AW English - August 2018

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Why Christians Shouldn’t Leave Facebook

In Praise of Quieter Gifts

A Daughter’s Prayer

August 2018

A Gift for Building People

By Bill Knott

L

NAMIBIA

About the Cover Mduduzi Tshambo, a Zimbabwean from the Ndebele/Zulu tribe, attends the Windhoek Central Seventh-day Adventist church, where he is active in its Adventist Men’s Organization. Mduduzi is married and has two children. He is an architect, who works at a firm in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.

Cover Photo: Calvin Runji

In the News Perspective in the July 2018 Adventist World Christian Kaysers was identified as being Norwegian. He is, in fact, French-German. We apologize for this error.

Focus 10 In Praise of Quieter Gifts The Word 16 Devotional 26 Bible Questions Answered My Church 14 Global View 19 Millennial Voices 20 Feature 24 Spirit of Prophecy Living Faith 18 Faith in Action 23 Faith and Science

ook around you Sabbath morning at those with whom you worship. Who holds your church community together?

I watch him working his way down the aisle in the moments between Sabbath School and the start of the worship service. The elderly couple who regularly sit three rows ahead of me brighten as he approaches, and lean forward to his greeting. He holds their hands and murmurs words of warmth and welcome.

Crossing the aisle, he makes a four-year old completely happy when he notices the beautiful green ribbon she is wearing in her hair—and how well it matches her new dress. Her parents beam with righteous pride.

And when he reaches for my hand across the pew, I notice how he gives his gaze entirely to me for the 30 seconds that we talk— no sidelong glances, no reaching for those who could be thought as more important. I am treasured; I am valued; I belong.

His ministry makes me believe this church can be my home— that I will be more to these people than tithe in the offering plate or a number in the Sabbath morning count. He will notice if I’m not here next Sabbath morning—on the road, or sick, or much in need of grace.

And I remember him, well after Sabbath’s sermon has disappeared into the mist, and the choir’s anthem—fine though it was— has drifted to obscurity. For he has given me a context in which I truly hear the Word—let it take root—and find my heart so lifted by the music. Not all God’s gifts are trumpet blasts.

Not all Sometimes the low, sweet God’s gifts are trumpet melodies are what we need.

He is a builder of my blasts. church community, and Sometimes gratefully, not the only one. the low, While we shine spotlights sweet on those who preach and melodies teach and move us with are what their song, the unsung hewe need. roes of a hundred thousand Adventist congregations are the men and women gifted to engage us, learn our names, offer to pray with us, and make us choose this place as “home.”

Give them their due—the laborer’s reward. The Spirit-driven gifts they exercise create the bonds that keep this movement traveling together. If you are one of them—God bless you! And if you are one encouraged by their ministry, express your gratitude for what their kindness means to you.

27 Health and Wellness 28 May I Tell You a Story?

30 Growing Faith—Children’s Pages 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

Norwegian Parliament deputy speaker Abid Q. Raja (left) and Adventist Church’s Legislative Affairs director and liaison to the United States Congress Dwayne Leslie share a light moment during the annual Adventistsponsored Religious Liberty Dinner in Washington, D.C. Raja was given an international award for his work on religious tolerance.

Photo: Mylon Medley, North American Division News

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News in Brief

“They are scattered. We want to bring them back together, so we can account for them and provide ministry for them.”

—Gordon Williams, first elder at the Philadelphia Adventist Church, on St. Thomas, the British Virgin Islands, which was hit by Hurricane Irma, a Category 5 storm that wreaked havoc on the church. Following the storm, the local church’s 1,400 members began attending other churches not as damaged, including the Shiloh Adventist Church. With repairs under way, worshippers recently returned for services in the fellowship hall of the church.

Valuegenesis Researcher Dies at 75 V. Bailey Gillespie, well known for his work as chief Valuegenesis researcher, passed away on May 7, 2018, after a battle with liver cancer. Gillespie served as pastor and academy religion teacher before joining the faculty at Loma Linda University and later at La Sierra University, where he served as associate dean of the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School.

Valuegenesis is a landmark study of students in grades 6-12 enrolled in Adventist schools.

Its goal was to discover what makes Adventist young people accept or reject the faith of their parents and what the Church can do about it.

“It has provided a unique opportunity for the public to get acquainted with other sections of the Seventh-day Adventist Church web site, which explain the beliefs, mission, and community activities in the United Kingdom and around the world.”

—Church leaders in the British Union Conference, referring to the participation of Adventists Mark De Lisser and Paul Lee in the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. De Lisser arranged the version of the song “Stand

by Me” for The Kingdom Choir, in which Lee sang the solo.

350,000 The entire population of Iceland, which Adventist members aim to reach with a future Hope Channel Iceland. In preparation for producing local programming, 15 volunteers recently attended interactive television production training, which included an “on the street” workshop in Reykjavik city center, where they engaged the local community in street interviews.

Photo: Trans-European Division 4

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News in Brief

Work Begins to Rebuild Classes at Adventist University in Tonga Three months after Cyclone Gita devastated Tonga, work has begun to rebuild classrooms at Beulah Adventist College, a Seventh-day Adventist school on the island. A team of nine volunteers from the United States is coordinating the construction work. Beulah alumni currently living in the United States have sponsored the team, while Tongan alumni, parents, church members, teachers, and students are taking turns to supply meals to the volunteers during their three-week visit.

The Number of Religiously Unaffiliated People Around the World North America 65,000,000

Europe 144,330,000

Middle East–North Africa 2,300,000

Asia-Pacific 875,720,000

Latin America–Caribbean 48,990,000 Sub-Saharan Africa 28,690,000 Source: Pew Research Center

came togeth“We will spare “We with one goal in no efforts to er mind, to unite to reach the world support the for the second church becoming of Jesus.” cause in so doing we will be supporting our community at large.” US$1.8 Million —Ramon Canals, Personal Ministries and Sabbath School director for the world church, commenting on the recent meeting of the denomination’s major Bible correspondence schools. Gathered in Jerusalem, representatives discussed whether the future of correspondence schools will involve social media, mobile-friendly Web sites, printed Bible courses, apps, or a combination of them all.

—The Honorable Mwigulu Nchemba, Tanzania’s minister of internal affairs, who assisted in launching a three-week satellite evangelism series. In his remarks Nchemba said he was more than willing to come and launch the Adventist evangelistic meetings because he respects Seventh-day Adventists for their contribution to the development of the nation.

Amount paid for a new seven-story building on a prime lot in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. The remarkably low price is hard to explain, say church leaders in the region. The building will be used as an urban community center and will house a bookstore, a health food store, a foreign-language school, a music school, a health center, ADRA’s Vietnam headquarters, and meeting halls for two congregations.

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News in Depth

Inclusion and Equality May Stifle Freedom of Religion

Australian pastor makes his case before Parliament committee

By Tracey Bridcutt, Adventist Record

In an effort to promote inclusion and equality, there is a trend toward stifling freedom of religion or belief, Michael Worker told a public hearing.

Representing the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, Worker was invited to present an opening statement and be part of a panel discussion at the hearing, which is part of an ongoing Australian government inquiry into the status of the human right to freedom of religion or belief.

The inquiry, announced in December 2016, was conducted by the Human Rights Subcommittee of Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade. It is examining Australia’s efforts to promote and protect freedom of religion or belief worldwide, including within its own shores.

Last year the Seventh-day Adventist Church made a submission to the inquiry, and this led to an invitation for Worker to speak at the public hearing, held over two days

in Sydney and Melbourne. Worker was among a number of representatives from religious groups, human rights organizations, and ethnic groups invited to attend.

“While recognizing that Christians are the most persecuted group in the world, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has had a long and proud history of advancing religious freedom rights for all peaceful people of faith and even those with no faith at all,” Worker said in his opening statement.

“In addition to advocating for freedom of religion or belief, freedom of thought or conscience is equally important, and while this is often neglected, this freedom is foundational. These freedoms are essential to a tolerant society, which has mutual respect for differing perspectives,” he said.

Worker told the public hearing that while liberal democracies have been known traditionally as places where a diversity of views can exist

Michael Worker

Photo: Adventist Record 6

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harmoniously, “this tolerance is being eroded.”

He added, “It is ironic when you consider the significant good that is being done by faith-based charities.”

Worker said that broad freedom of thought and conscience is necessary for religious freedom rights to flourish. “Taking offense is an insufficient reason to limit speech, as virtually all speech of substance offends the subjective sensitivities of some listeners,” he said.

