MV Summer 2020

By Jessyka Dooley

Earlier this week, someone said to me, “If I hear the term ‘the new normal’ one more time, I’m going to gag!” To be quite honest, I kind of agree. I also catch myself saying it on a quite regular basis. To use the term “new normal,” you must first define what was normal in the first place. To be quite honest, I’m not sure my generation has ever experienced any kind of long-term normal.

Growing up in the millennial generation, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a consistent normal, and the more I think about it, I’m not sure many people have.

My generation was born for COVID-19. Our upbringing prepared us for this moment in time. No job security? Been there. Staying at home for days on end? Done that.

We have watched the world change so many times we never even grasped any kind of normality.

The oldest millennials lived without internet in the palms of their hands and watched the space shuttle Challenger explode. We went from using encyclopedias to Googling things. We’ve sat in peaceful classrooms and classrooms practicing, or actively responding to, active shooter drills. We’ve shopped in stores and we’ve shopped online. We’ve studied textbooks and we’ve studied iPads and computer screens. We’ve walked right up to the airport gates to meet family and we’ve been patted down and picked apart by TSA. We’ve used the US Postal Service and we’ve had every email ending from @yahoo.com to our own account. We’ve had our photos developed and we’ve airdropped photos to our friends. It was normal before and it was normal after.

And now . . . well, now I consider it normal to stand six feet apart in line at the grocery store with a mask on. Need- less to say, change is in the DNA of millennials.

The new normal is happening all the time around us, but usually it is not quite as abrupt.

So, looking back, pre-coronavirus, what was normal to you? Did you enjoy everything that was deemed “normal?” The COVID-19 pandemic has caused humanity to recognize that we do not have a monopoly on normalcy, at least not in every circumstance. This virus has a silent symptom, a symptom that causes us to glorify the past, dreaming of the day when things will go back to normal. Unfortunately, the normal we seem to be craving is not something to be glorified, in fact, much of our normal was downright disgusting.

Our culture has normalized racism.
Our culture has normalized sexism.
 Our culture has normalized selfishness and greed.
Our culture has normalized lies and hate speech.
Our culture has normalized busyness.
Our culture has normalized so many things that do not reflect the Kingdom of Heaven.

Our world may not have a say in the new normal that the coronavirus is implementing all around us, but we all get the opportunity to uproot “normal” injustices and replace them with equality, kindness, and selflessness. At the end of the day, every day, we each play a part in what “normal” is and what it is shaping up to be.

I’ve caught myself saying things like, “I just want things to go back to normal.” I’m sure you have too. Graduating seniors have made the most of their ceremonies but are still mourning that special moment and feeling that may never come. Mothers are giving birth with no one by their side. Families are saying their final goodbye to loved ones over iPads. We have to wear masks and wait in lines. I can’t wait for these things to go away. Time can’t move fast enough! Unfortunately, I’m not educated in the specific science to formulate the proper vaccination for this virus.

So, while we wait for this tsunami wave of COVID-19 to pass and for the pieces of normalcy that we love so deeply to return, let’s create our new normal as followers of Jesus.

Let’s normalize patience in grocery store lines and let others go ahead.
Let’s normalize equality and stand up for those who are facing injustices.
Let’s normalize young leaders and give opportunities for the next generation to step up.
Let’s normalize tipping generously.
Let’s normalize gratitude and focus on our blessings more than our burdens.
Let’s normalize good news over doomsday news.

Let’s create a normal that is so good no virus can wipe it out! Do not let this crisis go to waste. It would be a shame for our world and lives to be shaken and then jump right back into how we did life before. This is (I hope) a once in a lifetime opportunity to build a world, a culture, and a normal that we are proud of. I, for one, can’t wait to see what we can create together!

—Jessyka Dooley is RMC associate youth director. Email her at: [email protected]

By Denis Fortin

It is with some dismay that after a few weeks within this COVID-19 health crisis, social media began to be filled with posts on a variety of conspiracy theories. Adventist Christians appeared to be caught up in this just as much as others. And I wondered why this was happening.

I think that to a large extent, our teachings on end-time events may have something to do with this. Regrettably. Most of our eschatological timetables include some moments when the enemies of God’s remnant people will begin a persecution of those who observe the Sabbath. They will be chased, imprisoned, lynched, condemned to death, and so on. But what is not exactly known is the exact trigger that will launch this nefarious social and religious agenda. So many Adventists live in perpetual anxiety, looking for signs of some precursor attempts at depriving them of their religious rights, harbingers of more drastic measures soon to come. Each crisis in American life has produced such similar psychological and sociological religious responses. The downside, however, is that the repeated failures of such unfulfilled prophecies has caused a spiritual exhaustion in many lifelong Adventists.

I’m afraid we will experience the same thing again within a year or two, just as we experienced it a few years after 9/11.

In Chapters 24 and 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus’ long discourse on the signs of his Second Coming. These two chapters have been carefully studied for many generations to find any clues of the developments that would indicate the proximity of this glorious event.

Among the signs given, first there would be all kinds of people pretending to be the Messiah and false prophets attempting to deceive people. Deception and apostasy would be indicators of the end. These signs would be accompanied by all kinds of turbulence among the nations and rumors of war, famines, earthquakes, and plagues (Luke 21:11). There would be great chaos on earth and in the heavens. But all these events would not be the final signs to look for (Matthew 24:8).

Among all these negative and troubling signs, there would be a positive one—the preaching of the gospel to all nations (Matthew 24:14).

Speaking of his coming, Jesus said: “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).

This description of the Second Coming of Jesus has caught the imagination of so many artists through the centuries.

But the greatest question still to be answered is the one the disciples asked at the beginning of the chapter: “When will this Second Coming of Christ happen?”

In spite of all the signs of the times he listed, which can so easily be turned into checklists and timetables, Jesus also added: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36).

No one knows. That includes us, doesn’t it?

For generations now, we have had our timetables of last- day events. Many academy and college Bible teachers have had their students prepare these timelines from the writings of Ellen White. And none of them has been correct so far. It seems to me that Jesus expected people to be curious about these signs and would seek to create some schedule of expected predictions of the event. Perhaps that is why He took the conversation about His Second Coming in a different direction.

From the end of Chapter 24 to the end of Chapter 25, Jesus brings up five parables all intended as exhortations to vigilance and patience.

Jesus obviously knows that some delay will happen and that the timeline Matthew has described may not happen quite as soon or in the way people expect.

So, what is the lifestyle Jesus is expecting of His people as they await His return?

Five parables

In the first parable at the end of Chapter 24, Jesus alludes to the time of Noah and the Flood and speaks of the unexpected nature of end-time events in the time of Noah. Jesus warns that His disciples ought to be vigilant and not complacent. He concludes with this caution: “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:44).

In the second parable about the faithful and wise servant, also at the end of Chapter 24, Jesus makes the point that His disciples ought to be faithful and responsible to their assigned tasks in the interim time until His Second Coming. His disciples should be loyal people, fulfilling their responsibilities with consistent dedication.

