Elisabet Kirkland

01 May

SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONS SEEN THROUGH CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Rajmund Dabrowski – Boulder, Colorado … When I was growing up, I remember our Sabbath School class did not have a sophisticated approach to questions and answers. In those days, what also never changed was learning to memory a weekly verse.

These days, the value to study a designated weekly lesson has not diminished but how it is studied on a Sabbath morning has changed. There are congregations where Study Guides are simply read from the beginning of a weekly lesson to the last quote for Friday.

Gary Nowlan, who started the Contemporary Issues Class some 30 years ago, remembers the first Sabbath my wife and I came to worship in Boulder. “I remember when you joined our study group. And after hearing what your name is, I said to myself that I wanted to get to know you. My wife wrote a children’s book about the church’s first missionary to Europe, Michal Belina Czechowski, and you evaluated it,” said Gary Nowlan, an honored church member and a former head elder in Boulder.

I asked some of my fellow students why they have chosen this particular class as the choices are many. Currently, we study the “quarterly” booklet, but other classes opt for a variety of approaches to studying the Scripture.

“You come because of the people, who are very accepting. Also, because of the open discussion where everyone seems comfortable making one or more comments and no one is condemned for what they,” Gary commented.

Answering, Jackie Hayes repeated the question: Why do I attend the Contemporary Issues Sabbath school class? For her, there is more than one reason.

Referring to the focus of the class, to “explore contemporary aspects of Christian faith for the probing mind while following the topics of the Seventh-day Adventist quarterly,” she commented, “One factor is that the class seems to realize that merely a fine line separates the historical from the contemporary. Issues that have concerned followers of Jesus Christ throughout the ages are also current issues. Today’s understanding of the three angels’ messages is a nuanced understanding from the past, for example. Political and societal relationships are ever influencing our worship, regardless of the era,” Jackie explained.

She is also a longtimer. She added one other factor that keeps her a part of the class. What keeps me “in the same Sabbath School class for 20 years is the happy mix of challenge and acceptance I feel. I like that everyone in the class speaks freely and challenges my spiritual understanding often, at the same time welcoming and accepting me and each member as valuable.”

“I sense that I have grown spiritually after each class,” Jackie added. “I appreciate the opportunities we accept to put Jesus’ teachings into practice.

For Kathy King, “camaraderie and friendships in the class” is one of the reasons for being a member of the class.

Recognizing a mix of nationalities represented, “different viewpoints on thoughts that are shared in the class that stretch my brain—we have several who were born outside of the US—I love hearing these perspectives on life and God.”

She explained, “We don’t look at the quarterly and say ‘this is what all of us should believe,’ even though the quarterly editor appears to feel this is what we should do”

She considers the class a progressive thinking group, and “I like that. We also have some wit and humor in the class that is great for life.” No-doubt, but who the members are adds to its vibrancy and exciting discussion, after all, among the class members there is a geology professor, a physician, several nurses, a chaplain, a lawyer, an IT professional, as well as a minister or two.

“Our sharing time with what’s happening in life, prayer needs are great to continue to get to know each other in the class,” Kathy added.

The class offers itself to visitors, and some of them are intrigued by the very name, Contemporary Issues. The Sabbath School, part of the weekly church gathering, follows the sermon, and the regular Bible study is done in Adult Connect Groups. There is The Gathering and The Journey, and these offer themselves as “in person and Zoom” study classes. The Impact and Contemporary Issues are “In-person” only.

William Bradshaw is our latest regular class member. It was some six months ago when Alicia Patterson, pastor’s wife, met and chatted with William at Barnes & Noble bookstore. He decided to visit the church. Initially he did “class shopping” and found Contemporary class to be “his fit.”

When asked why this choice of the Connect Group, he says: “It feels right. I get a good return on my investment. I am surrounded by people who are not just wise but they love the Lord and [live] according to His purpose.”

Not a member of the Adventist Church, he participates in the discussion, but also asks questions about comments which are not “spoken in Adventese language.” He often asks: What does that mean?

