The International Paper for Seventh-day Adventists
Apr i l 201 4
FromHellto
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Big-Picture
Theology
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Who’s
Responsible?
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Laodicea’s
Only Hope
North American Division | n a d
Apr il 2 01 4 C O V E R
The International Paper for Seventh-day Adventists
Apr il 2 01 4
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S T O R Y
F U N D A M E N T A L
From Hell to Hope
By Claude Richli
T wenty years ago Rwanda was wracked by genocide. Today the country, and the church, are enjoying a renaissance.
FromHellto
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Big-Picture
Theology
42
Who’s
Responsible?
43
Laodicea’s
Only Hope
B E L I E F S
By Lothar Wilhelm
How did we get our fundamental beliefs? And why are there 28 of them?
30 Single in the Church
N A D
F E AT U R E
By Claudio and Pamela Consuegra
V I S T A
Whether single by choice or circumstance, they have a place in the body of Christ.
Finding your place in the body of Christ
38 The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia
How Your Church Works 8 By Ted N. C. Wilson W O R L D
22 Big-Picture Theology
20 And by His Stripes We Are Healed D E V O T I O N A L
By Gerald A. Klingbeil
How the guilty experience freedom
D I S C O V E R I N G O F P R O P H E C Y
T H E
S P I R I T
By Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon
Finally, a reference book about a remarkable woman and her ministry to the church
40 Like a Mustard Seed the
A D V E N T I S T
S T O R Y
By Geoffrey Mbwana
The East-Central Africa Division started small, but it didn’t stay that way.
D E PA RT M E N T S 3 W O
R L D
R E P O R T
3 News Briefs 6 News Feature 10 GLOW Stories 11 NAD News 14 NAD Update 17 NAD Perspective 18 NAD Letters
19 W O R L D H E A L T H New Guidelines for Hypertension 42
43 B I B L E S T U D Y Laodicea’s Only Hope 44
I D E A
E X C H A N G E
B I B L E Q U E S T I O N S A N S W E R E D
Who’s Responsible?
www.adventistworld.org Available in 12 languages online The Adventist World® (ISSN 1557-5519), one of the Adventist Review® family of publications, is printed monthly by the Review and Herald® Publishing Association. Copyright © 2014. Send address changes to Adventist World, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. For information about advertising, contact Glen Gohlke, 301-393-3054 (ggohlke@rhpa.org). PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Vol. 10, No. 4, April 2014.
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Adventist World - nad | April 2014
Resurrection Power
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y teacher left me two pieces of wisdom: 1. Never underestimate the enormity of human evil. 2. Never underestimate the power of the gospel to overcome the enormity of human evil. The brokenness of sinful human beings is on display in every arena of our lives. In the yard, children bicker and complain, asserting ownership of bits of cloth and plastic they call “toys.” In the workplace, colleagues taunt and deceive, determined to climb a rung on an employment ladder promising success and wealth. In disputed corners of the earth, guns and bombs emerge to stake the claims of sovereignty and “nation.” Even in the church, we watch familiar sins of pride and prejudice inflicting pain on those Christ died to save. As the apostle so aptly framed it: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19, NRSV).* Christianity stripped of the news of Jesus’ resurrection—and His resurrection power in our lives—is nothing other than unwarranted optimism in the face of deadly facts. But the gospel we are called to preach— and live—compels us to acknowledge that the resurrected Lord intends His disciples to experience His transforming power even now in our roles and our relationships. By His grace, controversialists choose cooler rhetoric. Through His power, enemies forgive each other. Inspired by His example, men and women push back the tide of evil by living with kindness, generosity, and faithfulness. “We are each a tale of grace,” the poet said. Taken altogether, the countless lives healed and made whole by Jesus’ death and resurrection give the world a frankly hopeful vision of the world soon to come. As you read this month’s cover story about recovery and restoration after horror and violence, resolve to live, because of grace, one of those resurrected lives. *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.
WORLD REPORT
Monteiro Visits
GC Headquarters,
Thanks Church for Support ■■ Adventist pastor Antonio Monteiro, recently acquitted and released from a Togo prison, thanked the Adventist world headquarters staff and world church members for their support while speaking at the General Conference worship service on February 18, 2014, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The program was part of a weeklong visit to the area for Monteiro, his wife, Madalena, and their sons, Anderson and Alessandro. FREE AT LAST: After nearly two In an interview with years in prison, Antonio Monteiro Adventist Review, Monteiro, (left) greets Ted N. C. Wilson, presiwho was released from prison dent of the General Conference, after in January after 22 months speaking in the auditorium of the behind bars, explained how he church’s world headquarters. sees similarities between his experience and the biblical C l a u d e R i c h l i story of Joseph: “Never would I have thought that I would leave my prison cell to end up visiting the General Conference. After the struggle comes the crown,” he said. When he first went to Togo as a missionary, Monteiro said he felt a burden to help the church to be better known in the country. His initial idea of visiting government officials to acquaint them with the church, unfortunately, went nowhere. But now, after his plight attracted national media attention, he recognizes that God used these circumstances to change the perception of the church in the country. Even in his birthplace of Cape Verde, Monteiro’s case received toplevel attention. As a result, he was able to visit the country’s president, justice minister, and other cabinet ministers who intervened on his behalf, thank them for their help, and introduce them to some of the church’s teachings. While in prison Monteiro recognized that he was there for a reason, and that the prison population was actually his congregation. Continued on next page
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Fulton College Opens New Campus ■■ A new era began recently for Fulton College in the Fiji islands as approximately 600 people celebrated the opening of the new Sabeto campus. Among the invited guests were General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson and Fiji education minister Filipe Bole. The FJD$20 million construction is almost complete, and classes started March 10, 2014. The buildings, including staff and student housing (for 240 students and 20 married units), classrooms, administration block, and multipurpose center, are completed and being furnished. After a number of legal disputes with landowners at Fulton’s Tailevu site, a decision was made to relocate in 2007. The relocation schedule had the site opening in March 2010. However, as Fulton principal Stephen Currow joked, “So today we are only 1,420 days late in opening this new campus. But we are here.” Currow thanked former Fiji mission president Waisea Vuniwa for his role in finding the current site. The development was assisted by a Thir-
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TED President to Retire ■■ Bertil Wiklander, president of the Trans-European Division (TED), has informed union presidents and division office staff that he is planning to retire as of July 31, 2014. Wiklander announced his decision at a staff devotional on February 12 during two days of leadership training. “I have enjoyed my work and the many people I have come to know in various parts of the division,” said Wiklander, “and I will leave my responsibility with gratitude to God and my colleagues.” Prior to coming to the TED, Wiklander served in his native Sweden as principal of Ekebyholm School, union executive secretary, and union president. In the past 19 years Wiklander has exhibited a passion for making God known in the challenging secular
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N e w s
teenth Sabbath offering and donation of US$1 million. The decision to move had its detractors. However the new site, 15 minutes from Nadi International Airport, is well placed to cater to Fulton’s international students. School officials honored Barbara Allen, who attended on behalf of her late husband, Graham, the original project manager for the new site. His nephew, Greg Allen, and Mike Dickson took over the project after Graham was killed in a cycling accident. Distinguished guests included the Solomon Islands’ minister for education, representatives of the tribes who own the land, and officers of the South Pacific Division, Trans Pacific Union, and Fiji Mission. —By Jarrod Stackelroth
A d v e n t i s t
Twice a week he held prayer meetings and gave Bible studies to a group of 15 to 20 people. During his time in prison, Monteiro distributed Bibles, as well as dozens of Adventist World magazines. When Monteiro left prison, “Pastor Maranatha”—as he came to be known— left behind many lives that had been transformed through his ministry and the power of the Holy Spirit. —By Claude Richli
N e t w o r k
WORLD REPORT DISTINGUISHED SERVICE: Bertil Wiklander, president of the Trans-European Division for the past 19 years, announced his intention to retire at the end of July.
environment of many of the TED countries. During his term of service the division has had two territorial realignments. Wiklander’s announcement came appropriately during leadership training because Wiklander is an advocate of growing leaders and providing opportunities for people to try new ideas. —By TEDnews
ADRA Romania Launches Campaign Against Domestic Violence ■■ ADRA Romania is launching a campaign to prevent domestic violence. Recent ADRA campaigns have been created to empower women who experience abuse to take action and notify authorities. The campaign encourages positive behavior and acknowledges men who “love, cherish, and protect” their most valuable assets—their families! “What is a true man? How can we publicly acknowledge them to show that violent men are not the rule? These questions were the starting point for this year’s campaign,” said Sorin Goleanu, executive director of ADRA Romania. To acknowledge true men, ADRA Romania designed a blue scarf, as a
AD R A
R o m a n i a
gift that can be offered to men by their wives, friends, or families as a symbol of their appreciation, and to encourage positive, caring, and respectful behavior toward their loved ones. The customized scarf carries a logo for the campaign and recognizes the one wearing it as a true man. “The campaign was received enthusiastically by ADRA’s partners, including retailers such as Carrefour, Sano Vita (Romania’s biggest health food company), and public institutions,” said Goleanu. “The campaign has enjoyed more than 36,000 views online, the support of nearly 20 national and local media outlets, as well as printed materials distributed
(250,000 copies) through 50 stands set up in Carrefour stores across 21 towns and cities. This has made it possible for the message to be sent at a level previously unreached by former ADRA Romania campaigns,” he said. This latest campaign offers creative and effective ways to combat this phenomenon that is widespread in Romania. The campaign also presented practical ways of helping those affected, and contact information where those affected by domestic violence can ask for help. This includes an e-mail address, an emergency phone number, and information on services provided by the center. Since 2009, ADRA Romania has operated an emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence, ADRA House. Women who report incidents of domestic violence to authorities receive accommodations, food, and emergency medical assistance. Services include individual and couple counseling, social assistance, and information about legal counsel. — By Sorin Goleanu, EUDnews
Adventists Call on Sunday Alliance Not to Discriminate
LOVE SHOULDN’T HURT: Volunteers for ADRA Romania distribute materials about domestic violence at shopping malls in more than 20 communities in the country.
■■ An alliance promoting worklife balance and social cohesion in Europe reiterated its call for work-free Sundays at a conference in Brussels, Belgium, in January. The European Sunday Alliance, a coalition of national Sunday alliances, trade unions, civic organizations, and faith communities established in 2011, is gaining some traction in the European Parliament but continues to
trouble religious liberty advocates. At the second conference on workfree Sundays and decent work, the alliance launched a pledge targeting current and future members of the European Parliament, asking lawmakers to promote legislation that “respects” Sunday as a “day of rest” and guarantees fair work hours. Economic arguments aside, religious minorities in Europe—among them Muslims, Jews, and Seventh-day Adventists—worry the proposal could infringe on free expression of religious beliefs, despite its seemingly wellintentioned goals of reducing stress and overwork. “Millions of European citizens belonging to religious minorities could be affected by [the] EU Sunday law aspirations,” said Liviu Olteanu, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist Church’s InterEuropean Division (EUD). In a January 21, 2014, news release the EUD endorsed the position of Hannu Takkula, a Finnish member of the European Parliament who has spoken out against work-free Sundays. “Legislation must never discriminate on religious grounds. A law setting up Sunday as the universal work-free day would do just that,” Takkula said in a news release. “Freedom of religion and belief is a core European value. . . . The European Union must guarantee everyone equal rights and freedoms to celebrate the rest day of their convictions,” he added. John Graz, General Conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department director, said he was pleased that Takkula and other Parliament members are taking a clear stand against work-free Sundays. “We encourage all lawmakers in Europe to Continued on next page
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WORLD REPORT protect the rights of all people of faith, including those who do not observe Sunday as a day of rest,” Graz said. In 2011 Raafat Kamal, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist Church in Northern Europe, said Adventists “support the notion that people need a day of rest to achieve a work-life balance,” but “at the same time, we want to be sure that those who don’t observe Sunday as a designated religious day of rest will be respected.” Now, Olteanu is calling on members of the European Parliament “not to interfere in matters relating to religious liberty and freedom of conscience, proposing or accepting laws that affect the religious liberty of religious minorities.” Olteanu encouraged Adventists in Europe to pray for the situation and to contact their respective member of Parliament or MEP candidate to lobby for their religious liberties. “We should commit ourselves with wisdom, balance, and [a] positive attitude to be ambassadors of liberty, hope, and peace; loving others but looking always to promote and defend religious liberty for all people,” Olteanu said. —By ANN Staff
Adventist University Lights Up City With “Centers of Influence” ■■ “Light Up Medellín” is the name of the project launched in the Colombia Adventist University (UNAC) Church, in Medellín, Colombia, on February 1, 2014. The project was introduced as the school’s most important outreach and mission initiative for 2014.
