Record for 1991

2 07 1 R NA No n io t r A a lic b u EISSN 0819-5633 RDVOL 96 NO 2 January 19 1991 t—p Pos lia tra s Au by d re te is Reg Home Coming by Malcolm Ford Have you ever sat in a pew And sometimes wondered Where you were When taking in the view? I mean, when you analyse The "saints:" The withered old dame With the funny hat and certain mannerisms; The fastidious air-conditioned deacon; The Law abiding clique Judgment frowned; The unsteady pillar of the church Needing Spirit-level adjustment; The elder in a baggy suit Testimonies bound; The silent youth back-pewed Dumb with doctrine. The other day I sat in this Huge cathedral Showered in stained glass And heard an impeccable Psalm, An Oxford collect And a Bach cantata; And the congregation seemed well satisfied, Socially and psychologically adjusted. No hats or mannerisms; No whispered schisms; The strain to struggle to please God Seemed quite absent. I couldn't wait to get back To a peculiar people, Faithful to a spiritual naivete. I was overwhelmed with a Kind of homesickness. RECORD EDITORIAL Official Paper In Defence of Humanism Seventh-day Adventist Church South Pacific Division Phis editorial isn't about humanism, the Holy Spirit. I, too, would like to see Editor James Coffin revival and reformation. But the simple Associate Editors Gary Krause 1 but I wanted to be sure that you Bruce Manners would read it. fact is, /can't make other people spiritual Assistant Editor Joy Totenhofer However, this editorial is about some- when they aren't. Nor will they become Editorial Secretary Glenda Fairall Copy Editor Graeme Brown thing that a lot of people call humanism. spiritual just because I wring my hands Illustrator Wayne Louk And that is what I wish to defend. But and lament their lack of spirituality. Senior Consulting Editor Athal Tolhurst Correspondents Ray Baird, Lyn Bartlett, Terry first let me give a little background. But there is something I can do—and Butler, Ray Coombe, Aisake Kabu, Maua Kemo'o, During my years as a church pastor, I the church as a whole can do. We can Louis Solomon, Neroli Zaska Regional Reporters Robert Douglas, George tried to make my sermons interesting. I make every Sabbath worship service im- Drinkall, Chris Foote, Eric Greenwell, Larry Laredo, occasionally even made some inno- aginative, well-planned, carefully ex- Malcolm Potts, Leigh Rice, Lyndon Schick, Gordon Smith, Bill Townend vations in other parts of the Sabbath wor- ecuted, on time, smooth-flowing, varied, Local Reporters Church Communication Secretaries ship service. However, I had no real con- participatory, and deliberately struc- Subscriptions South Pacific Division, $A25.00 cept of the importance of Sabbath tured to create an environment in which $NZ28.75. All other regions, 5A48.25 $NZ55.50. Air mail postage rates on application. Order from Signs worship or its tremendous evangelistic the Holy Spirit can touch human Publishing Company, Warburton, Victoria 3799, and nurturing potential. hearts. Australia. Manuscripts All copy for the paper should be sent When I began working as an editor, I We can do everything humanly poss- to The Editor, RECORD, Signs Publishing Company, spent a lot more time in the pew, in many ible to create an environment that main- Warburton, Victoria 3799. Phone (059)66 9111. Telefax (059)66 9019. different Adventist churches. Suddenly I tains the interest of all ages and makes Printed weekly by Signs Publishing Company. viewed things from a new perspective. I revival and reformation more likely. discovered just how inspired—or Ellen White makes a comment that Directory of the South Pacific Division of the depressed—one can become as a result I've appreciated greatly and that has Seventh-day Adventist Church, 148 Fox Valley Road, Wahroonga, NSW 2076. of what goes on between 11 and 12 on virtually become my motto. She says, Phone (02) 489 7122. (Legal Trustee: Australasian Sabbath morning. As a result, I've be- "We must . not only strike the iron Conference Association Limited. Secretary: Tom Andrews, Assistant Secretaries: Richard Milne, come an active campaigner for improv- when it is hot but make the iron hot by Properties; Bruce Jackson, Finance.) ing Adventist worship. striking."