The third parable, at the beginning of Matthew 25 about the ten virgins, is intriguing and best understood within the cultural context of a wedding in the ancient Middle East. The scenario runs like this: the bride is still at her home with her wedding party of ten bridesmaids and they are waiting for the groom to come pick her up and go to his parents’ home where the wedding will be held. The delay is likely due to some last-minutes arrangement not completed. As they wait, everyone falls asleep, but some bridesmaids have thought about a possible delay and have brought along more oil for their lamps. But some didn’t. Jesus makes the point that the unknown time for His Second Coming requires ongoing spiritual preparation. Be ready because you don’t know exactly when all these events will unfurl.

The fourth parable, in the middle of Chapter 25, is the parable of the talents, another story about servants and how they fulfill their tasks and responsibilities. This parable teaches the need to be faithful in the use of the gifts God gives His disciples while they await Jesus’ return.

And the final parable at the end of Chapter 25 focuses on the judgment. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-33). What has arrested the attention of readers of this last narrative is the criterion used for this judgment at the end of time. The criterion is simple, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, giving hospitality to strangers, caring for the sick, and providing support to those in prison. And Jesus concludes, “Whenever this was done to the least of my brothers, you did it for me.”

What is this long discourse trying to say to us?

A lot of people wonder and ask why the Second Coming of Christ has not happened yet. Jesus did not say how long it would be or why there would be a delay. And I agree, it is a puzzling question.

The only answer I can find is from the Apostle Peter who says there has been a delay because God is patient and does not want any person to be lost (2 Peter 3:9). If God is patient, we ought to be too.

As Jesus answers the questions the disciples ask regarding His return, He clearly says that the exact time for this is unknown and people should not speculate. So, there is no need to continue making new timelines—they won’t be any better than the old ones. According to these parables, the best attitude to have in preparation for the Second Coming is to be a faithful servant of God and of the Gospel. And those who are thus faithful will be surprised in the end—they will be the ones who are ready.

This is really a call to action. Those who are vigilant in their expectation of the return of Jesus are to be the kind of faithful servants that will reflect in their lives and actions what Jesus was all about. The best preparation for this end- time event is to live and act like Jesus in caring for others, in caring for those who are different from us, even the strangers.

Jesus is not teaching some kind of salvation by good works at His return. What He is emphasizing is that those who expect Him to return ought to live their lives as He lived His life. And the key word of this vigilance is faithful- ness in service to others. Don’t let anyone deceive you into thinking that because Adventists believe that Jesus is coming soon, that we ought not to care about others, about the environment, about the future of our homeland or the future of someone else’s homeland. We ought to care and be faithful in our responsibilities to one another. What Jesus is describing in these parables is the kind of people He desires in His kingdom.

–Denis Fortin is professor of historical theology at Andrews University and co-editor of “The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia.” Email him at: fortind@ andrews.edu

By Dave Gemmell

“I can’t wait to get back to normal.” How many times have you heard that sentiment lately? Maybe you indulge in the fantasy of a pre-pandemic world as you close your eyes and envision being able to travel across the country, eat with friends at a restaurant, or hug the person next to you in a pew at church.

Returning to normal is a fantasy. Things will never be the same. As Bill Gates remarked in a recent blog post, “The pandemic will define this era in the same way that World War II did in its time. . . . No one who lives through this pandemic will ever forget it. . . . And it is impossible to overstate the pain that people are feeling now and will continue to feel for years to come.”1

Yet some of the greatest advances in American history— the liberation of slaves, Social Security, robust clean air and water mandates—were birthed by disaster. History tells us things will be different. Just knowing things will change helps us hold past things more lightly and allows us to leverage opportunities before us. As Winston Churchill put it, “Never waste a good crisis.”

Jesus gives a simple parable that is suddenly relevant to churches today:

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. (Luke 5:37, NIV)

The “new wine” is the post pandemic world, and it can- not be contained in a pre-pandemic church, and those who try, risk ruining the church. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins (Luke 5:38, NIV). There must be a new church for the post pandemic world.

Imagine with me what that post-pandemic church might look like. I envision a world where the risk of contracting COVID-19 has been all but eliminated; beyond the fear of getting infected, stay-at-home orders, church closings, economic devastation, job losses, struggles with illness, and goodbyes to loved ones. Imagine a world that is open for business, where churches are unrestricted by mitigation guidelines. In this future church, what things will be restored, and what things will be left behind? Which churches will thrive? Which ones will wither? While I have no crystal ball, nor have I figured out time travel, I do have some hunches. So, I posit eight predictions for churches of the future that may or may not come true.

Future churches are communities of believers rather than buildings

While the COVID-19 pandemic forced Adventist churches across the world to cease their physical worship services, the closures also revealed the ancient truth that the church building is not the church but rather the church is a community of believers.

In fact, the term “the church,” as used in the New Testament scriptures, does not describe a building but rather an assembly or gathering. The believers gathered wherever they could, whether it was a home (Acts 17:5, 20:20; 1 Corinthians 16:10) or a synagogue (Acts 2:46, 19:8). In spite of not having physical buildings to meet in, it wasn’t until the second half of the third century that purpose-built halls for Christian worship began to be constructed. The Christian community, in the first few years, grew exponentially, from 1,000 people to 25 million.

Future churches realize that while the pandemic closed church buildings, the church, as a community of believers, flourished. The takeaway for future churches is to spend less resources on brick and mortar and pews and pulpits, and more on core mission. These churches are not enslaved by the ever-increasing appetite that church buildings have for resources, that are only used a few hours every week. They have found more creative ways to meet, much like the early Christian church; meeting in homes, community centers, coffee shops, schools, or expense sharing with multiple churches.

Future churches are adaptive and agile

Future congregations that were agile in pivoting during the crisis, continue their agility as they adapt to unknown future changes. The history of the Adventist denomination is storied with agility and innovation. Adventists borrowed the best and adopted and adapted it to ever-changing situations. Part of Adventist DNA is the quick adoption of technology from the printing press, to door-to-door book sales, radio, TV, satellite, internet, social media, and now online community.

These agile congregations are not only able to discern challenges and opportunities but are able to quickly jettison practices and technologies that have lost their effectiveness and quickly move the freed resources to more powerful ways of doing church. They are experimental in nature, failing forward, continually refitting and refining practices, taking advantage of whatever conditions the future holds to continually make disciples of Jesus.

Future churches do more with less

Future churches learned hard financial lessons during the COVID crisis. In an economy where at one point one fifth of workers were unemployed, finances were tight. Yet members had strong stewardship ethics and once they figured out how to contribute online through Adventist Giving, the income, although threatened, did not substantially decrease. As of this writing, the tithe in the North American Division in 2020 at this point in the year has not changed much from what is was in 2019. Future churches double down on using online giving making it the standard tool for both physical and virtual attendees.

During the crisis, churches saw their expenses decrease as many of the bills coming from maintaining the physical plant and elaborate programming shrank. Yet the life of the church continued and prospered. Future churches reassess their budgets and promote items deemed essential to mission and demote things that are less essential.

