International Journal for Pastors September 2004 A L,.1 T.©j/"©"> IA * \!-j %X_,.

Is the Genesis Creation account literal? Amid the far-reaching, contemporary shifts occurring in significant Christian circles, what are the implications of dismissing the Genesis Creation epic as a literal account of how the present world order began? Norman R. Gulley f-\ Sexual misconduct in ministry: victims and wounds 1 The fifth in Ministry©s series on ministers and Ftowers, K-fehad Hasel Roland Hegsted, Kathteen Kuntaraf, Ekteharelt Muelier, Jan Pautoi, Robert Peach, sexual wrongdoing Aogzl Man*) ttorirtguez, Penny Shaft "WSSam Shea, Miroslav Kis Zinte Pastoral Assistant Editors: John C. Cress, Fredrfck Preaching beyond modernism (part 2) Russeft, Maybn Scburch, L«-«n Seitwki ©©,, taternatfwat Advisors: AtejarKtroBulton.fohn © : How must preaching change as many world cultures ten Manafchi©Zac^weus©fewfieftiJ, GqbM Msuw, move into seriously different ways of thinking and te» Omwa, Qarid Ostaame, ©Peter ftaawfel*, viewing the world? Pastoral Advtsors: lesfe Baumgartner, S. Peter Gerhard van Wyk and Rudolph Meyer

Ministering in the midst of competing A

A powerfully honest story of personal growth in Circulation queries, renewals, new subscriptions, ministry: Year of World Evangelism feature address xhatigejii le^il: riwWSPS©.adWBti^Srg phon«: 501-« 0.&S10; fax J01-680-6S02, Fredrick Russell

with name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and The shape of the emerging church: Sodat Security nufnber (if U.S. citizen or possessing a U.I Social Statrfiy number). S«W atftotW " © © a pastor©s view (part 1) (fmi^tmia^a tp l^Spl ofet OsJymbia Kite, Silver What form is the church taking as it moves out of the SMng, old "givens" and into something new? Ryan). Bell 4 An enemy defeated: death and resurrection A fresh, Christocentric view of the twenty-fifth Seventh-day Adventist expression of faith Richard Rice

» ©I From panic to purpose: the process and benefits of planning a preaching calendar Derek j. Morris

MINISTRY September 2004 T R

YOUR MAGAZINE PROVIDES GOOD INSIGHT INTO THE TEACHINGS OF THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH. AT THE SAME TIME, IT IS RESPECTFUL OF THE FACT THAT NOT ALL WILL BE IN AGREEMENT WITH THESE TEACHINGS.

s someone who deeply appreciates who have engaged in adultery, fornica in agreement with these teachings. I Athe ministry and friendship of tion, or other types of egregious sexual particularly enjoyed David Zucker©s arti Dwight Nelson, I am somewhat reluc sins should be permanently barred from cle, "Bless Me: An Opportunity Missed?" tant to submit this response to his article "official" denominational ministry. (March 2004) and Praban Saputro©s arti "Requiem and Resurrection for a Fallen Again, my friendship with and cle "Presenting Jesus to Muslims: A Brother." The article, as expected, was respect for Dwight make this letter diffi Suggested Approach" Guly 2004). well-written. On the whole, it was bibli cult to write. Perhaps he could write the Rev. T. Patrick Bradley, Cheyenne, cal and in keeping with the Christian "other side of the coin" with equal pas Wyoming. principles of love and forgiveness. It was, sion and articulation an article entitled however, surprisingly unbalanced. "Repentance and Restitution: The want to express my appreciation for Surely Dwight is not ready to put the Conversion of a Fallen Brother." Until I the article in the May 2004 issue enti serial pedophile back into the children©s that happens, we are left with one side tled ©Traction or Distraction" by Lloyd Sabbath School room, or the adulterous of a two-sided coin, a logical and eccle Wyman. What a powerful and timely pastor back into the position of marriage siastical impossibility. article! So powerful that I plan to share counselor! Christian fellowship? Yes, of David Asscherick, pastor, Troy, Michigan. it with all of our pastors at our fall pas course! Christian leadership? Dwight tors© meeting. May each of us in the seems to say, unequivocally and univer t has been my pleasure to be receiving ministry be found faithful to our calling. sally, "yes." I Ministry for the past several years. Your —John Loor, jr., president, Montana Dwight cites the example of Peter. openness to articles by pastors and min Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Fair enough. Let us remember that isters of other faiths is a refreshing Peter had repented and "wept bitterly." change. I receive so many denomina hank you so much for sending Note carefully the order: repentance, tional-specific magazines pushing their TMinistry. It is the only magazine I then reinstatement. Too, it should be own agenda. Some of these border the read from cover to cover. noted that reinstatement into leader insulting. As a board certified health care In your letter section of May 2004, F. ship is not guaranteed. Consider Moses chaplain, I try to remain open to learn A. Hertwig from Missouri asked a ques on the border of Canaan: public sin, ing about all religious teachings. It is tion. I would like to respond from public punishment, no reinstatement. impossible to work with the sick in a sec Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child." "To whom much has been committed, ular hospital without being at least This is a promise, the promise being the more will be required." Leaders pos aware of the teachings of all religions. the training children receive will be with sess great responsibilities, and thus, at Your magazine provides good insight them all of their lives. What they do times, receive severer punishment. into the teachings of the Seventh-day with the training depends on their deci It may not sound "accepting," but Adventist Church. At the same time, it is sions. However, the training remains. my position is that ministers or leaders respectful of the fact that not all will be Chris Slye, Hillsboro, Texas.

