Inclusive. Worship. and Learning. Inclusive. Worship and Learning. Inclusive Worship and Learning HOW TO SERVE THOSE KIDS WHO ARE SOMETIMES

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1 November 10, 2011 AU Mourns Dean s Death An Angel s Gift From Health to Him Inclusive Worship and Learning Inclusive HOW TO SERVE Worship THOSE KIDS WHO ARE SOMETIMES and Learning HARD TO IGNORE HOW TO SERVE THOSE KIDS WHO ARE SOMETIMES HARD TO Inclusive IGNORE HOW TO SERVE THOSE KIDS WHO ARE SOMETIMES HARD TO IGNORE Worship and Learning

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3 Behold, I come quickly... Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ by presenting stories of His matchless love, news of His present workings, help for knowing Him better, and hope in His soon return COVER FEATURE 16 Inclusive Worship and Learning ADDISON HUDGINS Is everyone welcome in your church? Does everyone receive a blessing? ARTICLES 20 The Defense Rests DAVID MARSHALL An Old Testament story with timeless implications 24 From Health to Him VICKI GRIFFIN AND EVELYN KISSINGER Like many things, our health message is a wonderful tool if used properly. DEPARTMENTS 4 Letters 7 Page 7 8 World News & Perspectives 13 Give & Take 14 Introducing the Why 23 Searching the Obvious EDITORIALS 6 GERALD A. KLINGBEIL More Than a Good Idea 7 WILONA KARIMABADI What Is It Really Going to Be Like? ON THE COVER Some kids who come to our churches need a little more attention than others. 26 Senator Praises Day of Rest in New Book MARK A. KELLNER U.S. senator Joseph Lieberman doesn t downplay his faith. In fact, he wrote a book about it. 29 Time. Change. INGO SORKE Words matter. 28 Etc. 30 Reflections NEXT WEEK Their Church, or My Church? For immigrants, church is a place where everyone speaks the same language. What about their children? Publisher General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Executive Publisher Bill Knott, Associate Publisher Claude Richli, Publishing Board: Ted N. C. Wilson, chair; Benjamin D. Schoun, vice chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Lisa Beardsley; Daniel R. Jackson; Robert Lemon; Geoffrey Mbwana; G. T. Ng; Daisy Orion; Juan Prestol; Michael Ryan; Ella Simmons; Mark Thomas; Karnik Doukmetzian, legal adviser. Editor Bill Knott, Associate Editors Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Managing Editor Stephen Chavez, Online Editor Carlos Medley, Features Editor Sandra Blackmer, Young Adult Editor Kimberly Luste Maran, KidsView Editor Wilona Karimabadi, News Editor Mark A. Kellner, Technology Projects Coordinator Merle Poirier, Project Coordinator/Financial Manager Rachel Child, Editorial Assistants Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste, Alfredo Garcia- Marenko, Marketing Director Claude Richli, Editor-at-Large Mark A. Finley, Senior Advisor E. Edward Zinke, Design Bryan Gray, Desktop Technician Fred Wuerstlin, Ad Sales Sean Bellman, Subscriber Services Steve Hanson. To Writers: Writer s guidelines are available at the Adventist Review Web site: and click About the Review. For a printed copy, send a self-addressed envelope to: Writer s Guidelines, Adventist Review, Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD revieweditor@gc.adventist.org. Web site: Postmaster: Send address changes to Adventist Review, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD Unless otherwise noted, Bible texts in this issue are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are Thinkstock The Adventist Review (ISSN ), published since 1849, is the general paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is published by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is printed 36 times a year on the second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD Periodical postage paid at Hagerstown, MD Copyright 2011, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Vol. 188, No. 31 Subscriptions: Thirty-six issues of the weekly Adventist Review, US$36.95 plus US$28.50 postage outside North America. Single copy US$3.00. To order, send your name, address, and payment to Adventist Review subscription desk, Box 1119, Hagerstown, MD Orders can also be placed at Adventist Book Centers. Prices subject to change. Address changes: addresschanges@rhpa.org. OR call , or Subscription queries: shanson@rhpa.org. OR call , or November 10, 2011 (963) 3

4 inbox LETTERS FROM OUR READERS My Church Saved Me» I m writing in regard to the article My Church Saved Me (Sept. 15, 2011), by Emily Carlson. More articles addressing the issue of keeping young adults in the church are needed. Emily is right on in saying that the members must not only be truly interested in youth, but must show it again and again! I ve been an Adventist for 46 years and a pastor for more than 40. I ve noticed that the churches that had the highest ratio of young people were the ones who really cared about them, regardless of their age. Some of the activities that made a real difference were vibrant Sabbath school classes for every age, Pathfinder clubs, and church schools. There is no good reason a church should not have a school as long as there are at least two families with children. Every member can and should do something to help that school succeed! After having helped two new schools get started successfully in very small congregations, I can share specifics with those interested. Elementary church schools teach children about loving and serving Jesus. They encourage parents to send their children to academy. Students in academy are encouraged to go to an Adventist college or university. In college and university settings the majority of youth choose their life partners. These will get married and form Adventist families, hopefully returning to either the wife s or husband s friendly, helpful, and encouraging church family that helped them succeed! Will your church be that kind of church? ERTIS L. JOHNSON Elk City, Oklahoma» The Bible abounds in instruction for child training, including the parents responsibility for meeting the child s physical, spiritual, mental, moral, and social needs. Worldly psychology would have us believe that teenage rebellion is a normal rite of passage to adulthood. If that were true, then God planned it. He did not. The most important thing for our children to learn is what a grand Maker we have and the loving relationship He wants to have with us. That is learned through precept (Scripture, godly teaching, good reading, etc.) and example (Spirit-controlled modeling by parents and others). Knowing God is the foundation of self-respect, which is preventive medicine for rebellion, and also renders needless the drive for self-worth through false pleasures. This teaching is the foundation that should begin in the cradle and be well established by the age of accountability, traditionally age 12. If the foundation is weak or missing, the walls crumble. Our kids often enter the doors of our schools and churches still ignorant of some of the knowledge and discipline they should have learned at home. Surely our schools and churches are God-instigated and have a large responsibility in the developing maturity of our children, but home and parents are where this education should begin. Our prayer has to be that God will remove the selfcenteredness and selfishness from us (parents, teachers, church officials, role models) so we can do all in our power to influence our children to want to make the choice to spend eternity with our wonderful Creator. BETTY SCOTT Lebanon, Oregon It s an Investment» Thank you for Kimberly Luste Maran s editorial The Best and Brightest (Sept. 8, 2011). Now retired, I have been on the teaching end in Seventh-day Adventist Church schools for 32 years. Quite often through those years, we teachers experienced even public school teachers bringing their children to our schools. They wanted the kindness of the Christian teachers as well as the Adventist Christian curriculum. They also expressed that church school teachers took a real interest in the success of the student scholastically and socially, and felt that the students were better prepared for life as well as higher education. We were a three-way team parents, teachers, and the local church. Of course we invited the Holy Spirit to guide us every day. We always had prayer in the classroom; not only by the teacher, but also by the students. Many of my students have gone on into advanced studies with doctorates in different fields some of which they had to earn in non- Adventist universities. One example: after three years in a bilingual school and still hardly reading or speaking English, the father of one student asked me if I would take him in my sixth grade.... Before the end of the first semester the boy was getting straight A s. Years later he came running to me at camp meeting. He picked me up and said again and again, Thank you, thank you for making me learn English and being kind about it. He was attending Harvard Law School at the time. Yes, Adventist schools prepare our students for their needs in higher education as well as for daily living. We always taught that Jesus is their best friend and that He ever desires to help them if they will let Him. It is not a sacrifice to send 4 (964) November 10, 2011

