status quo of industry. As a result, there has often been a spotlight on the achievements of innovators, and comparatively little attention given to the innovative thinking itself that underpins the very essence of what it means to ideate; to create.4 Learning how to innovate is just as important as learning why we need to innovate, and while there are individuals who find their mental sweet spot in generating the “big ideas,” the bottom line is that all of us can learn to be innovative in different ways and apply that thinking to solving problems in the way we do mission, run business, and live our lives. THE NECESSITY OF CREATIVE THINKING
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nquestionably more complex than any structure in the known universe, the human brain is a masterstroke of God’s creative power. Loaded with more than 1 trillion cells and powered by 100 billion pulsating neurons, it’s a malleable, freewill-orientated, matchless work of art that harnesses far more connections than there are known stars in the Milky Way. Truly, “the mind is the capital of the body.”1 God’s handiwork is astounding and stands as a remarkable backdrop to two important questions for our age: (1) Can brain science help us understand the mental mechanics of what drives innovation? and (2) Are innovative traits found only in certain individuals? REFOCUSING THE INNOVATION PARADIGM
The world is on the cusp of the fourth industrial revolution—a profound shift in human history driven by exponential changes to the way we live, work, and relate to one another—because of the adoption of disruptive technologies and trends such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). As a result, the reality we face is that individuals in every domain are driven to innovate to survive.2 But what does it mean to innovate, and who should these innovators be? 12
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Interestingly, brain research has pointed to creativity as being the rocket fuel for innovation. When scientists studied the brain scans (using MRI technology) of people who were asked to come up with inventive uses for everyday objects, they found that the most creative thinkers activated multiple regions in the brain, not just one area.5 Specifically, it was determined that the brain regions essential for brainstorming (e.g., memory, imagination, emotion, and spontaneous thinking) were activated in conjunction with the brain regions that determine which stimuli are deserving of our attention, as well as the frontal lobe involved in the regulation of cognition and behavior. This brain-system synchrony dispels the commonly held
ADVENTIST INNOVATORS
Leonard Lee Bailey (1942-2019) U N I T E D S TAT E S
Claim to fame: heart surgeon who transplanted a baboon’s heart into a baby born prematurely. Leonard Bailey was known for his pioneering cross-species infant heart transplants. His efforts paved the way for other innovations in the field of heart-transplant surgery. Bailey worked at Loma Linda University Health for 42 years.* * lluh.org/leonard-bailey
belief of a distinct right- versus left-brain dominance in creative thinking by underlying the finding that creativity is a “whole-brain endeavor.”6 As a result, individuals with stronger functional connections between these networks tend to produce more original ideas.7 Forming these stronger connections is dependent, in part, on “waking up” the creative traits that drive innovation, such as curiosity, abstract thinking, and problem-solving (to name but a few)—traits that almost everybody has. In fact, recent research has begun to uncover that there’s even a precursor to creative thinking itself, that of “inspiration.”8 Key to this notion is that innovation is rarely created by one individual who has inspiration, but rather often requires multiple individuals providing new incremental insights to improve the original idea.9 Thus, individually and collectively through collaboration, we’re all capable of igniting our creative-thinking traits that drive innovation. In fact, our brains change throughout our lifetimes. Referred to as neuroplasticity, this fact is clearly evidenced
by the simple everyday observation that we never stop learning. Creative thinking is intimately tied to learning because it involves the discovery of novel neural connections. THE JEWEL IN THE INNOVATOR’S TOOLKIT
So how can we begin to develop our innovative traits? One approach would be to learn from the many developing resources available on the subject of innovative thinking. While many of these resources are important, the most powerful tool in the innovator’s toolkit, I believe, is Scripture. Indeed, while brain science champions the relatively new discovery of neuroplasticity, the ability of the brain to change has been rooted in God’s design since Creation. As Paul instructs: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). If inspiration is a precursor to creative thinking, and creative thinking requires the combined engagement of the executive cognitive functions of the brain with the regions associated with memory and emotion, what better place to start awakening our innovative thinking process than with the Word of God—that which inspires
thinking, strengthens our intellect, and stirs the very depths of our emotions! After all, since we were created “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27), it’s only logical that through the inspiration of His Word, our brains can change, igniting our ability to create and innovate. Ellen White put it magnificently: “In the Word of God the mind finds subjects for the deepest thought, the loftiest aspirations.”10 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 3, p. 136. 2 https://www.cipe.org/newsroom/innovation-as-a-necessityfor-survival/. 3 https://digintent.com/what-is-innovation/. 4 V. Poirier et al., “Thoughts on Improving Innovation: What Are the Characteristics of Innovation and How Do We Cultivate Them?” Technology and Innovation, vol. 18, pp. 319-330. 5 Harvard University, “The Creative Brain Is Wired Differently,” ScienceDaily, Jan. 17, 2018, retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2018/01/180117163954.htm. 6 E. B. Roger et al., “Robust Prediction of Individual Creative Ability From Brain Functional Connectivity,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018); 201713532 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1713532115. 7 Ibid. 8 Poirier. 9 Ibid. 10 Ellen G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1913), p. 52. 1
Daniel Bruneau, Ph.D., specializes in human-computer interaction (combining cognitive neuroscience, technology innovation, and experience design). He leads creative strategy at Adventist Review Ministries. He and his wife, Sierra, and their recently born daughter, Adelaide, live near Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
ADVENTIST INNOVATORS
Margaret Caro (1848-1938)
NEW ZEALAND Claim to fame: first woman listed on the Dentists’ Register of New Zealand. Became an Adventist after attending a series by A. G. Daniells in 1888. Margaret Caro (née Malcolm) was born in Richmond, New Zealand, in December 1848. With her physician husband, Caro attended to peoples’ medical needs in poor mining communities. She was the first woman listed on the Dentists’ Register of New Zealand, and was a strong proponent of the health message. She established Bethany Rescue Home for abused women and children in 1898.* * teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2c8/caro-margaret
Photo: Ellen G. White Estate AdventistWorld.org September 2020
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Focus
Leadership Innovation Better Solutions for New Situations