Having his participation adds an important factor, a need to speak about our beliefs in a common language, says Tomas Bartulec, one of the class leaders. “Our Bible Study is vibrant and exciting to attend,” he added.

I love my class, says another regular, Betty Welch. “They are like a family for me.”

—Rajmund Dabrowski is editor of the NewsNuggets and member of the Contemporary Issues Sabbath School Class in Boulder Adventist Church. Photo by Rajmund Dabrowski.

27 Apr

RMC TEAMS COME IN STRONG AT NAD PATHFINDER BIBLE EXPERIENCE

Sue Nelson – Tampa, Florida … The North American Division (NAD) Pathfinder Bible Experience (PBE) was held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa, Florida, on April 22. Each year, teams of six club members study a book of the Bible (alternating Old Testament and New Testament) to compete in the PBE, memorizing large portions of God’s word.

This year’s event had 155 teams registered! Teams were from all over the United States and included a few international teams from Northern and Southern England Conferences, Korea, Canada, and the Dominican Republic. The questions and answers were in English and Spanish and translated into French and Korean.

The weekend started with Friday night vespers at the Mt. Calvary Adventist Church in Tampa, Florida. The message was brought by Pastor Shea Crockett, youth director for the Southeastern Conference. The testing on Sabbath was led by Tracy Wood, NAD youth ministries director, Armando Miranda and Vandeon Griffin, NAD youth ministries associate directors, and Gene Clapp, NAD PBE coordinator.

Two Rocky Mountain Conference teams, Aurora Las Aguilas and Loveland Cougars both placed 1^st at the Mid-America Union Final PBE in Lincoln, Nebraska, allowing them to continue to the NAD level. Both teams placed 2^nd at the NAD PBE with 90 questions from the book of John and the Andrews Bible Commentary.

It was exciting for the two teams to fly to Florida. For some, it was their first plane ride and first time out of Colorado! They were able to visit different attractions like Disney World and go to the beach.

Sue Nelson, RMC club ministries executive coordinator, Brent Learned, RMC associate youth director, and Eli Gonzalez, RMC club ministries associate executive coordinator, were able to attend and help as monitors.

“It was inspiring to see an arena full of hundreds of Pathfinders so excited about Bible memorization of the Gospel of John,” said Brent.

Addressing the participants, Eli said, “What an impact you make in all of us by being part of this awesome ministry of pathfinders and making it to the NAD Pathfinder Bible Experience—now it is your time to make a difference in your church and community.”

“We genuinely want the best for you. Do you know how awesome you are? Well, let me say it: you are AWESOME! You are wonderful, you are beautiful, and you are God’s,” he added.

Videos from the event can be found on YouTube by entering “Pathfinder NAD PBE” in the search bar. Next year’s NAD PBE Finals will be held April 19-20, 2024, with the location to be announced at a later day.

—Sue Nelson is the RMC club ministries executive coordinator. Photos by Sue Nelson, Stacey Rodriquez, and Eli Gonzales.

PBE-3 — The 2023 Pathfinder Bible Experience Arena in Tampa, Florida

PBE-5 — The two RMC Pathfinders teams with Sue Nelson, Brent Learned, and Eli Gonzalez

PBE-1 — The Aurora Las Aguilas Pathfinders team

PBE-4 — Friday night vespers at Mt. Calvary Adventist Church

27 Apr

YOUTH WEEKEND AT MONTROSE SPANISH ADVENTIST CHURCH

Dennis Magaña – Montrose, Colorado … “Confiar en Dios” (Trust in God) was the theme for a spirit and fun-filled youth rally for the Hispanic young people in RMC, April 7-9. Hosted by the Montrose Spanish Adventist Church and run by FEJA [Hispanic Youth Ministry] Montaña and Metro chapters, more than 120 young people came together from all over the conference and Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Each day of the event was filled with powerful messages. Friday night, speaker Dennis Magaña challenged the youth to live like the Apostle Paul in how he challenged Timothy to live (1 Timothy 4:12), and to set an example in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

On Saturday, main speaker JJ Martinez, associate pastor of the Grand Junction Adventist Church, challenged the participants to live like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, reminding them of the powerful God that we serve who will enter the fire with us and deliver us. Next day, Leonardo Jimenez, Montrose Spanish Adventist Church pastor, reminded the young people of the guiding light that the Bible is and should be. He challenged them to study it daily.

