MV Fall 2016

By George Crumley

Waking from a restless sleep, I wandered down to the quiet of my home office. No quick prayer would be appropriate for all that was on my mind. I needed answers. I was asking God to help me in areas that were work-related, for His intervention in the lives of others. I also had a few requests for me personally. The concerns that I presented to God were gathered from recent events, and there seemed to be no possibility for good outcomes in any of them. My imagination invited the fear of what could happen if God did not intercede and focused my thoughts on these seemingly unending problems.

The clock ticked loudly in my mind, reminding me that it would soon be time to leave for work, so I got up from my knees with a lingering doubt that anything would be resolved. I accepted that nothing would change today.

I proceeded to pick up my Bible and sat down to flip through its pages in an effort to quickly ignite the spark of encouragement that I had found so many times before.

As my eyes scanned over a familiar verse in Matthew, my reasoning was awakened to a bigger picture. I read the familiar words that said, “And she shall bring forth a Son and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 KJV).

When Jesus was here on this earth, most people searched for Him because of what they had heard He could do for them. If there was a possibility for healing from a devastating and painful illness, they came. If there was potential for the deliverance of a loved one from the torturing influence of demons, they came. If there was the prospect of freedom from unbreakable Roman oppression, they came. They came to find relief from what bound them to hardship, from what they were powerless to change, from what was destroying their happiness and peace. This momentary thought connected me with those who lived before me—I too was looking for deliverance from things that were weighing me down. My prayer was about me and how I could get rid of my burdens and fears.

“I’m sorry, Lord!” It was easy to see the selfishness in the stories of others, but I was now reminded of it in my own experience. I don’t know how He works, but with that simple acknowledgement, enthusiasm and thankfulness replaced the burdens. Although circumstances had not changed, the words “I’m sorry” reconnected me with the Source of One who could provide the best outcomes. Worry dissipated, and I felt immense gratitude to Him for what He would do through His wisdom and power. He had become more than my good luck charm for the day, more than my fears and more than my doubts. He had indeed helped me to see that the burdens of life are made so much lighter when I allow Him to take His rightful place in my heart.

–George Crumley is RMC vice president for finance.

By Ron Price

Gary Thomas wrote Sacred Marriage, subtitled “What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy?” He sees marriage and the family as wonderful living laboratories in which we can refine our desires and choose to serve others more than ourselves. I believe the Church is God’s sacred tool to help make us holy as well. The church is a perfect environment to practice Christlike, selfless service to others; to practice putting others’ needs above our own, and to find our greatest joy in pleasing God and others more than ourselves.

While God’s plan is perfect, we can all admit there is much wrong with how we carry it out. Church conflict should be the greatest oxymoron of all time, yet it is too frequently a painful and disheartening reality. Although there could be many reasons for specific church conflicts, Dr. Larry Crabb has identified the true explanation at the heart of each and every one. In his book Men and Women: Enjoying the Difference, Dr. Crabb suggests that at the root of all sin lies self-centeredness. I challenged his view at first, but have come to believe he is correct.

Take any sin you can imagine and trace it to its base cause and you will likely find self-centeredness. I believe the same is true for conflict among brothers and sisters in the church.

We come together once a week and join in singing “Have Thine Own Way, Lord,” but then choose to live “Have My Own Way.” We sing “I Surrender All” with relish, but often live “I Surrender Some.” I like to sing the modern song “Jesus, Lover of My Soul,” written by Paul Oakley. The first line reads “It’s all about You, Jesus” so why do I often live as though “It’s all about me?”

The world says “Look out for number one”—obviously referring to oneself. God says “Look out for Number One,” obviously referring to our Savior Jesus Christ. If you’re look- ing out for yourself, you have every right to get upset about the color of the carpet, the style of worship, or being over- looked for a church position. If the focus of your life is on serving God and furthering His cause, I dare say you have no right to get upset about any of those things.

A favorite text for many is Gal. 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me and the life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God Who loved me and gave His life for me.” If I read that text correctly, the essence of the Christian life is that Christ died that we might live, we are therefore to die (symbolically and relationally) that He might live in and through us. Sounds like a good deal, yet it does not appear to be so simple to live out.

