Jon Roberts Page 116

By Zdravko Plantak, PhD

In Mic. 6:8 we read: “He has told you, O man, what is good; What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God!”

This is an extraordinary text that many regard as the pinnacle of religious and moral thought. The Talmud says that this verse, “by virtue of its three principles of doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God encapsulated the essence of all 613 commandments communicated to Moses.” A current biblical thinker describes it as “rightly celebrated as the supreme definition of ethical religion.”

In 1897, Charles W. Elliot, president of Harvard University, chose the second part of Mic. 6:8 to be inscribed above a statue symbolizing religion in the new Library of Congress building. In 1977, Jimmy Carter made it a focal point of his presidential inaugural address. So, one might ask, “What’s all the fuss? What does the Lord actually require from us?” Or, even more directly to God: “What do You want from us?”

You and I, “we mortals,” are reminded that God showed us what is good—what is “a better way,” what is truly moral, and what God requires in our life’s journey!

And we are given what one commentator calls “a trilogy of spiritual qualities that are as social as they are personal in nature.” Ronald Hyman, a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey, suggested that this triplet’s conciseness and its emphasis on only three verbs—doing, loving, walking— connected to three basic moral values—justice, mercy, and humility—make it comprehensible and easy to remember. “The series of three pairs of ‘a verb tied to a moral value’ creates an appealing poetic rhythm. Together, they constitute a series that is a moral guideline for behavior among humans; a goal worth striving for.”

How will “acting justly” look in faith communities, and specifically in a Seventh-day Adventist community? Honestly, every one of us will have to wrestle with this question in the local community, the place where every “tire rubs the road.” Each of us has the responsibility to figure out how we will implement the notion of “doing acts of justice” and how we will fight for justice in a very unjust world. We seriously committed Christians are invited to ask ourselves how our world would look if acts of justice were being done for the underdogs and the marginalized, for the poorest of the poor, for the unarmed children in schools, for those who are defenseless and helpless. How will I become the voice for the voiceless and the power for the powerless (Prov. 31:3) in the world in which there are still more than 1.2 billion people who live in abject poverty in which 22,000 children still die each day from poverty and from diseases that we can prevent with drugs or health education? Three million children die from malnutrition every year.

How will we, as an alternative and remnant community, act justly when neo-Nazis and white supremacists start walking on our streets threatening to get rid of the Jews, or the blacks, or those who are by some other designation different, or marginal? But, of course, there will also be many others who will never come face to face with us—and yet, doing justice will mean that we will need to advocate for them as well.

So, what is the first thing that God actually requires when He commands us to act justly (mishpat)? The Hebrew term mishpat is not a colorless word but is defined again and again. For example, Ps. 82:3 gives the word a shine: “Give justice to the weak, and the orphan; maintain the

right of the lowly and destitute.” Martha Moore-Keish (of Columbia Theological Seminary), put it this way: God calls us back to justice, “which means caring for the poor and needy, the widow, and orphan. . . . Provide for your neighbor, says the Lord through Micah. Stop offering sacrifices to me and start offering sustenance to those who need it most.”

Please notice that the prophet does not say “admire justice,” or pay lip service in sermons or small group discussions, but act justly. The Bible is interested in the deeds, in the place where the rubber actually interacts with the road, in our practices and not only our theories. Let us not belittle deeds and practices which we employ in our faith-life. Our personal and professional lives are supposed to include a resolute resistance to the crying injustices in the world, and there are so many such sighs and cries that we hear daily in recent times.

“It is not enough to wish for justice or to complain because it is lacking. This is a dynamic concept that calls on God’s people to work for fairness and equality for all, particularly the weak and the powerless who are exploited by others” (New Interpreter’s Commentary). It is not even enough to come to worship on the right Sabbath day, as Amos and Isaiah explained to God’s people. (See, for example, Am. 5:18-24. and Isa. 58.) This is the first requirement. There is a story about a lady who came to a professional photographer seeking to get special portrait photos taken. She said to him: “I demand that these photos do me justice.” The artist looked at her from several angles, and then looked once again and he replied, “Madam, you do not need as much justice as you need grace.”

Frederick Buechner suggested that “justice also does not preclude mercy. It makes mercy possible. Justice is the pitch of the roof and the structure of the walls. Mercy is the patter of rain on the roof and the life sheltered by the walls. Justice is the grammar of things. Mercy is the poetry of things.”

And this connection brings us to the second requirement, which says: love mercy. To love people is one thing and to love mercy or kindness is another. Please note that here love is not a noun but a verb. We are not aiming at love but we love kindness and mercy. The object of love, in Micah’s case, is to pursue hesed—another rich Hebrew term with deep and varied meaning that can hardly be conveyed by any single English word. It is usually rendered as “faithfulness,” “loyalty,” “charity,” “merciful treatment of others,” or “kindness to those we are in a relationship with.”

In the 17th century, Stephen Charnock explained it beautifully: “The justice and mercy of God are united in a joint applause. . . . An eternal marriage is made between mercy and justice; both shake hands, and not only acquiesce but rejoice, . . . both pleased and both gratified. . . .” The third part of this profound threefold guide to moral life that God desires is a culmination because the first two parts deal with human-to-human relationships and this final part reflects the human-to-divine relationship. We mortals are requested to walk humbly with our God.

Walking is a metaphor for a life journey. Being on the way is more important than arriving. Christians are followers of the Way and often we are told that there are two possible paths, the wider one that leads us astray (or even to death), and the narrower one that yields life. (Deut. 30:15-20 and Matt. 7:13-14) Micah’s passage summons us to the path of “justice” and “kindness.” So, how are we to walk on that journey? Humility has often been misrepresented. Over the centuries, humility was described as groveling self-abasement through fraudulent piety.7

Nothing, however, could be further from the intent here in Micah. Walking humbly is opposite to walking proudly and pompously, or strutting. Prov. 30:28-31 illustrates such macho images of self-exhibiting as strutting—like a lion, a rooster, a he-goat, and a king.

Walter Brueggemann writes about such posturing in the following way: (Please note that this was written and published before the most recent political climate.) “As we have seen recently with so many ‘self-righteous’ politicians and ministers, such a strutting way often leads to embarrassment. . . . Such prideful strutting bespeaks arrogance, self-sufficiency, autonomy, the need to occupy center stage, the sense that I am the only one on the set.”

Pride of the one who struts depends on self-enhancement and self-congratulations, which leads to narcissism. Walking with your own ego is the dreariest and ugliest kind of walk that leads to ultimate alienation. Notice that the God we walk humbly with is called “your” God. What do we know about our God? It begs the question if we know what God is really like. It seems that American Christianity has recently made Jesus in our image, and “the American Jesus,” as we have seen in the recent examples of lack of discernment in terrible alliances between evangelical Christian leaders and politicians, leads to the often totally failed American Christianity. Our faith community needs to be warned, as the heirs of the radical Reformation, not to fall into this cultural trap and forget who may be Jesus Christ for us today, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned the German Christians 80 years ago.

There are so many biblically-unrecognizable Jesuses on offer today. But when you get to know the heart of the Jesus who cared, like every other prophet before Him, for the most vulnerable, the marginalized, the underdogs (yes, the widow, and orphan, and refuge-alien, and all those who are poor), you will not see the total eclipse of Christianity on offer today through the prosperity gospel and other utterly alien types of tamed and enculturated Christianity that side with corrupt practices, bigotry, and hate. Instead, what needs to happen is for Christians to take seriously again the call to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk closely to the biblical God who in humility laid down His own life for the sinner, for the fallen, for the bad, and for the lost.