nthly and haven,^paid for a subscription,^ II.Seventh-flap Acfteiitist roinisters. We believe, however; :thptthe ©time,has come for, clergy everywhere-, to experience a, resurgence of faith in landfaffegi:e

September 2004 MINISTRY EDITORIAL

Horizontal humility

new generation from diverse or create, or even that the church itself backgrounds and complex situa owns. We have our authority, thank God, Ations challenges the church©s only from Jesus Christ Himself, through traditional way of preaching." the witness of the Spirit. WlLLMORE D. EVA This straightforward description of One of the best illustrations of this the thorny realities that confront us as "standing alongside" approach may be preachers is the opening sentence of a found in that fabulously suggestive story significant article in this issue of Ministry of Philip©s encounter with the Ethiopian by Gerhard Van Wyk and Rudolph financial officer (Acts 8). At the direction Meyer, "Preaching Beyond Modern of the Holy Spirit, Philip goes "down" ism," part 2 (see page 12). While their from Jerusalem to Gaza. He positions basic concern is not new, what they himself close to this man©s chariot bring to this observation is thought- entourage (verse 29). He then runs right provoking and enlightening. humility, in which the preacher no up to the chariot, and listening to what Behind their thinking is the fact that longer projects himself as the final the man is reading, he asks the ministers face a powerful new and per authority, and the members of the lis Ethiopian if he is understanding it. On plexing tide of worldview. Thus, pastors tening congregation as essentially the backdrop of this horizontal man-to are quite easily seduced into experi inferior in their grasp of what the man approach, the way is opened for a menting with schemes and strategies to preacher may haughtily have pro heart-to-heart encounter; and it doesn©t entice people into church and keep claimed. take long for the man to actually ask for them securely seated in the pews! Good Van Wyk and Meyer are looking for a baptism. as they may be, many of these schemes fundamental attitudinal shift amongst Van Wyk and Meyer, of course, have a way of developing into shallow, us, a re-evaluated understanding of who approach their subject from the point of gimmicky fixes that demean the dignity the minister is or sees himself or herself view of the realities that underlie the and high calling of bona fide Christian to be in relation to those who hear modernist/postmodernist debate, both ministry, worship, and preaching. Christian preaching. of which present potentially serious dan When it comes to possible gim The problem among us is that there is gers to authentic Christian faith and mickry, some novel way of preaching is a significant school of preaching preaching. often uppermost in our minds. We thought, hubristic "pulpiteering" as a Without question one of the most urgently want to be relevant and mean manifestation of legitimate confidence serious of these dangers is the way the ingful worthy objectives, to say the and the distinct spinoff of some sort of largely unquestioned knowledge- least but in our attempts to become divine unction. As people have reacted oriented modernist approach has a way so, our preaching can lose its spiritual more and more against this overbearing of puffing up (1 Cor. 8:1, KJV) those who authenticity, biblical depth, and even its attitude, some of us, in turn, have believe that through biblical research God-given reason for existing. responded by moving too far in the (mere "exegesis" from a liberal or con In our desire to mold our preaching opposite direction. This is not what this servative point of view) has led them to according to contemporary need also call for humility is all about. possess "the truth." So they come to the worthiest of motivations we tend It is, instead, a call for us to take more feel justified and duty-bound to to concentrate on altering the content of a horizontal posture among our peo pompously condemn and dismiss every and style of preaching, as if that were all ple and among people in general. We thing at variance with their research. that is necessary to remedy the prob are called to stand alongside them. It is this attitude and its kin that, with lem. Important as content and style are, While this call is also not new in itself, it good reason, Van Wyk and Meyer are however, there is more, and this is can by all means do with some serious calling us away from, as we confirm our where the insights of Van Wyk and attention and adaptation here and now. person-to-person ministry and our iden Meyer are helpful. Deep in ourselves, we have to know that tity in Jesus Christ and in the verities of They call for a new kind of pastoral our authority is not something we own the faith once delivered to the saints. H