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Light Up Medellín will focus on establishing centers of influence in the city, as the school makes efforts to meet the needs of the community and strives to create an environment that encourages sharing a message of hope. “Many people are waiting for a message of hope and salvation. Through this initiative, our goal is to launch centers of influence that may allow us to develop friendly and loving relationships with people so they can find in Jesus a personal Savior,” said Abraham Acosta, school president. “After these centers of light are launched, a second goal is to plant churches in areas of the city where there is no Adventist presence.” During the program launch, attendees also heard of the progress of outreach project “Rise Up and Conquer.” Launched a year ago, Rise Up and Conquer invites students to give of their time and talents in sharing the gospel in villages with no Adventist presence across the province of Antioquía. The first results were seen in the lives of people who decided to follow Jesus and be baptized. Though the project was devised by UNAC, it will combine the efforts of the North Colombian Union (UCN) and the West Central Colombian Conference, and will also support UCN’s evangelism plans for the year. “In our region, pastors are totally committed to the goal of reaching the city of Medellín for Jesus,” said Gonzalo Cardona, president of the west southern region. “We are working with small groups, and incorporating the wonderful plan of our Seventhday Adventist university.” —By Shirley Rueda
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
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n January 7, 2014, Sir Run Run Shaw passed away at the age of 106. Though global media reports that ran the day after his death trumpeted his work and legacy as a movie pioneer who, with his brother, brought Kung Fu to the big screen, Loma Linda University Health (LLUH) and the Seventh-day Adventist Church remember him as a philanthropist and humanitarian in the world of health care. Because of his benevolence Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital was envisioned and constructed, opening in 1994 in the Zhejiang Province in the People’s Republic of China. The hospital transformed the delivery of health care in what was then a poor community. “From a childhood memory and appreciation for quality medical care nearly 100 years ago to a modern hospital today, the connection between Loma Linda and Sir Run Run Shaw is legendary,” says Richard H. Hart, president of LLUH. Sir Run Run Shaw, a Hong Kong film magnate who dreamed of building a Western-style hospital in his native country of China, provided partial funding to the Zhejiang Provincial Government for the construction of a hospital in its capital of Hangzhou in the early 1990s. His only request was that he wanted to partner with the Seventh-day Adventist Church in operating the hospital. Years earlier Sir Run Run Shaw’s mother had received treatment from Dr. Harry Miller, an Adventist physician, at a progressive hospital in China. He was impressed by the compassionate, whole-person care provided to all echelons of society, from government officials to day laborers. As a result, he vowed to one
LLU
HEALTHCARE PHILANTHROPIST: Sir Run Run Shaw, (right), speaks at the opening of the hospital named for him. One of the conditions of its construction was a partnership with Loma Linda University.
By Nancy Yuen and James Ponder, Loma Linda University
Sir Run Run Shaw
Remembered
His gift made possible the hospital named for him.
day bring a similar level of care to his own community. “He never forgot the excellent care his mother had received from Dr. Miller,” says Joan Coggin, former vice president for global outreach, Loma Linda University Adventist Health Sciences Center. When Sir Run Run Shaw initiated plans to build a hospital, he asked the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Loma Linda University and Medical Center (LLUMC) to become involved. The ribbon cutting for Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital was held May 9, 1994. In its early days, the 400-bed hospital provided Western-style services in all of the medical specialties practiced in the United States. The hospital was awarded Joint Commission International Accreditation in December 2006.
The first facility in China to achieve this level of recognition and success, it subsequently earned reaccreditation in 2009 and 2013. Today the 1,200-bed tertiary-care hospital treats more than 6,000 patients per day. Jan Zumwalt, associate director, Global Health Institute and executive director for international affairs, LLUMC, was on-site at Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital when its namesake visited. She recalls, “He didn’t desire fanfare or attention. He had been born in the province where the hospital is located; the area was very poor at the time the hospital was built. “It was so important to him that the people of Hangzhou benefit from the best in health care including education, modern equipment, and facilities,” she says. At a celebration mark-
ing the Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital’s tenth anniversary, Zumwalt recalls a colleague describing the facility’s importance to Sir Run Run Shaw, stating that of the many philanthropic projects he had supported, this hospital brought him the most satisfaction. Sir Run Run Shaw made his fortune by selling martial arts movies. In later life he earned widespread respect as a philanthropist. In 2002 he created the Shaw Prize, which is recognized as the Nobel Prize of Asia. In 1977 Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his longstanding support of the Red Cross. In addition to the hospital, Sir Run Run Shaw provided hundreds of millions of dollars in philanthropic support to projects in Asia, Britain, and the United States. He is survived by his wife, Mona Fong, and four children. n
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W O R L D
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How
Your Church Wor Understanding its unity, structure,
W
hile traveling and meeting with church members around the world, I am sometimes asked how the Seventhday Adventist Church is structured, and how it was organized. How are changes made, and who has authority to make changes? What unites the church? How does the church work? While I could spend a long time discussing these important issues, in this month’s column I will look at how and why the church was officially organized. Next month I will address, in a practical way, issues of authority, unity, and how you can make a difference in the church.
Small Beginnings
When we look at today’s well-organized, 18-million member Seventhday Adventist Church, with a presence in 208 countries represented by 13 world divisions and one attached field, tens of thousands of churches, thousands of schools, hundreds of hospitals and clinics, numerous publishing houses and more, it’s hard to imagine that just a little more than 150 years ago none of this existed. Nothing. Nothing, that is, except for a small group of believers who “searched for the truth as for hidden treasure,”1 wrote Ellen White of those early years. “We would come together burdened in soul, praying that we might be one in faith and doctrine; for we knew that Christ is not divided. . . . The Scrip-
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EXECUTIVE SESSION: Seventh-day Adventists from around the world met for a General Conference session in San Francisco in 1936; the last session before the outbreak of World War II. tures were opened with a sense of awe, . . . earnest supplications went up to heaven that God would help us to see eye to eye, that we might be one as Christ and the Father are one.”2 As the little group of Advent believers diligently studied God’s Word and prayed, they became one in mind and spirit, and their numbers gradually increased. At first they met in private homes, in large kitchens, in barns, groves, and schoolhouses. Before long, with God’s blessing, they were able to build “humble houses of worship.”3
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Organization Essential for Mission
As the group continued to grow, it became evident that organization was needed “to provide for the support of the ministry, for carrying the work to new fields, for protecting both the churches and the ministry from unworthy members, for holding church property, for the publication of the truth through the press, and for many other objects, organization was indispensable.”4 But some were strongly opposed to any official organization, fearing that
orks
By Ted N. C. Wilson
and authority it might lead to the closed-minded creedalism they had faced in the established churches they had left, or in some overly-complicated structure that would inhibit their mission. However, they soon learned that carefully organized church structure was very important and heaven-inspired, as Ellen White indicated. When faced with controversy, believers once again “sought the Lord with earnest prayer” that they might understand His will, “and light was given by His Spirit that there must be order and thorough discipline in the church—that organization was essential. . . . Order is the law of heaven, and it should be the law of God’s people on the earth.”5 Order. Now that doesn’t mean that everyone behaves as automatons, moving without thinking. But it does mean a submissiveness to the Word of God, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the counsel of the Spirit of Prophecy, and the decisions made by the collective, worldwide church in its representative settings, such as the General Conference Executive Committee and General Conference sessions, to bring about order so that its mission can be accomplished. So although some were strongly opposed, Adventist pioneers moved ahead in establishing an official organization with the assurance that the Lord was guiding them by His providence.
Organizational Milestones
Last year, as we remembered the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, we were reminded of some of those organizational milestones. In 1860, a publishing association was formed and an official name for the church was chosen. In 1861, the first state conference, Michigan, was organized, and during the next year several other state conferences were formed. In 1863, delegates from the state conferences met in Battle Creek, established the General Conference, voted a constitution, and elected a president and other officers. Many important policies were also voted at this first General Conference session, including a procedure for paying ministers a regular salary out of “systematic benevolence.” A policy was established requiring ministers to carry with them official credentials, identifying them as “spokesmen for the movement.” Additionally, a policy was put in place requiring that calls for ministers be processed through both conferences involved, rather than a minister traveling from one conference to another at his own request or the desire of a local church. Blessings Through Organization
God’s blessings were seen through the process of organization and structure, and His church continued to grow. Schools were organized where students were taught in harmony with God’s Word. Health institutions were established that would serve as a blessing to many. Ellen White called these new developments “missionary work of the highest order.” Additionally, the church realized the importance of not only bringing the third angel’s message to the land of its birth—the United States—but to Europe and beyond, thus establishing
important missionary work that spread the Advent message throughout the world. Today, missionaries from many different continents serve in various regions of the world church. As the movement continued to grow, more churches were established, more conferences formed, more schools, hospitals, and publishing houses were built, and union conferences were formed to oversee the mission of the church in given geographic locations in harmony with policies established by the General Conference in session or the Executive Committee between sessions. Today there are 122 unions, and more than 500 local conferences and missions. A Spiritual, Biblical Foundation
It is important to remember that the organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is based on a strong spiritual and biblical foundation. Rather than quickly cobbling together a plan for the sake of expediency, our church pioneers thoughtfully and prayerfully asked God for wisdom, and through His clear leading by Scripture and through the prophetic gift, church order and organization were established. The church is truly a spiritual organization, and it must be that. Everything must be founded upon God’s Word and the wonderful counsel we have received in the Spirit of Prophecy. The church is the object of God’s greatest attention. He could have used other means to accomplish the task of bringing His message to the billions of people upon this earth, but He has chosen to use the church— and you and me. In order to accomplish our Godgiven mission, leaders and members must be involved in a very spiritual approach—in Bible study, in following the counsels of the Spirit of Prophecy,
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in intense prayer, and in listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. That’s why revival and reformation are so important—not just for local church members, but for ministers, leaders, General Conference personnel, GC divisions, unions, and local conferences. This is true for all of us, because we are all sinners at the foot of the cross. Christ must be first and foremost. We must focus on Christ’s righteousness and our submission to Him; then His power working in us will develop the final end-time movement.
Stories GLOW: Giving Light to Our World Giving Light to Our World—GLOW—is an outreach initiative that originated in California, United States, but is now branching out to other world divisions. It’s based on the concept of church members distributing GLOW tracts—free of charge—at every opportunity. The tracts are currently being printed in 45 languages. Here is a short story that depicts a life touched by GLOW:
Not An End In Itself
Although organization is important, we must be careful not to allow it to become an end in itself. The purpose of order and organization is to accomplish the church’s ultimate mission of proclaiming the three angels’ messages and heralding the Lord’s second coming. Everything we do has to be filtered through that perspective. Next month we will look at how the church works today and how you can become involved in bringing about change within your church. No church member should feel cut off or separated from church structure, feeling as if they have no voice. Nor should anyone feel intimidated by position. It is important to remember that all of us, at whatever level, live in a servant relationship to God’s church. n 1 Ellen G. White, Testimonies to Ministers (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1923), p. 24. 2 Ibid., pp. 24, 25. 3 Ibid., p. 26. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.
Ted N. C. Wilson is
CUBA: Maria’s parents were planning a trip to Cuba to visit family, so Maria prepared various gifts for them to take to her relatives. The Lord impressed her to include a GLOW tract for her aunt. Maria also wrote a letter to her aunt, in which she thanked her for all the good times she experienced at her house as a child. Sadly, her aunt’s son, Edgar, had died when he was only 3, so Maria explained that when Jesus comes again, He will return the young children who had died to their mothers. “I told her that I did not know how horrendous the pain is that comes from losing a child, but that it would be awesome to see Jesus doing that,” Maria said. “Since she is not a believer, I asked her whom she would want Jesus to give Edgar to. It would be an honor for me to receive him, I told her, but that I thought she would prefer to be the one.” The Spanish GLOW tract Maria included was titled ‘Is There Hope After Death?’ ” Maria’s mother later told Maria that her aunt had cried after reading the letter and tract. The aunt then made a decision to go to church. Stories are compiled by Pacific Union Conference, United States, GLOW director Nelson Ernst. To learn more about GLOW, go to sdaglow.org. To watch video GLOW testimonies, go to vimeo.com/user13970741.
president of the Seventhday Adventist Church.
