Wishing success for our Church in 2015

I collect meaningful devotionals through the years.  One particular devotional book I re-read so often, the 2009 daily devotional “Lest we forget” by George Knight, telling stories from Adventist Heritage.  From December 22 through 29 he lists reasons why small fraction of the MIllerite Advent movement succeeded and became the Seventh-day Adventist church, while other major fractions either disappeared or declined.

As we move forward into 2015 and beyond I ask you to consider these:

1)    amidst natural, economic, political, health, social and other disasters they offered hope, a pre-Millennial Advent (Return) of Christ, telling people that it will not be human genius that will fix this world, but Christ’s Coming.  Even today there is still confusion about secret rapture and other man-made theories of how it will all be in the end, we continue preaching the hope that Jesus is coming soon, and He is in charge of time.

2)    Their teaching was rational, it “made sense,” it was not built on emotionalism, or irrational fanatical extremism.  Early believers searched and studied the Bible for the truth, and presented doctrines that answered relevant questions.  Faith is connected to understanding.

3)    As kite flies against the wind, so there is dynamic in religious movements going against the flow.  Different doctrines gave the group sense of vitality, identity and meaning.  The truth they discovered in the Bible empowered them to go against conventional beliefs.  We should not downplay our differences, but gain strength from our uniqueness!

4)    The got organized!  Historians who analyze demise of other Adventist movements point out to a single major difference – other movements refused to organize, they remained congregational without ecclesiastical authority above the local church, and had no unity for mission, whereas our pioneers sought organizational unity to consolidate resources for mission.

5)    Their understanding of prophecies gave them urgency for mission.  In view of impending world’s crisis to come, they accepted responsibility for preparing people to meet it.  Our pioneers saw themselves as Watchmen on the walls of the moral world, calling to repentance.

6)    We started to be not just another denomination by a movement of prophecy, a movement of destiny, a movement called out in history by God’s providence to fulfill the Prophecy - the Three-Angels Message movement!

7)    The prophetic understanding of Revelation 10 moved our pioneers into mission to All the world.  We do not see ourselves as a homegrown and backyard homogeneous  group, but a world-wide church with responsibility to all nations, peoples, tribes, languages!  Mission first!

8)    Our pioneers were willing to sacrifice everything for mission.  They had received the Holy Spirit power to be witnesses, even at the cost of martyrdom, for God’s Kingdom sake. 

As I reflect on these points - our identity markers – my wish is for our church to continue in the spirit of our pioneers, in the Holy Spirit, not for our success sake, but to continue being the Kingdom Building movement.

Redeeming Christmas!

Over the past 10 years f my ministry here in London I addressed this subject through my blogs here.

December 2005 I invited all to read the Adventist Home chapter 77, entitled “Christmas”!   This year I appealed to you to consider the Adventist Home your family life manual as we addressed various subjects regarding family matters. It would be good for you to read it again J (especially page 482 where she writes “God would be well pleased if on Christmas each church would have a Christmas tree on which shall be hung offerings, great and small, for these houses of worship.”) 

As new people join our fellowship new questions arise.  Recently a person said to me “Ellen White wrote this when she was very young, in her early writings,” implying that with age and maturity she had changed her opinion, thus demoting her statement to unimportant.  My response was “Really?! and who appointed you a judge over inspiration?”  In fact this statement was and published in the Review and Herald, December 11, 1879 in response to early Adventists questions “Letters of inquiry have come to us asking, Shall we have a Christmas tree? will it not be like the world? We answer, You can make it like the world if you have a disposition to do so, or you can make it as unlike the world as possible. There is no particular sin in selecting a fragrant evergreen, and placing it in our churches; but the sin lies in the motive which prompts to action, and the use which is made of the gifts placed upon the tree.”  Consider the date – 1879, she was 52 years of age, that’s 21 years after her vision of the Great Controversy to which she dedicated the rest of her life writing, that’s 16 years after organizing the Seventh-day Adventist church.  This statement is no “early writings”!

A historical fact intrigued me this week. In 1800 Queen Charlotte had the first Christmas tree in Britain.   A German wife of George III, she brought the idea from her home in Germany where it was already a tradition.  December 24 on church calendars was a day of Adam and Eve.  Drama depicting biblical themes was a common tool to instruct people who were not able to read.  Churches often produced plays.  Plays celebrating Nativity of Christ were linked with the story of Creation, and an evergreen tree was the symbol of the Tree of Life and of Christ. 