MINISTRY September 2004 24-hour period. No contextual demand is present in Genesis 1 to do otherwise. (2) The recurring phrase "evening and morning" (Gen. 1:5, 8,13,19,23, 31) occurs in 37 verses outside of Genesis (e.g., Exod. 18:13; 27:21) and always designates a 24-hour period. (3) The ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd) used with yom (same texts as above) occur hundreds of times in the Old Testament (e.g., Exod. 12:15; 24:16; Lev. 12:3) and always des ignate a 24-hour period. (4) The creation of the sun "to rule the Is the Genesis day" and the moon "to rule the night" (Gen. 1:16-18) on the fourth day suggests literal 24- hour days for days 4-7, and nothing in the Creation text suggests that days 1-3 were different. (5) Scripture best interprets Scripture, where a less clear passage is interpreted by a account literal? clearer passage or passages. The fourth com mandment of Exodus 20:11 (cf. Exod. 31:15-17) reflects the Genesis account of Creation, assuming the fact that the biblical uch of the Christian world Creation days were literal. Norman R. Gulley no longer believes Genesis 1 (6) Days plural (Hebrew yamim) occurs 608 and 2 as a literal account of times in the Old Testaments and always des creation. Since Darwin, nat ignates 24-hour periods. ural processes are thought (7) If Moses intended to mean day-age, Mto explain the origin of life,1 and Christian instead of a 24-hour period, he would have scholars have attempted to accommodate sci used the Hebrew term ©olam? ence by interpreting the Genesis record in the light of the current scientific worldview.2 So, Opposing worldviews for example, the latest Catechism of the What effect might theistic evolution have Catholic Church (1994) views the Genesis upon our understanding of the goodness or Creation account as symbolic. love of God? In 1991 scientist David Hull of Carl Henry said, "The Bible does not Northwestern University evaluated the evolu require belief in six literal 24-hour creation tionary process as "rife with happenstance, days on the basis of Genesis 1-2," 3 and contingency, incredible waste, death, pain, Gordon Lewis and Bruce Demarest believe and horror. . . . The God implied by evolu "The most probable conclusion is that the six tionary theory and the data of natural history consecutive creative acts were separated by ... is not a loving God who cares about His long periods of time."4 productions. He is ... careless, indifferent, Prior to Darwin, some theologians referred almost diabolical. He is certainly not the sort to Creation days as literal because of the lit of God to whom anyone would be inclined to eral Sabbath,5 or referred to the Sabbath in pray."9 Creation week,6 or supported the literal days It should be kept in mind that Darwin's as described in the biblical account of the Origin of Species is, at least in part, a worldview Creation.7 In 1998 Robert Reymond presented conceived to explain evil in nature/0 whereas seven hermeneutical principles for interpret God created the universe through Christ (Col. Norman R. Gulley, ing the days in Genesis 1 and 2: 1:15, 16; Heb. 1:1, 2), who later revealed God Ph.D., is research (1) The preponderate meaning of a term as love 0ohn 14:9b; 17:23), and both were as professor of systematic theology, Southern should be maintained unless contextual con selfless and loving in creation as they are in Adventist University, siderations suggest otherwise. The Hebrew salvation 0ohn 3:16; Heb. 13:8). Collegedale, word for day, yom in the singular, dual, or plu In stark contrast Satan is self-centered (Isa. Tennessee. ral, occurs 2,225 times in the Old Testament, 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:12-18). It was he who and the overwhelming majority designate a launched a war against God in heaven (Rev.