5 our children to Adventist schools it is an investment. ORLETTA DEALY College Place, Washington Uncomfortable Questions» I salute and congratulate Gerald A. Klingbeil for addressing uncomfortable questions in his editorial (July 28, 2011). I have been waiting for the longest time to see if our church would say something about Hitler s extermination of millions of Jews during World War II. I recently laid my hands on a book that talked about the role of the Roman Catholic Church during this time. The Catholic Church remained silent during the atrocities committed by Hitler and his followers. When I brought this issue to a staunch Catholic colleague, he asked me in return, What did your church do? My answer was that we did very little and that we were not as influential and powerful as the Catholic Church. But no matter how small or how large a church may have been, when innocent people were being killed in gas chambers simply because they happened to be of a different race, no one should have remained silent. Sometimes it helps us to ask uncomfortable questions individually and corporately so that we will remain vigilant to incidents of this nature and prepare to speak against them. The Adventist Church should be at the forefront in taking a stand on some of these social and religious issues rather than remaining silent. Let the world know that we are not only known for a healthy diet and vegetarianism, but that we stand for peace, justice, and equality as well. Y. RATHAN RAJ Silver Spring, Maryland On Our Readers Minds We ve recently received a bevy of letters that don t correspond directly to a specific article we ve printed. Rather, these missives are on a wide variety of topics that apparently are on our readers minds and hearts. Here we share just a few. Editors.» I have difficulty with us having to learn from other denominations. We were given a prophet, which establishes us as a distinct denomination known as Sev- It is not a sacrifice to send our children to Adventist schools it is an investment. ORLETTA DEALY, College Place, Washington enth-day Adventists. So why do we have to learn from those not of our faith? What have they to offer us that we do not already know? Our birthplace is Matthew 24:14, Jesus gospel of His kingdom yet to come when the Father God creates His everlasting kingdom. No other religion teaches these truths. If we drop out of sight, who on earth will take our place? May we soon hear the loud voice of our warning messages to this soon-to-die world. NORMAN MEAGER Daniel Island, South Carolina» My husband and I have been readers of the Review for many years, as were our parents before us. We are thankful for the blessings we have received from the writings of many dedicated men and women. For some time one thing has disturbed me, and that is the cartoon that accompanies the Give & Take in each issue. I feel bad when I see it, thinking it would be better to have a real-life picture or a picture of something pleasing. Last week I noticed that a cartoon accompanied an article about Jesus and a young girl, which I felt was clearly inappropriate. Do you think anyone else has a problem with this? ELIZABETH STEEN Candler, North Carolina» After receiving a gift subscription to the Adventist Review for several years, I have been disturbed by the lack of any discussion about love. I realize that your primary concern is the human aspect of relationship with God, such as the church s ministry and member s personal behavior and experience, and turning attention to the divine aspect of that relationship may not be of primary interest to your magazine s purpose. I am interested in love as that which, giving freely, creates, sustains, and redeems us. I would like to read in your magazine an in-depth study of God is love as spoken of in 1 John 4:8, and enlightened by Paul s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. A serious look at the question of whether God s love is unconditional or conditionally predicated on the beloved would also be greatly appreciated. DON THOMANN Via We welcome your letters, noting, as always, that inclusion of a letter in this section does not imply that the ideas expressed are endorsed by either the editors of the Adventist Review or the General Conference. Short, specific, timely letters have the best chance at being published (please include your complete address and phone number even with messages). Letters will be edited for space and clarity only. Send correspondence to Letters to the Editor, Adventist Review, Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD ; Internet: letters@ adventistreview.org. November 10, 2011 (965) 5

6 Editorials Gerald A. Klingbeil While lives get changed in a moment worldviews need longer. More Than a Good Idea IT LOOKED A SAD SIGHT. A dilapidated and abandoned building; weeds growing through the cracked asphalt. Most of the windows were broken and the roof was sagging. Once it had been home to a bustling factory floor full of ideas, people, and machines that produced something. Now it was just history. The sight of industrial ruins is familiar especially during a recession that has forced many companies to close shop. These abandoned sites can be found in many cities. They are often located on the edge of town or in the town center, where no one wants to live anymore. In case you are wondering: this is not an editorial about the economy or the woes of Wall Street and Main Street. We get enough of that every day through all the media. Rather, it is about change (no, not the kind you can believe in ). People too can look and feel like abandoned buildings. Once productive now discarded. Once vibrant and ready to change the world now disillusioned and willing to just maintain the status quo. Once eager to try out something new now zealous to avoid rocking the boat. Call it old age, call it life experience our natural tendency is to do it how we always did it. It worked so let s not fix it! Saul, zealous, energetic, convicted persecutor of the new way, must have felt like that. He had been brought up knowing that his people were God s people. His theology came straight from the divinely inspired Word at least most of it. He had studied with the best professors of his time and yet he needed a radical change; he needed to retool; he needed a change of worldview. On his way to Damascus he met the Master personally one moment, a flash, a word, and he could not remain the same. However, it took years before he was ready for the big mission that God had in mind for him. He needed three years in Arabia and Damascus (Gal. 1:17, 18; cf. Acts 9:22, 23) of relearning what it was all about. While lives get changed in a moment worldviews (and theologies) need longer. Churches can also become venerated ruins. Not always literally, but they can become stale and perfunctory and semicomatose especially as time moves on and traditions begin to fossilize. Change, as seen in the story of the early Christian community and its interaction with firstcentury A.D. Judaism, is not always easy and can cost dearly. How do we as Seventh-day Adventists handle change? Are we willing to allow God to continually shape and mold and transform us individually and corporately? Are we ready to embrace change for the sake of the mission and the divine call? A little more than a year ago we heard the call to revival and reformation. I am sure you remember some of the articles in this and other magazines, the sermons that were preached, the sense of urgency in your own heart. What has become of revival and reformation in our lives? Has it turned into another major initiative that will soon be replaced by other (equally important) initiatives and programs, or has it connected at a deeper level the level that the newly renamed Paul experienced in Arabia? Revival and reformation is more than a good idea. It is the basic foundation of everything we are and do and dream to be. It reminds us of the need for deep-level change, not cover makeovers. It makes all the difference between a feel-good moment and glorious eternity. And it is the only way to effect a long-term change that will result in renewed productivity. Sometimes old dilapidated buildings can become renewed centers of activity and productivity. Worn-out people can be refreshed and transformed. A church on programs can become a church in mission. It s a longterm project that requires worldview-level changes and it s worth it because it is the only way to get the job done. 6 (966) November 10, 2011

7 What Is It Really Going to Be Like? FROM CHILDHOOD, MANY OF US MAY HAVE HAD OUR OWN PICTURES of what heaven would be like. Just to date myself, I ll tell you that my parents used to play a Heritage Singers kids album on eight-track that talked about the cute animals and heroic Bible characters we ll get to hang out with once inside the pearly gates. Sometimes informal discussions with friends about what heaven would include turned to food and all the amazing things we could pick and eat straight off the source. I even had a friend whose hatred of peaches inspired her to assert boldly that her section of heaven would never include peach trees. Of course, reunions with friends and loved ones ranks pretty high on the list of so many things to look forward to. But I think I m most excited about getting the answers to all my questions. As a journalist, the backstory behind everything means just as much to me as the story in front of my face. I imagine Jesus sitting with me and pulling up a high-def LCD screen that plays the movie of my life. And in it will be all the scenes that I never saw in the earth version of my epic. I will finally see where He was with me on any number of occasions, and I will understand why things happened the way they happened. That thought gives me so much peace. I don t need to know now, because I will someday. I will someday. And in that phrase lies my hope. Heaven will be the sight of all things unseen to us in this life. Worth the wait, don t you think? Wilona Karimabadi Listening In Ever find yourself in need ed of an Adventist presence? It s only a click away. On the Adventist Review Web site one can find 17 Adventist radio stations, each offering Christian music, family-friendly programming, and/or Bible teachings. Several offer languages other than English. It s easy. Go to the Web address below, scroll down and click on RADIO@ARONLINE, and make a selection. See e some of the stations listed below. Why not listen today? JAIMIE DUPLASS WSMC 90.5 FM classical and sacred music; National Public Radio programs (Tennessee) Hymns and Favorites traditional hymns; inspirational favorites from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s KARM 89.7 FM inspirational Christian music format (California) KTSY 89.5 FM inspirational Christian music format (Idaho) La Voz de La Esperanza all music and programming in the Spanish language Nuevo Tiempo biblical teaching; music in Spanish and Portuguese (Brazil) Praise 90.1 FM uplifting programs; Inspirational Soul (Alabama) WAUS 90.7 FM classical music (Michigan) WGTS 91.9 FM contemporary Christian music (Maryland)