What caught my attention, was the fact that the Christmas Tree tradition was very recent in England, and in the new world, in America.  It was just two-generations old, but being widely used in celebration of Christ who gives hope of everlasting life, our church pioneers did not ignore it, did not paranoidly feared it as “pagan,” but approached it with redemptive perspective – use it for the good, use it as an object lesson to teach grace, to bless others.

This Christmas season bring good into your neighborhood, bring happiness into lives of your children and families, be a source of blessing, joy, and use every opportunity to redeem the time for Jesus.

Helping people to find Christ

On a snowy Thursday night the youth group Bible study continued the journey through the Desire of Ages.  Amidst questions, praises for answered prayers and time of praying for others, we had read on the story of first disciples encountering Jesus (Gospel of John 1:37-50), Andrew finding Peter, Philip finding Nathanael, and bringing them to Christ, without arguments, simply with an invitation “Come and See!”

An inspired commentary moved me to share it with you as a reminder of our personal responsibility to lead people to Christ. (Quotations are from the Desire of Ages, p.141)

These examples should teach us the importance of personal effort, of making direct appeals to our kindred, friends, and neighbors. There are those who for a lifetime have professed to be acquainted with Christ, yet who have never made a personal effort to bring even one soul to the Saviour. They leave all the work for the minister. He may be well qualified for his calling, but he cannot do that which God has left for the members of the church.

There are many who need the ministration of loving Christian hearts. Many have gone down to ruin who might have been saved if their neighbors, common men and women, had put forth personal effort for them. Many are waiting to be personally addressed. In the very family, the neighborhood, the town, where we live, there is work for us to do as missionaries for Christ. If we are Christians, this work will be our delight. No sooner is one converted than there is born within him a desire to make known to others what a precious friend he has found in Jesus. The saving and sanctifying truth cannot be shut up in his heart.

 All who are consecrated to God will be channels of light. God makes them His agents to communicate to others the riches of His grace. His promise is, "I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing." Ezekiel 34:26.

Please reflect on this.  Do not leave all the work of evangelism to the minister – I cannot do it alone.  You all are ministers.  We remind that to our church through the bulletin – this is a place where everyone is gifted for service!  If you do not lead people to Christ, they may never hear the Gospel.  If you really met Christ, you cannot help but share Him with others!

Family talk

Many were blessed this week visiting different homes hosting the Week of Prayer.  The desire to start small groups is great!  And I had to assure a few that in the new year our top priority, even if we have to put on hold some programs, is to build community of care.

As the church grows larger in numbers so is the need to come closer together, to connect.  Church growth specialists point out that with growth in size comes the necessity to connect inside even more.  Worldwide Adventist community membership is over 18 million and with unbaptized children, and extended family members it’s over 30 million.  In such a large church there are differences of opinions, and often the disagreements are expressed not in the Spirit of Christ.

Earlier this week the North American Division leaders met for the annual council, and an interesting document was issued: a Statement on Civil Discourse.  In other words, a set of guidelines on how to talk to each other, a reminder of how to keep a conversation in community without rupturing relationships in the Body of Christ.

“1) We resolve to encourage expressions of disagreement that are honest and open based upon a sincere desire to arrive at truth as expressed in Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy;
2) We resolve to first communicate with those with whom we disagree and listen non-judgmentally to their positions so that we can represent those positions accurately before critiquing them;
3) We resolve to avoid the use of sarcasm, cartoons, anecdotes, parody or any other form of insinuation to diminish the reputation or personhood of others;
4) We resolve to refrain from sponsoring or countenancing online or offline dialogue that vilifies or depreciates the good name of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in general or the reputations of its individual members in particular

We, therefore, resolve to avoid participating in, or being party to, all forms of unhealthy and demeaning discourse. Our aim is to govern our communication according to the high standards of Christian conduct found in the guidelines this statement so that God may be glorified in all we say and do.”

North American Church president Dan Jackson asked that we seek “higher ground” during these challenging times.  I invite you to take this reminder to heart, and in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself or herself, and do nothing in selfish ambition or conceit (Philippians 2:3).  Eugene Peterson’s “Message paraphrase puts it this way (verses1-4)  If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.