news a n a l s s

NEWS

A N A L S S

o P N ION

NOTESfrom the editor

.JOHN MCLARTY

higher education, the passage of time and adeep Christian humanism. While we look forthe speedy return of our Lord, we advocatepolicy and practices that may foster a vital andhealthy church two hundred years henceshould time last.We give careful attention totheological inadequacies and inconsistencies,systemic flaws and human error within thechurch in hopes of helping to shape a betterfuture.

How can we do better at our job of provid-ing quality journalism for the church? Ideally,all leading positions at ATshould be held bypeople who love the church but are not em-ployed by any of its institutions. We neededitors who can devote at least half time (andpreferably more) to following stories, cultivat-ing writers, developing contacts andcontacting donors. I dream of the day whenAdventistToday will be able to employ a full-time editor. I dream of the day when we willhave a network of reporters spread acrossNorth America and beyond, ready to pursuestories asthey develop.

The publication of AdventistToday over thepast eight years has made a difference. It mayhave affected church policy. For sure it hastouched lives.People tell me AT is their con-nection with the Seventh-day AdventistChurch.They are more at home in the churchbecause they know others share their ques-tions, see the problems and still claim it ashome.

Money alone will not help us find the bal-ance between loyalty and opposition,between hard, critical thinking and warmfaith. But a million dollars would help themagazine achieve the kind of independencethat is needed to do the most credible job ofserving as an independent journalistic voicefor the church.

As you read in this issue about some of thehard jobs in Adventism, we ask you to con-

sider as well the hard job ofreporting on Adventism.Maybe you could serve as aneditor or reporter. Maybe youcould help the magazineachieve a greater degree offi-nancial independence. Weappreciate your interest. Weinvite your support.

J•I.'ve never personally met anyone who has

grown old and happy supporting a familyon the income they earned as a colpor-teur.I've met rY)oresuccessesamong

teachers in small Adventist elementaryschools, but their position, too, is often tenu-ous. Every time a parent sneezes,the teachergets clobbered. The slightest budgetary sur-prise in a small school turns into a full-blowninstitutional crisis,and the teacher is first tosuffer. A supportive family moves away.Thereis a large graduating class,leaving fewer stu-dents for the next year.The local church has anunexpected repair bill. Any of these thingsputs the teacher's continued employment atrisk. Sometimes personality conflicts jeopar-dize a subordinate's position, and by and largethe church lacks a mechanism for redressinggrievances. Of course, there are many who findsatisfaction and fulfillment in working at suchjobs, despite the risks.They are heroes of thechurch. However, because of the unrelentingstress of these jobs, I sometimes questionwhether we are morally right to urge peoplewith families to take them.The system owesits most loyal employees better treatment.

Asking hard questions about the Adventistsystem is central to the mission of AdventistToday. AT exists to serve the Seventh-dayAdventist Church through responsible, accu-rate journalism and wide-rangingexploration of policy, theology and the dy-namics of spiritual life among its members.We are obligated to ask hard questions in achurch that has specialized in giving confi-dent answers. ;

Our goal is not to destroy or diminish thechurch but to help it do a better job of servingas a house of prayer for all people. We con-tinue to affirm God's presence in the churchwhile pointing out that many aspects ofAdventist culture and thought are better ex-plained sociologically than theologically.

We like to think of our-selves as a voice ofProgressive Adventists- aninformal fraternity (or sororityor whatever would be the in-clusive equivalent) of peoplewhose thinking and way oflife is distinctly Adventist, butwho have been shaped by

I volume 9 issue 321 adventist

/

NEWSanalysisPAGE7Quest for the Historical Ellen White:Numbers Speaks for Richard Hammill Memorial LectureBy John A. Ramirez,Jr. and Eva Paschal

Chaplain to the Police: Adventist PastorHelps Local Law Enforcement with CrisesBy James H. Stirling

PAGE23

The Healdsburg Incident

By MaryAn Stirling

Office Manager I Hanan SadekArt Direction and Design I Amy Fisher

Photography I Allan Fisher

Managing Editor I Diana FisherAssistant Editor I James H.Stirling

Editorial Advisor I Steve Daily

PAGE20Tough Job: Colporteur

Making House CallsBy James H. Stirling

PAGE16Tough Job: College President

AT interviews Dr. Clifford SorensenBy Diana Fisher

PAGE14Tough Job: Local Pastor

Stop Strangling the GooseBy Greg Taylor

reports on contemporary issues of importance to Adventist church members. Following basic principles of ethics and canons of journal-ism, this publication strives for fairness, candor and good taste. Unsolicited submissions are encouraged. Payment is competitive. Send a self-addressed, stampedenvelope for writer's guidelines. Annual subscriptions $29.50 ($SO/2years)for individuals $18 for students $40 for institutions (Payment by check or credit card. Add$10 for address outside North America.) Voice I (800) 236-3641 or (909) 785-1295 Fax I (909) 785-1595 E-mail I [email protected] Web site I www.atoday.com

(ISSN1079-5499) is published bimonthly for $29.50 per year ($18 for students, $40 for institutions) by AdventistToday Foundation, CalkinsHall 225 La Sierra University, Riverside, CA 92S15. Periodical postage paid at Riverside,California and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER:Send address changesto AdventistToday, Box 8026 Riverside, CA 92515-8026. Copyright @ 2001 by Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fosteringopen dialogue in the Adventist community.

Publisher I Elwin Dunn

Editor Emeritus I Raymond Cottrell

Editor I John McLarty

adventist

volume 9 issue 31 adventist 13

/

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.atoday.com

The organizational structure consistedof multiple interlocking corporations,including, but not limited to, AtlanticUnion Conference, Atlantic AdventistHealthcare Corporation, BostonRegional Medical Associates, AtlanticHealth Res0l:lrces,and Boston RegionalMedical Center, all controlled by acentral core of individuals. A cashresource for these corporations wasBoston Ronal Medical Center.

[READERS RESPOND]The Black Box

I find John McLarty to be a wonder-fully gifted writer. His insight andgenerous spirit are manifest in his ar-ticulate style. Perhaps the best piecehe has done is his latest"the heart oftrue Adventism" in the Jan/Feb 2001 is-sue of Adventist Today. Imagine mydisappointment when he came to theabsolutely central reality of the Crossand all he could (or would?) musterwas an anemic "his death somehow re-versed the irreversible effects of evil."Yes,I agree the sentence is true. But itsits there like a "Black Box" an "entitywhich accomplishes something bymeans that are not understood." Arewe forever doomed to keep the Crossand its meaning clouded in mysteryand cliche? God was trying to tell ussomething at the Cross and went togreat personal cost to do it. What wasit? Please,John and AdventistToday:shine some light into that"Black Box."Surely no topic could be more impor-tant.Bob Rigsbyl Altamonte Springs, FL

The Cross a MysteryYou continue to stimulate and

sometimes infuriate AT readers withyour insightful, committed and artfulprose. Keep up the flow of excellentwords.

The cross is indeed a mystery, a blackbox as it were, and may it ever be as ithas been for two thousand years. Theday we come to unanimity of this is-sue, that is the day worship becomesrote school, and God is reduced to thehuman mind.Jim Via the Internet

Newbold ExperienceI read with great interest Ted

Swinyar's account of his time in En-gland at Newbold College (AT Jan/Feb2001) .... As a young adult, I too spenttwo years in England and later in life,spent five years in the Arabian Gulf,with my husband Roy, in ... Bahrain. Itwasn't until I returned to the UnitedStates that I realized how living abroad

had enriched my life. It was a wonder-ful experience to read newspapers thathad a different slant than Americannewspapers and hear news reporteddifferently than what one hears here ...Every American should spend at leastone year abroad to ... have a greaterperspective of the world.Barbara Gravesen I Ellicott City, MD

Boston Medical CenterThis letter is in response to the law-

suit filed by the creditors against theBoard ofTrustees of Boston RegionalMedical Center. It isnot unreasonable tobe alarmed over theloss of an asset thathad been owned bythe church for 100years. How did this di-saster evolve andwhat factors played amajor role? Four ma-jor factors are readilyapparent: the organi-zational structure,self-serving conflict ofinterest, incompe-tence, and heavy debt.

The organizationalstructure consisted of-multiple interlockingcorporations, includ-ing, but not limited to,Atlantic Union Confer-ence, Atlantic Adventist HealthcareCorporation, Boston Regional MedicalAssociates, Atlantic Health Resources,and Boston Regional Medical Center,all controlled by a central core of indi-viduals, A cash resource for thesecorporations was Boston RegionalMedical Center. There is nothing illegalor inherently immoral about the struc-ture itself or the transfer of profits fromBoston Regional Medical Center toother church owned corporations.However, when debt is incurred to athird party, the moral obligation of thedebtor shifts from the affiliated corpo-rations to the creditor. The continuedtransfer of millions of dollars from Bos-ton Regional Medical Center to other

church owned corporations in the faceof rising indebtedness without a re-payment plan was immoral.

The president and chief executive of-ficer of Boston Regional MedicalCenter, Charles S.Ricks,was also amember of the Board ofTrustees ofBoston Regional Medical Center and amember of the Board of Directors ofAtlantic Adventist Healthcare Corpora-tion.

This arrangement, whereby thepresident and chief executive officer ofthe Medical Center is also a member ofthe Board ofTrustees of the Medical

Center, obviously creates the potentialfor mischief. This arrangement pro-vides the potential for members of theBoard ofTrustees to dine and socializewith, play golf with, or partner in finan-cial investments with the MedicalCenter Administrator. Dispassionateaccountability is thereby sacrificed. Inthis case the potential for disaster be-came a reality.

How can a healthy tension be main-tained between the Board ofTrusteesand the Medical Center Administratorwhen [he] is a member of the Board ofTrustees? How can the Board ofTrust-ees effectively monitor theperformance of the Medical Center Ad-

41 adventist I volume 9 issue 3

//


I arrived in Takoma Park, Maryland as ayoung immigrant from South America,expecting, as most immigrants, to beaccepted as an integral member of asociety I had long admired from afar.Unfortunately, most of the people ofthe United States and Canada-nations

immigrants-have no social wel-come mats for their newcomers to walkon. This is particularly true of ourchurches. Soon after my arrival, a nicesister in the Sligo Church told me to "goto the Hispanic church."

ministrator when [he] is a member ofthe Board ofTrustees?