The participants did get a chance to connect socially. Saturday afternoon was filled with fun activities, including a scavenger hunt and many ice breakers so that the youth could get to know each other better. There was a huge bonfire on Saturday night as well as “sociales,” put on by the Grand Junction Adventist Company, who many of the youth described as being, “extremely fun.”

There was a volleyball tournament put on by FEJA Metro chapter on Sunday. Three games where being played at the same time, utilizing both the gym and outdoor fields. In the end, Denver South Hispanic Adventist Church was crowned the winner of the tournament.

In all, God blessed the weekend and many of the youth expressed their desire for another Youth rally to happen soon. When asked, many stated it was hard to choose their favorite part of the weekend whether it was the speakers, food, or time spent getting to know one another.

Pastor Ruben Rivera, RMC Hispanic ministries coordinator, thanked the Montrose Spanish Adventist Church for hosting the youth gathering for the weekend in their recently donated facilities.

It was a privilege to be part of such a fun weekend, Rivera concluded.

—Dennis Magaña is Montrose Hispanic Adventist Church head elder. Photos supplied.

26 Apr

WORD GENETICS: A PODCAST SERIES ON THE IMPACT OF SOCIETY ON ADVENTIST YOUTH

RMCNews – Loveland, Colorado … What started as a simple seed of inspiration has grown into a multi-episode podcast titled Word Genetics exploring the foundations of everyday conversations and interactions of today’s Adventist youth. Campion Academy senior Tiffany Mogaka, founder and host of the podcast, brings in her teen peers to cover “the fun, the serious, and everything-in-between” topics affecting youth in an open-forum style podcast.

“When we met with Jill Harlow, Campion Academy communication director, a few weeks ago, she wondered if RMC communication would be interested in showcasing the creativity and engagement of her students in media. After receiving Word Genetics, we were truly impressed by how grown up the conversation was. Likely, you will enjoy these episodes and more are to come,” said Rajmund Dabrowski, RMC communication director.

Get a peek into the thoughts and concerns of Adventist youth and their early walk with God in this ongoing podcast series. They have a lot to say, so we will let them do the talking. Listen today by clicking on the episode titles below.

Podcast Introduction

Episode 1: A Cheap Click at What Cost

Episode 2: Imposter Syndrome, Beauty Standards, and Insecurities

—RMCNews. Graphic supplied.

25 Apr

CAMP CONNECTIONS

Brandon Westgate – Denver, Colorado … The youngest members of our church are currently making plans for the summer. For many of them, the choice to spend a week (or two) at summer camp is a high priority. You might wonder why spending a week in a rustic cabin in the mountains disconnected from internet, social media, and cell phones would be so appealing. The answer is that when our campers disconnect from those things, they make new connections, “camp connections,” if you will. So, what are some of these camp connections?

CAMPERS: Our campers make connections with their fellow campers. They laugh together, eat together, play together, worship together, sing together, and are just present together. Without the distractions of a screen, campers spend actual face time with each other. They discover that many of their peers are struggling with some of the same issues they are. They find that they can have honest conversations about faith, doubt, social issues, and a variety of other topics. They build friendships and feel a sense of commonality that they may never experience at home or church or school.

COUNSELORS: Our campers connect with their counselors. The entire staff at camp is a counselor by title or by proxy and is dedicated to the safety and spiritual growth of our campers. They are trained and committed to pouring the love of Christ into our campers. They accomplish this by listening, being present in the moment, offering counsel when needed, setting an example, and creating an atmosphere of acceptance. When young people feel heard and appreciated, they feel safe, and these safe spaces lead to candid conversation and connections between counselor and camper. Our counselors then point our campers to Christ in hopes that the counselor-camper connection becomes a counselor-camper-Christ connection.