—Evangelism, page 647. President Bryan Ball Now, when I talk about improvements Too many people are willing to sit Secretary Athal Tolhurst Treasurer Tom Andrews in worship I'm not talking about any- back and do nothing until the iron is hot. Assistant to President Gerald Clifford thing all that radical. I'm simply talking But that virtually guarantees that it never Associate Secretary Vern Parmenter about trying to inject new life into those will be hot. Too many people lament the Associate Treasurers Owen Mason, Lynray Wilson church's spiritual lethargy without realis- Field Secretary Arthur Ferch elements of worship that have withstood the test of time. ing that they can do something about it. Departments and Services: ADRA Harold Halliday (Director), Neil Hughes, I don't want to throw out the sermon And trying to do something about it isn't l'eter Truscott or bring in the disco lights. I don't want a "humanistic" solution. It's a sensible, Adventist Health Don Bain (Director), Harley to have a holy free-for-all each Sabbath divinely ordained solution. Stanton Adventist Media Centre Nat Devenish (Manager) morning. I want things to be done de- Certainly we should pray for revival Archivist and Statistician Roy Clifford cently and in order. and reformation. Certainly we must Auditing Service Max Mitchell, Eric Hokin, Ernie Moffitt, Neville Sawert, Robert Stratford But I do want each worship element always remember that it's God's Spirit— Christian Services for the Blind and Hearing used to the full—which isn't always hap- not humans and human programs—who Impaired Em Lemke Church Ministries Bryan Craig (Director and pening at present. If preaching is good, changes lives. But we must also remem- Sabbath School, Family Life), Wilfred Bili then superb preaching is even better. If ber that God usually works through (Stewardship), Colleen Buxton (Children's Ministry), human beings and other human means Barry Gane (Youth), Alwyn Salom (Personal singing edifies, then carefully planned Ministries), Eric Winter (Sabbath school) and directed singing edifies even more. If to bring about the desired changes. Communication, Public Affairs and Religious testimonies inspire, then better use of Somewhere in my reading I came Liberty Ray Coombe Education Les Devine, Barry Hill, Ian Howie, Bob testimonies will exhilarate. And cer- across the statement, "We must pray as if Spoor tainly we need to seek as much church- none of our efforts will accomplish any- Health Food Eugene Grosser (Director), Greg Gambrill, Lance Rogers, Alan Staples, Ray Windus member involvement as possible. thing; and we must put forth effort as if Ministerial Association John Gate But the obstacle I encounter repeat- none of our prayers will accomplish any- Publishing Bruce Campbell edly is this comment: "All we really need thing." That's a good rule of thumb. Risk Management Service Robert Smith (Manager) is greater commitment and the infilling And, contrary to what some say, it isn't Trust Services Jim Lansdown of the Holy Spirit. If this happened, we humanism to acknowledge the crucial would find worship interesting. Simply role that we must play. Cover: Malcolm Ford writes trying to upgrade the worship service is The weakness of humanism is that it from Auckland, New Zealand. humanistic." leaves God out of the picture. But it's Now, don't get me wrong. I do believe equally dangerous to leave humans out that the church needs total commitment of the picture. and the indwelling and outworking of James Coffin. 2 RECORD January 19, 1991 LETTERS Pretty Woman Mixed Emotions cause it's impossible for me to write to Re the item "Not-So-Pretty" in the The report "TTUC Session Faces them individually, I'm writing to you to "Culture Vulture" section of Youth on Challenges" (November 24) brought me thank them for sending books, Signs, Record (December 1): It takes a news- mixed emotions. I was dismayed, but not RECORDS etc. paper film critic ignorantly out of con- surprised, that the number of members Their kind messages and other manu- text. The movie Pretty Woman is said to leaving through the back door of our scripts they sent were also very much ap- be "about the virtues of selfishness and church is approximately 46 per cent preciated. I do look forward to receiving conspicuous consumption." What the (that's close to half!) of the number of any more books and magazines that editor obviously doesn't realise is that the converts entering the front door. readers may care to send. My address is movie is very much opposed to these. Yet my disappointment was countered PO Box 89, Via Gizo, Western Province, I think it's time the church grew out of by the assurance that our administrators Solomon Islands. John Kari, Mamu. the idea that nothing good can come out now not only publicly recognise the of Hollywood. Despite all the rubbish existence of the exit doors, but are Impressed that's delivered, movies are still an ex- endeavouring to shut them. I was very impressed with George tremely good medium to make social However, I doubt that the responsi- Burnside's Viewpoint article "Eyes on statements. bility for addressing this problem rests the Middle East" (December 8, 1990). It The piece cynically concludes with entirely with our denominational revealed the earnestness, convictions the comment, "Sounds really uplifting leaders.

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