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I m a g e
b y
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NAD NEWS By Pat Humphrey, Southwestern Union Conference
Health Leaders Collaborate to Bring
Health, Healing, and Wholeness 2014 Health Ministries Summit Held in Orlando, Florida
H
ealth professionals, local church health ministry leaders, lay members, pastors, and union and conference health ministry directors gathered January 24 through February 2 for the 2014 North American Division Health Ministries Summit, where they learned to become better equipped for engaging in effective health ministries. This year’s summit focused on comprehensive health ministries, which seeks to engage health professionals, health ministry leaders, and ministry leaders from a variety of disciplines to work collaboratively to bring health, healing, and wholeness to Adventist churches and their communities. “This year our focus was to launch comprehensive health ministry, a rebranding of medical missionary work that includes partnerships among all ministries of the church,” said Katia Reinert, director of health ministries for the North
American Division. “We want to encourage different ministries to work together to bring about a ministry that focuses on bringing wholeness for members and others,” Reinert added. The first weekend of the 10-day summit, in partnership with Loma Linda University, was aimed at health professionals and their role in comprehensive health ministries, both in their clinical practices and their local churches. Other unique features this year included the addition of several new tracks, including Adventist Community Services, an educator’s track, a pastor’s track, and a youth track. Maria McClean, who serves as director of health ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada, believes that the training provided at the NAD summits is invaluable. “I benefited tremendously from the seminars I attended at this year’s summit,” McClean said. “I do not see
myself functioning effectively in ministry without the training provided at these conferences. I left bursting with creative ways to enhance my ministry for the glory of God.” For the past several years an evening evangelistic program has been a key aspect of the NAD’s health summits. “The evening outreach to the community is critical to impact the city we are in,” said Reinert, “as well as to expose attendees to a live evangelistic event that models what they can emulate in their local communities.” John Bradshaw, speaker/director of the It Is Written television broadcast, gave six compelling presentations about how to thrive in a broken world, concluding on the closing night by sharing insights into his own personal journey in which his life took an unexpected turn when he was recently diagnosed with cancer. “By adopting simple steps, God has made it possible for people not only to survive in this challenging world, but to thrive,” Bradshaw said. “And ultimately, while there are never any guarantees that you’re going to experience optimum health, God’s preeminent concern is that we thrive spiritually, preparing to live with Him forever. Again, it’s the simple steps we take that ensure eternal life is ours.” A tradition at each summit is the Adventists InStep for Life (AISFL) awards ceremony, during which schools, churches, healthcare institutions, and Pathfinder clubs are awarded for their participation in Let’s Move Day and impacting their communities with the message of health and wholeness. “As churches begin building Continued on next page
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NAD NEWS connections and partnerships in the community, they can place the church in a better space to minister and truly show they want their communities to be whole,” says Reinert. A number of hospitals, union conferences, conferences, churches, and other institutions were awarded for their participation in the Adventist InStep for Life program during 2013. The five Pathfinder clubs that recorded the highest number of miles received awards of $1,000 each. The next North American Division health summit will be held in 2016 on the West Coast, in a location yet to be determined. Subsequent summits will be held every two years and will move to various locations around the NAD in order to make the event more accessible to people in different geographic locations. For more information about upcoming events, to view video recordings of this year’s plenary sessions, or for a list of winners in the AISFL awards program, visit nadhealthministries.org. n
By Dan Weber,
NAD
Strengthens Its Response
toLocal
Communities T
Special Days in North
America
Focus for May: Community Services May 3.................. Community Services Sabbath May 10................Youth Sabbath May 17................Single Adults Sabbath May 31................NAD Evangelism Offering For resources that pertain to these special days, visit AdventSource.org.
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North American Division
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
he North American Division (NAD) announced several changes within its humanitarian outreach efforts in the territory. It voted to combine the ministries of Adventist Community Services (ACS) and Hope for Humanity (HFH) into one organization, so as to better respond to the changing needs of the communities they represent. In December the NAD ACS board voted the following: Sung Kwon will serve as executive director of ACS, focusing on leadership development, transformational evangelism, and urban ministry. Working with Kwon will be Maitland DiPinto, who will serve as director of community engagement and development. His responsibilities will be to oversee community development, Hope for Humanity (formerly Ingathering), and the tutoring/ mentoring program. Sean Robinson joined ACS to serve
as director of disaster response and will be in charge of disaster response, crisis care/spiritual and emotional care, and Youth Empowered to Serve (YES). Robinson comes to ACS from the Texico Conference, where he served as ACS director. Wynelle Stevens was promoted from administrative assistant to assistant director of ACS, and will be working on elder care as well as internal management and operations. Joining her will be Kati Britton, who will serve as a communication assistant. Several other regional ACS leaders will play instrumental roles in the training and coordination of the many volunteers who are the backbone of the ACS network throughout the division. “God has blessed our journey in many ways, and I am looking forward to continually strengthening the ACS ministry with the new team members,” says Sung Kwon, ACS executive director. “I also express my deepest gratitude toward the NAD adminis-
JUST VOTED: Adventist Community Services (ACS) and Hope For Humanity have been reorganized under the leadership of Sung Kwon (left), executive director; Kati Britton, communication assistant; Maitland DiPinto, director of Community Engagement and Development; and Wynelle Stevens, assistant director of ACS. Sean Robinson (not pictured) is director of Disaster Response. NAD
C o m m u n i c at i o n
tration for its support of ACS ministry and desire to expand the scope of compassion ministries in NAD.� NAD ACS and its partner, ADRA Canada, respond to the local needs of communities in which help is needed in recovering from natural disasters, in training and educating new immigrants, in providing food and clothing assistance to those in financial trouble, and in serving as Christ’s hands here on earth. NAD ACS will also be looking at ways to expand its relationship with ADRA International as they respond to the needs and challenges that face the North American Division territory. More information about Adventist Community Services is available at communityservices.org. n
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N A D U P D AT E MARCH FOR COMPASSION: Hundreds of youth and young adults, primarily from the Atlantic Union Conference, but representing other parts of the country, gather after marching across the Brooklyn Bridge. The event concluded a weekend of “acts of compassion.”
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or me, a high point of 2013 was the day I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge surrounded by thousands of Seventh-day Adventist young adults calling for peace in the wake of several tragic shootings. These young adults converged on New York City from across North America. The march was the highlight of a weekend sponsored by the Greater New York Conference Adventist Community Services (ACS) and Atlantic Union Conference Youth Department, and included nearly 1,000 separate acts of kindness provided by Adventist young people to the people of New York City. The compassion movement was born from this event. Its purpose is to use the devotion and dedication of Adventist young adults to serve in community projects, and it has since spread to other cities. The One Year in Mission team played an important part in that first Compassion weekend. Composed of 13 young adults drawn from each of the world divisions and stationed in New York, the team became a catalyst for igniting the passion of young people across the city to engage in service in new and exciting ways. The Compassion March was a significant step for young people seeking to experience their faith in a personal way by touching the lives of others.
Going Nationwide
Events such as the Compassion weekend are happening all across
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Young Adults
Making a Difference Making “acts of kindness” a way of life By Sean Robinson, director of Disaster Response for Adventist Community Services North America as young adults lead out in acts of service in their communities. For seven years Ben Lundquist, young adult ministries director of the Arizona Conference, has been leading teens and young adults in extreme home builds. During camp meeting young people from across the conference take part in home or community renovations for families they have selected. Since the program began they have helped build homes, trailers, and even complete trailer parks, all to serve the vulnerable in the name of Jesus. Three years ago a group of young adults from four churches in New Mexico worked with other community groups to provide services to homeless veterans in Santa Fe. The Vet Mission Possible Stand-down, sponsored by Texico Conference ACS in partnership with the Veter-
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
ans Administration, provided basic services designed to help rehabilitate homeless veterans. The event was timed for October, just before winter set in. Young people helped provide food, warm clothes, a winter coat, and a sleeping bag for each participant. Representatives of various government departments and courts were also on hand to provide services and to help the homeless deal with any outstanding warrants that would prevent them from reintegrating back into society. An Active Movement
ACS Youth Empowered to Serve (YES) is designed to tap the potential of young adults in reaching out to their communities. Based on the ACS mission statement, “Serving Communities in Christ’s Name,” YES develops ministries of compassion led
P h o t o
b y
S e a n
R o b i n s o n
and conducted by young people. Rather than waiting for something to happen, or complaining, “I’m bored,” youth are taught how to put their Christianity into action by learning the needs of their communities, evaluating those needs to determine which have greatest priority, and developing plans for meeting those needs. A healthy church caters to all demographics. The ACS YES program seeks to involve young adults in ministry and encourage them to be active. Recent studies confirm what most of us already knew or suspected: young adults are leaving the church, often discouraged by what they see as hypocrisy, or unengaged in an active Christian experience. Part of the solution to reclaiming young people is
challenging them to experience Christ in their own lives by reaching out to others. Regardless of the size or location of your congregation, you can build a YES ministry in your church. Not only will lives in the community be touched, but so will the lives of those who serve. The result may just change your church forever. How to Start a YES Ministry
1. Be intentional. Create a contagious environment of spirituality and service. This should not be limited to one demographic, but should be the foundation on which the whole church operates. 2. Remember, this is a young-adultdriven ministry. Young people,
affirmed by the gray hairs in the church, have to be empowered to lead and serve. 3. Cooperate. Plan and develop the YES ministry by working with your conference ACS leadership, local church leaders, and, most important, your church’s young people. 4. Identify young people with leadership skills. Look for a strong reliance on God and a desire to serve Him. 5. Provide encouragement and feedback. Be willing to walk with young people as their ministry grows. As Christ discipled us, so we must be willing to disciple others. Young adults sometimes make mistakes, but keep loving and encouraging them. Make each challenge a learning opportunity. n
ALL YOUR MINISTRY NEEDS FROM
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NAD PERSPECTIVE
Mad at
I
By Daniel Weber
God
was mad—mad at God. He had taken something from me, and I was upset. How could He? In the early 1990s I was working as a freelance photographer in Sacramento, California. I specialized in editorial photography, and my biggest client was the Review and Herald Publishing Association. In 1995 I had worked on roughly 50 projects, and I enjoyed what I was doing. The Review wasn’t my highest-paying client, but it kept me busy. In some ways I felt that it was my way of supporting the mission of the church. I was involved in something I believed in without actually working for the church. I would never feel comfortable doing that; it wasn’t my cup of tea. Then in early 1996 I received a call from one of the designers at the Review telling me it wouldn’t be able to hire me anymore. The designer explained that new management had directed its art and design staff not to hire outside photographers. I was stunned. The more I reflected on the matter, the madder I became. I wasn’t mad at the Review and its management; I was mad at God. How could He allow this and take from me the one thing that allowed me to be involved with the church’s mission?
As the year progressed, my business suffered from the loss of income I had come to count on from the Review and its publications. God and I had some long conversations, and part of me wondered if I should keep working as a photographer. It was probably the most perplexing time of my professional career, and in many ways I blamed God. Late at night I would stay up and talk to Him about what I was called to do with my life. I was even more troubled when I felt no answer. By the end of 1996 I was ready to start over with a new career. I even applied to sell used cars. In January 1997 one of my clients called and asked me to take some pictures for a brochure they were working on. I agreed, and during the project the client asked if I would be interested in working for them on a part-time basis, with the possibility of becoming a full-time employee the next year. I quickly agreed to give it a try. I discovered that I enjoyed working with this company, and I hoped that a full-time job would eventually work out. At the end of 1997 I was made part of the staff. The company had several thousand
employees, with lots of potential for growth. I was learning new skills in marketing, corporate communications, and video production, areas I was interested in but had never had the chance to learn. I was energized by the work and fell in love with a new communication medium. In 2002 the General Conference asked me to be part of a team being put together to work on the church’s first news program. After much prayer and consideration, my wife and I decided to make the cross-country move. I reflected back on my professional career, and how I had come to work for the church. I thought about all the different projects I had worked on, and remembered the events of 1996 and how I had been mad at God. While I had been mad about something I had perceived as a roadblock, God was using it to take my career in a totally different direction. God had apparently decided that I had to make a change in my career so I could eventually become skilled enough to work for Him. I could clearly see events in my life that I had perceived as trials and tribulations were instead God’s clear leading. I found myself thanking God for His guidance and asking for the wisdom to never again question the things I perceived as troubles. God is good. God is in control. God has a plan for our lives, even when we are mad at Him. n
Daniel Weber is com-
munication director for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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We need to remember that the church is not a buffet table where one can pick and choose what suits the fancy at any given time.