So we are going (walking) somewhere rather than aimlessly and passively standing still. This companionship and developing friendship will inform us about our attitude to “our” God, the God we are in a relationship with, the God that we journey with. The view we have of God, and whether God is indeed our journey’s companion, will determine our humility and inform our perspective so that in the humility of that walk, we do what He requires of us and what He actually does in relationship with the world—that is doing justice and loving and affirming kindness and embracing, even more so loving, mercy. After all, Jesus in His famous first sermon on the Mount of Blessings, reiterates Micah’s message in Matt. 5:6-8: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Consider a story told by Lowell Cooper, a former General Conference vice-president. In an article titled “Doing Justice, Loving Mercy” he tells of a woman in her mid-30s who arrived early at the departure gate for her flight and had time to relax and to read her book. Moments passed and she suddenly leapt to her feet, turned to the person sitting near her, and exclaimed: “I left my phone in the car!” She looked at her watch, threw her book and jacket on the chair, cried “I’ll be back,” and headed down the corridor. Cooper writes, “The determination of an Olympic athlete was on her face though her body lacked Olympic- athlete fitness. Through the corridor, past security and check-in counters, out the door, across the road and down the walk to the parking lot, she reached her car, grabbed the phone, slammed the door and began the return journey. Out of breath, she arrived at the security line—the place where one experiences eternity in the present. After what seemed like a century, she made it through security and raced (slowly now) for the departure gate. Other passengers had already boarded. Without breaking stride, she grabbed her coat, presented her boarding pass and headed on to the plane. Clutching her phone, she made it just in time—but she had forgotten her book on the chair,

Under the stress of thinking about one important thing  (say, for example, worshipping on the right day or waiting for the soon coming of Christ) and concentrating our attention on the right doctrines, is there the danger of overlook- ing the other important aspects of what God might want from us? Is it possible that our single-minded thinking about the Advent might lead to an overriding attention to one aspect and the unintentional neglect of another issue, of “occupying while Jesus returns”? I hope we can get the phone and not forget the book at the departure gate.

Mic. 6:8: “Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly” into the world of so many invisible injustices, the merciless and graceless world, and the world that is proud and trotting and lacking even a modest amount of humility.

–Zdravko Plantak, PhD, is chair of ethics and director of the Ethics Graduate Program and professor of religion and ethics at the School of Religion at Loma Linda University. Email him at: [email protected]

By Nathan Brown

Across the road from my office at our church publishing house in Warburton, Australia, is our local Adventist church—and its sign board with movable letters on which the message is changed most Tuesdays. This sign sometimes advertises upcoming events or quotes occasional Bible verses, but most often announces that week’s preacher and/or sermon title with an invitation to attend.

I am intrigued by the various expressions of welcome that the sign employs from time to time. There are those that seem a contrast with the sermon title—perhaps “Sinners Are Condemned/ All Welcome” or something similar—and seem likely to be an unsuccessful invitation. The most common formulation is probably “[INSERT SERMON TITLE HERE]/ Everyone Welcome.” But, having not contacted me for the week’s sermon title, my most recent preaching appointment at this church was billboarded in this way: “This Week’s Preacher: Nathan Brown/Anyone Welcome.”

I was left reflecting on the distinction between “Everyone Welcome” and “Anyone Welcome.” In this instance, “everyone” and “anyone” can probably be used interchange- ably, but “anyone” seems a lesser welcome and risks a negative connotation. Perhaps one way of expressing it would be to distinguish between welcoming anyone who chooses to come—on an individual basis—rather than extending the sense of welcome to everyone who happens to see the sign that week, whatever their response.

Perhaps the distinction is so fine that it is only “word nerds” like me who would even reflect on it. Of course, the most important welcome—for either long-time members or first-time guests—is not what is posted on a sign, but our expression and practice of welcome and inclusion in church and as church. These do have important shades of meaning.

In the Book of Acts, the church began with this statement by Jesus: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The progression Jesus set out became the pattern for the remainder of the story, beginning in Jerusalem with ripples that spread further and further until we reach Paul in Rome, continuing to preach the good news about Jesus in the capital of the empire.

But this pattern also triggers a story of expanding inclusion in this newly inaugurated kingdom of God. Beginning with the Jews, these same ripples reach the Samaritans—of the “Good Samaritan” infamy—then Gentiles and ultimately peoples beyond Jewish imagination. In the process, so many others are caught up in this expanding reality, including women as disciples and leaders, eunuchs, and others outside acceptable understandings of holiness, persecutors and oppressors, soldiers and jailers, governors and kings.

Much of the tension among the early church leaders came from the fact that their theology could not keep pace with the expanding inclusivity of the kingdom of God and the action of God’s Spirit. Those who were coming to know God, both through their preaching or apart from it, challenged their Jewish assumptions and sensibilities.

In her provocative book Pastrix, Nadia Bolz-Weber points out that the story of the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch (see Acts 8:26–40) might be better understood as the conversion of Philip. Through this story, Philip is the one repeatedly described as being directed by the Holy Spirit and his appeal comes in the question from the eunuch, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” (v. 36). In Philip’s theology, there were good reasons why this man should not be baptized (see Deut. 23:1). But God was doing something new and Philip responded to His leading.

This kind of scandalous inclusivity in the reach and response to the Gospel caused larger tensions, which came to a head in the Jerusalem council of Acts 15, which functions as a culmination of the first half of the Book of Acts. As well as Philip’s meeting with the Ethiopian, there had been Peter’s rooftop vision and subsequent ministry to Cornelius and his household, and the initial success of the missionary work of Paul and Barnabas. The church had grown rapidly from a small Jewish sect to an international, multi-cultural and majority-Gentile movement.

It is inherent in the nature of any human organization or group that it will seek to define who is included and who is excluded. In a sense, this is what makes them a definable group. And, of course, particularly from some in Jerusalem, there were the calls that these new believers had to become Jewish—to become “like us”—to be fully recognized as members of this new community.

While the mission reports seemed compelling, James— one of the leaders in the church in Jerusalem and probably the brother of Jesus—resolved the debate by drawing on the Old Testament teaching in Isa. 45. He urged that Jesus’ followers should expect that God does new things and that the church of Jesus must grow deeper, broader and more inclusive. James expressed it succinctly: “My judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God” (Acts 15:19).

Of course, there are core beliefs and practices that are what it means to be a community of Jesus—and the Jerusalem council wrote to the new churches to encourage their faithfulness in such matters—but the conclusion of the council was that, no, we don’t all have to worship, look, live, practice, or even believe exactly alike to be full members of the faithful community of Jesus. And that it should not be difficult to turn to God in the context and culture of our church communities. As author Rachel Held Evans has put it, “What makes the gospel offensive isn’t who it keeps out, but who it lets in.”

More than a billboard sign, the Gospel mandates that everyone must be welcome. The experience of the early church was that wherever they felt the boundaries were settled, the Holy Spirit pushed them further. First- and second- century commentators lampooned and criticized the Christians for their scandalous inclusiveness. It was a marker of the reality of the work of God among them—and beyond them.