While there is limited protection for freedom of religion or belief at a federal level, “many of the challenges to that freedom come from state, territory, or local levels,” added Worker.

“We believe that the government needs to intensify its efforts to garner greater freedoms and protections internationally. However, to do so, it needs to be sure that it has a consistent domestic practice.”

He concluded, “It is imperative that positive protections for freedom of religion or belief are provided in federal law that enshrines these freedoms in our country and ensures that we continue to be both a tolerant and a free society.”

In a press statement, the subcommittee chair, Menzies Member of Parliament Kevin Andrews, said most of the submissions to the inquiry to date have overwhelmingly expressed the concern that religious freedom or freedom of belief are being challenged by the emphasis placed on other human rights.

“Whether the human right to religion or belief needs further protections, and what form additional protections might take, are matters being considered by the subcommittee,” he said.

News in Depth

Unity Oversight Committee Continues to Meet

Compliance process outline begins

By Unity Oversight Committee

After several months of dialogue and data gathering, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Unity Oversight Committee has begun outlining elements of a compliance process that will be considered by world church leaders later this year.

The committee, which met May 14, 2018, at the church’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, had a positive and productive time together and is moving toward consensus on basic elements of the document that will go to Annual Council in October, said Mike Ryan, who chairs the group.

The committee is part of the Unity in Mission: Procedures in Church Reconciliation process voted by the church’s General Conference (GC) Executive Committee during its 2016 Annual Council.

During its May 14 meeting the committee discussed the first steps in drafting an outline of a document to be brought to the 2018 Annual Council that will be held in October, according to Ryan.

“Consensus is forming around a few points to be included in the outline,” Ryan said, “although it is still

under development.” He also pointed out “the dialogues with the world divisions and various unions have been very helpful and have guided the writing committee in its outline.”

By the end of May members of the committee met with the leaders of 12 of the 14 world church entities (13 divisions and one attached union), according to Hensley Moorooven, secretary of the Unity Oversight Committee. “These have been very cordial and candid dialogues,” Moorooven said.

Meetings with the remaining two entities are scheduled to take place in the next few weeks, and according to Moorooven, the work of the committee will be informed by the input received, indicating their input will be considered before the document is finalized.

According to Ryan, some of the elements included in the document will be: • an acknowledgment that the church operates on trust, and that the administrative level closest to the issue of noncompliance will be the one trusted and responsible for bringing about compliance.

• the next-higher administrative level is tasked with the responsibility of overview, and its administrators are expected to create an atmosphere by which compliance and unity may be achieved.

• in dealing with noncompliance, administrators are asked to use good judgment, maturity, and discretion.

• existing General Conference policies and guidelines are available as tools for administrators in dealing with issues of noncompliance.

• a list of consequences for noncompliance.

• a process of recourse.

Ryan emphasized the document is still in its outline stage. “Between now and August we will be in the development process.”

The document will be released in its entirety once it is considered and voted by the GC Administrative Committee (ADCOM). From there it will be sent to the General Conference and Division Officers Committee (GCDO) before going to the GC Executive Committee at its Annual Council in October.

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News Focus West Central Africa Division (WAD)

“Members should learn how to plead with God to use them powerfully to finish the work so that we can go home and be with the Lord.”

—Elie Weick-Dido, WestCentral Africa Division (WAD) president, addressing more than 15,000 Seventh-day Adventists who gathered for the official launch of the Pentecost 2018 evangelism initiative in eastern Nigeria earlier this year.

1,500 The number of women from 10 different regions of Cameroon who recently met in Ngaoundéré, the head city of the Adamawa region, for the Second National Adventist Women Ministries Congress. Attendees moved out from the convention center on several occasions, handing out pamphlets and carrying out humanitarian activities through assistance to specific people groups in need, including seniors.

Pastors in Central African Republic Receive Motorcycles for Mission Concerned by the challenges that pastors face in fulfilling their duties in the Central African Republic (CAR), Elie Boromia, president of the CAR Mission, decided to make motorcycles available for three of his pastors, Emercy Abib Ndombeth, Hervé Wirawile, and Jonathan Mobia.

The motorcycles will help them cover the long distances separating the groups and churches of their respective districts. (^-)

“Scripture says in all things— good or bad, sweet or bitter, positive or negative— we need to give thanks to the Lord.”

—Part of the statement released by the Mid-Central Ghana Conference expressing sympathy and encouragement for victims in the aftermath of an armed robbery at the Adoato-Adumanu Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kumasi, Ghana.

Armed thieves made away with cash, mobile phones, tablets, and laptops. No one was physically hurt in the process.

“The voice of hope must reach where my feet cannot touch, as far as the ends of the earth.”

—Brazilian volunteer Fabíola Ferreira Schliech, who operates the Novo Tempo Bissau radio station in GuineaBissau, a small West African coastal country that includes a series of islands. Portuguese is the country’s official language, allowing the station to repurpose content created by Novo Tempo in Brazil, as well as original programming.

797,952 WAD membership as of March 31, 2018

Photo: West Central Africa Division 8

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Perspective

By Jamie Schneider Domm, digital strategist, North American Division

Photo: Sticker Mule

Why Christians Shouldn’t Leave Facebook Many Facebook users are wondering how to respond to the revelation that the social media giant not only mishandled access to user data, but also actively suppresses expression of Christian and conservative values, playing political “favorites” throughout the world. It’s easy to understand why people feel upset.

Facebook dominates an impressive share of the digital market, and a misuse of the data and/or power wielded by its platforms constitutes a formidable threat to a free society.

However, this reach is the very reason Christians who are serious about fulfilling their role in the Great Commission should stay. Social media has become part of the very fabric of our society. We connect instantly with others around the world, share ideas, and embrace what it means to be human. Technology has often been driven by the need to better communicate and connect. With each advancement has also come the advancement of the gospel.

I believe the next Great Awakening will be digital. If we unite in

purpose, we can proclaim the three angels’ messages with a loud voice throughout the world. The apostolic gospel was spread by dedicated teachers and evangelists who often faced persecution, sometimes death. They took the gospel where the people were, regardless of the personal cost. In the Western world we do not face persecution in the same way other Christians do around the world, but at the moment, God isn’t asking us to. He has, however, asked us to use what is in our hands (Ex. 4:2) to connect with the children of God and share the gospel.

Social media is the modern School of Tyrannus, a place where the ancient Ephesians gathered to engage with new ideas, pass the time, share thoughts, and participate in discussions. Young people spend up to nine hours a day on social media for the same reasons.

Paul spoke at the School of Tyrannus in Greece for two years (Acts 19:8-10), essentially getting the gospel to go viral.

Like Paul, we must take the gospel to where people are and engage them in discussion. We must make use of this technology before it’s too late. We don’t know for certain what the “time of trouble” will

bring, but I’m sure censorship will be a dominating factor.

I have dealt with censorship issues repeatedly, and I am frustrated by the arbitrary challenges I must navigate to ensure the success of the church’s campaigns. This has only made me more committed to use these technologies to accomplish our mission.

After all, if we are doing the Lord’s work, the Holy Spirit will grant us favor when algorithms don’t.

Religious organizations would benefit from the removal of discriminatory biases that limit reach and access to our ideas and resources. We must hold these companies accountable, otherwise they maintain monopolies with the power to decide who has a voice, who has our data, and what they do with this information.

Adventists should advocate for free speech. Our ability to spread the gospel in the public forum relies upon it. We must press forward, and speak Bible truths within our sphere of digital influence. Stay, but stay with purpose. Share your faith online. We cannot wait any longer.

This is our generation’s Great Commission (Matt. 28:16-20).

A full version of this commentary can be found at https://goo.gl/rJ9ifj.

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Focus

In Praise of Quieter Gifts Not all evangelism is public, nor should it be.

BY DAV I D T R I M

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Isa. 52:7).

T

hey lived in a small house, a very small house—not very well built, with a corrugated tin roof, a standard Australian dwelling in the mid-twentieth century. The house lay at the end of the road that led to the train station, but beyond the train station. In fact, it lay just beyond the huge piles of coal that were necessary for trains to run. The road seemed to end at the station, but there was, in fact, a dirt track that went past the station—easy to miss, leading only to this small, not very well-built house.

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Agnes, her husband, Ted, and the youngest of their eight children lived in the house beyond the station.1 Agnes’s husband worked on the railroad, which is how they came to have that house. He was gone much of the time, serving as a fireman, as they then called it, on steam-powered locomotives. The fireman shoveled coal into the fire of the engine, which is how they came to live beyond the coal piles, at the end of the road past the station.