NAD Letters On Target
I just had to let you know how much three recent articles in Adventist World were not only appreciated, but long overdue: Frauke Gyuroka’s “Radical Encounters,” the fundamental belief sidebar’s “Christian Behavior,” and Carla Baker’s “Facing the Challenge of Abuse in the Church.” All three articles are 100 percent biblical, and on target. Keep it up. There are things that need to be said, written, and heard. And while they may not sit well with many, that is exactly why they were and are needed! We have to remember that the church is not a buffet table where one can pick and choose what suits the fancy at any given time. Donna Baardsen Ludington, Michigan Dear Church
I really liked the feature “Dear Church: An Open Letter From Your Young People” that appeared on the lower half of pages 14, 15 of the February 2014 Adventist World (NAD Edition). I was about to send out a link to it, but it seemed familiar (as if I had read it before) so I “Googled” it and came across the original letter published in the national newsletter for the United Church of Christ (UCC), back in April/May of 2009. The article in the Adventist World is almost word for word from the UCC article with exceptions such as “Seventh-day Adventist” substituted wherever “United Church of Christ” appeared in the original. It’s possible that Kendra Purscell
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—Donna Baardsen, Ludington, Michigan and Kelly Forbush are now members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and simply rewrote this article for inclusion in the current Adventist World. If that is not the case, however, it would be appropriate to acknowledge the original article and the denomination that it was first addressed to. Hugo Mendez via e-mail The sidebar “Dear Church” that appeared with the NAD Update “Young Adult Life” (February 2014) was originally presented, as you mention, at a conference sponsored by the United Church of Christ. The wording that appears in this sidebar was adapted from that. We apologize for giving the impression that it originated with those who participated at the NAD year-end meetings.—Editors. Thank You: Then and Now
I appreciated Angel Manuel Rodríguez’s informative article “Time: Then and Now” (January 2014), in which he skillfully unmasks such erroneous beliefs as the “Wednesday crucifixion theory.” There are still cultures that use inclusive time reckoning. In Brazil if I am going to see you on the same day next week (like next Sabbath, for example), I will always say, “See you in eight days” (“Daqui a oito dias”). James Hoffer Ringgold, Georgia I just have to write and thank you for the monthly column in which Angel
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
Manuel Rodríguez answers Bible questions. I’m always amazed at the thoroughness with which he provides his answers and at how he consistently bases his answers on the Bible. I have to admit that many of the questions he addresses have never occurred to me, but they demonstrate the wide diversity represented by our church members around the world. I thank God for that diversity, and I thank God for Rodríguez. Estella Cruz Miami, Florida Heed the Warnings
I’m writing in regard to Claude Richli’s report “Montenegro Conference Examines Outreach to Postmoderns” (January 2014). I hope John Surridge’s recommendations aren’t “code” for encouraging world-conformity, syncretism, and obscene worship behaviors based on occult principles. The language used gives concern, because euphemisms are often employed in this area, by church members and leaders, for this purpose. Let’s pay attention to the warning given in Ted N. C. Wilson’s article in the same edition, entitled “Christ Is Our Message,” and refuse to be “swept away into the Ephesian sorceries of our time.” We need God’s presence and help. But He will never be a “minister of sin.” If we want Him with us, we must depart from unholiness and put away our sins, with His power. Ken Lemky British Columbia, Canada
W O R L D
H E A L T H
New Guidelines for
Hypertension By Peter N. Landless and Allan R. Handysides
The clinic nurse tells me that I have high blood pressure and should have treatment. I don’t recall the actual readings. I feel well and don’t want to take tablets the rest of my life. Is there another option? My mother was disabled by a stroke at the age of 60, and she also had high blood pressure.
T
his is a very important question. It’s vital that you understand the problem of high blood pressure (hypertension) in order to make the best choices regarding your health. Hypertension is known as the “silent killer.” This is because you may have raised blood pressure and not be aware of the problem. The first symptom—a stroke—may be very severe and disabling, which, sadly, happened with your mother. Your family history is worrying; we don’t know the exact cause of hypertension in most cases, but there’s good evidence to show that hypertension has a genetic component related to a number of genes. Additionally, so-called environmental factors play a part. These include smoking, alcohol, obesity, lack of exercise, and uncontrolled stress. You need to know your numbers! By this we mean that you should have a record of your blood pressure readings so you can document changes and be managed accordingly. The guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure have recently been revised. Blood pressure is measured with two readings, and 120/80 mm Hg (mercury) is regarded as normal. The upper reading corresponds with the pressure generated by the contraction of the heart as blood is pumped into the blood vessels and circulates around the body. The lower reading is the diastolic pressure and is main-
tained by the muscle activity in the smaller arterial blood vessels (arterioles). This represents the pressure in the vascular system when the heart is in the resting phase and being filled with blood for the next contraction. Persistently elevated blood pressure results in heart muscle strain and damage, as well as damage to the blood vessels and the kidneys. The blood vessels of the brain are commonly damaged, resulting in stroke (area or areas of brain death because of the uncontrolled hypertension). Even the largest blood vessel in the body, the aorta, may be damaged and perhaps rupture. This can be rapidly fatal. The diagnosis of hypertension is usually made on three blood pressure readings done on different occasions. This helps ensure that treatment is really needed. So, we urge you to return to the clinic to have your blood pressure rechecked and to begin needed treatment. Treatment has two aspects: lifestyle and medication. Lifestyle changes are foundational to the treatment of hypertension. These include regular exercise, weight loss to achieve ideal weight, dietary changes, and avoidance of tobacco and alcohol. It’s been scientifically proven that a diet rich in vegetables and fruit, and low in saturated fats and salt, helps to reduce blood pressure. Exercise should be initiated in consultation with your medical advisor to ensure that it’s safe
for you to engage in regular and increasing physical activity. There are several medications for hypertension, and the guidelines advise various steps in treatment. In individuals who have moderate hypertension, two or more medications may be required. It’s important to faithfully take the medication when needed. It’s also absolutely essential to implement the lifestyle changes. The goal: The new Joint National Committee (JNC 8) guidelines recommend that in patients over 60 years of age the goal is a treated blood pressure of less than 150/90. In patients between the ages of 30 and 59 it’s less than 140/90 mm Hg.* We advise everyone to engage in healthful lifestyle behaviors, even if they don’t have hypertension. If hypertension is present, lifestyle changes, regular monitoring, and medications where needed are essential to prevent the unwanted and often catastrophic consequences of uncontrolled hypertension. n * JAMA. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.284427. Published online December 18, 2013.
Peter N. Landless, a board-certified nuclear cardiologist, is director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department. Allan R. Handysides, a board-certified gynecologist, is a former director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department.
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D E V O T I O N A L
T
here are things in life we cannot fix—try as we might. There are moments we cannot get back. There are words we cannot delete or say differently. My wife, Chantal, and I had been married for a little more than a year when I decided to build my own desk for my office. Mind you, I did not actually have an office. We lived as married students in a one-room apartment at Helderberg College, South Africa, in a tiny living room (nearly filled with our bookshelves and some chairs) and one bedroom that fit our bed and my desk with a clunky computer sitting on top. While in school, I had never had the chance to learn carpentry, but I had made friends with the woodworking teacher at Helderberg High School. During summer break, he graciously took the time to initiate me into the mysteries of careful woodworking. We started from scratch—with raw planks that required cutting, planing, and finally, cutting to size. For two weeks I put in eight-hour days and enjoyed using my hands and learning new skills. It was late afternoon, and I had worked hard that particular day. I was about to finish a job that involved using a powerful electric bench planer. I was tired and did not concentrate— for a split second. My hand slipped off the plank, and two fingers hit the planer. Initially it didn’t hurt, but there was lots of blood. My brother and the woodworking teacher rushed me to the hospital. After the hand surgeon had cleaned everything and looked at the damage, I was told that he had to take off the remainder of the tip of my little finger on the left hand, including the nail bed and bone fragments. When I finally arrived home late that evening, it suddenly hit me: there are things in life we cannot fix.
The Healing Messiah
The last week of Jesus’ public ministry started with a bang. People were lining the roads leading to Jerusalem. Jesus, the healer from Galilee, was coming to town, riding on a donkey. Crowds were shouting “Hosanna”; palm branches and spread-out garments covered the road leading from the Mount of Olives into the city. Jesus was the “Son of David”; prophecy was being fulfilled before the very eyes of the people (cf. Zech. 9:9; Ps. 118:26). All of Jerusalem seemed to be up and about (Matt. 21:10). The disciples were giddy with anticipation. Finally, Jesus would claim His rightful place. Jesus moved purposefully toward the Temple. This was His Father’s house (Luke 2:49)—yet the din of shouting moneychangers, yelling merchants of Temple-approved sacrificial animals, and thousands of people haggling over the best price enveloped everything. The outer Temple
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And by His
Stripes We Are
Healed By Gerald A. Klingbeil
A R T
BY
J a m e s T i s s o t
court looked and smelled like a cattle yard. Everybody was absorbed in doing business; nobody anticipated the real Lamb entering the court. Suddenly all eyes turn toward Him. In a split second, unexpectedly, Jesus is not just the carpenter from Nazareth standing in the Temple court. “Divinity flashed through humanity, investing Christ with a dignity and glory He had never manifested before,” writes Ellen White.1 As He moves around the court, Jesus quotes Scripture (Isa. 56:7; Jer. 7:11), amplifying the prophetic voices of past generations. The house of prayer, turned into a den of thieves, is rapidly emptying (cf. Matt. 21:12, 13). Tables are overturned, coins spill all over the ground, and animals escape their pens. No one questions the authority of this Man. No one can stop the Son of God. I imagine, after the rush of stampeding feet, there was silence—then the sound of tentative steps. The curious note in Matthew 21:14 points us to Jesus’ true mission: “Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” The location of this dense one-verse miracle was most likely the court of the Gentiles. Jewish tradition prohibited any person with a disability from offering a sacrifice “before the Lord.” The texts of the Jewish community at Khirbet Qumran went even further and excluded those individuals from the congregation and the future messianic kingdom.2 Those who were lame, blind, or deaf were not allowed into the inner courts, because they would introduce impurities and imperfection into God’s realm. Jesus makes short work of this notion. His healing ministry invites all into His Father’s presence. He has time for the marginalized, the sick, the unworthy, the outsider—and the children (verse 16). By cleansing the Temple and healing the sick, He points beyond the stunning beauty and architecture of a building to its ultimate purpose. Sinners in need of forgiveness and restoration are redeemed by the sacrifice of the true Lamb of God. By His Stripes
Days later, the crowds shouting “Hosanna” have modulated their shouts to “crucify Him.” Three crosses dot the road leading to Jerusalem. The mighty Healer has died; most of His disciples have fled or stand distraught at the foot of the cross. Messiah rests in His grave. Hopeless, yet determined, some of the women following Jesus are on their way to the tomb. They don’t know it yet, but Jesus does not need the embalming spices they bring for Him. The empty tomb makes their hearts pound faster. Their hopes, their dreams, their expectations are reignited by angels announcing Jesus’ resurrection. Can you see them
running back to the city to tell their friends and families— the entire world? No more sacrificial Lego-style illustrations in the temple. The true Lamb of God has carried the burden of an entire world—and lives! We Are Healed
Suddenly texts such as Isaiah 53 make sense. “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; . . . and by His stripes we are healed” (verses 4, 5). The disciples, and those following in their footsteps throughout the ages, finally get it. The Healer was not just interested in restoring our eyesight, our hearing, our ability to walk, or our capacity to speak. No, He looked beyond the apparent problem and focused on the real problem. He took care of our sins—the ugly, dirty acts and thoughts and motives, both great and small. He took upon Himself our iniquities and “[justified] many” (verse 11)—all those who, first with trepidation, but then rushing into His wide-open arms, come as they are to be truly healed. Resurrection morning is a good reminder of Jesus’ healing ministry. My little finger on my left hand still lacks a nail, and sometimes when the weather changes, I feel some pain. While it is a great conversation starter with kids, it also reminds me of my need for true healing and restoration. Like those who were lame and blind and crippled, who rushed to Jesus after He had cleansed the Temple, I, too, keep running into His arms. My tangled sense of righteousness needs the constant reminder that His sacrifice is sufficient; that the Healer does not need my feeble attempts at self-medicated remedies. And, yes, while there are things in life we cannot fix, we know the One who can. His grace is bountiful; His forgiveness unconditional; His restoration complete. His call means surrender; His claims are absolute His victory is magnanimous— and changes everything. n
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn, 1898), p. 591. 2 D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), vol. 8, p. 442. 1
Gerald A. Klingbeil is an associate editor of Adventist World. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A., with his wife, Chantal, and their three daughters.
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F U N D A M E N T A L
B E L I E F S
Fundamental Belief Preamble By Lothar Wilhelm
Big-Picture Understanding the preamble of the Fundamentals Beliefs
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ear God and give glory to Him” (Rev. 14:7). The message of the three angels in Revelation begins with this crucial call. God’s glory is of central concern for all who are faithful to God during the time of the end. How do we glorify God? we may ask. Glorifying God should be reflected in all aspects of life, and should encompass our thinking, feeling, and doing. It is based on respect for the Word of God. Seventh-day Adventists express their special reverence for the Holy Scriptures in the preamble to the Fundamental Beliefs, with which they describe the biblical teachings that are of particular importance during the time of the end.