CHRIST: So how does that happen? Well, worship isn’t an event at camp, it is a part of the culture. We endeavor to keep our minds upon Jesus resulting in impromptu conversations about faith, sporadic outbursts of praise through singing, and random formation of prayer groups. Our purpose at camp is to make it easy for our campers to know God. The presence of God becomes palpable as we engage in high energy worship and pray for the Lord to invade our hearts as our pastor shares a message of grace. Our campers and our staff make a connection with Christ that can result in paradigm-shifting transformation or a deepening of a faith that just needed a boost!

COMMUNITY: Throughout the summer, as our staff and campers spend time building relationships, we unwittingly create a community of safety. It is a community that values them and welcomes them to be the person Christ is calling them to be. The camp community is a safe space to inquire, to give an opinion, to share a present life challenge that is threatening to overwhelm, and to receive encouragement and assurance that God is ultimately “for” us, and not against us. This community is only possible because of the connections that are made between campers, counselors, and Christ.

The result of the camp experience is campers feeling connected to something bigger than themselves and to an indwelling God who loves them with an everlasting love. Connection is something every person innately yearns for, and connection is the thing that we strive to facilitate during summer camp and beyond.

—Brandon Westgate is the RMC youth department director. Photos supplied.

Summer camp registration is open! Click here or scan the QR code below to reserve your spot today.

https___www.rmcyouth.org_campsessions-sml-web

25 Apr

COMMENTARY: I SAW JESUS … ON THE PLAYGROUND

By Micheal Goetz

From the high side of the parking lot that the church sits on, I get to look across and watch the fun. Many an afternoon one would be able to see the World Cup or Super Bowl unfolding out in the grass. That’s not all, over on the playground great feats of daring and exploration or a full throttle game of tag are taking place. It’s a busy place. But in the hurry and scurry of the recess periods come beautiful moments that lodge themselves in your heart.

The time a young girl, realizing that if she stayed on the swing another student wouldn’t get a turn, leaps off inviting the other to take her spot before running off in search of another thrill. Or at that same swing set, an older girl took her precious free time to push a younger student.

The time that the “it” in the game of tag took a break because the “pursued” requested a timeout to catch their breath.

The time the boys encouraged a younger and slower student to join in the game of football just because no one should be left out.

Certainly, there is still times homework isn’t done or patience gives way. We are talking about little humans, right!? But it’s in these times, these unassuming acts, that I have seen Jesus on our school playground. And in a world that is broken in every way possible, our playground speaks to me of a reality of hope.

—Micheal Goetz is the senior pastor at Campion Adventist Church. Reprinted from HMS Headlines e-newsletter. Photos by Kari Lange and Aubrey Nelson.

25 Apr

JUNIOR DEACONS: CREATING NEW LEADERS IN THE MINISTRY OF SERVICE

Liz Kirkland – Littleton, Colorado … There are people that “work behind the scenes” at every church to handle its functions and operations. Most of their efforts and numerous hours are unknown and unnoticed. One such group are the deacons and deaconesses, called to a ministry of service and following Jesus’ example of meeting people’s physical needs and then their spiritual ones.

While traditional roles have generally included greeting and ushering, church property maintenance, security, baptism, and communion assistance, and caring for the physical necessities of the congregation, many churches have expanded the role to use their spiritual gifts. It can become a ministry tending to the emotional and social needs of the church.

Deacons and deaconesses have joined pastors and elders visiting church members and those in need and are a place of support in the cycle of life and death. And, with the demands on today’s pastors’ time and energy, they have become a support team for those who have given so much to tend to God’s children. And this legacy of service and support is being passed onto the next generation of church leaders.

At Littleton Seventh-day Adventist Church, junior deacons and deaconesses have been called into action in the ministry of service. At each Sabbath service, the junior team works along side the adult team. Wandee Kirkland, head deacon at Littleton Church, recalls watching his father act as deacon in the Potomac Conference as a youth in the church. His father’s example set the path for his leadership role as he became an adult and a father.

He shared this about his time as a deacon: “Anyone can be a deacon. It is just about service and doing God’s work. It is, however, more than just a title, collecting offerings, and setting up events. It’s meeting the needs of the congregation and church staff. The pastoral staff are the shepherds, and we are the sheep dogs. My two sons, Turi and Didrik, are junior deacons at the church, and I am proud to watch them heed the call of service.”