Members in these future churches reduce their personal expenses by spending less on commuting to church. Board meetings, committee meetings, nominating committees, small groups, all have the option of meeting virtually. The reduction in commuting costs frees up funds for members to use for personal discipling strategies.

Geographical boundaries soften for future churches

Many of the attendees of future churches are located far away from the church building. This trend began when churches began broadcasting their services on radio, TV, and internet streaming and reached people outside of their geographical circle. This initial foray into virtual church was given an accelerant during the pandemic when churches around the world were forced to go virtual or go out of business. Folks were free to roam around the country, surfing the waves of virtual church. They discovered a great diversity of worship styles, ethnicities, languages, and ideologies within the Adventist tribe. Some found a greater affinity with a church across the country than with their own nearby church. Churches that found their subtribe and perfected the new virtual worship format exploded in attendance.

Future churches include those from far away who find deeper, richer discipleship opportunities gathering with likeminded people. And because of their affinity, they spend less time in working through cultural, language, and ideological differences and more time evangelizing their own kind.

Future churches have not been stymied by conference policies and geographical restrictions. These churches have figured out creative ways to interface with multiple conferences while still working within the policies of those conferences. Through satellite congregations, memos of understanding, and sharing of resources, these future churches have flooded multiple conferences with new members and tithe growth. Villages have been pioneers in inter conference satellite churches.

Future churches fuse physical and virtual worship

Future churches blend their physical and virtual worlds to get the best of both. With the instant radical pivot to virtual during the pandemic, churches experimented with different platforms and worship elements to find out what worked best for online worship.

Before the pivot, online worship was largely an observation peephole where online viewers looked in on worship- pers. During the pandemic, many churches quickly moved beyond peephole worship to a highly engaging virtual community, mostly through video conferencing platforms. Worship became engaging as worshippers could see each other chat it up. Preaching became interactive and conversational. Short, well-produced video clips from attendees near and far away gave the worship service intimacy and authenticity.

After the pandemic was over, future churches fused together virtual and physical by designing a worship experience that was interactive and engaging for all. Future churches do everything in their power to eradicate the wall that separates the two groups by integrating the virtual worshippers into the physical worship and visa versa. While nothing can replace the ecstasy of worshipping shoulder to shoulder with a crowd of believers, the virtual features such as chat and video inserts remain and are supplemented by still more engaging elements.

Children’s division leaders take full advantage of the massive learning that emerged during the pandemic from the education world. In future churches children can attend Sabbath School from home or on site and receive the same high-quality discipling experience.

Unprecedented evangelism takes place in these future churches as folks who are used to shopping online, working online, watching movies online, discover through friends and social media, that they can now worship online with those same friends.

Future churches may be led by volunteer lay pastors (VLPs)

Future churches are blessed with the ministry of VLPs. These are unpaid leaders, working under the supervision of a professional pastor to lead out in congregations. These VLPs have a passion for ministry and has been equipped by the conference in the basic skills of pastoring. With church viewed now as a community of believers rather than a church building, the job description of the pastor has been slimmed down to focus specifically on equipping people for discipleship. By focusing only on the essentials, these VLPs are able to maintain another full-time job as well as spend a limited amount of time each week leading these ‘no frills’ congregations. Many of these future congregations are satellite campuses of larger professionally staffed churches. The mother church provides a cafeteria of resources for these satellite campuses including worship programming, music, preaching, discipleship curriculum, children’s Sabbath School programming as well as administrative functions.

Future church planting explodes

No longer needing a physical structure, geographical location, or paid professional pastors, future churches can pop up anytime, anywhere. There is an explosion of future church plants, targeting the multitudes of sliver populations unreachable by traditional churches. Taking full advantage of low-cost public venues as well as virtual platforms, folks in these future church plants may never all gather together in one geographical location, yet they are indeed a real church.

Future churches leverage the Adventist brands of hope and wholeness

Adventist churches historically have prospered during times of world crisis because one of Adventism’s core brand values is hope. During the chaos of the pandemic, people found hope in knowing that God was in control and that a spectacular new normal is imminent at the return of Jesus Christ.

Future churches continue to offer hope and add the brand of wholeness to their values. The pandemic revealed startling inequalities in society, where different populations experienced much greater risk of severe infection and death. Future churches leverage their competencies in wholeness to enhance the health of the communities they serve. These future congregations also seek justice toward correcting the underlying social factors that put certain communities such as the African American and Hispanic communities at greater risk.

I don’t know if those eight predictions will come true. But I am hopeful about the future of Adventist churches. Adventists have a history of thriving in the midst of chaos. Innovation is in our DNA. We have highly engaged, passionate, creative, entrepreneurial pastors. And we have a message of hope and wholeness. If ever there was a time for Adventists to make a difference in this world, now is that time.

–Dave Gemmell, DMin, is an associate director of the North American Division Ministerial Department. Email him at: [email protected]

By Jodie Aakko, Sandy Hodgson, and Joel Reyes

Thinking aloud about the “new normal” for our kids Jodie Aakko, Brighton Adventist Academy (BAA)

Spring break 2020. That was when we heard the news: schools must close, a return date is unknown, you must use technology (read Zoom) like never before.

While in the planning stages, more than one of us BAA teachers said, “I think when I first see my students on Zoom, I will start to cry!”

Those were hard times—no track and field event, no field trips, no school banquet, no fine arts performance, no school project night. Several times, a hopeful student would calmly ask, in a sweet and honest tone that can only come from a child’s lips, “Mrs. A, can we come back to school yet?” Just a simple question, from an innocent child not asking for much, and I could not say, “Yes.” And my heart was aching for the same thing.

Now, graduation ceremonies are over, student awards were handed out, and Zoom sessions have ended. Looking back, eight weeks of distance learning offered many opportunities and life lessons; but more importantly, it revealed our strength. When the quarantine took us by storm, it showed that our school has a rock-solid foundation that cannot be shaken. Our school’s foundation is Jesus Christ, and that foundation cannot fall.

By God’s leading, learning continued. Discussions and interactions between students and the teachers took place through various forums and video chat rooms. Group projects, such as glogsters, were completed. Students interacted with the community in safe ways, using sidewalk messages and art projects. They encouraged each other and worked together as a team. An endless number of online resources was utilized. As teachers, we discovered that our prior class- room technology practices, mixed with assistance and sup- port from our conference administration, prepared us well to effectively teach through distance learning. We were stronger than we thought.

The fall season is uncertain. What will it look like? We are hopeful that we can return to campus, with added health precautions such as vigorous sanitizing, wider personal spaces, and limited crowds. Yet we do have some guarantees: God is faithful to sustain us. We will celebrate our tenacity to succeed in tough times. We will fine-tune both staff and student technology skills. Our family bond will be stronger. Yes, we realize that since we are all part of the family of God, we are never apart. Our common values, genuine care for each other, and identity in Christ, define our unity.

