Jon Roberts

13 Jul

FRANKTOWN CHURCH VOLUNTEERS CONTINUE BI-WEEKLY COMMUNITY FOOD DISTRIBUTION

By Jamey Houghton — Franktown, Colorado … The Franktown church has been partnering with Food Bank of the Rockies for the last year and a half. During the lock down, we missed one month of distribution. After that month, the health department allowed us to re-open with new guidelines for distributing food.

In the past, people have lined up with wagons, boxes and even empty laundry baskets to pick up food, passing through our tables loaded with food and choosing what they wanted. Our new guidelines require us to prepare boxes of food and have a drive-through style delivery.

So, a crew of volunteers from the Franktown and the Castlewood Canyon churches arrives at 9:30 a.m. when food is being packed into boxes for those lined up in their cars. They drive up, stay in their car and pop their trunk open. Our crew then loads the trunk with food boxes and they are on their way without ever getting out of their car. The volunteer group is made up of individuals from age seven to well into their 80s who come every second Friday to help make this happen.

We have been operating like this for several months and it has allowed us to continue to bless the people in our community with food for their families. These are people we see regularly and know many by name,” reports Jamey Houghton, church pastor.

Church prayer teams pray with the people in their cars while they wait for their turn to get food. “We are excited that we can continue to serve our community with the slight changes we have implemented,” Pastor Jamey added.

–Jamey Houghton is pastor of Franktown church; pictures, courtesy of the Franktown church’s Facebook page

09 Jul

Before you pick up the stone . . .

By Chris Morris . . . “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.”

These were Jesus’ words in response to the Pharisees in their desire to punish an adulterous woman while simultaneously discrediting Him.

Here’s the thing, though. Technically, Jesus was obligated to condone the stoning of the adulterous woman. Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 both delineate the God-given consequences for committing adultery. Why doesn’t he do so?

The story is told of a 3rd grade class on the first day of school. The bell rang to begin the day and students began to file into the classroom. One student was a very nervous girl. She was quiet and her limbs were trembling with anxiety. She found a seat in the back of the classroom. A few moments later, another student walked confidently into the classroom and sat down next to the nervous girl. After a quick glance at the girl and her desk, this boy suddenly ran out of the room, only to return with a large cup of water. The boy took the cup of water and doused the nervous girl.

The teacher immediately called the boy up to her desk and asked him why he did such a cruel thing. The boy remained silent. After several more unsuccessful inquiries, the boy was sent to the principal’s office. Ultimately, he was suspended from school for three days for his actions.

When the boy returned to school, his teacher paid close attention to his behavior. To her surprise, over the next few months, this boy was a model student. His grades were exceptional. He would volunteer to help the teacher at every opportunity. He would even model conflict resolution skills on the playground when other students had arguments or fights.

One day, the teacher could no longer quiet her curiosity. She called this boy to her desk and asked him why he did what he did on the first day of school. The boy dropped his head, slumped his shoulders, and remained quiet. The teacher assured him that he had already paid the penalty for the terrible behavior and that he would not receive another punishment. The boy shared with the teacher that he had noticed how nervous the girl who sat next to him was on the first day of school. In fact, he noticed she was so nervous that there was a puddle of urine underneath her desk. The girl had so much anxiety that she didn’t make it to the restroom. The boy stated that he knew this girl would be made fun of by the other students if they saw what he saw. So, he decided to run out of the classroom, grab a cup of water, and douse the girl. The teacher was astonished. The boy was willing to take the punishment for pouring water on the girl so that she would not be the target of mockery and ridicule.

Jesus didn’t condone the stoning of the woman for one reason and one reason only. He had come to take the “stoning” for her. Not only hers, but ours as well.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” [2 Corinthians 5:21].

–Chris Morris is associate pastor for worship, youth and visitation at Littleton, Colorado church.

09 Jul

G. Alexander Bryant Named North American Division President

By Kimberly Maran — Columbia, Maryland . . . On July 9, 2020, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s General Conference Executive Committee met virtually to receive the name of G. Alexander Bryant, the recommendation for division president, from both the North American Division’s nominating committee and executive committee. Bryant was confirmed in a vote of 153 to 3.