Scripture and Fundamental Beliefs
The introduction to the Fundamental Beliefs is particularly significant, as through it Adventists confess: The Bible alone is our rule (credo) for faith and life.1 Although the Bible contains teaching, its diversity of history and stories, laws and poetry, admonitions and promises cannot be condensed into one credo or dogma by which faith could be defined. Those who accept the whole Bible as the Word of God and as the only guideline for faith must therefore recognize the distinction between the Holy Scripture itself, its teachings, and the understanding of its teachings. The Holy Scripture as God’s Word is unchangeable. Yet even a comparison of different versions shows the bandwidth of meaning of different texts. Biblical truths are timeless. However, the circumstances and the thinking and behavior of people change with time. Biblical teachings can
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therefore meet the requirements of time having a different focus or a different level of importance. When God’s church is not focused on a single set of statements and uplifts the whole Bible as the standard of faith, there is room for necessary changes in the understanding of its teachings. Seventh-day Adventists affirm that the Holy Scriptures contain important teachings that can be understood, described, and affirmed by the church. How we understand these teachings is described in the articles of our Fundamental Beliefs. However, this does not exclude new insights for a specific time or more suitable formulations of doctrine with regard to the eternal biblical truths. Therefore, the text of the Fundamental Beliefs can be changed “when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God’s Holy Word.” Creeds and Adventist History
Church history illustrates numerous examples in which believers were obligated to follow a formulated creed. This credo was then made the standard of orthodoxy; in practical terms it often was set above Scripture. Those who did not agree with the credo could thus be excommunicated and condemned as heretics. Adventist pioneers knew their church history and rejected a fixed, written creed out of reverence for the Word of God. James White already wrote in 1847: “The Bible is a perfect, and complete revelation. It is our only rule of faith and practice.”2
There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed. As discussion over a formulated creed ensued in 1861 and thereafter in connection with the organization of the first General Conference, John N. Loughborough published his “Five Steps of Apostasy”: “The first step of apostasy is to get up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second is, to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And, fifth, to commence persecution against such.”3 When individual beliefs become the norm of faith, there is a danger that the truth of the Bible is limited; we may limit God’s Word and forget that we are called to search for present truth. This is why Ellen G. White wrote: “Do not carry your creed to the Bible, and read the Scriptures in the light of that creed. If you find that your opinions are opposed to a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord,’ or to any command or prohibition He has given, give heed to the Word of God rather than to the sayings of men. Let every controversy or dispute be settled by ‘It is written.’ ”4 She also wrote: “We must not think, ‘Well, we have all the truth, we understand the main pillars of our faith, and we may rest on this knowledge.’ The truth is an advancing truth, and we must walk in the increasing light.”5 “There is no excuse for anyone in taking the position that there is no more truth to be revealed, and that all our expositions of Scripture are without an error. The fact that certain doctrines have been held as truth for many years by our people, is not a proof that our ideas are infallible. Age will not make error into truth,
Preamble Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These beliefs, as set forth here, constitute the church’s understanding and expression of the teaching of Scripture. Revision of these statements may be expected at a General Conference session when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God’s Holy Word.
and truth can afford to be fair. No true doctrine will lose anything by close investigation.”6 Back to Scripture
The fact is that no single belief can be taken as a test for orthodoxy, though the whole of Scripture may give the Seventh-day Adventist Church an openness that can protect it against dogmatic rigidity and ideological narrowmindedness. This places a special responsibility on church leaders, pastors, and every individual believer, since discussions about necessary changes can threaten the unity in the church. Therefore, all believers are called to listen with a spirit of humility to the advice of the Spirit of Prophecy: “The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be our creed, the sole bond of union.”7 “We cannot then take a position that the unity of the church consists in viewing every text of Scripture in the very same shade of light. The church may pass resolution upon resolution to put down all disagreement of opinions, but we cannot force the mind and will, and thus root out disagreement. These resolutions may conceal the discord, but they cannot quench it and establish a perfect agreement. Nothing can perfect a perfect unity in the church but the spirit of Christlike forbearance. . . . The great truths of the Word of God are so clearly stated that none need make a mistake in understanding them. When you as individual members of the church love God supremely and your neighbor as yourself, then there will be no labored efforts to be in unity; there will be oneness in Christ.”8 n 1 Also in the latest version of the Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1996) this statement remains unchanged: “Seventh-day Adventists have no formal creed. . . . [They] consider the entire Bible to be their creed” (vol. 10, p. 418). 2 A Word to the Little Flock, p. 13, cited in ibid. 3 Protocol from the General Conference session on October 5, 1861, in Battle Creek. Report in the Review and Herald, Oct. 8, 1862. J. N. Loughborough expounded further on these points in 1907 in his book The Church, Its Organization, Order, and Discipline, particularly in chapter 15, “Submission Versus Creed, Power, and Force,” pp. 76, 77. 4 Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 2, p. 89. 5 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Mar. 25, 1890. 6 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Dec. 20, 1892. 7 Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Dec. 15, 1885. 8 E. G. White, Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: E. G. White Estate, 1993), vol. 15, p. 150.
Lothar Wilhelm is a retired pastor, former conference president, and union departmental director who lives with his wife, Erika, in Celle, Germany. For many years he chaired the church manual translation committee of the Inter-European Division. April 2014 | Adventist World - nad
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C OV E R S T O RY
By Claude Richli
FromHellto
Above: ON THE OLD CAMPUS: Some of the members of the study commission on the future of Mudende inspecting the old campus in 2004. From left to right: Prof. Mutuku Mutinga with the author, and Jozsef Szilvasi, rector. Above, Right: ENTIRE FAMILIES WIPED OUT: Dr. Jesse Tabaranza, a surgeon at Mugonero Hospital, and Pr. Josue Rusine, West Rwanda Field president, examine the names of families killed during the genocide.
“ ‘There are no devils left in hell,’ the missionary said. ‘They are all in Rwanda.’ ” This was the quote on the cover of Time magazine, May 16, 1994.1 I remember the shudder that went down my spine as I stared at this cover in the spring of that fateful year. Since my father and friends had served as missionaries at the Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) in Mudende, I couldn’t be indifferent to the plight of this beautiful country, tucked away in the mountains of central Africa. In fact, nobody with a
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Rwanda, 20 years later beating heart could, except perhaps the Western powers that hardly stirred as this country convulsed in a spasm of tribal hatred and destruction that left nearly 1 million people dead during the course of 100 bloody days known simply as “the genocide.” Exactly 10 years later, during the first week of April 2004, I traveled to Mudende in Rwanda as part of a delegation from the newly established East-Central Africa Division. We were charged with making recommendations about what to do with the now dilapidated campus. There I stood,
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amid what Time magazine called “the killing fields of Rwanda,” at what used to be a Seventh-day Adventist institution, in the science building where more than 1,000 people who had sought refuge were hacked to death by a frenzied mob. Thirty-two of our own students lost their lives. Situated on the eastern slope of the Virunga mountains, at about 7,000 feet, the place is almost always shrouded in mist. Now, to my eyes, it looked like it would forever struggle to dispel the images of the past. Indeed, the whole country seemed as if it had
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b y
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S e b a h a s h y i ,
AU C A
Above: LEFT IN RUINS: The old central academic block in Mudende, 2004. Left: A BRAND NEW CAMPUS: The central academic block of Adventist University of Central Africa near Kigali
not yet come to terms with the tragedy. A shroud of gloom appeared to hang everywhere. Fields were left untilled; black tree stumps stood as silent witnesses of lost forests; homes everywhere were in disrepair. Kigali, the country’s capital, seemed lethargic; traffic was nonexistent. More important, the naturally reserved Rwandans were still struggling with their grief, demoralized by unfathomable losses. Entire families had been wiped out. Would the country, would the church, so proud of its Mudende campus, come to terms with
the tragedy and move from hell to hope? Little did I realize that God had already put into place the actors who would be the architects for the rebirth of the church in Rwanda. Architects of Hope
They came from four continents. The first, whose character and determination had been tested as president of the Hungarian Union in the aftermath of the totalitarian Communist regime, heard God’s call in 2001 to come to Rwanda. Jozsef Szilvasi, along with his wife, Suzsana,
agreed to serve as AUCA’s vice chancellor. His office was then operating out of a small campus in Kigali called Gishushu. When Szilvasi arrived and saw the pathetic condition of the campus, he almost decided then and there to return home. The place did not look like a university campus, but rather like a primary school with no facilities whatsoever. The library was no bigger than the average-size living room in America. His office could barely accommodate a small desk, a bookshelf, and one chair for a visitor. Enrollment was only 320. In spite of numerous threats on his life, however, Szilvasi stayed—because he had a vision. In 2004, with part of the US$200,000 the church had obtained as a settlement for the damages caused to Mudende when it served as refugee camp for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees following the genocide, Szilvasi bought a beautiful property that the city of Kigali had made available on the hill of Masoro, just across from the international airport. But now what? That same year, God moved on the hearts of a young couple in the Philippines, Dominique and Angie Pagarigan.
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C OV E R S T O RY SOUND FINANCES: Angie Pagarigan, vice-rector for finance, restored financial soundness to AUCA.
BUILDING PROFESSIONAL: Dominique Pagarigan, AUCA architect, developed and implemented all the building plans.
BUILDING THE FUTURE: Abel Sebahasyi, rector of AUCA, during inspection of the construction site of Gishushu.
Dominique was an architect; Angie was chief financial officer of the Adventist Hospital of Manila. She accompanied her husband to AUCA to teach classes in accounting, while he drew up plans for what to build on the new property. They didn’t know it at the time, but they, together with Szilvasi, were to lay the groundwork for what turned out to be not just the rebirth of the university, but, in fact, of the entire church in Rwanda. The road, however, proved to be an extremely rocky one. The first major milestone? Deciding what to do with the Mudende campus. The Turning Point
On May 13, 2004, a historic meeting took place at the Novotel Hotel in
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Kigali. The East-Central Africa Division executive committee was holding its midyear meetings, and the most important item on the agenda was to receive the report of a study commission to determine the future of Mudende. Under the leadership of Mutuku Mutinga, a university professor from Kenya, it brought recommendations to accept the government’s offer to purchase the dilapidated campus, and with the proceeds to develop the campus on Masoro Hill. Opposition, however, was fierce. Many on the committee could remember the “glory days” of Mudende. They had been students or staff there themselves. Those who lost their lives had been their friends.
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How could they turn their backs on such an important part of their lives and the history of the church in Rwanda? The pleas to give Mudende another chance grew fervent, the tone passionate. Finally, Geoffrey Mbwana, then president of the division and chair of the committee,2 a man gifted with an even hand and a level head, asked that the arguments be summarized and called for a vote. Everybody waited with bated breath for the final count. The recommendations of the committee passed by just a few votes. The road was now open for a brandnew future. Brand-new Future
And what a future it is! I now visit a transformed Masoro Hill. The new vice chancellor, Abel Sebahashyi, a Rwandese who was part of the initial commission on the future of Mudende, welcomes me into his spacious office overlooking a beautifully landscaped campus dotted with buildings that make the church proud. They were designed and built P h o t o s
b y T . Tj e r a n s o n ,
NO R U C
GROWING RAPIDLY: The Galilaya Adventist church in Ruhengeri will seat more than 2,000 when finished.
by Pagarigan, the architect whose financing was meticulously managed by his wife, Angie. In 2006, Angie became the chief financial officer charged with restoring a sound financial foundation to a chaotic situation. As Sebahashyi put it: “For four years she had to practice ‘archaeology’: the books were completely unreliable, the accounting systems nonexistent, cash flow critical. But finally we were able to save money and build this beautiful campus, as well as a new campus in Gishushu, debt-free.” The “primary school” that stood there has been razed, replaced by a large building still under construction, with 24 classrooms able to host the booming IT and business administration departments. Enrollment has shot up from 320 to 3,200. New programs will be added to the Education and Theology departments, including software engineering, health sciences, mathematics, economics, geography, and one more—medicine. Building the Future of the Country
A few months ago Sebahashyi and deputy vice chancellor for academics Ndahayo Claver were summoned to the office of the country’s Minister of Education. After affirming them for their work and thanking them for the quality education the university provides to the country, the minister made a request on behalf of the government. He asked that AUCA make
More Than
By Claude Richli
1,000,000 Sabbathkeepers in Rwanda
It is 9:30 on this last Sabbath morning of January in Kigali, and the roads are practically empty, except for police officers here and there. My driver, Adventist pastor Karangwa Nephtal, has warned me that it would be difficult to make it to church without being stopped. And indeed, stopped we were. Three times in three miles, always with the same question: “Are you a Seventh-day Adventist?” “Yes.” “Show me your card.” Dutifully the pastor produced a card issued by the church, proving he is a Seventh-day Adventist. Had he not had it, he would have been detained on the roadside until 11:00 before being let go. Today is “Umuganda,” the national day of communal work. Once a month, the entire population must provide volunteer service on Saturday mornings to build social housing or schools, clean roads and public spaces, pick up trash, plant trees and shrubs, and otherwise improve the environment. Everything, except Adventist churches, is closed. Nobody, except for emergency services and Seventh-day Adventists, is allowed on the road. Seventh-day Adventists are expected to work on Sunday mornings instead. When the government introduced this program in 2006, the church was mandated to issue identity cards to its members. Within a month 980,000 people requested the card in Kigali alone, as well as hundreds of thousands more outside the capital city. Not all of them are listed on church membership rolls, but all claimed to be Sabbathkeepers. They may not all attend church, but they know about the Sabbath from having grown up in an Adventist family, and they refrain from working on that day. Today the church reports “only” 604,000 members in Rwanda. But we know at least twice that many claim to be Seventh-day Adventists. According to government statistics, 11.1 percent of the population of 12 million are Seventhday Adventist. That is more than 1.3 million Sabbathkeepers, making it one of the highest concentrations of Adventists anywhere in the world.