The Kirklands are not the only ones sharing the family legacy of service. Deacon duties for Sabbath service on April 22 were held by Kris Fritz and his son Owen and Gary Treft and his son Spencer.

Kris Fritz shared this when asked what his time as deacon has meant to him: “It has created a community of men in the church that may have never connected otherwise.” He has involved his son to get him active in the church and learn responsibility.

Gary Treft, when asked the same question, said, “My gifts are not to be upfront but to help out as I can.”

The impact of the duty is not just felt by the adults. Littleton Church junior deacon Turi Kirkland said, “There are always things going on in the church that need help from junior deacons. I feel proud to help and not just be a spectator.” Turi shares the junior deacon role with is younger brother Didrik who said, “What I like most is that I am doing something to help that God would like rather than me just running around with my friends.”

Junior deacon Owen Fritz said, “I like to be there and help. It’s fun to count the money.” When asked what his favorite part of deacon duty was, Spencer Treft said, “My favorite part is cleaning up.”

We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 12:12 that “For even as the body is one yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” We give gratitude to those who have heeded the call, both young and older, to be this part of the body of Christ working toward the common goal of the church of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

—Liz Kirkland is the RMC communication assistant and a member of Littleton Seventh-day Adventist Church. Photos by Liz Kirkland.

littleton-deacon-2 — Spencer Treft (far left) and Owen Fritz (far right) demonstrating their greeting skills with head deacon Wandee Kirkland.

24 Apr

ALL THOSE TIKTOKS AND STUFF

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack
A crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

– Anthem, Leonard Cohen

His demeanor displayed anger as he said, “Our young people are heavily influenced by today’s culture. All those TikToks and stuff. It takes them away from the church.”

As usual, when something goes wrong, it’s the messenger that gets a black eye.

There was a day when I was learning what it meant to be in the world. It was my own church where I was growing up that made sure I heard it loudly and clearly. Years later, I thought of it as an upside-down education. There was an extreme lesson in the way a church elder made sure that girls would not be allowed inside the sanctuary in miniskirts. He stood by the door on Sabbath morning with a ruler.

As I was on my way to study in England in 1966, my own father was worried that I might walk off the Adventist “straight and narrow” road. “You are inclined to imitate those beatniks,” he often said. He asked one of the church leaders living in England, Bert B. Beach, to look after me. Obviously, I needed a chaperone.

My dad told him that I tended “to enjoy too much of that pop music,” which was partially true, and my hair was longer than what Adventist youth ought to have. “You look like one of the Beatles,” he would tell me. A few years later, I was nearly sent home from university unless I got a haircut. It was regarded as a bad influence on other students in an Adventist school, so I was told. Much, much later, Bert jokingly remarked, “You enjoyed that music, didn’t you? Today, I must admit,” he said, “their music is closer to what I imagine we will hear in heaven.”

When talking about culture, through which all of us meander, whether it is art, music, literature, or fashion, my own experience with it was an expression of who I was. My own Bible study made me realize that my religion is not expressed by the volume of religious words I use. Such words and concepts come when they are needed. Christian presence and its media content makes a difference when motivated by the values of one’s faith.

If I were to evaluate the capital of my spiritual country, it would have to be Scripture. The location of my geographical bearing is centered in the Holy Word. And Scripture is at the foundation of the culture by which I am surrounded, that I know and respect.

There was a moment that made the Scripture meaningful for me, and meaningful in ways that charted each of my todays and tomorrows.

Once upon a time, in the 1970s, I was involved with the life and work of Poland’s premier artist, Czesław Niemen. He was a composer, a singer, a painter, a poet, and a friend. I helped him with his professional activities, traveled with him, even organized a tour or two, translating into English some of his lyrics. I will dare to say, what Bob Dylan is to America, Niemen was to Poland …

Niemen’s art was serious. His was a spiritual presence for the nation—a contemporary expression of who the Poles are, coupled with a call to continue to revise our lives. He sang: “Strange is this world, a world where a man hates his fellow man …” He called for a revival where values are reclaimed. Where we move toward each other and respond to our common needs. Niemen’s faith and his religious background made him a bridge builder between the world of needs and the world of God’s compassion.