As a teacher, this has impacted me tremendously. First, I would hope that I did not need a reminder of how much I treasure time with my students; yet the time apart forced me to taste and feel the immeasurable love an educator has for her precious children. Second, I can return to the classroom with a greater passion for the integration of technology, knowing that my students’ expertise levels have increased as well. Third, with an increased sense of confidence, I can boldly accept the next great challenge facing our Adventist schools: standards-based teaching.

What am I worried about? As principal, I wonder how this pandemic will affect our enrollment and budget. As a faithful worker for Christ, I ask God to help me stand today without fear. In fact, I must stand and celebrate! We are certainly in the final stages of Earth’s history. We are close to the end of the sadness of this world; tomorrow we begin our life at home with our Father. All this time, we have been distance learning with God. He has missed us, and He just wants us to come Home. We may feel like we are far away from our Creator, but all we have to do is open the Bible, pray, and Zoom!—we are at Jesus’ feet.

–Jodie Aakko is principal and head teacher at Brighton Adventist Academy. Email her at: [email protected]

Distance learning is here to stay Sandy Hodgson, Vista Ridge Academy (VRA)

Leadership expert John Maxwell states, “A crisis bumps us out of our comfort zone into our creative zone.” How true I found that to be as a teaching principal at Vista Ridge Academy during the COVID-19 pandemic. While our staff and school board felt comfortable in our pursuit of the school’s mission and vision, we had to become creative as we navigated through this crisis. What would “creating a strong student and community engagement and a reputation for excellence in academic achievement and personal growth” look like through remote learning? What would our distance learning program include that would set us apart from the public sector?

Extending our Spring Break an extra week gave our leadership team time to create a plan that would outline our educational goals to support our students and families during remote learning. Every teacher was tasked with making contact with families to see how they were doing and how we could provide assistance. Did we hope that this period of distance learning would last just a couple weeks? Yes! Did we have to plan for it to continue long term? Absolutely!

It was inspiring as I reached out to families to find out how they were holding up as stay-at-home orders were put in place, how the school could assist them, and what supplies they would need for remote learning. Several families asked how they could help the school through this crisis. We prayed together and supported one another as never before.

Teaching my fifth and sixth grade students remotely from my home was a technological wonder. To be able to see them and talk with them as we learned together was bitter- sweet. How I missed being able to see them face to face, to give them a pat on the back or a high-five. But being able to share our morning jokes and cartoons, have worship and share prayer requests, and hear a student say—as soon as the Zoom session opened, “Hey, Mrs. Hodgson, guess what I did yesterday afternoon?” (as though we were in the classroom on campus), brought a sense of normalcy to our day. Being able to use the white board feature on my tablet to show the process for two-step inequalities in sixth grade math or how to answer a reading comprehension question in complete sentence format, was another blessing.

My students enjoyed being able to do assignments in breakout rooms in groups, create atom models with supplies around their home, have scavenger hunts, and present final reading projects via Zoom. Some of the technology and online programs we used during remote learning will definitely be incorporated when we return to campus.

Return to campus? Yes, please! Vista Ridge Academy has created a working group that will explore phases and best practices for the safest return of our staff and students in August. As one student said, “We sit in the classroom and wish we were home, and now we sit at home and wish we could be together again.” I can’t wait!

–Sandy Hodgson is teaching principal of Vista Ridge Academy, Erie, Colorado. Email her at: [email protected]

Flexibility and team work ahead Joel Reyes, Intermountain Adventist Academy (IAA)

Have you noticed how teachers frequently carry large bags? Sometimes more than one. And not just the ladies. I had a wonderful male teacher at a school once who used to pull a carry-on suitcase into his classroom every day. Teachers are creatures of habit. Well-planned, rehearsed and researched habits. We know what we are going to do the last day of school, even before the school year has begun. We study our students and select methods, means and resources available to afford each of them the best education possible. Some teachers have literally buckets systematically labeled and carefully stored, with instructional materials for the year. So, imagine the feeling when the announcement is made that “starting next week, all classes will be online.”

Most teachers had heard of Zoom before, but most had not used it more than a couple of times to join a meeting from afar. I am always amazed at the ingenuity and resolve of Adventist educators when called to arms. I am equally impressed with the resilience and adaptability of our students. As I ponder the events of the last quarter of the school year, a few things in particular stand out.

1. Don’t underestimate the commitment, resolve and ingenuity of our educators. Someone described what Adventist teachers were doing as “flying a plane while learning to fly it.” I would go further and say that teachers were building the plane in the air and learning to fly it with passengers in it.
2. Students don’t dislike school as much as they claim. When asked what they missed the most, my students said, “Being at school.” Learning and growing is as much about the social and emotional as it is about academics.
3. If you want to know anything about Zoom, just call a Rocky Mountain Conference teacher. We will show you absolutely everything Zoom can do, and more.
4. Classroom management was very easy for most of us, but we all missed the interaction, the wise-crack comments, the lame excuses, and all the laughs and silly jokes.
5. In order for online school to be successful, especially at the elementary level, strong parent support is vital. We are grateful for all the families who invested so much into making sure the students had a proper place to study and showed up to their online meetings on time.
6. This pandemic showed us that flexibility and teamwork are just as important as careful planning.

Most of us are now looking back at the school year that just ended and perhaps wishing it had been different. All the unfinished projects. All the hours spent on careful planning for lessons that could not be delivered. All the good-byes we did not say, and the high fives we did not give on the last day of school. Some are also looking ahead and wishing for some type of certainty. Will we be in our classrooms with our students in August? How should we start planning? But the answers are not there.

As I personally look ahead, I feel a deep conviction that when the time comes, we will be ready. And I don’t mean to be facetious here, but I know that the same team of minute- man who just successfully completed an entire quarter of online school with only a day or two of preparation will be ready to tackle whatever may come, now as experienced trench fighters. You can count me in.

–Joel Reyes is head teacher and principal of Intermountain Adventist Academy in Grand Junction, Colorado. Email him at: [email protected]

By Gary A. Nowlan, PhD

*Much of this brief history comes from a report for the developers entitled Boulder Sanitarium, Historical Assessment, prepared in 2015 by Winter & Company. This document is available at Carnegie Library for Local History, 1125 Pine Street, Boulder, CO 80302. The library has a collection of documents about and photos of the sanitarium starting with construction in 1895. Most of this information may be accessed online at: https://boulderlibrary.org/locations/carnegie/

Perhaps referring to a building, rather a complex of structures, as a “dear old friend” is a bit dramatic. But in many ways, watching the demolition on what was once the site of the Boulder Colorado Sanitarium is like watching a loved one or a dear friend slowly die.

As I have recorded the demolition by photo and video, several especially poignant moments stand out. One of those moments occurred as I watched a large excavator crawl up to the evergreen tree standing in the middle of the circle drive at the main entrance. I could hear the cracking as the bucket of the excavator reached forward and pushed the tree over. The excavator then picked up the tree and placed it on a pile of debris. Next, the boom swung a bit and the jaws of the bucket opened and then closed around the nearby flagpole, pulled the now bent form out of the ground, and deposited it on a nearby pile of twisted metal. Even though demolition of the former hospital had been in progress for months, starting with removal of asbestos from the interior, destruction of the flagpole seemed to confirm its death was final. There was no going back.