8 World News & Perspectives WORLD CHURCH Variance for North American, Trans-European Division Constitutions Fails Annual Council Vote Spirited debate marks major discussion of women s roles in leadership By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor A REQUEST to allow commissioned ministers in the North American and Trans-European divisions those who have not been formally ordained as Seventh-day Adventist pastors to serve as conference presidents sparked more than six hours of debate October 11, 2011, during the world church s Annual Council. In the end the controversial measure was defeated by a written ballot vote of 167 to 117. The 50-vote margin defeating the NAD proposal also effectively ended the TED request, which would have permitted commissioned ministers to head church unions as well as conferences. Noting a need for experienced leadership within the North American Division s conferences, Dan Jackson, NAD president, said, We believe the position of a president of a conference should be open to treasurers, to finance officers, to secretaries who are not ordained, to those who carry a commissioned minister s credential, but are not on an ordination track, including women. Jackson added, This is not a request for women s ordination.... We are talking about governance and leadership. Bertil Wiklander, Trans-European Division president, voiced his division s request for a similar variance: We need your help to allow all our members in outreach. Opening doors for women in leadership would strengthen growth of the church in Europe, he said, noting the Adventist Church in the Trans- European Division faces an extraordinary mission challenge where people are extremely resistant to the gospel and joining a church is an exception rather than the norm in these countries. Ted N. C. Wilson, General Conference PHOTOS: ANSEL OLIVER/ADVENTIST NEWS NETWORK PRESIDENT S STATEMENT: General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson speaks against the request of the NAD to allow commissioned ministers to serve as conference presidents. NAD president Dan Jackson, left, and NAD secretary G. Alex Bryant, center, sit nearby. president, took the rare step of relinquishing the chair during the morning session to speak in opposition to the NAD proposal. My thoughts and convictions are just those, Wilson said in introducing his comments. They are not the collective decision of the General Conference s Executive Committee. Wilson said he objected to the proposal on several grounds: First, he said, the church is an ecclesiastical body, which is organized for the church. Leadership has been based, in the past, on trained leadership, on spiritual leadership. He said he wasn t suggesting commissioned ministers were not trained or not spiritual, but he did note a difference in those who are ordained: According to scriptural injunction and our own history, we have a particular mode that we have followed in terms of top spiritual leadership. Second, Wilson noted, since only ordained ministers can unite congregations and ordain local church elders and deacons, there was a question of a commissioned minister fulfilling all the tasks of a conference leader. Third, he said, whatever we vote will have some impact on the world church. We have taken the position in the past that ordination is recognized around the world. We are not here in the U.S. as the American Seventh-day Adventist Church; we are, rather, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in America, in Germany, in Congo, in Brazil, in the Philippines. Wim Altink, Netherlands Union Conference president, which is part of the Trans-European Division, noted the objections that many Adventist leaders from other parts of the world might 8 (968) November 10, 2011

9 have to the proposal. However, he pleaded for understanding: It is not that we from our division want to impose this to other divisions, he said. Have room and respect for certain fields in the world where this would be a great blessing. It will be a great impetus for mission in our fields. Uganda Union Mission director John B. D. Kakembo was among those voicing concern on that very point: He said he was troubled that when we say that if we don t do this, we will be seen as people who are discriminating. Baltic Union president Valdis Zilgalvis spoke in support of the variance: Women in the early Christian church were recognized as ministers, he said. In the fourth century, women were pushed away from ministry at the altar, and you know which church did that.... I agree the leader should be trained, but I don t see a difference between the genders. Paul Ratsara, president of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, urged caution in the process: This topic is a very sensitive one, he said. It is very hard for me to stand here when I think MIRANDA OPPOSES: GC vice president Armando Miranda addresses the chair at Annual Council regarding the North American Division s request to allow commissioned ministers to serve as conference presidents. JACKSON INTRODUCES MOTION: NAD president Dan Jackson introduces an agenda item that would allow North America to have a conference president who has been either ordained or commissioned. The world church s policy currently allows for only ordained ministers to serve as conference presidents. We need to celebrate and respect culture in the church, he said. of the request of my dear colleagues from this [North American] Division.... We need to agree on that first: is this negotiable, is this something we can say, You can do it, no problem? Retired General Conference president Jan Paulsen underlined the complexities in cultural approaches to leadership: If we say to the NAD, You may not go this way, please keep in mind, not only for this issue, but for other issues, what do we do with a situation that may develop that is in breech of what we decide. Some of you know very well in the name of democracy and in some Western settings, leaders may not have full control over a delegation that comes to a session, he said. I would be profoundly troubled, he added, if the church in one particular country found itself in a situation at variance with the church. Nepthali J. Manez, president of the North Philippine Union, opposed the measure, saying, If this is approved, I would encounter a lot of difficulties. If we grant this motion, at least from the way I assess my constituency, it would give me a lot of problems. He urged that delegates wait at least a year before moving forward. West African Union president James M. Golay also expressed his concerns, saying, The church is God s church. I don t want for the issue to divide us. Golay said he had read Scripture, but did not see it. It s not in the Church Manual or in the policy book. If this is going to be a new policy, we need to consult heavily. Perhaps the most impassioned advocate of the afternoon was Ella Smith Simmons, the first woman elected a general vice president of the Seventhday Adventist world church. Reflecting on one speaker s comment that the push for a variance was a form of salesmanship to lead toward women s ordination, Simmons said, I was not born into the Adventist Church, but the Adventist Church presented itself to me in a certain way. I hope I am not a victim of bait and switch. Responding to the comments of some African delegates who opposed the motion, she said she was deeply disturbed and concerned. Are your memories so short that you do not remember when you were oppressed in your own land? And that those who oppressed used the Bible to uphold this oppression? Simmons added, We talk about unity. What is this unity? I ve heard something described that is not unity, it is uniformity.... What we are describing is uniformity that is more akin to the bondage that grows out of mind control. November 10, 2011 (969) 9

10 World News & Perspectives Another world church vice president, Armando Miranda, opposed the measure, saying that while he had profound respect for the requests from TED and NAD, I have [a] concern that this issue will create more problems than solutions. After the vote and the failure of the NAD motion, Jackson reminded the council he still considered himself as a brother to all the delegates, regardless of how they voted. He appreciated the frank discussions that were held, he said. WORLD CHURCH Andrews University Mourns Death of Esperanza Alvarez-Muniz Students, faculty post tributes to beloved colleague By KERI SUAREZ, Andrews University AU PHOTO ASSISTANT DEAN: Esperanza Alvarez- Muniz, 41, an assistant dean of women at Andrews University, died October 14, 2011, in an automobile accident near the Adventist university. SIMMONS SUPPORTS: GC vice president Ella Simmons addresses the chair at Annual Council in support of NAD s request to allow commissioned ministers to serve as conference presidents. West- Central Africa Division president Gilbert Wari waits his turn to address the chair. The motion was defeated As Christians, unity does not mean that I cannot disagree. I can disagree with you, but still love you as my brother, Jackson said. Wiklander said, We understand that the decision is no to our request as well. We shall go home and pray. He added, My deepest concern is with the many, many young people in Europe who grow up in an egalitarian society of which many of you here have no idea what it is like where they are taught from their first hours that men and women are equal; it is very hard for them. We are losing many young people who feel that this is a matter of justice. AN AUTOMOBILE accident has claimed the life of Esperanza Alvarez- Muniz, 41, an assistant dean at Andrews University. The school community is in mourning. On Friday, October 14, around 4:30 p.m., Alvarez-Muniz was driving with her mother, Lidia Duran, to go pick grapes in the countryside. According to the police report, Alvarez-Muniz was driving east when the accident occurred at the intersection of Dean s Hill Road and M-140 in Berrien Center. A vehicle traveling south struck the driver s side of Alvarez-Muniz s car. Alvarez-Muniz died at the scene, police said. Her mother, Lidia, received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The other driver, a 49-year-old Berrien Center resident, was not injured. Alvarez-Muniz s husband, Paul, was in Maryland on a business trip at the time of the accident. After he and Alvarez-Muniz s family were notified, the university immediately released the information to the campus community. Moments after the announcement was sent, Campus Ministries chaplains shared the sad news with the hundreds of students attending Fusion, a campus worship service. Within seconds dozens of online tributes to Alvarez-Muniz and messages of comfort and support to Paul and her family were posted to an online message board ( for Alvarez-Muniz and flooded Facebook newsfeeds of those in the Andrews community. While a student at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Alvarez-Muniz worked as a student dean at Lamson Hall. In 2007 she graduated with a Master of Divinity degree, and went to teach in New York City. In 2008 Esperanza married Paul, whom she met while they were both seminary students. That same year she received an invitation to return to Lamson Hall as assistant dean of women. Jennifer Burrill, dean of women at Lamson Hall, described Alvarez- Muniz, or Espi as she was affectionately called, as a genuine, compassionate, resilient, strong, and courageous woman of God. Her faith was palpable. Alvarez-Muniz often went out of her way to do those little things to show she cared. A tribute posted by a Lamson Hall resident says, I didn t interact with Dean Muniz on a regular basis, but she was someone you could tell loved God very much, and loved taking care of His girls here in Lamson. Just last evening she was walking around [the] third floor writing messages on dry-erase boards hanging on some of the doors. I remember thinking, She must care for us. A gathering of support and prayer service was held October 16, in the Lamson Hall chapel, the school said. 10 (970) November 10, 2011