Elsewhere in the small town of Muswellbrook lived one of Agnes’s daughters, Pam, who was married and the mother of a little boy. Still, Agnes felt isolated in the house beyond the station. Pam was almost the only person to visit her. Indeed, Agnes reflected at times, her

The author’s father, John Trim

Courtesy of the Author

home was never even visited by traveling salesmen, which was unusual in Australia in the early 1950s, when many vendors went door to door selling goods.

Agnes attended her local Presbyterian church’s women’s group. One Sunday the women were agog about the news that two groups of radical, heretical, so-called Christians were now active in their neighborhood.

Jehovah’s Witnesses had come to Muswellbrook. But even worse, so had Seventh-day Adventists. The women were full of tales of how these people might knock on your door. Agnes thought, Maybe there’s a blessing to living at the far end of the road, past the station.

ADVENTISTS IN TOWN!

Jehovah’s Witnesses never came to Agnes’s door. One day, though, when Pam and her own son were visiting, there was a knock at the door. No one ever knocked on the door of that house! Not even Agnes’s and Pam’s Presbyterian pastor had ever visited. Agnes thought, Is it a mistake? Both women’s next thought was It must be bad news about Ted, because only railroad employees would come and knock at the door: only they know we’re here.

Photo: Lightstock

Full of fear, Agnes opened the door to a short young man wearing a blue suit that didn’t fit him as well as it might and wasn’t new; but it was well pressed and the man in it was neat and tidy. Agnes, in her surprise, blurted out: “Who are you?” He was a Seventh-day Adventist pastor.

Agnes was inclined to say, “You know, I’m a Presbyterian. I have my own church. I have no need of your strange doctrines.” But it was so extraordinary that someone had come to the house and knocked on the door that instead she said, “Come in.”

Agnes offered the man a cup of tea because that was what one did in Australia in that era. The man politely declined and asked for a glass of water instead. Then he began to talk with Agnes and Pam about their families, their husbands; about Agnes’s other adult children; about both women’s hopes and fears. The man began to talk with them about a hope that went beyond the things of this world, which could surmount all their fears. When he had to leave, Pam was ready to consider opening the Bible with him, and she did. For the next few months she studied the Bible with him.

Agnes was more hesitant. But after Pam shared what she had learned in the Bible studies, Agnes joined. Readers can probably guess where this story is going. Agnes, Ted, Pam, three of her siblings, and (eventually) Pam’s children were all baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

DISTINCTIVELY ADVENTIST OUTREACH

I have two reasons for sharing this story. First, that pastor was my father, John Trim. The second reason is that it prompts some thoughts about how people come into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

In Adventism, public evangelists are our celebrities, and that has been true for most of our history.

From Merritt E. Cornell to Mark Finley, H.M.S. Richards to C. D. Brooks, John Loughborough to John Carter, evangelists are near-legendary figures: our “rock stars.” Because of their remarkable skills, public evangelism has been a huge blessing to the movement, and continues to be in many parts of the world.

Sometimes we find ourselves assuming that it was through major evangelistic campaigns that this denomination came into being.

Actually, though, that isn’t how our earliest pioneers laid the foundations. To be sure, by the 1860s John Loughborough and Merritt Cornell were pitching big tents for evangelistic meetings and the “big tent” became our signature.

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But if we trace all the way to the early 1850s, we discover that the foundations of this movement were laid by people such as Joseph Bates, James White, John Byington, and others, traveling on the train, stopping in small towns, and studying the Scriptures with individuals and families.

Our early “evangelists,” on entering a new town, would inquire, “Is there anyone here who believes in the second coming of Jesus?” (code for “had been a Millerite”). Alternately, they might ask, “Is anyone here a zealous Bible student?” If so, they knocked on their doors, and, if welcomed, studied the Bible with them. This movement didn’t originally rely on major public evangelistic efforts.

Instead, we went to people’s homes and studied with them in person.

THE LIMITS OF PUBLIC EVANGELISM

This isn’t just a point of historical fact; it’s important for the church today. In large parts of the world public evangelism is impossible because of restrictive laws. At least 2 billion people in the world will never have the opportunity to attend a prophecy seminar or a large evangelistic meeting—unless their governments miraculously change their policies.

In Europe, and increasingly in North America and parts of Latin America, public evangelism is no longer the most effective method of reaching out to people.

It doesn’t matter how well promoted a campaign is; how significant the financial and logistical support; how good the graphics; how powerful the preaching; How Spirit-infused and prayerful those who organize, support, and undertake it: most people don’t attend public meetings unless they have some previous connection with the hosting group.

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In Europe this has been the story for many years. Recent research by members of the Southern Adventist University School of Religion, however, reveals that even in the United States public evangelism reaches only an ever-narrowing section of the population.2 When public efforts evoke embarrassment or indifference, there is a danger of giving up on outreach. If evangelism is only public evangelism, then it becomes too easy to say, “Well, since evangelism doesn’t work, we’ll just focus inward. What else is there to do?”

EVANGELISM IS MORE THAN PUBLIC EVANGELISM

But there is another form of evangelism: meeting people, including by knocking on their doors, becoming friends with them, and studying the Bible with them.

That’s what my father did. I don’t wish to make him into a perfect man. He wasn’t, though I can truly say that I have never met a more Christian man. Among his limitations—at least for that era and his calling—was that he didn’t have a gift for public evangelism.

His first job, after graduating from Avondale College’s ministerial training course, was working on a major evangelistic campaign led by George Burnside, whose name even today is well known in Australia and New Zealand. Burnside’s extraordinarily powerful evangelistic preaching built

up the church remarkably in those countries in the 1940s and 1950s.

Having been an assistant to Burnside, my father was then given local churches to pastor. He ran his own evangelistic meetings but met with little success. My father later said that he just didn’t enjoy it, though he tried hard.

My father was shy by nature, and he sometimes felt uncomfortable when engaging in public evangelism. What he liked most was studying the Bible with people and teaching his church members to conduct Bible studies. He learned that there were ways to break down barriers so that people would be willing to study the Bible with him—more willing, too, to subsequently come to Adventist evangelistic meetings. He discovered that he could use radio and newspapers to make Adventism seem as it really is: friendly and Christ-centered, not something to be feared or avoided.

He also had a passion for health outreach and temperance. He realized that teaching people how to overcome addictions to tobacco and alcohol meant that they would trust him. In the 1970s he realized that teaching people how to control their blood pressure and their stress levels, how to exercise, and how to cook healthfully all created an open door for Adventism. Teaching about healthful living in the here and now could open the way to teaching about living eternally.

Photo: Courtesy of the Author

John Trim (second from left) spent his ministry supporting community service activities, such as this public presentation about how to stop smoking.

CHRIST’S METHOD

My father was using Christ’s method of ministry—one that takes its name from Ellen White’s profound observation: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people.

The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me.’”3 My father effectively used Christ’s methods in three countries, pioneering community health outreach in New Zealand and India, and helping to develop it in Australia. He used media in innovative ways to promote the church in Australia and New Zealand.

But my father seemed always to have known that it’s not enough to communicate well, or to make Adventism seem as friendly as possible, or to help people make healthy choices that lower their stress and prevent admission into our wonderful Adventist hospitals. All those things are what Jesus would do if He were here. In fact, it’s what Jesus did when He was here; and it’s what He would have us do now.

But there’s the last part of the quotation in The Ministry of Healing: after Jesus mingled with people, sympathized with them, and met their needs, then He bade them, “Follow Me.” We too, at some point, must bid people to follow the Master.

My father was conscious of the “bidding work.” He wanted to improve people’s lives and thus make the Adventist Church appealing to them. But he also wanted those he helped to follow Jesus; so whenever possible he sought to study the Scriptures with them.

A text so familiar to Adventists articulates Christ’s words to John, and to us: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). Christ is at the door knocking; we, His followers, have to be at doors knocking as well.

TOTAL MEMBER INVOLVEMENT

Here’s my final reason for sharing this story. Many of us don’t have the spiritual gift of evangelists. We can’t all preach to thousands; that’s a rare spiritual gift. If evangelism is only public evangelism, conducted by professional clergy (often professional evangelists), it can never result in total member involvement.

If we have other spiritual gifts, however, we shouldn’t therefore conclude that we don’t have an active part to play in the great Second Advent movement—that we aren’t wanted or needed in sharing the gospel.

Three years ago I was visiting my father, who was in a nursing home suffering from advanced Parkinson’s. My mother told me, “There’s a woman here whom your dad and I knew when we began our ministry.”

