MV Spring 2019 Page 2

By Shayne Mason Vincent

How do you heal the unhealable, change the unchangeable, forgive the unforgivable; how do you heal the past?

1. Stop fixating on what happened

Stop trying to fix it, stop trying to change it, stop fearing it, stop thinking about it, stop wishing it would change, stop wishing it would have been different, stop ruminating about it, stop thinking you could’ve done something different, stop demanding justice, stop wanting revenge, stop needing to repair it, stop the impression management, stop trying to fix everyone, stop trying to make it better, stop trying to make up for it. “Better is the end of a thing than its beginning; the patient in spirit are better than the proud in spirit; (so) Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this” (Eccl. 7: 8,10, NRSV).

2. Let go of what cannot be changed

Let go of it, let go of the resentment, let go of the hate, let go of the anger, let go of the injustice, let go of the rage, let go of the shame, let go of the guilt, let go of the pain, let go of the failure, let go of apathy, let go of the loss, let go of the rejection, let go of your vice like grip, let go of your expectations, let go of your demands, let go of your hard heart, let go of could have, let go of should have, let go of perfect, let go of fear, let go of control. “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland” (Isa. 43:18-19, NIV).

3. Learn to accept a different path

Learn to release it, learn how to move on, learn acceptance, learn forgiveness, learn that control is an illusion, learn that it cannot be altered, learn to grieve it, learn to trust again, learn to lean upon God, learn new truths, learn self-acceptance, learn how powerful you are, learn that you will be ok, learn to change, learn to be happy. “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by appearance. . . . The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart’” (1 Sam. 16:7, NLT).

4. Form a new destiny

Form a different future, form something new, form new hopes, form new dreams, form a new life, form new experiences, form new spiritual life, form a taste for new foods, form new adventures, form new beliefs, form new boundaries, form new friends, form a new family, form new habits, form new hangouts, form new memories. “Whatever I used to count as my greatest accomplishments, I’ve written them off as a loss because of the Christ. And more so, I now realize that all I gained and thought was important was nothing but yesterday’s garbage compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For Him I have thrown everything aside—it’s nothing but a pile of waste—so that I may gain Him” (Phil. 3:7-8, TVB).

Let Jesus pull the poison out of your soul. Let down your walls of fear and anger. Let go of your theological desperation, and just rest in the arms of a Savior. Let your hard heart loosen in your chest and beat softly again. God can heal your unhealable wounds. God can make a new destiny out of the ashes of your broken and unfixable past. God can even bring closure for the unspeakable, the seemingly unforgivable.

As C.S. Lewis once said, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” Your future does not have to be like your past, for the past was not always yours to control. But the present is yours for the taking, your new future is yours for the making.

–Shayne Mason Vincent, MSW, is lead pastor of the Casper Wyoming District. Email him at: [email protected]

By Steve Nelson

I will forever be grateful for growing up in a Christian home. My parents, who were not raised Christians, came to know Jesus as their Savior because of the earnest prayers of a godly grandmother and a call to surrender preached in a sermon by evangelist Billy Graham. They were young newlyweds, in love, ready to embark on life’s journey together when one evening they found themselves sitting in an auditorium balcony, two seats as far from the stage as possible, yet something amazing happened—they both heard the Spirit’s call and, together, they made their way to the front, surrendering their lives to God. One afternoon a literature evangelist came knocking at their door and sold them a set of Bible story books by a man named Uncle Arthur. As a child I remember my mom reading those stories countless times, teaching us the wonderful truths from God’s precious Word.

Growing up I loved going to church—spending time with our church family was simply amazing and I truly believed that our church was a piece of Heaven on Earth and, conceivably, it was, or maybe it was unique because of the times in which we grew up. Sounds picture perfect? Perhaps, or maybe I was too young to be involved in the internal workings of the church and society. Life was simpler then.