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C OV E R S T O RY
THE NEW RWANDA UNION MISSION HEADQUARTERS: under construction in Kigali.
plans to start the first medical school in Rwanda. The government would help by providing internships, scholarships, and access to other partners. Four million dollars still need to be raised, but plans are now underway to open the doors to a first cohort of 45 students in September 2015. Another Architect
“The rebirth of the university was the rebirth of the church,” says Hesron Byilingiro, a modest and unassuming individual in spite of being a highly qualified individual with impeccable academic credentials. A Rwandese native, he became a United States citizen after spending many years getting his education in the United States. He holds two master’s degrees (divinity and business administration) and a doctorate in ministry, all from
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Andrews University in Michigan. He could have had a brilliant future anywhere. Instead, unlike many other Africans, he and his wife, Anna, chose to return to their native country in 2003 for Hesron to serve as associate union treasurer. He spent the first two years setting up systems and procedures that would guarantee a healthy financial future for the church. In 2005, he became president of the Rwanda Union Mission. At the close of a sunny afternoon in Kigali, I stand with him on the rooftop of a nine-story building under construction, surrounded by embassies, just a block away from downtown Kigali. This will be the new administrative office for the church in Rwanda, most of it consisting of office space to be rented out to generate income for further development:
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THE FACES OF TOMORROW: Kids on the campus of the Adventist school in Ruhengeri can look forward to a bright future in a rebuilt country.
schools that will feed into the university; clinics to bring health to the population, church buildings. When Byilingiro discusses plans, this normally soft-spoken man becomes unusually animated. He talks about Gitarama, in the center of the country, where a new field office was built to achieve greater visibility. “But that was not enough,” he says. “We said, ‘Add a secondary school, so we can capture the minds of young people.’ So now we have 24 classrooms completed.” They also have two dormitories that can host up to 800 children. “We want to have the kids acquainted with our doctrine and mission,” Byilingiro explains. “Then, there is land, which was supposed to be sold. So, we jumped in to buy that land. I talked to the mayor [and told him] that the university is going to use that land for an extension of AUCA. “Pagarigan has already drawn up the master plan. So the moment we have that branch of the university— the secondary school and the headquarters of the mission—I am sure
the presence of the church in that city is going to be strong.” On a tour of the country, Byilingiro shows me the new nursing school next to the Adventist hospital in Mugonero, ready for occupancy as soon as the government certifies it. In Gisenyi, near the border to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he shows me the new field office, as well as a large secondary school. It’s a wellsituated property bought with the help of a lay member and complete with a warehouse that had formerly been rented by a congregation of another denomination. When its members learned that the Adventists had bought it, some became upset; others asked to be shown what our church teaches. At the end of an evangelistic campaign held on the premises, 140 people asked to be baptized and joined the church. We now have a flourishing congregation there. In Ruhengeri, we stop to visit the Galilaya church, organized just a year ago. It has 324 members, but plans for 2,000 within a few years. Construction
of a new building is well advanced. Another two churches with a seating capacity of 2,000 or more are under construction in the same town. A school for 1,400 students is receiving finishing touches. Gérard Karasira, a graduate of AUCA and now president of the North Rwanda Field, receives me and shows me the new field office. It is a modern three-story building with ample offices, complete with its own server and SunPlus accounting system connected with the union and the General Conference. In April 2014 it will be exactly 20 years since the genocide, and what a contrast! Back then, hatred had nearly destroyed the country. Today the country is booming, and the church is too. Its people have learned to forgive one another and to work together. Corruption has been diminished, law and order restored, discipline rebuilt.3 The country actually works. It is rapidly becoming a role model in Africa. And within Rwanda, our church is becoming a source of inspiration, spiritual strength, and intellectual development. n 1 See also Nancy Gibbs, “Why? The Killing Fields of Rwanda,” Time, May 16, 1994; http://content.time.com/time/magazine/ article/0,9171,980750,00.html#ixzz2rUsszqKi. 2 Geoffrey Mbwana is now a general vice president of the General Conference in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. He has exercised this function since 2010. 3 See sidebar.
Claude Richli is
associate publisher of Adventist World.
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By Claudio and Pamela Consuegra
Single in the Making sure singles feel that they are part of the family t h i n k S t o c k
p h o t o
N A D F E AT U R E
F
or the first time in our professional career and marriage we found ourselves “shopping” for a home church. All the years spent as church pastor, conference departmental director, and as conference administrator, we were members of a church or leaders of that congregation. But when we moved to our current job, we had to look for a church that we could attend when not traveling to fulfill our work obligations. We visited several churches and were able to observe an interesting dynamic. While we were greeted warmly at the door of almost all of them, very few people spoke to us during the entire morning, and fewer still afterward. The good thing is that we could go home together and have each other’s company. At the same time, we talked about what it would be like if we were unmarried, if we had been ignored or overlooked for the most part, and then had to return alone to an empty house. As family ministries directors for the North American Division, we are also responsible for Adventist Single Adult Ministries (ASAM). We have talked to many unmarried people, part of the ASAM network, and asked them to share with us their experiences: the challenges they face; the joys and disappointments they experience; the opportunities they have; the fears and frustrations they encounter—particularly as Seventh-day Adventists. In this article we share some of their responses, which fall into three general categories.
The Good
One single adult shared that one of the positive things about not being married is that he has more freedom to decide to do things on the spur of the moment, without having to take anyone else into account. He also added that unmarried persons can go home and relax without anyone
Church asking them to do things or making demands on their time. Perhaps this is what Paul was suggesting when he wrote: “I want you to live as free of complications as possible. When you’re unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your
attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God” (1 Cor. 7:32-34, Message).1 Another single adult shared that having time for herself provided opportunities to study for a graduate degree. She confessed that if she had been married she might not have been motivated to do so. She also told of how she spent time overseas as a missionary, once on very little notice, simply because the need was there and she felt God calling her. In addition, she shared that she has had plenty of time to think, pray, and read, which she loves because she considers herself an introvert. What defines a person in the church? Is it their marital status? A single person shared, “It is following Jesus with all my heart that defines me. If singleness is part of that, or if marriage or family is part of that, it is still simply a part; the true focus is Jesus.” Several unmarried people revealed that they have come to realize the most important thing in life is not to have a spouse but to have a strong connection with Jesus. In the words of an active single disciple of Jesus, “I am interested to see, but content to wait, for whatever God may have planned for my future—with full assurance that either way I will receive my crown of life!” Many singles who have devoted their lives entirely to Christ tell us that the ultimate goal of their lives, as it should be for those who are married, is to be like Jesus. That is why God gave spiritual gifts to His church, “until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard” (Eph. 4:13, GW).2 As another single adult explained, “Even though I would like to be married at some point, more than anything I want Jesus. If following Him means I stay single, then I wouldn’t have it any other way. But if this path He is leading me on takes me to marriage, that’s good too. I have learned that marriage is not the destination—Jesus is! That helps me to be content and gives me purpose, even when others do not always understand.” The Hard
It’s probably a given that most singles would like to find a spouse. At the same time some have either been hurt by a bad relationship in the past or just have not found the right person yet. Single women expressed their frustration that there do not seem to be enough eligible men in the church from which to choose. While statistics show “that there are 4 million more males who have never been married than there are never-been-married females,” many single Christian women resonate with a post in which a single woman April 2014 | Adventist World - nad
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bemoans the fact that “our churches and Christian circles are full of women and horribly void of single, eligible men. No matter where I go—Bible studies, church, singles groups—it is 90 percent female.”3 In fact, there may be more never-married men in the United States than women, but they don’t seem to be making it to church. There’s no doubt that those who are not married face challenges that many people do not understand. They want to be viewed and treated as being part of the general church family. Often singles are treated as incomplete, as if there’s something wrong with them, and therefore they have to be “fixed.” Some church members see them as a “mission project” to be fulfilled by getting them married. A single adult wrote, “I love the fact that church is familyoriented, but unless you are invited to be part of it, it’s sometimes really hard to find your place. To families, or even older couples who have grown children, I think most of us would appreciate being ‘adopted,’ especially if we are new to the church or the area. But please don’t do it for the underlying purpose of trying to match us up with someone. Then it becomes about our status again, and we’d really just like to be known and appreciated as normal people.” Two single adult writers share: “To me, the church has always seemed aimed at families. I’ve sometimes had to force myself to continue attending by not thinking of myself as a single person, but as just a person in need of connection with God and community. Sitting in church by myself, or being the only single person at a women’s gathering, isn’t easy. But I continue to do so in hopes of making connections.”4 Other singles express their frustration that married people look down upon them as inferior. Many times singles feel as if they aren’t valued or noticed unless they do “work” in the church. One single mentioned that she has often been told single people have all the time in the world because they do not have families or children. She said, “The fact that there is no one in my house who assists me with my errands and does the things that a spouse may do means inexorably that I have to do them, and therefore do not have the time people assume I have because I am single.” Probably the most often voiced complaint of singles is their feelings of loneliness. One of them wrote, “I find that getting up on Sunday morning is the hardest for me. That is the day that I do my chores and most likely won’t see any other people. Also, going home after church is difficult. I go to church as much for the fellowship as for the spiritual blessing.” This is a particularly difficult challenge for the newly divorced or recently widowed people. Their former friends don’t know how to deal with their new situation, so they often leave them alone. Some divorced individuals have
Single, but
Not Alone
Although we often think of the Adventist Church in terms of families, singles make up a significant portion of church membership in North America, as well as in most countries of the world. Adventist Single Adult Ministries Day is May 17, 2014. Check out these resources as you consider how you as an individual, and your congregation, can make sure singles are involved in the life of the church: Adventist Single Adult Ministries: A Training Program for Local Churches; www.adventsource.org/as30/storeproductDetails.aspx?ID=36729. Jeffrey Brown, Single and Gifted: Making the Most of Your Singleness (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 2001). Christine Colón and Bonnie Field, Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today’s Church (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2009). Dennis Franck, Reaching Single Adults: An Essential Guide for Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007). www.adventistsingleadultministries.org www.facebook.com/ASAMNAD
had leadership positions such as Sabbath school teacher taken away from them. One of the most challenging subgroups among the unmarried are single parents, who have most of the responsibilities of a married couple, but with half or less of the income and no partner to support them. They bear the responsibility of providing training and support for children, and in many cases they have to deal with a less-thanideal relationship with a former spouse, or a person to whom they were never married. April 2014 | Adventist World - nad
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Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide Companion Book 2nd Quarter 2014
Some ignore it. Some obsess over it. Do we have the right emphasis on the law in our lives? Laying Down the Law Keith Augustus Burton, Ph.D.
In Laying Down the Law Keith Augustus Burton explores the law of God through the perspective of Jesus Christ. With each chapter he reveals the role of the law in our salvation, clarifies common misunderstandings, and describes how the law relates to grace. Through Bible verses, personal stories, and insights into the culture of biblical times, you’ll discover what the law reveals about God’s character and His loving plan for us. 978-0-8280-2746-5. US$13.99 Prices and availability subject to change. Canadian prices higher.
AdventistBookCenter.com | 800.765.6955
Keith Augustus Burton, Ph.D. Center for Adventist-Muslim Relations Oakwood University
Review&Herald® Spread the Word
Those who are not married face challenges that many people do not understand. i S t o c k
The Ugly
As if the challenges of loneliness or being looked down on were not enough, many singles have to deal with the thoughtless comments and actions of other people, many of them members of the church they attend; or when people stereotype them as career-driven or anti-marriage. Sometimes people seem to think that a single person has a lot of money to spend, and therefore expect more from them than from the married. The reality is that it is common for singles to have less money than those who are married. One single expressed a painful concern when she wrote, “I have noticed that some married people feel they shouldn’t interact with single people because of something unspoken, that some are afraid the single person will have an affair and break up marriages. I know that happens, and I am sorry. However, somehow the church needs to have general friendship times with mixed groups.” The Challenge
Some singles have very strong family ties and are really doing fine, but many singles could use extra friendship and support. Singles enjoy mixed activities with married people, as well as activities with other singles. Many times single people wonder if they will have someone to sit with in church, or if they will have to sit alone. Singles sometimes wonder if they will have something to do with other people on Sabbath afternoon, or go home by themselves, again. What can local Adventist churches do to minister to the singles within their congregations? One single adult suggested that they have church potluck every week, or very frequently, and that the church organize social activities while at the same time providing for singles groups. Most important, single adults in general plead for church members, married or unmarried, to respect singles and not treat them as an anomaly of nature. Interestingly, some statistics say that almost half of the
p h o t o
church is single.5 If you look at the attendance in many local Adventist churches, you see mostly married people. It seems as if a lot of single people just don’t attend church. In his book Reaching Single Adults Dennis Franck, who has been working in single adult ministries for more than 20 years, reminds us that “the current number of 82 million unmarried adults in the U.S. age 18 and older represents more people than the population of most countries in the world. Imagine a country of 82 million people with no missionary. It would be out of the question! . . . This existing number of single adults represents a huge mission field that is largely untapped in most denominations.” This tells us that there is a huge opportunity for evangelism among singles in our communities. Our challenge as church members is to look at the unmarried people in our church as brothers and sisters and surround them with our love and support. We can make them our mission field, not with the purpose of getting them married, but rather with the goal of helping them grow into the image of Jesus Christ and be His disciples, a goal we should all have. We must be to them, as a church, the family they need, the family God calls us to be. n 1 Texts credited to Message are from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 2 Scripture quotations credited to GW are taken from God’s Word. Copyright 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. All rights reserved. 3 christianpost.com/news/pew-for-one-how-is-the-church-responding-to-growing-number-ofsingles-70586/. 4 Christine Colón and Bonnie Field, Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today’s Church (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2009), p. 13. 5 Dennis Franck, Reaching Single Adults: An Essential Guide for Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007), p 43.