“Everyone Welcome” must not be merely a sign we put up; it must be a core practice of our faith in Jesus and our life together as His people today. If we are truly worshipping Jesus, anyone and everyone is always welcome to join us.

–Nathan Brown is a writer and editor at Signs Publishing in Warburton, Victoria, Australia. His most recent book is Engage: Faith that Matters. Email him at: [email protected]

By Doug Inglish

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. —Malachi 3:10 (ESV)

Having grown up in agricultural areas, I am familiar with the term tenant farming. Under this system, a landowner will enter an agreement with a tenant who will work the farm. When the harvest is brought in, the landowner and the tenant share the profits. This system allows those who prefer farming as a way of life and labor, but can’t yet afford to purchase the land, to still make a living off the land.

It’s a common practice, and there are numerous variations, but typically, a crop such as corn or soybeans will be split 50/50 between the landowner and the tenant. The market has determined that, depending on variables, that’s a fair division.

If you were a tenant farmer, and had been managing successfully under such an arrangement, would you consider moving to a different farm if the owner there offered you a 10/90 split? You turn over 10 percent of the crop to the landowner, and the rest is yours to take to market and get your best price. There isn’t a tenant farmer in the country who would turn down that offer!

That’s how good you have it when you faithfully tithe. God owns it all, and there are so many scriptural references to make that point that I don’t even feel the need to scatter them through this article. You know them already, and can doubtless recite a half dozen right now, without the use of a concordance. But as owner, He sets terms that no landowner could possibly afford to offer, and no tenant could afford to refuse: return a tenth, and the rest you may use as you see fit.

Of course, you can get a better deal than that. Most people do get a better deal than that, at least on paper. In fact, the majority of the members on the books of your church are getting what they consider a better deal. They have entered into a partnership in which they own nothing, but use the property of another for their own profit, and return nothing to the Owner. They claim citizenship in His kingdom, but don’t return a tithe.

They convince themselves that this is a good deal. In fact, they may believe it is the only deal they can afford. On paper, it looks like a sure winner from their perspective.

Obviously they don’t get to tap into the rich promises that are, once again, so common in the Bible that you can think of more than I have the space to mention. But they clearly believe that a 0/100 split with God in which the windows of heaven are shut is more profitable to them than a 10/90 split with the windows wide open (for those who are paying attention, that was an unmistakable reference to Mal. 3:10).

Well, I could easily talk about how you can’t come out ahead by keeping the tenth that the Owner asks in return, but you’ve heard that before, too. You may even have heard it from me, and if you haven’t yet you likely will, because I do make that point. But for now, I’m not going to go in that direction. I will just take it as fact that you already know the texts, you’ve heard the testimonies, and there might not be an angle on the formula you haven’t had presented to you in some fashion. Hopefully you are enjoying the blessings of that 10/90 partnership and have some of your own stories.

So, here is what I do want to say about returning the tenth to the owner: Even if I thought it was a better deal for me (which I don’t), and even if I believed I could get away with it (which, in the long run, no one can really get away with it), I still don’t want to keep the tenth.

Yes, you read that right. I don’t want 10 percent of my paycheck.

To understand why, let’s get back to the farm. If a person who had been laboring hard for decades under a 50/50 split were offered a position on a different farm under the terms of a 10/90 split, it would sound unbelievably good. If the ten- ant were then told by the new owner that while the deal is 10 percent in return for the use of the land, he or she would not be compelled to turn it over, I don’t think the tenant would believe their ears. But I do suspect that anyone who got that kind of a deal would nevertheless turn in the 10 percent faithfully for the rest of their lives.

There are some solid reasons why they would do this. A sense of obligation. Fear of losing the deal. An increase in living standards so significant that the 10 percent wouldn’t even be missed.

Or, most likely, simple gratitude. When the standard is 50/50, how can you begrudge a tenth to the One who gave you the opportunity of a lifetime?

That’s the kind of gratitude that makes me say I don’t want 10 percent of my paycheck. Now if the check came to me 10 percent short, you can believe I’d make my way to the payroll office to straighten it out. I never said I wanted the 10 percent to be left out, and don’t doubt for a minute that I absolutely do want it to be there. I want it in my hands, if only briefly, so I can have the joy that comes from placing it in the hands of the One who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime.

I’m happy for the blessings. I have many stories from my own experience, and thousands more that others have shared with me, of those heavenly windows pouring out. But I have a better reason to give than all the blessings. My reason is simple gratitude that in a world where the devil wouldn’t even give a 50/50 split, God offers 10/90.

–Doug Inglish is RMC director of planned giving and trust services. Email him at: [email protected]

By Samantha Nelson

I invite you to try an experiment with me and see what type of results you get. Ask your church board members during the next meeting if they think their church is a safe place for all. My guess is most will say “yes.” They do believe their church is a safe place.

Now, ask individuals within your church at different times if they feel comfortable bringing a friend or former member to church or inviting someone new to attend. My guess is they will say they are uncomfortable inviting others to attend because they don’t feel the church is a safe place to bring them.

How can this be? Why wouldn’t the church be a safe place? Well, there are many situations that lead people to feel unsafe in a church. Sometimes it is the opinionated person in Sabbath School who does all the talking and intimidates others by doing so. Sometimes it is the person who has no sense of social or personal boundaries who makes others feel uncomfortable in their presence. Sometimes it is the gossip that is known around town as such and when people see her (or him) in church, they worry what gossip will be spread about them. Sometimes it is the “food police” who have to make sure everyone is eating and drinking what they are supposed to be eating and drinking and, if they aren’t, they will certainly tell them about it. Sometimes it is the person with a critical spirit who never has anything nice to say. Sometimes it is the person who simply has to be in control of everything and manipulates others in order to get their way. If they don’t get their way, then watch out— there will be a price to pay!

These and so many other scenarios are played out in our congregations Sabbath after Sabbath and they make people feel uncomfortable and unsafe. However, there is another very real reason people feel unsafe in a congregation. They feel unsafe when someone is abusive in some way, especially sexually. They feel unsafe when they see how little accountability and consequences there are for an offender. And they feel unsafe when they see how little support (as is most often the case) the injured party receives.

Do you know one of the best things about church? It’s the opportunity to come together in fellowship with like- minded believers who extend grace, forgiveness, love, trust, and respect to others.

Do you know one of the worst things about church? Coming together in fellowship with like-minded believers who extend grace, forgiveness, love, trust, and respect to those who have caused great harm to another—through sexual harassment and/or abuse.

Why would I say such a thing? Simply this—too often a predator in our congregational midst—whether in a paid position, such as a pastor or a lay person in a position of spiritual authority, such as an elder, teacher, deacon, youth group leader, etc., who commits the crime (yes, I said crime!) of sexually abusing someone under their care is the one who receives the sympathy, forgiveness, love, respect, trust, and grace in the aftermath of disclosure. Just take a look at the following quote to see what I mean:

“It’s not unusual for ‘hard-core’ child molesters—with more sexual-offense convictions, more victims and younger victims—to be well-respected members of Christian congregations, and to be actively involved as church leaders, warns Victor Vieth, executive director emeritus of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center in Winona, Minn.

“In one study, 93 percent of convicted sex offenders described themselves as ‘religious.’ Perhaps surprisingly, many sexual predators consider churches as ‘safe havens,’ Vieth said, with trusting, forgiving adults and easy access to children.

“Religious people can be ‘easier to fool’ than most people, say researchers, and, even when an accusation of child sexual abuse is made, will often stand with the offender, vouching for his good character and even showing up in courtrooms for support.”