However, as I grew older, I began to hear louder rumblings of discontent and strife. Social injustice was taking center stage in the press and even in the church. Families that suffered the tragedy of divorce were sometimes viewed as outcasts. In those days, that was paramount to the unpardonable sin—branded with the scarlet letter “D”—viewed as being outside of God’s will or, perhaps, even outside His pardoning grace. Other times, I saw church members cannibalize each other over power struggles and spiritual pride.

By the time I was in my late teens and early 20s, church no longer held the interest of my early years. Sure, I would regularly attend, but somehow the thrill was gone. After several failed dating relationships, and the tragedy of losing my mother, I felt lost. Almost imperceptibly, I began to drift away, not in person, but in spirit. I wanted something the church was not providing—a safe, loving, and supportive place for someone who was still trying to figure out life— more importantly, how to live the impossible spiritual dream, to be a saint in a world that was anything but perfect. The church of that era only seemed to be focused on reaching those outside its doors and, since I was already in church, I was not a priority. Many of my generation left never to return.

Over time, I became a statistic. Sadly, I was one of a staggering number of young people who no longer attended church in any regular fashion. It was simply not a place for someone who was struggling to find themselves in a world that only encouraged compromise instead of fidelity. I didn’t see it at the time, but many of the choices I made drew me further away from God than I could ever have imagined. I was living a double life. When I went to church I put on my church clothes, my church smile and, because of so many years of practice, my church persona—happy on the outside, yet desperately lonely, lost, and empty inside. I was truly a backslidden Christian, and I had no hope of turning my life around. I knew I didn’t fit in, yet I was still searching and hoping to find something that would satisfy the hungering of my lost soul. I was afraid if people knew the real me they would treat me as an outcast—to be shamed and rejected. And if the church rejected me, God most certainly would do the same. At least that’s what I sincerely believed to be true.

One of the greatest dangers of sliding backward is that you never really know how far away from God you’ve gone, or how much danger you are actually in. Once the sin experiment begins, and the devil becomes your tour guide, you are not entirely free to choose what temptations you partake of, or resist. You may find yourself doing things that would have filled your heart with terror in the innocence of your youth. Yet, once you’re caught in sin’s deceitful web, the snare is too powerful to break and you become blinded to where you are or which path you are taking. It’s like driving through a snowstorm. You keep going forward, knowing you can’t stop, never quite certain how far you’ve gone, or the actual distance to your final destination. Thus, the perils of traveling the broad road that leads to destruction. For years I drifted in this state of uncertainty. Wanting what I could not find, a place of joy and safety, longing to return to some- where, or someplace, in the far distant past.

Thankfully, the prayers of a loving mother and godly father, along with many others, brought me to a turning point. I believe every prodigal son and daughter will eventually be brought to that place—faced with the ultimate decision. Will God win and eternity be filled with never-ending joy and peace, or will the pleasures of sin forever destroy their hope of a Heavenly home? Thankfully, for me, the devil lost that day.

By the time I came to the place of contemplating a return to church, my life had already changed dramatically. I married a wonderful wife and she agreed to return with me to the church I had left many years before. That step was very difficult to take. A few years prior to this, I had been working for a religious organization, yet was not connected to any church family. I wondered if we would be accepted. Or was the judgmental eye of godly saints waiting to ridicule me for staying away so long and living outside of God’s will for so many years? That fear kept us from darkening the church’s door for some time. Yet God’s voice still called, and one day we made that brave step back through those doors, and our lives were forever changed.

Growing up in the church made it somewhat easier to return, since I knew what the experience would be like, yet more difficult because the guilt of leaving and living on the outside still haunted me. What I needed, and what every prodigal child needs, is love, acceptance, and reassurance. If you have been privileged with the honor of welcoming a lost sheep home, the words you speak, and the manner in which you address them can have eternal consequences. Whatever you do, don’t ask, “Where have you been?” Don’t question their dress, speak of their failures, or look down your self- righteous nose at the condition in which they return. I plead with you to think loving thoughts toward them. Show the love and compassion of a Father whose arms are open wide, waiting to cover their shame with His royal, righteous robe and to claim them as His own.