Claudio and Pamela Consuegra are directors
of family and single adult ministries for the North American Division.
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D I S C O V E R I N G
T H E
S P I R I T
T
he recent publication of The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia represents approximately 13 years of dreaming, planning, and work. It is on track to become one of the most useful resources about Ellen White and Adventist history and theology.
O F
P R O P H E C Y
founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a global religious movement that now claims nearly 20 million adult adherents. Despite this, she remains largely unknown to the general public. Knight envisioned this book as the standard reference work regarding Ellen White, written for an audience that would include scholars, students, laypeople, and the general public. He imagined it as organized in two major sections: general articles and alphabetical entries, featuring signed
The
he had too many books on his list to write or edit. In prioritizing those titles, Knight acknowledged that The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia would be primarily an edited volume with much of the work delegated to others. In November 2000 Knight asked if we would be willing to coedit the proposed encyclopedia. Knight offered to stay on as a consulting editor, but would turn over to us the editorial responsibilities of choosing and contracting a publisher, recruiting the authors, editing the articles,
By Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon
Ellen G. White
ncyclope EA new resource for the
Brief History of the Project
George Knight started the project in the late 1990s. At the time, Knight was a professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary of Andrews University. He came across an advertisement for the C. S. Lewis Encyclopedia and imagined preparing a similar work about Ellen White, a remarkable woman of the nineteenth century. Despite thousands of pages published by and about her, there was no comprehensive source to which a new reader could turn for easy access to specific information. Ellen White was a prolific writer, successful health reformer, and co-
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and peer-reviewed articles with bibliographies written—when possible— by specialists in the various topics. Also important: that the language used would be accessible to a general audience. Skimming the indices and tables of contents in existing works on White and Adventist history, Knight began a tentative list of articles needed. He promoted the idea to the Review and Herald Publishing Association (RHPA) and set about securing the cooperation of the Ellen G. White Estate. This was where the project stood in the fall of 2000. As Knight began to plan for retirement, he realized that
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
This particular volume has not only been written by experts in the field, it’s also been reviewed several times by those with differing perspectives. . . . A balanced view of Ellen White’s counsel is achieved. It took 14 years and involved nearly 200 experts who wrote some 1,300 short articles and seven major articles. —George Knight, RHPA brochure
and seeing the project through to completion. We readily agreed to take on this project, not realizing how much work it would be, and how long it would take. From the beginning, the purpose of this book was to provide an easyto-use standard reference that is readily comprehensible to a person without previous knowledge of the subject, yet informative enough to be useful to a specialist. Written by some 180 contributing authors from around the world, the encyclopedia not only provides a concise yet comprehensive guide to the abundant resources already published about Ellen White, but also presents a considerable amount of new research. Both new and longtime readers will find reliable information, often presented from fresh new perspectives. To ensure the accuracy of the data presented, the entire manuscript was reviewed and critiqued by reputable scholars, further revised by the editors, and finally re-edited by editors at the RHPA. A work of this magnitude could not have been accomplished without the support and help of many people. This project is the result of the cooperation of numerous authors, editorial and secretarial staff, graduate assistants at Andrews University, and colleagues at various research centers, including the Center for Adventist Research at Andrews University, as well as the Ellen G. White Estate and the Office of Archives and Statistics at the General Conference headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The editorial staff at
dia
church
the RHPA contributed significantly to the encyclopedia through their expertise and encouragement during all the stages of this project. How to Use the Encyclopedia
The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia is organized into three major sections, easily distinguishable by the reader. The first section includes major introductory articles on Ellen White, including her life story, the major themes of her writings, principles of interpretation, research resources, her theology, and a bibliography of secondary sources. The first section is easily recognizable by the longer articles set in single-column format with endnotes. The second section is the biographical section, including people White interacted with, corresponded with, or wrote about. A few historical figures that were not her contemporaries, such as Martin Luther and John Calvin, are found in the topical portion with a segment on their theological relationship to White. Thumbing through the book, one can recognize the second section by its mostly short articles about individuals—and by many photographs inserted in the articles. The third section, the largest, contains articles on a great variety of topics, which vary in length from several thousand words to fewer than 100. Also arranged alphabetically and set in double-column format, this section includes entries on themes or doctrines of White, books she wrote, historical events and places, and institutions she was connected with. Each article in the biographical or topical sections is arranged alphabetically by a boldface heading. Within each article, references are given in parentheses, using standard abbreviations to the writings of Ellen White. Asterisks (*) identify topics or individuals on which there is a sepa-
Ellen White has been the most influential person in Adventist history, and yet there is a lot of misinformation about what she wrote and why she wrote it. . . . [This book is] for thinking people [who want to] gain a better understanding of her life and work. —George Knight, RHPA brochure
rate article in the encyclopedia. Some articles also contain “See also” crossreferences. Each article concludes with the name of the author. Unsigned articles are by the editors. The majority of the unsigned articles in the biographical section are by assistant editor Michael W. Campbell, assistant professor of historical/theological studies, at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies in the Philippines. Beyond providing ready access to a vast quantity of information about Ellen White, we hope that, by systematizing current knowledge, this work will stimulate a new wave of interest in and research about this influential religious leader and writer of the nineteenth century. n
Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon are professors of theology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.
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The
Adventist Story E a s t- C e n t r a l A f r i c a
Division
E l l e n
G .
W h i t e
E s tat e
The
By Geoffrey Mbwana
L. R. Conradi
Like a
Mustard Seed
Adventism in the East-Central Africa
T
he growth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the EastCentral Africa Division (ECD), which includes 11 countries of the Eastern and Central regions of Africa, illustrates the power of the gospel as expressed in Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed: “When it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade” (Mark 4:32). By the end of 2013, the church in ECD had grown to celebrate a baptized membership of more than 2.5 million, worshipping in more than 12,000 organized churches, led by more than 2,000 ordained and licensed ministers. The ratio of one pastor serving an average of 1,260 baptized members has encouraged church leaders to mobilize, train, and equip lay members for enthusiastic involvement in the mission of Jesus Christ. More than 500,000 students access Adventist education through its more
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than 2,000 schools, church-accredited and government-chartered universities. The public has received, with great appreciation, health and medical services offered by the church in its six hospitals and 130 rural clinics. An army of literature evangelists, more than 6,000 strong, distributes large volumes of health and religious literature in the region every year. Beginning the Work
In the rich African soil of traditional religion, with its emphasis on ancestral worship, spirits, and superstition, the seed of the gospel as taught by the Seventh-day Adventist Church was sown in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Early Adventists entered the continent from its four corners: north, west, south, and east. The eastern gate into this massive yet little known continent was through Tanganyika (today known as Tanzania). The Adventist Church in Germany was the strongest of European
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
Adventism in the nineteenth century. L. R. Conradi, its dynamic leader, initiated and sustained a strong “foreign” mission work in different parts of the world. Since the German Empire had acquired a colony in East Africa, German Adventists sent missionaries to what was known as German East Africa, which included the current countries of Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi. Conradi raised US$5,000 to send the first missionaries to East Africa. Individual members in Europe and the United States, as well as some church institutions, contributed to the fund. On October 22, 1902, Conradi lodged a request to the German government for permission to send missionaries to Tanganyika. First Missionaries
Abraham C. Enns, a gardener with ministerial preparation, and Johannes Ehlers, a printer working for the Adventist Church in Germany, were
Division appointed as the first missionaries. On October 22, 1903, the two boarded a steamboat bound for East Africa, leaving behind Ehlers’ wife, Rosa, and Enns’ fiancée. To save money, Enns and Ehlers traveled third class. The original intention was to reach and start mission work around Lake Victoria in north Tanganyika, hoping that lake travel would provide easy access to mission stations. But upon their arrival in Dar es Salaam on November 9, 1903, they were invited for dinner with the governor, who instructed them to go to northeastern Tanzania. On November 25 they sent a telegram to the church in Germany informing them that the first mission center was established on the southern part of the Pare Mountain ranges among the Wapare people. They settled in a beautiful valley they named Friedenstal (“valley of peace”). The new missionaries did much more than preach; they started schools
and clinics. The Adventist educational philosophy, emphasizing the importance of manual labor and industry for the education of the whole person, received lots of commendation from the government. In one of the schools, Kihurio, students cultivated and harvested 10,500 pounds of cotton and earned US$600 the following year. The governor visited the school and offered a gift of books worth US$150, stating in his letter: “I have noticed the efficiency and the progress of the mission school at Kihurio with satisfaction.” Not until April 4, 1908, were the first six male converts among the Wapare baptized. Ministerial workers and teachers were trained from among the new converts. As the work grew, foreign missionaries, accompanied by the Wapare people, went to regions around Lake Victoria, specifically in the Mwanza and Mara regions, and opened other mission centers, schools, and clinics. At the onset of the First and Second World Wars, the work of the church was seriously disrupted. Several German missionaries and converts were killed; others were drafted into the army. At the end of World War I, most of the German missionaries were imprisoned or forced to leave the country because the British had taken over the African colonies. The transition from German to British rule left the young institutions without foreign missionaries. However, African converts took it upon themselves to continue the work started by the outgoing missionaries. Of the 26 schools that were started by Germans in the Pare region, 15 schools continued to operate throughout the war. Campuses and buildings were maintained using individuals who had their training in those same schools.
In the Lake region, most of the campuses were destroyed during the war. Wapare converts who accompanied the foreign missionaries maintained the work by teaching and preaching without salaries, even though far from home. Local people appreciated them and their services. “The Wapare teachers who were left behind by the Germans during the war did a better and more thorough work than the German themselves. They loved and shared their clothes with us,” said one prominent government leader in Tanzania who received their services. Although the war ended in 1918, it was impossible to send missionaries back to Tanganyika for a long time. By 1922, the church in Tanganyika had 266 baptized members, 16 mission stations, six churches, and 43 schools enrolling 2,370 students. Although the church continued to face huge challenges during and after World War II, the work did not stop. By 1960, the church had started 176 schools in the northern parts of the country. As of December 2013 Tanzania enjoyed a baptized membership of more than 475,000, with schools, a university, 45 clinics, a hospital, and a larger, newer hospital under construction. Because of its rapid growth, the work in Tanzania has been organized into two administrative units: the Northern Tanzania Union Conference and the Southern Tanzania Union Mission. Truly the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. So let’s sow the gospel of Jesus Christ. n
Geoffrey Mbwana is a vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and a former president of the East-Central Africa Division.
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B I B L E
Q U E S T I O N S
Why does Paul say that sin came into the world through Adam, when Eve was the first one to sin?
A N S W E R E D
Who’s
Responsible?
Eve’s involvement in the entrance of sin into the world has been a matter of discussion since ancient times. Jewish literature tends to ignore her role, although in some cases she is blamed for the problem of sin. We also find the idea that Adam was responsible for her transgression, and hence accountable for the coming of sin. Today the most common explanation is that Adam stands in Paul’s theology as the representative of the human race, and, as such, what he did impacted all humans. I will examine some of the biblical evidence, the nature of Adam’s sin, and offer a suggestion for your consideration. 1. Adam and Eve: Eve is mentioned in only two passages in the New Testament: 2 Corinthians 11:3 and 1 Timothy 2:13, 14. Paul fears for the Corinthians that “as the serpent deceived [exapatao¯, “to lead someone to accept false ideas”] Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted [phzeiro¯, “ruin, corrupt”] from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3). The false teachers are like the serpent, and believers could be like Eve. They should not follow her example. Her sin consisted in being led astray from her commitment to God, and the result was inner corruption. Her sin was not inevitable; therefore she was accountable for it. In 1 Timothy 2:13, 14, Paul illustrates the danger of listening to false teachers by referring to the experience of Eve. When they were created, Adam was created first, then Eve. But it was Eve who was “deceived” (apatao¯, “to deceive” or “mislead”). Priority in creation is contrasted with priority in sinning in order to indicate that deception is not inevitable. Adam was not deceived; consequently, Eve did not have to sin. Therefore her deception, and that of the Ephesians, is inexcusable. 2. The Sin of Adam: In spite of the fact that the sin of Eve is affirmed, Paul claims that “sin” (hamartia) came into the world through Adam (Rom. 5:12). His sin is called an “offense” (verse 15; paraptoma, “wrongdoing”), because he ate from the fruit; and an act of “disobedience” (verse 19,
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parakoe¯, “unwillingness to listen”), because he violated a divine command. But the sin that came into the world is not the same as the sin committed by Adam. Paul personifies sin as an evil power that, as a result of the sin of Adam, entered the world to rule over it with deadly power (Rom. 6:12). Because of this, Paul uses Adam to designate the natural condition of the human race: In the fallen Adamic condition of the human race all will perish (1 Cor. 15:21), but in the new Adam all will find life. The contrast is significant: Life in Adam ends in death, while the death of Christ ends in life through the resurrection. The natural life, represented by that of Adam, will perish, while the lifegiving power of Christ brings a new life (verses 44-49). The evil that came into the world is opposed by Christ who came from heaven to defeat it. 3. Adam and Dominion: Paul’s ideas are based on Genesis 1:28 (cf. Rom. 6:16; 8:18-23). Here is my suggestion for your consideration: According to Genesis, God entrusted the dominion of the planet to both Adam and Eve. In order for sin to rule over the world it would have been necessary for both of them to surrender their dominion over it. The sin of Eve was not enough for dominion to be lost. As long as one of them remained faithful to the Lord, sin/evil would not have had dominion over the world. Even though Eve sinned first, it was only when Adam sinned that sin/evil came into the world and enslaved it. The results of Adam’s trespass were in a way more serious than those of Eve’s. Paul was right that sin as a ruling power came into the world through Adam. But thanks be to God for the New Adam, Christ Jesus, who liberates us from the enslaving power of sin (Rom. 6:8-11) and will finally liberate creation itself (Rom. 8:18-23). n
Angel Manuel Rodríguez served as director of the Biblical Research Institute prior to his retirement.