What happens to the victim (or oftentimes multiple victims)? The victims are often shunned, blamed, ostracized, and occasionally banned from the congregation. Where is the grace, love, forgiveness, respect, and trust for the victim? It is generally nonexistent. That, my friends, is a very sad statement; yet it is true. And it makes people feel unsafe in church.

As a church member, and even as a pastor’s wife, there are churches where I would not feel safe enough to invite someone to attend with me. Friends, if our churches can’t be safe places for the weary, the wounded, the vulnerable, the ones who need healing, the ostracized and marginalized, then why do we have churches? It’s not the ministry of Jesus to cast out the very ones who need His love and grace the most—the ones who need His healing, tender touch in their lives. How are they to receive that love if we—the church— don’t show it to them through our kindness and compassionate actions?

We must do better at this—it is required of us if we are to be like Jesus! Ps. 147:3 declares, “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Yet, so often the response from otherwise well-meaning church members is to pour salt in the fresh wounds of abuse by blaming and shaming the victim. This has to stop!

Friends, forgiveness is vital. Grace is necessary. But don’t forget what God has said in Mic. 6:8: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

Justice . . . that is where we so often fail and that is what makes our churches so unsafe. We often get caught in the forgiveness stage because we want to be loving, forgiving, grace-filled Christians. But we too often forget that forgive- ness does not erase consequences. Forgiveness does not always mean reconciled relationships and one big, happy family. Forgiveness does not overrule justice. When will we reach the point where we actually hold offenders account- able, in love, for their own salvation’s sake? We don’t want to love someone into hell, so to speak, by not allowing them to face the consequences of their actions, even if those consequences may include arrest, imprisonment, and registering as a sex offender. Justice and mercy must go together.

One without the other is not a whole or complete picture of Christ’s love.

Let’s start now to make our churches safer places for all. Let’s stop the gossip, the fault finding, the controlling actions, the boundary pushing, and all that is unlike our Lord.

Let’s stop the sexual predators in our midst—no matter who they are or what positions they may hold.

Let’s forgive and love the offender as they bear the consequences of their actions for the sake of their ultimate salvation.

Let’s love the victim and stop blaming him or her for the downfall of the “admired, loved, well-respected leader.” The downfall is a result of the offender’s actions; it is not a result of a victim telling about the actions of the offender toward them.

Rather than provide a “how-to” list for this article, which you can find in the additional resources below, I chose to appeal to your heart. It’s time for a major shift in our congregations. If we truly believe our Lord is coming soon, then we need to start acting like Him now and show- ing others His great love for them. That love means doing no harm. That love means standing up for victims. That love means holding people accountable for sinful and criminal actions.

Do you really want your church to be a safe place? Then pray for God to fill your heart with His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, and His justice.

–Samantha Nelson is a pastor’s wife and the CEO of The Hope of Survivors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of clergy sexual abuse and providing educational seminars to clergy of all faiths. Email her at: [email protected].

By Micheal Goetz

Preaching has always been at the center of Christianity because it has as its foundation the Word of God and preaching is its exposition. Preaching is the most visible part of a pastor’s ministry and it has a significant influence on the spiritual journey of a congregation. It regularly shows up on surveys as being one of the top two reasons an individual attends a church. But while it has been a driver in the Christian church and is today an element that draws the individual to attend church, according to a five-year-old Barna study, 46 percent of regular churchgoers see how the Bible is publicly presented each week and this results in no change in their lives.1

The question begs itself: if preaching has been noted as such an important part of church, why is our preaching not working? “Our” includes both the one in the pulpit and the one in the pew. As any communication guru or counselor will remind us, communication is a two-person activity.

Much of what is considered when we reflect on the public presentation of the Word of God, or preaching, is actually the elements that are the least of what make it “powerful.” Think of preaching as a house. The components of that structure that make it strong are not the factors that can be seen once it is finished. Things like the creative design, paint, wall hangings, or finish work are what make it nice. But that which makes a structure strong, or let’s say powerful, is the foundation, groundwork, and framing or concrete work. It is no different for preaching. What compels preach- ing to be powerful and impacting are factors that cannot be seen. The wall-hangings and finish work of a sermon are nice, like illustrations, creative presentation style, stories, graphics, and such. But we’ll leave those for another time. For now, let’s talk about the foundation and framing of sermons, keeping in mind that these two parts are not visible, but we all feel it when they are not there.

Personal Preparedness

There is that time when the guards were sent to arrest Jesus in Jn. 7, remember? They return empty handed and when the now-angry commanders asked them where was the captive, they responded (verse 46) that they had never heard a man speak as that Man. Isn’t that the style of preacher we want at our church? But the reason for this was that never man lived as He lived. Had His life been other than it was, He could not have spoken as He did.

This often escapes our thinking, that the power of words come from one’s personal, private life. Let me share with you a few lines from my favorite author on prayer and holy living—E.M. Bounds:

The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men. . . . What the Church needs today is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods [or better sermons], but men whom the Holy Spirit can use—men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Spirit does not flow through methods, but through men. . . . Preaching is not the performance of an hour. It is the outflow of a life. The real sermon is made [or received] in the closet. The man—God’s man— is made in the closet. . . . Prayer makes the man; prayer makes the preacher [listener]; prayer makes the pastor.3

Preachers, our lives must be in pursuit of the holiness of which we preach. Preaching is not personal performance. It is the overflow of the eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent God in you. Our prayer time, lingering in God’s presence, must be long and passionate. Let’s pause on that prayer word for a moment. Martin Luther is known to have said, “If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.” The picture we have of God is that if we bug Him too much, He will get annoyed like the parent who finally responds to the child’s cry of “Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!” However, the Bible is repetitious with narratives and instruction that continual and persistent prayer makes for miracles. God is not a “catch me if you can” god, but gave us the verbal, public proclamation of His word to make miracles happen.

Before you have the ah-ha moment and determine that your preacher must not be very holy or prayerful because the sermons lack inspiration, reread the parenthetical inserts above (which were my additions). Bound’s challenge is as much for the listener as it is for the preacher. One who spends no time learning the voice of God during the week will not recognize Him speaking in any public presentation. The sermon is made from the private and personal meeting with God by both the preacher and the listener.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and so my ear naturally catches the news of wildfires. During the year 2017, they weren’t necessarily setting records, but the statistics are big. Since the beginning of this year, 46,951 fires have burned across 7,650,844 acres of the United States, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. You can’t help but reflect that each one of these massive landscape-changing fires started with a single flame. It’s the old campfire chorus, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going . . .” That personal, private, prayer time with God is the flame that can cause the forest-fire-burning we long for in our churches.

Theology of Preaching

The theology of preaching has at its foundation two elements. First, God has chosen to speak and His word is powerful, creative, and effective. Second, God calls humans to be surrogate voices in speaking His word to others. Because of the Holy Spirit, the latter can have the same result as the former.

Often preaching is thought of as being “about” the Word of God and not “the very Word of God.” This nuanced difference may have been or is being cultivated by poor preaching, but it doesn’t change what it is supposed to be.