We put my father in a wheelchair and I wheeled him down to another floor, where my mother greeted an elderly woman. It was Pam! One of

her daughters was visiting, along with a granddaughter.

Pam told me the story that began this article. Then with tears in her eyes she quoted this text to me: “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news.” She said, “David, we praise God every day for your father, because he went past the station, past the coal dumps, and knocked on our door. Our whole family will be saved because of that.”

My father shared that he had been tempted not to call at Agnes’s home. It was late afternoon in the hot Australian summer, and he was tired. However, he said, “I had promised the Lord I would go to every house”; so he went to the last house at the end of the road.

In large parts of the world public evangelism is impossible because of restrictive laws.

Our spiritual gifts may lead us to different work than knocking on doors. But the key point is that there is work for every disciple of Jesus to do in sharing the good news of our Lord and Deliverer. It is for us to find what our part is and do it, just as John Trim did in Muswellbrook, 65 years ago.

“I stand at the door and knock.”

Names have been changed for this article.

Alan Parker, “Does Evangelism Still Work?” Ministry, August 2017.

Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 143.

1 2

3

David Trim is director of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research for the General Conference.

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Global View

To Save Life, Rather Than Take It The long-standing position of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

T

he question of military service arose early in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Officially organized in 1863 during the height of the United States’ Civil War, the new denomination almost immediately had to wrestle with how its members would respond to the call of arms.

As with other difficult questions, the pioneer leaders studied the issues, using the Bible as their guide, and concluded the position most consistent with biblical principles was noncombatancy (the conscientious objection to bearing arms).

By 1864 the young church had successfully appealed to the United States’ Federal government for an official designation of noncombatancy, a position that it has consistently held ever since.

position by approving a document, “The Relationships of Seventh-day Adventists to Civil Governments and War,” at the General Conference session in 1954. The statement was reaffirmed and further refined at the 1954 and 1972 Annual Councils of the General Conference Executive Committee.

The statement reads, in part: “Genuine Christianity manifests itself in good citizenship and loyalty to civil government. The breaking out of war among men in no way alters the Christian’s supreme allegiance and responsibility to God or modifies their obligation to practice their beliefs and put God first.

“This partnership with God through Jesus Christ who came into this world not to destroy men’s lives but to save them causes Seventh-day Adventists to advocate a noncombatant position, following their divine Master in not taking human life, but rendering all possible service to save it.”1 “Noncombatant service” is defined as “(a) service in any unit of the armed forces which is unarmed at all times; (b) service in the medical department of any of the armed forces . . .; or (c) any other assignment of the primary function of which does not require the use of arms in combat; provided that such other assignment is acceptable to the individual concerned and does not require them to bear arms or to be trained in their use.”2

STATEMENT ON NONCOMBATANCY

NOT A TEST

In the years following World War II, the Adventist Church further elaborated on its noncombatancy

In addition to taking a noncombatancy position, the Seventh-day Adventist Church encourages its

members not to join the military.

Nevertheless, it is not a test of church membership.

According to Adventists in Uniform, the Web site of the church’s Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries, the church “does not seek to be the conscience for any member or commander,” but rather seeks to “inform the conscience and behavior of both, so decisions can be made with maximum understanding and thought.”3 The Adventist Church understands that in some countries, noncombatancy options are not available, and Adventists are required to serve in their country’s military. Even then, young believers are encouraged to find ways to be faithful to God while serving their country. If members find themselves in the military, whether by personal choice or conscription, the church, through Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries and other avenues, tries to minister to them spiritually.

SAVING LIFE

Seventh-day Adventists have maintained their historic witness in favor of peace and noncombatancy throughout the 155 years of the church’s existence. This position has not been hidden: in the most public manner possible, Adventist Church leaders periodically have called on world leaders to avoid conflicts and seek the Prince of Peace, who came that we might “have life and . . . have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Probably the best-known Seventh-day Adventist noncombatant was Desmond Doss, who served as a medic in the United States Army during World War II. Doss is best known for saving the lives of 75 of his fellow soldiers during a fierce battle on the island of Okinawa.

This act of courage earned Doss the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. He was the first, and one of Photo: Lightstock

only three conscientious objectors, ever to receive this honor.

The concept of saving life rather than taking life is illustrated powerfully in the interaction of Jesus with His disciples, recorded in Luke 9:52-56. Jesus was on His final journey to Jerusalem. Along the way, He hoped to spend a short time in a Samaritan village and sent messengers ahead to make some preparations. When He came to the village, however, He was refused hospitality because the people had learned He was on His way to Jerusalem. This is just one indication of the animosity between Samaritans and Jews.

Knowing that Jesus wanted only to bring a blessing, and furious that they would treat their Master so rudely, James and John offered to annihilate their perceived enemies by commanding “fire to come down from heaven” (Luke 9:54).

To their surprise, however, Jesus rebuked their militant attitude. “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of,” He told them. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them” (verse 55, 56).

On another occasion, in the Garden of Gethsemane, when a close disciple of Christ decided it was time to use a weapon, Jesus reproved him, stating, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matt. 26:52).

These verses point at the heart of why the Seventh-day Adventist Church has always and continues to take a noncombatant stance regarding military service. Following the example and teaching of our Savior, we are here to save life, rather than take it.

A PEOPLE OF PRAYER

We Seventh-day Adventists need to be people of prayer. While the world is engaged in battles that can be seen, many invisible but very

In the most public manner possible, Adventist Church leaders have called on world leaders to avoid conflicts and seek the Prince of Peace.” real battles of the great controversy are going on every day. Satan and his angels are battling against each one of us, striving at last to claim this world as his own.

We need to pray for our countries, wherever we are in the world, and for the leaders of our countries. We need to pray for our fellow members, for our world church, and the unusual challenges regarding military service around the world. And most of all, we need to pray for peace—the peace that only Jesus can bring now, and in His kingdom to come, where there will be no more wars.

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev. 21:4, KJV). Let us pray that God will use us in Total Member Involvement to reach others with the lifesaving power of the gospel through Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace and our coming King.

Available at “What Does Non-Combatantcy Mean?” Adventists in Uniform, http://adventistsinuniform.org/military-service/ non-combatancy/.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

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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Devotional

Real or Fake?

Focusing on what really counts

D

riving while intoxicated is a serious offense because the driver is incapable of operating a vehicle safely, thus endangering themselves and other motorists. Statistics show that driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol or recreational drugs is a predominant cause of traffic accidents. The level of intoxication is typically determined by a measurement of blood alcohol content or BAC. Police officers routinely pull suspected drivers over to test their BAC level using a breathalyzer.

The story is told of a police officer who was staking out a bar to catch potential DUI offenders.

It was past midnight when an extremely drunk man stumbled out of the bar. He went to the parking lot fumbling for his keys, trying to unlock five or six cars before locating his. Meanwhile, several patrons left the bar and drove away.

Once inside his car, he rummaged around the switches, trying out the brakes, lights, and windshield wipers. More patrons

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left the bar, until finally his was the only car left in the parking lot.

He started his car and departed. As soon as he pulled away, the officer went after him, pulled him over, and gave him the breathalyzer test. When it came up negative, the officer was puzzled and muttered to himself, “How could this be? The breathalyzer must be broken.”

The driver grinned and said, “No, the breathalyzer is OK. Tonight I’m the designated decoy!”

What’s a decoy? Merriam-Webster Dictionary suggests two definitions. First, a decoy is “someone or something used to draw attention away from another.”

Second, a decoy is “someone or something used to lure or lead another into a trap.”1 A decoy is specifically designed to distract and deceive. These two characteristics are significant as we think about spiritual decoys.

DISTRACTION

The first purpose of a decoy is to distract or divert attention in order to achieve an expected outcome.

In the story, the “designated decoy” is a person who remains sober but acts drunk. His job is to divert the attention of the police officer so that his drinking buddies can escape unnoticed.

In our spiritual journey we are prone to be distracted. We may be preoccupied with many good things at the expense of the most important thing. A decoy is meant to obscure the essentials from the peripherals and the eternal from the temporal. Some are sidetracked by conspicuous consumption.

Many are “choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life” (Luke 8:14). Others are fixated upon marginal issues that loom larger than life. Some major in minors until they are caught in the quagmire of confusion. Still others are bogged down with the busyness of everyday living, while prayer, Bible study, and spiritual discipline are neglected.

The apostle Paul admonished Christians to serve the Lord

Jesus Himself warned about the many fake teachers and fake christs that would arise and lead many astray.