Because we were loved and accepted, we stayed. And, because of God’s amazing grace, we are daily transformed. Little did I realize then the plans God had for our future. Today, we have been gifted with the awesome privilege to care for His sheep and I truly believe we are living in an hour in earth’s history when countless numbers of way-ward children are about to come home. Perhaps you are hearing the call to return? Please come. God has a special place and plan for your life. We are anxious to have you home.

–Steve Nelson pastors four churches in Wyoming with his wife Samantha. They currently have two awesome horses, two loving dogs, and one semi-neurotic cat. Email him at: [email protected]

By Jose Cortes, Jr

The Adventist Church across North America has placed a great amount of emphasis and resources on planting churches. Nearly 600 mission groups (that’s what we call our new church plants) have been launched since 2015 in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, and the islands of Guam and Micronesia. Several of those new churches have been planted in the Rocky Mountain Conference. Although we really believe that planting churches is essential to make the gospel accessible to people in every city, town, and island in our territory, we also believe that we must be very careful about planting churches which misrepresent God and our church.

Reasons not to plant churches

If you are going to plant a church that does not love all sinners, does not care about what happens outside the walls of the building, and whose only purpose is to change the religion of people and judge their behavior, please don’t plant a church.

If you are going to plant a church because your present church is totally dysfunctional, members are fighting, they cannot get along, and they are going to take all that dysfunctional DNA with them to the new church, please don’t plant a church.

If you are going to plant a church right next door to a sister congregation, which is already reaching the people and demographics of that community, simply to compete for their members and resources, please don’t plant a church. The territory is too vast and the amount of unreached people too great to be competing over a neighborhood which is already being reached. In church planting, collaboration is the name of the game, not competition.

Planting under these circumstances may be detrimental to our missional movement, hurt the reputation of our church, and above all dishonor the God we serve. It is true, we really want to plant churches yet we want to plant churches right.

Reasons to plant churches

Now that we’ve gone over some of the reasons not to plant churches, here are some reasons to plant which are important to consider.

1. Plant to make the gospel accessible. I would agree with other church planting specialists that in order for the gospel to be accessible through an Adventist Church to each person in our community, we must have a church for every 25,000 inhabitants. This means that in most of the larger cities of the Rocky Mountain Conference, we could have twice the number of churches that we have today without having to compete for territory or people.

2. Plant because we are the heart, eyes, hands, and feet of Jesus in our communities. Church planting is not just about having another place where we can hold worship services and corporately study the Sabbath School lesson. We plant churches because we desire to open up communities of compassion where people can experience the love of God and the compassion of Jesus in practical ways, which are transformational to families and individuals. We are not interested in planting worship services but churches which love, serve with the community, and worship regularly.

A church that does not go beyond the four walls is not really a church but a club.

3. Plant to best position Adventism to reach new generations, residents, and people groups. Most older churches don’t grow, but those that do grow, gain the majority of their new members by transfers from other congregations. On the other hand, new churches generally baptize at a higher percentage than older churches and gain 60 to 80 percent of their new members from people who are not attending any church.

Although it is hard to swallow, older Adventist churches have a very hard time reaching millennials, Generation Z, and single mothers, who together with their households have become one of the largest people groups in North America. Older Adventist churches also struggle to reach the LGBTQ+ community and emerging immigrant groups. Planting new churches with a different DNA can help to reach people our churches are not presently reaching.

Jesus did not preach an exclusive gospel; He founded an inclusive church. If our church can only reach people who think like us, dress like us, eat like us, smell like us, and worship like us, we will never be able to reach those who are different. Jesus came to save them too. We need to be more like Jesus.

4. Plant to help revitalize existing churches and to provide a natural environment for discipleship. One of the biggest push-backs often used to reject church planting is, “Why plant more churches if the ones we have are dying?” Saying “we cannot plant a church because the ones we have are not doing well” is like saying “a family cannot have babies because grandma is sick.” Churches, just like people, have a lifespan. Newborn babies keep the family going as grandparents age.

There should never be antagonism between church planting and church revitalization—they are both vital. When grandma is sick, we take her to the doctor and try to find a cure for her illness, but if you stop having babies because grandma is aging, eventually the family will be no more.