What was to become Boulder Colorado Sanitarium* was established as a branch of Battle Creek (Michigan) Sanitarium in a house on University Hill in 1894. John Harvey Kellogg was heavily involved from the beginning. A brochure, which advertised the sanitarium in its early days, lists him as consulting physician. In 1895, the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists purchased about 90 acres in and along the foothills of Western Boulder on the northwest corner of Mapleton Avenue and 4th Street. Two large 18-room houses, referred to as the West and East Cottages, were constructed that year. The main building was completed in 1896. A powerhouse, laundry, and bakery were constructed about this time. In later years, 19 small cottages, a hospital wing, a dairy barn, hen houses, a greenhouse, and an icehouse were added to the campus. The smokestack was constructed in the 1920s, replacing a series of three earlier, shorter ones. In 1930, a dormitory for nurses was built quite high up the ridge north of the sanitarium.

The nature of healthcare changed over time, requiring changes in services offered by the sanitarium. The changes were reflected when the name was changed to Boulder Memorial Hospital in about 1957. However, when my mother moved to Boulder in 1959 to work at the hospital, it was still referred to by employees and church members as “The San.” In 1989, when Memorial Hospital was sold to Boulder Community Hospital, the name became Mapleton Center, which offered primarily sports medicine and outpatient rehabilitation services. Memorial Hospital was replaced  by Avista Adventist Hospital in Louisville.

Fairly early in its existence, the sanitarium acquired additional land that became pasture for the dairy herd. In 1969, Memorial Hospital sold 210 acres to the City of Boulder for open space. It is one of the most heavily used areas in more than 45,000 acres of city open space. Several hiking trails traverse the former “sanitarium pasture” as we called  it before it became open space. Some of the trails lead to the summit of Mt. Sanitas (6,800 feet), the name derived from “sanitarium.” A 3-acre parcel adjacent to Boulder Junior Academy, acquired by the academy as part of the sale of Boulder Memorial Hospital, was sold to Boulder for open space in 1995. The cement remains of the dairy barn are on this 3-acre parcel.

In 2014, the hospital campus was purchased by Mapleton Hill Investments, LLC, for the purpose of developing a retirement community called The Academy on Mapleton Hill. (The company owns another retirement facility in Boulder, known as The Academy, reflecting its former existence as a girls’ boarding school.) The Mapleton campus will include cottages, condominiums, a subacute rehabilitation facility, a memory care facility, and supporting buildings. The buildings that served Boulder for so many years did not fit with plans for the site. Therefore, the decision was made to demolish most of the buildings.

None of the structures on the site, when demolition began in 2019, date from the early days of sanitarium development. The oldest structures on the site in 2019 were some of those constructed in the 1920s and 1930s. Structures that will survive the demolition are the nurses’ dormitory, a white frame cottage, a flagstone cottage, the smokestack, and a stone wall that served as part of the main entrance to the sanitarium grounds in the early days.

Often as I photograph and video the demolition, people stop to observe and converse for a few minutes. “I was born there.” “My children were born there.” “My siblings were born there, and I always wished I had been born there, too.” “I swam in the therapy pool while recovering from cancer surgery.” “I worked in the physical therapy department.” These are some of the comments people make, usually with a tone of sadness. Others say they think it is such a waste to demolish the buildings.

I share their feelings of loss. Even though the original buildings from the 1890s and early 1900s have been gone for decades, the later buildings are part of the history of my family, many other families, and the Boulder Seventh-day Adventist Church. My mother moved from Nebraska to work in the hospital. I soon joined her after graduating from Union College. I married, brought my wife to Boulder, and we made it our permanent home. My sons were born there. My mother died there. Many friends and church members worked there both before and after the hospital was sold to Boulder Community Hospital. I was on the governing board in late 1988 during intense discussions about the sale. The news shocked many Boulder residents, especially the Adventist community.

The site is now nearly devoid of buildings for the first time in 125 years, which means the view of the mountains west of the church is unobstructed. That will change as development takes place over the next two or three years. The few structures that will not be demolished will be repurposed. The nurses’ dormitory will house about six condominiums overlooking the city and the plains to the east. The frame cottage will be moved and preserved because it appears identical to seven small cottages built between 1900 and 1906. The flagstone cottage will be pre- served. The smokestack will be at the center of a small park. Old photos of the campus show it was a very beautiful place. Plans indicate it will continue to be beautiful. From 1895 to about 2014, the site was dedicated to making people well. The site will now be dedicated to helping folks flourish in their retirement years.

–Gary A. Nowlan, PhD, a member of Boulder Adventist Church since the 1960s, has served as church board chair and church elder. A geologist, he worked with the U. S. Geological Survey. Email him at: [email protected]

By Becky De Oliveira

My father, who has been in a mostly self-imposed lock- down since the beginning of March to protect both himself and my mother, who has late-stage Parkinson’s disease, from COVID-19, has used some of his downtime to work on writing his memoirs, focusing on the thirty-eight years he worked in forest management in the Pacific Northwest, starting in 1968. His writing is informative, funny, interesting—and, above all, highly reflective. At 77, Dad finds himself often pondering what he might have done better, what he might have done differently.

One example is a tree-thinning operation he supervised in the early 1970s about a mile from a scenic lake. Thinking the distance between the lake and the harvest site was enough that the activities of the machinery would have no impact on the lake, he was shocked to discover the lake had turned brown and murky. Sediment from a nearby wetland was slowly seeping into the stream that fed the lake. The damage was not permanent and the lake soon returned to its normal condition, but Dad calls this incident “a slap on the side of the head,” and says it caused him to learn to “look beyond the project at hand” and to “consider all the impacts” of his actions, always trying to “look at the broader picture.”

I wonder to what extent we are doing this—or not doing it— in our lives and communities. Make no mistake: a church, a town, a group of friends—these are all ecosystems, delicately balanced, precious. They can flourish. They can be destroyed.

For the first six weeks of the pandemic, I awoke every morning with a fleeting feeling of well-being. Almost as soon as my fingers hit the button on my phone to turn off my alarm, I would remember: “My life is over.” I’ve stopped feeling that juxtaposition of emotions. I’ve become used to going nowhere but the supermarket. I have plenty of things to do in my house; I’m a busy person. I do therefore I am. It would appear that my life is not yet over.

Anxiety-inducing as they were, I miss those six weeks—if that’s how long it really was—that period of time when every- one seemed to be on the same page, at the very least. We faced a crisis and we had some idea of how we might approach it. We were (mostly) unified in our efforts to make sure the most vulnerable of our population remained healthy. It made me think, in some ways, of one of the happiest nights of my life, the one when as a college student I was stuck at a truck stop on Interstate 90 heading east from Seattle to Walla Walla because of avalanche warnings. There were dozens of motorists in the same situation and we helped each other. We pushed stranded cars, provided change for pay phones, shared food and weather updates. Waiters in the diner gave out free coffee to cold travelers with nowhere else to sit. Things were not exactly going well, but we took our situation with good cheer. We wished each other well.