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he Calf Path,” a satirical poem by Sam Walter Foss, tells how a meandering trail left by a wandering and aimless calf became a path, a lane, a road, a street, and, ultimately, a thoroughfare. Organizations can follow this same path, so to speak. Systems and procedures that once were designed for specific purposes become normal practice; with repeated use they seep into the organization’s culture and achieve protected status. One of the most important leadership tasks in any organization is to embrace innovation—the application of better solutions in a changed environment. It’s a subtle temptation for leaders to preserve system and structure as a way of pursuing and protecting mission. Where this is done, organizations become both inefficient and ineffective. Organization and systems are necessary, but they must demonstrate sufficient flexibility to respond to change— both internal and external. How can leadership teams embrace innovation while staying 14
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focused on mission? Seventh-day Adventist Church history offers insights. The reorganization of structure initiated in 1901 brought sweeping changes to systems that had grown cumbersome and uncoordinated. It’s not surprising that some should inquire if, 120 years later, there is reason to once again look at structure in the light of present circumstances and technology. Are there ways of being more efficient and more effective? The purpose of this article is not to answer the question. Rather, it seeks to draw attention to how
leaders might create an organizational culture that encourages innovation. Here are five ideas. 1 Think in terms of opportunities. A crisis within an organization is certainly a threat, and defensive action may be urgently required. Disruption, however, can also lead to lasting and beneficial change. This requires a mindset that is comfortable with considering new ways of doing things. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic is an unavoidable challenge to doing things “the way we have always done them.” Organizations and individuals have been forced into adopting alternative ways of going about the business of life. The way meetings are conducted has changed, the necessity of extensive travel has been reviewed and drastically curtailed, and even the distribution of authority has been revised—some problems must be resolved immediately and locally. 2 Make innovation everybody’s business. Encourage all employees or members of an organization to think about new solutions to current challenges. Open pathways for ideas to be shared and critiqued. Give some room for experimentation. Centralization and micromanagement suffocate initiative and innovation. 3 Listen to newcomers. New employees and new members will often be the ones who ask
ADVENTIST INNOVATORS FRANCE/SWITZERLAND
Jean Nussbaum (1888-1967)
Claim to fame: founded the International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty. A medical doctor, Nussbaum was elected director of the Department of Religious Liberty for the Southern European Division in 1933. He traveled widely, speaking on behalf of Protestants, Orthodox Christians, and other Christians.* * aidlr.org/history.php
Photo: Joshua Woroniecki
ADVENTIST INNOVATORS
Anna Knight (1874-1972) U N I T E D S TAT E S
Claim to fame: founder of the National Colored Teacher’s Association. Within the Adventist Church, Anna Knight is known for her missionary service to India. She was an educator, nurse, and founder of the National Colored Teachers Association (NCTA). She was instrumental in the founding of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. During her tenure as president of the NCTA, her focus was on student funding, opening schools, improving facilities, and assisting struggling students.* * ahu.edu/blog/mission-ministries/blackhistory-month-anna-knight
questions about what old-timers have accepted as normal and necessary. New pairs of eyes can see more clearly the ingrained habits of institutional and local church procedures. Their questions and observations serve as challenges to invisible assumptions and invitations to consider alternative ways of achieving desired outcomes. 4 Keep informed about emerging trends in technology. A recent McKinsey Global Initiative report estimates that “about half of all the activities people are paid to do in the world’s workforce could potentially be automated by adapting currently demonstrated technologies.”* When was the last time you used an eraser? a pay phone? a paper road map? Times have changed and keep on changing. Today’s administrators and church leaders need to stay informed on trends that directly impact organizational life and mission. It’s not
necessary to be at the leading edge of technological change, but this is the twenty-first century. 5 Listen to “what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 3:22). It is folly to assume that there is nothing new to learn in relation to spiritual things or how the church engages in God’s mission. Jesus promised that “when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). The New Testament book of Acts presents a mind-stretching account of how the Holy Spirit led the early believers into new ways of seeing and behaving—innovations in spiritual living. The early chapters in Acts offer a veritable staircase of ascent to new visions of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ. Note these examples: (1) Acts 2:1-12: The Holy Spirit is democratized— all were amazed; (2)Acts 8:1, 4: Persecution in Jerusalem scattered believers, mission was planted in new territory; (3) Acts 9: Saul’s conversion and call to ministry—a terrorist becomes an evangelist; (4) Acts 10: Peter’s encounter with Cornelius confronts ethnocentrism and prejudice; (5) Acts 11:19-23: The Antioch church—unsupervised result of lay initiative; (6) Acts 15:129: New dimensions in theological understanding and doctrine. The Holy Spirit kept updating the map of mission for the early church. He led believers through experiences that fundamentally changed their perceptions and expectations. Through the Holy Spirit’s guidance the church came to new, ever deeper, ever broader understanding of God and His purposes in this world. The Holy Spirit did not lead away from the Bible; instead, He brought a clearer and more comprehensive understanding of things and truths already embraced or foretold in Scripture. The Holy Spirit leads, guides, and convicts
individuals and the church in ways that adjust our thinking and presuppositions, and He aligns our mind with the mind of God—the most essential kind of innovation. *www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/digital-disruption/harnessing-automation-for-a-future-that-works, accessed June 7, 2020.
Lowell Cooper is a former vice president of the General Conference. He and his wife, Rae, live in Kennewick, Washington. ADVENTIST INNOVATORS
Johan Hendrik Weidner, Jr. (1912-1994) THE NETHERLANDS Claim to fame: ran an underground network for people fleeing Nazi persecution during World War II. The son of an Adventist pastor, Johan Weidner (also known as Jean Henri) was a Dutch import/export businessman. He helped coordinate an underground network for Jews and others to escape extermination during World War II, assisting them in their escape either to Spain or to Switzerland. He was captured for his efforts, and nearly died, but escaped while en route to a German labor camp. He immigrated to the United States in the 1950s.* * encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/id-card/ dr-johan-hendrik-weidner
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Feature
Displaced, Hopeless, Unchurched, and Searching
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arek* sat up in bed. What was that noise? Were they coming to kill him? Turning his head, he saw his wife sleeping soundly beside him. Confirming that his children were safely sleeping, he tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn’t. He and his family had become Christians, and to many, that was unforgivable. It had been psychological torture knowing that nothing could save him from being killed for his faith in God—not even his excellent degree or job. With God’s help they escaped into another country that had more liberty. Now living as refugees, Tarek and his family often felt discouraged. It’s exhausting never to feel safe or at home. Watching Cami Oetman of Adventist World Radio present the Unlocking Bible Prophecies (UBP) series was just what he needed. He decided to reach out and submit a 16
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New ways of ministering are necessary now.