John Bevere writes about this in his wonderful book The Bait of Satan. While Mr. Bevere does not write from an Adventist perspective, I believe he has identified a common cause of listless Christianity, weak faith, and conflicts within the church. We learn about Jesus and grasp—as best we can— all that He did for us. In response, we willingly, joyfully commit to serving Him and His purposes only. This is celebrated in Heaven, but not so much by the opponents of God. The enemy and his minions double their efforts to undo our decision and get us to recant and return to self-centeredness. And thus the battle rages moment by moment, month by month, year by year, decade by decade.

As the saying goes, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is the battle is not going to lighten up. It is going to intensify big time leading up to the glorious return of our Savior. We better be prepared for this, or we are in for some really big defeats. But the good news is Great News. Read your Bible all the way from Genesis to maps and you find out that we win! So long as we remain in a surrendered state and accept Christ’s sacrifice, we have nothing to fear for the future.

Am I suggesting we should all become doormats and place “kick me here” signs on our backsides? I sure hope not. But I am suggesting that our churches, our homes, and our lives would be much more peaceful and enjoyable if we all practiced true Christian humility and self-surrender.

Let me make some suggestions:

Daily renew your desire to follow Jesus and place Him on the throne of your heart and life. It’s difficult—if not impossible—to truly love Jesus and dislike others.

Daily seek His will and His marching orders for you, His soldier. Determine to be a vessel into which He can safely pour His grace, mercy, and love—knowing you will share them with others rather than hoard them to yourself.

Find a ministry to engage in deeply—this should not leave you with the time, energy, or desire to get upset with others.

Determine to practice true Christlike humility. Look at everyone you meet as someone for whom Jesus died and someone He loves. What right do you have to be upset and ugly with someone for whom Jesus your Lord and Savior gave His life?

I’m not saying this process is easy or that I have mastered the concept and practice it perfectly. But I am saying that my very best days are those when I do sing and practice “Live Out Thy Life Within Me, O Jesus King of Kings.”

–Ron Price is a member of the RMC executive committee from Farmington, New Mexico. His new book is Play Nice in Your Sandbox at Work.

By James Murdoch

Identifying markers of privilege:

White
Male
Age 18-35
Heterosexual
Tall
Able-bodied
Natural-born U.S. citizen
Native English speaker
Middle-class
Access to education
Christian
Full-time employment with benefits

I am privileged. I often do not feel privileged, but there is no avoiding the factual evidence. I am privileged.

I was bombarded on social media this month by a call to action. I was reminded of the realities faced by black Americans across the nation who have lost their lives to gun violence. I saw videos and images of young men dying, and observed the impact on race relations. I was reminded that the time for silence is over, and that I must make a stand and proclaim out loud that Black Lives Matter.

Because of my status as a young, white, able-bodied, English-speaking, middle-class Christian with a paid position which gives me access to a pulpit and a microphone, I must be willing to stand before an audience in lockstep with those gathering in major cities across the nation to publicly condemn the actions of certain police officers.

To say nothing is to load the weapons of racist police officers who continue to harass a population of black men all too familiar with brutality and second-class treatment. To falter at this time is to stand opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement, and pledge an allegiance to bigotry and hatred. To stand down is to fail to see the plight of the under- privileged and marginalized and to waste an opportunity, as a privileged person, to use my voice. To remain on the side- lines is to give credence to the actions of xenophobic and armed vigilantes.

To do nothing is to say that black lives truly do not matter.

I don’t often post my opinion on social media, often out of fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in the wrong place. It is this fear that creates feelings of social impotence when entering the conversation on black culture.

The years I have spent being unsure how much black culture I am allowed to promote leave me feeling more helpless than ever. I was reminded that conversations on black culture stem from a struggle which I simply did not/could not understand, and therefore I should tread lightly when at- tempting to commiserate with my black friends. It became unclear as to whether a white person could speak of black culture at all, or if it must be referenced as “African-American culture,” as to use the word “black” was akin to using the n-word.

I grew up outside of black culture because I believed that to be the socially responsible thing to do. I was under the impression that I could only resonate with what was being said as long as I was willing to step outside when it was time to recognize that I wasn’t all the way in. With this mutually-agreed-upon distance, there was never much time to practice defending a culture I was not inherently tied to or intimately coupled with.