Ted N.C. Wilson, General Conference president and, as policy indicates for the vote of division president, chair of the NAD nominating and executive committees held on July 6 and July 7, said, “I’m looking forward to a renewed focus on the three angels’ messages and I believe that Elder Bryant can help lead in that great adventure, because that is what is entrusted to each of us. [He] is a mission-focused individual. He is someone who is a careful listener to people. He will take [these cares] to the Lord and ask for guidance. … I believe that God can use him in a very, very special way.”

“I am first indebted to God for His call to ministry and secondly to those who have poured into my life over the years,” said Bryant in response to the vote. “I am deeply humbled by the confidence Elder Wilson, our chair, and the NAD and GC executive committees have placed in me with this assignment. This task is too big for one individual or office. It is abundantly clear to me that it takes all of us working together to advance God’s kingdom and I just deeply covet your prayers.”

He added, “I ask for my wife and for myself — that you would continue to lift us up daily as we will you. … Hopefully, by our efforts together, we can hasten the coming of the Lord through our mission work throughout our territory and beyond; and Jesus will come and we can go home.”

Wilson affirmed the decision for NAD president, saying, “Alex, we will place you in prayer — that God will be with you and Desiree and your family as you take up these new responsibilities in a powerful way. … I know he will have a tremendous evangelistic imprint on North America for the future and it’ll be a privilege to collaborate with him on that.”

All world division executive officers serve as elected officers of the GC and their nomination and election by the region they represent must be approved by the General Conference Executive Committee. The division’s nominating committee is termed a standing committee. It was appointed by the NAD Executive Committee in 2015. During the past five years the nominating committee has recommended the names of individuals to the executive committee for vote in order to fill division vacancies.

Following an outlined process disclosed earlier, the division’s nominating committee met on July 6 and selected the name of Bryant, which was presented and voted on by the NAD Executive Committee on July 7. Bryant’s name was sent as a recommendation to the GC Executive Committee. All meetings were held virtually via Zoom with a previously-used electronic voting process.

Bryant replaces Daniel R. Jackson, who served at the NAD headquarters since his election in June 2010 at the GC Session in Atlanta, Georgia, and reelection in 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, until his retirement on July 1, 2020. The search process for a new executive secretary has begun.

Glenward Alexander (“Alex”) Bryant most recently served as executive secretary of the NAD and associate secretary of the GC, positions he’s held since October 2008 when elected at the GC Annual Council in Manila, Philippines. Bryant was reelected at the 2010 GC Session. While serving as the division’s secretary, Bryant conducted leadership seminars, training and orientation of conference executive officers; organized a division-wide diversity summit; coordinated the digitalization of the NAD Secretariat; and conducted annual evangelistic series.

Before coming to the division, Bryant served as the president of the Central States Conference in Kansas City, Kansas.

Bryant graduated with a double major in Theology and Business Administration from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in 1982.

He began his ministry that same year in Springfield, Missouri, and Coffeyville and Independence, Kansas. In 1986, Bryant was ordained, and he continued his education by earning a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in 1988. The Central States Conference voted Bryant to serve as Youth/Pathfinders/National Service Organization director, Temperance director, and superintendent of Education in 1990. He became president in 1997.

In addition to pastoring several churches early in his career, Bryant also served as a student missionary to Japan for one year. During his college years, Bryant’s administrative abilities helped him serve as the Adventist Youth director at Oakwood College and the Black Students Association of the Seminary (BSAS) president at Andrews University.

Bryant is the second African American elected to serve as NAD president. Charles E. Bradford, the division’s first president, was also African American. Previous division presidents include Alfred C. McClure, Don C. Schneider, and Daniel R. Jackson.

He is married to the former Desiree Wimbish, who served as superintendent of education for Central States Conference as well as former principal of the V. Lindsay Seventh-day Adventist School in Kansas City, Kansas. Desiree currently serves as assistant director and projects coordinator for Adventist Education in the NAD. The Bryants have three adult children and three grandchildren.

