Dear Lord,
Thank you for fishing
For the memories
For the moments of my life
That are so necessary
For my spiritual
And emotional survival
In a world of chaos
That seems
At every turn to be
A jungle out there
My prayer is
That every reader
Will make the time
To go fishing
The fishing I’m talking about
Doesn’t require a pole
Or hand line
Books or cooking work fine
Or skiing or golf,
Yoga or bird watching,
Gardening or teaching,
Swimming or story telling
Riding or meditating
Praying or skipping rope
Or anything that resets the mind,
That nourishes the soul,
That makes it possible for us
Members of the Christian community,
To be, as Christ commanded,
Spiritually whole
Effective
Fishers of human kind.
In a worried world
Of disorder and confusion.
ah
12/10/09
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Reviewing the Adventist Review
November 19, 2009
Vol. 186, No, 32
www.adventistreview.org/issue_toc.php?issue=2009-1532
REVIEWS
This Adventist Review, with the exception of an important, MUST READ essay by Fredrick A. Russell, is pretty standard fare. WORLD NEWS AND PERSPECTIVES chronicles the good news, 2,200 Women Gather in Dallas to Celebrate Christian Freedom, and in Inter-America, 1,000,000 meals were distributed to the poor in a collaborative effort between regional churches and ADRA offices; and the bad, an Adventist volunteer was stabbed as he tried to prevent a street fight outside a church sponsored youth event in London, and an ADRA worker was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evangelist Lawton Lowe, 83, has died and Griggs University is at a “financial crossroads”.
I particularly enjoyed the following articles: SEEING THE SPARROW FALL, by Dixil Rodriguez tells the story a former student who was killed in an unnamed war. WHAT’S WRONG WITH FREE? by our own Moscow reporter, Andrew McChesney, has written a real life parable about free metro tickets. And BAD HAIR DAY by Kathryn Lay describes the misery of chemotherapy and what it meant when a friend’s gift allowed her to purchase an attractive wig.
COMMENTS
Bill Knott’s editorial, THIS IS THEIR FIRST WORMING, is a sad commentary on the fate of many newly baptized Adventists. I’ll have more to say about evangelism and membership in my next review of the Review, but for now, Knott’s words should inspire some thoughtful consideration.
“Each year nearly 40,000 new believers join the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. Statistics tell us that a startlingly large number of them—sometimes 30 percent or more—drift away in the first 18 months of membership because they don’t find the warmth and security the young of every species need to survive. Though the water may have been warm on the day they were baptized, they found the temperature of their churches lukewarm at best, or positively cool.”
The answer to Fredrick A Russell’s question, IS THERE A BETTER WAY? should be a resounding YES! His courage in asking the Adventist Church “to rethink this system we have of having large numbers of pastors removed from frontline churches and placed into executive positions” should be celebrated by every church member.
“We might at some point, given the massive mission before us and the brief time to do it, have to take a new top-to-bottom look at how we’re organized for ministry—not just a reduction in force at executive levels, but a healthy, comprehensive look at our entire structure. Is having a permanent executive class of leaders the most effective structure for ministry? Is there a better way to use our people resources, or as the corporate world puts it, our human capital?”
These are particularly timely questions in light of the following: “In 1995 there were 13,787 evangelistic and pastoral workers in the field worldwide and 13,742 administrative personnel in the office. In 2007 there were 18,060 evangelistic and pastoral workers in the field and 22,228 administrative personnel in the office. In those 12 years, workers in the field paid out of tithe have increased by 37.5%, while workers in the office paid out of tithe have increased by 61.75%. . .For the first time, we have more people in the office than in the field.” (Tithe—Sacrificing the Sacred Cow, by J. David Newman, Adventist Today, Fall, 2009.)
Vol. 186, No, 32
www.adventistreview.org/issue_toc.php?issue=2009-1532
REVIEWS
This Adventist Review, with the exception of an important, MUST READ essay by Fredrick A. Russell, is pretty standard fare. WORLD NEWS AND PERSPECTIVES chronicles the good news, 2,200 Women Gather in Dallas to Celebrate Christian Freedom, and in Inter-America, 1,000,000 meals were distributed to the poor in a collaborative effort between regional churches and ADRA offices; and the bad, an Adventist volunteer was stabbed as he tried to prevent a street fight outside a church sponsored youth event in London, and an ADRA worker was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Evangelist Lawton Lowe, 83, has died and Griggs University is at a “financial crossroads”.