If the events as depicted are accu-rate, the case for self-serving conflict ofinterest and incompetence is irrefut-able. The Board ofTrustees and theAtlantic Union Conference could nothave failed to recognize the obvious.Has there been disciplinary action?Has the Board ofTrustees assumed anyculpability? Have there been anychanges in organization or policy?Stewart W. Shankel, M.D.George M. Grames, M.D.Richard Sheldon, M.D.Members for Church Accountability, Inc.

Answered PrayerI just read the story about answered

prayers (ATJan/Feb 2001)). I used towonder about things like this too be-cause I had read and personally metsome individuals who seemed to haverather dramatic answers to prayer .....God generally cannot do anything forus here unless asked by us to do some-thing .... We are to pray for the needsof others, as that gives God "permis-sion" to intervene personally ..... But ofcourse, this requires that the prayersbe somewhat aligned with the genu-ine needs of the person and the needsof advancing the kingdom of God onearth. Where they intersect, you canexpect that God will do something,maybe even something rather dra-matic. .. There are some individualsthat God has given a special prayer giftto and they will always have interest-ing events in their life because of it. Icannot explain why it is this way, but itis ancfl guess we need to learn some-thing from it.Wendell Slattery I Via the Internet

Ethnic ChurchesWith reference to your publication

"Ethnic Churches in North America"March-April 2001 ,you missed thepoint. I believe we must love eachother regardless of ethnic or culturalheritage .... Because of these varia-tions there is a general feeling that wedo not love each other. No way. I be-

Iieve the animosity comes from oneculture unsuccessfully attempting toinfiltrate another culture .... As long asthe culture does not jeopardize or in-fringe on the basic fundamental truthsof the remnant church so be it. Otherthan that let each culture worship byitself. But when some worship cultures,in which I cannot harmonize, comeinto my church and attempt to wor-ship in their culture destroying myworship then the line must be drawn.My worship hours have been circum-scribed and compromised.Stephen Yostl Apopka, FL

Ethnic Churches andNew Immigrants

The subject of ethnic churches(March/April) cuts me to the quick. In1957 I arrived in Takoma Park, Mary-land as a young immigrant from SouthAmerica, expecting,as most immigrants,to be accepted asan integral memberof a society I hadlong admired fromafar. Unfortunately,most of the peopleof the United Statesand Canada-nations of immi-grants-have nosocial welcomemats for their new-comers to walk on.

This is particu-larly true of ourchurches. Soon af-ter my arrival, a nicesister in the SligoChurch told me to"go to the Hispanicchurch." Adventistimmigrants and other ethnic personsopt to ensconce themselves in linguis-tic and ethnic enclaves not so much "tobe with their own 'kind"'- are therereally "kinds" of Adventists?-but be-cause they are neither helped to learnEnglish (French in Quebec) nor treatedas social equals.

The secular world, I am sorry to say,

was more ready to accept me ratherthan focus on differences. When I re-joined the church in 1978, I waspleased to find harmoniousmultiethnic Adventist churches in theVancouver area. But even here ethnicpeople have felt the need to spin offinto separate churches.

As I see it, the answer to this situa-tion is fourfold:

1.Teach English to Adventist immi-grants to our shores. This is their mosturgent, unmet need. And extend thisteaching into a form of evangelism fornon-Adventists. Why do our youngpeople go all the way to Korea, Russiaand Japan to teach English (and theBible) but ignore that linguistic/evan-gelistic need and opportunity righthere in North America?

2.Treat everyone according to theircharacter and abilities, not race or na-tional origin. As soon as they can

manage to express themselves in En-glish, immigrant brothers and sisters ingood standing should be encouragedto participate in church activities, in-cluding holding church offices.

3.When it comes to race-thecommon denominator of numerousEnglish-speaking ethnic churches-keep in mind recent genetic findings:

/

To Luther the sanctified lifet orsanctification of the personjustified by faitht is evidenced'by his subsequent good workst

but such good works are theresult of justification and not acom ponent of it.

[READERS RESPOND]all human beings are 99.9 percent thesame, and of the 300 (out of 30,000)genes that underlie individual differ-e~ces, only a few have anything to dowith race. Is such a small difference avalid reason for pride or shame, for in-clusion or exclusion, or for establishingseparate churches?

4. Promote multiethnic churchessuch as the Westminster Good Samari-tan Seventh-day Adventist Church inOrange County, California. In suchchurches, a variety of cultural customscan flourish as long as they are notunbiblical. Since in heaven there won'tbe ethnic neighborhoods andchurches, shouldn't we start practicingheavenly sociability and equality hereon earth?Hector Hammerly I Vancouver, B.C.Canada

CUC and GovernmentMoney

It seems to me that many of our in-stitutions have lost their mission. I donot see how the Lord can possiblybless this action by CUC to get gov-ernment funds to run our school. Ifthere was adequate trust in God, therewould be no need for other funds.God owns "the cattle on a thousandhills." Our schools have tried too hardto become like the world. If CUC metthe criteria for the money, then theyvery well may not be religious enoughto make a difference.Jan Miller I Via the Internet

Wall Between Churchand State

Increasingly the Supreme Court, aswell as state courts, have been little bylittle eroding the wall between churchand state, but I never thought a Sev-enth-day Adventist college would beaiding and abetting them. Whateverhappened to our principle of keepingchurch and state separate? If we sayone thing and do another, what doesthat say about us?Warren Adams I Via the Internet

Gifts of the SpiritI am Seventh-day Adventist and it

has always been my belief that if weare the true church we should alsopossess the gifts of the Spirit which areoutlined by Paul in Corinthians .... 1 amsick and tired of hearing Adventistsspeak out against charismatics such asBenny Hinn for their ministry ....Shouldn't we who claim to serve theone true God be able to glorify ourGod by being endowed with gifts suchas these?Paul Jamaica I Via theInternet

Filling the VoidAT fills a void regarding

emerging theology of thechurch, as well as finance andorganizational structure andpractice. Thanks.Harold R.Phillips I Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida

Gospel Without StringsThe subject of the article "The Gos-

pel Without Strings Attached" (ATMarchi April 2001) is so pertinent thatit deserves more attention. The doc-trine of justification byfaith is,asLuther said, the summary af all Chris-tian doctrine.

Like the apostle Paul {Eph 2:8,9),Luther taught that we receive forgive-ness of sin and become righteous inGod's sight when we confess our sinsand believe that for Christ's sake, weare forgiven.

To Luther the sanctified life, or sanc-tification of the person justified byfaith, is evidenced by his subsequentgood works, but such good works arethe result of justification and not acomponent of it. The Christian is de-clared to be righteous in the sight ofGod by grace alone through faith inChrist's merit and not because of anypersonal merit resulting from the ac-tion of that grace. Justification andsanctification are two distinct entitiesin Luther's theology.

The Catholic Church also teaches

that the repentant sinner is justified inGod's sight by faith in Christ's merit.But, in Catholic theology,justificationincludes a necessary work of sanctifi-cation in which the person justifiedcooperates with the grace imparted tohim by the Holy Spirit. Sanctification istherefore a requisite component ofjustification in Catholic theology.

The Adventist Fundamental Beliefsdo not specifically state the relation ofsanctification to justification. But they

do contain statements that indicatethe Adventist position. FB10

"Through Christ we are justified ...Through the Spirit we are sanctified ...and are given the power to lead a holylife." FB23 describes an investigativejudgment which will determine whohas used this power so well that theyare ready to enter into eternal life.

These fundamental beliefs, togetherwith statements by Ellen White thatonly those who have perfected theircharacter will be permitted to enterthe kingdom of heaven, indicate thatAdventist theology makes sanctifica-tion a requisite component ofjustification in the same way thatCatholic theology does. In any case, theAdventist teaching is certainly not inagreement with the theology of Luther.Richard Goyne I Via the Internet


.//

[NEWS AND ANALYSIS]

Ronald Numbers and theQuest for the Historical Ellen White

• JOHNNY A. RAMIREZ, JR. AND EVA PASCHAL

Numbers said that historians typically begin theirstudy of prominent characters and happeningsby examining the social milieu in which theseoccurred, looking for original manuscripts,newspaper accounts, letters, and similardocuments. Many of the current ideas held bychurch members about Ellen White are theproduct of carefully nurtured idealistic myths thatcontribute to the representation of her as veryclosely resembling Biblical prophets ..

Seventh-day Adventists, like most churches,have not only distinctive doctrinal beliefsbut a "master story"that reaffirms their dis-tinctiveness to themselves. An essential

part of that story for Adventists is the life and workof Ellen G.White, whom most recognize as not onlyone of the founders of the church but also as aprophet of God.

Dr. Ronald Numbers, one-time history professorat Loma Linda University, challenged parts of thatstory when he spoke May 26 at the youth chapel ofthe Loma Linda University church. He had come byinvitation of the Association of Adventist Forumsand Adventist Today to deliver the second RichardHammill Memorial Lecture. Numbers has beenknown as the author of Prophetess of Health, a workthat described Ellen White's teachingson health reform as being strongly in-fluenced by popular ideas of her time.

Numbers said that historianstypically begin their study of prominentcharacters and happenings byexamining the social milieu in whichthese occurred, looking for originalmanuscripts, newspaper accounts, let-ters, and similar documents. Many ofthe current ideas held by church mem-bers about Ellen White are the productof carefully nurtured idealistic mythsthat contribute to the representation ofher as very closely resembling Biblicalprophets. But in the past thirty yearsAdventist church historians, with accessto some 20,000 pages of manuscriptmaterial, have found that she had a very humanside as well. Their discoveries and publications havenot always been welcomed by church administra-tors.