September 2004 MINISTRY method of creation. . . Light and Dark ...... Luminaries That's why Scripture says Adam . . . . . Sky and Sea ...... Birds and Fish introduced sin and death to the world ...... Land . Animals and Humanity (Rom. 5:12). It was Adam and not His (Plants) (Plants for food) Creator who brought death into the Day 7...... Sabbath world. It was Christ who came to die to put death to death and liberate a 12:3-8) and on earth, which affected natural evolutionary process, in fallen race (Rom. 4:25). It was the one the natural world (Gen. 3:1-19). Christ which the horrors of torture and act of the first Adam that caused this called Satan the "prince of this world" death over billions of years were nec death-condemnation, and the one act (John 12:30-32), and Paul called him essary to create humans, this would of the Second Adam's death that pro the "god of this age" (2 Cor. 4:4, be the longest and crudest holocaust vided salvation (Rom. 5:18). NKJV). Thus evil in this world (moral ever. At least Calvary was a holocaust Christ did not use death to create and natural) must be credited to him, that others brought upon Christ, but humans in Eden. Instead, the record is for "God is love" (1 John 4:7-16), and this would be a holocaust that He that He died to save humans at His love defeated Satan at the Cross brought upon the animal kingdom. Calvary. Given a cosmic controversy (Rev. 12:9-13; John 12:31, 32). Theistic One must look at all biblical truths in which Satan hates Christ and has evolutionists, those who believe God in the light of the revelation of God at engaged in a process of disinforma used evolution to create, do not dis Calvary. The revelation at Calvary was tion about God (Hebrew word rekullah cern the radical difference between made in history. It had witnesses. As of Ezek. 28:15, 16),lz it makes sense these two worldviews. such it provides empirical (historical) that a natural method of creation Why would God use an unjust "sur evidence of how loving God is, even through horror is something he vival of the fittest" method to create asking His Father to forgive those who (Satan) would promote, for it effec when justice is the foundation of His heaped cruelty upon Him (Luke tively destroys the drawing power of throne (Ps. 89:14)? Why would God, 23:34). Assuming that this same Calvary. Creation through horror is who asks that "all things be done Christ, by utilizing a systematized way compatible with Satan's hatred decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40) of creating life, heaped cruelty on ani against Christ at the Cross and not do the opposite in the torturous mals, not for part of a day, but for compatible with a loving Creator- processes of mega-time? How is such a billions of years, is not a historical Redeemer who dies for others rather model possible in view of His divine datum, but a metaphysical assump than inflicting death upon them. providence in history (Rom. 11:36; tion that Calvary can rightly question. 8:28-30)? Why would God use death The fact that the onlooking uni What a nonliteral creation to create humans in His image (Gen. verse shouted for joy at the creation does to the Sabbath 1:26, 27) when He is love? If He used of this world 0ob 38:4-7) is inexplica In Genesis 1 there is a correspon death to create, then why did He warn ble if Christ involved animal dence between days 1-3 and days 4-6, Adam of the evil of death (Gen. 2:17) suffering for billions of years. Christ where the first three days give the and expose the depths of that evil called creation "very good" (Gen. areas formed by Elohiym, the all-pow through dying to save humans from 1:31), and that's worth singing about. erful God, and the last three days give the penalty of death 0ohn 3:16; Rom. After Christ's ascension, beings in the areas filled by Him. This can be 6:23)? If death is the last enemy to be heaven worshiped God as worthy and charted as follows (see box above). destroyed at the end of the contro deserving of glory because He created The climax is not the creation of versy (1 Cor. 15:26), then how could all things (Rev. 4:10, 11). That would humans, as it is in theistic evolution God use it to create before and after be impossible if He created through ary theory, but the gift of the the beginning of the controversy? eons of cruelty. Sabbath. For the narrative ends with Because a "particular doctrine of Christ's warning to Adam about the the Sabbath in 2:1 (it should be God is a prerequisite for evolution's tree of knowledge of good and evil, remembered, of course, that chapter success,"" theistic evolutionists stating that eating its fruit would bring divisions came into being long after unwittingly promote a view of God death (Gen. 2:17), indicates that death the time of writing). Karl Earth says that is helpful to the mission of the was not yet a present reality. Here evil the Sabbath "is in reality the corona controversy. This doctrine distorts the and death are associated with dis tion of His work" for "not man but Bible's overall view of God being a obedience to the Creator. When Christ the divine rest on the seventh day is loving Creator. re-creates the earth, there will be no the crown of creation."13 more curse (Rev. 22:3). Clearly curses God's blessing (Hebrew, barafc) was Distorted truth about Cod and death are linked to disobedience given only to the seventh day. It was If God chose to create through the and have nothing to do with Christ's set apart from the other six, and in