Church planting infuses new life and helps reset the lifespan of a plateauing or declining churches. When an older church intentionally releases leaders and supports the birth of a new congregation, it rediscovers its purpose, and rallying around the new baby strengthens its health and missional resolve. As people are released for ministry in the new mission group, more people are required to step in and serve, thus creating an awesome opportunity for disciple-making. Another great benefit of this process is that church plants, with mother churches, tend to grow stronger and faster than churches born without support. Planting for the right reasons can be a blessing to the church and its surrounding communities. We have learned from the incarnational Jesus we follow that our churches should not be encased within four walls, filled with people who only talk to themselves and spiritualize everything while the surrounding world suffers. To resemble the Jesus we proclaim, we need churches that are a constant flow of blessings to their neighbors, class- mates, colleagues, and those who simply walk the streets in need of hope. Jesus made life better and brought hope whenever He showed up. Our church plants and existing churches must be a reflection of that if we expect to make a dent in our communities for the Kingdom.

If you are going to plant a church which is centered in the salvation of God and the compassion of Jesus, a church that will be an agent of transformation in the community, please don’t plant one church, for God’s sake, plant at least a thousand.

–José Cortes, Jr., is an associate director of the ministerial association and leads evangelism, church planting, and Adventist/global mission for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Email him at: [email protected]

By Ardis Stenbakker

Ever since God prophesied that there would be enmity between the serpent Satan and the woman, Satan has had it in for women. He planned to target all women so he would not miss the mother of the Savior. It did not take long for the abuse of women and girls to begin. Fortunately, it has been Jesus Christ and other real Christian men who have turned the tide on the devil through the ages.

One indication of how things stand today is the fact that one of the most successful programs of Women’s Ministries is the abuse prevention initiative. This was introduced when I was director of Women’s Ministries at the General Conference as Abuse Prevention Sabbath, and it caught on like wildfire around the world. It was concrete and hit a nerve, often a bruised nerve, and began to make a difference in lives young and old, male and female. It was designated as a specific day on the world church calendar—the fourth Sabbath of August. After I retired, Women’s Ministries and ADRA received a grant that they worked on together and renamed the program “enditnow.”

Although abuse is probably not the top challenge for women in the twenty-first century in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Rocky Mountain Conference (although it well could be), it is an area where our churches could be making a difference in our communities by supporting shelters and getting involved in local abuse prevention programs.

There are other challenges here in RMC as well.

On a local church level there is a need for committed Women’s Ministries leaders. I believe one of the problems is that most churches, pastors, and women themselves do not really understand what Women’s Ministries is about. If realistically and thoughtfully carried out, it is a program which helps and empowers each woman to find a way to minister rather than just warming a church pew on Sabbath. It is far more than retreats and teas.

And beyond that, there is a need for women in leader- ship on the local church level. At the last five General Conference sessions, those for which I have done statistical research, women have made up only about 15 percent of the delegates. So although the church membership is made up of 65 to 70 percent women, their voices and views are not being represented. How does this happen? It starts at the local church level when women are not included in decision-making positions. It happens when nominating committees and church boards do not reflect the membership. The same is true of conference and union executive commit- tees and constituency meetings where women are not represented in proportionate numbers. It is only when women are treated equally at the local level that they will have a real say nationally or in world-wide decision venues.

So that women are prepared to serve on committees and boards at all levels, they often need training. Fortunately, some receive that on the job; others need opportunities for leadership training either through Women’s Ministries (leadership training is available through WM), their pastor, or their local church board. Women themselves need to take responsibility to get this training, to learn parliamentary procedures, and be willing to serve, to speak up, and to make a difference. Mentors, both male and female, pastors, and other church leaders can help make this happen.

I am delighted that the North American Division has stated unequivocally that they remain in support of women pastors and elders because this sends a message to all women, pastors or not, that they are valued—a message not often given.