Numbers questioned the oft-repeated statementthat Ellen White had a scanty education, terminatedby an accident that occurred to her in the thirdgrade when a classmate threw a stone at her. Hepointed out that she had a large library and readwidely, and was asked at one point to teach readingto a group of young children. She was intelligentand scholarly and devoted countless hours to studyand reflection, laying a solid foundation for many of

the church's beliefs and practices.Ellen White was very much interested in health

matters, but unlike popular preachers of her time shedid not engage in public healings; people were notdrawn to her public presentations by the prospectof cures for themselves or others. On the otherhand, many came to witness the way in which sheherself was healed of illness. Often she was tooweak to mount the podium by herself, and had tohave assistance. Once there, the Spirit would be-come manifest and she would miraculously gainstrength for a vigorous sermon. She was oftenplagued with bouts of depression and wrote fre-quently about her physical ailments, whichincluded five attacks of paralysis. She was free todescribe the illness of other people as the result of

their "violation of nature's laws," but she ascribedher illnesses sometimes to God's ways of keepingher humble, or the result of intervention by Satanand his angels. In her early comments on health shereferred to the use of wigs as leading to insanity,and she spoke of "cancerous humors,"which in laterrevisions of her work were called simply germs. Thewigs-insanity link was deleted.

Ellen White was frequently described as being "invision," especially early in her work with the church.Historians have discovered that there were many

Continued on page 9


//'

[NEWS AND ANALYSIS]

Chaplain to the Police • JAMES H, STIRLING

81 adventist

One of the most dangerous occupations inthis country is that of the police. What canthey do when they are called to the sceneof a distraught, armed man, who is holding

his wife and daughter at gunpoint and has barri-caded his house? Police in Wayne County, Michigan,faced with this crisis, tried to talk to the gunman onthe telephone, but he refused to communicate withthem until they suggested a chaplain. When heagreed to this, they sent Felix Lorenz, chief chaplainfor the County Sheriff's Department. Lorenz got hispermission to enter the house and talk with him untilhe calmed down and turned over his weapon ..

And what about the police themselves who facethreatening situations and have to make split-secondcritical decisions? Who can they turn to when theyare stressed out? The answer is,the police chaplain.

Felix A. Lorenz, Jr., police chaplain for 37 years, hasmany facets in his ministry. A lifelong Seventh-dayAdventist who has spent most of his professional lifein Michigan, he has pastored churches of several de-nominations, Adventist, United Church of Christ,Disciples of Christ, and others (See AT Jan/Feb 2000).Lorenz started his chaplaincy ministry as an exten-sion to his pastoring in order to provide spiritualcounseling to police officers, trauma victims, suicidalpeople, runaway teenagers, prison guards, and othersinvolved in the criminal justice system.

Although he works with police and sheriff depart-ments, he and others in the chaplaincy program arevolunteers and not police officers and do not carryguns or attempt to enforce the law. Most are Chris-tian ministers who, like Lorenz, do their chaplaincywork as if they were serving a larger congregation.Lorenz estimates that on average each may spendabout 15 hours a month in their chaplaincy duties.For the most part they do not counsel prisoners, forthat work is carried out by another organization, theMetropolitan Jail Ministry.

The criminal justice enterprise employs manypeople; in the case of Wayne County, which includesDetroit and 43 suburban communities, there are1,600 employees in the sheriff's department, mostlydeputies. For personal problems they often turn topolice chaplains, to whom they feel closer than toany other counselor. The chaplains serve as good lis-teners, hearing out problems of job stress, familypressures, or personal quandaries. A chaplain mayvisit with the officer on the job, ride with him or herin a police car, or just join in lunch, and sometimeseven conduct their wedding or funeral.

1 volume 9 issue 3

Much of the time police officers are called intoscenes of personal crisis, where people are hurting-suicide attempts or marital disputes. The officer'suniform seems threatening. When a chaplain is athand the people often are willing to listen to reason.When an officer has to break the news of an acciden-tal death to family members, a chaplain at his sidemakes the task much more bearable. Sometimespeople show their mental instability by threateningothers, and the chaplain's appearance may serve todefuse the situation. Alcoholism may not be a crime,but police are often called on to subdue someonehas become violent to himself or to others. A chap-lain who can spend some time with the drunk may

Since the criminal justice systemhas the potential for questioningthe behavior of all people insocietYI professional police oftenfeel somewhat excluded fromthe rest of the population. Whenpastors are willing to take timeto get acquainted with thesepeople in uniform and recognizetheir special needsl Lorenz says itrepresents a special opportunityfor Christian ministry.

help him over his immediate problem.Even though police chaplains are emissaries of

peace and are not armed, they sometimes must facesituations with an element of danger. Hostage takerssometimes shoot at anyone who tries to intervene,even chaplains. And chaplains often visit jail guards,walking from post to post in a jail to say a few words tothe men on duty. These visits may at times occasionlong conversations, and in some prison situationsthere is a potential for violence from the prisoners.

Since the criminal justice system has the potentialfor questioning the behavior of all people in society,professional police often feel somewhat excludedfrom the rest of the population. When pastors are will-ing to take time to get acquainted with these peoplein uniform and recognize their special needs, Lorenz

/'

[NEWS AND ANALYSIS]

Ronald Numbers and the Quest for the Historical Ellen White

to being divine, writing books that stand on a parwith those produced by the biblical prophets, the firstreaction may be denial or anger. A demonstrator inthe back of the meeting hall May 26 exemplified thisby his loud shouts of denunciation. Other Adventists,however, recognizing the concept of incarnation,. (partly divine and partly human, are likely to find thenew information illuminating and an aid in interpret-ing her writings in contemporary terms. The story isamplified by replacing the mythological with the real.We'll all feel better when we know who the real EllenWhite was.'

one who had played a key role in innovation inAmerican religion.

What may be the overall effect of research like thisinto a key aspect of the Adventist story? For someAdventists who hold that Ellen White was very close

What may be the overall effectof research like this into a keyaspect of the Adventist story?For some Adventists who holdthat Ellen White was very closeto being divine, writing booksthat stand on a par with thoseproduced by the biblicalprophets, the first reaction maybe denial or anger.

International Conference of Police Chaplains he hasseen very few Adventists. When chaplains join pro-fessional groups and attend meetings, they benefitfrom the education, fellowship, and accountabilitythe associations provide.As John the Baptist coun-seled the Roman soldiers/police, and Paul and Silasthe jailer at Philippi, so pastors today may widentheir horizons of service by looking at chaplaincyneeds. When in his picture of the final judgmentJesus commended the righteous by saying,"When inprison you visited me" (Matt 25:36), he may wellhave included the whole criminal justice system asrecipients of the gospel message.

Chaplain to the Police

Continued from page 7

says it.represents a special opportunity for Christianministry. More pastors could extend their ministry ifthey would talk to the police; many more such chap-lains could be used. Lorenz has helped organizechaplaincy programs for not only the police and sher-iff departments, but also for county-wide emergencyprograms, to respond to crises such as airplanecrashes.

Lorenz says he thinks Adventist pastors have beenmissing their opportunity to participate in policechaplaincy service. Among the many chaplains hehas met at meetings of the county chaplains and the

who saw visions in her day. In the small town of Port-land, Maine, there were seven Millerite visionaries.Associated with such visions there were often othermanifestations like fits, trances, and "mesmerism"spells. Dr. Fred Hoyt discovered an old newspaperstory of a trial in 1845 of one Israel Damon in NewEngland about this time. Damon and other wit-nesses testify to the ecstatic utterances and bodymovements manifested by Millerites, including theyoung Ellen Harmon and James White. This wasalso the milieu of the "shouting Methodists,"whoengaged in enthusiastic religious activities.

Comparatively little has been written about EllenWhite's private and family life. One of the most no-table findings was an old trunk filled with letterswritten by Ellen White to her "dearest friend" andconfidant Lucinda Hall. These letters reveal that theWhite marriage had deteriorated in the mid-1870sto the point where Ellen and James had to be sepa-rated for extended periods. Ellen would apparentlytrump her husband by citing her direct inspirationfrom God, and therefore her superior understand-ing and authority in marital conflicts.

Numbers pointed out that Ellen White was a verycomplex person, with much that was admirable andsome that was very human. Adventist historiansthrough the years, however, have been apologetic,crediting her with only good things and disparagingeveryone who crossed her path.

Numbers concluded that Ellen White received con-siderable attention from sources outside the churchfor her role in health reform and creationist thinking.Secular historians have termed her "one of the greattrinity of American female prophets," along with MaryBaker Eddy and Anna Lee. Another called her "one ofthe most prominent women in American history," and


[FEATURE]

mygeneration was among the firstto consider Seminary training tobe one of the prerequisites for be-ing a pastor. We men wereexpected to graduate from a col-

lege owned and operated by the Adventistdenomination, marry a woman who played the pi-ano or had other talents to enhance parish ministry,and make our way to Berrien Springs, Michigan tocomplete the requirements for the Bachelor of Divin-ity degree. Mostof us had grown up in the AmericanAdventist church and were nurtured in its historyand traditions. How times have changed!

Prospective ministers still enroll in Seminary, butthis is where the similarity ends. Chances are goodthat the Seminarian today is a woman. He or she

Pas-tor n. 1.) A Christian

minister in his capacity of

I having spiritual charge over a

congregatiion or other group.

2.) A shepherd.

LAW R ENe E DOW N I N G

where leadership has become nationalized and weagonize over our loss of vision.

We who have been active in the church for manyyears have witnessed a demographic revolution.Those who traditionally made up the Adventistchurch have become fewer and fewer; the places ofthose who die or leave are filled by people who areof another culture or race and who speak a languageother than English.

It is understandable that the ministers who fill thepulpits in North American Adventist churches reflectthe dramatic changes that have taken place. Whatfollows is one person's perspective on the currentstate of the Adventist ministry within the context ofthe changes that have whip sawed our denomina-tion these past years.

To my knowledge, no strategic plan exists to counter the trends to-

ward separation and isolation based on language or race. It is time

someone took the initiative to challenge the established practice, for it

is counter to the gospel and does not benefit our church members.

101 adventist

may have graduated from a parachurch college suchas Weimar or Hartland, may be single, probably a firstgeneration convert and very possibly was born in acountry other than the United States.