MINISTRY September 2004 this way it was made holy. Those who deny a literal seven-day The word Sabbath is derived from Creation week, attempting to found the Hebrew word sbf, meaning to the Sabbath in the Sabbath-keeping Premium art. "cease" or "desist" from a previous practice of Christ, overlook the fact activity. On day six, Christ judged that the preincarnate Christ, who More choices. creation as "very good" (Gen. 1:31), gave Moses the Ten Commandments and hence complete (Gen. 2:3). For on Sinai, inscribed the following rev "in six days the Lord made the heav elation in stone (Exod. 24:12): "For in Best value. ens and the earth, and on the seventh six days the Lord made the heavens day He abstained from work and rest and the earth, the sea, and all that is ed" (Exod. 31:17, NIV). Therefore His in them, but he rested on the seventh 6OODSALT "works were finished from the foun day. Therefore the Lord blessed the for Ik wrhhi(k k:ukr in dation of the world" (Heb. 4:3, Sabbath day and made it holy" (Exod. Christian presentation art ml imagery. NKJV). Clearly the work of Creation 20:11, NIV). was finished on the sixth day of cre God created all things through ation week, contrary to an ongoing Christ (Heb. 1:1, 2). Christ as "Lord of evolutionary process. the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28) made the Moreover, the Genesis Creation Sabbath for all humans (Mark 2:27). record differentiates between God as In keeping the Sabbath during His life Elohiym (transcendent, omnipotent), on earth, Christ endorsed the six-day who creates (bard) by speaking things Creation account. In His death, into existence in Genesis 1: 3, 6, 9, 11, Christ's followers "rested on the 14, 20, 24, 26, from the added name Sabbath in obedience to the com Yahweh (imminent, covenant) God mandment" (Luke 23:56b, NIV; cf. who forms (ya$af) humans in Genesis Exod. 20:8-11). 2:21, 22. Yahweh Elohiym is only intro So it is not possible to justly duced in Genesis 2:4, where He is ground Sabbath keeping only in always Yahweh Elohiym (11 times). Christ's incarnational practice and Here is God-up-close creating humans teaching without reference to the in a distinct way to His creation of all Creation week, because He began His the rest of created reality in Genesis 1, practice of Sabbath keeping at the GOQOSAIT and in contrast to theistic evolution end of Creation week and presents EASTER where humans are the product of ran the Genesis Creation account as liter COLLECTION dom mutation. To say God intervened al history in His preincarnate VOLUME 2 in the process isn't evolution, nor does teaching—because He was there. No the process agree with Genesis 1, 2. wonder the incarnate Christ speaks of In Scripture the Sabbath is a cel the creation of Adam and Eve as a lit ebration of the finished works of eral fact (Matt. 19:4, 5). Christ, in Creation (Gen. 2:1-3, Exod. 20:8-11), in the Red Sea deliverance Further evidence for the (Deut. 5:15), and on Crucifixion literal Genesis Creation Friday (John 19:30). Christ created account Adam on Creation Friday, and on The whole book of Genesis is struc Crucifixion Friday He became the tured by the word "generations" Second Adam for the world in His (tdledot), so the statement, "these are collections are death (Luke 23:44-24:6). the generations of the heavens and produced from over 11,000 high quality art Crucifixion Friday, like Creation the earth" (Gen. 2:4) is as literal as and photographic originals Friday, was a beginning for the race. "these are the generations of Noah" created by award-winning artists. The Sabbath celebrates (1) Christ's (Gen. 6:9) or as literal as God's prom 5^ finished creation for Adam and Eve, ise to establish His covenant with x To view and purchase visit (2) Christ's finished deliverance for a Abraham, "and thy seed after thee in nation, and (3) Christ's finished sacri their generations" (Gen. 17:7). Lgoodsalt.com fice for a world. The first finished Scripture presents Creation as one work of Christ is as literal as the other of the mighty acts of God. The phrase or call (800) 805-8001 adSaltlnc All rights reserved CD©-oyai:/-:fee two finished works. continued on page 23 are *or presentation use unless Qtnei©wiss noted

September 2004 MINISTRY Sexual misconduct in ministry: victims and wounds

hen the unimaginable be on spouses is immense. The beginning comes a part of our imagina of life together is in many ways a new Wtion, when we start thinking start: a new release from the past, new the unthinkable, that©s when the impos trust, new chance at chastity, new free MlROSLAV KlS sible becomes possible. This is so for dom to grow. In other words, a new both good and evil, victory and defeat. chance at innocence. And when all of Adultery is seldom an event without his this is gambled away, the marital inno tory. Some imagining, flirting, or cence dies. This can be manifested in pornography, some thinking or dream several ways. ing of illicit relations prepares the way. Guilt Frequently, the cheated spouse "As the man thinketh in his heart, so he assumes responsibility for the failure of is." Who we are in secret comes eventu her marriage. She was not good enough ally to the light of day in the moment of are constrained here to assume certain to prevent the tragedy. The load of temptation or hardship, and when it limited scenarios. But we all know that shared guilt may become unbearable, does, it may leave an indelible mark. each case is unique and that exact and she doubts herself as the innocent This essay has proven to be the most apportioning of responsibility (short of wife of an adulterous husband.3 trying and the most amazing one for sincere confession) is a daunting task. Shame. After years of identifying me to write so far. It is disarming and Yet we (the church) are truly called to with the successes and failures of her yet compelling for us to see that, urged rescue, and God wants us to be grace husband, the spouse cannot escape the by our love we are obliged, even ful and adroit, lest we underestimate sense of shame. And as a pastor©s wife, bound, to survey the path of ministers© the wounds or kill our wounded, wher these feelings of shame are all the more adulterous affairs. The sight is devastat ever they may be along the path of any acute because such things are almost ing, not easy to behold. Yet without this particular case of ministerial adultery. inevitably so public in her case.4 disciplined, objective, and impartial 3. Loneliness. Many spouses of profes assessment we will be unfjt to respond Impact of adultery on the sionals feel lonely, but few situations can effectively to our situations in redemp minister©s spouse compare with the sense of desertion in tive, compassionate ways. 1. The jolt. It may all begin as a nor the case of pastor©s adultery. Even close So this is not the time for the ostrich mal humdrum day. The kids are in friends disappear from the radar screen. game or for rash judgmental attitudes. school, the husband gone to the church It is not always because people do not If we do not look into the face of this office. A trusted friend, or somebody care; "often they do not know what to side of ourselves, we will not see that else, comes for a visit or makes a tele say," confided one survivor of her pastor God is still on His throne, still our phone call. Whoever comes to the husband©s unfaithfulness. Creator, still our Father, the only One minister©s wife, or whatever diplomacy 4. Lost identity. A more basic ques able to still our repentant souls and heal or skill they may use in their approach, tion facing the grieving spouse is "Who our wounded relationships. there is no smooth way of saying "Your am I?" For so long she was Mrs. Pastor. There are no winners; there are only husband is cheating on you." The news Her self-concept, her dress and appear victims in an adulterous affair. Yet it is of actual adultery is as bad as death, ance, her place in society, her very life fair and morally responsible to give pri especially when it comes unsuspected,2 revolved around their ministry. Thus her ority to the most innocent bystanders even if the husband himself is the one natural reflexes will lead her to defend caught in the wreckage. who has to make the confession to his the pastor5 and to blame herself or the Unlike some,1 ! believe the Bible con wife. (I am here using the words "wife" other woman. In losing her husband, siders the offended spouses and the and "husband" simply because tradi she often feels she has become nobody children as the primary victims of adul tionally it is male ministers, rather than and has nothing. She is denied involve tery (Mal. 2:13-16; 1 Thess. 4:6; Heb. female, who have been involved in ment in ministries where she received 13:4). Yet one important caution: The adulterous affairs and thus the wife who her approval, and scores of people who issues in sexual infidelity are extremely is most often caught in the fallout.) depend on her support are forsaken complex. 2. The loss of innocence. Marriage is a due to no fault of hers. She is losing not For the sake of clarity and brevity we powerful covenant. Its uniting power only a breadwinner, but the father of

