BestPractices
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December 16, 2009
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 The Annunciation
by Samuel Menashe
She bows her head
Submissive, yet
Her downcast glance
Asks the angel, "Why,
For this romance,
Do I qualify?"
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Practicing Pastor
|  Space and Grace to the Race
by Tim Mitchell, Senior Pastor, Pacific Union College church
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." Luke 2:13, 14 (NIV)
About the time Columbus was disproving ancient beliefs about a flat, finite earth there was a lot of confusion about the heavens, too. A 16th century Jesuit missionary to China wrote that the idea that the sky is not solid is "one of the absurdities of the Chinese." As early as 200 AD the Chinese were one of the few, if only, cultures to believe in the idea of the sky as space, rather than a hard, impassable firmament. Not only was stellar track lighting clearly observable to the ancients, but prominent Christians such as Origen, Ambrose and Augustine proved it from scripture.
Given that universal understanding of the cosmos, shepherds huddling around a campfire in the pasture would certainly be amazed that a huge heavenly choir could so suddenly gather and appear (unless they, like some others, believed that stars were actually angels). It was only at sunrise and sunset that the corners of the dome raised enough to let in the sun and moon, but it was now the dark of night. So just how many angels can dance through the windows of heaven that quickly?
Pastors can feel trapped under that forbidding dome between heaven and earth. The perpetual guilt of the chores undone, the futility of serving a church that is slowly dying because it wants to live in the 19th century (or the era when the local patriarchs were young) make us believe in such a firmament. Any survivor with a tender heart is tempted to believe that it is psychologically safer to not believe, yet one more disillusioning time, that heaven really lives and makes beautiful music on our side of the firmament.
But our modern knowledge of space is suggestive of the idea of grace. The message is that the spiritual firmament is permeable after all.
Heaven can amass here or there - in me and my church - with great force,
and suddenly.
Take heart, shepherd. The glory and peace announced on Bethlehem plains took more than thirty years to be realized in Christ and his people. It is "one of the absurdities" of God that grace comes when humanity is most aware of its routine helplessness.
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Reading For Pastors
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From Salon: 11 tips for improving your newsletter.
I've been unimpressed with most of the "war on Christmas" arguments, but here's one worth our support: a war on the commercialism of Christmas. Advent Conspiracy churches dig wells in developing countries for Christmas. Quote: "It's the shopping, the going into debt, the worrying that if I don't spend enough money, someone will think I don't love them. Christians get all bent out of shape over the fact that someone didn't say 'Merry Christmas' when I walked into the store. But why are we expecting the store to tell our story? That's just ridiculous."
Related: from the WSJ, a review of new book, Scroogenomics. Economist Joel Waldfogel calls Christmas "an orgy of wealth destruction." Does he have a point?
Never thought I'd link you to an Amazon book review, but this one is good enough to be read for its own sake, regardless of a few misspellings. Quote: "Christ leaves no loophole of exclusion from the commands to love, and in fact makes getting eternal life contingent not on some abstract level of faith in the story surrounding his existence, but, rather, contingent upon the concrete execution of the greatest commands." (If you've read The Politics of Jesus, could you do a book review for us?)
Why such pathetic religious knowledge out there? According to some, people get their religious information from pop culture, like Dan Brown's novels.
We Adventists have long had interest in religious restriction and persecution. A new Pew Forum study shows that a third of countries, accounting for 3/4 of the world population, have high restrictions on religion. (Does this fulfill our eschatology, or does it count only when it happens in North America?)
What might have been: The surprising correspondence between John Lennon and Oral Roberts. Quote: "Over the following months he baffled those close to him by
constantly praising 'the Lord,' writing Christian songs with titles
like 'Talking with Jesus' and 'Amen' (the Lord's Prayer set to music),
and trying to convert nonbelievers.... The change in his life perturbed Yoko, who
tried to talk him out of it.... Those close to the couple sensed that the real reason
she was concerned was that it threatened her control over John's life.
If he became a follower of Jesus he would no longer depend on her and
the occultists."
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| Featured Media |
 Saying Goodbye to a FriendJames A. Cress passed away on Thanksgiving Day, 2009. Jim served as Secretary of the Ministerial Association of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists from 1993 to 2009. Adventist News Network sums up Jim's life: "Cress always considered himself a 'pastor on loan' to the world church
headquarters, where he led out in training, encouragement and mentoring
of pastors, elders, deacons and deaconesses around the world. His
position saw him travel to many countries around the globe, holding
seminars, preaching sermons and working with local leaders and pastors
to promote excellence in ministry." Martin Weber shares his memory of Jim: "I also enjoyed Jim's sense of humor. More than some highly-placed
religious leaders, Jim knew how to laugh. He was particularly amused by
the antics of politically-minded people whose efforts to promote
themselves backfired." Even though he is resting in Jesus we thought we would keep his vision alive by linking to a presentation that he gave in 2007 entitled Vision for Growth. In this presentation he gives over a dozen bullet points that will inspire pastors to stretch themselves into a larger vision of ministry. |
| To the Point
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The first step of apostacy is to set up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second step is to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And, fifth, to commence persecution against such.