It is well known that men and women think differently and process things differently. To fully understand what God has to say to us, and to plan and carry out the mission of the church, we need the women’s perspective as well as that of men; in our discussions and decisions, in our Bible study, and in our sermons, we need to hear both voices. After all, we are told that both men and women were created in the image of God.

One way women can be included and valued at the local level is for all those who write and speak to use inclusive language. When the King James Bible was translated, and long after, when one spoke of “men” or “man” it meant all people. Two examples: “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matt. 4:4, NIV). We know this means that women need to know Scripture as well as men, but that is not how it is written. Or these words penned by the Apostle Paul (Romans 3:28): “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (KJV). To the younger generation, those who have been educated in inclusive language, it does not look inclusive; it may not say women are included if the reader is not used to reading scripture. And even if you know what this means, to a woman it can still feel hurtful.

In Acts 2, repeating Joel 2, Peter writes: And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. (ESV)

One has to wonder whether or not the Holy Spirit can be fully poured out if we stand in its way, not allowing it to rest on our daughters, allowing them to prophesy/preach. They too have dreams of witnessing and being recognized fully. It was Peter himself who later said, when defending his actions for going against traditional Jewish practices by meeting with Cornelius and his family, “Who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?” (Acts 11:17, NIV).

We have a huge challenge before us: to take the love of Jesus to the whole world. About half of the population of the world is female. To reach them, we need to have a message with which they can resonate. We must be intentional in bringing women to the table. Let us work together to fulfill the Great Commission and Acts 2 in a dynamic, inclusive manner.

–Ardis Stenbakken, formerly director of women’s ministries at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, writes from Loveland, Colorado. Her passion is that her granddaughters will be able to use their talents in this church. Email her at: [email protected]

By Becky De Oliveira

A young woman in her 20s—a friend of the family—sent me a text message last week, asking what my “secret” is. “You’re the most peace-filled person I know,” she wrote. This made me smile—a quiet, enigmatic smile because that is the kind of person I am. I exude calm. People confuse this with peace. I’m reminded again of how prone human beings are to mistake affect for substance.

Because I’m not particularly calm, let alone peaceful, I don’t know what my secret is. If what people want to know is how to seem calm, like I do, my best advice would be to follow these rules: 1) Always be a little tired, 2) Be middle-aged, 3) Constantly be preoccupied, thinking about, if possible, something complicated that you read earlier or one of the many unsolvable problems you face.

As for achieving an actual state of peace, I’m not sure. Mine come and go. My default state is one of a mild panic over all the things that might go wrong—this hour, this day, this week, over the course of this complex and sometimes frightening lifespan. I worry about how much I weigh, about what will happen if one day I have to quit running, about whether I’ve made any mistakes in my work, about falling behind on the coursework I need to finish to earn my PhD. I worry that once I have the degree I’ll be unable to find a job in my field, that I’ll be too old, that I’ve already missed the boat, professionally, personally. I worry about my parents and their health and my husband’s parents and their health. I worry that I lack the personal mettle—let’s call it grit—to see my life through effectively. What if I manage to let everyone down? My kids have to get through college and find lives that they love. I have to help them do this. What if I can’t continue to come up with the money? People complain about my husband—a pastor—often enough that I worry about his job. Is he in the right place? Are we in the right place? Are we of any use at all or would everyone be better off without us?

I worry about where we would go if we left. What if people there complained even more? What if there is simply nowhere in the world for someone like me? I’ve stopped social media because I’m so tired of the constant arguing and posturing—other people’s, my own. I would like to be a per- son who actually has a life of substance, not just a life that looks OK in nicely cropped photographs. I’m tired of noise. I crave silence.

A few minutes later, my friend sent another text, asking what I was like when I was her age—specifically, “How was your relationship with God?”

Easy. It was non-existent. I never thought about God.I went to church maybe a handful of times during any given year, usually late and only for the social benefits. I seemed calm then too. Probably peace-filled. That’s just my personality. It’s the way I look. Nothing to do with being spiritual.

“Wow,” she answered. “And you married a pastor.”