That night in 1993 is an example I consider when I think about a social, faith-based ecology—an ecology of cooperation, of goodwill, of friendship. Many people have similar types of memories and many of us long for communities that feel good. Communities where we can trust and be trusted. But it is getting ever more difficult to find these.

The things we do now in our little lives may seem inconsequential, the way cutting down trees a mile away from a lake seemed low-risk to my father all those years ago. We may find, however, that our actions—the gossip we spread, the mean comments we post on social media, the people we choose to disdain, for whatever reason—will change our ecosystem into something ugly and incapable of sustaining the good life.

I’m old enough to have adjusted to one new normal after another, but not so old as to have decided what I think it all means or to predict where exactly we—as humans—are going to land, what we’re going to decide to be. I hope—always— that it’s not anywhere close to as bad as it looks. I hope the damage is temporary. I hope for crystal clear water.

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

By Rajmund Dabrowski

If your ancestors did not inject you with the nostalgic lament that they are missing “the good old days,” you missed a natural element of the human experience.

This is pretty much what we are saying to ourselves these days when the “new normal” entered our daily vocabulary, though we utter these words with a rather agnostic overtone. We describe our “normal” as being different somehow, yet we are unable to describe it very precisely in most cases.

One thing we can be sure of: As someone said toward the beginning of the crisis, there will be nothing new and nothing normal about it.

We understand what nostalgia is. It’s a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life; or a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. We prop our nostalgia up with photos (the older, the better), or collections of memorabilia dotting the walls and surfaces of our homes. Dust collectors, rarities, or trinkets from numerous vacations or business trips. These are reminders of how it used to be.

Some time ago, I simply described nostalgia as the strange experience of comparing the “now” with the “then.” My study is a den of nostalgia, or “clutter,” as my wife puts it. I enjoy looking back in time and reflecting on what I should claim as my own world, wherever I am, and whenever I meet with the delights, laughter, pain, art, and arrogance of today.

But what I see today, I must to admit, is not to my liking. Relative tranquility is now replaced by anxiety. Diverse views have turned into hate speech. Human relationships have been replaced with digital contact or communication. Hand- shakes have turned into elbowing, and hugs are verboten. The facts are being replaced by theories, and fundamentalists see the end lurking just around the corner. Soon we will deal with polarized opinions about “forced” vaccinations containing digital chips.

But the above list of behaviors belongs on one shelf of “normality.” There is another to consider, one that is much more hopeful and that I hope catches on.

When we consider social separation, we may discover that we have more time to share. Invoking our imagination, some of us might note that we could now involve ourselves in activities we neglected before. Some of us are looking seriously at people experiencing homelessness, and we help them. We feed the hungry by donating to a local Food Bank, and we engage with the deeds of justice for an immigrant or two. Then there is a separate shelf of behaviors we may have missed, involving a bigger picture of our Christian way of life. We discover that there is more than worshiping once a week in a sanctuary by which we are protecting our communal status quo and tradition. So, there is more than reclaiming the old normal through re-opening the churches. We have already witnessed and engaged with the creativity of our faith communities in what is essential for the followers of Jesus: loving and caring for those who are not . . . us. Actually, as one minister said, the church does not need to open because the church never closed.

Being a believer and the Bible reader, I can marry my own nostalgia with what I see being described as the “golden era” of better things in life. This needs to be reclaimed and put into practice. In the words of Job (29:2, MSG): “Oh, how I long for the good old days, when God took such very good care of me . . .” Or, “I remember the days of long ago . . .” (Psalm 143:5, NIV). These words refer to “then,” but they push me forward. I am being reintroduced to a day when I get to create something new, and the only time I can form a future for myself, and for those around me. How about now?

Indeed, there is a new normal, a part of our experience now. How it will look tomorrow, a few months, or even years from now, we know not. Many of our fellow humans will be gone. But to us, in God’s name, belongs today and a better normal that we can create as we long for the real normal when He calls us home.

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

By Ed Barnett

The last few months have been crazy ones for our pastors. They have had to adapt their churches to fit the changing times and do it quickly. Our churches look much different than they did back in January. Most of us couldn’t have imagined that change would happen so quickly. We’re indebted to the tech-savvy members who helped our pastors make this possible.

Several pastors have told me that they tried for years to get a small change in the order of their worship service and couldn’t bring it to pass. Now, overnight, things have changed. Old traditions have fallen by the wayside. We’ve been given the opportunity, as things move back to the church setting, to re-craft the way we do things as we move forward. Here’s my advice: don’t go back to the same old traditions, but creatively look at what will make your service more Christ-centered, more people-friendly, and more inviting to your neighbors who have realized they want to go church again.

We now have the opportunity to reassess why we worship and who we worship. May I suggest that we take time to process that and then revitalize our service as a mission community, so it captures what the church family and the community need as they walk closer with Jesus. Today, many are realizing that this world isn’t the same old place they once thought it was. They’re ready and open for something new. Let’s not disappoint them.

As a church, how can we be more caring and loving? How can we reach out with our mission to share Jesus throughout the Rocky Mountain Conference and elsewhere? How can we be more intentional about making a difference in our communities? If we really believe Jesus is coming soon, it has to make a difference in the way we live our own lives, and it has to make a difference in how we do church.

There will be nothing old in the new normal. Jesus will use what we’ve been through in the last few months as a wakeup call for each one of us and for our faith community, as well. We have been asked to fulfill the Gospel Commission to take Jesus to everyone in our territory. Don’t let anything distract you from that commission.

All too often we have conducted church to massage the saints, but church ought to be conducted to save sinners. As one prominent church leader said, the church is established primarily to reach those who are not like us. We can- not just sit in our ivory towers and think we are doing God’s bidding. Jesus came to show us how to do church and it was by making a difference in the lives of everyone around Him. It included all types of people, including lepers, Pharisees, poor, rich, different ethnicities, prostitutes, politicians, you name them, and you will find Jesus reaching out to them. He especially reached out to the children! And what about the youth? Why many of them are missing in our congregations? Can their voices be heard?

Shouldn’t that be what our churches look like today?

Jesus went against the traditions of the Jewish culture to reach out to everyone. That was one reason some of them hated Him. Nonetheless, He did what His Heavenly Father wanted Him to do, and that was to make a difference in the lives of everyone He could.

Would that our one hundred and thirty-three congregations in the Rocky Mountain Conference take church more seriously and conduct it the way Jesus would? What then would our churches look like in the age of new normal? Would our communities wake up and realize that it is Jesus that is at the helm? Would they realize that He wants to return to take His people home with Him, that our members are more than willing to help in this path?

Let there be nothing old and moldy in our new normal!