I particularly enjoyed the following articles: SEEING THE SPARROW FALL, by Dixil Rodriguez tells the story a former student who was killed in an unnamed war. WHAT’S WRONG WITH FREE? by our own Moscow reporter, Andrew McChesney, has written a real life parable about free metro tickets. And BAD HAIR DAY by Kathryn Lay describes the misery of chemotherapy and what it meant when a friend’s gift allowed her to purchase an attractive wig.
COMMENTS
Bill Knott’s editorial, THIS IS THEIR FIRST WORMING, is a sad commentary on the fate of many newly baptized Adventists. I’ll have more to say about evangelism and membership in my next review of the Review, but for now, Knott’s words should inspire some thoughtful consideration.
“Each year nearly 40,000 new believers join the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. Statistics tell us that a startlingly large number of them—sometimes 30 percent or more—drift away in the first 18 months of membership because they don’t find the warmth and security the young of every species need to survive. Though the water may have been warm on the day they were baptized, they found the temperature of their churches lukewarm at best, or positively cool.”
The answer to Fredrick A Russell’s question, IS THERE A BETTER WAY? should be a resounding YES! His courage in asking the Adventist Church “to rethink this system we have of having large numbers of pastors removed from frontline churches and placed into executive positions” should be celebrated by every church member.
“We might at some point, given the massive mission before us and the brief time to do it, have to take a new top-to-bottom look at how we’re organized for ministry—not just a reduction in force at executive levels, but a healthy, comprehensive look at our entire structure. Is having a permanent executive class of leaders the most effective structure for ministry? Is there a better way to use our people resources, or as the corporate world puts it, our human capital?”
These are particularly timely questions in light of the following: “In 1995 there were 13,787 evangelistic and pastoral workers in the field worldwide and 13,742 administrative personnel in the office. In 2007 there were 18,060 evangelistic and pastoral workers in the field and 22,228 administrative personnel in the office. In those 12 years, workers in the field paid out of tithe have increased by 37.5%, while workers in the office paid out of tithe have increased by 61.75%. . .For the first time, we have more people in the office than in the field.” (Tithe—Sacrificing the Sacred Cow, by J. David Newman, Adventist Today, Fall, 2009.)
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Earl Rodriquez
I owe a great deal to Earl Rodriquez. He was a kid I went to school with fifty years ago. He played a part of one of the most important learning experiences of my life.
When I was fourteen, I was so skinny that I was sure that if a girl saw me without a shirt, she would throw up. If I were lucky, she would only giggle, point, and never speak seriously to me again. There came a time, however, when I just had to know if I had to give up hope of a girlfriend and a married life.
So, one day, when the guys and girls were both scheduled to have PE together, I left my shirt in my locker. It was the first time I had ever done it, and needless to say, I was scared and terribly self-conscious when I walked into the gym. You can imagine how I felt when Earl Rodriquez, a kid in my class who was almost as skinny as I was, began to stare at me. I didn’t know whether to punch him in the nose or race back to the locker for my shirt before the girls arrived.
I decided to retreat. In fact, I was headed for my locker when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Earl doing something. I turned my head for a better look, and then I stopped. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it into a corner. He flashed me a lopsided grin. I found the courage to remain shirtless.
The girls didn’t point or giggle. I decided to rethink some of my notions about being the only one that looked funny, the only one that was afraid to be laughed at, the only one who was “different”. I even discovered that there were some girls who were as unsure of themselves as I was. It gave us something to talk about on dates.
Today, I’m as unsure about a lot of things as I was then. Help me out. Comment. I’ve taken my shirt off first.
When I was fourteen, I was so skinny that I was sure that if a girl saw me without a shirt, she would throw up. If I were lucky, she would only giggle, point, and never speak seriously to me again. There came a time, however, when I just had to know if I had to give up hope of a girlfriend and a married life.
So, one day, when the guys and girls were both scheduled to have PE together, I left my shirt in my locker. It was the first time I had ever done it, and needless to say, I was scared and terribly self-conscious when I walked into the gym. You can imagine how I felt when Earl Rodriquez, a kid in my class who was almost as skinny as I was, began to stare at me. I didn’t know whether to punch him in the nose or race back to the locker for my shirt before the girls arrived.
I decided to retreat. In fact, I was headed for my locker when, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Earl doing something. I turned my head for a better look, and then I stopped. He pulled his shirt over his head and threw it into a corner. He flashed me a lopsided grin. I found the courage to remain shirtless.
The girls didn’t point or giggle. I decided to rethink some of my notions about being the only one that looked funny, the only one that was afraid to be laughed at, the only one who was “different”. I even discovered that there were some girls who were as unsure of themselves as I was. It gave us something to talk about on dates.
Today, I’m as unsure about a lot of things as I was then. Help me out. Comment. I’ve taken my shirt off first.