Forty years ago the Adventist church was a NorthAmerican church. North America called the shots.We had the votes and the money. We were themother lode for leadership, theological truth and be-havioral norms. We knew why we were here andwhat we were supposed to do. Today, North Ameri-cans are a weak numerical minority in the globalSeventh-day Adventist Church. Our funds are help-ful, but not essential in many places in the world,

I volume 9 issue 3

The Adventist pastor in the North American churchis well educated and is generally satisfied with hiswork. ("He" is the pronoun that accurately describesthe gender for the minister in the vast majority ofthe churches. Southern California Conference andSoutheastern California Conference can make a casethat they have become gender inclusive.)

Satisfaction with the work of ministry does notmean we are free from professional concerns. Mostof us feel we are underpaid for the expectations thatare placed upon us and could not economically sur-vive if our wives did not have jobs outside the home.Many pastors work in conferences that are not able

to fund the raises that have been approved by theNorth American Division. Southeastern CaliforniaConference, one of the world's largest conferences,is an example. The Conference, until this year, was ina "catch-up" mode. The Conference did not have suf-ficient tithe income to pay the North AmericanDivision-approved pay raises. Even now, the treasurydepartment does not have direct payroll deposit.The employees have been told the Conference de-pends on the "float."

Surprisingly, the tight money situation has notseemed to harm pastoral morale. We readily ac-knowledge, when we talk among ourselves, that wereceive peanuts compared to what others receivewho have comparable education, and we joke thatour kids just out of college are better paid than weare. But, then, we did not choose our profession toget rich. We do, however, want to survive economi-cally. Tuition, cars, houses and other expensesassociated with ministry place many of us on aneconomic razor's edge. Bankruptcy, once unheardof among Adventist clergy, is now a practiced op-tion. Others are burdened with credit card debtthat sucks dry a pastor's bank account.

Conference presidents acknowledge to us thatsignificant numbers of pastors are in a financialbind. One president told a group of us that a signifi-cant number of us were in a debt crisis. He advisedus to consider making investments that generateextra money. He recommended we buy apartments.He told us he himself invested in apartments andappreciated the extra income they provided. Healso acknowledged that if his wife did not work, thefamily would not have sufficient money to pay thebills.

In southern California, at least, the pastors aremore isolated and fragmented than in past years.We no longer come together at camp meeting andthe divisions within the conferences along racial orlanguage lines have created significant communica-tion barriers.

The civil rights struggles of the '60s and '70s for atime brought the races closer together. There arethose who suggest that whatever gains were madein race relations during those years have been lostover the past fifteen years or so. Most of us havelittle or no contact with pastors from different eth-nic or language groups and no opportunity isprovided for us to share common concerns. We areweaker because of this separation and alienation.Some of us wonder who is responsible for the isola-tion among us. Is it by design or default? Shouldlines of communication be established to circum-vent the natural inclination to segregate andisolate? If so,who should make the first move? Whoshould see that the gulf is closed? In private conver-sation, some debate whether the leaders of thelanguage and ethnic congregations emphasize the

need for language and ethnic churches to ensuretheir own employment and maintain a power base.The debates remain quietly in the background anddo not emerge for public discussion. It's safer thatway.

To my knowledge, no strategic plan exists tocounter the trends toward separation and isolationbased on language or race. It is time someone tookthe initiative to challenge the established practice,for it is counter to the gospel and does not benefitour church members. Our fragmentation sends amixed message to the community and distorts theGospel.

In years past, the majority of the

theology graduates had a job

waiting. Today, there is high

probability that half or more of

the graduates will not find

placement in parish ministry.Do not expect the pastors to take up this challenge.

We are too occupied with our own insecurities andturf protection. Have we become so caught up in ourpower struggles and too preoccupied with our navelgazing to expend our energy on reconciliation? Whereis our passion to pick up the moral mantle, wrap itround our pride and ego and boldly'challenge thenatural inclination to pull our private walls in aroundus?

The graying of the Adventist ministry does not bodewell for the future. In contrast to previous times whenan Adventist college might graduate thirty or fortytheological students each year, an Adventist collegetoday may graduate ten theology majors or fewer.

In years past, the majority of the theology graduateshad a job waiting when they received their diploma.Today, there is high probability that half or more ofthe graduates will not find placement in parish minis-try. Some colleges, accepting the reality of thesituation, require theology majors to have a fallbackmajor as insurance should a graduate not receive acall. With the risk of unemployment in one's chosenfield a distinct possibility, significant numbers of thebright students chose to pursue other fields.

Adventism is in decline among North AmericanAnglos, both numerically and economically. We in theparish ministry recognize that the churches we pastorneed help. We see our membership decrease throughdeath or apostasy. The people who take the place ofthose who leave are usually less educated and haveless expendable economic resources. Significantnumbers of the converts are first generation

Continued on page 22


//

[FEATURE]Pres.i.dentn. 1.)Oneappointed

or electedto presideover and

organizedbody of people,asin

J a H N MeL ART Y

•

assemblyor meeting.2.)Thechief

officerof abranchof government,

acorporation,aboardoftrustees,

a university,or similarbody.

Inrereading my answers, they seem idealistic. They do not reflect the down and dirty work that a presi-dent has to do. But they are where my heart is, and what I tried to do, even if I was not alwayssuccessful. They do not reflect the politics of pastoral ministry, the envy toward a rising star, the innerconflicts, the marriage problems, the evolution of idealism into reality that every successful pastor

feels as he moves toward a presidency. It does not explain the frustrations of failure, the pain of droppinga pastor from ministry, the goals not met, and the agony over conflict between a congregation and a pas-tor, or, on a more personal level, the antagonism of pastors or entire congregations toward the president.It does not describe the worry about embarrassment at election time, or as we age, the desire of youngturks for older leaders to step aside to make room for their own ambitions.

But the answers also do not, and can not, tell of the satisfaction of accomplishment, the joy of being sur-rounded by people who admire and respect you, the sense that your life has made a difference in theworld. There are a hundred perks to leadership for every negative. I am not sure how you explain them, orif you did try, that they would be appreciated. Some people call it "fire in the belly'; and if you have it youare driven. If you do not have it, the emotions can seem ugly, and even unchristian. The hardest issue I hadto answer early in my ministry was whether I was doing this for God, or because of my own driving ambi-tion. I finally settled that it was a partnership with God, and could not be separated.

Looking back over a lifetime I am convinced that God was in me, and I was for God, and together wemade things happen that even now bring me satisfaction and fulfillment.

AT: We would like a brief job description of a happen.conference president. What does he do? What There will always be financial problems, person-should he do? Are there things that he might nel problems, and problems in congregations thatbe tempted to do which he should avoid? have to be addressed, but a united conference vi-

RM: The first priority of a president is have a sion will take care of many of these if memberscore vision of what a Seventh-day Adventist Chris- believe the vision and and live with it.tian is and could become, and to inspire the entire AT: What are the greatest challenges for con-organization to move the church toward that goal. ference presidents today and how have theyThe temptation is to allow that dream to become changed over time? How are they different nowblurred through the daily routine of problems, from when you first began giving seriouspolicies and personalities. If the president is con- thought to the nature of the job?victed that the Adventist church, and perhaps the RM: The information age has changed every-Adventist church alone, can produce the best in thing! In earlier times information and experiencehuman nature, he should "nurture the culture" were acquired over decades, and were highly val-with all his authority and influence. The tempta- ued. When culture changes almost overnight,tion for him is to use the power of his position, experience means less, and knowledge can be-rather than inspiration and influence, to make it come outdated. Very few young pastors want to

121 adventist today I volume 9 issue 3

'-==============================-===-=:----------------"""l!l'!!'"I/

/

In earlier times information and experience were acquired overdecades, and were highly valued. When culture changes "almostovernight, experience means less, and knowledge can become out-dated. Very few young pastors want to hear a conference presidenttell how he did it in his younger years ..

hear a conference president tell how he did thingsin his younger years. While true theology remainsconstant, and people always remain true to hu-man nature, the rapid changes in society,combined with instant communication of ideas,cause pastors and church members to dependless on conference leadership than in former

. years. Good conference leadership is still in de-mand, but now it is more concerned withempowering pastors and less with directing andprogramming.

AT: Where does a conference president findsatisfaction? When you look back at your work,what gives you the greatest satisfaction? Howare the satisfactions of being a president dif-ferent from the satisfactions to be found in thepastorate?

RM: Without doubt, the success of colleagues Imentored and advanced is the richest reward ofmy presidency. The highest compliment I re-ceived was from a union president who said that I"put the polish on future conference presidents."Even before I became a conference president, Isaw the need for future church leaders. Once in of-fice I worked to surround myself with thestrongest leaders possible and to advance theircareers as quickly as they were ready. Now theyare serving as leaders in almost every area ofchurch life. The advantage a president has over

other areas of ministry is the opportunity to de-velop professional leadership and to help otherleaders reach their highest potential. Unfortu-nately, some presidents are afraid of strongleaders who might disagree with them, but thereis a growing understanding that leadership mustbe trained, tried, and rewarded. Some of those Itrained are now doing the same training withtheir associates.

AT: If you were offering advice to someonejust beginning his tenure as a conference presi-dent, what would you tell him?

RM: Be serious about your work, but don't takeyourself too seriously. The best leaders I haveworked with wanted everyone to call them bytheir first name. They were willing to do whatthey asked everyone else to do. Building the confi-dence and skills of the pastors, and pulling theminto a caring family, a team, is a top priority. Apresident cannot solve all the problems of the

churches, but if people like him and know hecares, he can change the climate to one of graceand tolerance. That is the road toward success.

AT: Do you think there is an ideal length oftime for service as a president? What would bethe pluses and minuses of term limits for con-ference presidents?

RM: I am not in favor of term limits. I believethat there are different talents in ministry, and af-ter about twenty years of ministry a persondiscovers where he/she fits best. By that time col-leagues also make their judgment. The presentsystem is imperfect and at times frustrating, but itdoes work. Most of the time the best leaders be-come recognized. The worst abusers of the systemeventually get their proper demise. I still thinkGod is working through this flawed method to gethis will done most of the time. I do believe thatwhen administrators reach normal retirement agethey should make way for younger people withfresh ideas. It is easy to overstay our welcome.