8 MINISTRY September 2004 her children, a roommate, a soul mate. sheep" (2 Sam. 12:1-4).9 pecting. Huddled behind their mother 5. Duped. As the story unfolds and In the first place, adultery, as seen and father, their tower of force, their the mask falls off, the wife is faced with from the perspective of the betrayed models, their image of who God is, their awful new surprises. She discovers to man in David©s situation, is transgres example of how life is lived. It is prob what extent she has been duped, how sion against the commandment, "Thou ably the mother who will have to break much duplicity and deceit has lain at shall not murder." But even if David had the news to the children, to face their the heart of their marital relationship.6 not taken the physical life of Uriah, he many complex and confused reactions She feels foolish. She was so willing to would have killed the "one flesh" (Gen. of an intensity never yet experienced. give her husband the space he needed, 2:24) divinely designed unity to which a 1. Their father left them. They feel like to respect his professional secrets, his husband and wife abandon themselves. they are not worth keeping at any price. goings out and comings in! "In order Moreover, it is also in a very real 2. Public humiliation assails their not to spend all her time jealous, curi sense stealing stealing another per lives. The whispers behind their backs, ous, or angry, a pastor©s wife has to give son©s husband or wife or father or the gossip, the looks of pity make them her husband to his work almost to mother, stealing another©s most inti want to disappear from the very com the point of not caring." 7 But where is mate happiness, breaking up (or munity where they were nurtured. This the line between trust and naivete? certainly severely jeopardizing) another all the more if the pastor is required to Love does cover multitude of sins, but person©s home. And yes, God appears make a public confession. how could her love be so blind as to be to take the most active interest in this, 3. Inability to trust themselves and unable to recognize and prevent this the victim©s side of sexual infidelity. He is others grips their minds. They wonder if much clandestine evil? concerned with the rights of the they have "inherited" their father©s 6. Set aside. Now that the evil had defrauded ones. tendency to unfaithfulness. happened, Heather Bryce remembers: Paul declares, "For this is the will of 4. Sexual development may also be "The ©other women© ex-friends, God, your sanctification: that you affected. "A child©s dawning awareness Christians do not seem to need to say abstain from unchastity; that each one of an attitude towards sexuality is, in they are sorry or to ask forgiveness, and of you know how to take a wife for him large part, dependent on what he or that leaves an empty sense of loss. self in holiness and honor, not in the she observes in the home."11 Counselors told me not to get in touch passion of lust like heathen who do not 5. Children©s religious experience will with any of them, and so forgiveness had know God; that no man transgresses, most likely suffer as well. There remains to be only from me and not returned. and wrongs his brother in this matter, often a deep sense of resentment The support we have received has been because the Lord is an avenger in all toward the church, religion, and God, primarily for my husband. Many, many these things" (1 Thess. 4:3-6). In who seem to have been proven impo letters to both of us encourage me to for Hebrews 13:4, Paul adds: "Let marriage tent to protect their father from falling give him, and assure him that good has be held in honor among all, and let the into temptation.12 come from his past ministry. Many times marriage bed be undefiled; for God will 6. Children are never too young or too the help I get is in the form of ©Have you judge the immoral and adulterous." old to be affected by the sexual infidelity of lost any weight? How are you treating "When a person has attained his their parents. At about three years of age him now?©"8 1 admit to being surprised at desires and what looks like a new hap my son overheard a conversation with a the paucity of literature which focuses on piness in a second marriage, it is easy to neighbor whose husband had run away the spouse of an unfaithful pastor. Why is forget the price that has had to be paid with her friend. As she and her little boy that? for it, not paid by him but by somebody Mark pushed their grocery cart down the else. Somebody else has paid the price aisle, my son asked thoughtfully: "Daddy, Impact on the other husband of losing his life-companion; somebody where is Mark©s dad?" "Oh, he went big If the literature is scarce when it else has shed tears far into the night; bye-bye." An expression of concern came comes to the betrayed pastor©s wife, the somebody else has been robbed of his over his face. "Daddy, will you go big husband of the "other woman" is virtu happiness; somebody else has had his bye-bye someday?" I looked him straight ally forgotten. And this is so in spite of home broken up; somebody else has in the eyes and said emphatically: "No, the fact that similar shame, guilt, loss of been left lonely, struggling along on his my son, never." He stretched up his little identity, self-respect, rejection, and own; children have been left without a arms and gave me a choking hug for betrayal hit this man. father or mother. It is easy to forget the what seemed a long time. In the case of King David, the thing terrible wrongs another has suffered as God was convincing him of was not we enjoy our new love. But God does Impact on the "other woman" only the lustfulness and impurity of not forget." 10 It is hard to know who receives more what he had done with Bathsheba but blame for adultery, the pastor©s wife for the callous wrong he had inflicted on Impact on children not being the woman he needs, or the another man, the owner of the "one Here they are, innocent and unsus "other woman" for being a woman he