But something changed. Something was corrupted. Something crossed the line. That something was a bullet. And then another. And another. And it came from one side and was fired over to the other.

A lot happened after that initial shot, but the one thing I didn’t count on was being blamed for the bullet because the lines remained in the field between black culture and white culture. I didn’t count on hearing that, because of a bullet fired somewhere down the line, the entire team would be penalized for its encroachment. I hadn’t counted on there being a need for an immediate response in order to be counted as one willing to step over the line once used as necessarily divisive. I hadn’t counted on there being a need for change in social status. I was unprepared and unpracticed for what happened next.

I never thought I was saying that “Black lives don’t matter.” I never meant for my message to be anything other than “Black lives matter.” I never wanted there to be a divide, but neither did I want to be the person who cried foul when someone asked for a little distance in a world where white, privileged men have taken so much. I never wanted to be afraid to speak up. But I am.

I believe that black lives matter. I know that black lives matter. Black lives matter.

I post this as a response to the call for the privileged to speak up when many have been unwilling to speak for those who are now unable to. But I do so with trepidation and anxiety that my voice is not the correct one. I do so with dread that my unrehearsed and unprepared rhetoric will be seen as racially insensitive and bigoted. I do so with apprehension that I will somehow make things worse, as there have been too many times when acts of commiseration were met with skepticism and suspicion. I do so knowing that I am entering into the game late and from the wrong side of the field. I do so with fear that my support will be taken as half-hearted and impotent.

I am overwhelmed by grief and sadness every time there is another story of tragedy in the black community. I am outraged at the incongruity of lives taken at the hands of officers assigned to protect and serve. I am disturbed by the lack of peace between the black and white communities. I am dismayed by the acts of violence that continue to disrupt this world.

I am privileged. I do not often feel privileged. But there is no avoiding the factual evidence: I am privileged.
I am, therefore, stepping out in faith and fear that there might be too few voices calling into the night for harmony.
I am unready for this moment and am going against all the voices in my head that tell me to wait and speak when I am more proficient on this subject. As I stand in solidarity and speak from my position of privilege, I ask for guidance, for wisdom, and for patience as I learn how to act and speak as a proponent of social change for a culture in which I am not well versed.

May all mortals, regardless of race, find ways to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God as one community.

–-James Murdoch is administrative pastor at Andrews University’s One Place congregation. He was associate pastor at Boulder Adventist Church until 2015 when he began studying at the SDA Theological Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. This article is adapted with permission from a Facebook post.

By Nigel Abrahams

Of late, one topic that can be found in the headlines on any given day is race relations in the United States. While America has a less than stellar history in this area, things seemed to be improving until a string of high profile situations swept across the country. Suddenly, a pre-civil rights era tension began to build. There were more questions than answers floating around and, in one way or another, we are all impacted.

As a Christian and Black American, I sometimes find myself conflicted over the entire situation. I ask myself “What am I to do?” and the Christian answer is not always the same as the Black American answer. As a Black American, I have to remind myself that there are still those in this world who would choose to judge me by the color of my skin rather than by the content of my character. I must acknowledge that some of those sworn to secure my safety are indeed my greatest threats. I must be aware of the misconceptions by which I and others like me will be measured. And, as if all this weren’t enough, I know I will have to respond to many who will insist that all of this is nothing more than my own imagination running amok.

While these challenges are enough to make me want to retreat to a safe bubble, my Christian identity reminds me that the safe bubble is not an option. Though I may not always be judged by my character, it is still my duty to reflect Christ’s character. As a Christian, I must realize that I may be subjected to unfair treatment and turn the other cheek when it happens. I am called to live a life that challenges the world’s misconceptions of those who claim the name of Jesus. None of this can be done from within the confines of a safe bubble.

Fortunately, there is some common ground between my duelling identities. Both feel the pain of merciless mistreatment by others. Both are appalled that mankind could use something as insignificant as skin color as a reason to be less than neighborly. Both recognize the enemy is not the man in whom the hatred is manifest, and both know this struggle has existed in one form or another since the true enemy told his very first lie. It is through these commonalities that I can find the answer to my daily question.