Preaching through the span, from Noah to the third angel, includes a side of judgment and destruction. Not every time, but a significant number of times, preaching is what provides the opportunity for the individual or community to be saved from either physical harm or eternal destruction. God is love, and He is giving His all for the salvation of mankind (Jn. 3:16). It is fair to conclude that God would only give His best effort to save all (1 Tim. 2:4), and according to the biblical account and command, preaching is one of God’s primary methods to such an extent that in Matt. 10, Jesus told the preachers He was sending them out so that communities would be held accountable in the judgment based on what they had heard preached (v. 15).

God’s Word brought everything in this universe into existence from nothing, but it is not just an historical event of the past, rather it is the breath that sustains and keeps creating life today. Could it be that same Word is what we today call preaching? The answer comes in Romans 10. The sequence described (vv. 13-16) is that those who are lost need to hear in order to believe. However, verse 17 summarizes with a parallel sequence: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hear- ing by the word of God.” The position the preacher occupies in the order presented in verses 13-16 is clarified in verse 17 as being the same position as the Word of God. In preaching then, the preacher and the Word of God become the same.

If preaching is the very Word of God, then how I relate to it as a preacher changes, and how I relate to it as a listener changes. Everything changes if preaching is the proclamation of the Word of God. As a preacher, I come with a holy, prayerful reverence, diligently studying, preparing and practicing the sermon in advance so that when I step into the pulpit, the word spoken is the Word. As a listener, I will come early (or on time), having lingered in prayer listening to His voice through Bible study, surrendering my heart and mind to Him, and petitioning Him for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the preacher and on me. Both reactions, from the preacher and the listener, are because God is about to speak.

And when God speaks, preaching does work.

–Micheal Goetz is senior pastor at Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loveland, Colorado. Email him at: [email protected]

By Mickey Mallory

First, a personal story. How did I get to where I am today? As I backtrace the steps on my life road, I must admit there have been people along the way that God has used to help me. First and foremost would be my parents. They helped me get off to a tremendous start in life. After that would be my local Seventh-day Adventist pastor during a time when I was a rebellious teenager. Through his friendship and Christ-centered preaching, he helped me get on track spiritually. He helped me to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.

The day of my baptism was the greatest day of my life. It was such a life-changing experience that an intense passion arose in my heart to serve in full-time ministry. Believing that passion was the calling of God, I enrolled in college to study to become a pastor. My goal was to learn to influence people for God just like my local pastor influenced me.

After graduating from Union College and then serving as a pastor for a few years, I began to realize that if I was going to really influence people for God, I needed to learn how to become a better leader. Because of this, I set out on a quest to learn as much as I could about the subject of leadership. I read numerous books on leadership. I was especially blessed by the books and tapes produced by leadership coach John C. Maxwell. His quote, “Everything rises and falls on leadership,” was a real eye opener to me. It challenged me to not only grow myself as a leader, but to help those around me grow as well.

Initially, this meant developing the leaders in my church. But after a while, I became heavily convicted that I should expand my context and use my knowledge base of leadership to help pastoral leaders grow. Because I was already serving as a district superintendent for a group of conference pastors, I began sharing with them what I was learning and the response was so positive, I decided that for the rest of my ministry, I was going to take advantage of any opportunity that God made possible to invest in growing leaders.

One of the opportunities that God opened up for me was to train student pastors from Southern Adventist University while I pastored a church nearby. For the last five years, I poured myself into each one of them with the hope that when they graduated, they would be better prepared to lead the churches they would serve.

After nearly three decades of full-time pastoral ministry, I can truly see how God has led in my journey. He has helped me influence many people for God, including those in leader- ship. It is my hope as I move forward that God will continue to allow me to have opportunities to make an impact for Him.

Win in Min

In my role at the Rocky Mountain Conference, I see myself as being the pastors’ coach. My job is to assist each pastor to be a winner in ministry (Win in Min). Based on my personal 28 years of experience as a pastor, I believe that in order for pastors to win in ministry, they need to win in the following four areas:

Winning in Health

Spiritual—The most important appointment of each day for pastors is the time they spend with God. They must be “thick with the Almighty” in order to accomplish much for God.

Emotional—In order to be successful, pastors need what science journalist Daniel Goleman calls emotional intelligence (EQ). When the pastor is emotionally healthy, he or she can deal with the stress of ministry better and help their churches also become more emotionally healthy.

Physical—For energy and mental sharpness, the pastor needs to take care of his or her body. This would include sticking to a healthy diet, exercising on a regular basis, and making sure they are getting enough rest.

Winning in Relationships

Family and Friends—Those closest to a pastor determine his or her level of success. Because of this, the pastor must take time to invest in these relationships. The pastor’s most important mission field is his or her family.

Church and Community—Members do not care how much a pastor knows until they know how much he or she cares. When members know their shepherd loves them, they are more apt to follow him or her.

Winning in Leadership

Developing the Leader Within—Since everything rises and falls on leadership, it is important for the pastor to grow in his or her leadership skills.

Developing the Leaders Around Them—Pastors can accomplish more when they build a team of leaders around them. When the pastor takes time to develop his or her team, it helps the team get better, which in turn helps the church get better. Growing leaders = a growing church.

Winning in Communication

Written—The pastor must take advantage of various forms of written communication in order to keep his or her church inspired and informed.

Oral—Teaching and preaching the Word in a relevant and practical manner gives the church and community the opportunity to connect with God and understand His plan for their life.

In order to make winning in ministry (Win in Min) not just a set of theories on paper, the following model for leadership development (created by the Center for Creative Leadership) can be used:

Assessment: Question—How are you doing? Using a periodic evaluation process, attempt to get an accurate picture of how things are going. Take time to celebrate the wins and then identify areas of growth.

Challenge: Question—How can you change? Develop a practical, strategic plan that can be followed in order to grow.

Support: Question—How can others help you? Once a plan of action is developed, find a small team of people who can provide accountability, encouragement, and prayer.

–Mickey Mallory is RMC ministerial director. Email him at: [email protected].

By Kiefer Dooley

In the book of Exodus, just before he became one of God’s greatest leaders, Moses had an identity crisis. Meeting face to face with the Spirit of God at the burning bush, Moses threw a pity party . . . questioning who he was and who God is. Now, roughly 3,400 years later, we continue to struggle with the same central questions.

We are unsure of our identity both collectively and as individuals. Divisive issues seem to plague our church from the local level to the global organization. The separation is draining our church of energy, motivation, and mission. At some point, we need to face our own fiery shrub. We have a burden to move beyond division in order to further the work of God.

Let me be clear—this is a burden that falls on all of God’s children, regardless of age. This is our church, it is our community, and it is our obligation and duty to see the Good News of the message of God spread throughout our communities. Too often we pass the responsibility from one generation to the other. In the past, I’ve written articles that delineate the young people from the older generation while trying to maintain that my points are applicable to the church as a whole. This article is for everyone, young, old, and in-between.

We should not be surprised at our struggle to unite under a common cause. Jesus knew that we would struggle to maintain unity and pled God on our behalf, saying, “[I ask] that they may all be one . . . so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me” (Jn. 17:21-23).

Jesus’ prayer seems to be increasingly relevant as social and political troubles tear at the fabric of our country and our church. In 2018, it seems as difficult as ever to maintain unity as our world walks in darkness. Young people shoot down their peers in the hallways of high schools across the country. Eighteen percent of the U.S. population aged 18 and older suffers from depression or a related mental illness.1 So it rightly follows that suicide continues to fall between the eighth and tenth leading cause of death, having maintained that status since 2010.2 Furthermore, despite average growth in the economy, more than 2 million people in the U.S. live on $2.00 or less per day, which amounts to less than $1,000 per year.3 And hitting close to home for those of us in the Rocky Mountain Conference, the under- ground sex trade in Denver, Colorado, is estimated to be generating an annual economy of $39.9 million dollars. This market contributes heavily to the over 4,000 cases of sex trafficking that are reported in the U.S. every year with estimates of total trafficking in the U.S. putting the annual number in the hundreds of thousands.