prayer request on AWR’s evangelism website. A young volunteer named Leanne answered with the following prayer: “Dear God, thank You for this connection that I’ve been able to make with Tarek today. I pray for him, Lord, as he is living with the real challenges of being a refugee. I praise You, Lord, that You are a refuge in times of trial. You are our safe place. What the enemy has meant for evil, You can turn to good (Gen. 50:20). Thank You for not forgetting our cries (Ps. 9:9-12). Thank You for Your promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). I ask that You send Your Holy
Spirit to guide Tarek and his family. Thank You for listening to our prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.” She then continued, “Tarek, I will continue to pray for you and your family. Please let me know how you are doing. If you have any further prayer requests or Bible questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.” A few days later, Tarek replied, “Thank you so much! You have no idea how much you have encouraged me. I believe that God hears our voice. Please do not forget me and my family in your prayers.” BEHIND THE SCREENS
These, and many other stories, bring joy to the hearts of the volunteers at Adventist World Radio’s Center for Digital Evangelism (CDE) in the Philippines. The digital missionaries at the CDE are temporarily housed, with a crowded workspace. But new living facilities and a much larger office are under construction. Because of COVID-19, progress has been delayed, and more volunteers have been needed for this series of meetings. Ultimately, Photo: Kobu Agency
God provided additional volunteers working from their homes in the United States, the Philippines, Brazil, and Thailand. But who is Leanne, the volunteer who prayed for Tarek? She was recruited by one of her close friends, Christina—a fellow student at Southern Adventist University. Leanne said, “If you had asked me earlier this year, I would never have guessed that I’d be spending my afternoons volunteering with AWR. I saw my friend Christina using two computer screens to keep up with the instant prayer requests and Bible questions at a rate neither she nor the volunteers in the Philippines could keep up with. Glancing at me, she asked, ‘You want to help?’” Leanne had her reservations, given that she’s a nursing major, not a theology major. She didn’t feel qualified to answer requests, and she’d never felt very comfortable praying with strangers. But once she started volunteering, that seed of doubt was replaced with comfort. If she received a question too complicated for her to answer, she just reassigned it to a pastor on duty. She also found that AWR has a database full of resources, which made writing customized prayers or Bible answers much simpler. Every day, Leanne looked forward to her shift, because, as she said, “There’s nothing like being there for people on their journey with God. While this is a very different way than I had planned to spend my summer, I wouldn’t change it, because I’ve had a frontrow seat to see God at work.” By the end of the series, Leanne was able to connect people who wanted to join the Adventist Church with a local church pastor or Bible worker in such countries as Zimbabwe, South Africa, Tanzania, India, the Philippines, and Canada. And who is Leanne’s friend, Christina? She’s a missionary kid who assists the director for AWR’s
Centers for Digital Evangelism. As soon as the evangelism website (awr.org/bible) went live, messages began pouring in like water from a firefighter’s hose. More help was needed, so Christina jumped online. “Is anyone there?” a message leaped off the screen. Christina typed back: “Yes, I am here. How can I help you?” The girl on the other end poured out the details of her desperate situation in which suicide seemed the only answer. Christina talked to her, sharing, among other things, words of encouragement from the Bible. Christina assured the girl that her life was invaluable, and that she mattered to God and to many others. Late at night when she finally closed her laptop, Christina sighed deeply. “Well, I never expected that! I was supposed to travel abroad this summer, but here I am at home—sharing hope with people all over the world.” As the series progressed, Christina helped train new volunteers and answer their questions so they could be as effective as possible. THE DIGITAL MISSION FIELD
If you were to ask Tobias Kazmierzak, manager of the CDE in the Philippines, along with his wife, Julia, what he thinks about the digital missionaries, he would say, “It is inspiring to see the excitement in every volunteer’s face as we think about ways in which we can reach and follow up with people in the digital world. It is touching to hear how thankful people are when we respond to their messages. Doing this with inspired young people is a real joy!” CDE volunteers such as Pratik and Surrender helped connect a man from a non-Christian faith with a local Adventist church, where he has found the answers he’s been seeking. Dianne would tell you stories of lives that have
changed from hopelessness to purpose and meaning. Listen to Mellen or Van Nezza as they tell about former Adventists who have returned to church and are reaching their friends with the gospel. I wish you could see the CDE volunteers working as shift advisors to help answer questions from the new volunteers as they work to become comfortable with this new way of ministry and the intricacies of the software and follow-up system. AWR even received messages like this from closed countries: “I accept God and the seventh-day Sabbath. I want to uphold it desperately. I am experiencing attacks from all sides. Pray that I will have the needed strength, courage, and peace from God.” Today, through social media channels, cell phones, websites, YouTube, and more, we can touch the world in ways our pioneers only dreamed of. The prophet Isaiah said, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isa. 6:8, NIV). If you hear God’s call and are interested in joining the team at the CDE in the Philippines, or if you’d like to learn more about volunteering from your home, please contact Adventist World Radio. Next month part two of this article will appear on the Adventist World website, featuring stories of how other volunteers were able to partner with AWR to impact the world for Jesus in very real ways. You, too, can volunteer, even if you have a full-time job or are a full-time student. Exciting adventures with God await. *Name has been changed.
Karen Glassford is manager of digital evangelism for Adventist World Radio
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The enemy was sure he had triumphed when Adam and Eve succumbed to his wicked temptation. He was certain the human race was forever trapped in his wicked grasp. But long before, in their infinite wisdom and foresight, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit developed an innovative plan to save the world (see Zech. 6:13). That plan rolled into action as, under divine instruction, Adam cut the throat of the first sacrificial lamb that pointed toward the coming Saviour. Global View
Using simple means for miraculous results
God— The Ultimate Innovator
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t was amazing. It was exciting. It was spectacular. Angels watched in awe as “by the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. . . . For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast” (Ps. 33:6-9). God, our Creator, brought the universe into existence and created the world by His speech. But His hands touched the earth, and “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground” in His image (Gen. 2:7). God is not only Creator but also an innovator—the Ultimate Innovator. Innovation, by definition, is “a new idea, creative thoughts, new imaginations in device or method.” To be innovative is to be creative— to be able to think outside the box. That’s what was needed to save humankind once we fell into Satan’s hands.