Reviewing Adventist World, NAD Edition
November 2009
Vol. 5, No. 11
www.adventistworld.org/index.php?issue=2009-1011
Note: Adventist World is free online. For that reason, I don’t feel obligated to review or comment on every article or editorial. Obviously, I consider it important to read official church publications. I want to keep abreast of what’s happening in my name, worldwide! And our administrators, editors, theologians, and inspirational writers need to know that what they write is important enough to be taken seriously. So, let them know what you like and what you don’t!
REVIEWS
THE ADRA insert is a masterpiece of information, and makes a gift to that brilliant organization in the form of a check or a gift to “one of the least of these”, mandatory!
BEATING THE FLUE by Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless can be counted on for excellent information and straight talk. “We have seen a proliferation in the emotional rhetoric of the antivaccine lobby, even one paper suggesting the WHO was going to make the vaccine mandatory in 194 countries at ‘gunpoint’. Such talk is ridiculous.”
ONE FAMILY, TWO LEGACIES reported by Mark A. Kellner, is the developing story of Babcock University in Nigeria. It currently has an enrollment of over 6,000 students. The General Conference and the Nigerian government are working together to establish a school of health sciences that will include a school of medicine.
THE STORY OF ANNIE SMITH by Erica Richards chronicles the life of a young woman who died at twenty-seven. But before her death, she wrote hymns that fortify faith and nourish heavenly hope. I was particularly drawn to her story because she wrote the words of my favorite Advent hymn.
Not far from home! O blessed thought!
The traveler’s lonely heart to cheer;
Which oft a healing balm has brought,
And dried the mourner’s tear.
Then weep no more, since we shall meet
Where weary footsteps never roam—
Our trials past, our joys complete,
Safe in our Father’s home.
Number 12, CHURCH ANYONE? By Chantal J. Klingbeil is the best-written and most understandable explanation of any Adventist Fundamental Belief in the ongoing series.
READING ELLEN WHITE IN THE 21st CENTURY by George R. Knight is a MUST READ. His Ten Important Principles to Keep in Mind not only make sense when reading Ellen White, they also make sense of many troubling biblical passages.
COMMENTS
ASIAN ADVENTIST THEOLOGIANS COME TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN KOREA. “The conference was cosponsored by the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference, evidenced by the presence of three members of that team, including its director, Angel RodrÃguez, and two associate directors, Kwabena Donkor and Clinton Wahlen.”
“One of the important actions of the conference was the unanimous request to recommend to the NSD executive committee the establishment of a regional biblical research committee that could begin to systematically discuss emerging theological questions and prepare helpful theological material for the growing church in that part of Asia.”
What the world needs is more parsing of literalist theology, NOT!
AMBASSADORS OF THE GOSPEL was an October 10 sermon by Jan Paulsen delivered to a congregation of church leaders from around the world attending Annual Council meetings at the Adventist world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, in which he urged the ordination of women and downplayed the academic fuss surrounding teaching college and university students about evolution. Church members will sorely miss his ability to keep the disparate elements of the Adventist Church from flying apart.
“How does your reconciled community use the gifts of its women and its young people? Are we entrusting them with leadership responsibilities? I appeal to you as leaders to look at this again. We have large segments of our spiritual family that need to be ‘brought in from the cold.’ I am sensitive to the fact that culture and local conventions must be respected, and there are great differences in this around the world, but do we have it right? I think not.
“How does your reconciled community relate to the scholars in our institutions of higher learning? They teach and counsel our youth. They seek to discover and clarify truth, and in their quest for truth they will sometimes articulate positions and findings that as a church we think are misguided; and we will address that. But we will not walk away from them, nor do I want them to walk away from the church. If there are aspects of our identity that should be adjusted—fine; we’ll talk about that. We will test them by Scripture and the writings of our prophet. But we must talk—openly, respectfully, and caringly. Then we must journey forward together, bonded by the ministry of reconciliation in which we share.”
NAD LETTERS
I have no idea why Adventist World chose to print the following request from Donald Casebolt. However, it’s an indication of the fear generated when readers are exposed to irresponsible editorializing. As a result, Paulsen is forced to continually reassure the “faithful” that the Devil isn’t loose in the halls of Adventist academia. Unfortunately, fear mongering makes it impossible to have an informed discussion about anything!
“In view of Angel Rodriguez’s response in the July Bible Questions and Jan Paulsen’s statement in “Paulsen Speaks on Issue of Origins” (Adventist Review, July 9), is it not possible for folk in the General Conference or North American Division departments of education to determine which, if any, of our colleges are not teaching the literal six 24-hour days of creation? Would it not be fair to see that this information is printed in the Adventist World that goes to every church member?”
