BestPractices
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July 1, 2009
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 Each year I attend at least two NAD events: one of the Worship Conferences in several places across the division, and the Conference on Innovation, here in Columbus.
A warning: the Conference on Innovation (IC) isn't for everyone. If you find new ideas threatening, or if you're afraid you can't sort the creative and helpful out of presentations by speakers who don't necessarily agree with all of your theology, then your time will be better spent elsewhere. But if you want to get your mind stirred up for doing extraordinary ministry to those missing 71% Mike talks about below, you'll appreciate IC as much as I have.
Also, don't miss our News, Ideas and Reminders section this week. We've got some great tools and resources, including a Romans study guide and a PowerPoint presentation on ideas for cheap or free community outreach.
Blessings
Loren Seibold, Editor, Best Practices for Adventist Ministry
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| Editorial | Fear casts out love, too
by Loren Seibold
I grew up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And I grew up terrified.
As I've talked to others, I've learned my experience wasn't unique. Many of us lifelong Adventists were (perhaps still are) frightened of persecution, of the close of probation, of Jesus' return, of neglecting some unconfessed sin or small detail of behavior that would prevent our being saved.
What was intended to be a blessed hope was a dreadful fear.
In a video on the "big think" website, Sojourners editor Jim Wallis defines religious fundamentalism as a distortion of religion based on fear. You know from your Protestant history class in seminary that the original fundamentalist movement (generally thought of as starting with the1878 Niagara Bible Conference and the 1910 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church) was a reaffirmation of basic Biblical truths in opposition to modernism and neo-orthodoxy. But the movement had more to it than doctrinal fealty. The emotional content was fear: fear of secularism, of heresy, of other religions, and of other Christians. That emotional content attached itself to conservative Christianity, too. Now "fundamentalism" is applied not just to Christianity, but to fear-based groups in any religion.
Fearful Christians are fearful, it seems to me, because they believe God isn't really very nice. He's demanding, picky and capricious. He won't care for the church, the salvation of the world, our safety and
security, or our personal salvation, without our constant fretting.
A fearful religion doesn't do much for God's good reputation.
Over lunch today my associate pastor Bob McGhee and I talked about this. Bob remembered 1 John 4:18: "Perfect love casts out fear." He added, "But fear casts out love, too." That may be why I've often found those who spend most of their religious energy on judgment and the scary parts of the end-time message don't really seem to love people. They love proving they're right.
And please note: neither does John say that perfect truth casts out fear. Just perfect love. You can be ever so right, and still be afraid.
I decided as a young pastor that in my preaching and teaching I would never dwell on the frightening end-time stories that I heard growing up. But there are always those who cling to that kind of Adventism; who seem to need it. At the same time, I've seen many walk away from our church because they couldn't stand the weight of it anymore. We didn't lift their burdens, as we were told to do.
Wallis goes on to say that "the best way to handle bad religion" is not to reject faith, but to practice "better religion." That better religion requires constant awareness that "God so loved the world."
To discuss this topic, go to our Night Owl Forum.
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Reading For Pastors
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The St. Petersburg Times has published the most extensive exposé of the Church of Scientology yet, based on the testimonies of ex-top leaders. This is a fascinating look into the inner workings of a cult. (France is threatening to completely dissolve the group.)
Re: the firestorm around an accusation that La Sierra University teaches evolution. The Spectrum website seemed to become a clearinghouse for discussions on the topic. Here are a few:
Michael Jackson's life: a thoughful spiritual commentary by a rabbi who knew him well. Quote: "I think all my success and fame, and I have wanted it, I have wanted it because I wanted to be loved. That's all. That's the real truth. I wanted people to love me, truly love me, because I never really felt loved."
From Tom Hughes, an explanation of "The Spirit of Prophecy's Most Famous Music Quote."
Are you annoyed when people text message in church? Monte Sahlin isn't. But how about twittering in church?