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INNOVATIVE METHODS
Throughout history, God has continually used innovative methods to accomplish His purposes. As the earth teemed with wickedness, God, rather than destroy the entire human race, told Noah to build an ark—something never seen before—to save as many as were willing from the coming deluge. As wickedness began to rise again, once more God intervened— this time by creating multiple languages, leading people to scatter across the earth. To ensure His plan of salvation would move forward, God promised Abraham He would raise up a nation through him, even though he was “as good as dead” (Heb. 11:12). When Abraham and Sarah decided to innovate outside of God’s plan, the results were disastrous, but once God was allowed to work, success followed. When nine brothers, sons of Jacob, filled with hatred and jealousy, sold their younger brother, Joseph, into slavery, God’s innovative plan took what was meant for evil and turned it into something good (see Gen. 50:20). Later, as a new Pharaoh sought to wipe out God’s people, God intervened
Photo: Billy Huynh
through an innovative yet simple means—a baby in a floating basket. The list goes on: water from a rock; walls crumbling by simply marching around them; a giant slain by stone and sling; a prophet fed by ravens; a military officer’s leprosy cured by dipping into a muddy river; a powerful king converted after seven years of roaming like a beast. These are but a few of God’s amazing ways. THE HEIGHT OF INNOVATION
Then the height of innovation: a Baby, placed in a humble manger; later nailed to a cross to save a race—the human race—that did not know Him. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). But praise God, the passage continues: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (verses 12, 13). Through the new birth offered through God’s innovative plan, God promises to give us power to become “children of God.” Amazing! Before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised His disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, promising power to be witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Once this gift was received, Christ’s followers turned “the world upside down” (Acts 17:6). SEEKING METHODS FOR TODAY
God still works today through innovative means, sometimes in spectacular ways, but often through very simple methods: a knock on the door; a genuine smile;
a healing touch; a warm meal; a caring message; an interesting Bible study; a deep conversation; a listening ear. God’s means are limitless. The only limit He has is our willingness to go—to be His hands, His feet, to “go . . . make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19, 20). As we seek to find various effective ways of reaching people for Christ, it is encouraging to note this counsel given by Ellen White: “One must not labor to have everything that comes from his mind entirely different from that which comes from another man’s mind. But he is to follow in the line where the Spirit of the Lord shall direct; then there will be different figures and different ways of presentation, that will interest and educate different minds.”1 “Some are always straining to get something original. This places them in great danger. They produce something new that is not according to the Word of God, and they have not the discernment to see the real harm that results from their ambition to excel some other one in new and strange productions. Thus error comes to appear to them as truth, and they present it as wonderful new light, when it is an innovation that makes of none effect a ‘Thus saith the Lord.’ “Let all be under the controlling influence of the Holy Spirit of God. Under the direction of the Holy Spirit, one may use the same expressions used by a fellow worker under the same guidance. He should not make an effort to do this, or not to do it, but leave the
When this beautiful gift is surrendered to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to what God can and will do through His church during these last days of earth’s history. mind to be acted upon by the Holy Spirit. There is one thing all should do: Endeavor ‘to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace’ [Ephesians 4:3].”2 The ability to create, to innovate, is a wonderful gift God has given to human beings. It illustrates an important aspect of what it means to be “created in the image of God.” When this beautiful gift is surrendered to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, there is no limit to what God can and will do through His church in Total Member Involvement during these last days of earth’s history. Ellen G. White, The Publishing Ministry (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1983), p. 100. 2 Ibid., p. 102. 1
Ted N. C. Wilson is president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church. Additional articles and commentaries are available from the president’s office on Twitter: @pastortedwilson and on Facebook: @Pastor Ted Wilson.
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he experience of feeling isolated and alone can be devastating. For some, however, it can also be a blessing, for silence and solitude can bring healing to our hearts and prepare us for greater tasks. “THE HAPPIEST I’VE EVER BEEN”
Chris Lewis is a 39-year-old former British paratrooper who fell on hard times after he retired from his regiment and military life. Homeless and sleeping on the street or in cars, he struggled to cope with civilian life. He finally found help and support when he connected with SSAFA, the British Armed Forces charity.1 In August 2017, he set off from his home in Swansea to walk around the entire United Kingdom coastline to raise £100,000 (US$125,000) for SSAFA in gratefulness for the help he had received. On March 23, 2020, when the
United Kingdom enacted its COVID-19-related lockdown, he was walking with his dog, Jet, on the main island of the Shetlands, sleeping in a tent. By that time, he had walked about 19,300 kilometers (nearly 12,000 miles). Since he had no permanent home on the island and could not isolate in a tent in March, the owner of Hildasay, a small 108-hectare (267-acre) island off the west coast of the Shetland mainland, inhabited by 15 sheep and thousands of birds, gave him permission to stay in a former shepherd’s hut. Lewis was grateful, even though the hut didn’t have running water, electricity, or heating. “It has really given me a chance to enjoy the island,” Lewis said in a BBC article. “I’m able to reflect on the walk so far, just realizing what this has done to help me personally and the amount of amazing people there are in the UK. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”2
Devotional
The Blessing of Isolation
Getting ready for bigger challenges and greater opportunities
GETTING READY
I wonder how many of us would describe the past five months the way Lewis did. The lockdown orders, stay-at-home directives, or social-distancing guidelines have caused emotional pressures previously unknown to most of us. We wonder when we finally will be able, once again, to visit and embrace an aging parent, a grandchild, or a dear friend. Yet moments of isolation can be moments that help us refocus on first things, reorder our priorities, and recognize the inherent dangers and challenges of our media-saturated lives. We need silence and isolation. In Scripture, silence and isolation often precede decisive moments. Noah and his family sat for seven days in the ark waiting for something they had never seen, felt, or experienced. The jeering outside the ark during these days must have been deafening. Moses spent 40 years as a shepherd in the semiarid desert of the Sinai Peninsula wondering what God had planned for his life. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, exposed to the temptations of the great deceiver. He didn’t just end up in a place devoid of people. The Bible states explicitly that Jesus “was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Matt. 4:1). Somehow, moments of isolation and solitude help us catch God’s vision. LIVING IN GOD’S PRESENCE
First Kings 17:1-6 tell the story of the prophet Elijah marching into the palace of King Ahab in Samaria and declaring the Lord’s verdict: “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word” (verse 1). Then Elijah runs and, following God’s command, hides by the brook Cherith. There are no convenient supermarkets, no online shopping options, no FaceTime, WhatsApp, Skype, or Zoom with family at home. Toilet paper hasn’t even been invented yet. Elijah is all alone at a seasonal riverbed and is fed twice daily by ravens. His menu is quite luxurious. People living in Iron Age Israel didn’t eat meat and bread twice daily—except, perhaps, at the royal court. God looked after Elijah’s physical needs well, but what about his emotional needs? Day in, day out, Elijah had to depend on God totally. God was his audience when he prayed and when he sang. God listened when he wept and wondered about the people he had been called to serve. God even heard his silent yearnings and requests. Isolation forces us to refocus our lives. In the absence of normal relationships, we are nudged closer to truly live in God’s abiding presence. The biblical narrative doesn’t tell us how much time Elijah spent at the brook Cherith. Based on the larger context, I would imagine a number of months. One Photo: Dimitry Anikin
Moments of isolation can be moments that help us refocus on first things.