B I B L E
S T U D Y
P HOTO
BY
E n r i c o
C a cc i a
Laodicea’s
Only Hope By Mark A. Finley
T
he ancient city of Laodicea was located about 100 miles (c. 160 kilometers) from Ephesus on a well-traveled crossroads between north and south, east and west. The city was a great commercial, banking, educational, and medical center. When Cicero traveled in the area, he cashed his letters of credit at Laodicea. In A.D. 61 an earthquake devastated the city, and although Rome offered to help rebuild the ruined city, Laodicea’s independent, proud inhabitants refused. They wanted to rebuild it themselves. Laodicea was a wealthy, sophisticated city. In this atmosphere of money and materialism, Laodicean believers evidently became lukewarm. They did not give up their faith; they were just no longer passionate about it. They were not spiritually dead; they were spiritually asleep. The letter to the church at Laodicea is a heartfelt appeal for a renewed spiritual experience.
1 Read Revelation 3:14. What three titles of Jesus did the apostle John use to introduce the message to Laodicea? The three titles John used to introduce the message to Laodicea are significant. Laodicea is the last of the seven churches. Jesus is the “Amen,” with His final message to His church before He returns. He is the “faithful and true witness,” who knows the deepest secrets of our hearts but will never forsake us. He is faithful to us when we are unfaithful to Him. He is the “beginning of the creation of God.” This expression can be a little confusing. It does not mean Jesus was created first. The original word for “beginning” can be translated “the One who began, or the beginner of.” Jesus is the beginner of all creation. The all-powerful Christ of creation speaks to the Laodiceans, promising to work the miracle of re-creation and breathe into them spiritual life.
2 Read Revelation 3:15-17. What is Jesus’ spiritual diagnosis of Laodicea? They are not hot or cold, but lukewarm. What a fitting symbol of Laodicea! The city of Hierapolis was just six miles away, where hot mineral springs flowed through a system of aqueducts to Laodicea. By the time the water
arrived, it was lukewarm. The inhabitants of Laodicea had not rejected Jesus: they did not rebel against His teachings—they were just complacent and unconcerned.
3 How did the church at Laodicea view its spiritual condition? How was their view different from Jesus’? Read Revelation 3:17. Our perception of our own condition before God is sometimes different from reality. We may see ourselves as righteous and holy. But God, who looks at the heart, often sees something quite different.
4 How does the Bible describe human nature apart from the righteousness of Christ? Read Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10, 11, 23. 5 What is Jesus’ counsel to the church at Laodicea? Revelation 3:18. The believers claimed to be religious, but failed to understand the essence of true spirituality (John 9:39-41). According to Jesus’ own statements in Luke 4:18, He came to bring “sight to the blind.” The apostle Paul prayed that the Holy Spirit would give the church the “spirit of wisdom,” that the “eyes of your understanding” would be opened (Eph. 1:17, 18). Only the Holy Spirit can give us the spiritual discernment to understand our true condition before God and accept by faith His righteousness.
6 Read Revelation 3:19. Why did Jesus give this message of sharp rebuke to His people? 7 Read Revelation 3:20, 21. What does Jesus long to do, and what is His promise? Jesus longs to have intimate fellowship with us. In the beautiful symbolism of a Middle Eastern supper, Jesus pictures Himself as sitting around a table with us, sharing our conversation, listening to our inner longings, and encouraging our hearts. These special moments with Jesus are just too good to miss. Those who enter into this fellowship with Jesus now will have the joy of sitting with Him on His throne and rejoicing with Him throughout eternity. n April 2014 | Adventist World - nad
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IDEA E X C H AN G E Jesus focused on the ‘weightier matters of the law,’ such as justice, equality, mercy, inclusion, and love. —Keisha Welsh, Dagenham, London, England
Letters Australia’s Outreach
Thank you for the feature stories by Sandra Blackmer about the work the church is doing in Australia: “Service to Others Really Matters” and “Sharing Health and Hope” (February 2014). It’s gratifying to read how Adventists are focused on reaching one of the most secular societies in the world. I wonder why more of us aren’t taking deliberate, thoughtful steps toward reaching the people in our communities with practical programs that inform, assist, and inspire others. Maybe these articles will help us put down our excuses and pick up the talents God has given us for just such a purpose. Jan Smith H ermosa Beach, California, United States Radical Encounters
Regarding “Radical Encounters” (February 2014), I applaud Frauke
Prayerw
Gyuroka for having the courage to ask the critical question: “What makes our lifestyle Christian?” It follows a section that seems to indicate that what we eat and what we wear are the criteria by which that question can be answered. But as Gyuroka rightly points out, the real standard of the validity of our Christian experience is how much it makes us like Christ. Jesus had very little to say about diet and dress, except to chide the Pharisees for their preoccupation with them. Instead, Jesus focused on the “weightier matters of the law,” such as justice, equality, mercy, inclusion, and love. If His church today demonstrated more clearly those latter characteristics, maybe we’d have more credibility with people in our society. Keisha Welsh Dagenham, London, England Postmodern Outreach Idea
I read Claude Richi’s report “Montenegro Conference Examines Outreach to Postmoderns” (January 2014). I have an idea on how we can reach the European people. Many people here are thinking of doing good, eating healthfully, and helping to stop climate change. In every
newspaper one can read about “green” projects—health and the environment are big themes for the people here. How about bringing this into the church? If our preachers in Europe would bring such themes into church, people could be positively influenced to use, for example, public transportation. This is one way we could be authentic Christians helping the earth’s population. The second positive effect would be that Adventists could witness to the people they meet on the trains. Werner Prandstätter Austria Floyd Morris, Senate President, Jamaica
I am greatly inspired by the news feature on Floyd Morris (“Visually Impaired Adventist Is New Jamaican Senate Leader,” August 2013) who made history by being the first visually-impaired appointed president of the Jamaican Senate, parliament’s upper house. Many times in the annals of history God’s people are elected to sensitive positions in government. Joseph, son of Jacob, imprisoned for a crime he never committed, was appointed prime minister of Egypt and governor
PRAISE
Please pray for my deliverance. I am still so ashamed of certain things in my past. Pierre, Canada Pray for my marriage and my motherin-law. Also pray that I have a forgiving heart. Awino, Kenya
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We are having some very serious family issues. My wife hates Adventists, and it’s like we are fighting with demons in our house. Please pray for us! God will help. Dan, Norway
Adventist World - nad | April 2014
Please pray as we decide which route to take as we continue to care for our elderly mother. Ann, United States Please pray for my son and daughterin-law. Both believe it is OK to live in adultery. H. H., Austria
second to the king. Daniel the prophet served three terms in decades of good governance by his godly ethical values and excellent performance. Morris is in a unique position—his challenges are not a hindrance to governing. He inspires those who were born with similar disabilities, even those who are fortunate to have all in this life. This news feature strengthened my faith in the power and infinite love of our heavenly Father. Larry R. Valorozo Netherlands
Where in the
Is This? orld W
Beautiful Magazine
ANSWER: In Mugonero in western Rwanda. The Genocide Museum is on the right, offices for the West Rwanda Field on the left. The hospital and new nursing school are in the background.
Congratulations on such a beautiful magazine. We are encouraged by Adventist World; the magazine keeps us informed and inspires us. Surely the Holy Spirit uses it to increase our faith “that was once entrusted to the saints.” God bless you. Miguel Augusto Rivas Guayaquil, Ecuador Correction
Michael Sokupa, the author of “Missionary Trails” (February 2014), was misidentified in some language editions of Adventist World. His correct title is lecturer in New Testament and Church History and director of the Ellen G. White Estate at Helderberg College. We apologize for the error. —Editors Letters Policy: Please send to: letters@adventistworld.org. Letters must be clearly written, 100-word maximum. Include the name of the article and the date of publication with your letter. Also include your name, the town/city, state, and country from which you are writing. Letters will be edited for space and clarity. Not all letters submitted will be published.
I have a lifelong friend who may need a heart transplant. Please pray for healing, and for God to do what is best. Carol, United States Please pray that I pass my interview exams at my new school. Masereka, Uganda
Revived by His Word A Journey of Discovery Together Through the Bible God speaks to us through His Word. Join with other believers in more than 180 countries who are reading a chapter of the Bible each day. To download the daily Bible Reading Guide, visit RevivedbyHisWord.org, or sign up to receive the daily Bible chapter by e-mail. To join this initiative, start here: MAY 1, 2014 • Isaiah 66
Please pray that God will see me through the remaining years of medical school and also use me to serve humanity with His love and kindness in my future practice. Samuel, Sierra Leone
The Place of Prayer: Send prayer requests and praise (thanks for answered prayer) to prayer@adventistworld.org. Keep entries short and concise, 50-words or less. Items will be edited for space and clarity. Not all submissions will be printed. Please include your name and your country’s name. You may also fax requests to: 1-301-680-6638; or mail them to Adventist World, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A.
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IDEA E X C H AN G E
95 Years Ago
“Behold, I come quickly…” Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ, uniting Seventh-day Adventists everywhere in beliefs, mission, life, and hope.
On April 30, 1919, Instituto Industrial (Lima Training School) opened its doors in a small rented house in Miraflores, a suburb of Lima, the capital of Peru. H. B. Lundquist was the principal and only faculty member. When news broke about the opening of a training school, Agustín Alva and two of his cousins came from Contumazá, Cajamarca. These three, plus another young man from Laraos, an isolated town in the department of Lima, constituted the entire student body. Alva was the first student to graduate, and he subsequently entered the ministry. The members of the second (1928) and third (1930) graduating classes all became Seventh-day Adventist missionaries. Today the Union Adventist Educational Complex (Complejo Educativo Adventista Union) has three campuses, including a campus in Ñaña that includes Peruvian Union University and Peruvian Union Academy.
How They
Grow Giant kelp can grow a total of 24 inches per day. Bamboo can grow a total of 35 inches per day. Source: Smithsonian
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Adventist World
24
35
inches of growth per day
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 Publisher and Editor in Chief Bill Knott Associate Publisher Claude Richli International Publishing Manager Chun, Pyung Duk Publishing Board Ted N. C. Wilson, chair; Benjamin D. Schoun, vice chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Lisa Beardsley-Hardy; Daniel R. Jackson; Robert Lemon; Geoffrey Mbwana; G. T. Ng; Daisy Orion; Juan Prestol; Michael Ryan; Ella Simmons; Mark Thomas; Karnik Doukmetzian, legal advisor Adventist World Coordinating Committee Jairyong Lee, chair; Akeri Suzuki, Kenneth Osborn, Guimo Sung, Pyung Duk Chun, Suk Hee Han Editors based in Silver Spring, Maryland Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil (associate editors), Sandra Blackmer, Stephen Chavez, Wilona Karimabadi, Kimberly Luste Maran Editors based in Seoul, Korea Pyung Duk Chun, Jae Man Park, Hyo Jun Kim Online Editor Carlos Medley Operations Manager Merle Poirier Editor-at-large Mark A. Finley Senior Advisor E. Edward Zinke Financial Manager Rachel J. Child Editorial Assistant Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste Management Board Jairyong Lee, chair; Bill Knott, secretary; P. D. Chun, Karnik Doukmetzian, Suk Hee Han, Kenneth Osborn, Juan Prestol, Claude Richli, Akeri Suzuki, Ex-officio: Robert Lemon, G. T. Ng, Ted N. C. Wilson Art Direction and Design Jeff Dever, Brett Meliti Consultants Ted N. C. Wilson, Robert E. Lemon, G. T. Ng, Guillermo E. Biaggi, Lowell C. Cooper, Daniel R. Jackson, Geoffrey Mbwana, Armando Miranda, Pardon K. Mwansa, Michael L. Ryan, Blasious M. Ruguri, Benjamin D. Schoun, Ella S. Simmons, Alberto C. Gulfan, Jr., Erton Köhler, Jairyong Lee, Israel Leito, John Rathinaraj, Paul S. Ratsara, Barry Oliver, Bruno Vertallier, Gilbert Wari, Bertil A. Wiklander 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. Adventist World is published monthly and printed simultaneously in Korea, Brazil, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, Austria, and the United States. Vol. 10, No. 4
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