I am not the first to ponder exactly what I am to do. When Israel faced a similar predicament, Micah answered it with another question. “And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Again my duelling identities find common ground. Both can support the idea of justice being fairly administered to all those who would exercise poor judgment in their choices. And both would be happy if mercy were a value on which our behavior toward one another was based.

We all must ask ourselves this daily question and deter- mine if we will retreat to our bubble or answer the call to represent the true nature of Christ to the world. Will we stand idly by or step up for justice? Will we excuse ourselves from the situation or let mercy influence our actions within it? Perhaps as we answer these questions and influence the world around us, we can start filling the headlines with news of love making a comeback.

–Nigel Abrahams is a member of LifeSource Adventist Fellowship. He works as an information technology analyst in the financial services industry and fills his free time with golf, bowling, and motorcycle rides.

We asked two young people, representing two diverse cultures, to share their views on how community life interfaces with their church, family life and society at large: Are we inclusive or exclusive in our everydayness? Here are their comments.

Creating an Inclusive Church

One of the last words to come to my mind when I think of my local Adventist church is “exclusive.” My Adventist community of believers in the small town of Olathe, Colorado, is fairly open to the public. I’ve seen many people walk through the doors of my church building Sabbath morning, and I’ve watched the enthusiasm and warmth of my church family in receiving them. However, I wouldn’t consider this detail alone to attribute an inclusive attitude to my Adventist community.

An inclusive Adventist community goes beyond merely smiling at people when they wander into Sabbath morning services. An inclusive community involves itself in the lives of the community by taking initiative. In my church’s experience, holding events that bring the community into the church is not as effective at creating an inclusive atmosphere as creating events in the community itself.

One program that my church held in the community was a cooking class. We chose not to have the classes at our facilities. Instead, we held the series at a community center in the next town, Montrose, since many of our members live there. Our aim was to create a presence, a sense of aware- ness that, “Hey, we exist! And we would like to do stuff together.” The class was widely successful, not because it generated baptisms, but because the church taught some- thing practical to people living in the city—and even within the very neighborhood where we held the meetings. It raised a sense of awareness in the surrounding area, and people associate our church family with friendliness and genuine care for people who don’t (ever!) attend our church.

It’s been years since our first project and we’ve ventured out with different ideas since then. We even had a crocheting class. All of the classes created bonds of friendship, and some led to Bible studies—some even to baptism—but our main goal was met simply by going out into the community.

It is also important to be inclusive within the congregation itself. An often under appreciated form of inclusion comes simply from inviting members to help with church services. Even when I was a young person, my church was unafraid of involving young people in church programming.  Children pick up the offering and Friday night vespers is led out by people of all ages. We try to harbor an inclusive spirit through keeping track of where everyone is. If someone is sick or unexpectedly fails to show up one week, the Adventist community shows genuine concern. Members often visit one another or hold events at their homes to create a familial atmosphere.

Perhaps one of the most important practices that creates an inclusive attitude in my Adventist community is that of always having a family or two prepared to host people in case a visitor comes to church Sabbath morning. After the service, the church member will invite the visitor home for a meal. We prepare this way so that the interaction with the visitor doesn’t have to stop after the sermon.

Inclusivity involves a variety of attitudes and actions that create a positive feeling of belonging. It’s no use being inclusive to those who are visiting if the church leadership is exclusive in its view of who can serve. It’s not meaningful to reach out to the community in the city if the community in the church doesn’t seek its own backsliding members. I pray the Adventist community of believers will not be exclusive, for the gospel commission itself is inclusive.

Eliezer Roque-Cisneros is a senior theology major at Union College.

Inclusive Local Community

A healthy community is one in which people have good physical and emotional health. But health is more than just the absence of illness. A healthy community offers a high quality of life and takes a holistic view, recognizing that everything is connected and that the whole is more than just the sum of its parts. Community development is therefore connected to spiritual growth.

Spirituality is a powerful factor in shaping decisions and actions. We know that every religion teaches values that can be practiced in daily life, along with lessons from scripture. By applying what we learn from scripture to our relation- ships with others, we have a greater chance of producing a pleasant and cohesive community.