September 2004 MINISTRY 9 A COMPREHENSIVE should not need. The bias either way band, her "solution" to problems has COLLECTION frT,;=- seems to be in favor of the pastor. now multiplied the number of victims for OF PROVEN ? We will let Pamela Cooper-White which there is no complete resolution. LEADERSHIP tf« " share the view of several women schol Hession adds, "One wonders if she PRINCIPLES »8 ars. "I argue, however, that such has ever humbled herself before God to intimate relating is always an unethical confess the wrong she has done to the US$12.95 boundary violation and that it is always betrayed wife as a sin against Cod, the pastor©s responsibility to maintain whether she has ever been to confess it PLUS 18% SHIPPING the appropriate boundaries. As with and crave her forgiveness and ask what rape, a pastor©s sexual and romantic can be done to put it right."15 INTENTIONAL, SINCERE AND involvement with a parishioner is not 3. Her sense of self is greatly damaged. POETIC PRAYERS FOR primarily a matter of sex or sexuality but She may feel ashamed, guilty, and stu GOD'S PRESENCE of power and control. For this reason I pid for letting herself be used as an ilifiN; WORSHIP. call it pastoral sexual abuse rather than object of pleasure. Her sense of self- ©pastor-parishioner relations© or, worse, a worth, of trust and safety, are nearly ||f EACH US $2 matter of private activity between con destroyed. Her loss of idealism and :;l|l 20-49 COPIES US $15 senting adults (which is almost always hope are almost gone. 16 fSf 50 COPIES US $20 how the perpetrator will describe it)... 4. Some women have serious physical ©©III 51+(EACH) US$1 there can be no authentic consent in a and psychological difficulties. Stress and relationship involving unequal power."13 anxiety resulting from threats by the EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR The minister carries ultimate spiritual pastor if she blows the whistle, pro THE ACCUSATION AND authority. He is often physically stronger duced anxiety disorders, sleeplessness, OCCURRENCE and more imposing. He may be the and a variety of other serious health MISCONDUCT "other" woman©s employer, teacher, problems are results of the adulterous mentor, or counselor. action.17

US $1.25 EACH While we must always keep these 5. Finally, there also are serious spirit