Click here for the video interview with Bryant about his education, early years in ministry, and his hopes for his current role as NAD president.

–Kimberly Maran is an associate director for the North American Division Office of Communication. Photo supplied.

This article was originally published on the NAD website.

08 Jul

WYOMING CAMP MEETING 2020 STARTS NEXT WEEK

By Jon Roberts — Cody, Wyoming . . . At least one camp meeting is being planned in the Rocky Mountain Conference this summer, although it won’t take place under a big tent, or inside a gym, but virtually, in individual homes.

The Adventist church has held camp meetings, or tent revivals, since the denomination was founded. This year, with the pandemic affecting large public gatherings, many camp meetings across the country are being cancelled or members are being offered other options to bring them together.

The organizers of the Wyoming camp meeting realized in late April that the pandemic was going to force them to cancel the event usually held at Mills Spring Ranch located on Casper Mountain. However, they a needed to offer some version of a spiritual convocation.

“People are still looking for spiritual avenues to grow and to connect,” commented Steve Nelson, organizer of Wyoming camp meeting and pastor of Cody, Worland, Powell and Ten Sleep congregations. “We want to be able to provide that virtually to keep people connected”

“Portions of the camp meeting will be pre-recorded; however, most will be live streamed from various locations,” Nelson added.

Even though the 2020 virtual event will be online only, the schedule will be full. From morning worship with Wyoming pastors and RMC administrators, to a live cooking program in the afternoon, to evening worship with featured speaker Dick Stenbakken, retired Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries director, the theme of “Steps to Jesus” will be evident throughout the week. Please see the full schedule below.

Members across the conference are encouraged to attend the virtual event next week. You can view the programs on the Wyoming Camp Meeting Facebook Page or on the RMC Facebook page.

—Jon Roberts is RMC communication/media assistant; July 20, 2019 camp meeting photo by Rajmund Dabrowski.

08 Jul

GLACIER VIEW RANCH IS OPEN

By Jessyka Dooley — Ward, Colorado . . . While the ongoing pandemic has cancelled or closed most of the summer camps around the world, GVR remains open with a limited staff.

In May, a month when we would be planning, organizing, and making final plans for summer camp, the Youth department was instead busy calling the families who had pre-registered for summer camp, informing them that the pandemic had claimed another victim of normal life–GVR.

“When I got the message that summer camp was not going to operate, I was incredibly disappointed,” Nina Madrigal, GVR camp programming director commented. “I love ministry (especially summer camp ministry), so thinking about not being able to be involved this year was extremely sad.”

As the month of May drew on, the thought of GVR remaining empty like our schools over the past three months, was overwhelming. The Youth department began to look for possible funding to find a way to hire some of our summer staff.

Thanks to Mid-America Union funding, we were able to hire 16 summer camp staff and two volunteers for a 6-week experience. With funding secured, we worked with the RMC Treasury department to secure additional funding for various projects around camp.

This became a blessing for the limited staff. “God works all things for good. (My) hope for this summer is to grow together and be able to make next summer the best summer ever,” Madrigal stated.

The staff is missing the energy our campers bring to GVR and the sounds of laughter, team-building activities, and worship around the firepit. However, we are still making a difference for future campers. Our staff is currently working on many projects, including camp store renovations, advancing our programming development, building a new bike pump track, additional activities, and many other improvements to GVR!

The GVR staff knows how hard it is on the youth of RMC to miss summer camp. We are working on bringing summer camp to RMC churches this summer with pre-recorded skits, activities, and children’s stories. If you would be interested in receiving this material please email [email protected]. We want to engage our youth and young adults during the pandemic.

We are also working closely under state and county regulations as well as with our child care licensing specialist to plan day horseback rides. We are also taking reservations for Group, Tent and RV camping, and day hiking. For rates and reservations, please contact the GVR office at 303-459-0771.

GVR and Mills Spring Ranch are a vital piece in the growth and development of our youth. We can’t exist without gracious donors and supporters. Consider helping us with the RMC Summer Camp Development for 2020. To donate, please visit our website!