In my hometown of Kota Marudu, in Sabah, Malaysia, there are Seventh-day Adventists, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and members of many other denominations. We even have Muslims. In fact, Muslims make up the religious majority of Malaysia, and most of them live on the peninsula of Malaysia. In spite of our diverse backgrounds and beliefs, we live in peace.

To me, having respect is an essential part of every community. Not only respect for others, but also respect for their religions, too, so that their ways teaching or praying are not mocked. In my city, we have that kind of respect and it is one of the characteristics that leads to our peaceful community. When I was in primary school, my friends liked to make fun of each other and their religions. But as they grew up, they realized that religion is a serious and sensitive matter. They stopped mocking anyone’s religion.

Another aspect contributing to my community here is toleration and understanding. Aside from hosting more than just one religion in our city, we also have a variety of ethnicities—including Chinese, Indians, and those from various other backgrounds. As we all know, having a group of people of different cultures mixed up in one place could spell disaster. But with toleration and understanding, we are able to put our differences aside and live in unity.

For example, Hindus believe in rebirth. As for Muslims, they celebrate Hari Raya after a month of fasting as a symbol of forgiveness, fellowship, and food. During the whole month of fasting, they can’t do certain things like pick their nose, say awful things and so on. The Chinese believe that it is bad luck to sweep the house during the celebration of Chinese New Year. By communicating these customs with one another, we are all able to understand where others are coming from. This matter applies to both culture and religion.

I believe that the most important thing to have is love, and this is the major contributor to our healthy community: love for one another, our religion, our God, our country. Nothing can be fixed in this world without love and consideration. Scripture is clear: If we want to experience God’s presence, we are to seek Him through His words, His Holy Spirit, and through relationships with others—our community.

Kota Marudu is a small city in which everyone knows each other. And because of that, we know when something is wrong with our neighbors. In July 2015, my father had an accident and broke his right leg. Word spread and people came to visit us for moral support, and some even offered financial help. We were very thankful for their kind gestures. Since we couldn’t go to church for weeks, people brought the church to us by worshipping at our home. Their consideration allowed us to experience God’s presence through them.

A healthy community can improve our spiritual growth. God wants to help us in life. He wants to listen to us, but He’s not necessarily going to show up in an angelic form. He sends a friend, a brother, a sister—the community.

Anneariana Pam Poimon attends the Adventist College of Nursing and Health Sciences, and writes from Kota Marudu, Sabah, Malaysia.

By Peter Chamberlain

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. —1 Corinthians 1:17 (NIV)

I arrived at the Boulder Seventh-day Adventist Church a few weeks ago to find a “Now Open” sign at the entrance. At first, I was a little miffed by the statement. This church has been open for over 60 years. What kind of ignorance of the Boulder Church’s long history in this community is this? I wondered. This church was open long before any of the pastoral staff or current leaders were even born.

But then we worshipped together and Pastor Elia King preached on culture, counterculture, and perspective. We studied the Bible in various classes, sharing divergent thoughts, styles, and approaches.

As my wife Patty and I were preparing to leave for home, Jessyka Albert, the discipleship pastor, invited several couples to stay and eat with the young adults. Our earlier discussions wandered around in my mind as I ate with these young people who enjoyed just being together—being in the same space and time with each other and with anyone who stumbled into their sphere.

That Sabbath afternoon, I came to understand a new perspective. I can no longer be satisfied with viewing things in life from my safety net. I am forced to turn things around, perhaps even upside down.

I came to a new take on the words “now open.” Could it be a turn of phrase that is far more meaningful than I’d originally thought? Could it be that Boulder Church is now open to people—people created in the image of God, but sadly not living in the image of God, people who may have lost the image of God growing up or had it stolen from them, or people who may have never even known or seen His likeness?

Is Boulder Church now open to this community, open to invite visitors to step inside our doors and to “taste and see that the Lord is good?” Or simply open to a bathroom ministry? Patty noticed that in just one hour four people came into our church seeking the simple necessity of a bath- room (perhaps that is this community’s cup of cool water).

Or is it open to our neighbors, providing opportunities for them to come inside and meet us, to join us in sharing what we have with others? Maybe it’s open to varied expressions of worshiping God. Open to life groups.