–Ed Barnett is RMC president. Email him at: [email protected]

By Mark Johnson

In the early morning hours of February 18, 1902, a “cleansing sword of fire” struck the heart of Adventist health care and destroyed the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

It was a proud and overconfident heart.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the chief medical officer of the Sanitarium, had been battling Ellen G. White and the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist General Conference over both the mission and the management of the health care institution. It is not hard to sympathize with Kellogg. He had taken the struggling Western Health Reform Institute in Battle Creek and had turned it into a world-famous destination health resort for many affluent celebrities. Control of the sanitarium, and the significant finances that went with it, had become a growing source of contention between Dr. Kellogg and the Church. The schism that soon came with the disfellowshipping of Kellogg completely overturned both the power structure of the Adventist Church and the foundations of our medical ministry.

The problems Dr. Kellogg had with the leadership of the Adventist Church had nothing to do with his medical practices. They were based on what was viewed as his “secularized theology” and on fears regarding who would ultimately control the Church. Albert Dittes writes: Kellogg defended “the harmony of science and the Bible” throughout his career, but he was active at a transitional time, when both science and medicine were becoming increasingly secularized. (Ellen G.) White and others in the Adventist ministry worried that Kellogg’s students and staff were in danger of losing their religious beliefs, while Kellogg felt that many ministers failed to recognize his expertise and the importance of his medical work. There were ongoing tensions between his authority as a doctor, and their authority as ministers.

On June 6, 1863, as a young member of the newly organized Seventh-day Adventist Church, Ellen G. White had her first “health vision.” The essence of this 45-minute vision was that the new church was to attend to the health of its members, speak out against all types of intemperance, and point folks to “God’s great medicine: water, pure soft water, for diseases, for health, for cleanliness, for luxury.”2

In subsequent visions, this item was included on an expanded list to embrace, “pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power – these are the true remedies.” 3

This list of remedies became the bedrock of Kellogg’s medical practice at the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Many of them he carried to what some would call excess. He used water, at different temperatures, as a sedative, a tonic, an emetic, an astringent, a pain reliever, a blood vessel constrictor and enemas. Lots and lots of enemas.

He actively practiced and advocated for the other remedies as well. He changed America’s breakfast habits by inventing such things as granola and corn flakes. He was at least one of many who were involved in the invention of peanut butter. He made the first of many vegetable-based meat substitutes. He made various foods out of nuts, grains and soy, and patented the first acidophilus soy milk. He led out in exercise sessions with his patients. He encouraged activities in the fresh air and bright sunshine. He railed against coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco and he preached abstemiousness to the point of personal celibacy.

I mention Dr. Kellogg and the Battle Creek Sanitarium because it is impossible to understand Adventist health care today without knowing a bit of that history.

I believe there are at least three reasons why this history is pertinent to a dialogue regarding the future of Adventist health care: 1) many Adventists, at least in the United States, still feel more comfortable with Kellogg’s high touch, low tech “remedies from God” than with the high tech, low touch world of science in today’s hospitals; 2) there are lingering suspicions, among both clergy and physicians, in regard to the control of Adventist health care and the massive finances involved, and; 3) the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential of once again completely overturning both our Church’s power structure and the foundations of our current health care system.

These three issues underlie a major cause of real and potential division between the medical and clerical arms of our Church—a lack of empathy and appreciation. We do not know each other. We do not recognize, nor do we take the time to truly understand, the slings and arrows that others face in their daily work. I have heard members of the Church staff grumble about the salary differences between them and health care providers. I have heard them state that physicians have too much power in the local church. I have heard health care providers belittle Church staff because of their “banker’s hours” and complain that pastors ask for too much of them as volunteers and as donors.

The crisis we are now facing with the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to bring Adventist health care work and clerical ministries together in a very practical way. Hospitals and hospital systems have seen huge financial declines in revenue. Tithes and offerings have been reduced. While this could be catastrophic, it may also provide some opportunities we have missed or ignored in the past. It might help us to refocus our efforts.

In many places, our Church and its institutions have been siloed and insular in their response to the needs of the community. While most of our health care systems donate millions of dollars in community benefit every year, and our churches have wonderful outreach programs of their own, we now have new and significant opportunities for the Church and the healing arm of the ministry to join together and unite with non-denominational organizations to help provide or lower the cost of health care for those in need at this critical time.

The current pandemic has caused major disruption to our societal norms and provides great opportunities for those who have services to offer, especially if they don’t care who receives the credit. Unemployment is at record levels. Businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy and dissolution. People are hurting. They are anxious and fearful, and many have no place to turn. The ministry of the Church, in its spoken and its medical aspects, has answers to share and tender hearts that care.

Health care, already moving rapidly toward outpatient services, is now rapidly moving services online. Telehealth is a burgeoning technology, and both providers and patients love its convenience (as long as the visits are covered by insurance). Health care providers are having to pin pictures of themselves on their personal protective gowns, so their patients can “see” the faces of those who are caring for them. People avoid emergency departments, even when needed, due to fear of exposure to the infection. Surgeries are delayed, and elective procedures are canceled.

The normal functions and ceremonies of our Church have also been disturbed. Streamed worship services and Bible classes now “bring us together.” Pastoral visits are done by phone, online or with no-touch drop-offs on church members’ porches. Offerings and tithes are collected by electronic transfers, and Vacation Bible Schools are planned for children who will remain at home throughout.

If ever there was a time to bring the two arms of our ministry together in a new and powerful way, this is it. We must look past our historical distrust of one another. We must recognize each other’s expertise and value the importance of the gifts that each member has to share. We must learn to love as Christ loves.

As with all political, social and health care crises, we will either find that we are truly living in the last days and Christ is coming soon, or we will once again muddle through and learn to live in the world that remains. Whatever that “new” world looks like, we will continue to have a Christian duty to fulfill the gospel mandate, and as Adventists, that mandate is made up of the gospel as revealed in the medical ministry and the gospel as made known through the ministry of the spoken word. Will our vaunted institutions still be in place to provide us the necessary resources to move forward, or will we have to construct new methods of meeting our mission? Will leadership still come from Silver Spring, or will leaders need to rise up at the local level?

We are a people of prophecy, and prophecy tells us that things will not always be smooth and easy. It is basic human nature to believe that things will continue as they have been in the past, even in the face of countless examples that dis- prove it. Prophecy also tells us that in the last days, children will be preaching sermons and prayers will be healing diseases. If we really believe our prophets, why would we even dream that our large hospital systems will survive until the end, or that our denominational structure will be in place to greet Jesus when he arrives? Perhaps this is the time, or perhaps things will continue as they always have.

Either way, we have a God who has clearly demonstrated His infinite love and who has promised both to be with us to the end and to ensure we have His great medicine: water, pure soft water, for diseases, for health, for cleanliness, for luxury.

Mark B. Johnson, MD, has directed Jefferson County Public Health for the past 30 years. He has taught a course on the history of medicine and public health at the Colorado School of Public Health for 10 years. He is a member of the Boulder Adventist Church and may be contacted at: [email protected]

Notes

1 Dittes, A. (2013). Three Adventist titans: The significance of heeding or rejecting the counsel of Ellen White.

2 White, E. G. (1863). Letter 4. Washington, D.C.: Ellen G. White Estate. 3 White, E. G. (1905). The Ministry of Healing. Nampa: Pacific Press, p. 127.