Enter a day when I decided to share with him my personal worldview, a view described by singularity of purpose as defined by my Bible. Niemen was raised in a home and community where a priest read what he chose from the Scriptures. I introduced Niemen to my Bible. I said: “Czesław, read it for yourself.”

It was a few days after I gave him a brand-new translation of the Bible that I saw him again and he said: “Why did you hide this treasure from me for so long? Are you serious about what you stand for? Listen to this.” He opened the Book of Job, chapter 29. I’ve never forgotten to go back to that passage again and again. From that day in 1979, I was given my marching orders … Niemen impacted my life by pointing to an alignment of the internalization of practicing and sharing what God says in His Word.

“Good faith Christians are rounded in Scripture and practice the art of seeing people,” words that polish my Christian attitude and put me where I am.

Our culture always gets richer when we base it on God’s Word. It takes practice to make a difference. It requires creative relevance. Consider the attitude of Apostle Paul: Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. … I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! (I Cor 9:20-23 MSG).

Rajmund Dabrowski is editor of Mountain Views. Email him at: [email protected]

24 Apr

A CULTURED VERB

In my head, there is a difference between a “reason” and an “excuse.”

A reason is a good excuse. An excuse is not always a good reason.

I like reasons, but I don’t usually like excuses. Although, I will acknowledge respecting a well-crafted and clever excuse even if I don’t believe it to be a valid reason.

Also, a reason is something that prevented us from doing what we set out to do. An excuse is what we provided to get out of doing something we needed to do but didn’t want to do.

Or an excuse is what we told ourselves so that we could justify doing things a certain way even if there wasn’t a true reason to do so.

The dog ate my homework. I caught all the stoplights. The cops were really out in force today. I was hangry. This is a therapy animal, I swear. All common excuses for something we didn’t get right. Sometimes they are technically true, and sometimes they are complete fabrications.

Which brings me to the last difference between a reason and an excuse.

One is honest and true, and the other one is a lie by intent whether technically true or not.

Unfortunately, I have been guilty a time or two of leaning on excuses when I didn’t have a good reason.

And now that I have clarified for you how I see these two concepts in my own head, I want to use this as a segue to what this article is really about, which isn’t reason or excuses specifically.

When I was a kid in church, I remember sitting through the Mission Spotlight videos that they used to show a lot. I’m sure some churches still do. They were stories of missionaries going to some country and starting churches and baptizing people as converts from some version of tribal paganism. And I remember thinking, even back then, that there were always some similarities between all the recorded stories even though I didn’t really understand what it meant. As an adult, however, I see those stories very differently.

The missionaries would do their work and the video would show their success. And their success was all these former tribes sitting in rudimentary churches on rudimentary pews singing American church songs (sometimes even in English) wearing shirts, ties, and, sometimes, full-on suits and American style churchy cloths.

I’ve had this conversation several times with other pastors and chaplains, and we’ve all recognized some of the same things. What many of these missionaries were doing wasn’t simply teaching these people about Jesus, they were attempting to change their culture. We know this because there isn’t one good reason to make them dress like us when they weren’t already. And they didn’t need to learn English to sing songs about God. They didn’t need to adopt the American Adventist order of service to worship God, and they didn’t even need to do it in any overtly church oriented way.

These people had a culture. They didn’t need to look and act American to meet God. As a result of these practices, we have found that when some of these converts eventually come to America, they are disappointed that we aren’t all like what the missionaries said. Because, as it turns out, the missionaries weren’t all using accurate theology and, instead, were teaching them a version of Adventist cultural Christianity as opposed to introducing them to Jesus.

Ask any pastor how difficult navigating imported theology is within their church.

Now, I want to be very clear here. I’m not against missionaries. I’m not against cultures being altered to create better environments for people to be healthy and thrive.

But there is a difference between helping lift a people up and simply imposing our comfort level upon them.

And now, 630 words in, I get to the actual purpose of this article. What are we actually doing as Adventists to contribute positively to the world around us, including here in our own country?