Open to a summer intern program that puts youth to action in their church, and more importantly puts them in regular contact with our pastors and gets them more directly involved with the church’s activities—all in the hope that they decide this is their church and not just their parents’ church.

Open to not just saying our young people are important, but putting time and treasure toward demonstrating to our youth that they are the church. That we need them to be equipped to stand on our shoulders as we have stood—and are currently standing—on the shoulders of those who filled these ranks before us.

We need our young people to take Christ’s Church to a height we could not, just as we have taken it or tried to take it to heights that previous generations could not. This means that Boulder Church is now open to saying that we still have a mission to fulfill, we still have a vision to follow. We have not yet arrived, We are open to not just preserving the past, but open to making Adventism’s marvelous past a valuable part of our present reality. This past is Bible-based, spirit-lead, and blessed by God. It is open to pushing back formal- ism and legalism—which are just as deadly as spiritualism and paganism.

My church is open to not just settling for faith that Christ is coming again, but to making Him a model for our words, actions, and love. Christ is indeed here in Boulder, alive and well and just as powerful as ever to give life abundantly to all who hear His calling and receive grace and salvation by coming unto Him.

Yes, Boulder is open. The question for me is, am I?

–Peter Chamberlain is head elder at Boulder Adventist Church.

Stewardship of the environment

Stewardship of the environment is well embedded in the ethos of Seventh-day Adventism. As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in honoring God’s creation by keeping the Sabbath. We advocate for a wholesome lifestyle and recognize God’s call for faithful management of the natural environment and its resources. In recent decades, the world church has issued numerous statements calling for respect of creation, reaffirmation of the dignity of created life, restraint in the use of the world’s resources, and a reevaluation of individual needs to conserve limited resources.

In an interview with Mountain Views, Shelly Miller, Ph.D. talks about stewardship of the environment and the responsibility Seventh-day Adventists have in caring for God’s creation, as well as understanding some of the challenges environmental steward- ship poses today.

Miller is a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, and faculty member of the interdisciplinary environmental engineering program. Her research interests include indoor air quality, health effects, sources and exposure to particulate air pollution, and development and evaluation of indoor air quality control measures. In addition to her status as an award-winning scientist and member of numerous professional societies, she is also known for her passionate interest in improving the overall culture for women in society and leadership, and is committed to social justice. She particularly focuses her energy and resources toward understanding and improving air quality in low-income communities. She lives in Boulder with her husband and two children and serves as a discipleship elder at Boulder Adventist Church. —Editor

Mountain Views: In your view, what constitutes environmental stewardship?

Shelly Miller: Environmental stewardship is the conscious care-taking of our surrounding environment, including our home, school, community, and also the larger world in which we live. Conscious care-taking means reducing our use of resources, and reusing as many resources as possible. It also means continuing to learn about our resources including water, air, soil, waste, and how they need to be cared for.

Mountain Views: A negative view of the condition of the world, in terms of how we can fix what’s wrong, often permeates the pages of Adventist publications. How can Adventists and Adventist publications be more positive toward the environmental conditions plaguing us today? After all, the Adventist Church has issued numerous statements on the topic, but words are often not matched by actions.

Shelly Miller: One suggestion would be to balance the content of publications with both issues that need addressing and fixing, as well as sharing with readers the beauty of our environment. For example a short piece of writing on the impact of emissions from diesel vehicles, and also a short piece sharing the amazing beauty to be found at Rocky Mountain National Park. How to visit includes parking your car and not driving too much and taking the bus!

Mountain Views: What would you suggest be done to achieve global ties and cooperation to address environmental problems?

Shelly Miller: How about when we do mission projects focused on health, we also include the environment? When I went with a medical team to Nepal to offer services to the community, one of the things I wish we had addressed was the horrific water quality in the country, and this was obviously one of the major reasons for the health problems they were having. We could partner with organizations that focus on the environment in developing countries.

Mountain Views: Referring to the Golden Rule—treat others the way you want to be treated—the way we treat the environment affects others, too. What tie do you see between religion and protecting the environment both within Christianity and within other religious world-views?

Shelly Miller: I think there is a conflict between being loving stewards of our environment—taking care of it and appreciating it—and also wasting it because the end of the earth will be coming anyway and the devastation of the earth is a sign of the times. This is not congruent in my mind—we must always take the best care of the earth and our bodies that we can. I add “bodies” because one environmental issue is the use of pesticides on our environment, and eating organically.

