By Jenniffer Ogden
Elbow to elbow, with sleep still in our eyes, we trudged to the top of the hill, the crunch of gravelly soil sounding with every step. In the crisp predawn chill, we huddled close to listen to the site boss as she issued daily instructions and acknowledged important progress. We were assigned to different areas of the site and given our first rotation of tasks for the day. After prayer, the archeological dig team disseminated to their assigned areas. Dirt flew, ropes were secured, rocks were moved, and archeological treasures began to appear. By the end of the dig season of 2007 on Tall Jalul near Madaba, Jordan, glass and clay beads, ceramic idols, pottery with writing (an ostracon), and skeletons had all been located. The objects lent depth to the rich recorded history of a tiny hill on the route of the Israelites from Egypt to the promised land.
As a part of the team, I found it was the early morning gatherings, with instructions issued and encouragement given, that granted a clear goal for the day and enabled us to expand the wonderful base of knowledge of the area. We were a group prepared and a group empowered.
As congregations have shifted to online worship services, prayer meetings, and Bible studies, I see the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a group prepared and empowered to forward the message of hope. We have been given instruction and encouragement and now we get to carry the wonder of compassion and knowledge to a world ready for both hope and good news.
Actor John Krasinski, in the lockdowns afforded us by the Covid-19 pandemic, began a small YouTube channel called SGN—Some Good News. The cheering stories and tales of heroic acts were a weekly highlight over the eight weeks of quarantine. Just as SGN carried good news into homes and businesses all over the world, we, the Adventist tribe, are called to do the same. And we have had 176 years of preparation.
Since the early days of Adventism, the call to share Jesus and His salvation has been integral to the advent movement. In Testimonies for the Church, Volume 9, Ellen White reminds us that “. . . truth must be spoken in leaflets and pamphlets, and these must be scattered like the leaves of autumn.” The wonderful news that Jesus has fulfilled the promises of God to humanity must be shared broadly. Our call to action is clear. We follow in the footsteps of a Savior who came to “seek and save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and our mission, as a group of believers, matches that of our Leader. We have Jesus to share with the world! The printed page is, by its very nature, limited. With the radical expansion of technology, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reshape the method of sharing a timeless message.
Over the past weeks, three realities have come from our churches moving online.
1) Every home is a church.
2) Every member is a minister.
3) Every church building is a community center.
Every home is a church
While it may be tempting to define home as the place in which we dwell, the truth is, home will vary for each of us. Sometimes the place we sleep and eat is an emotionally draining, spiritually dry place. Sometimes we are held to an expectation of perfection or action that is impossible.
So, let’s reframe the definition of home. Home is the place, or the group of people, where we are most loved and accepted. Home is the space we are most ourselves. In the presence of God, we are all home. Thus, when congregations moved online, every home became a church. The places and groups where people are most loved, remain the space in which Jesus is revealed daily. Yes, people were embraced and encouraged weekly in our sanctuaries, and now that embrace is running rampant in our neighborhoods and groups. In Rosaria Butterfields’ book, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, she reminds us that we have the potential to “invest in your neighbors for the long haul, the hundreds of conversations that make up a neighborhood, and stop thinking of conversations with neighbors as sneaky evangelistic raids into their sinful lives”.
Our homes, our groups, can be the space in which we invest in people. The pews and potlucks have been replaced by video chats, phone calls, physically distanced deliveries. We carry the ability to love as we have been loved (John 13:34) into the world. We no longer wait to have the world come into our spaces—we, the church of love and acceptance, are actively carrying the message of hope with us to every place and group. Thus, by creating spaces where people encounter love and acceptance, we create church everywhere.
Every member is a minister
The story is told of a young boy who crafted Valentine cards for every student in his class. He was a shy child and largely played alone. He was resolute in his choice to make a card for everyone. His mother waited cautiously for him at the end of the day eager to hear how it had gone. He walked up the walk toward the house shaking his head. “Not one! Not one, Mom!” His mom’s heart dropped. He hadn’t received a card in return, she thought. How sad. “Oh, Mom! I did not forget one!” he grinned and beamed at her and was giddy to have remembered every other student in his class. Everyone had received a card!
As our homes have become churches, each of us have joined in the full time wonder of ministry. We carry the love and acceptance of Jesus with us into each space we fill. We, like the young Valentine crafting boy, have the joy of remembering those around us and caring for them in tangible ways. We intentionally nurture spiritual dialogue and provide physical and emotional care to those we meet. Each of us carries the message to the people as our pastors long have done for us on Sabbath mornings. We are the ambassadors to the world, going to all places and peoples, with the empowering of Holy Spirit who calls us.
Every church building is a community center
A building is no constraint for the love of God. As we carry the love and acceptance of Jesus with us to our homes, the spaces in which we have met together for years often are empty. Many of our buildings have long been used once or twice weekly—for prayer meeting and Sabbath services—and left unused the rest of the week.
Now is the time to invite groups to share the unused space for small groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, and grief support groups.
Perhaps in your community what is needed most is a food distribution center, or an overnight shelter for the homeless. We have sacred space available for every person to encounter a place where they can be heard, cared for, loved and accepted. Our church buildings are the place where we can resource our communities. This means we must know the needs of our community! And as we are creating churches in our homes and filling our roles in the priesthood of all believers, we will learn quickly the needs. And what joy we will have as we partner in new ways to serve those around us!
Yes, the preparation of the Adventist church to meet the needs in our midst have grown over our 176-year history. And today, as we thrive in churches at home, as we embrace our God-ordained roles in building the kingdom, and as we use our church buildings as centers where resources are shared, we fulfill the vision to share the truth as the leaves of autumn.
–Jenniffer Ogden is writing from Boulder, Colorado. She has been involved in pastoral ministry for eleven years, most recently in Boulder. Email her at: [email protected]