It is incredible to see God moving at Glacier View Ranch and Mills Spring Ranch this summer. Dreams are becoming reality and the camps you saw in 2019 will be bringing fresh new energy in 2021, thanks to the generosity, love, and prayers from our RMC constituents.

–Jessyka Dooley is RMC associate youth director for ministry and GVR Summer Camp director; photos supplied.

07 Jul

NAD Executive Committee Recommends Name for New Division President

Columbia, Maryland . . .The Executive Committee of the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted on July 7, 2020, to recommend the name of G. Alexander Bryant for the position of NAD president. Bryant’s name was presented to the executive committee by the nominating committee, which met on July 6. The General Conference (GC) Executive Committee will meet virtually on July 9 to receive the recommendation and elect the new NAD president.

The division’s nominating committee is termed a standing committee appointed by the NAD Executive Committee in 2015. The nominating committee has recommended the names of individuals to the executive committee for vote during the past five years in order to fill division vacancies.

Glenward Alexander (“Alex”) Bryant has most recently served as both executive secretary of the NAD and associate secretary of the GC, a position he’s held since October 2008. Before coming to the division, Bryant served as the president of the Central States Conference in Kansas City, Kansas, for 11 years.

Bryant graduated with a dual major in Theology and Business Administration from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University) in 1982.

He began his ministry that same year in Springfield, Missouri, and Coffeyville and Independence, Kansas. In 1986, Bryant was ordained, and he continued his education by earning a Master of Divinity degree from Andrews University in 1988. The Central States Conference voted Bryant to serve as Youth/Pathfinders/National Service Organization director, Temperance director, and superintendent of Education in 1990; and he became president in 1997. In 2011, Bryant earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.

–This article originally was published on the NAD website; photo by Rajmund Dabrowski

07 Jul

Let’s listen: Students and alumni talk race and Campion

By Jill Harlow – Loveland, Colorado . . . At Campion Academy, as we seek to become more Christ-like, we want to do more than just write statements against racism, we want to listen and learn how we can do better. In my interview with Rob Pride from our last issue, he recalled that racial issues were never something discussed at Campion when he attended and he challenged us to have those conversations. So this week, I sat down with two current students and an alumnus to talk about their experience being black and attending Campion Academy.

The following is a summary of our conversation.

How has the killing of George Floyd and others we’ve seen recently, and the following protests impacted you personally?

Amira: “Mainly, it opened up my eyes that the world hasn’t changed and that it’s still so cruel and it’s just sad.”

CJ: “There’s a lot of tension. I feel like a lot of people have been tip-toeing around me, I don’t know how to explain it, it’s like they’re walking on eggshells or something because of everything that has happened.”

Emma: “I feel like it has definitely opened my eyes to how serious racism is in America, and it has me thinking about ways that we can make it better and really talk to each other and have these difficult conversations. I feel like before it was just kind of avoided and everyone knew about it, but we didn’t really talk about it. There’s a lot of tension because now we are bringing up an old issue to the surface, and it’s hard.”

Did you feel you experienced racism at Campion or at other points in your life?

CJ: “I think since I was in the Adventist system for so long, I never really thought about it until after I graduated and I came back home and was talking with my brothers about things. Some things that happened could have been seen as racism, but I think how they said it, I didn’t see it as racism. I never thought about it going through Campion. I’m pretty sure there were racist jokes, but no one didn’t like me because of the color of my skin and that was a cool thing about Campion and Adventist education in general.”

Amira: “I honestly haven’t. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Adventist school system and attended public middle school, but everyone was cool there too. Again, there are racist jokes, but I agree that no one has ever not liked me because of the color of my skin. There was a time in third grade a girl wouldn’t share with me because she said she “didn’t like black people.” That really just broke my heart to be denied something just because of something I can’t change and is not my fault. It really opened up my eyes. I haven’t experienced direct racism since then, but it really just blows my mind that you can even think that way.”