Mountain Views: How could we get our next door neighbors and other people in our community who don’t believe in creation, or who may not understand the significance of creation, to care about the environment?

Shelly Miller: I think a lot of people care about the environment, regardless of what they believe about creation. They love the beauty, the time they spend in the environment, etc. I think we need to focus on improving the stewardship of the environment by Christians. Typical health concerns aside.

Mountain Views: Is there a role to fill or a greater involvement the government can take to reduce the production of plastics, paper, and other man-made environmental dangers that, consequently, seem to fuel consumerism and capitalism?

Shelly Miller: Oh yes. We cannot leave the environment to individuals, the market, etc., because it is a public good. We must demand the government care for public goods so that we all can enjoy them. And capitalists will exploit public goods for their own benefit, which in the end will destroy them.

Mountain Views: It is said that students educate their teachers. How does your involvement as an educator with teaching about and advocating for proper stewardship of the environment impact your personal life?

Shelly Miller: I am a strong advocate for living in a healthy chemical-free home, for minimizing our carbon footprint, for eating organically, for not using too much water in our gardens, for not using herbicides and pesticides, etc. It drives my family crazy sometimes—for example when I said we were not using Teflon anymore due to its possible toxic contribution to the food cooked in it. My husband did love our Teflon pans! And when I found out there were flame retardant chemicals in our furniture I got rid of it.

By Carol Bolden

As Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we believe in being stewards of God’s creation. In an anonymous survey, church pastors in the Rocky Mountain Conference were asked about their attitudes toward the environment and the challenges in applying our beliefs about stewardship. We received 26 responses.

Although 92 percent of responding pastors believe that the promotion of a clean environment is important, 32 percent never refer to the environment in a sermon. The majority of pastors (60 percent) would be willing to place an “Environmentally Friendly” sign on church property. More than half (58 percent) were not acquainted with the Church’s official statement on the environment. Only 32 percent reported that their local church participates in making the community conscious of environmental issues. Fifteen percent of churches provide recycling containers for biomaterials and/or non-degradable materials.

Pastors believe that the world church should address the issue of a clean environment in these ways:

Establish an annual stewardship and environment week (22%)
Issue relevant public/official statements (39%)
Emphasize Sabbath rest as a contribution to environmental stewardship (61%)
Include more articles on the environment in church publications (39%)
Provide more promotional resources to local congregations (27%)
Educate students in schools (74%)
Provide ways to discard bio-waste (39%)
Encourage use of compostable products/provide recycling of buildings (57%)

While pastors highlighted a variety of solutions to environmental problems, some believe the topic to be inappropriate for the pulpit. Because environmental issues have become politically charged, pastors may see them as divisive and mired in party politics—or may fear that their congregations see them as such, rather than viewing stewardship of the earth as a responsibility given to us by God.

–Carol Bolden provides administrative support for the RMC communication department.

By Jessyka Albert

When we aim to make our churches “youth friendly,” we are often missing the point. Does that mean that a church can be friendly without being youth friendly and vice versa? The first step toward making a church youth friendly is being a friendly church. If you feel your church is friendly, keep it up—and keep reading. If your church is struggling with this abstract, hard-to-grasp concept of kindness, drop your Mountain Views right now and do everything in your power to fix that. No amount of youth friendliness can fill the gaping hole of an inauthentic church.

Friendly churches are flexible churches. Friendly churches can replace the word “youth” with any age group, gender, race, or walk of life. The issue is not friendliness, but rather who and what we value. It is an issue our church continues to wrestle with. Do we value our youth? Do we value different cultures? Do we value women?

Jesus understood that this issue transcends time and culture. He broke with the status quo. He said things like, “Let the little children come to me.” He entrusted the gospel first to a woman. He associated and dined with some of the lowest of the low. And He continues to challenge our social norms today.

It is easy to be “friendly” to someone. A smile here, a compliment there, but it gets really difficult when we begin to value someone. Valuing people takes much more intentionality and it sometimes requires us to step past our pride. Pride that is threatened when younger generations come up with innovative ideas we never even dreamed of. Pride when a woman is able to lead in the name of Jesus just as well as any man. Pride when a little child shows more forgiveness and grace than our hardened adult hearts could ever muster.