To Adventism’s credit, we have a lot of hospitals here in America and have done health work around the world. We do have an education system that has done some good as well. I want to acknowledge these things. These efforts aren’t perfect, but no effort is.

But neither of those are large culture impacting phenomenon.

Adventists are known for a couple of things primarily by those who are not. Sabbath keeping and vegetarianism.

Adventists have been leaning into vegetarianism since the late 1800s. And yet we had almost nothing to do with huge rise in vegetarianism in America that has taken place over the last 25 years. That has been driven by other forces. Eastern spiritualities account for some of it, and a combination of better mainstream health research combined with companies willing to cash in on it by utilizing better science to create quality non-meat foods.

Other factors are in play as well including counterculture reactions against excessive lifestyles and the accumulation of material things. The need to live a simple, stress reduced, and healthy life. The roots of some of this can be traced back to the late 1960s and early 1970s in the peace and love era.

Where it doesn’t trace back to is Adventism. We’ve been making and selling vegetarian foods for well over 100 years that anyone can buy … as long as they weren’t looking in any mainstream grocery stores. In fact, you usually couldn’t find any of it outside of a conference office or local church, with some rare exceptions.

Adventism had a useful health message the whole time, and we did nothing but try to use it as a tool to get baptisms. Health became a spiritual test as opposed to simply trying to alter the culture of our world’s health.

This is simply an example of how Adventism has approached culture. We somehow took the idea of being “in the world, but not of the world,” a saying that does not actually exist in the Bible but is an interpretation of a broader point, and instead just said, “stay out of the world.”

We interpreted it in an ostrich head-in-sand sort of way. This mentality resulted in us using missions and evangelism to try to change culture into Adventist culture by pulling people out of their own culture.

When we try to impact culture what we are really doing is trying to make people like us and bring them to us so that we don’t have to change ourselves and go to them. And by “go to them” I don’t mean travel to their country. I mean live with them. Be a part of their lives. Lift them up to be the best they can be in their setting, instead of forcing them into our own setting.

This is why I don’t like the term “culture” as we use it. It’s a noun. It has a static definition. It’s about preserving what was. It’s an excuse for being a certain way and not moving forward to become more. It promotes stagnation and stagnation promotes death.

But culture is also a verb. In this usage it’s about creating an environment where growth can happen. It’s how live bacteria are created that we use to benefit digestion, for example. It’s a biochemical process.

Maybe instead of impacting culture or changing culture, both noun realities, we could instead culture our people and our towns and our cities and our churches and our communities. What if we fostered an environment where people could grow uninhibited and healthy without someone holding them back and tethering them to the past? Anchoring them to bad theology and isolated, controlled realities?

Until we change the Us vs Them mentality that drives us organizationally, we will never truly be relevant to the culture around us because we will never have anything meaningful to contribute to the growth of humanity. We will be too busy fortifying our walls.

But if we could change our corporate mindset, we might stop making excuses for not truly being a part of our communities and as a result might finally have a good reason for existing
as a group.

And I do like good reasons.

Tony Hunter is a Seventh-day Adventist pastor and a hospice chaplain working for Gateway Hospice in Northern Colorado. Tony, his wife Nirma, and daughter Amryn live in Firestone, Colorado. Email him at: [email protected]

24 Apr

CHURCH AND CULTURE: REACTING OR RESPONDING

Recently, I was stretched. If you have ever been there, you know what I am talking about. I was in a situation where it felt like I was possibly (probably) in over my head. It was one of those moments when I felt like something had to give, someone needed to do something. I didn’t know exactly what to do or how to respond, but I felt compelled to do something. I realized that in the act of preparing to respond and then ultimately responding, even though it was not an easy situation to deal with, I grew.

But maybe that is the point of being stretched. When we are challenged to think outside of our wheelhouse and engage with a situation or a topic that we are not comfortable sorting through, we create a fertile place to cultivate new thoughts on the issue in a way that allows for the creation of new conversations.