By Reinder Bruinsma

Only months ago, the first reports from China about the emergence of a new coronavirus—COVID-19—were beginning to circulate in the Western world. Since then, the deadly virus has infected millions of people and killed hundreds of thousands of men and women. And for the Southern hemisphere, the worst is probably yet to come.

As I write this short article, the daily news is dominated by this global crisis. Yes, the wars in Yemen and in Syria are continuing to exact their terrible toll, and the refugees continue to crowd the camps on the Greek island of Lesbos and other places. And yes, from time to time there are still some news snippets from North Korea. But these things have been completely overshadowed by the continuous stream of coronavirus news. Even the topic of climate change is on the back burner. Brexit talks will, presumably, continue, but it is also rather quiet on that front.

As the world is in fear, not knowing for how long the present pandemic will bring death and despair, people also are beginning to wonder what kind of long-term impact this crisis may have. Will it profoundly affect, also in the long term, the way we live, work and communicate? Will it change the political panorama? Will the crisis contribute to a further decline of the United States as the world’s number one superpower? Will China’s prestige and worldwide influence increase? Will the crisis permanently damage the European project?

What about the church?

Looking at a possible impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the Christian Church in general, one must conclude that there are many questions and, so far, very few answers. Will it lead many people to give more thought to questions about the meaning of life? Will it strengthen the trust of those who believe in God that, somehow, He still is in control? Will it lead believers to focus less on the doctrinal nitty-gritty of their faith and more on what it means to have a living faith in times of need? Or will it also cause many people to doubt and to ask the questions about how the current misery can be explained if, indeed, God is characterized by love?

There are also other aspects. Will denominations find it easier to work together and will this have a long-term impact on ecumenical endeavors? Will “higher” church organizations become more marginal when it appears that, when push comes to shove, the local congregations must largely depend on their own creativity and internal resources to ensure that the believers have a sense of continued community? In addition, one may wonder whether people may get so used to on-line church services that future church attendance may not reflect the pre-pandemic levels.

What about the Adventist Church?

Many of the same questions arise when we ponder what this pandemic will do for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. There is, at present, no way of imagining how the Adventist Church in the non-Western world where the bulk of the nineteen million-plus members of the church live, will be affected. I will, in what follows, focus on the Western world.

There are various reasons why in recent decades the hierarchical structure of the Adventist Church has weakened. For many members in the West, the higher organizations in our church have increasingly become further and further removed from actual life in the local church. The bitter controversy about the role of female pastors has not endeared a major segment of the church to the leaders of the higher organizations. And, although a segment of the membership applauds the more conservative approach of the top leadership of the church in recent years, it would seem that— at least in many places—the higher organizations (in particular the General Conference and the divisions) are regarded by many as less and less relevant. Will a period without any physical presence of the leaders of these higher organizations around their divisions and around the world field, due to the ban on international travel, and the cancelling of numerous international meetings, further strengthen this already ongoing process? Moreover, will the inevitable strain on the denominational finances be another aspect that feeds into this process?

Will the pandemic affect the theology of the Adventist Church? Theology is not something that happens in a vacuum, but is always, whether we recognize it or not, influenced by the historical and cultural context in which it develops. In times of crisis, Adventist eschatology is inescapably strongly affected. How does what we now experience fit into the Adventist end-time scenario?

As might be expected, various responses to this question highlight the deep polarization in the church’s thinking. As always, there are pockets in the Adventist Church (as there are in other conservative Christian communities) where all kinds of conspiracy theories flourish. Some suggest that the current pandemic ties in with the seven last plagues of Revelation 16. There are stern warnings on how the measures taken by governments all over the world demonstrate how quickly a situation may arise in which our liberties—including religious liberty—may be in serious jeopardy. They warn the members that the current crisis may well be a prelude to the establishment of some kind of repressive world government with, of course, the pope in a sinister key role. This will bring enforced Sunday worship and serious restrictions in commercial activities for the “faithful remnant.”

On the other hand, we hear the warning that we should be careful in giving an immediate prophetic interpretation to what is currently happening. After all, we have been wrong before when we did this. This pandemic, it is argued, may well be one of the many “signs” of the times, but we must refrain from alarmist predictions.

A positive development could well be that many church members want the church and its leaders to focus on what is, they feel, truly important in such a time as this. They do not look for Bible studies about the King of the North and the King of the South while thousands are dying of this terrible virus. They want to hear (and to share with others) a message of hope and encouragement, and do not worry about doctrinal fine print.

The local church is being greatly affected by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keeping the church going and providing a meaningful service to its members demands a lot of local creativity from the pastors and many others. People with digital skills now play an even more important role than they already did. Communication with members and setting up a good system to keep them in- formed about the concrete needs of all members, is a sine qua non. Hopefully, significant inspiration will continue to come from the various organizational levels (in particular from the conferences and/or unions), but most inspiration will have to come from the local church. The “lock-down” of church buildings may not just be a matter of a few weeks but, in some places, of several months, and will demand a continuous stream of new ideas and new digital projects, for all age groups.

Some pastors are computer-savvy, but many, especially in the older age bracket, are not, or not enough, digitally knowledgeable to operate effectively in the current crisis. Here conferences and unions have a task to provide online education to help their pastors function optimally as long as physical contacts are severely restricted.

Another significant aspect is church attendance. Will many perhaps become so accustomed to listening to a sermon from their couch that this will become their preferred way of “going” to church? Will people have the tendency to tune in to the on-line service of their local church, or will many search for well-known speakers and tune in to the state-of-the-art on-line programs of big churches, rather than to the less sophisticated programs of their own, much smaller, local church?

And what about the finances? To what extent will the giving patterns of tithes and other offerings suffer under the present conditions? How will this effect mission projects— far away and nearby?

Can we expect some positive effects?

As I said in the opening paragraph, I have many questions for which I do not even have the beginning of an answer. However, asking these questions alerts us to things that we must carefully analyze as the Corona-crisis continues to exact its toll before it will, as we all hope, abate and disappear. It is important that the church, at all levels, will not simply go back to its earlier routines (if that is even possible!), but will take time to analyze what has happened and how we can learn from it.

What currently happens may, I believe, also have some positive outcomes. One example of this is the re-thinking of future world congresses of the church. The postponement of the 2020 General Conference session, which was to be held in early July of this year, has forced the church leadership to consider ways of re-shaping this quinquennial event, that over time has mushroomed exponentially, involving ever more people and requiring ever larger budgets—with no end in sight. The good news is that this unforeseen development has also prompted the decision to greatly simplify future world congresses.

The necessity to avoid travel and to cancel a wide array of international gatherings, symposia, consultations and committee meetings, may set a new trend in motion to make a much greater use of available technology and, thereby, save a great deal of time and money. Anyway, financial concerns may also force the church to move in that direction.

–Reinder Bruinsma