“without distraction” (1 Cor. 7:35).

Comparing the two sisters Mary and Martha, Jesus commented that “Martha was distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40). She was “worried and troubled about many things” (verse 41). Her sister Mary, however, was ever attentive, sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him. Martha had been distracted by things that were of secondary importance. “She needed less anxiety for the things which pass away, and more for those things which endure forever.”2 More important, the church is mandated with a marching order of winning the world for Christ (Matt. 28:16-20). First things must come first. We should be about our Father’s business and refuse to be sidetracked.

DECEPTION

The second purpose of a decoy involves deception. Hunters routinely use decoys to lure animals to come within shooting range. A duck hunter, for example, uses a decoy made to look just like a real duck. He places the decoy in the water and makes a duck call that sounds like a real duck. When ducks fly overhead, they hear what they think is another duck calling them. As they fly closer, they spot what they think is a real duck. So both the fake duck and Photo: Christian Kitazume

the fake duck call entice the ducks into believing the real thing. They become dinner for the hunter.

Just like the duck hunter, Satan and his evil angels use trickery to snare and mislead. They trick us to accept the fake instead of the real.

Spiritual decoys are highly perilous because they are truly lifelike. They are designed to charm and mesmerize. The apostle Peter tells us how to make sure that we are never spiritually deceived and drawn in by artificial decoys. “For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty” (2 Peter 1:16). In the next chapter Peter highlights some of Satan’s decoys and distractions at the end of time (cf. 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Jesus Himself warned about the many fake teachers and fake christs that would arise and lead many astray (Matt. 24:1-14). Peter, Paul, and John also repeated the same warning (2 Peter 2 and 3; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 1 John 2:18-27; 4:1-6).

These tantalizing teachings are nothing but decoys designed to deceive, confound, and contradict the clear commandments of God (1 Tim. 4:1-5; 2 Tim. 4:3, 4; Mark 7:5-13).

The enemy and his angels are decoy agents par excellence. They detract and deceive—“even the elect” (cf. Matt. 24:24). We need to know the schemes of the enemy, refuse to be blindsided, and test the spirits. The fake and the real are almost indistinguishable.

The decoy may look like a duck and sound like a duck, but it’s not a duck by any means. “None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict,” wrote Ellen White.3 “Only those who have been diligent students of the Scriptures . . . will be shielded from the powerful delusion that takes the world captive.”4 There is, however, good news.

When we spend quality time in the Word each day, God’s Spirit assures us of being able to discern the fake from the real, the essentials from the nonessentials, and apathy from mission. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decoy Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898, 1940), p. 525.

3 Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), pp. 593, 594.

4 Ibid., p. 625.

1 2

G. T. Ng, originally from Singapore, serves as executive secretary of the General Conference and lives with his wife, Ivy, in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.

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Faith in Action

A Daughter’s Prayer God uses many ways to reach hearts

Health & Wellness

W

hen we arrived in the city where we now live, we knew of only one other Adventist residing here. It was a woman married to an indigenous Muslim. We heard about the many times she had tried to talk to her husband about Jesus and the Bible, as well as the problems this had created. Her husband was not open to learning anything about her faith.

Eventually we met her husband and began developing a friendship with him. One day the husband accepted an invitation to attend a worship service with us, but it was apparent that he was not interested in the message. We continued praying for him, however, and spending time together as friends. Eventually he became more open to us and our church group.

One day his young daughter prayed in front of him and closed the prayer by saying, “In the name of Jesus, amen.” The husband became angry and told his daughter that she was never to pray in Jesus’ name again.

His wife was very discouraged, so she pleaded with God for wisdom and patience. Later she asked her husband to read the Koran with her. She showed him every passage that mentions that Jesus is alive in heaven at the side of Allah. Then she said, “Do you see it? There is nothing wrong with our child praying in the name of Jesus.”

The man was surprised; he had never read those verses before. After a brief silence he replied, “OK, she can pray in the name of Jesus—but He is not God!” His wife was so happy. She thought to herself, That will be a whole other conversation. We will get there.

They later became acquainted with another couple like them: the wife had a Christian background, and the husband was a Muslim.

They were invited to dine at the couple’s house. While there, their new friends asked them, “What is your religion?” The husband replied, “We’re Seventh-day Adventists!”

“Adventist? What is that?”

“Oh, we keep the Sabbath, so we meet every Sabbath and pray together. We also don’t eat pork.”

The Adventist wife could hardly believe that her Muslim husband had introduced himself as an Adventist.

Her husband again accepted an invitation to attend a special worship service, where attendees shared answers to prayer. The husband 18

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mentioned blessings he had received as a result of the church group’s prayers, such as his parents recovering from an illness. At the end of the service everyone, including the husband, prayed together and thanked God for His many blessings.

A few days later the couple experienced a serious financial problem. Once more the Adventist wife was surprised when her husband joined her for prayer.

Since then they have been praying together every day, with the daughter closing each prayer with the words “in the name of Jesus, amen.”

Even though the husband still struggles to understand everything, he is developing a personal relationship with God and sharing his faith with others.

It is awesome to watch the Holy Spirit transform his heart.

ChanMin Chung is communication coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Union (MENA). The experiences in this story were shared with him by a gospel worker in the MENA territory.

Millennial Voices

See God at Work S

ummer was around the corner and I had to decide between taking a break or joining an evangelistic meeting. Going home to family, friends, and good food was alluring, but I needed to complete the requirements for field evangelism.

While studying at Spicer Adventist University in India, I had been part of Living Fountain, a student-led ministry group, and was interested in joining their summer mission trip.

Plans for the mission trip were laid, and we soon got busy weeding gardens, assisting college events, and doing other small jobs to raise funds and reach our goal. During the next few weeks we prayed, practiced songs, and divided responsibilities among team members.

Finally, after a three-day journey, we reached our destination.

Laitryngew, a small township in Meghalaya, northeast India, was to be our home for the next 14 days. The building where the meetings were to be conducted seemed small and dimly lit, particularly in comparison to the towering Catholic church down the street. Pamphlets were distributed, materials were organized, the sound system and stage were set, and we were ready to begin. A few visitors walked in during the first few days. On other days it poured rain, making it difficult for people to attend. At the end of two weeks three people were interested enough to study the Bible with the local pastor.

We might have returned more sunburned and a few pounds lighter, but we were enriched by the experience.

The Vacation Bible School (VBS) though was another story. We started out with a handful of children, and at the end of two weeks there were about 95 children in attendance! The children enjoyed singing, coloring, playing, and listening to Bible stories.

But the highlight for me was not in the hustle and bustle of the meetings and VBS—rather, it was the time spent with the only Adventist family in town.

The father of the family worked in a coal mine. His wife had passed away, leaving five children behind. We spent most of our time helping them with the household chores. They were happy to see new faces and have two good meals each day. The oldest daughter was finally able to take a break from her duties.

There was joy in the simple things. We were blessed as we shared our lives and strengthened each other’s faith.

Yes, there were long walks to fetch water; the smoke from the open cooking fire caused some irritations; the short nights with howling winds made sleep nearly impossible. That all became irrelevant, though, when I saw their smiling faces, the joy over a shared meal, and the peace that comes in trusting that God is at work. We might have returned more sunburned and a few pounds lighter, but we were enriched by the experience.

When I see young people start initiatives such as the one we participated in, I see God at work. The time and efforts we invest to bless others is precious in His sight. God is touching lives—ours and those we are called to serve and bless.

He equips us and prepares us to minister more effectively to the world around us.

I already wonder what will come next.

Beersheba Maywald, originally from Tamil Nadu in India, is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in religion with a New Testament focus at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in Silang, Cavite, Philippines.

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Feature

F An Instant Best Seller A curriculum studied by millions around the world

BY PENNY BRINK

ew publications within the Seventh-day Adventist Church have had as great an impact as the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide (ABSG), commonly known as the “quarterly” in some parts of the world and the “lesson book” in others. With more than 15 million copies produced annually, its use today is certainly much broader than Adventist pioneer James White ever imagined as he penned those first studies atop a “dinner box” more than a century and a half ago.1 The original lessons were created to help Adventists progress in their understanding of the Bible prophecies that gave the Advent movement its impetus in the mid-nineteenth century. This emphasis has never been lost. Even now, millions of people around the world—in all age groups—study a particular Bible topic every week, then meet together in their Sabbath School classes to share and learn.

HOW DID IT START?

The original Bible study lessons were printed in the Youth’s Instructor2 in August 1852 after 20

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the Review and Herald office had acquired its first printing press.