That is an accurate statement. That is what I did. And if anything has made me more spiritual over the years, it might be that. Not so much that people expect it of me, though they certainly do. It’s more that people talk to me about spiritual things more often, and so I end up thinking about them more than I might if left to my own devices.

I wish that the life of faith were easier, but I suspect there is a good reason it is not. Finding meaning, discovering how you can fulfill your purpose on earth, learning how to trust God to see you through endless worries about problems, is really the work of a lifetime. I use the word “work” quite intentionally. When I remember that, I also remember that perhaps I am not such a disaster after all. Maybe I am only progressing just as I am supposed to. That gives me a feeling that seems like it might be approaching peace.

–Becky De Oliveira attends Boulder Adventist Church. She is a doctoral student at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Email her at: [email protected]

By Danielle Toddy

I was taking a break in the middle of a hot July day. I hadn’t brought a lunch with me to work and scrolling through all the nearby restaurants and fast food joints in my mind, nothing sounded appealing. I eventually decided to run up to Safeway to see if I could find something that sounded good. As I got into my car, I could barely touch the steering wheel before the air conditioner kicked in and cooled things down a bit. Once at the store, I parked my car and started to walk towards the entrance.

The sun was so bright and seemed to be directly in my eyes, so I headed straight for the door with my head down. That’s when I heard, “Ma’am, could you buy me a sandwich? I’m hungry and don’t have money.” I hadn’t even noticed the man crouching by one of the large pillars near the entrance to the store. I stopped and looked at him; his hands were stretched out, palms up to show me he indeed didn’t have any money. He was older, gray hair on his head and face. He was wearing khaki shorts and a dirty T-shirt and squinting his eyes to block some of the sun. He wasn’t asking for money, just a sandwich. “Sure,” I said. “What kind do you want?” “Just whatever—something with meat.” I went into the store and looked at the menu at the sandwich counter. What would he want? Should I order white bread or wheat? Would he want cheese and if so, what kind? Does he like mayonnaise? Mustard? One or the other or both?

Feeling a little bewildered at picking out what someone else would like, I went back outside. “Do you want to just come in and pick out what you want?” He immediately got up and followed me back into the store. He walked over to the ready-made sandwiches in the cooler and said, “One of these.” We looked through the options and he decided on a roast beef hoagie. As we walked to the register, I asked him if he wanted anything to go with his sandwich. He scrunched up his face and asked if it would be OK if he got some potato salad, warning me that it would cost about three dollars. “Sure. We can do that.”

As we stood in line at the deli, we started talking, and I pointed to a Greek pasta salad that I thought looked good. He started to waiver a bit on his decision about the potato salad and asked if I thought he should get the pasta instead. I told him that because he would be the one eating the food, he should get what he liked. He stuck with the potato salad. Remembering how hot it was outside, I asked him if he wanted to get a drink. He looked at me out of the corner of his eyes. “Over there,” I pointed to the cooler of drinks near us, “Do you want to get something to drink?” He hesitantly walked a few feet away and then turned back—almost like he was making sure I was still there. “Just get what you want,” I said, “I’ll wait right here.” He quickly selected a cold soda and returned. We got the potato salad, paid for his food, and then I handed him some money and told him, “This is for later.” He smiled so big and turned to the cashier and said, “All I asked for was a sandwich!”

One of my favorite things to do is to do more than what’s expected and to do it unexpectedly. It’s good to do what you’ve been asked to do and what you’re expected to do, but it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s satisfying to do things for others that aren’t expected—things that are a surprise, things where others may never know how they got done or who did them. And I don’t think I’m alone in that.

I know you also enjoy watching others smile because of a kindness that was unexpectedly bestowed upon them. I believe that random acts of kindness and pay-it-forwards are easy ways for us to be a part of God’s hands, feet, eyes, and ears. I believe that God plants this seed of compassion and cheerfulness in our hearts when we give, because it’s in His character and we are His creation (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

And it’s what our Heavenly Father does for us (Luke 11:11). Not only does God tell us to ask Him for what we need, but He gives us so much more and far greater than we ever deserve (Malachi 3:10-12).