11 WORLD CHURCH Indianapolis Returns as Location for 2020 General Conference Session Thirty years after last hosting, Indiana s capital celebrates quality convention By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor THIRTY YEARS after its last stint at hosting a Seventh-day Adventist Church world business session, Indianapolis, capital of the state of Indiana, will welcome the sixty-first General Conference session in The Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts football team, and the Indianapolis Convention Center, will host the event. It s important to have groups that are quality people come into Indianapolis, declared Leonard Hoops, president and chief executive of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association. He led a delegation of Hoosiers, as the state s people are known, in making a presentation before delegates to the 2011 Annual Council at the movement s Silver Spring, Maryland, headquarters. Hoops, a Presbyterian, was born in Trinidad and said he has Seventh-day Adventist relatives, including an aunt who is a church member. I know enough about Adventists to be dangerous, he quipped. The convention is expected to bring approximately $45 million in revenue to Indianapolis, a 373-square-mile city with a 2011 metro area population of 1.7 million. It is the thirty-fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, according to the federal Office of Management and Budget. A similar team from Atlanta, Georgia, site of the 2010 GC session, also presented and asked for delegates for a repeat visit. Since 2005, General Conference sessions have been held in the United States, and making an American city the choice for 2020 raises the question of why. According to Sherri Clemmer, the PHOTOS: ANSEL OLIVER/ADVENTIST NEWS NETWORK COME TO INDY: Leonard Hoops, president and chief executive of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association, pitched his city as a venue for the 2020 General Conference session. world church s top meeting planner, several factors come into play. To have a successful GC session, she said, it s important to have a stadium staff that is fluent in English; a location where food safety can be assured; a nearby airport large enough to handle delegate travel; hotels close to the convention venue; and an enclosed stadium with seating for 70,000 adjacent to a convention center. Very few venues can meet all those requirements, Clemmer said, and they tend to be in the United States. Van Hurst, president of the Indiana Conference, was on stage with the con- November 10, 2011 (971) 11

12 World News & Perspectives vention bureau staff, holding one of a number of multilingual placards asking for a Return to Indiana. Hurst, who said he is excited about the session s return, prefaced the Indianapolis presentation with a prayer. For Hoops, divine intervention may well have been a factor: We have tried for the session in 2005, 2010, and 2015 this is the first time we got it. Indeed, the Circle City, as Indianapolis is also known, was a losing finalist for the 2015 selection, which was made at the 2006 Annual Council. CELEBRATION: Members of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association celebrate after being selected by the Seventh-day Adventist Church s Executive Committee to be hosts of the 2020 General Conference session. Their signs read Back to Indiana in several languages. WORLD CHURCH Philip Follett, Former General Conference Vice President, Passes Helped lay groundwork for TV ministry now called Hope Channel By MEGAN BRAUNER, Adventist News Network PHILIP STANLEY Follett, 79, a former vice president for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, died in his hometown of Collegedale, Tennessee, on October 7. He had battled cancer, family members said. As vice president from 1992 to 2000, Follett oversaw leadership development systems for the church s then 12 world divisions. Follett s daughter, Lorraine Ball, said her father had a gift for seeing the big picture that made him a sounding board for the many young people he mentored throughout his life. Born March 15, 1932, Follett served as a pastor and conference secretary in southern California from 1953 to He also served as president for the Ohio, Chesapeake, and Northern California conferences before he was elected president of the Atlantic Union Conference in Follett earned his undergraduate degree from La Sierra University, his master s degree from Andrews University, and was later awarded an honorary doctorate from PHOTO COURTESY GC ARCHIVES RETIRED LEADER PASSES: As a General Conference vice president Philip Follett helped develop leadership systems in the church s then 12 world administrative regions. He died October 7, 2011, at age 79. Atlantic Union College. Follett first hired Juan Prestol, now world church undertreasurer, as a union treasurer. Prestol remembers him as one of the best administrative leaders the church has had. Prestol said, Because of him, I m a better man, a better leader, and better Christian. Seventh-day Adventist world church president Ted N. C. Wilson remembers Follett as a great source of encouragement for church members. Wilson said Follett s untiring efforts for media development at a formative period some years ago greatly helped Hope Channel become what it is today. After his retirement Follett worked as president for LifeTalk Radio, located in Simi Valley, California, until 2008, and part-time in various capacities until His wife, Bernardine DeFehr Follett, preceded Follett in death in He is survived by two adult children, Lorraine Ball and David Follett; a sister, Barbara Connel; and two grandchildren. 12 (972) November 10, 2011

13 SOUND BITE The gift of forgiveness sets us free.... Keeping bitterness and resentment inside of you is like you drinking the poison and hoping the other person dies.... You cannot be born again if you insist on living in the past. PASTOR BRIAN MCMAHON IN A SERMON DELIVERED AT THE FLETCHER SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH IN NORTH CAROLINA. PHOTO At the 2010 General Conference session in Atlanta our son Elliott (not yet 2 years old) was fascinated with Hope Channel s mascot, Hopey. Near the end of the meetings he consented to have his picture taken with Hopey while safely in Grammie s arms. From then until now, he includes Hopey and the Hope Cannel (Channel) in nearly every prayer we pray. If Mommy, Daddy, or anyone else is responfor Hopey and the Hope Cannel, he is sure to sible for prayer and forgets to pray remind us and insist that we pray again. He proudly wears his Hope Channel nel pin to church each Sabbath. In these pictures are 23-month-old old Elliott and his grammie (Bobbie Millburn) with Hopey, and Elliott praying for Hopey and Hope Channel while sporting his Hopey pin. MARLENE COLBURN, LUMBERTON, MISSISSIPPI ADVENTIST LIFE Although mid-60s in age, our youthful-minded pastor relishes mountain biking. One such church event was scheduled for September 11. The pastor invited one young man, about half his age, to join the party. Without question the younger stated he couldn t because it was his wedding anniversary. Disaster? the pastor queried with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. Not really, the younger replied, but that is only half the issue. My wife was born on October 22. Neither date is a disaster or great disappointment, he assured! HERB PRITCHARD, OCALA, FLORIDA Following the August 23 earthquake that jarred the East Coast of the U.S., Hope Channel s Susan Marcellino returned to her task of restocking marketing materials in the storeroom in Silver Spring, Maryland. The first box she encountered was full of audio CDs by Hope Channel vice president Gary Gibbs. The presentation s title: How to Survive the Shaking. SCOTT M. STEWARD, FLORENCE, E OREGON TERRY CREWS November 10, 2011 (973) 13

14 Introducing the Why The Heart of the Matter SOMETIMES I WRITE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A PREACHER AT THE PULPIT; on other occasions I see myself as more of a storyteller. But today well, today is a little different. Picture this: I m sitting in your living room as we enjoy our favorite warm beverage. You invited me over because we re friends; and I accepted because I need to get some things off my chest. So I apologize in advance if I ramble, go off on a tangent, or fidget a little too much. Sitting here on the edge of your brown leather couch, I m just going to tell you what s on my mind and hope that in some small way you ll be able to relate. I have the privilege of leading the young adult Sabbath school at Hillcrest Adventist Church here in Bakersfield, California. Honestly, there are few things I enjoy more. From putting the lesson together each week to leading out on Sabbath, it s something I m privileged to be a part of, and hope to continue for a long time. One of the reasons I love leading the class is the impact it s had on my own life. Last quarter s lessons, which focused on worship, were no exception. Each week, using the quarterly, David Asscherick s commentary, and a host of other great resources, I prepared the lesson. Through it all I gained a better understanding of what it really means to worship God. Jimmy Phillips The Life I Live Toward the end of the quarter I was preparing for Sabbath when I stumbled across a passage in Jeremiah 7:9, 10 that profoundly impacted me, perhaps because God Himself was addressing His chosen children: Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name? I immediately began thinking about these words in the context of my own life. I do a lot of good things: I go to church, lead Sabbath school, and listen to Bible Answers Live in my car. But what occurred to me while reading Jeremiah 7 is that going to church and singing praise songs (or hymns) is not worship. It is merely an act of worship that means nothing unless it is reflected by my everyday life. I ve discovered that, simply put, true worship is found in how I treat my coworkers, what I do when no one is watching, and how I follow the convictions that God puts on my heart. Worship is not one act; it s reflected in all my actions. Worship is how I live my life. Nobody is more aware of this than the enemy. For as long as Satan has been attacking God s people, he s been deceiving us into thinking that the acts of worship matter more than the reasons for worship. Think about it in the context of our country: Although the United States has lost sight of its moral foundation, there s still a strong current of commercialized Christianity running through our purple mountains majesty. Megachurches grow at a record pace, citywide prayer breakfasts routinely sell out, and radiofriendly Christian music has never been so popular. Don t miss the point: I m not saying that any of these things are bad, only that they are too often viewed as an end, rather than the means to an end. The origin of true worship is not found in a church or a catchy chorus. Jesus said it Himself in Matthew 22:37: Worship love for God does not begin outside us, but within us; in each heart, soul, and mind. As earth s history draws to a close, worship will be at the center of the great controversy. The devil will do everything he can to divide our hearts. But Jesus has chosen us; He wants the entire thing. It s your move. The battle begins within. JIMMY PHILLIPS (JIMMYPHILLIPS15@GMAIL.COM) WRITES FROM BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, WHERE HE IS ELECTRONIC MEDIA COORDINATOR FOR SAN JOAQUIN COMMUNITY HOSPITAL. VISIT HIS WEB SITE AT 14 (974) November 10, 2011