morning, the water has dried up and God speaks once again. “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you” (1 Kings 17:9). Imagine Elijah’s reaction. God wanted him to go to the place where Jezebel, King Ahab’s Phoenician wife, had come from. God sent him straight into Baal’s territory. Elijah obeyed his Commander-in-chief—and became a blessing to a widow, her son, and the neighbors living in Zarephath who heard about the never-emptying flour pot and the jar of olive oil that never ran dry. They all learned of the resurrection of the widow’s son and, through Elijah, met the God of Israel, whose domain was all the earth and whose power was unlimited. God uses moments of isolation and solitude to prepare us for bigger challenges and greater opportunities. These are the times when growth takes place. These are the times when God is able to do what only He can do to restore His image in us. When we feel helpless, isolated, alone, and perhaps even forgotten, we are assured that God has a much bigger plan. Ellen White seems to describe such moments when we are called to focus on God’s abiding presence: “Nothing is apparently more helpless, yet really more invincible, than the soul that feels its nothingness and relies wholly on the merits of the Saviour. By prayer, by the study of His Word, by faith in His abiding presence, the weakest of human beings may live in contact with the living Christ, and He will hold them by a hand that will never let go.”3 Seasons of isolation and solitude can be our opportunity to discover the firm grasp of God’s invisible hand. When we recognize Him in our lives, we may just find ourselves at the launchpad of something bigger than we’ve ever dreamed of. ssafa.org.uk/. “Coronavirus: Ex-soldier self-isolating on ‘uninhabited’ Hildasay,” BBC News, April 20, 2020, bbc.com/ news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-52344025. 3 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 182. 1 2
Gerald A. Klingbeil serves as an associate editor of Adventist World. AdventistWorld.org September 2020
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Millennial Voices
He Still Calms Our Storms
H
ello, Daktari.1 This is the nurse speaking.” Receiving such a phone call in the early hours of the morning could mean only one thing. My heart pounded faster, threatening to jump out of my chest as I paused to hear the dreadful words. “I am sorry to inform you that your patient, Peter, has just died.” I cringed hearing the bad news I had feared. “I was attending to your patient as usual, and we were conversing normally. All of a sudden, without warning, he stopped breathing. We attempted to resuscitate him, but we were not successful.” My mind raced back to the events of the past week. I had met Peter,2 a 47-year-old man in my clinic, accompanied by his wife and son. He was frail and sickly, with a three-month history of poor appetite, weight loss, and a mild cough. He also suffered from tremors of both hands, characteristic of the alcohol withdrawal that his body was experiencing. Clearly, there was more to him than I first thought. The social distancing and stay-at-home orders put in place by the government to mitigate community spread of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic had not made his situation any better. I could only imagine the darkness and anxiety that his mind had grappled with over the past few months. Noticing that he had respiratory symptoms, I quickly admitted him into the hospital ward and put him on supplemental oxygen and supportive care, in line with his COVID-19 diagnosis. It took only five days for Peter’s body to succumb to the disease, leaving behind a wife and two adult sons with questions that I couldn’t answer.
He was frail and sickly, with a three-month history of poor appetite, weight loss, and a mild cough.
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I snapped back into reality. Matthew, Peter’s son, was livid. “Doctor, how could you let my father die? I trusted that you would see him through! I thought he was already getting better and would be coming home soon. What have you done to kill him?” Matthew shouted at me. I was quiet. What could I say? How could I take away his pain? Especially when I knew that his mother at home had also been diagnosed with COVID-19. She had vehemently refused to come to the hospital for treatment. All I could do was pray. Pray that the “God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3) would comfort this bereaved family. I couldn’t find any words that would take away their pain. So I prayed. I prayed that the Holy Spirit would intercede for them, “with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26). I prayed that Matthew, together with all those infected and affected globally by COVID-19, would not “sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). As I write this, more than 16 million people have been infected worldwide, with more than 650,000 deaths attributable to the deadly coronavirus. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken the world by storm, with waves of uncertainty rocking lives everywhere. Our Saviour, however, can walk on water! He calms the winds and waves of our turmoil and anxieties, and invites us to experience peace that surpasses all understanding. Right in the midst of the storm He says, “Peace, be still” (Mark 4:39). One day our triumphant Lord will give us front-row seats to witness His longawaited victory—the death of Death itself. Then we shall sing, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” (1 Cor. 15:54, 55). 1 2
Swahili for “doctor.” Names in this article are pseudonyms.
Frederick Kimani is a consultant physician in Nairobi, Kenya.
Faith in Action
The Journey Home I A trek of unsettling self-discovery
don’t think Mom will make it through the night.” My sister sounded tired over the phone. Mom had started to fall more frequently, and now she lay in the hospital with a head injury and significant internal bleeding. Home felt suddenly far away. I threw a suitcase on the bed while my son looked online for a ticket from Boise, Idaho, to Cape Town, South Africa. Three hours later I headed to the airport, praying I’d make it in time to say goodbye. It’s not easy living far from home. We roller-coastered our way through the next few days: four daughters from the four corners of the globe gathered around a hospital bed, trying hard to figure out what to do with Mom. Sometimes she was with us, but we often watched her struggle to understand why we were all there. It broke our hearts when she begged us to take her home. A DIFFICULT DECISION
A week later, two of my sisters returned to their families, and I stayed to help transition Mom from the rehab facility to a frail-care center. Her progress was slow, and when her doctor recommended she stay longer in rehab, I decided to delay my return. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic began to rapidly wrap itself around the globe. Europe had become the new hot spot, surpassing China,
Photo: Freddy Castro
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but all indications showed a high probability of additional hotspots springing up everywhere. My son called from Washington, D.C., anxious for my return and concerned I’d be stranded if I postponed my flight. Things started to feel surreal, and my heart tore over my longing for home. How do you choose when home is found in two places? In the end I decided to return stateside. With only days left in South Africa, I spent time with Mom, walked the beaches, went to dinner with a friend, and finished packing up Mom’s apartment. Two days before my departure, South African president Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster and shut down 35 ports of entry. Other African countries immediately followed suit, and foreign consulates contacted their citizens, urging them to return home. As I said goodbye to my mom, the European Commission announced that the European Union would soon close its borders to all nonessential travel. Caught up in the crisis with my mom, I had remained unaware of these developments. THE JOURNEY BEGINS
At Cape Town International Airport pandemonium broke out, with expatriates and tourists desperate to find a flight out. As I weighed my bags at the Lufthansa check-in counter, I discovered my connection in Frankfurt had been canceled. I had no choice but to board for Europe, not knowing what I’d do once I reached Germany. By the time I touched down in
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Frankfurt, the European Union had activated the order from the European Commission, and in an unprecedented move had shut its borders to most of the outside world. We disembarked in silence. As I stepped off the plane, an armed police officer took my passport and directed me to stand with all the other non-German residents. I held my breath and pulled out my phone, anxious to see if I had any messages. There it was—my son had found a connecting flight and rerouted my flight through Chicago to Boise. I felt weak with relief. Someone called my name, and I stepped forward to show proof of my connection and was waved through. A few minutes later I was stopped again. This time five armed police officers formed a human barrier to the entrance of the airport. An anxious knot of travelers stood in front of them as one of the officers exclaimed, “I’ve told you five times already! The border is closed! Europe is shut down! What don’t you understand?” I inched forward and held out my phone, and he let me pass. Beyond the checkpoint the airport appeared deserted. The silence felt eerie. The line at the service desk moved slowly as strangers shared their stories, their voices low and tight with stress. A young mother repeatedly poured sanitizer on her daughter’s hands. I reached the counter and gratefully received my boarding passes. As I walked to my gate I finally started to breathe again. Twenty hours later I arrived in Boise just before midnight, limp with exhaustion.