- John Loughborough, R&H 10/8/1861
I take the ground that creeds stand in a direct opposition to the gifts. Let us suppose a case: We get up a creed, stating just what we shall do in reference to this thing and that, and say that we will believe the gifts too. But suppose the Lord, through the gifts, should give us some new light that did not harmonize with our creed; then, if we remain true to the gifts, it knocks our creed all over at once. Making a creed is setting the stakes, and barring up the way to all future advancement. God put the gifts into the church for a good and great object; but men who have got up their churches, have shut up the way or have marked out a course for the Almighty. They say virtually that the Lord must not do anything further than what has been marked out in the creed. A creed and the gifts thus stand in direct opposition to each other. Now what is our position as a people? The Bible is our creed. We reject everything in the form of a human creed. We take the Bible and the gifts of the Spirit; embracing the faith that thus the Lord will teach us from time to time. And in this we take a position against the formation of a creed. We are not taking one step, in what we are doing, toward becoming Babylon.
- James White
Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as their only creed and hold certain fundamental beliefs to be the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. These beliefs, as set forth here, constitute the church's understanding and expression of the teaching of Scripture. Revision of these statements may be expected at a General Conference Session when the church is led by the Holy Spirit to a fuller understanding of Bible truth or finds better language in which to express the teachings of God's Holy Word.
- Preamble to the 28 Fundamental Beliefs
Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago.
- Bernard Berenson
Read, every day, something no one else is reading. Think, every day, something no one else is thinking. Do, every day, something no one else would be silly enough to do. It is bad for the mind to be always part of unanimity.
- Christopher Morley
Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.
- Redd Foxx |
| Discipleship
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 Discipleship: Learning a New Language
Dan Day, Director, NAD Church Resource Center
The language of discipleship is in some ways an unfamiliar one to many of us. We know how to discuss eschatology or theology, but the language of discipleship somehow eludes us. Learning the language of discipleship, means thinking about the elements that lie within its broad confines. So, what would this new language contain?
For one thing, discipleship means following Jesus. So, language about discipleship would depict the spiritual journey. We would talk about walking closely with Jesus, learning to cling to him in crisis, learning how to emulate His mercy and compassion. "Following Jesus language" would be relationship language, driven by hope.
Discipleship also means growing in Christ. So the language would doubtless contain some linear perspectives. We would find ourselves discussing how we become more successful in dealing with temptation, how we acquire increasing skill in pursuing spiritual disciplines, like prayer and Bible study. "Growing language" would also entail dynamics for recovering when we fail (or fall) and dealing with the ups and downs associated with that generally upward process.
Also, we need to remember that discipleship is not just a personal issue but also about making the church a nurturing environment. We would begin thinking about how we connect with our communities to serve "the least of these." A "nurturing language" would encompass how our personal spiritual journey intersects with the mission of the church-and how we reach a secular world for Christ.
In the broadest sense, then, discipleship language would embrace all sides of church life: meeting Jesus for ourselves and our families, sharing Him with others, keeping the church vital and relevant, focused on ministry and mission. So, the language of discipleship must be broad and comprehensive, and yet very personal, too. The rest is yet to come...
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News, Ideas & Reminders
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- From Ruthie Jacobson: "Since January 1995, the North American Division has designated the first Sabbath of each New Year as the NAD Day of Prayer. What better way to begin a New Year - relying on God and looking to Him for guidance, direction, and strength? This New Year, there will be another program provided through HOPE/CHURCH Channel you will want to use - for a church service, or afternoon meeting, or just a time together with family and friends. Elder
Don Schneider will be interviewing Jerry and Janet Page, from the
Central California Conference. Broadcast times will be 1PM, and again at 4 PM EST. It will broadcast again on Jan. 9 at 11 AM EST. More information will be available at the PlusLine website."
- Gary Krause at Adventist Mission writes us that Andy Clark, the young
pastor who has created one of the NAD's most successful Adventist Community Services in suburban
Pittsburgh, is struggling at the moment to
find appropriate staffing to take the ministry to a new level. He has dozens of
Bible study interests, and has a budget for a pastor. He needs someone who is committed to Adventism, but isn't fazed by tattoos, piercings and bad language and knows how to or is willing to interact and communicate with people
from the community with no background in Christianity. Contact Gary Krause if you know of the right person.
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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- AU Worship Conference, March 25-27, 2010
- InMinistry classes from the Seminary in each union, April 11-22, 2010
- NAD-IAD Health Summit Orlando 2010-January 24 - February 7
- Adventist Community Services Convention, March 28-April 3, 2010, Orlando
- Just Claim It 2010, Adventist Youth Ministries Convention, April 2-11, Columbus, OH
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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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