Vol. 5, No. 11
www.adventistworld.org/index.php?issue=2009-1011
Note: Adventist World is free online. For that reason, I don’t feel obligated to review or comment on every article or editorial. Obviously, I consider it important to read official church publications. I want to keep abreast of what’s happening in my name, worldwide! And our administrators, editors, theologians, and inspirational writers need to know that what they write is important enough to be taken seriously. So, let them know what you like and what you don’t!
REVIEWS
THE ADRA insert is a masterpiece of information, and makes a gift to that brilliant organization in the form of a check or a gift to “one of the least of these”, mandatory!
BEATING THE FLUE by Allan R. Handysides and Peter N. Landless can be counted on for excellent information and straight talk. “We have seen a proliferation in the emotional rhetoric of the antivaccine lobby, even one paper suggesting the WHO was going to make the vaccine mandatory in 194 countries at ‘gunpoint’. Such talk is ridiculous.”
ONE FAMILY, TWO LEGACIES reported by Mark A. Kellner, is the developing story of Babcock University in Nigeria. It currently has an enrollment of over 6,000 students. The General Conference and the Nigerian government are working together to establish a school of health sciences that will include a school of medicine.
THE STORY OF ANNIE SMITH by Erica Richards chronicles the life of a young woman who died at twenty-seven. But before her death, she wrote hymns that fortify faith and nourish heavenly hope. I was particularly drawn to her story because she wrote the words of my favorite Advent hymn.
Not far from home! O blessed thought!
The traveler’s lonely heart to cheer;
Which oft a healing balm has brought,
And dried the mourner’s tear.
Then weep no more, since we shall meet
Where weary footsteps never roam—
Our trials past, our joys complete,
Safe in our Father’s home.
Number 12, CHURCH ANYONE? By Chantal J. Klingbeil is the best-written and most understandable explanation of any Adventist Fundamental Belief in the ongoing series.
READING ELLEN WHITE IN THE 21st CENTURY by George R. Knight is a MUST READ. His Ten Important Principles to Keep in Mind not only make sense when reading Ellen White, they also make sense of many troubling biblical passages.
COMMENTS
ASIAN ADVENTIST THEOLOGIANS COME TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN KOREA. “The conference was cosponsored by the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference, evidenced by the presence of three members of that team, including its director, Angel RodrÃguez, and two associate directors, Kwabena Donkor and Clinton Wahlen.”
“One of the important actions of the conference was the unanimous request to recommend to the NSD executive committee the establishment of a regional biblical research committee that could begin to systematically discuss emerging theological questions and prepare helpful theological material for the growing church in that part of Asia.”
What the world needs is more parsing of literalist theology, NOT!
AMBASSADORS OF THE GOSPEL was an October 10 sermon by Jan Paulsen delivered to a congregation of church leaders from around the world attending Annual Council meetings at the Adventist world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, in which he urged the ordination of women and downplayed the academic fuss surrounding teaching college and university students about evolution. Church members will sorely miss his ability to keep the disparate elements of the Adventist Church from flying apart.
“How does your reconciled community use the gifts of its women and its young people? Are we entrusting them with leadership responsibilities? I appeal to you as leaders to look at this again. We have large segments of our spiritual family that need to be ‘brought in from the cold.’ I am sensitive to the fact that culture and local conventions must be respected, and there are great differences in this around the world, but do we have it right? I think not.
“How does your reconciled community relate to the scholars in our institutions of higher learning? They teach and counsel our youth. They seek to discover and clarify truth, and in their quest for truth they will sometimes articulate positions and findings that as a church we think are misguided; and we will address that. But we will not walk away from them, nor do I want them to walk away from the church. If there are aspects of our identity that should be adjusted—fine; we’ll talk about that. We will test them by Scripture and the writings of our prophet. But we must talk—openly, respectfully, and caringly. Then we must journey forward together, bonded by the ministry of reconciliation in which we share.”
NAD LETTERS
I have no idea why Adventist World chose to print the following request from Donald Casebolt. However, it’s an indication of the fear generated when readers are exposed to irresponsible editorializing. As a result, Paulsen is forced to continually reassure the “faithful” that the Devil isn’t loose in the halls of Adventist academia. Unfortunately, fear mongering makes it impossible to have an informed discussion about anything!
“In view of Angel Rodriguez’s response in the July Bible Questions and Jan Paulsen’s statement in “Paulsen Speaks on Issue of Origins” (Adventist Review, July 9), is it not possible for folk in the General Conference or North American Division departments of education to determine which, if any, of our colleges are not teaching the literal six 24-hour days of creation? Would it not be fair to see that this information is printed in the Adventist World that goes to every church member?”
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