It’s evident that people are divided, hurting and in desperate need.

In the meantime, we often concern ourselves with struggling, fighting, bickering, and having our feelings hurt over generational preferences, selfish desires, and a fair share of trivial matters. I could spend time producing a list of divisive issues that are holding us back instead of propelling us forward, but I’m sure that several issues, whether close to home or far away, will spring to mind for the reader with this simple prompting. As it relates to youth specifically, we tend to do a great deal of talking and listening but can never seem to come around to taking any action. We may pat ourselves on the back for “hearing the youth” or “listening to the church of now,” but it seems that all that ever happens is that we set up another session of talking about change while we wonder, “Is this thing on?”

This year, the Youth Department is choosing to focus on identity. It is our belief that if we could become secure in who we are as children of the living God, the generational differences would melt away and the bickering over politics, doctrine, and equality would cease. Again, this call is to the young and to the old as well as to the progressive or conservative—sacrifice self in exchange for the identity God has for each of us. If we would only be able to make the challenging leap to give up pride and self in order to live by God’s view of our identity, then truth, standards, ideals, love, and unity will follow.

Here are the simple facts of the Gospel regarding our identity:

We are God’s children and our identity is established by His love.

We are valuable because God says so.
Jesus became sin and died on the cross to cut lose Satan’s hold on our world.
We are free from the power of sin.
We are called, above all other things, to love one another.

As a faith community, our purpose is to embrace our identity, and live by connecting people with Jesus, the world’s One true source of light. It is to inspire our communities to recognize the reality of the lives of darkness that people are living and respond with empathy, understanding, love, and guidance. Our purpose is to make it easy for people to know God. To make sure that they have the opportunity to surrender their broken “I am” for Jesus’s perfect “I am.” And to get about the work of loving our hurting and suffering world.

Our calling is to be a community of God, continually dying to self and filled with love. Our world says: “I am hungry.” Jesus says: “I am the bread of life” (Jn. 6:35). The people cry out from the darkness and Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (Jn. 8:12).

So let’s not wait for another church or another person to make a difference. Let’s not talk about our issues and fail to follow through with action. Instead, let us follow the call of Col. 3:10, setting our minds on heavenly things while throwing off the old self in proclamation that we are new men and new women in Christ. With confidence, we can claim our identity, internalize our value, sacrifice our selfish desires and live for the betterment of others. We may have all of the truth in the world, but it will be for nothing without love. This truly is the central force of our calling, that we love the Lord God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds and that we love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:37 and 38).

–Kiefer Dooley is assistant youth director and Glacier View Ranch summer camp director. Email him at: [email protected].

By Jessyka Albert

When I first arrived at Boulder Church as a bright-eyed intern, I was given the title of “young adult pastor.” This, I thought, would be great for many reasons. First of all, I am a young adult! Secondly, I had just spent three years of my life working at Campus Ministries at Union College. Young adult ministry in Boulder would be a walk in the park.

It didn’t take long before I came to terms with the fact that young adult ministry on an Adventist campus and young adult ministry in the “real world” are drastically different. Life’s challenges complicate young adult community in the real world.

At Union College, everyone is roughly the same age, faces the same basic life struggles (for example, trying to avoid buying overpriced textbooks and dreading a big final next Tuesday), lives within a ten-minute walk of one another, and receives worship credit for attending spiritual programs like Friday night vespers.

At Boulder, and likely at your church as well, many of the factors that make young adult ministry on a college campus work well are nonexistent. I realized that my ideas of how to connect people my own age to church and to Jesus would needed to be reevaluated.

To begin my journey of reconstructing my definition of “young adult ministry,” I posed a question to a few of the eighteen to twenty-somethings at church. “What do you guys want out of church?” I asked. The answer I received seemed too simple. “We would love to have potluck every week,” someone said, almost jokingly. Everyone laughed, but when I immediately agreed, the joke became a plan. Starting with the following Sabbath, the young adult group began to have lunch together every single week. Lunch together became a springboard into deeper community; leading to afternoon hikes, rock climbing trips, and days spent flying kites at the park, throwing frisbees, and drinking La Croix. On some Sabbaths, the afternoons together led to dinner. Dinners led to evenings spent playing board games and discussing life—its joys, sorrows, troubles, and triumphs.

Before we knew it, the young adult group not only began spending nearly all of every Saturday with each other, but began to grow. We began to connect on a deep level, getting to know about each others’ jobs, classes, families, friends, and hobbies. Time spent together outside of the physical church building connected us more than just two or three hours in the worship service and Sabbath classes ever could. Some of our deepest conversations about life and about God were had over lunch, during a board game, or while on a hike. Furthermore, anytime someone new visited our church, there was no doubt that we would have a way to connect. Lunch would be planned and ready. It was a given.

As the framework for this new definition of young adult ministry began to develop, I noticed that we weren’t cornering the market on an exclusive “young adult ministry;” we were just doing plain old ministry. At Union College, “ministry” almost exclusively meant programing. Relying on programming alone works well in the collegiate environment because socioeconomically similar people are already connected to one another. Students eat in the same cafeteria, attend the same classes, and live in the same dorms.

Unfortunately, all too often our tendency is to simply pack up the collegiate model and roll it out at the local church or in the conference while disregarding the reality that it may not be the best model for reaching young people in the “real world.” We plan event after event for twenty- something-year-olds and are shocked when these events are not well attended, or when people come and go but never really connect. I am not against good programming. In fact, in February 2018, a group of young adults from Boulder Church attended the final One project gathering in San Diego. However, I want to be clear that it was more than the stand-alone event that made the experience incredible. While the event included time to connect with Jesus and with each other, the young adults also traveled with one another, ate meals with new people in new places, and explored San Diego while experiencing life with one another. If you take away one thing at this juncture, take this: programs can be wonderful, but they are not effective on their own.

Chances are you’ve heard someone say, “There are no young people in our church. They’re all leaving!” Or, maybe you’ve said it yourself. The harsh reality is this: if all church is giving a young person is programming, they’re not miss- ing out if they just livestream the service or vespers from home while in their PJs flipping pancakes and drinking coffee (take it from a young person who may or may not have done this a few times). We have more to offer as a church, young and old, than just a service or an evangelistic series. We have more to offer as a church than “young adult” or “youth” events. We have more and we can be more. By no means does this mean we stop any of these things, but it does mean that they don’t deserve 100 percent of our time, energy, and finances.

Recently, a popular rap artist by the name of Drake took his music video budget for “God’s Plan” (nearly one million dollars), and gave it all away. What if our church organization took Drake’s lead and used our finances to invest in people instead of in events? For Drake, what would have been just another good music video instead changed dozens of lives. For us, what would be just another decent event could instead be an investment into connections with dozens of our young adults. It’s time to reevaluate our method of ministry and revisit our budgets. We talk about the exodus of young people enough; let’s do something instead. I’ll say it one more time: our church shouldn’t cut programming or stop hosting events all together. We must simply understand that these things are only a small portion of a bigger picture.