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16 Cover Inclusive Worship and Learning EMBRACING SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN IN BY ADDISON HUDGINS Ryan and John have been friends since first grade. As John s mother, Barbara Newman, says: They fit together like a puzzle. John is a pretty typical, developing kiddo with his own gifts and needs, Newman says. And Ryan, who is a very loyal friend, is very forgiving and excited [about life], and also happens to have Down syndrome.... It s been so neat to watch how John s strengths complement Ryan s weaknesses, and how Ryan s strengths complement John s weaknesses. When John turned 16 and earned a driver s license, he asked his mom if he could borrow the car to pick up Ryan. Newman explains: That s a gift to Ryan, because Ryan doesn t have a driver s license and probably won t be able to get one in his lifetime. At the time, however, in her panicked mother state, Newman called Ryan s mother in a frenzy. But Newman was reminded of the gift that Ryan brought to the relationship. Ryan will not go to bed at night without covering in prayer the people who are important to him, his mother 16 (976) November 10, 2011

17 OUR CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS told Newman. John may have the driver s license, but Ryan s got him covered in prayer. Newman points out that many people usually think of the value they bring to a person with a disability, but that it s important to remember that the blessing is mutual. Church for Everyone Unfortunately, many churches struggle to accommodate children with special needs, and these stresses often lead to some families feeling unwelcome at church. Newman is a special-education teacher and director of church services for the Christian Learning Center (CLC) Network, an organization that trains schools and churches in North America to better minister with people with disabilities and their families. 1 Newman explains that too often children with disabilities have to leave Sabbath school because the parents are told that the resources the church has are inadequate. That just breaks my heart! Newman says. It must break the heart of God as well. [Church] is one place where each should be valued for who they are, and welcomed as... important and honored members of the body of Christ. Tammy, mother of 17-year-old Morgan, who has autism, applauds this philosophy. She describes the church that she and her family attended for about 10 years as loving and caring, but as Morgan grew, the members didn t know how to meet her needs. For a year Tammy and her husband held Sabbath school just for Morgan in the church office, but they began to realize that things had to change. Year after year I watched the children do special Sabbath programs while Morgan lay there beside me, Tammy says. It began to hurt so much that I finally just couldn t go back. If there wasn t a place there for Morgan to worship, then there wasn t a place for me. Tammy prayed fervently for guidance and soon learned about a church in her community that had a special kids program. November 10, 2011 (977) 17

18 ACTIVE PARTICIPANT: Morgan, a 17-year-old with autism (front, middle), participates in Vacation Bible School. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FAMILY Morgan is able to be herself and still be a part of the group, an active part of the body of Christ, Tammy explains. And knowing she is included, I am able to serve and to worship. Terri Saelee, mother of an 8-year-old with Down syndrome, says that the most important thing for church members to have is the love of Jesus in their hearts, and the determination to make Sabbath school a meaningful experience for everyone there, whether they re disabled or not. Sometimes people just stumble in the dark as to what the specific needs and abilities of the child are, she says. Saelee tags communication as key. People tend to hesitate when asking about a child with disabilities, she says, because they re not sure how the parents will feel about talking about it. Personally, I m grateful when people ask about [my daughter] Kayla s disability, Saelee says. I feel cared about, I feel loved.... If you make a mistake, it s better to be too interested and too caring than to be too indifferent. If for no other reason, we should reach out for the sake of the salvation of the souls of these precious little children, Saelee says. Let the Children Come Saelee cites comments she has heard that seem to indicate that a child with a mental disability may not be able to have a relationship with God, but says that she has found the opposite to be true. When her oldest son was preparing for baptism Kayla showed interest in being baptized as well. Hav- ing grown up in a pastor s family, Kayla definitely has awareness of good and bad and a relationship with Jesus, Saelee explains. On the day of the baptism, Kayla approached her mom and asked her to explain what baptism was. Saelee replied, Jeffrey loves Jesus and he wants to follow Him, so... Daddy is going to help him go under the water and back up, so he can have a new life in Jesus. Kayla responded, Oh. Me baptized! She was only 7. Saelee immediately started praying for direction and wisdom on how to handle the situation. She will never understand [baptism] the way I do, not at the same cognitive level maybe. But the commitment is there, Saelee says. While Saelee was praying, Kayla got herself ready to go to church and then went to her mother and said, Me ready! Me ready baptized! There on the bank of the river, alongside her brother, Kayla pledged her commitment to Jesus. She didn t understand all [the vows], but she understood that it meant she loved Jesus.... She came out of the water with the most beautiful smile; she was just beaming.... Her relationship with Jesus is real. It s not perfect, but she loves Jesus. Saelee stresses that even little children with disabilities can have a real conversion experience. Nurture that relationship with Jesus, she says, so that you can see that child [grow] and enjoy the greater accomplishments in heaven. Building Each Other Up Phyllis Washington, North American Division (NAD) director of children s ministries, concurs. Just because someone is in a particular condition doesn t mean they re incapable of understanding, she says. Washington became acutely in tune with families who are struggling with disability and illness during her work as hospital chaplain at a children s hospital. While there she began holding worship services on Sunday mornings for the children and their families. It didn t matter if their heads were shaved or they had crisscrossed scars across it or they were bald because of the chemo or they had just had an amputation or they had been in the burn unit; it didn t matter, because they were all there to get well, Washington says. The same can be applied to those who come to church every week, she notes. The Bible says we re supposed to build each other up; well, what better way to do that than to be supportive of these families. There is a whole area that we re missing. These folk are under the radar. Washington shares a story of a church of which a young girl with severe disabilities was a member. Though the child drooled and couldn t speak well, the pastor allowed her to come up front in her wheelchair during the worship service to read the Scripture. He got a lot of flack for that! Washington recalls. But what did that do for that young girl? It made her feel as though she was a part of things! All we need to do is make just a little bit of reasonable accommodation. What About Adventist Schools? Historically Adventist schools have not been adequately equipped to educate students with learning differences, but NAD Office of Education associate Carol Campbell says that s changing. There s now a process in place for addressing learning differences and helping teachers identify characteristics and develop accommodations for these characteristics in four key areas: read- 18 (978) November 10, 2011

19 ing, writing, math, and behavior, Campbell says. The inclusion program is called REACH (Reaching to Educate All Children for Heaven). 2 Its mission is to create a culture in which students with a variety of learning styles and needs can succeed and to empower teachers to focus on each student s strengths and abilities while problem solving, and creating accommodations for areas of weakness. For students whose needs are particularly challenging to address, outside support from public schools and other local resources is solicited. Southern Adventist University added a master s degree program in inclusive education to their curriculum in 1996, and the Upper Columbia Conference K-12 board of education set up a committee that same year to study the issue and to help teachers work with specialneeds students in a more compassionate and effective manner. Other conferences have since joined the ongoing initiative. The success of integrating students with learning differences into a regular classroom setting largely depends upon the resources, training, and ongoing support provided to the teacher, Campbell says. Handled in the right way, children are very accepting of differences in others. Rising to the Challenge Newman suggests that a Christian s reason for inclusion is based on setting up our communities in a way that honors God s pattern for community. Many times it is a leap of faith, she says. Washington describes this leap of faith as starting with a renovation of thinking and notes that NAD children s ministries is actively targeting children who aren t being brought to church. A lot of times a special needs kid is... not brought to Sabbath school or church because they can be disruptive, she says. We need to be trained and then just jump in and do what it takes to make it work. To help church members be better equipped, Washington has been working with the CLC Network to plan a training weekend in Crandall, Georgia, February 10-12, Newman, who will be a teacher at the seminar and has written numerous books on children with disabilities, encourages anyone involved with churches or schools to attend. We at the CLC Network have spent a lot of time packaging what we have learned since 1989 in the Christian school environment and offering that to churches, she says. When asked about the importance of raising this awareness, Newman emphasized ed the community of Christ. HELPING OUT: Eight-year-old -old Kayla Saelee ee enjoys helping with outdoor or tasks. When churches say, Sorry, we don t have anything for you here, we miss out on the chance that God has intended as a gift for our community. He intends to arrange gifts in that person with autism or that adult with Down syndrome or that child with cerebral palsy that are intended to grow the community. [When we don t include them], every person misses out on that blessing. 1 As the CLC Network s GLUE manual explains on page 4: The GLUE process is a spectrum of techniques that will aid faith communities in doing ministry with rather than ministry to people with disabilities and their families. To learn more about CLC, go to 2 To learn more about the NAD education inclusion program or to download the REACH resource manual, go to ADDISON HUDGINS WAS A SUMMER INTERN AT ADVENTIST REVIEW LAST SUMMER. SHE NOW STUDIES AT UNION COLLEGE IN LINCOLN, NEBRASKA. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FAMILY Save the Date! CLC Network Training Program BY ADDISON HUDGINS February 10-12, 2012, the CLC Network will be hosting a training program for Adventist church members and educators titled GLUE (Giv- ing, Loving, Understanding, and Encouraging). The GLUE seminar weekend will be held in Crandall, Georgia, at the Cohutta Springs Conference Center, and attendees will come away better equipped to better meet the needs of all church members. Phyllis Washington, NAD children s ministries director, who initiated con- tact with the CLC Network about training, says this type of education is impor- tant because Jesus died for all of us. It doesn t matter what kind of condition our body or mind is in; He still died for us, she says. And it s our responsibility as a Christian community to be very intentional about reaching everyone. Barbara Newman, director of church services for the CLC Network, suggests that attendees come with an empty toolbox it will be stuffed full of ideas by the end of our time together, she says. We want people to leave filled with passion, vision, and some expertise. For more information and for details regarding registration, please visit: php?id= November 10, 2011 (979) 19