AT: When you were president, did you have aclose friend or confidant, or did you feel prettymuch alone?

RM: I never felt lonely in the ministry. I was sur-rounded by good people whom I trusted and withwhom I was comfortable sharing all my joys, prob-lems and disappointments. I would not call aperson I did not trust to be a close colleague. I

also had a trusting and open relationship withpeers at the conference and union level. I cher-ished the friends I made during a lifetime inministry.

AT: Are there two or three current presidentswho are widely recognized as superior?;'

RM: Herman Bauman has created a grace-ori-ented climate in Arizona that I admire. SteveGifford has reclaimed people who have been dam-aged or discarded elsewhere and found a place forthem. In most cases they have worked out great. Iadmire what he as done.

Most of the outstanding conference presidentshave moved on since I worked with them, and I amnot as acquainted with many of the new presi-dents. Ilike Dave Weigley very much, and heseems to be doing an outstanding job. I admireTom Mostert as the most skilled pure administra-tor in the NAD. I think Chuck Sandefur is thebrightest and most creative administrator.

Continue on page 21

volume 9 issue31 adventist today 113

/./

[FEATURE]

G REG T A Y LOR

Pas-tor n. 1.) A Christian minister in his capacity of

having spiritual charge over a congregatiion or other

group. 2.) A shepherd.

•I

none of Aesop's fables a farmer discovered thathis goose had laid a golden egg and thereafter an-other one every day. Soon the farmer was .fabulously wealthy. It wasn't long before he gotimpatient and decided to hurry the process by cut-

ting the goose open. He found no golden egg inside,and the goose was dead. End of the golden eggs.

Unfortunately much the same thing is taking placein the Adventist church in North America, except thatit is a case of strangling, not surgery.The goose is thelocal church and the owner is the church hierarchy. Inmeetings and official papers we hear much lip servicegiven to the importance of the local church. But from

my perspective as a pastor,little is being done to changethe denominational structurethat is strangling its primarysource of growth, vitality,evangelistic presence, and in-come-the localcongregation.

Visit some of the smallerchurches in your conferenceand you will see a dramaticdemonstration. The carpet isold, the lighting terrible, thesound system inadequate;there is no video projector.

Usually the pastor is shared with one or two otherchurches. Morale is often low.

Now visit the local conference office. There you findtop-notch computer systems, a paid secretarial staff,the best in video and technological support-allfunded by tithe dollars from the local church. Whyshould those who supervise the work have betterequipment than those who do the work?

I have talked with pastors from congregations of allsizes,with theological convictions ranging from themost conservative to the most progressive. Virtuallyall of them are frustrated and disheartened by theirinability to do effective ministry in their local commu-

nity because of limited financial resources. They seethe amount of money consumed by administrationand think of the difference those dollars could make ifthey were spent in direct ministry.

The problem is that since we pastors are em-ployed by the organization, it is not politically safe todeal with this issue. There is even very little likeli-hood that anyone who has been "promoted" from apastorate to work in the conference office will doanything to change the system. So we keep ourmouths shut and try to do our best and be teamplayers.

I realize that our our system has some real advan-tages. 1) Salaries across the board are equitable. Thisis especially helpful for new pastors. 2) A congrega-tion cannot fire a pastor, as can happen in somecongregational systems. However, I have never seenwhere an Adventist pastor who has lost the respect ofhis or her congregation can last very long either. 3).We support a worldwide church and educational sys-tem. Our system is one of the best organized in theworld.

As a pastor I benefit from the Adventist system, butI believe we can do better. I recently called the NorthAmerican Division office and was informed that of3,346 ordained ministers in our division, 2,598, or 78percent, are in pastoring or evangelism, while 478, or14 percent, are in an administrative office.The rest,270, are in other fields such as hospitals and educa-tion.1 Note that this counts only ordained clergy. Itdoes not count the secretarial, service or professionalstaff who are not ordained. In our local conference,there are 37 office employees and 111 ministers inthe field. This means that 25 percent of the local con-ference workforce is in the office.2 And I haven'tcounted people employed by the Union or Division,nor have I taken into account the expenses involvedin travel, meetings, mailings, equipment, office ex-penses, etc. Clearly, a sizeable percentage of the tithefunds goes for administration.

Although administrators would argue they are pro-


/

viding essential services for the local church, the factremains that the dollars used in administration aretaken out of the local church. How can we expect thelocal church to be strong and vibrant when such ahigh percentage of their financial resources are un-available for local ministry? How can we expect tohave growing churches when we don't have moneyfor local programing? We are strangling the goosethat lays the golden egg.

The appearance of a top-heavy administration cre-ates special difficulties for those who pastorchurches that target young adults. Many of ourpeople are employed by organizations that havegone though massive restructuring. The world theylive in forces businesses to be lean and efficient bycutting travel budgets, streamlining middle manage-ment, and eliminating certain positions, all for thesake of being competitive. With the world of com-puter technology and the Internet, meetings areoften held by video conference. One person cannow accomplish what three or four used to do be-cause of these advances.

Our younger generation has trouble supporting asystem that appears top-heavy and resistant tochange. They would rather use their money to meetlocal needs. I am grateful that in my local churchthere is still a tithe gain each year, and people stillbasically believe in the system. But for how muchlonger? More and more church members are quietlydiverting tithe to the local church or to other minis-tries where the cost of administration appears to beless.

So far I have focused on the cost of our denomina-tional administrative structure. But there is anotherhuge competitor for Adventist dollars: the SDA edu-cational system. Currently 40 percent of the tithedollar goes to support our massive educational sys-tem from kindergarten to college.3 What about thepercentage of local church budget that goes for localchurch schools?

While I believe in Adventist education, I believe wemust ask hard questions about cost effectiveness.How can we expect local churches to grow, when outof every tithe dollar only 30-33 percent actually goesto support pastoral salaries? The rest is used for edu-cation, administration, world mission, specialconference projects, etc.4

So what can we do? How can we improve our careof the goose so that it will thrive and continue to laygolden eggs for decades to come? Here is my sug-gestion:

Set a goal to reduce the tithe expense to the localchurch by 50 percent over the next 20 years. Thismeans that 50 percent of all tithe will remain in thelocal church by the year 2021.

How could this be funded without damagingthe good parts ofthe current system?

1. Do not replace retiring personnel, but restruc-ture so that more and more work is done via

computer and video conferencing.2. Require each minister in the conference office

to take responsibility for one local church withindriving distance of the conference office. This wouldserve two purposes. First, since many smallerchurches are within a few miles of most of our of-fices, the need for several district pastor's salarieswould be eliminated. Secondly, serving a localchurch would help these administrative ministerskeep in touch with the real needs of the local church.If this policy were in force at all levels of administra-tion there would be more pastors in the field, andthe needs of the churches would be better met.Each of these min isters wou Id be expected to havecurrent results, not just past successes.

3. Allow more administrative processes to behandled by local ministerial groups. These local en-tities could handle much of the ministerialdepartment duties, as well as conduct seminars foreducating and empowering the laity, handle basicpersonnel issues in conjunction with the president,plan cooperative evangelistic efforts and communityprojects, and pool resources for service projects.

4. Look again at combining local and union confer-ences. At minimum, reduce the union conference toa skeleton crew with drastically reduced travel bud-gets. Have them share office facilities with a localconference.

5.Take a serious look at restructuring the educa-tional system. In urban areas, instead of many smallschools each trying to meet basic requirements, con-sider developing a more efficient centralized systemwith "super schools" served by a bus system. Theseinstitutions could be state-of-the-art facilities withhighly qualified stafffor less money than it takes tooperate many struggling small schools.5 This wouldmean becoming less territorial across conferencelines, but the result would be a much more efficientsystem with better education for all.

Dysfunctional family systems do not allow prob-lems to be discussed. They are highly resistant tochange. Healthy systems, however, are open to dia-logue and new ideas. Healthy families welcomechange and are constantly looking for ways to listen,adjust, and make changes for the good of all. I be-lieve our church likewise can move, listen, grow, andchange. I believe we can feed the goose and do sowithout losing our strengths. When we by God'sgrace truly adopt servant leadership at all levels ofdenominational structure, our congregations willflourish and our church will grow.

IArchive and Statistics reports of the year 2000, not yetpublished.

2 Carolina Personnel Directory, 2/7/200 I

3 From a recent conversation with Monte Sahlin, Formerresearcher for the NAD and current researcher for the ColumbiaUnion Conference.

4 Ibid. See also Studies for the Commission on Mission andOrganization, Report 13,NAD, 1996.

5 Ibid.


//

[FEATURE]

I

the Adventist church has a heavy investment inits educational system, particularly its collegesand universities, and the success or failure of

such institutions is commonly ascribed to the admin-istrators, especially the presidents. The president isresponsible for acquiring and retaining high-qualityfaculty, for keeping up the enrollments of students,for reporting to its board of trustees, and for gener-ally making everybody happy. It's a tough job inany kind of college, and perhaps more so in a de-nominationally owned school where churchmembers have high expectations for the spiritualtone of the school. A lot is riding on his shoulders.

The past year has seen repeated turnovers of col-lege presidencies. AT wanted to get an insider's viewon how a college president saw his job, so they con-tacted Clifford Sorenson, a retired college presidentliving in Loma Linda, California. Dr. Sorenson hadbeen president of three schools-Walla Walla Col-lege, Columbia Union College, and Atlantic UnionCollege.

AT: What features did you find the most re-warding about your work in Adventist schooladministration?

Sorenson: I got the most satisfaction out of help-ing provide students with a quality experience, bothspiritually and academically. I have also gained anddeveloped some of the most wonderful relation-ships and friendships, which I expect to enjoy therest of my life and through eternity!

AT: What features did you find the most chal-lenging?