Our young people are not dead, disappearing, or on Mars. Our young people are not giving up on Jesus or on church. The simple truth is that our young people have graduated from college and are finding themselves in a new phase of the journey, that’s all. They’re juggling work, relationships, families, and taxes. The simple truth is that we are not adapting our ministry to their needs.

Let’s not continue to give them only program after program to juggle and fit into their calendars. Let’s give them churches that are warm, empathetic, and meaningful wherein they feel welcomed and know that they can connect on a weekly basis. Let’s give them friendships that flood into their day-to-day lives. Let’s give them Sabbath classes that look deeply into Scripture and are relevant to their lives. Let’s give them challenges to live their faith every day and in every situation. Let’s give them Jesus. Remember Him? The guy who who walked, traveled, ate, and celebrated with people. Let’s give them the Jesus who lived life and was life.

It’s been almost three years now that I’ve been at Boulder Church. My job description has changed from young adults to kids and teens. I haven’t organized a single “young adult” event in ages, but I have seen measurable growth in my church. One recent Saturday, I spent all day with a group of young adults from Boulder processing the Sabbath’s sermon over enchiladas, dreaming up ministry ideas over board games, and discussing current events after a movie. We need to remind ourselves that young adult ministry, or any ministry for that matter, can sometimes be, quite literally, a walk in the park.

–Jessyka Albert is associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church. Email her at: [email protected].

By Dany Hernandez

It is obvious that there more questions than answers.

As you read on, the thoughts and ideas will likely spark a conversation and hopefully make an impact in each of our communities. During the last decade at LifeSource, we have learned, mostly through trial and error, what is necessary for a church to really make an impact in its local community. It is my intention to share this information with the hopes of creating a larger dialogue.

Is anyone paying attention? “If your church burned down, would anyone notice?” We’ve heard that question for years and, for the most part, the answer to the question is, “Yes.” Your members, who faithfully attend your church, would miss it. But would anyone else? This is a question that, as old as it is, should keep us awake at night and haunt us on a daily basis. Does anyone in your community really care whether your church survives, thrives, or dies?

If you were to take a poll of the immediate community surrounding your church, what would they say about you? What can the neighbors of your church tell us about your faith community? If you’re having a hard time trying to figure out what your immediate community thinks about you or if they even know anything about you, then it’s time you begin to change the way you relate to that community.

But relating to your immediate community is not as easy as you would think. Our church has now been on this journey for about a decade, and I can honestly tell you that it gets more challenging to find ways of connecting with our neighbors with every passing year. LifeSource Adventist Fellowship began this journey to become an externally focused church years ago, and through that process, we’ve had the opportunity to make connections with our immediate community in ways we never imagined. However, this has not come without challenges and without questioning our approach.

What follows is an example of what we have done and currently do in our efforts to connect with our neighbors.

1. Wednesday Workout Night: We’ve hired a personal trainer to come in every Wednesday evening and teach a Boot Camp-style workout for anyone wanting to participate.
2. We’ve opened our campus for 9Health, a partnership with Denver Channel 9 television to bring affordable health screenings to the community.
3. We provide a Financial Peace University seminar every year for our church members as well as our community.
4. We are starting a Celebrate Recovery support group.
5. We are in the process of teaching an English as a Second Language (ESL) class for the Lakewood community.
6. We partner with the YMCA in providing a class and support group for people with diabetes.
7. Every summer, we throw a thank-you party for our neighborhood.
8. We are opening our campus this year for Community Conversations about mental health, suicide, racial reconciliation, and infant and child loss.
9. Every October, we provide a family-friendly trick or treat alternative for our neighbors.
10. We open our facility every morning for an organization called Camp Gladiator to hold their workouts in our reception hall.
11. We will be hiring photographers in November so that our neighbors can have family photos taken for Christmas.
12. We have a community garden where 20-30 of our neighbors are actively involved.
13. We partner with Colorado Feeding Kids and pack 30-50 thousand meals yearly, inviting our neighbors to join us.
14. We have an ongoing partnership with Urban Peak, a shelter for homeless teens.
15. We have a community event on Easter weekend.
16. Our facility is also used by the local HOA to hold their monthly meetings.
17. We hope to start a monthly cooking class so that neighbors can learn how to make a variety of meals from different parts of the world.

A pretty exhausting list isn’t it? But here’s the reality— even that is not enough to really make the type of impact we need to make in our communities.

Practice vs. Presence

One of the challenges that our churches face when connecting to their communities is a geographic problem. Many of our members commute a long distance to attend church. This means that many are not as enthusiastic about investing a lot of time and energy in a community that is not “their” community. So a church can plan and execute a dozen contact points with their neighbors, but as long as there’s a lack of “presence” from members of the faith community, the local impact will be minimal.

Before we started plotting our approach for connecting with the neighborhood, we spent considerable time studying the demographics of those who lived within a one-mile radius of the church. During this process, we found that our church members were not like our neighbors. Our neighbors were of a lower income bracket, immigrants with less education. So, how do you bridge the gap and create an environment where both of these groups can engage in meaningful interaction? That question is still an elusive one.

As Adventists, we share a great tradition and history that provides immediate context and familiarity with one another. It’s a beautiful thing when we can go into any Adventist church and talk about haystacks without needing an explanation, but it can also be a curse. Our language can also be confusing, since a haystack is simply . . . a taco salad.

A recent conversation with one of our attendees who lives in the neighborhood shed incredible light on how difficult it can be to break through in an Adventist church. After attending for more than a year, she suddenly stopped coming to church and this was her explanation for her absence: “I realized I would never truly be a part of this [faith] community because I didn’t attend their schools, their colleges/universities, I don’t live in their neighbor- hood, or work at their hospital.” These are harsh words for an organization trying to reach a community so vastly different than its own members.

I’m not blaming anyone for her decision to stop attending, but I’m also not excusing the fact that reaching out to the community around us will cause tension when and if those individuals begin to visit our churches. If the members of our faith community are hesitant to spend a considerable amount of time with people unlike us, then all of our efforts to reach our community might be in vain.

Real relationships are developed when we step out of our own comfort zone and step into someone else’s. Traditionally, churches have not been very good at putting this into practice. Think about it! Almost everything we do at church revolves around a two-and-a-half-hour period. We are asking people who don’t know anything about Adventism to come to our place, at a specific time, for a specific purpose without any knowledge of what to expect.

Years ago when I lived in Florida, I became part of a fly-fishing club and was soon invited to its monthly Happy Hour at a local bar. The first couple of months I declined, mostly because I was afraid of hanging out at a bar with people I didn’t know very well. After a few months, I decided I would embrace the challenge and go to the next Happy Hour. Thursday evening approached and I got in my car and drove to Happy Hour. I pulled into the parking lot and just sat in my car. I could not find the courage to get out of my car and walk in. Why? I had questions. I’d grown up a good Adventist. I never drank, smoked, or gambled. I’d never gone to Happy Hour before. What would it be like in there? What will I talk about? Where do I do once I’m inside? Will I know anyone there? How should I act? What should I say? While I sat in the car, I realized it was no different than a visitor driving to our church and having to find the courage to get out of the car and walk into a place they’ve never been before.