20 Body and Soul: Devotional The Defense JOSH AND THE STORY OF GRACE Rests BY DAVID MARSHALL Josh, the Accused Court reporter Zach knew he was not supposed to care about the reputations of accused people. Reporters just report their cases. They just present the facts. That is their job. But Zach s write-up made it seem that just like the fiend prosecuting the case, he was determined to destroy poor Josh. Why, his readers wondered, would he need to use a word like filthy to describe the defendant s clothing? True, Josh did look more like a hobo dragged from the street than the cleric everybody remembered, deprived as he was of all the dignity of his earlier stature. Only the court s presiding officer compelled more attention than Josh in his misery. In absolute contrast to Josh s wretched presence, the judge struck a powerful, almost unapproachable figure. All the while, and in the oddest of paradoxes, he showed extreme determination to accommodate the filthily clad prisoner standing in shame before him. An Outrageous Banquet Story It was very much like a story Jesus would tell, particularly the stories of God s final intervention in history. At least two of Jesus parables rehearse the idea, maybe because Jesus really liked it Himself. The parables interest us by the ways they are alike as well as by the ways they differ from each other. They feature banquet stories about an unconventional host, oddly disobliging guests, and peculiar invitation outcomes. In Luke s story (14:18-20) the invitees to the banquet make outrageous excuses. The excuses are so transparently comic that it is difficult to avoid the inference that Jesus is using humor in His uniquely brilliant way. The first excuse amounts to I ve just bought a field. Now I must go and find out what sort of field I ve bought. Please excuse me. Surely nobody has ever really done business that way. For they could be buying themselves anything from lush pasture to nothing more than a 20 (980) November 10, 2011

21 rocky outcrop with a few tufts of grass. The second excuse is, if anything, even less plausible: I ve bought five pair of oxen. Now I must go find out what sort of oxen I ve bought. Please excuse me. Again, no one does business that way. Before they hand over their money, buyers would certainly confirm whether their oxen are big and beefy, or radiator-ribbed. They go find out, not after handing over the cash, but before they pay the price. Jesus may well have drawn the loudest laughter with the third excuse. This time there was no Please excuse me to soften the weird rejection. I can t come, the third man boldly states: I just got married! The absurdity here is not alone in the man s brashness, but in the law he alludes to. Deuteronomy s excuse for newly married men is hardly designed as a party prohibition. The Mosaic newlywed exemption from serving in the army and other such responsibilities (Deut. 24:5) frees up the couple to revel in all the banqueting a year of partying could allow, the very type of protracted days-on-end celebration and feasting that had attended his own union! A Second Banquet Story Jesus exposé on transparently absurd excuses highlights the ease with which people place material and family concerns ahead of spiritual ones, a truth that also grounds the banquet parable of Matthew 22:1-14. In this story invitations to the marriage supper of the king s son have gone out. The invitees indifferent rejection runs in awkward parallel with the ongoing marriage celebration. The feast may already have begun in the story. For just like today, guests were informed beforehand, and then solicited when the event THE KING SENDS HIS SERVANTS TO THE WRONG SIDE OF TOWN. was ready. The Greek imperfect tense shows that the king s invitees do not simply say no; the king does not allow them to brush him off so easily. He keeps trying to get them to his banquet. After all, they are the friends who apparently agreed beforehand to be his wedding guests. So he tries, and they refuse; he sends, and they rebuff; he keeps trying, and they keep refusing insistently obstructionist in their rejection. Then things get worse. Messenger rejection with repeated excuses eventually gives way to hostility at messengers who will not take no. That anger climaxes in the messengers murder! Jesus is not being funny anymore! In both parables, it is what happens next that shocks twenty-first-century readers. At the beginning our conditioning causes us to expect the king to be fashionably inclusive so that somehow everyone ends up at the party. But Jesus wants us to be grown-up enough about it to believe in act and consequence. We have to live with the results of our life choices and priorities. In the end the king does accept refusals. Grace urges, but it does not compel. Instead, the king sends his servants to the wrong side of town and to the forgotten country districts to urge to the uttermost, that the least and the outermost, and whosoever wills besides, should come to his banquet. Is there a part of us that resents the arrival of the riffraff and the hoi polloi at the king s table? Is there not also a part of us that wants God to love us so much, just as we are, that He doesn t want us to change? The End of the Story It is clear that all those who arrive at the king s table have been invited because of the king s grace: they don t deserve their invitations. It is because of his grace that the king does not force anyone to attend. Grace garners them into the banquet, and provides it absolutely free. Grace reaches the blind, the lame, and the prostitutes, who hold neither stocks nor dignity, and the bankers who thrive on status and give themselves huge bonuses. But God s grace is so gracious that it does not leave us as it found us. Love wants the best for the beloved. In Matthew s Gospel the banquet parable features a final act of divine grace. In it God provides party attire absolutely free, wedding garments, most expensively purchased, for all guests to wear. That way the poor do not have to be ashamed of their rags, and the rich cannot boast of their finery. For it is, after all, by grace you have been saved, through faith (Eph. 2:8), and that not of your own making, so that no one can enter the banquet singing, I did it my way. Except that somebody does. Which brings us to the radical and concluding point of Matthew s banquet story: When the king came in to see the guests [the ones who had accepted his invitation and had come to the banquet], he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes (Matt. 22:11). Remember him? Doubtless he was offered the wedding garments accepted by the other guests, but perhaps he said, Don t want them! Don t November 10, 2011 (981) 21

22 LARS JUSTINEN need them! Got plenty of my own! My best is good enough for me! It will have to be good enough for the king! Only it wasn t. It never is. His 100 percent homemade outfit, all his own best work, in the eyes of the king was no better than filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). Those who would enter the king s banquet must be arrayed with garments of salvation (Isa. 61:10). This self-confident fashion designer was not. His fashion statement was his own best efforts. Exit stage left, into outer darkness. He had accepted the invitation, but he had not accepted the basis of the invitation: grace. Josh s Acquittal Josh, whom we left standing at the bar of the court, was, as Zach reported, quite filthily dressed. The outcome of his trial was determined by the intervention of the Defense Attorney (1 John 2:1), the Judge Himself (John 5:26, 27), who could not have been more scathing about the case put forward by the fiend for the prosecution (Zech. 3:2). Attorney Satan s case for the prosecution was not, in this instance, the case for the crown. He and the Judge were on opposing sides, and his case got thrown out of court, all charges dismissed. Josh s filthy garments were taken from him and they dressed him up in a robe not his own. Similarly, when the prodigal returned home from the far country, the father s first words were: Bring the best robe and put it on him (Luke 15:22). God is in the business of best robes for the sheer grace of it, rather than for the economic profit of it. Sadly enough, when the risen Christ offers rich clothes to Laodicea, Laodicea s answer sounds very much like Matthew s fashion designer: Don t want them! Don t need them! Got plenty of my own! My best is good enough for me! It will have to be good enough for the king! And Laodicea adds even more: I m rich! To which the risen Christ must respond, You only think you re rich. In fact, you re wretched (see Rev. 3:14-22). The wedding garments Christ offers are woven in the loom of heaven and have in them not one thread of human devising. * The guests who get to come to the banquet are garnered by a work of grace. The banquet is the provision of grace. And the robe of Christ s righteousness they are all privileged to wear is a gift of grace. Once they accept it, the feast can go forward in forever celebration. Josh s case is no different. Zach is not exaggerating or unprofessional in describing Josh as filthy. Josh does not object. He admits his miserable, needy condition. His very acceptance of the Judge s terms of grace means victory for his defending attorney. And with no doubt remaining as to the successful outcome of his efforts, the defense rests. * Ellen G. White, Christ s Object Lessons, p BEFORE HE RETIRED, DAVID MARSHALL WAS EDITOR OF STANBOROUGH PRESS IN GRANTHAM, LINCOLNSHIRE, ENGLAND. 22 (982) November 10, 2011