Sorenson: I was concerned about two things inparticular: First, I wanted to help students discovertheir worth and potential,not only for themselvesbut also for the cause of God and their service to

16[ adventist today I volume 9 issue 3

Pres-i-dent n. 1.) One appointed

or elected to preside over an

organized body of people, as in

assembly or meeting. 2.)The chief

officer of a branch of government,

a corporation, a board of trustees,

a university, or similar body .

•I

D I A N A F ISH E R

fellow humans. Secondly, it took a lot of effort to findthe necessary resources for needy students and forthe ongoing financial requirements of a quality edu-cational institution.

AT: As an Adventist administrator you oftenhad to make hard decisions. Where did get yourstrength and wisdom? How did you make deci-sions?

Sorenson: It would of course be nice to thinkthat all my decisions were good and the best pos-sible. This would be a delusion! However, even someagonizing and wrenching decisions turn out badly. Ifound prayer, of course, to be a great source of com-fort and guidance. I also got much insight anddirection from experienced colleagues, team mem-bers in administration, and friends who had servedas college presidents in years gone by. When facedwith new problems I always find it helps to draw onthe solutions others have arrived at in similar situa-tions.

AT: Why did you choose a career in this field?Sorenson: I did not set out to become an admin-

istrator.1 first choose to teach, because "it's the nicestwork given to man."1 enjoyed watching my students"discover," and it was rewarding to see them growand develop. When I was asked in later years to jointhe administrative staff, I still took pride in watchingso many of the graduates go beyond anything I haddone. Others became immense assets to both theircommunity and the church. I like to think that I hadmade some contribution to their achievements.

AT: Are there any events in your career that re-ally stand out as memorable?

Sorenson: There are of course a great many ex-periences which warm my heart when I think ofthem-these often were what individual students

./

I was concerned about two things in particular: First, I wanted to helpstudents discover their worth and potential, not only for themselvesbut also for the cause of God and their service to fellow humans.Secondly, it took a lot of effort to find the necessary resources forneedy students and for the ongoing financial requirements of aquality educational institution.

did for me. However, there are two vignettes that Iwould like to share. One has to do with providingspecial assistance to a group and the other withserving as advocate for a very deserving student.

When I became president at Walla Walla College Isoon noted that in our wonderful student bodythere was little ethnic diversity. I also noted thatthere was considerable ethnic diversity within theNorth Pacific Union Conference, but potential stu-dents from some ethnic groups were not getting thequality educational experience that WWC offered. Idiscovered that two significant factors were at theroot of the problem. The first and primary one wasthat young people in some of these ethnic groupsdidn't have money enough for college tuition. Thesecond issue was related to the lack of ethnic diver-sity in the college faculty; students needed rolemodels among their teachers. So the college under-took to change both of these. We set out to raisesubstantial new funds from a variety of sources tobenefit ethnic students. We also made serious effortsto bring new faculty and staff to the campus withwhom ethnic students could identify. It was a begin-ning, and I am pleased to note that a number ofthese students who attended WWC have achievedmarvelous things and are today leaders in manyprofessions.

The second vignette that comes to mind is thestory of a very able student who was in several of myclasses and aspired to become a physician. She hadgood grades and had done well but was not out-standing. Yet she had many commendableattributes. When she sat for her MCAT exams (anaptitude test required for applicants) she did not do

weiLl felt the score was not representative of herability and track record. The prospect of her gainingentrance to the School of Medicine at Loma Lindalooked doubtfuL I took it upon myself to intercedeon her behalf. I sought out colleagues who had hadher in class and asked for them to write a letter ofsupport, which I also did.1 also spoke to the admis-sions director of the medical school and providedother supporting material which I thought would behelpfuL I'm pleased to say that she was accepted,largely due to our efforts. She went on to concludeher medical studies successfully and today is a ma-jor contributor as a professional in the community

where she lives How satisfying it was to have had asmall part in making her life the richer and better.

AT: Do you have any words of wisdom for in-coming Adventist administrators, especiallycollege presidents?

Sorenson: Remember that David wanted to knowafter the battle if his son Absalom was safe.This wasthe foremost question in his heart! Is my son safe? Itdid not matter that he and his army had won thegreat battle of the day.

This same question is still asked by parents today.Is my son, my daughter safe? The mission remains asalways, that students come to know a personal Christand give their hearts to Him. Additionally it is criticalthat the academic experience be rich and challeng-ing.This only happens when well qualified andcommitted teachers demonstrate with their livesthat they care. It is imperative that each studentshould see in every instructor not only a mentor buta friend and companion. Selection ofteam membersthen becomes the all-important task, do it with ulti-mate care.

AT: Now that you are retired and can look backon your career, is there anything you would havedone differently-any regrets?

Sorenson: Sure-lots of things. You get old toosoon and smart too late! The key is that it's motivewhich gives character to an act. I can only say thatmy motive was always to only do good, and on judg-ment day I hope that my Maker will remember this.We all make errors in judgment along the way, buthopefully we won't make the same ones twice. Somethings are painful to recall, but on balance the Lordand others were kind and patient with me.

AT: What do you see as the Adventist church'sbiggest challenges in the future?

Sorenson: How do we pass on the vision? How dowe stay on course and remain faithful to God's ex-pectations for His children? We must not lose sight ofour history and heritage. We must remain other-cen-tered and not be drawn to self-serving. Hence, in myview the single biggest challenge will be to keep thechurch and its institutions relevant in an age and so-ciety that are changing, often for the worst. Theyouth of today must be allowed to feel ownership inthe church and it operations if we are to have theircommitment and involvement.


/

[FEATURE]Pro.fes.sor n.

1.) a.A teacher of the high-

est rank in an institution of

higher learning. b. A teacher

or instructor 2.) One who

B Rue E W I Leo X

eorge Will has remarked that because ofhis profession as a social critic he tends

to be regarded as a scold. Deservedly, Imight say. As a faculty member chargedwith teaching biochemistry to freshmanmedical students I have acquired the

reputation of a grouch. As such, I can expand atgreat length on the derelictions in attitude, policiesand practices of Loma Linda University. Properlystimulated, I might even write such an article forAdventistToday. However, I find myself impelled tofinish such diatribes with "having said all that, I mustadd that Loma Linda has been good to me': To thattopic I now proceed.

When I moved from Boston to Loma Linda in 1965I had the feeling that I was stepping back in time.Many of the faces were familiar from growing-uparound Seventh-day Adventist academies andspending four years at Pacific Union College. The fa-miliar Seventh-day Adventist jargon assaulted myears. The administrative structure seemed likeNewbury Park Academy, only bigger.

My feeling was wrong. Loma Linda inevitablyshares much with my Seventh-day Adventist culturalbackground, but it is its own place. Loma Linda sel-dom looks to the future far more than it looksbackward.

Any place derives its character from its surround-ings and from the people in it. Surrounding LomaLinda is the "Inland Empire" half way between LosAngeles and Palm Springs, with the advantages anddisadvantages of both. In 1965 I described it as con-

gested but not civilized. The atmosphere wassmoggy enough to make my chest hurt while doingyard work. There were-and still are-no book-stores in the true sense of the word. Being a readingaddict I was ready to start walking just to get to theHarvard Square. Burin many ways it is better now. Itis just that the drive can be longer. Instead of six orseven miles to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts it is50 miles to the Palm Springs Desert Museum.

Redlands, which always had summer concerts inthe bowl, is slowly pulling itself up by its own boot-straps. When you are in town be sure to try the newItalian Restaurant "Rosemarino's': And of course, themusic at the University Church is consistently goodand sometimes reaches the sublime. I get my booksfrom Amazon.com. The smog is much abated.

For me the people have been more importantthan the surroundings. The university was smaller in1965, and even as an assistant professor I had accessto the School of Medicine deans, David Hinshaw,John Peterson, and Gordon Hadley. They were un-failingly supportive and ready to share their wisdom.The best piece of advice on teaching medical stu-dents I ever got was from David Hinshaw:"ifthestudents see you as being on their side, you can doalmost anything you want in the classroom': I havedemonstrated that principle, sometimes to my sor-row and occasionally to my satisfaction.

John Peterson was chief of the Endocrine Sectionof the Department of Internal Medicine, and he im-mediately incorporated me into the weeklyendocrine conferences, where I was welcomed by

lsladventist Ivolume 9 issue 3J:=' =====~~~ _

//'

Milton Crane, Jack Harris, Bob Rosenquist, and JeraldNelson. Jerry Nelson and I joined in a research col-laboration that continues to this day.

Several faculty from my PUC days had movedsouth, including Graham Maxwell, Paul Stauffer andIvan Neilsen. PUC's loss was a distinct gain for LomaLinda, and for me.

My first department chairman was RaymondMortensen. Of towering reputation, tall and erect ofstature, stentorian of voice, dignity personified, hewas the authority on the history of Loma Linda, thenuances of its culture, and most of all on teachingmedical students. I followed him in that office, and ofcourse had to endure the inevitable question fromalumni:"are you the guy who has the unmitigatedgall to try to replace Dr. Mortensen?" And of course Ihad my answer ready, adapted from ThomasJefferson:"No one could replace Dr. Mortensen. Imerely replace him."

In the late 1960s both internal and external forceswere pushing LLU to add a liberal arts college to theexisting health profession schools. The trustees re-sponded by merging Loma Linda with La SierraCollege-a simple solution, but as it turned out notso easy to implement. In 1970 the academic vice-president, Robert Cleveland, asked me to serve on astanding committee charged with curriculum inno-vation. I had the fun of working with people likeWillard Meier, Fritz Guy, Walter Hamerslough, GeneRathbun and Betty Stirling and Iris Landa. Westarted with grandiose ideas about a new approachto general studies for the whole university andended up with a smallish program called Interdisci-

riculum committee. My ten-year stint in that posi-tion was not withoug interest. Making a friend ofLeonard Werner is a major dividend. A side-benefithas been going to medical education meetings atplaces like Snowbird and Park City, Utah, Scottsdale,Arizona, and Asilomar on the Monterey Peninsula.Somebody had to do it.