The world already has friendly. There are plenty of places that I would consider friendly. Personally, I think Chick-fil-A is one of the friendliness places on earth. (and their shakes measure up as well!) So what makes the Seventh-day Adventist Church different from Chick-fil-A? Plenty of places can harness the virtue of friendliness with little to no effort, but we as a church need to move above and beyond what this world has to offer. We need to represent the name of Jesus in stepping past friendliness into value. Instead of letting the world lead us in friendliness, we need to let Jesus lead us in the virtue of value.

So yes, friendliness is important, but it is also too easy. It can cause us to become lazy Christians who feel that we are doing “good enough” just being a friendly church. But when I think of what I want from my church, I want a Christian community that goes beyond small talk by being genuinely invested in one another’s lives. A church where members value each other and push the world to do the same. A church that takes the lead—because we are following so close to Jesus—rather than falling behind.

–Jessyka Albert is discipleship pastor at Boulder Adventist Church.

By Jeremy Goins

My name is Jeremy. I stand at 6 feet 6 inches, and on February 24, 2013, I weighed 360 pounds.

I’ve never had a reason to fear or dislike numbers; in fact, I love numbers and data. However, I stopped using a scale because I couldn’t face the numbers under my feet. The larger they became, the smaller I felt. I ran from cameras, usually volunteering to be the photographer instead. Mirrors were banned from my home, except for one that I could use to shave, and even then I could only see my neck and shoulders. Whenever I saw an accidental photo of myself I sunk a little deeper into my depression while showing the smiling, joking me that I present to the world. Some of you will identify with what I’m saying, and that’s the only reason I’m exposing this part of me to the world. Some of you eat when you are sad, bored, lonely, etc. Some of you eat “just a little treat” and forget about it an hour later when another “little treat” crosses your path.

You may eat and not realize you’ve been eating until you’re halfway into your food. I know because I’ve been there. I’ve spent many nights alone, finding comfort in food away from a world I made myself believe was full of enemies and opportunities I couldn’t enjoy because of my size.

I know just a little bit about losing a lot of weight and I’m going to tell you the secret . . . no, the truth of my weight loss:

I decided to stop spending energy on my excuses and started spending it on my results. A Google search returned 59 million entries for “Weight Loss Diet.” It screams at you to give up now, and come back again later when the numbers aren’t so demanding. But there’s a solution.

What worked for me included cutting the excuses and sticking to a reasonable diet of 50 percent produce, 25 per- cent lean protein and 25 percent grain. First, I needed to say goodbye to my old friends. Mine were iced honey buns and sweet tea (I’m a good ole Southern boy). This hurts and you feel like you’re missing out on something that brought you joy. But after about three or four weeks, I stopped craving junk food. After a few more months, the idea of fast food made my stomach turn.

The final truth is that I failed along the way in my weight loss journey so many times.

I cried.

I loathed every healthy-weight person in the world. I looked for reasons why I couldn’t possibly lose weight to absolve myself of the responsibility.

I cried.

I felt so much frustration that I couldn’t wear clothes as well as others could. I was constantly reminded that I didn’t fit into the image of what is desirable and therefore was un-dateable and would always be alone.

I cried.

Then one day I stopped crying, and stopped getting angry or frustrated at the world. I simply let those feelings go like feathers into a breeze. I decided to push harder, to strive to be stronger and faster. Then I did it again, and again, so on and so forth. This entire cycle repeated itself and it hurt every time. I fell many times, but got very good at getting back up.

Finally, one day my world changed. It was July 7, 2016, the day before I was to compete in my first rodeo. I had dropped the weight, coming in at 212 pounds. None of my jeans were going to fit well enough to stay on me. I was nervous about shopping for new jeans, and encouraged myself that I could certainly fit into a 38 waist. That was only four sizes away from my size 34 waist goal.

The salesperson encouraged me to try on a pair of 33 waist Wranglers. They fit me well.

I cried.

–Jeremy Goins is the cancer registry supervisor at Littleton Adventist Hospital in Littleton, Colorado.