I was stretched when asked to share my thoughts on the topic: “How is the church today impacting the culture?” In the interests of transparency, I need to say that my initial reaction was a negative thought. I said to myself, is the church impacting the culture? I think it would be a much easier article to write if the question was How is the culture impacting the church?, which is exactly what came out of my mouth to the person who asked me to write the article. It was my reaction to the request. But as I have considered the question, and pondered it for a few weeks now, I wanted to respond to this important question instead of reacting to it.

I find that many of us tend to react instead of responding. We hear a question and we already have an answer before we have really thought through all the ramifications of our answer. We react. A healthy response generally takes time and thoughtful consideration.

So, how is the church impacting the culture? For purposes of clarity, the “church” in this article is not viewed as some institution or organization. The church in the context of scripture and in this article is, at its core, a people who have a faith relationship with Jesus. Also, for clarity, I am only addressing specifically how Seventh-day Adventist people are impacting the culture.

As Seventh-day Adventists, per our statement of beliefs, we have a couple of definitions when it comes to describing the “church.” One of those is the Seventh-day Adventist Church organization, the other is much broader. Belief number 13 of the 28 fundamental beliefs begins with the opening sentence, “The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ … .” So, we believe in a universal church, or group of people who have a faith relationship with Jesus, regardless of what denomination they claim as their faith identity. Since that group covers a wide array of beliefs and practices, I will limit my article to how Seventh-day Adventist believers are making an impact on the culture in which they live.¹

From the inception of the Seventh-day Adventist church in 1863, and as we celebrate 160 years of organization on May 21, 2023, its people have been advocates for cultural change where it was needed. Ellen G. White, Joseph Bates, and many other of our pioneers were staunch abolitionists in an era where slavery was an accepted practice. It was not popular to speak against such a powerful cultural institution, yet they did so with bravery and wisdom. The temperance movement also helped shape our fledgling denomination as many church members were speaking out against vice and teaching their neighbors about the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices. They spoke to issues of violence as well.

Fast forward 160 years and some of those same issues that the church was combating then, we are still combating now. Instead of tobacco, which has mostly lost its attraction to the culture today, we now are dealing with a Fentanyl epidemic. Instead of open slavery, we have human trafficking. Statistics tell us that there are more people enslaved today, estimated at 40 million people, that at any other time in human history.²

So, how is the church responding to these crises? Regarding the drug crisis and addictive behavior, we could react by saying something mean-spirited about how people just need to make better life choices, which would not be helpful. Or we could get together and do something big. I am proud to share that, as a church, we responded to the challenge instead of reacting and have established a global network of support. Local worship centers can establish a recovery group in their area to offer personal support to help those in their sphere of influence find a path to wholeness.³

Regarding domestic and other forms of violence, our church is responding as well. The global initiative End it Now, extending to more than 200 countries, is our effort to raise awareness and advocate for the end of violence around the world.⁴

There are many other ways that the church is impacting the culture as well. Things like food banks, assisting people who are experiencing homelessness, chaplaincy care, health seminars, educational scholarships, and, of course, offering spiritual guidance in local worship communities.

But there is always a tension that exists that we tend to not talk about. How should we respond to some of the issues we face in the context of a soon-coming Jesus? If the world is soon to end, and we believe that it will only get worse before it gets better, then how involved should we get with these issues? Are these things merely distractions that pull our time, efforts, and resources away from our core mission? I believe those questions are worth considering.

A reaction statement may be that we should just focus on sharing the gospel. A thoughtful response may consider all these questions and ask another question. Could it be that finding a way to get more involved with the people impacted by these issues is what our mission truly is at its core, to love God and love people? I believe it is.

How will we respond to some of the many other cultural challenges moving forward is yet to be determined. I pray that we respond like we have historically, from a place of deep love and commitment to God and the Great Commission, and with an abiding and deep compassion for people who are struggling to sort through this thing we call life.

Brandon Westgate is the RMC youth director. Email him at: [email protected]

¹ https://www.adventist.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ADV-28Beliefs2020.pdf

² https://50forfreedom.org/modern-slavery/

³ https://www.adventistrecoveryglobal.org/

⁴ https://www.enditnow.org/

Elisabet Kirkland Page 66