Emma: “Again, I didn’t really experience that much and I’ve been in Adventist schools since kindergarten, but people have said racist comments to other black kids at my school and it also affects me. I’ve even heard kids make racist jokes and it just shows you how much of a problem it is, how it affects everyone, and how we are teaching our kids. I haven’t experienced it a lot because I feel like I have had more privilege than other black kids that I know being raised in white family.

What can we do at Campion to be better at being anti-racist?

CJ: “I was talking to my friend the other day, and he grew up in Florida, and until he left that area he didn’t realize that racism was a big thing because where he was from everyone was cool with everyone, but once he got out of that, he realized these things actually happen. So, that might be similar to students coming out of Campion. I think we just need to educate people to let them know that it is okay to have black friends and that they are not really different, other than the color of their skin.”

Amira: “Honestly, Campion does such a great job. Maybe it’s because I’m an international ambassador, but we are so accepting. I’ve never seen so many people come together and accept different cultures, different languages–it’s beautiful. I do believe that education is important to teach everyone that we are not different, we are all people, and to be sensitive that some jokes aren’t funny because it’s inappropriate. I feel like that is something that should be also said.”

Emma: “I think educating people that we are all the same is good, but we also need to educate that we are different and to embrace the beauty that we have in different cultures. The more you learn about another culture, the more you can learn about another person. I feel that would just make people more open to talk about stuff, and it would help us not feel like we are so different if we learned about each other’s cultures. And also accountability, like if someone makes a racist comment, rather than just pushing it off, or saying it’s not a big deal, really actually attack that issue and explain why it hurt us, or why it is inappropriate.”

What about in our churches?

Emma: “I definitely think that bringing the conversation on race into our churches is also important. The Bible does talk about race, and just because we are in church, doesn’t mean that it’s not important and it can’t be addressed. Someone might be feeling a certain way about a racial issue, but because we are not talking about it, it’s just staying inside and they might feel like they have to be someone different at church. I always feel like I have to be someone else at church, and it has to do with my skin and maybe with the way I was raised too.”

What do you wish would be the biggest change in society at large as a result of this movement?

Emma: “My main biggest hope is that we increase accountability. A lot of these killings were happening before George Floyd and the reason why they were able to do that because they got off the hook and no one dealt with it. I hope we start to deal with it more, and if it happens once, we deal with it right then and there.”

Amira: “As Emma said, I want more accountability. But I really want more social awareness. I want everyone to realize there is a problem. I want everyone to stand up for what is right and when they see a problem, to help and talk about it so we can deal with it. I feel like in the past, that was not the case at all. We weren’t talking about it. It was just being swept under the rug and this really has all of us coming together and shown us what we can do as a whole.

CJ: “Well, I want Jesus to come sooner! I want people to realize with these killings that people just want justice and they’ve been waiting for that for a while. And it hasn’t happened! I want people to understand that just because people of color want justice for these killings that doesn’t mean that we want anything bad to happen to people of other races. We are not trying to overtake the country, we just want justice. We want to be treated like everyone else. I think what would help is more education and maybe more training for officers. More training in how to de-escalate situations, because there have been other times when the situation was de-escalated and no one had to die and deadly force didn’t have to be used.

To listen in to the full conversation, click here.

–Jill Harlow is communication director for Campion Academy

01 Jul

COMMENTARY: YOU ARE FREE INDEED

By Doug Inglish . . . Sometimes, enough is enough.

My first taste of dormitory life was less than ideal. The building was thoroughly worn out, practically falling down around us, and it was no longer worth fixing. During the first semester of my freshman year, the finishing touches were being applied to a new dorm, which we moved into right after Christmas break. And if you think I was ready to make the change, imagine the senior class who had lived in that dump for three and a half school years!

When enough is enough, sometimes the solution is to move. When the first non-indigenous settlers of North America were arriving–Puritans, Jews, and even Catholics who could not enjoy the freedom of religion we take for granted—had decided that enough was enough, and they came here. When the serfs and peasants from Lisbon, Krakow, and Prague, disallowed by birth from ever owning land, decided that enough was enough, they came here. When whatever monarch happenstance brought to the throne was a little too close in Peking or Constantinople, they came here.