Shortly after, James White spent more than a month visiting groups of believers on the East Coast of the United States, traveling in a covered carriage with his wife, Ellen, and their 3-year old son, Edson. At noon, while the horses fed, he would sit down to continue writing the lessons for some 2,000 Advent believers.3 Today the production of the study guides has expanded to their being printed in 93 languages and distributed worldwide to millions of members in the church’s 13 administrative divisions.

PREPARING A PEOPLE

Early lesson topics focused on the prophecies in the book of Daniel, the sanctuary doctrine, and the three angels’ messages, encouraging members to prepare for and hasten Jesus’ appearing. In more recent years Sabbath School members studied all 66 books of the Bible systematically, Adventist fundamental beliefs, the Holy Spirit, stewardship, and healthful living.

Photo: Kristina Penny

N/A Not at All

4%

In a study done in 2013 by the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research (ASTR), church members were asked questions about what helped to develop their religious life: Sabbath School, the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, church worship service, personal prayer and Bible study, and family worship.

ASTR reports that in seven out of nine divisions surveyed, more than 50 percent gave Sabbath School the highest ranking.

To read the full report, visit https://bit.ly/2LzzdHc

“We cannot possibly target only one particular need regarding content or one preference of style among the incredible diversity we see in the world Adventist Church,” says Clifford Goldstein, senior editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide for 19 years. “It’s just too great a field. We have to focus on the Bible and its universal principles.”

Goldstein says his goal continues to be publishing “present truth” for church members today.

“We have to keep it interesting enough for those who have been lifelong Adventists,” he says, “but basic enough for those who have only started their journey.”

“I cannot guarantee that everyone uses it,” he continues, “but I know that millions do around the world.

And that’s a feat in itself, because some undoubtedly find it too conservative, others too liberal, and yet others think it should be presented differently. Despite all that, it remains a great unifier. Wherever you go in the world, you will find a group with whom you can study the Bible, the same topic that you have been studying all week! It keeps us grounded and brings us together.”

6% Sometimes

15% How much has the Adult Bible Study Guide helped you develop your religious life?

53% Very Much

Goldstein adds that local Sabbath School teachers play an important role in the success of the study guides. “The guide is just that—a guide—but the teacher is key,” he says. “The teacher can contextualize it, bring it to the level of those in the local group, apply it to relevant local issues, and make it as engaging and interesting as they choose to.”

The Sabbath School members themselves, Goldstein says, also must commit to studying the lessons and attending the study groups. The mission of the guides is fulfilled in the Sabbath School classrooms, he says, only when members engage in their study fully and practice the principles they learn in their communities.

A SHARING TOOL

Many members value the study guides so highly that they “don’t have the heart” to throw them away, so they find ways to share them with others. Soraya Homayouni, associate editor of the study guides, discovered this firsthand while taking a course in creative writing as part of her master’s degree.

22% Often

“A classmate who was not a member of our church said she was sure she recognized my name from somewhere,” Homayouni explains.

“She asked me, ‘Don’t you edit Bible study guides?’ “‘How do you know?’ I responded.

“She told me that someone had given one to her on the topic of couples in the Bible as a wedding present. Then she smiled and said, ‘Of all the gifts I received for my wedding, the Bible study guide was the gift I loved best.’

“It was such a joy for me to realize that my work as associate editor of the ABSG reached individuals where it mattered.”

THE JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE STUDY GUIDES

The production journey of the guides is likely more multiplex than most people think. It begins soon after each General Conference session, when Sabbath School and Personal Ministries Department leaders from the church’s world divisions gather for an advisory and choose the study guide topics for the following five-year term.

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Print/Subscriptions 25,000,000

NUMBER OF LANGUAGE COPIES/YEAR

Church Membership, 2017:

Spanish 5,873,740 English 3,033,554 Portuguese 2,071,348 French 599,336 Twi 416,000 Kiswahili 393,562 Indonesian 334,200 Total Number of

20,008,779 20,000,000

Produced Yearly by Divisions:

15,271,621 15,000,000 Sabbath Church School Attendance 7th Sabbath: Attendance 7th Sabbath: 7,699,275

10,000,000

7,128,757

Yearly Subscriptions:

3,817,905

5,000,000

Languages: 93 Lao 800 Kiribati 600 Farsi 560 Greek 520 Oriya 400 Hebrew 300 Tigrinya 200

0 Information provided by Adult Bible Study Guide staff. To see complete listings, go to AdventistWorld.org/ABSG.

These topics are then approved by the General Conference Administration Committee. The editor chooses authors for each of the topics, who are given two years to write the lessons. The completed manuscripts then enter two cycles of reading, feedback, and editing by board-selected committees, the General Conference Biblical Research Institute, and ABSG department editors—after which the final formatting and copyediting is performed. At this point the final copy is sent to world church divisions for translation, printing, and distribution in the local fields.

“It’s about a five-year process for any one lesson to complete the production cycle and land in a church member’s hand for that quarter’s study,” Goldstein says.

ACCESSIBILITY—A WORK IN PROGRESS!

Not all church members have easy access to the lessons. In some world regions a member can walk up to the hospitality desk at church on a Sabbath morning and ask for as many study guides as there are members in their household—at 22

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no charge. Of course, members generally contribute to study-guide production expenses through their offerings. In other regions, if members don’t order and pay for all their required study guides for the next two quarters in advance, they will find it very difficult to acquire them later. In yet other areas, members seem to receive their booklets by entirely miraculous means, considering the challenges involved in transporting them from publishing houses to remote territories such as mountainous island villages.

Church leaders continue to study ways to resolve these accessibility issues, such as utilizing technology to provide online platforms to those who are able to access them.

“I always throw an extra copy of the study guide into my bag when I’m traveling,” says Goldstein, “just in case I don’t find WiFi where I’m going. But I usually study my lesson online or on the app. There are so many different apps and online sites for the lesson study; there should be no problem finding it. I think this is a good trend.”

A CONSISTENT MISSION

If he could change anything about the development of the study guides, Goldstein says he would “speed up the production process.”

Some might compare this sentiment to the objective of earlier lessons to “speed up” the return of Jesus. The mission, it seems, is still the same.

Whatever the study guides mean to church members individually today, they remain one of the great mainstays of the Adventist Church.

An informed church is a church ready to share biblical truth. If members use this precious resource “to the full,” evidence indicates that it will keep us grounded, bring us together, and truly help us “speed things up” as we look forward to that great day!

Historical information in this article is taken from “Sabbath School Publications,” The Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, “Sabbath School Publications” (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn, 1996), vol. 11, pp. 513-517.

2 https://www.adventistarchives.org/youths-instructor-editors 3 James White, in Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 6, 1852.

1

Penny Brink is contracted to Adventist World as a writer, editor, and coordinator for contextualized editions. She lives in Somerset West, South Africa.

the Creator’s mighty power, which is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20).

THE GOD OF INTENTIONALITY

Faith & Science

Can Rocks Teach Us Something About God?

I

am a geologist who believes that our planet and the living beings it sustains were formed by the will of God. Like other aspects of Creation, the earth and its rocks “have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Ps. 19:3, 4, NIV). What message do these silent words carry? Can we learn more about the qualities of the Creator through the study of geology?

THE GOD OF HEART, SOUL, AND MIND

Our minds are able to arrange geological observations in a logical fashion, and apply this knowledge for prediction and management.

Why is it that our brain can so effectively make sense of the environment surrounding us? To me, this wonderful resonance between human minds and the world they seek to understand speaks of a Designer who created them both.

Not only is the world intelligible; we also respond to it emotionally.

Breaking waves approaching the beach can be described mathematically, but can also make us feel surprised, pensive, excited, or relaxed.

The Creator made our world for us to enjoy in a multilayered, beautifully integrated way.

THE INFINITELY VAST WISDOM OF GOD

Earth’s processes can be organized according to consistent patterns.

However reality exceeds our models, it transcends our imagination at every observable scale. We inhabit a richly textured universe with infinite opportunities for discovery. These vast possibilities for exploration are a humbling but joyous reminder of the greatness of our Creator God. THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD

Rock formations preserve evidence of massive processes, such as the movement and collision of continents that involve enormous amounts of energy. But the Maker of the world is greater than anything seen in His creation. So folded, uplifted, and transformed rocks remind us of Photo: Pedro Lastra

The study of planets outside our solar system has led to a better appreciation of the remarkable combination of planetary conditions that allow us to live on Earth’s surface. Within an immense universe, humans find themselves in the very place where their existence is possible.