23 An Angel s Gift I SIT AT HER BEDSIDE, WATCHING HER BEAUTIFUL FACE AS SHE WHISPERS HER big secret to me: I have an angel. Her eyes open wide, expecting a reaction from me. He brings me pajamas! She leans her head back on the pillow and laughs. Her laughter is contagious. Her angel brings her pajamas? Five months into treatment for a brain tumor, my 7-year-old friend, Tara, has been relegated to bed rest in the hospital. Her little body is fighting the illness. The treatment seems to be working well, but it prompts seizures that need monitoring. The long stays at the hospital are difficult for her. She misses her dog, Benjie, and wants to play with her dolls. The illness was a surprise. Tara s mother, Beverly, lives between work and hospital. It s just the two of them. I wonder how they make it. Everything Beverly earns goes toward hospital bills and medication. I listen to Tara tell me more about the pajamas. There are some with dogs and happy faces, and they can all be worn at the hospital even when she has an IV! Who is this angel? I ask how she knows it s an angel, and her face gets serious. She tells me to lean in close so she can whisper the answer. She has felt the angel place the pajamas next to her. One time she opened ed her eyes and could see the angel wearing white! I sit with Tara for a few hours until she falls asleep. I wait in the room for her mother to arrive and take my place next to her daughter. I linger at the door for a moment watching them. I know you have angels watching you right now. At the nurses station I visit with my good friend Tiffaney. She is part of the pediatric nurses team at the hospital. I ask her if she has heard of Tara s angel. She smiles but says nothing. I must be the only one who doesn t know about the angel! All of a sudden a code goes off. One of the children in the oncology ward is in distress. I watch the nurses and the doctor run down the hall to a familiar room. It s Tara. She s having another seizure. As the doctors help Tara, I stand in a corner holding Beverly. She sobs as she watches the commotion. All I can do is pray. When the code is shut down, a nurse stays by Tara s bedside, monitoring her recovery. On the other side of the bed is Beverly, quietly speaking to her daughter. As quickly as the commotion began, the silence around us has returned. I don t want to go home tonight. I will stay here with them. So I do. I look at the clock. It s 3:05 a.m. I fell asleep. I blink my eyes quickly to make sure I am awake. There is the angel! I watch as the angel tucks the blankets around Tara s feet and gently lifts the little hands so that they will rest on top of a pink bundle. Pink pajamas. Then the angel quietly walks to the sofa, takes out a white envelope from a lab coat, and leaves it next to Beverly s purse. I know this angel. I watch as the angel motions for me to keep quiet. As the angel leaves, a feeling of warmth and happiness enters the room. As I return to my sleep I wonder: What creates the urge in any of us to help those around us? Four hours later I wake up to the sound of Tara s resilient soft voice asking her mother what time the angel came by. I slip out of the room. I have to head home. In the parking lot I see Tara s angel, Tiffaney. She waves goodbye at me. I don t have to ask. She knows. From across the parking lot she says: One day I heard her praying for pajamas! The Holy Spirit nudged me to understand that was a prayer I could answer. Oh, and the envelope? That s for Mom s prayers. Have a good day, Chaplain! Searching the Obvious DIXIL RODRÍGUEZ, A COLLEGE PROFESSOR AND VOLUNTEER HOSPITAL CHAPLAIN, LIVES IN TEXAS. November 10, 2011 (983) 23

24 Vital Signs BY VICKI GRIFFIN AND EVELYN KISSINGER Jesus showed us the connection how He led souls from health to Him. Four men brought a helpless paralytic on a bed to Jesus to see what He would do. When Jesus saw his deep soul need, He said, Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you. This created indignation among the religious authorities. Rather than argue, Jesus responded: Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you, or to say, Arise and walk? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins then He said to the paralytic, Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house. 1 This is just one of many examples of how the Lord used the ministry of healing to validate the deeper truths He taught and to reveal the salvation He offered to all. The health message has been called the right arm, because it s not only the helping hand extended to relieve suffering; it also aids God s workers in their gospel commission. Christ s commission is ours; His methods we must use if we are to be effective health evangelists. It is restated for us in our day as a message of hope, restoration, and ministry to the total person: The world needs today what it needed nineteen hundred years ago a revelation of Christ. A great work of reform is demanded, and it is only through the grace of Christ that the work of restoration, physical, mental, and spiritual, can be accomplished. 2 But that restoration goes beyond the good fruit of producing temporal wellbeing and making new friends in the community: When people become interested in [health], the way is often prepared for the entrance of other truths. If they see that we are intelligent with regard to health, they will be more ready to believe that we are sound in Bible doctrines. 3 Our call is to carefulness, precision, prayer, and discretion as we meet the public with health and end-time Bible teachings. With this in mind, successful health evangelism will be: Scriptural and Scientific. True science and Inspiration are in perfect harmony. 4 Many biblical teachings on lifestyle, including mental, physical, moral, and family health, are being validated by science daily. Utilizing good science in our programs provides an opportunity to reveal the goodness of our Creator and the power of Bible teachings. A wellknown scientist, Robert Russell, put it this way: Religion is incapable of making its moral claims persuasive or its spiritual comfort effective unless its cognitive claims are credible. 5 When people see that the science behind what we say is sound, they will be more likely to understand that our scriptural teachings also make sense. From Sensible and Balanced. We are wise to build on basic laws of health and present them as principles rather than rules. For example, a good principle of health is to have regular meals and avoid snacking. But presenting this principle as a rule can have unintended health consequences for the diabetic in a blood sugar crisis or the hiker in the heat of a climb. We should avoid oversimplifying health information or making sweeping claims and generalizations. These extremes can lead to unexpected problems by diminishing our influence or causing harm to program participants. Health reform, wisely treated, will prove an entering wedge where the truth may follow with marked success. But to present health reform unwisely... has served to create prejudice with unbelievers and to bar the way to the truth, leaving the impression that we are extremists.... We must not give occasion for us to be regarded extremists. 6 Health to Him FOUR WAYS TO USE THE RIGHT ARM THE RIGHT WAY 24 (984) November 10, 2011

25 Personal. Each individual is a total person on a journey. Look beyond habits or lab test results to their total history, including health, genetic, emotional, family, environmental, ethnic, cultural, work, educational, and religious. Help them wisely navigate the total context in which they live. For long-term success, lifestyle interventions will help each participant individualize, identify, and prioritize their goals and use simple, balanced lifestyle systems as a basis for forming a sustainable plan. The plan is to make a lasting difference in individuals, families, and communities with wise interventions. Practical. Being practical means showing people what to do, helping them to know how to do it, and helping them to be motivated to want to do it! When program participants understand the big picture of dietary and lifestyle advice and learn how to make positive choices in an atmosphere of social support, it builds trust and lays a foundation for interest in areas of deeper spiritual truth. 1 Matthew 9:2-6, NKJV. Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 2 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p Ellen G. White, Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, p (Italics supplied.) 4 Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, p John Ashton, ed., In Six Days: Why 50 Scientists Choose to Believe in Creation (Green Forest, Ariz.: Master Books, 2000), p Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 3, p VICKI GRIFFIN, M.S. in Clin. Nutr., M.P.A., M.A.C.N., IS DIRECTOR OF THE MICHIGAN CONFERENCE HEALTH MINISTRIES DEPARTMENT. EVELYN KISSINGER, M.S., R.D., IS A LIFESTYLE CONSULTANT, REGIS- TERED DIETITIAN, AND A FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST DIETETIC ASSOCIATION. November 10, 2011 (985) 25

26 Feature Senator Praises Day of Rest in New Book BY MARK A. KELLNER Two days before the tenth anniversary of the largestever terrorist attack so far on American soil, the September 11, 2001, hijackings that led to the deaths of 2,977 innocents, Senator Joseph Lieberman, Independent-Democrat of Connecticut, sits in his office calmly conversing with a visitor. Forget his Sunday schedule of many television interviews related to his work as chair of the Senate s Homeland Security Committee. Forget the classified briefing he was about to receive on potential September 11 anniversaryrelated terrorist threats. Forget the many demands on the time and attention of a member of one of the world s most exclusive clubs, as the United States Senate has been called. Instead, one source of Lieberman s calm is the approach about eight hours after our meeting of the weekly day of rest known as the Sabbath. An Orthodox Jewish believer, Lieberman with the exception of issues involving the preservation or saving of a life will not vote in the Senate on the Sabbath; if he either goes home after sundown Friday or has to be on the Senate floor during Sabbath hours, he ll walk to and from his home in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C., usually accompanied by U.S. Capitol Police officers as bodyguards. When he became the first Jewish- American to run on a national political ticket he was then-vice president Al Gore s running mate in 2000 he did not campaign on the Sabbath, something he s maintained throughout his political career. Lieberman s running mate, the Tennessean who at one point was a student at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, was very understanding of Lieberman s Sabbath commitment, the senator said. In fact, the Gores celebrated Sabbath with Lieberman and his wife, Hadassah, more than once after the campaign ended. Such dedication is not often seen in the halls of Congress. The sixty-third chaplain of the United States Senate, Barry C. Black (USN Ret.), is a Seventhday Adventist, and in the House of Representatives, Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Tex.) are church members. But among many of his colleagues, including some of his Jewish brethren, Lieberman stands almost alone in his dedication to keeping the Sabbath day holy, as Scripture commands (Ex. 20:8-11). A Message for Today Lieberman, referencing famed Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, calls the day a sanctuary in time. He said the Sabbath began as a command, but it really is a gift. That view of the Bible Sabbath as a gift from a loving God to all creation suffused our conversation. Over the summer Lieberman published The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath (Howard Books), a volume that has been 26 (986) November 10, 2011