What they found was not perfection. I can relate to that, because the new dorm had an echo, it was a lot further from the cafeteria and gym, and freshmen had to live three to a room built for two, but we were not complaining. By comparison to where we had been living, it was paradise.

So, it was in America. Even after independence, freedom from kings just meant that someone else was in charge, and even when that someone was, We the People, it can be gotten wrong a lot of the time. Before our establishment as a nation and for a century afterward, a portion of the population was dragged here in chains against their will, whatever freedom they previously had, stripped away. When, finally, a war was fought and won to establish that enough was enough when it came to slavery, equality was still an uneven mix of concept and reality.

At least the principles we espouse, though not fully realized, are worthy of aspiration. Many of the nations that we once fled have embraced our ideals and even, to some extent, our form of government. I’ll take this not only over what was left behind, but over pretty much any other version of self-rule, to say nothing of the majority of the globe where the phrase “freedom” is a joke, but nobody’s laughing.

My senior year I found myself in the minority. Most of the residents had never lived in the old dorm, and they failed to appreciate what we had. Minor vandalism began to occur. It didn’t take long for some of us older students to decide enough was enough of that, and though our methods could have used some refinement, our message was clear enough.

It’s happening in our society as well. People are openly questioning whether we should have the right to say what we believe, own property, or even earn a living. Worst of all, the question is no longer whether you can worship as you believe, but if your choice to worship at all is even legitimate. The old concepts of freedom seem quaint to many who never grew up under the oppression of a genuine despot.

Why? Same problem as always. Sinful people in a sinful world.

Monarchy, republic, socialism, dictatorship, anarchy, all suffer from the same fatal disease of being subject to the decisions of flawed humans. As slaves to our own humanity, how can we ever expect to create a free society? It’s not that freedom can’t be achieved; it’s that we can’t be trusted to be in charge of it.

Don’t despair; I suspect you know where I am going with this.

“So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed,” (John 8:36 NIV).

Because of that truth, the slave girl in Naaman’s household was free. The prisoners with Paul and Silas were free. Starving peasants in Soviet collective farms, tortured academics in Cambodia’s killing fields, and slaves sold in markets in Atlanta–if the Son set them free, they were free indeed.

I’m not peddling pablum here, as is so often done. If Marx referred to religion as “the opioid of the masses” it’s at least in part because that is how it has so often been used. You can’t just see injustice and shrug it off by saying “Well, the Son can make him free.” If that’s my response, I am no better than the person committing the injustice.

So yes, we should do all we can to support freedom, from establishing a nation on the principles of freedom to working against the unjust laws of that very nation. In all of it though, even when you feel the appropriate gratitude of whatever level of freedom you enjoy, keep in mind that it is only the real thing if the Son has made you free. And by all means, let others know about it, too.

—Doug Inglish, is RMC director for planned giving and trust services; photo by UnSplash

01 Jul

ADOPTION

By Dick Stenbakken . . . I knew from as far back as I can remember that I was adopted. My parents made it clear that they chose me to be their own. To me, it always seemed somewhat special —an honor— to have been adopted. It didn’t make me any better than anyone, but it created a special bond with my parents.

Paul mentions adoption in his epistles (Romans 8:15, 23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5). The churches to which he wrote, mentioning adoption, were all Gentile-Roman groups. While there was no practice of adoption among the Jews, the concept of adoption had very special meaning in Roman culture. Romans adopted others as adults, not as children. Adoptions were done to pass on inheritance and continue the family line. It also carried with it the responsibility of the adoptee to not only inherit, but to correctly manage the estate inherited and to bring honor to the new father and family name.

Roman adoption process was a very formalized ritual. On completion, before witnesses, the son now became officially a new person with an entirely new identity.

The new identity was more than a change of name. The adopted son now had full legal rights of inheritance as if he were a natural-born son. All past debits were gone. He was officially related to the new, not the old, family. In Roman law, and in many states today, once someone is adopted, he cannot be disowned by the adopting father. While the Roman father could disinherit a natural-born son, he could never disinherit his adopted son. Adoption was forever. The adoptee could walk away from his new father, but the father could never walk away from his adopted son.