The church and popular culture: Are some church services just "theotainment"? |
| Resource Review
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EventIC5: The Fifth Annual Conference on InnovationColumbus, Ohio, October 4-6According to our church's Center for Creative Ministry the median age of an Adventist American is 52, while the median age of the average American is 35. The Barna Group says that 71% of those average Americans won't be attending any church on any day this weekend. The good news is that 78% of those unchurched Americans are willing to have a spiritual conversation. If for no other reason, we need the Innovation Conferences just to talk about these constantly changing demographics and their implications.  I've attended all the Innovation Conferences and found them a great blessing in my pastoral ministry. The speakers have been challenging, and I've met and stayed in contact with numerous Adventist pastors, speakers and teachers who have either attended or made presentations at the Innovation Conference (such as Ryan Bell, Dave Jamieson, James Tucker, Samir Selmanovic, and Julius Nam) that are successfully reaching out to that 71%. I'm grateful a conference like this exists where we can agree, disagree, or ask honest questions to a few of the most gifted but humble servants God is already using inside and outside the church. - Mike Fortune
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| To the Point
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God is never doing just one thing in what he does with us. He is
always doing thousands of things that we cannot see. He never has only
one purpose in what he does. He always has thousands of purposes, in
everything he does. He is infinitely wise, and everything he does
relates to everything else that he does sooner or later. For those who
love him and are called according to his purpose, all of them - all of
them! - work together for good.
- John Piper, You Will Never Be Thirsty Again
Be content to be nothing, for that is
what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your
consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full,
except in the Lord.
- Charles Spurgeon
Justified believers enjoy a blessing far greater than a periodic
approach to God or an occasional audience with the king. We are
privileged to live in the temple and in the palace. Our relationship
with God, into which justification has brought us, is not sporadic but
continuous, not precarious but secure. We do not fall in and out of
grace like courtiers who may find themselves in and out of favour with
their sovereign, or politicians with the public. No, we stand in it,
for that is the nature of grace. Nothing can separate us from God's
love.
- John Stott, The Message of Romans
"I believe that I cannot by my own reason
or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the
Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts,
sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers,
enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and
keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian
Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers,
and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to
me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most
certainly true."
- Martin Luther, Small Catechism
God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we're free of worry on Judgment Day - our standing in the world is identical with Christ's. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life - fear of death, fear of judgment - is one not yet fully formed in love.
- 1 John 4:17-18 The Message
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News, Ideas & Reminders
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 I continue to be excited about the possibilities for house churches. Milton Adams of SimpleChurch has a lot of free resources to download. Most recently he's done a Bible study guide for Romans that you're free to download and use. Might be a good midweek meeting class, perhaps, or something an elder can do when you're at the other church?
- Living the Mission: Here's a deceptively simple tool (from Jeannette Dare in PA conference) that could offer a lot value. This PowerPoint presentation is a practical workshop on partnering with the community to offer educational programs. Jeannette suggests we "reach into the community for for a licensed, certified professional (e.g., local hospital, business professional) as the presenter. The church's role becomes one of host, introducing and befriending itself to the community, providing refreshments, and the possibility for future contact." (I'm going to run through it with my strategic planning committee, just as a source of service/outreach ideas.) NOTE: This is a 14MB download.
- South England Conference is doing a nice job with LightFM, an online radio station. From station manager Mike Johnson: "We are also keen to
receive content from ministers who have embraced the media as part of their
ministry; sermons, devotions, commentaries are all welcomed."
Got a tool, resource, site, article, idea or seminar that you like a lot? Share it with us at BestPractices@ameritech.net. |
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Upcoming NAD Events
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- IC5: The Fifth Annual Conference on Innovation, October 4-6, Columbus
- InMinistry Center CE classes (advanced degrees for pastors); summer classes, Andrews, July 19-30
- AU 2009 Family Celebration Sabbath, featuring Mark Laaser on sexual addictions, July 27-18
- Adventist Urban Congress, August 30-September 2, Dallas
- Vervent/UCAA Music and Worship Conference, September 17-19, Atlanta
- Innovative Impact, October 11-13, Nashville
- Conference on Marriage, Homosexuality and the Church, October 15-17, Andrews University.
- NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010 -January 24 - February 7
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Best Practices is a Vervent publication of NAD CHURCH RESOURCE CENTER. Editor: Loren Seibold, Senior Pastor, Worthington Ohio Seventh-day Adventist Church. E-mail:
Best Practices. You are free to republish pieces from Best Practices in your own
newsletter or blog, with attribution to the Best Practices newsletter and the
author of the piece. |
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