This balance required for life that some attribute to chance is a gift that helps us recognize God’s intentional plan for us.

THE GOD OF RESILIENCE

Despite Earth’s beauty and design, nature has a dark side for which answers are not always obvious. However, a striking resilience is observed when hazardous geological processes affect our world’s systems. Buffering mechanisms absorb significant environmental stress, and normal conditions are often restored after catastrophes. God has endowed the Earth and its inhabitants with coping mechanisms to resist and spring back, providing assurance that He has not abandoned us.

THE GOD OF HISTORY

Earth’s rocks can be arranged in an ordered succession, showing that our planet had a beginning and a history, for which every layer is a tangible reminder.

God’s self-revelation in the Bible traces this history from Creation, to the Flood, to the precious promise of a new heaven and a new earth (2 Peter 3:5-13).

Like the sequence of metals in the image of Daniel 2, rocks attest to history’s directionality and point toward the God who accomplishes His plan in the times He has predetermined.

Ronny Nalin, Ph.D., originally from Italy, is a research scientist at the Geoscience Research Institute at Loma Linda University.

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Spirit of Prophecy

Food Is Fuel O

ur bodies are built up from the food we eat.

There is a constant breaking down of the tissues of the body; every movement of every organ involves waste, and this waste is repaired from our food.

CHOOSE WELL

Well-tuned machines require custom care.

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Each organ of the body requires its share of nutrition. The brain must be supplied with its portion; the bones, muscles, and nerves demand theirs. It is a wonderful process that transforms the food into blood and uses this blood to build up the varied parts of the body; but this process is going on continually, supplying with life and strength each nerve, muscle, and tissue.

Those foods should be chosen that best supply the elements needed for building up the body. In this choice, appetite is not a safe guide. Through wrong habits of eating, the appetite has become perverted. Often it demands food that impairs health and causes weakness instead of strength. We cannot safely be guided by the customs of society. The disease and suffering that everywhere prevail are largely due to popular errors in regard to diet.

But not all foods wholesome in themselves are equally suited to our needs under all circumstances.

Care should be taken in the selection of food.

Our diet should be suited to the season, to the climate in which we live, and to the occupation we follow. Some foods that are adapted for use at one season or in one climate are not suited to another. So there are different foods best suited for persons in different occupations.

Often food that can be used with benefit by those engaged in hard physical labor is unsuitable for persons of sedentary pursuits or intense mental application.

God has given us an ample variety of healthful foods, and each person should choose from it the things that experience and sound judgment prove to be best suited to his own necessities.

HUMANITY’S ORIGINAL DIET

In order to know what are the best foods, we must study God’s original plan for [humanity’s] diet. He who created man and who understands his needs appointed Adam his food. “Behold,” He said, “I have given you every herb yielding seed, . . . and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.” Genesis 1:29, A.R.V. Upon leaving Eden to gain his livelihood by tilling the earth under the curse of sin, man received permission to eat also “the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.

Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance, and a vigor of intellect that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet.

In order to maintain health, a sufficient supply of good, nourishing food is needed. If we plan wisely, that which is most conducive to health can be

Photo: Lukas Blazek

The various preparations of rice, wheat, corn, and oats are sent abroad everywhere, also beans, peas, and lentils. secured in almost every land. The various preparations of rice, wheat, corn, and oats are sent abroad everywhere, also beans, peas, and lentils. These, with native or imported fruits, and the variety of vegetables that grow in each locality, give an opportunity to select a dietary that is complete without the use of flesh meats.

Wherever dried fruits, such as raisins, prunes, apples, pears, peaches, and apricots are obtainable at moderate prices, it will be found that they can be used as staple articles of diet much more freely than is customary, with the best results to the health and vigor of all classes of workers.

This material is taken from Counsels for the Church (Boise, Id., Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1991), pages 221, 222. Seventh-day Adventists believe that Ellen G. White (1827-1915) exercised the biblical gift of prophecy during more than 70 years of public ministry.

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Bible Questions Answered

The Son and the Spirit Q

How close was the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Christ during Jesus’ earthly ministry?

A

It was the closest it could have ever been. Each member of the Godhead has been involved in the redemption of the human race. I will discuss key moments in Jesus’ experience when the Holy Spirit was particularly close to Him.

ministry. During His anointing as the Lord’s Messiah, the Father proclaimed Him to be “My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove” (verse 22). The Servant of the Lord in human form was empowered by the Spirit to fulfill His saving mission. His life was now under the care of the Spirit, who immediately after the baptism led Jesus into the desert to face the enemy (Luke 4:1). Satan had no control over the life of Jesus, whose inseparable companion was the Spirit.

3. DEATH AND RESURRECTION

1. INCARNATION

The incarnation of the Son of God was a momentous event in cosmic history that must have been preceded by immense activity within the Godhead in heaven.

Once God chose and prepared the right instrument for this event—Mary—the Son of God became human within her womb. An angel from heaven descended to the city of Nazareth to inform the young girl what was about to happen: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35). In the virginal conception of the Son of God the Spirit was present displaying His power in unparalleled creative activity. No specific details are provided about His work in the incarnation of God’s Son, probably because what occurred was beyond human comprehension.

2. BAPTISM AND MINISTRY

John the Baptist prepared the way for the initiation of Jesus’ ministry. Before his birth an angel told his father that John “will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb” (Luke 1:15), and at the moment of his birth Zacharias, his father, “was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied” (verse 67). The Spirit was indeed active in events that led to the initiation of Jesus’ 26

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The New Testament says little about the function of the Spirit during Jesus’ crucifixion. Only Hebrews 9:14 seems to associate the Spirit with the sacrifice of Jesus when it states that “through the eternal Spirit [Jesus] offered Himself without spot to God.” The thought is not developed, leaving us to wonder about its meaning.

The passage seems to assign to the Spirit the priestly function of presenting to God the unblemished sacrificial victim. The connection between the Spirit and the resurrection of Christ is indirect.

When Paul speaks about the role of the Spirit in our resurrection, he says, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11). The Spirit in us is the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus; and He will also give us life (resurrect us) through the Spirit. There is a hint to the presence and action of the Spirit in the resurrection of Jesus that contributes to assure our resurrection.

The Spirit was constantly with Christ during times of joy, temptations, death, and resurrection. He is also by our side; guiding our lives, filling us with joy and strength as we face challenges. Let’s trust Him, and let Him be our inseparable companion in our Christian pilgrimage.

Angel Manuel Rodríguez lives in Texas, United States, after serving the church as a pastor, professor, and theologian.

Health & Wellness

Tremors Do they usually indicate Parkinson’s disease?

My mother is 60 years of age and enjoys good health. She has developed shaking of the hands, which gets worse in stressful situations.

Her voice has also changed, and it’s difficult for her to sing. She has been told that this is “essential tremor.” Is this the same as Parkinson’s disease? Why is it essential?

W

e are fearfully and wonderfully made, and part of the wonder of creation is coordinated movement. We may take this for granted until something goes wrong. Every movement and action is coordinated by the nervous and muscle systems of the body. Complex mechanisms are in place to ensure that every planned— even every reflex—action is well executed or performed. Changes in normal functions of our movement, including shakiness or tremor, are broadly termed movement disorders.

The word “essential” when applied to the condition “essential familial tremor” indicates, in medical language, that the exact cause of the problem is unknown. This terminology is used also to describe more than 90 percent of cases of high blood pressure, or hypertension, which is labeled “essential hypertension” if no specific causes are found. The word “familial” indicates a genetic component, often a family history of the condition. It does not affect longevity (life expectancy) and is not the same as Parkinson’s disease.

Essential tremor is one of the most common movement disorders.

Approximately 1 percent of the global population (one person in every 100) is affected. It affects men and women equally and becomes more frequent as people grow older. It may appear in childhood, but it is seen most commonly in the second decade of life and after the age of 60. The Photo: Sabine van Erp

tremor typically increases slowly over time as individuals age. Some individuals have only shaking of the hands/arms; others may have a shaking (bobbing) of the head, and also a voice tremor or changes in speech. This could account for difficulty in singing.

In essential tremors it appears that the major problem lies in the cerebellum, a part of the brain that is key in the control of smooth and accurate movement, posture, and balance. This is done through the coordination and regulation of muscle activity. There is a complex anatomical and chemical loop regulating movement, and pathological changes in part or parts of this mechanism are thought to be responsible for essential tremor.