27 PHOTO: ASTRID RIECKEN U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN: THE SABBATH REALLY HAS BEEN THE FOUNDATION OF MY LIFE. endorsed by figures as diverse as Cecil O. Samuelson, president of Brigham Young University, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in New York City. Book industry leader Publishers Weekly declared: This deeply sincere and highly readable composition is certain to help people rethink their concept of Sabbath and prod them to rest. Lieberman said his rabbi pushed him to write the book, curiously enough the seventh volume he s published, the senator noted with a smile. He said he is familiar with the Seventh-day Adventist understanding of the Sabbath, and sees that there would be understanding by Adventists of his position. He s discussed Sabbath matters with Chaplain Black, who is the first Adventist to serve as Senate chaplain. Asked why the Sabbath is important, he responded, How is it not important? That day reminds me of the opportunities and responsibilities I have in the other six days. He added that the Sabbath commandment includes the directive six days you shall labor and do all your work (Ex. 20:9). And indeed, Lieberman s book includes a chapter on attitudes toward work during those six days. Lieberman thinks that observance of the Sabbath, while not a point in his book, might help some in political circles to lower the tone of rhetoric seen in today s overheated environment. The Sabbath, he said, encourages humility by making people disconnect from the normal routine. If the world needs to find you, it will find you, he said, adding that one of the things [about Sabbath] is that it gets you off the treadmill. And by taking time for family, a worship community, and nature, you hear things you don t hear otherwise. This promotion of the Sabbath is a far cry from the legislative actions of another, much earlier, senator from the northeastern United States, H. W. Blair of New Hampshire. It was Blair, in 1888 and several subsequent years, who introduced a national Sunday law, calling for Americans to respect the first day of the week as a day of rest. Blair s bills died in committee, but his actions were enough to galvanize the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to begin work on religious liberty that continues today. Returning to the Creation question, Lieberman said he wasn t at all concerned about politicians expressing their beliefs, as several potential Republican 2012 presidential contenders have. However, he said, affirmations of faith must stop at any attempt to breach the establishment clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits the creation of a state religion. MARK A. KELLNER IS NEWS EDITOR OF ADVENTIST REVIEW AND ADVENTIST WORLD MAGAZINES. November 10, 2011 (987) 27

28 Church Trends Action-oriented information about the Adventist Church and the world in which it works It s really a simple question. It was asked of pastors and lay leaders in a random sample of more than 11,000 congregations of all faiths across America last year: Would you agree? Our congregation is spiritually vital and alive. The leaders who responded to this survey could pick one of five answers from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Overall, just 28 percent gave the most positive response. And among Seventh-day Adventist churches it was only 16 percent. Maybe these pastors were just being modest, but there does appear to be a spiritual decline across the country, and Adventist churches seem to be down along with all of the other denominations. For one thing, church attendance is down. The median size group gathering for worship each week dropped from 120 to 108 during the past decade, and Adventist churches were part of that trend. It s surprising to researchers that things are down, because in the past when the economy declined as it has in recent years Americans have returned to their religious faith and gone back to church. That does not seem to be happening this time, although it may simply be too soon to draw conclusions. These data are from a survey conducted in 2010 by Faith Communities Today, a partnership of researchers from all the major religious groups in America. Roger Dudley, director of the Institute of Church Ministry at Andrews University, conducted the Adventist segment of the survey. One reason for the decline may be that congregations are not trying as hard as they did a decade ago. Only one in five congregations reported that they had two or more ministries that were of the highest priority for their members. Adventist churches were slightly below this response, with just 17 percent of our local churches reporting the same. Adventist data also show fewer local churches involved in all areas of community ministry, except public evangelism. This means there is less plowing and sowing and nurturing going on while there is an increase in harvest activity. Any farmer will tell you that might work for one crop cycle, but it yields decreased production over two or more seasons. What Do These Numbers Mean? It s time for revival and transformation in our denomination. We cannot simply rest on our laurels. It s encouraging that last spring USA Today reported that the Adventist Church is the fastest-growing denomination in America, but that may not be saying much in a country in which more and more people especially young people are withdrawing from religion altogether. What do revival and transformation mean in your congregation? Is it time for going back to basics? If we simply go back to the way we did things in the past, will that really generate new vitality and advance the cause? Is the Holy Spirit trying to lead us into new territory and new opportunities? Are we ready to follow? Where is God working in your community? Where is the message of hope most needed? If you would like to take the same survey in your local church and provide information for your church board to consider, please send me an request. I will be happy to send you a copy of the questionnaire and instructions on how to conduct it. MONTE SAHLIN IS DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND SPECIAL PROJECTS FOR THE OHIO CONFERENCE AND A SENIOR CONSULTANT AT THE CENTER FOR CREATIVE MINISTRY. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS CAN BE SENT TO HIM AT MSAHLIN@CREATIVEMINISTRY.ORG.. 28 (988) November 10, 2011

29 Time. Change. BY INGO SORKE Poem Fall. Nature. Blue. Green. Yellow. Orange, too. Brown. Gray. Seasons. Time. Change. Color. Cold. Cycle. Decay. Death. Recycling. Transition. Preparation. Anticipation. Still. Family. Words. Listen. Meaning. Touch. Sounds. Laugh! Food. Prayer. Love. Heart. Home. Time. Leave. Silence. End. Waiting. Night. Day. Beginning. Time. Life. Creation. Winter. Ice. Shelter. Fire. Warmth. Glow. Slow. Thoughts. Reason. Feeling. Change. Consistency. Rhythm. Sequence. Pattern. Purpose. Process. Pace. Past. Peace. Present. Presence. Future. Time. INGO SORKE IS ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF RELIGION AND CHAIR OF THE RELIGION DEPARTMENT AT SOUTHWESTERN ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY, KEENE, TEXAS. The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved (Jer. 8:20). Heaven forbid. November 10, 2011 (989) 29

30 Reflections Beyond the Classroom IT HAS BEEN SAID, NOT ALL LEARNING TAKES PLACE IN THE CLASSROOM. This statement could be true to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the matter you want to learn. Nevertheless, when we come to religious education or a transmission of biblical values, knowledge gained from personal experience can have a greater impact on religious life than knowledge gained from classroom instruction. Religious education involves not only the transmission of theoretical concepts but also every aspect of life. In this sense, the transmission of values that takes place in daily life can cover a wide range of life s facets an experience different from that of memorizing a list of biblical values. For instance, let s examine trust in God. When my son, Gabriel, was 3 years old, he was afraid of lightning. One night he awoke me saying that he wanted to sleep in my bed because of an electrical storm. I said to him, We will pray that Jesus sends a lot of angels to take care of you, OK? Then calmly he replied, OK, let s pray. He then went to his bed and fell asleep immediately. This was a lesson about trusting in God that he will never forget. A person cannot learn this kind of lesson in a classroom. We must look for God s original intention regarding religious education. What did He say about the transmission of biblical values? In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 God says: These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. These scriptures reveal at least two principles about religious education: 1. It s primarily the parents duty. 2. It takes place at all times and in all places. Religious instruction in Seventh-day Adventist schools as part of the spiritual and academic growth of our youth is vital. What a child learns about Jesus in the home environment, however, should be the first work of parents. A lack of Bible instruction and positive Christian role modeling there cannot be supplied by the school. Both entities need to work together in a caring, consistent manner to lead children into a personal relationship with Jesus and to develop a love for spending time in God s Word. The aim of religious education is salvation. This involves every part of our lives and ultimately must be a personal experience. One could learn the whole Bible by heart, but if it does not change your life, the goal is not achieved. God wants to write His commandments in our hearts. When this is the experience of godly parents and teachers, our children will likely experience this as well. We are told that the first consideration of the parents should be to work for the salvation of their children. 1 And also: Parents are to watch the opening, receptive mind and make everything in the home life secondary to the positive duty enjoined upon them by God to train their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. 2 After all, what is more important than the salvation of our children? 1 Ellen G. White, Child Guidance, p Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p MARCOS BLANCO IS EDITOR IN CHIEF OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN SPANISH PUBLISHING HOUSE IN ARGENTINA. 30 (990) November 10, 2011

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