You’ll be happy to know that I went in and had a great time drinking—cranberry juice! I met people who were so different and yet so similar to me. People who care about the world, who care about others, who love their families and want to see their communities prosper. That Happy Hour encounter led to doing weddings and funerals for people who never stepped foot in our church, but got a glimpse of Jesus. One of the greatest gifts Jesus gave to those around Him was the gift of “presence.” Is your presence in your community?

In vs. Out

One of the greatest challenge our churches face is striking a balance between keeping those we have versus reaching those we don’t. If we spend most of our time and energy trying to reach out to the margins of society and community, the insiders will have a tendency to disconnect and feel as if they are being ignored. But if we spend too much time with those on the inside, you’ll never be able to really make an impact in the lives of those on the outside. And when those on the inside grumble and stop giving of their time and resources, then our ability to reach the out- siders is minimized. What’s the answer? I don’t know that I have one that many people will like, but I do have one. This one comes straight from Jesus.

Jesus says, “Be irresponsible!” Well, actually, He didn’t say those exact words, but he alluded to that fact in Lk. 15:4: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” Did you catch it? He left ninety-nine in the open country to fend for them- selves while He went out after just one. That doesn’t seem very responsible. If you’re playing the numbers game, logic would tell you to protect the ninety-nine to make sure you didn’t lose any more. Someone would be very angry if you left ninety-nine in the open country to chase after just one. The ninety-nine would stop grazing and look around and wonder, “Where did our shepherd go? How dare he leave us here and risk our safety? Does he not know it’s only one that he lost? Does he not realize the sheep is most likely lost due to its own failures and behavior?”

So how do we keep the ninety-nine happy and healthy while still going after the one? You trust the ninety-nine will watch for one another and help each other stay safe and grow because the ninety-nine know, without a doubt, that it’s not about them; it’s about the lost. Or do they?

Cold and Hot vs. Safe

Most of us know the words spoken to the church of Laodicea: “I wish you were either hot or cold . . .” but instead you played it safe. As churches, what are we afraid of when we reach out to our neighbors and community? Are we more interested in not making a mistake than we are in making a difference? We can keep playing it safe and bury what our Master has given is, and when He returns, we can give it back to Him exactly as it was given to us and be proud that we didn’t mess it up or lose it. We can be proud that we locked it up and protected it. What will you tell Jesus? “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant!” (Matt. 25:25-26).

A long time ago, I made the decision that when I get to heaven, I want to look Jesus in the eyes and say, “I tried everything!”

–Dany Hernandez is lead pastor of LifeSource Adventist Fellowship in Denver. Email him at: [email protected].

By Mike Ryan

“To show a liberal, self-denying spirit for the success of foreign missions is a sure way to advance home missionary work; for the prosperity of the home work depends largely, under God, upon the reflex influence of the evangelical work done in countries afar off” (Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, pp. 465, 466).

Mission is the bridge between God’s plans and my plans. However, mission is often confused with activities in far-away countries filled with pagans or only at my local church. Wrong answers! Mission works interdependently and involves every person in the world in every location of the world. Jumping off the bridge can be hazardous to your health!

The operation of a world church is a complex process. Church happens in all but 17 of the world’s 206 countries, with more than 150,000 groups/churches, nearly 8,000 schools, nearly 1,000 hospitals/clinics and health care facilities, 62 publishing houses, 22 food factories, and scores of programs and methods—the tasks and parts of governance are nearly beyond comprehension. From leadership training through the critical steps of strategic planning and organizational governance, there is only one purpose for the church. The church has been organized for the purpose of mission.

Every church leader, and particularly pastors and members, is largely concerned with mission as defined by the Lord Himself–giving hope to the world through Christ and making disciples in Christ (Matt. 28: 19, 20). I have often heard the question, “How can growth take place in my church?” Jumping off the bridge can be hazardous to your health!

At the conclusion of a mission conference, an elderly lady from the eastern United States handed me $2,500 to start a new church in northwest India. When she handed me the money, she said, “Take the money; our church of seven members is dead.” We talked for about 30 minutes. I told her that her sacrificial gift could very possibly be their church’s first plank on the great mission bridge of hope. Shortly there- after, seven members, inspired by the Holy Spirit and claiming the “reflex influence,” employed the most simple, humble methods, and watched for the “reflex.” Two years later, I spoke at the new church in India—42 grace-filled members all chiseled from the bedrock of a hopeless world religion. A few weeks after that, I spoke at the seven-member church. Seventy-one people present—all chiseled from the bedrock of faith.

Jumping off the bridge can be hazardous to your health! Shrinking pains begin with the narrowing of a church’s vision and mission. The voices begin in the hallways and progress to the boardroom. “Foreign mission? Who needs it? It has nothing to do with us. Cancel the mission report. We have no time to show Mission 360. Global Mission’s church planting? We have other uses for our money.” We have all seen it. The talk goes on and on until finally mission is defined as internal entertainment and the critically important human, time and financial sacrifice required to operate a church school, Pathfinders, Center of Influence—Community Services, evangelism, etc., is considered an outrageous intrusion to church life and the budget. Children’s story– “Where have all the children gone?” Jumping off the bridge can be hazardous to your health!

Is the mission of the church going forward? Absolutely! Globally, 2016 and 2017 were both record-setting years for church planting. The church’s Global Mission Initiative, empowered by the Holy Spirit, continues to dynamically deliver hope in Christ to the non-Christian world. Church growth is alive and thriving in the North American Division, Mid-America Union, and the Rocky Mountain Conference. Look at the data! However, only changed people, not changed data, register in heaven. Every day, people without hope find Christ. I have met them—business executives, plumbers, refugees, abused children, prostitutes, Animists, murderers, the homeless, the wealthy, the poor—all finding eternal hope in Christ, from desperate to being cuddled in God’s grace.

It is easy to comfort myself saying, “The bruised, sick and destitute of the world live somewhere else, not in my city.” True, these people do live somewhere else, but it’s a sure bet that when I help them, God will open my eyes and use me as an instrument of hope to heal the bruised, the sick and the destitute not only in my city but in my home. While global church growth is on my list of concerns, it is not the first question that should rock my world. If faith and sacrifice are to walk hand in hand, I must hear the roaring question, “What’s the condition of my mission bridge? Is my mission bridge robust or sporting just one thin plank? Am I bold enough, responsible enough, to shake and rattle my priorities until my mission bridge repeatedly transports the “reflex influence”—Christ to the world?”

Many years ago when my father was a colporteur, had five children in church school, and was part of a new church plant, I watched as Mom and Dad pledged $500 for the purchase of a property on which now stands the Gladstone, Missouri, church. I was old enough to know that Dad needed a newer car, paint and shingles for our old house, and all of us could use a few new clothes. On the way home, I asked Dad where he was going to get the money for the church. Driving home in the dim of the evening, I could just make out the look of peace on Dad’s face. With one hand on the steering wheel, he put his other hand on my shoulder and said, “The work of the church will be finished in the spirit of sacrifice, but never forget, faith and sacrifice walk hand in hand.” I knew intuitively that he was paraphrasing from Ellen White.

Over the next two years, I watched Mom and Dad, little by little, pay that $500. I also helped paint the old house and put shingles on the roof, and that year I got socks, a sweater, and a new shirt for Christmas. The next generation is watching. Jumping off the bridge can be hazardous to your health!

–Mike Ryan is a former vice president of the General Conference and coordinated the church’s Global Mission initiative. He and his wife Jeanie live near Montrose, Colorado.