Read that last line again. Let it sink in. No wonder Paul says, “…We wait eagerly for our adoption as sons….” (Romans 8:23 NIV). Our adoption as children of God differs from Roman adoption in that we make the choice to allow our adoption. It isn’t something done to us, it is something in which we actively participate. When we do, we are His—forever. He will not walk away from us. He invites us to be full inheritors of His name and His kingdom. We can leave the past and be a totally new person.

I was a newborn when adopted. I had no say in the process. God gives us a choice, an invitation to be adopted and be fully, freely, finally and forever His. It’s an honor to be adopted— twice.

–Dick Stenbakken, Ed. D. Chaplain (Colonel) U.S. Army, Retired

01 Jul

MOUNTAIN VIEWS NEW EDITION COVERS NEW NORMAL AND ADVENTISM; GOES ONLINE.

By Rajmund Dabrowski — Denver, Colorado … Now into its sixth year, Mountain Views is available online. After the Rocky Mountain Conference’ distribution of communication became Web-based, it was obvious that both publications, NewsNuggets, and Mountain Views needed to be more accessible to a wider church audience beyond RMC borders.

As the latest edition, Summer 2020, is being printed and mailed to all members of the church, the online edition provides readers with searchable archives of the magazine.

The current issue is dealing with a “contemporary mega” issue facing the world, including the religious milieu. We ask ourselves, what will be the new normal for our church, for each church member, for the church’s mission and ministry?

Not that the MV history is significant at this stage, but it should be noted that prior to 2015, there was only one edition of the magazine edited by Mark Bond. Today, the content has expanded, presenting a mosaic of subjects written by some of the best authors and thinkers in contemporary Adventism.

The challenge for the magazine was expressed by Ed Barnett, RMC president, who envisioned providing quality reading for church members. “We must go beyond in the way we do church. We must be a thinking church,” he said.

Last week, Barnett commented on this new stage for Mountain Views. “Our editors have done a marvelous job putting out the magazine for several years. Over time, we have had readers, even out of our conference, asking for a subscription. It is a magazine that really makes you think about some of the latest challenges we are facing as Seventh-day Adventists. We are now bringing out archives of previous issues, making the magazine available to many more readers,” he commented.

Ron Johnson, a member of Grand Junction Church sent a request: “This Authentic Adventism issue with multiple articles on being real is excellent and I would like to share the entire issue with folks outside of RMC. Can I purchase additional copies, perhaps as many as a dozen?” Another church member from Delta Church wrote that a group of members at her church is discussing Mountain Views articles in a church group. Can you send us a few extra copies? she requested.

This is exactly why we are serious about providing our fellow believers with additional reading, besides other denominational literature. We are not only about affirmation of our beliefs, but also taking us beyond into what the church pioneers challenged the fledgling denomination through present truth. Our contemporary world is challenging us, and we need to display a “thinking” faith.

“This is such a fun magazine to work on. The articles deal with current issues in the real world, inviting a fresh, contemporary design that I hope I manage to achieve!” commented Becky De Oliveira, designer and writer. “I can’t think of another conference-sponsored magazine that makes such an effort to engage thinking Christians in faith-centered discussions,” she added.

Often, the work of those who are busy behind the scenes is not thought about. It takes creativity, imagination, and boldness to put each issue together. Prayer is essential, as well as receiving critiques and affirmation.

The editorial credit goes to church leaders and you – the readers! We are grateful to Carol Bolden, who continues to assist us with editing, and to Jon Roberts, who is making sure we are online, as well as to our expert professional printers, Seminars Unlimited.

Above all, our gratitude goes to the Master Communicator whose inspiration leads us to take life seriously and make our faith, hope and life rich with meaning.

–Rajmund Dabrowski is editor of Mountain Views; in a selfie photo pictured are Becky De Oliveira and Rajmund Dabrowski

To view the Summer 2020 issue please click here.

Jon Roberts Page 84