As I write it strikes me that my friends are too nu-merous to mention, but I won't stop. There areGeorge Lessard and Ray Gonzalez, who share myview that the really important things are somehowconnected to an internal combustion engine. Rayalso shares a taste for P.G.Wodehouse and PatrickMcManus. Dick and Ardis Koobs were neighbors inthe early years and are still friends.

Central to everything are the students. With myshocking memory for names (I am no Gordon Hadleyor Bill Hooker) the number of faces that I recognizebut can't quite place is very large. Dean and RogerHadley, Phil Roos, Berneva Adams, Carl Sandberg andElmar Sakala were in the group that broke me in dur-ing the 70s. I am far beyond the point where thefreshmen look younger every year, but they alwayslook very good.

There have been changes, the most striking beingthe much larger proportion of women in the medicaland dental classes. In the laboratory, slide rules werereplaced by pocket calculators and laptops. Chalkand blackboards were replaced by overhead projec-tors followed by PowerPoint presentations.

Alongside the onrush of medical and dental stu-dents has been the leisurely trickle of graduatestudents. From Bill Kersey from Southern California

The best piece of advice on teaching medical students I ever got was fromDavid Hinshaw:/lif the students see you as being on their side, you can doalmost anything you want in the classroom': I have demonstrated thatprinciple, sometimes to my sorrow and occasionally to my satisfaction.,

plinary Studies, or"lnterdip"for short. It was a shortand happy venture into the academic life.

Interdip lasted a few years, and the merger a bitlonger. In 1990 La Sierra and Loma Linda split.Norman Woods, soon to leave his post as presidentof the university, asked me to help restructure fac-ulty governance. With my characteristic lack of goodsense I accepted the chair of what became theInterschool Faculty Advisory Council. That placedme as an observer at some of the historic meetingsof the constituency and the trustees as Loma Lindamade the transition to a health science university.After our successful re-accreditation by WASC Igratefully shuffled off the coil of campus politics.

As Lyn Behrens, another good friend, was movingfrom her position as dean to president she asked meto assume the chair of the School of Medicine cur-

through Lloyd Juriansz from Canada, Rene Weiss andMilton Drachenberg from Argentina to Rong Wangfrom Beijing, they have kept me from sinking too farinto mediocrity as well as becoming colleagues andfriends.

Loma Linda is my children's home, but not myhome. I just don't feel at home here. That botheredme for years. It bothers me no longer. Loma Linda ispart of the Christian tradition, which as G. K.Chesterton pointed explains how I can feel homesickat home.

When I welcome newcomers to our university, Itell them "Loma Linda is a strange place - but it is agood place':

Bruce Wilcox, PhD, received his doctorate from theUniversity of Utah in 7962. He is Professor of Biochemis-try in the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University.

volume 9 issue 3 I adventist 119

//'

[FEATURE]

• Col-por-teur n. 1.) A peddler of devotional literature.

ephaniah Ncube has been selling religiousand health books for 17 years. He is one ofsome 400 Seventh-day Adventist literatureevangelists helping distribute books for thePacific Press Publishing Association, located

in Nampa, Idaho. They are a rare breed.A long time ago I spent two years selling the same

kind of books, and when I heard of Ncube I wanted tofind out how and why he does it and stays with it so

long. While some of the timehe goes door to door, most ofhis work involves following upon leads, generated by pro-motional response cards,coded with his number andleft in churches, medical of-fices, and other places. Peoplewho find the card appealingwrite on it their address' andtheir request for more infor-mation and mail it to thePacific Press.The Pressnotesthe code and mails the cardback to him All he has to do istelephone and make an ap-

pointment for a personal visit, then go to the homeand make his sales presentation. If the prospectivecustomer likes the books and wishes to order, Ncubeaccepts their check for a deposit and arranges to de-liver the books later. Then he sends the order to thePacific Pressand gets a shipment delivered by UnitedParcel a few days later. He takes this to the customerand collects the balance, or arranges for an install-ment payment plan.Does this sound easy?

Deceptively so. Ncube spent 15 of those years in Af-rica, in his home state of Zimbabwe and in otherstates as well. He attended Solusi College and got abachelor's degree in religion before taking up what is

20 adventist today volume 9 issue 3

JAMES H. STIRLING

called "the literature ministry." He told me that most ofthe people he talked to there were hospitable andfreely expressed their appreciation for the religious lit-erature. However, they were poor, and if they orderedthe books at all it was with a payment plan running tomany months. Here in America for the past two years,he has found people with much more discretionarymoney but with much less interest in religion. "Toobusy," they say. "Not enough time to read." They showlittle interest in discussing religion. Wherever possible,however, Ncube tries at least to say a prayer for theirwelfare before he leaves.

That interest in the spiritual welfare of his prospec-tive clients is what keeps Ncube going. He says that ifmoney is the chief concern of people doing his kind ofwork they will be disappointed. Literature evangelists,once called "colporteurs," must be driven by a searchfor souls. In his prayers in the homes of prospects aswell as in his own home before going out, and at everystep of his work, he expresses his feeling of depen-dence on God. As he talks to people about the booksand Bibles in his display he calls their attention tothemes many had never considered or had forgottenabout. He confronts them with their need to give Goda place in their life.

As a literature evangelist Ncube does what he con-siders to be equivalent to the work of a pastor in thepulpit, except that he is more personal and reachespeople who do not go near churches. I asked himwhat he thought his standing was in the eyes of otherchurch members. "Ah," he said,"that is the hardestpart." Although Ellen White declared that all churchmembers should be involved in the distribution ofgospel literature, and that colporteurs were doingwork equivalent to that of other ministers, peopledon't see it that way. The church as a whole is not con-cerned. One minister told him he was wasting his time.He gets no support from the church. He is set up as anindependent businessman who gets a business Ii-

J - - __ --- _

/

cense from the city and pays sales taxes to the county.He buys at wholesale from the publisher and sells atretail to the customers. He must make his living offthe difference, his profit margin. What would happen,I asked him, if by some stroke of fortune the confer-ence should decide to take him on as a salariedemployee and guarantee a monthly stipend? Hewasn't so sure that was a good idea;there was some-thing about the uncertainty that gave him theincentive to get out and explore the leads to cus-tomer interest.

I had talked to an officer of the local Adventist con-ference about their involvement in the colporteurministry. The officer told me that many years ago theconference did support literature evangelists, andtheir subsidies ran to half a million dollars annually.When conference funds generally began to run shortthey started looking at the cost-benefit ratios of theirdifferent operations, including the colporteur work.Their analysis concluded with the recommendationthat since there were few identifiable returns fromwhat the colporteurs were doing, the subsidy shouldbe stopped. Another of the challenges to the colpor-teur.

So then why do people like Zephaniah Ncumbecontinue year after year in this line of ministry? He isconvinced that God has ordair.ed this line of work,and that if he puts forth his effort God will do his part.If he prays hard enough God will open the windowsof heaven and pour out a blessing.

Ncube has ambitious plans for his life. He has afamily including his wife Sithembiso and two school-age daughters. He has a part-time hourly paid job,works part-time as colporteur, and studies full time ata nearby university in a graduate master's degree pro-

As a literature evangelistNcube does what he consid-ers to be equivalent to thework of a pastor in the pulpit,except that he is more per-sonal and reaches people whodo not go near churches.

gram. He expects to return to his native Zimbabwewith a doctoral degree to serve as a marriage andfamily counselor.

He faces a very challenging life, but he has hadpractice in meeting challenges in the past 17 years.He admits that the literature ministry is not for every-one. Only those who can dedicate themselves to aspiritual task and can live in an atmosphere of prayerwill succeed at it. But whoever does it will face a verychallenging task.

Continu.edfrom page 13

Jere Patzer is the most visionary president inthe NAD, and what he andBruce Johnstonhave done for missions is remarkable. DonSchneider is/the mostlikable administrator intheNAD. His message is very simple, but helives what he preaches.

AT:What kinds of criteria do administra-tors (conference presidents, union anddivision officers) use to evaluate other con-ference pr~sidents?

RM: Presidents are so different thatcom-pari sons are probably not valid. Conservativetraditionalists love people of that persuasion,but others thinktheyare too rigidand nar-row-minded. Some presidents emphasizegrowth and evangelism tothe exclusion of al-most anything else. They have a greatreputation with those who have the same pri-ority. Arnong my peers, Ithink the mosthighly respected attribute is the ability tomotivate pastors and st.ill be loved by them.In a group of leaders, some leaders emerge asoutstanding, and usually are recognized. Thatquality is not always definable/it is just there.It comes in many shapes, skills and colors.

AT:..What isthe great€!st con.tribution aconference president can make to theChurch?

RM: Cr~atinga unified vision for both pas-tors and congregations of what the churchcould and should become. The days ofgrowth for its own sake are over, and pastorsand church members are asking "growthintowhat?" Members want a church that is lovingand fulfilling, aplacevvhere their needs aremet. Mygoal as president was to calt train,inspire, and unite pastors Who will growchurches that meet current and eternal needsin a grace-filled atmosphere. When that hap-penshoth God and members are happy, andpastors love th~ir work.

Ralph Martin, nowretireo, pastoreo for 20 yearsbefore~erving as amin isterial secretary in Oregonand Northern California. He was thepresident ofNevada-Utah andPotomac conferences and theColUmbia Uhion Conference.

volume 9 issue 3 adventist today 21

/

r[FEATURE]

th ayContinued from page 11immigrants who do not speak English as a first lan-guage and do not contribute the amount of moneyneeded by the church to support its expensive infra-structure and educational system.

Administrators and those who sit on ConferenceExecutive Boards seek ways to counter these trends.Our leaders implement programs that are supposedto make us pastors more effective. We travel aboutthe country to study successful Sunday churches.Toooften the pastor returns to his parish, implementswhat he has learned in the megachurch and is re-warded for his creative efforts by being fired.