Reflecting on how blessed we are, engaged in the service of the church and its mission in the Rocky Mountain Conference, we are overwhelmed by God’s generosity towards us.

Yet, we find ourselves in the same position as the beggar, asking for a handout because we’re hungry. And God gives us so much more than we ask for—not only forgiveness and mercy, but salvation and grace. He gives us His very life. Like the beggar, we are surprised and exclaim, “All I asked for was a sandwich!”

–Danielle Toddy is RMC human resources director. Email her at: [email protected]

By Rajmund Dabrowski

Connie and George Target were an extraordinary couple. I remember them from my years in England. A detailed obituary of Mrs. Target in a local church paper, Messenger, stated that she “lit up our lives unconventionally and with colour.” For years a Bible instructor, she and her husband George were “larger than life, flamboyant and different.”

They say that freedom does not chill the spirit, even though some people might try to impose their views, rules and regulations, aiming to dampen our innate freedom of spirit. Connie became a Seventh-day Adventist during her upbringing while in Australia. Joining our faith community, her spirit didn’t dampen, though she was disappointed “on discovering she would never go to dances when grown-up, a cherished childhood dream,” Cynthia Benz, my English teacher at Newbold College, wrote in the obituary.

Connie, among her other occupations, was also teacher. Benz recalls that Connie “once taught some unruly girls, who immediately called her a “Bo.” Unsure what they meant, she asked them. ‘Why, Miss, a Bohemian!” She’d won them over and they never gave her any trouble. (Later Connie joked that teaching Newbold students was quite boring by comparison!)”

As for George Target, his life was well recognized in The Telegraph obituary. A novelist, poet, and broadcaster, George “had little patience with doctrinal debate (‘twittering men arguing about inessentials’)” and critiqued churches as “crumbling grey stone edifices.”

Brought up in a Catholic family, Target became a Seventh-day Adventist, and with Connie, who was his second wife, supported the local Hastings church. Later, associated with the Quakers, he continued to be recognized as an evangelical “with vigorous views on the failings of organized religion,” his obituary in The Telegraph said.

Already during my years of being a student of communication in the 1960s, I saw George Target as a challenger of dead “covered-by-moss” religious practices. (My views are not covered by any such rust even now.) Those were the days of Coronation Street, a TV soap series. George Target threw a test to the Anglican church’s ability to communicate “whether it could rewrite the Sermon on the Mount to be delivered during a commercial break.”

My memory recalls a story about his strong conviction that the Christian church, as such, needs continual freshness. As a lay preacher, George visited one of the Adventist churches, whose congregation was proud to gather in a historical church known for its old stained glass windows. As his preaching moment arrived, he walked onto the podium with a brown bag under his arm. Mounting the pulpit, he unwrapped a brick, turned his back to the congregation, and threw it into an old stained glass window, a stunning feature of the old church.

“It’s about time we brought some fresh air into this church,” he said.

He paid for the repair later, but the moment of consternation sent a message still valid in many congregations.

Did he smell “yesterday’s religion,” or was he inspired by a Pauline reference to “stench of death,” vis-à-vis “an aroma redolent with life” (2 Cor. 2: 14-16, MSG)?

Since then, I keep asking how comfortable are we in our “same old, same old,” well-regulated, cookie-cutter Christianity, displaying our Adventist features, stuck in their XIXth century “present truth?” I am a part of such a tribal malaise, yet I also recognize the presence of a need for freshness in what Adventism offers.

Would Jesus feel at home in your church? Would there be enough air to breathe with enough left over for others to enjoy as well? Would Jesus repeat what He read in a synagogue, a reminder of what we ought to be, as God was begging His people to become, on and on and on? Yet, He came to His own, but they rejected Him. Would we allow the car of our lives to be driven by Jesus, as per His invitation? “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am” (Matt 16:24, MSG).

A whiff of some fresh ecclesiastical air, anyone?

–Rajmund Dabrowski is RMC communication director and editor of Mountain Views. Email him at: [email protected]