The diagnosis is made on the basis of a comprehensive medical history and clinical examination. Family history can be helpful. It is important to enquire about specific medications that may cause or aggravate a tremor (some antiepilepsy agents, certain antidepressants, and lithium). Exposure to toxins such as lead, mercury, or manganese may also cause tremors. Careful history and examination can readily distinguish essential tremor from Parkinson’s disease.

Treatment is essentially cared for with medication, although surgery and a technique known as deep-brain stimulation may be needed in cases in which the tremor is disabling.

Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is director of Adventist Health Ministries at the General Conference.

Zeno L. Charles-Marcel, a board-certified internist, is an associate director of Adventist Health Ministries at the General Conference.

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The Singing Church

I “May I Tell You a Story?”

BY DICK DUERKSEN

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don’t remember the name of the village, though my photographs keep the memory colorfully clear. It was a place of deep-gray dust, ragged clothes, spindly cashew trees, and thorn bushes interspersed with occasional clumps of grass.

Two young boys tried to sell me a race car they had crafted from discarded wire, red rubber bands, and Coke cans.

I didn’t have room to carry it home, but bargained with them anyway. They desperately needed whatever money I could give them. We settled on a price, and after I borrowed the local currency from Garry, I gave them double, the equivalent of US$2.

When I showed the car to Garry he laughed and asked how I was going to get it home.

“Not sure,” I answered.

“No problem,” he said. “I’ll toss it into one of my bags and bring it home on my next trip.”

It was just like Garry. He didn’t need to do it, but offered to be my “mover,” because he wanted to help me out of a tough situation. *** The day had begun with four hours of dusty bouncing and sweating through the bush of Mozambique. Garry wanted us there when he drilled this well.

“This is one of the poorest places I’ve ever visited,” he said. “There’s a well down the path about a mile or so, but the fellow who owns it charges so much for the water that most of the village goes to bed thirsty every night. I’ve found a

spot near the church where there should be water, maybe even less than 100 feet down. Can hardly wait to drill.”

The drill was already there, pulled in last night and set up by Garry’s crew of ADRA workers.

When I say “the drill,” you might think of something simple hanging off the back of a pickup. Not Garry’s drill! This was a rig Garry had designed after several weeks of bouncing along Mozambique’s back country highway trails. The drill was really three vehicles: A drilling rig built into a monster truck, a water tank and power generator carried by a similar truck, and an accompanying 4x4 pickup. It took all three, and four men, to drill a well.

“I think,” Garry told me, “that every time there’s a new church out here in the thorn bush, we ought to drill them a well. You know, the water of life and the Water of Life, both coming together in the village. We could maybe even place the well right beside the church. Imagine, villagers coming to the well for free water and listening as church members sing about Jesus, the true Water of Life!

That’s evangelism at its best.”

Garry had located the only possible spot for drilling the well. The new water source would be about 20 paces from the homemade church the members had put together with kinesu straw and palm branches. *** A crowd was waiting. Mostly children and women, since the men were off working in the fields, or away in the mines of

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 Chun, Pyung Duk Adventist World Coordinating Committee Si Young Kim, chair; Yukata Inada; German Lust; Chun, Pyung Duk; Han, Suk Hee; Lyu, Dong Jin Associate Editors/Directors, Adventist Review Ministries Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Greg Scott

South Africa. Their greeting was a song.

Make that: “Their greeting was many songs, sung loudly, their voices rising, leveling, rising higher, and dipping deep like kingfishers on the distant riverbank.”

Garry laughed through his ever-ready smile, and motioned for everyone to sit down on the church pews. The pews, by the way, were long branches set into slingshot “Y’s” that had been driven into the dirt.

“Most uncomfortable pews I’ve ever sat upon,” Garry said with a smile.

Garry explained to everyone about the well. Why we were drilling it. How deep the crew would drill it. What the pump would be like and how it could be repaired with a simple rubber washer made from an old tire tube. Why the water there must always be given free, at “no cost” to the villagers.

Then Garry led us all out to the trucks and many of the members prayed for the well. Long prayers, well prayed.

The drilling took most of the day. Far longer than Garry had expected. There was only sand down through 50 feet.

Then a bit of stone, then more sand.

“Should be water soon,” Garry smiled.

Most of the women left to care for life around their huts. The children drifted in and out, coming back only when the drill crew added a length of pipe, or when the rig backfired.

At 120 feet the well was still dry.

Same at 180. That was as far as the drillers could go.

Garry cried.

Photo: Dick Duerksen

*** Right there by the monster drilling rig he had personally designed and built.

By the same rig that had already drilled more than 800 water-gushing wells into the dust of Mozambique.

Garry cried. Big tears falling down his face to join the thick sweat that stained his shirt.

When the rig motor died, the women returned, bright plastic water jugs bouncing expectantly on their heads.

Like giant red, yellow, and blue M&Ms dancing in the African heat.

Garry explained about the sand, the 180 feet, “maximo,” and told them all he was very, very, very sorry.

Everyone cried.

Then the head elder motioned for us to join the members in the church. We came together, sitting on the incredibly uncomfortable pews, listening as Garry explained it all again and again, until all that remained was a sad silence.

Then an older woman began to sing.

Others joined, and soon the sweatstained congregation’s singing chased away the dusty sadness. “Jesus, after all, is still King and Saviour,” the elder proclaimed. “He will provide water for our jugs in another way.”

Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Costin Jordache, Wilona Karimabadi Editors based in Seoul, Korea Chun, Pyung Duk; Park, Jae Man; Kim, Hyo-Jun Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editors-at-Large/Advisors Mark A. Finley, John M. Fowler, E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Kimberly Brown Management Board Si Young Kim, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Chun, Pyung Duk; Karnik Doukmetzian; Han, Suk Hee; Yutaka Inada; German Lust; 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 © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 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. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission.

Unless otherwise noted, all prominent photos are © Thinkstock 2017.

Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States.

Vol. 14, No. 8

Dick Duerksen, a pastor and storyteller living in Portland, Oregon, United States, is known around the world as “an itinerant pollinator of grace.”

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Growing Faith

Fun-filled pages for younger ages

It’s the Little Things Big things start off as small things.

You Are Making a Difference!

I

t wasn’t easy being the smallest kid in Jordy’s class. He was always the last person chosen for basketball, and it was really tough sometimes.

Jordy decided enough was enough. He was going to get bigger, stronger, and faster, no matter what it took. At home he began lifting “weights”—well, actually, they were backpacks stuffed with all the books he could fit. But he lifted them.

Every day after school and Sundays, Jordy went to the neighborhood basketball court—rain or shine. He was there for hours practicing his dribbling and 30

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shooting skills. At first he wasn’t too great at it, either. But then it started getting easier to control the ball and shoot it straight into the net. But he didn’t think he was making progress at all.

Jordy decided to eat like an athlete too. He hardly stopped to breathe when he devoured whatever his mom or dad cooked for supper; and he always asked for seconds! Every week he’d weigh and measure himself hoping against hope that he’d miraculously grow at lightning speed. It disappointed him when he didn’t immediately see the results he wanted right away.

One day Jordy’s mom wasn’t feeling well and had a hard time getting herself up from the table to get ready for her doctor’s appointment. Jordy rushed over to try and lift to her up, but it was really tough for him. “I’m useless, Mom!” he huffed. “I’m a terrible basketball player, and I can’t even help my mom stand up, all because I’m so small!”

Jordy’s mom looked at him with her kind eyes and said, “You are so not useless! Do you realize that every time you eat all your supper and have a little more, you are nourishing your body to get stronger? Do you Illustration: Xuan Le

BY WILONA KARIMABADI

Bible Treasure: “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me,’” (Matt. 25:40, NIV).

What Can You Do? not see that every time you go out and practice basketball, little by little you get better at it? Do you know that even if it’s hard for you to lift me out of this chair, the fact that you put your arms around me gives me strength?”

Jordy finally understood. The little things he did day by day were helping to make a difference—in his life and his mom’s.

Jesus reminds us that whatever we do to help is like doing it for Him. He notices, and others notice—even when we don’t think so.

The next time you see a large puddle or go to a pond or lake, find a smooth, round pebble and toss it into the water. What happens? You’ll notice your little pebble creates ripples on the surface of the water that go bigger and farther than the size of the stone itself. You can create a similar “ripple effect” in your life. Go out of your way to be kind, helpful, and thoughtful to others. Say encouraging things, help someone lift a heavy bag, share a treat with a friend who’d enjoy it. At first it may not seem as though anything is happening, but trust me, it is!

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Adventism’s historic “journal of faith” presented in modern form.

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