WHEN LIFE HITS LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN
It’s hard to process life when it comes at you like a freight train. But with the shelter-in-place order in effect, I’ve had time to reflect. The crises with my mother and the COVID-19 pandemic have coalesced, and, to be honest, they’ve left me struggling. I’ve spent days with my mind in some fuzzy, not-fully-present place grappling to understand everything going on around me and within me. I keep telling myself to snap out of it. But how do you get back to normal when nothing is normal anymore? I’m tired of the noise, the memes, the social media games. I’m wearied by all the cheery posts that tell me to “keep it positive.” I’m disheartened by the posts saying God’s tired of us fighting, so He’s sent us to our rooms. I’m alarmed by the posts claiming that this is all a hoax. Soon after arriving stateside, my son and daughter-in-law were diagnosed with the coronavirus. I spent my nights praying them through each hour. Just keep them breathing, Lord! I felt helpless and hopeless, obsessively tracking all the stats on the pandemic. I lost my sense of peace and struggled to find calm. I ached for rest. I longed for home. A REALITY CHECK
Sometime during the darkest night, when my children were at their worst, I remembered standing in line at the Lufthansa service desk in Frankfurt. A sweet grandma from Florida stood in front of me, and we chatted like old friends. After a
pause she looked at me and said, “It all comes down to putting our trust in the Lord, doesn’t it?” We smiled in recognition as fellow believers. But now her question came back to haunt me. As I lay silently in the dark, it cracked me wide open and laid bare my heart. I’m horrified to realize that in this double-headed crisis, I choked. I trusted the Lord in theory, but in reality I found myself paralyzed by fear, immobilized by the unknown, and silenced by my inability to control the outcome. I’m not as strong as I’d believed. My faith somehow got swallowed up in my weakness. I now see myself as I truly am: wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked before God and myself. In my imagination I picture the look on Peter’s face the moment he faced a similar recognition. The crow of the rooster still echoes in predawn darkness as Jesus turns to look at him. With that look Peter’s heart cracks wide open. In the crisis Peter choked too. Like me, he wasn’t as faithful as he imagined he’d be. Later, just before He returned home to heaven, Jesus made breakfast on the beach for His disciples. He had a question for Peter, and of all the questions He could have posed, Jesus simply asks, “Peter, do you love Me?” Did you notice He didn’t ask, “Peter, do you know that I love you?” That’s because, from God’s perspective, His love is never in question. His love is constant. Dependable. Unchanging. Eternal. It never wavers or falters. God’s love for us is unfailing. It always has been, and it always will be.
When we’re pressed down with trouble, when we’re depressed by life and stressed by difficulties, God’s love surrounds us. He’s tenderhearted and compassionate. There’s no one who could ever love us the way Jesus loves us. KNOWING HIS VOICE
Each time Peter answered Jesus’ question, Jesus responded, “Take care of My lambs.” For three and a half years, Peter had been shepherded by the Good Shepherd. He had walked with Him in green pastures; had drunk of the Living Water from quiet streams; and now the Good Shepherd was restoring his soul. Jesus was renewing Peter’s strength, because in the coming years Peter would need to know that even when he walked the darkest valleys, he would never walk them alone. The One who promised to walk beside him had gone before him. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said. “The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). “My sheep recognize my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from me” (John 10:27-29, TLB).1 The road home always takes us through the valley. Jesus knows it’s not easy living so far from home. And while our hearts long for home, His heart longs, even more, for us to be home. Sometimes it takes a crisis to
Jesus knows it’s not easy living so far from Home. crack us wide open so we can see and know our heart, to know its true state; and it’s seldom pretty. Let’s face it—we’re all struggling. We’re all exhausted. We’re all groping our way through the darkness of this valley desperate to hear the voice of our Shepherd. Here’s what our Good Shepherd says to us now: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matt. 11:28-30, Message).2 We will all make it home safely if we listen for, and follow, the voice of our Shepherd. Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. Used by permission. 2 Texts credited to Message are from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 1
Karen J. Pearson is associate pastor of the Meridian Seventh-day Adventist Church in Idaho. She also serves as Prayer Ministries coordinator for the Idaho Conference.
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Bible Questions Answered
The Fourth One in the Furnace Q
Who is “a son of the gods” mentioned in Daniel 3:25, NIV?
hands (Dan. 3:15). This implies that when the king sees a divine being in the furnace, he is observing a unique being who can rescue His servants from the king (verse 29). This God is, according to the king, “the Most High God” (verse 26). In the book of Daniel, only God can deliver His servants from death at the hands of their enemies (e.g., Dan. 3:17, 28; 6:16, 20-22; 12:1), and the king acknowledged that theological fact.
A
The context of this verse is the story of Daniel’s three friends who did not bow down before the statue set up by King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 3:1-15), and who consequently were cast into the furnace of fire. As the king watched the incident, he saw inside the furnace four persons and stated, “The fourth looks like a son of the gods” (verse 25, NIV). It is certainly an intriguing description.