Some suggest that if we pastors were more dedi-cated, more spiritual, better preachers, worked harder,then things would improve. Others think the answerlies in accountability. Accountability! That's the an-swer. One can defend this statement to a certaindegree. The Adventist pastor is theoretically account-able to the conference president. The reality is thatthe conference president knows little or nothingabout what happens in the local church, unless thereis a significant problem. In congregational systems,the pastor is accountable to the local board. In theAdventist system, the local church technically neitherhires nor can it fire the pastor. There have been timeswhen a church board voted that the appointed pastorcannot preach on Sabbath and will have no officialfunction within the church. But they could not firehim.There have been some who suggest we have theworst of both worlds. We have neither a congrega-tional system nor do we have a classic hierarchicalstructure, despite the sworn testimony that a formerGeneral Conference president once gave in court.

In order to increase pastoral effectiveness, confer-ence and church leaders have attempted variousevaluation techniques. Most have ended in failure.Until there are measurable sanctions, both positiveand negative, I predict no evaluative process will besuccessful. Why should we endure an evaluation pro-cedure if nothing will change? However, ifthere is ameaningful incentive associated with evaluation, itwould change everything.

If three negative evaluations resulted in proba-tion or termination, this would catch our attention.If a fifteen or twenty percent salary increase cameafter three positive evaluations really have our at-tention! Until church leaders become seriousabout evaluation and demonstrate they are seriousby establishing meaningful penalties and rewards,don't waste your time or ours attempting to im-pose some new gimmick.

221adventist today I volume 9 issue 3

A case can be made that we have a system that re-wards mediocrity rather than excellence. We affirmstability and consistency. We value predictability. Weare low risk takers and do not take well to rocking theboat. Until these attitudes change, expect stasis.

Adventist pastors are not immune to family prob-lems. We have over the years separated from anddivorced our spouses. In the past, when a pastor sepa-rated or divorced, his church employment ended.Today, there are significant numbers of pastors andchurch leaders who have divorced and remarried, andnot been terminated. Our church members acceptthat their minister has broken relationships like any-one else.Congregations are willing to forgive him orher when divorce occurs and continue to accept hispastoral leadership.

Despite technological changes and the growingrole of distant learning, satellite communication anddownlinks, the local church continues to have an im-portant role in American society. There is need forskilled, dedicated women and men to fill our pulpits.But these pastors must not pretend they live in thesame world I did when I entered the pastorate.

Globalization is a term business uses to describeour market place. The church ignores globalization atits peril. It is here to ~tay and it is as important for uspastors to strategize with the global market in viewas it is for General Motors or Microsoft. Pastors todaywho cannot work with multicultural communitieswith diverse people and backgrounds will operatefrom a distinct disadvantage. Those who affirm andseek ways to incorporate diverse people willsucceed.

It is essential to have pastors who are competentpreachers, youth ministers, and evangelists. It isequally important that these people understand theforces that affect our society. Some ofthem buffet thechurch and its members; others provide opportunityfor God's kingdom to expand. Our center is the gospeland Jesus'love for people. The Adventist minister to-day has the greatest opportunity in history to ministerto the largest diversity of people ever assembled onplanet earth. Our challenge is to attract and keepthose who are willing and who have the expertise toaddress these opportunities. Success in this venturecomes not by accident, but by intention!

Lawrence Downing, D.Min. is Senior pastor of theWhite Memorial Church in LosAngeles. He is active inthe Distance Learning program in the School of Busi-ness and Management at La Sierra University andserves as a member of the White Memorial MedicalCenter Executive Board.

/

S T I R LIN Gyou may be assured of one thing, you will condemnthe work of the latter rain when it shall come. Foryou will see at that time far greater evidences of fa-naticism." The letter went on, in the same kind,cautious tone.

This story seems not to be in the six-volume biog-raphy by Arthur White. It's in an article he wrote:"Revival-the Time When God and Satan Work." (Re-view and Herald, April 21, 1972. Letter 76, 1886.) Itshouldn't be lost; we need it. I need it.

Adventists are being swamped with ads and invita-tions and excited stories that tell us a great revivalhas come. Prayer conferences, prayer summits,Prayerworks, prayer retreats.

I've been to five of these conferences, and I'veheard reports that troubled me. ("An angel was inthe aisle. A woman waved to him and he waved anddisappeared.") Stories of great outpourings ofpower.

I personally experienced a great wave of joy in a"prayer summit." And I've been blessed and com-forted. And sometimes bored, and often confused.

Well, it's a mixture, as a dear lady long ago told us arevival would be. Some gimmicks (as I see them) areused. Many long prayers can be tedious. I haven'tseen any disorderly moments. No speaking intongues. No dramatic healings, shouting, or loudweeping or"holy laughter." Nobody"prostrated bythe power of God." But many quiet tears. Momentsin the healing presence of God. Some healings, Ithink. Some life-changing experiences. Some dull-ness.

I have, after two years and many miles, a tentativeopinion: We may very well be seeing something thatcould be "a refreshing from the presence of theLord," with some silliness thrown in by the enemy toconfuse us. It would be a terrible mistake to throw itall out because there's a strange element or becausenot every speaker has "power from on high."

During the sermon Grainger couldsee something unusual. He said,"1noticed that the people seemedgreatly moved." He asked Daniels tospeak again Saturday night.At an altar call nearly everyone cameforward, and they all knew themeetings shouldn't end.

MAR Y A N

The Healdsburg Incident•Inthe summer of 1885 Ellen White was living in

Healdsburg, California, four blocks from the littleschool that later became Pacific Union Collegeand relocated to Angwin. James White had been

gone about four years.Healdsburg College needed a revival. Ellen White

prayed earnestly for revival, but it didn't happen. Sheleft for Europe in July but kept in touch with affairs inCalifornia's "wine country" on the Russian River.

W.C.Grainger was president of the college, and heinvited E.P.Daniels to preach at a Sabbath service.(Don't confuse him with A. G. Daniels; no relation-ship.)

Daniels was a good speaker, warm and winning,but not much of a manager of financial matters. Hehad asked to be excused from the ministry for awhileto get his affairs in order. He established a littleschool for stenographers in Oakland, and that's howthings stood when he went to Healdsburg to visitrelatives and Elder Grainger invited him to "take theservice" on Sabbath morning. The way Arthur Whitedescribes him, Daniels was "a man of somewhat un-stable character, but a good speaker and an earnestman."

During the sermon Grainger could see somethingunusual. He said,"1 noticed that the people seemedgreatly moved." He asked Daniels to speak againSaturday night.

The blessing continued, so he agreed to speaktwice on Sunday. At an altar call nearly everyonecame forward, and they all knew the meetingsshouldn't end. For five weeks the interest-and themeetings-continued.

There began to be some fanatical elements. Someprivate ideas were brought in. Some odd peoplepushed their way to the front. Daniels unwisely ac-cepted financial help from enthusiastic hearers. Itwasn't perfect, but the Lord was still using it.

Well into the autumn term, two men came fromthe conference office in Oakland to check out whatwas going on at the college. They asked questionsand listened and were afraid and said the meetingsshould end. So of course, they ended, but peoplewere unhappy. Ellen White, somewhere in Europe,was distressed. Her letter to the California confer-ence leadership is a gem.

"I wish to say,"she began, with uncharacteristic dif-fidence. "I wish to say some things in reference tothe revival at Healdsburg.1 wish to say (There it isagain! She's being careful not to hurt anyone.) I wishto say I am not in harmony with your treatment ofthis matter. That there were fanatical ones whopressed into that work I will not deny. But if youmove in the future as you have done in this matter,

volume 9 issue 3 I adventist today 123

/

[SOUNDINGS]

A Note From the Publisher June 2001It has been some time since I shared with

you what is happening behind the scenes atAdventist Today.

We are well into our ninth year of publica-tion. Building on the foundation laid by RayCottrell, Jim Walters, and Ervin Taylor whenthey established our magazine, we have beenable to take Adventist journalism to newheights.

John McLarty's editorials are a must read forevery thinking reader."The Essence of Advent-ism" in our January-February 2001 issue, and"Changing Churches" in the March-April issueare some of the best examples. There is moreto come, not only from McLarty's pen but alsofrom others who will explore the issues of hardjobs in the church, Sabbath School Quarterlymanagement of doctrines, structural changesin church administration, the health system,new trends in missions, spirituality in thechurch, the General Conference session in2005, and others.

Yes,there are those who are not comfortablewith the cutting edge of Adventism. It seemsthey would much rather consider Adventismfrom the point of view of Uriah Smith's Danieland Revelation than try to understand theirneighbor's problems, or discover whether theiradult children see relevance to the religion oftheir parents.

Francis Bacon said,"Read not to contradictand confute, nor to believe and take forgranted, nor to find talk or discourse, but toweigh and consider." Adventist Today seeks toexamine issues that are relevant to present-dayneeds. When we understand these issues fully,we can become better examples to both ourneighbors and our children.

In our annual survey, subscribers generallydescribed themselves as"middle of the road,"with a number who have found themselvesseparated from their usual church affiliations.

Regardless of which group they came from,those who took the time to describe them-selves and their needs all expressed a hungerfor news, information, and ideas which ourregular church periodicals do not carry.

Of significance to me, as I have reviewed thecomments, are the number who signed theirnames. They represent a cross section of minis-ters, teachers, and others of prominence inAdventism over the years, as well as"ordinary"members. Of course, no one is ordinary; all ourreaders are special.

Our paid subscribers continue to numberjust over 2,000. While many addresses are fromthe west coast, there is a remarkably good geo-graphic distribution, particularly where majorcolleges or other institutions are located. Wewould like to see more readers, and would ap-preciate your telling your friends about usand inviting them to join.

Someone has said that every new genera-tion must redefine the faith of its fathers. Ibelieve Adventist Today articulates a vision ofchurch and spiritual life that will recommenditself to our children. It is only beginning tomake its mark, however, and we hope it willplaya crucial role in shaping the future ofAdventist thinking and help make the church ahealthy, happy spiritual home for thoughtfulpeople from all backgrounds.

To do so, however, we will need help. We ap-preciate your subscription support, and hopeyou will continue to renew. But if you could gobeyond this to make an additional gift, large orsmall, it would help us to make our vision cometrue.

Your ongoing support makes AdventistToday possible, and we thank you. Yourcomments are invited.

Elwin Dunn, M.D.Publisher/Board Chair, AdventistToday

/

news a n a l s s

Documents