3. THE ANGEL
1. PROPER TRANSLATION
The phrase “looks like” is most probably an attempt by the king to differentiate this being from the three Hebrews; the being seems to belong to the divine realm. The Aramaic phrase “a son of the gods” could be also translated “like the Son of God” (NKJV), implying a messianic meaning. This has been a common understanding of the passage among Christians. Translators tend to accept the first option or similar ones. It is argued that the speaker is a non-Israelite king for whom the phrase “sons of the gods” designated lower deities or divine beings. The Aramaic plural, ’elahin, like the Hebrew ’elohim, could be rendered as a singular. For the king to use the phrase in the sense of “like a Son of God,” one would have to assume that he had gained a Hebrew understanding of the phrase through his previous contacts with Daniel. This possibility is difficult to demonstrate from the text, but does not go against it. Aramaic grammar can be used to support both translations.
Surprisingly, at the end of the story the king refers to the fourth person inside the furnace as an angel sent by God to deliver the Hebrews (Dan. 3:28). Thus, any polytheistic understanding of the ambiguous phrase “s/Son of the g/God/s” is removed. Later, when Daniel was rescued from the lions, credit is given to both the Lord and His angel (Dan. 6:16, 20-22). This could mean that the angel was God’s instrument in saving His servants. But there appears to be more than that, as suggested by the title “s/Son of G/gods.” In Daniel, an angel, Michael (which, in Hebrew, means “Who is like Yahweh?”), stands above all angels as the archangel (Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1; 1 Thess. 4:16). He is specifically identified as “the great prince who protects your people” (Dan. 12:1, NIV; cf. Dan. 10:21) and performs priestly (Dan. 8:11) and judicial functions (Dan. 12:1). This angel is called in other places “the Angel of Yahweh,” and often identified as Yahweh (e.g., Ex. 3:1-4; Judges 6:14, 16; 13:15, 16, 22; cf. Judges 2:1-4). If we combine this biblical evidence, we could conclude that Michael, the Angel of the Lord, participates in God’s identity; and the title “the Son of God,” or a divine being, could be applied to Him without damaging biblical monotheism. In Daniel, the king saw the Son of God or the Angel of the Lord, Michael, saving His servants. For most Christians this divine being was the preincarnated Christ.
2. THE ROLE OF THE DIVINE BEING
Contextually, the divine being is in the furnace to deliver the three Hebrews from unavoidable death. According to the king, no god can deliver them from his 26
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Angel Manuel Rodríguez is a retired director of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference.
Health & Wellness
Lessons Learned From COVID-19 We have heard so much about the dangers of COVID-19—the illness, the complications, and the many deaths. Are there lessons from the way the pandemic has changed disease patterns and health interventions?
T
he novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has precipitated crises in recent months—health, hospital, economic, political, and educational (closure of schools and universities). The statistics of those affected, infected, and dying change daily, confirming that this virus is not simply going to peak and disappear. During this global disruption, people have been reporting fewer heart attacks and strokes than usual. This isn’t because people’s health has improved, but largely because people have been afraid of going to health-care settings where they may be exposed to COVID-19. People have sustained irreversible health damage or even died unnecessarily as a result. There’s also been a lower reporting of domestic physical abuse injuries, as victims are unable to reach out for help during the lockdown. Another challenge that’s emerged is the reduction of physical activity following the declaration of the global pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020. This was noted as early as 10 days after the declaration, and continues into the pandemic. This drop-off has been noted globally, even in countries that didn’t have strict lockdowns, such as South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. There are three important take-home messages that stem from your question: Don’t ignore new symptoms that may be indicative of such health problems as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, slurred speech, Photo: Ketut Subiyanto
or changes in consciousness (warning signs of pending heart and/or stroke problems). Seek help! Regular physical activity is essential for all aspects of wholistic well-being, and this includes maintaining the immune system at its best efficiency. Exercise daily. Regular health checks are important in staying well, and should be carefully planned and implemented despite the pandemic. These checkups can be lifesaving. We’re facing the so-called new normal, or as many are saying: “It’s no longer business as usual.” We can only speculate as to what the future will look like. We need to take care of our health as best we can, given our circumstances. Thankfully, what we do know is that God is faithful, and He will never leave us nor forsake us. “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. . . . Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:8-16).* Regardless of what happens in this life, we have the hope, the blessed hope, of eternal life, when there will no longer be sickness, death, nor dying, for “the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4). With joyful expectation we therefore can say with John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20, KJV). Maranatha. * Unless otherwise indicated, Bible texts are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright ã 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is director of Adventist Health Ministries at the General Conference. Zeno L. Charles-Marcel, a boardcertified internist, is an associate director of Adventist Health Ministries at the General Conference.
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Flora Lewis (right), a Sharon Seventh-day Adventist Church member, gets ready to deliver boxes of produce, while PACS director, Laura Pascoe, loads eggs.
The Angels From Supply T “May I Tell You a Story?” BY DICK DUERKSEN
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his is a miracle story. A miracle that began on a Thursday night, although we didn’t know about it until Friday morning. The story begins in a Portland, Oregon, neighborhood where many families are without work and are hungry. The members of the Sharon Seventh-day Adventist Church have provided a ray of hope for those families through a Friday noon food bank that delivers each family boxes with enough food to last them a week. “The need has grown unbelievably during the COVID-19 shutdown,” says church pastor Garth Dottin. “We’ve had to depend on other organizations to help us meet the need in our neighborhood.” The church’s most important supporting organization is Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS), an organization that delivers thousands of boxes of food to hungry people all over Portland.
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“The past few weeks have really been challenging,” says PACS director Laura Pascoe. “Before COVID-19 we had been providing food for 40 or 50 families a day. But since early March we’re seeing a lot more hungry people. Now we often have 150 or more cars in our food line before we even open.” In addition to serving families in their own “drive-up” food line, PACS supplies produce boxes, dairy boxes, and bread to several other food banks that are operated by Seventh-day Adventist churches in the Portland area. *** Tuesday morning Laura received a call from Garth Dottin at the Sharon church. They were out of food, he explained, and wondered if PACS could get them food boxes for 120 families. “We need the boxes by Friday morning at 11:30,” Dottin said. “Our members will pick up the food from the church parking lot and deliver it to the hungry people who are on their neighborhood list. Can you help us with this?” “We’ll do our best,” Laura answered. Then she called Tim, who is in charge of the PACS food distribution, who called the supplier and added 120 produce boxes to their order. “No problem,” the supplier promised. “You’ll be able to pick them up Friday morning.” Photo: Dick Duerksen
“We’ll have your boxes to the church by 11:30 Friday morning,” Laura texted Pastor Dottin. Wednesday morning Tim called the supplier to check on the order. “No problem. We’ll have two big pallets full and ready for you. No problem at all.” Thursday afternoon Tim called again. “Yep. Your pallets are sitting right here, ready for you to pick up first thing tomorrow morning.” Just to be sure, Tim called again Friday morning. “I have terrible news for you,” the man in charge of the warehouse said quietly. “Somehow last night one of our crew gave both of your pallets away to another organization that needed the food. I’m so sorry,” he continued. “We don’t have anything to give you. Well, we do have about 400 dozen eggs. Could you use some eggs? Maybe you could use those and, uh, we also have some extra milk. Can you use that?” Tim responded quickly. “We’ll take the milk and the eggs. I’ll send a truck over right now.” Then he hung up and went to Laura, the director of PACS. “We have an emergency. We need to pray.” They prayed. Two Christian leaders around the director’s desk, reminding God of the people in the neighborhoods around the Sharon church. Then they desperately began calling everyone who they thought might be able to help the Sharon church. Ten minutes later, in the midst of their frantic calling and desperate praying, a huge truck from Pacific Coast Produce drove into the PACS delivery driveway. A man jumped down from the driver’s seat and said, “OK, I’m here with today’s delivery.” “We’re not expecting a delivery from you today,” Tim told the driver. “You only come on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” “I don’t know about that,” the driver laughed. “But today is your lucky day. You’re on my list, and I’ve got a delivery just for you!” When the driver opened the door on the back of his truck, Tim could hardly
believe what he saw inside. Stacked carefully on two pallets were 120 produce boxes, strapped tightly and ready for delivery. Produce boxes. COVID-19 produce boxes provided by the United States government. Butter, cheese, broccoli, onions, potatoes, celery, a gallon of milk, and a box of fresh strawberries that had been picked the day before in Santa Maria, California. The load was the exact amount of food that was needed. Dropped right out of the sky to meet the Sharon church’s need. *** It was a miracle. A miracle that hadn’t been asked for, but a miracle worked out by the angels from supply and delivered anyway. Right on time. God answered Tim’s and Laura’s prayers Thursday night as Pacific Coast Produce was filling their trucks. That was before Tim and Laura even knew they needed to pray! The Sharon church parking area had a line of more than 20 cars snaking through the lot when I drove the PACS truck through the gate. Each driver was ready with a list of neighbors, church members, and homeless friends who lived nearby. You see, the drivers were not there to collect food for themselves, but to carry it into the community and place each box where they already knew someone was hungry. As we unloaded the produce boxes, eggs, and milk from the PACS truck, I told Pastor Dottin about the miracle. He stopped, several dozen boxes of eggs in his arms, and looked at me through misty eyes. “Our people really needed this food today. God came through for us, again!” We quoted the verse together. “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear” (Isa. 65:24). Yes. As always, the angels from supply did their job perfectly. This time they even included strawberries!
Publisher The Adventist World, an international periodical of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The General Conference, Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists®, is the publisher. Executive Editor/Director of Adventist Review Ministries Bill Knott International Publishing Manager Hong, Myung Kwan Adventist World Coordinating Committee Si Young Kim, chair; Yukata Inada; Joel Tompkins; Hong, Myung Kwan; Han, Suk Hee; Lyu, Dong Jin Associate Editors/Directors, Adventist Review Ministries Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Greg Scott Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Wilona Karimabadi Editors based in Seoul, Korea Hong, Myung Kwan; Park, Jae Man; Kim, Hyo-Jun Digital Platforms Director Gabriel Begle Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editorial Assessment Coordinator Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste Editors-at-Large/Advisors Mark A. Finley, John M. Fowler, E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Kimberly Brown Distribution Coordinator Sharon Tennyson Management Board Si Young Kim, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Hong, Myung Kwan; Karnik Doukmetzian; Han, Suk Hee; Yutaka Inada; Gerald A. Klingbeil; Joel Tompkins; Ray Wahlen; Ex-officio: Juan Prestol-Puesán; G. T. Ng; Ted N. C. Wilson Art Direction and Design Types & Symbols To Writers: We welcome unsolicited manuscripts. Address all editorial correspondence to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600, U.S.A. Editorial office fax number: (301) 680-6638 E-mail: worldeditor@gc.adventist.org Web site: www.adventistworld.org Unless otherwise indicated, all Bible references are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Unless otherwise noted, all prominent photos are © Getty Images 2020. Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States. Vol. 16, No. 9
Dick Duerksen, a pastor and storyteller, lives in Portland, Oregon, United States.
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Growing Faith
Fun-filled pages for younger ages
A Scream and a Rabid Dog Nothing is too scary for God!
D
o you pray? What do you pray? The Bible tells us that we should pray to God. He tells us that we can ask Him for anything, and He will answer (see Matt. 7:7). Sometimes His answer doesn’t really match what we asked for, but God is very wise, and He knows how best to answer our prayers. When I was 11, I went to a church that was out in the country. There were two farms right next to our church’s 30
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property. One Sabbath between Sabbath School and the church service, my friend Deanna and I were outside with my 2-year-old brother, Jonathan. The church service was about to start, and everyone else had gone inside. Deana saw a dog across the field. She called to it. The dog walked up to us. His mouth was full of white, foamy saliva, and he had a really big cut across his nose. He seemed friendly at first, and Deana
started to pet him. I was a little scared, but then I petted Him too. All of a sudden the dog went crazy and started shaking his head back and forth while growling and barking. Before I could blink, Deanna grabbed my brother and ran across the driveway and up the church steps. I was alone with the dog. I was afraid that the dog had rabies and would bite me. I imagined turning and running and the dog leaping onto my Illustration: Xuan Le
B Y K I M B E R LY L U S T E M A R A N
Bible Treasure “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him” (Ps. 91:14, 15, ESV).*
back, dragging me down. I didn’t know what to do, so I prayed. I asked Jesus to help me so I wouldn’t get attacked. The dog took a step closer to me. The foam was dripping from his mouth, and he growled again, showing me his teeth. He had blood in his mouth and on his nose. Right after I said my quick prayer, a voice in my head (God) told me to scream as loud as I could, because that would frighten the dog and he’d run
away. Staring at the dog, I took a deep breath and screamed! The dog immediately turned and ran. I thanked Jesus and went over to Deana and Jonathan. I had screamed so loudly that I couldn’t talk for several minutes. But I was glad that Jesus had heard and answered my prayer and that I didn’t get bitten by the angry dog.
DISCUSS:
Have you had a scary experience that you needed to be rescued from? How did God help you? *Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This story is from KidsView, November 2017.
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SEEKING REVIVAL January 6 –16, 2021
“Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.” ZECHARIAH 4:6, ESV
W W W.T E N D AY S O F P R AY E R . O R G