US $10 20-49COPIES ,*: ;SK ),X!«K^«^©«©%MV©** *"* "*S| £f*ff! factors in mind, and recognize that the ual problems. Such a woman may well US $1 5 50 COPIES pastor©s responsibility is greater, an have a feeling of being betrayed by undeniable fact remains true: Short of Cod, the church, and by Christian PLUS 18% SHIPPING rape or malicious abuse, we are accom friends who so avidly defend the INSPIRATION AND RESOURCES plices in sexual infidelity whenever we "name" of the church and the reputa f^lj*' FOR RE-IGNITING trespass the boundaries of others or allow tion of their pastor that they would not * THE POWER anyone to violate our boundary of inti listen to her side of the story even prior OF CHRISTIAN macy. Whatever the circumstances, the to the sexual act.18 ©/i©*-Mitfv etisvvi,. ,„ FAMILY "other woman" faces several issues. ©^"~ tf, 1. The issue of stealing another Impact on the pastor , , 4 - . ,1^ US$14.95 woman©s husband. All of the ensuing Innocence is the quality or state of consequences of this act will come to being characterized by purity and _*; . . . PLUS 18% SHIPPING haunt her. In the case of divorce and the integrity, and by freedom from guile marriage of the pastor and the "other and cunning. Innocent lives enjoy pro woman," one wonders if the woman found serenity even under the most AN EXCEPTIONALjRESpURCE FOR THE MOST © """" If*"" ever stops to think that the legitimate trying circumstances, the most alluring DIFFICULT * 1 wife of her present "husband" is living temptations, and the most glaring CONVERSATION alone in lodgings, "going out to work injustices. In spite of being sold as a •'$,; j" -.. ;.-•• to support herself, doing without com slave, of resisting sexual advances of his US$14.95 ~* ''"*K .^«. panionship once precious to her all mistress, and in spite of the consequent because she stole the husband and wrongful imprisonment, Joseph in the PLUS 18% SHIPPING 1 I ! -." thereby broke up the home." 14 This dungeon "had the peace that comes knowledge has to affect her negatively from conscious innocence." 19 in one way or another. The devastating effects of a lost inno GENERAL CONFERENCE MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION 2. She is not just a victim, she is an cence have the greatest impact on the 12501 OldColumbiaPike-SilverSpring,MD-20904 accomplice too. However vulnerable she pastor caught in sexual infidelity. This All of these titles and more are available at may have been, however powerful the loss affects all aspects of life and being. www.ministerialassociation.com/resources pastor©s impact on her, however bad her 1. Loss of personal innocence comes or tel 301-680-6508 fax 301-680-6502 previous marriage, or abusive her hus as a shock. Before the event of sexual

10 MINISTRY September 2004 intimacy, nothing seemed to signal + Only God can forgive completely. rifice acceptable to God. Not a fig leaf. such a profound change of self-image. "My wife forgave me, I know full well. He will reject that He wii! see through it! The popular Playboy literature and its And 1 will always feel forgiven. But that Rather a "broken spirit; a broken and pervasive viewpoint is awash with false is not innocence. Not yet." contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not claims that free sex can be safe sex, and 3. With loss of professional innocence a despise" (Ps. 51:17). Sin, especially this that casual intimacy is nothing more pastor©s downfall is complete. Such pas sin, cannot be simply painted over, than a fabulous form of entertainment tors may see themselves as the cause of masked, straightened out, redressed. with no negative side effects. more sufferings than could ever have Nothing short of the intervention of the The truth is that profound changes been imagined. Creator Cod can restore us back to inno do occur in one©s internal relation to 4- "Even though the pastor is human cence. "Create in me a clean heart, O himself. Sexual intimacy introduces us (with all the temptations and vulner God, and put a new and right spirit into the inner sanctum of another per abilities of other humans), by his or her within me. Cast me not away from thy son, where all dimensions of the two vocation pastors have chosen to live on presence, and take not thy holy spirit personalities converge. No other ex a higher plane and strive for a higher from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy perience does this quite as completely. calling. This includes [taking respon salvation, and uphold me with a willing f Sexual intimacy involves a total sibility for] the welfare of the church spirit" (Ps. 51:10-12, RSV). self-giving to the other. And since we members and for the good name of the We will take up this question in the have but one totality of self, multiple church in the community. Thus the final part of this series (in the upcoming self-giving splinters our sense of integ effect of sexual misconduct by the pas November issue of Ministry). M rity into fragments. tor is catastrophic to the persons > This experience of the shredding involved and devastating to the church Mimslav Kis, Ph.D., is professor of ethics at the of self is caused also because each other and the faith of the community. It may Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, partner connects to us differently and take a lifetime of trauma treatment for Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan. lays claims upon us in unique ways. We those involved. It may take a generation are no more our own in the way we of disillusionment before the faith of the were formerly. community is regained."21 1 G. Lloyd Rediger, Ministry and Sexuality (Minnea polis: Fortress Press, 1990), 29, 30. + Besides this, so much duplicity and -f But the hardest by far is to face 2 Stanley J. Grenz and Roy D. Bell, ______deceit lie beneath every adulterous God, the most wounded and the most (Downers Grove: InterVarsiry Press, ———), 123. affair. innocent victim of all. David was right 3 Pamela Cooper-White, "Soul Stealing: Power Relations in Pastoral Sexual Abuse," The Christian + A profound shame bursts out when he said, "Against thee, thee only, Century, 20 February 1991, 199. (even if it©s repressed) when the individ have I sinned, and done this evil in thy 4 Grenz, 121. ual faces up to this new compromised sight" (Ps. 51:4). 5 Ibid., 122. self; when the members of the family It is against the backdrop of Cod©s 6 Ibid., 123. 7 Heather Bryce, "After the Affair: A Wife's Story," do not know how to relate; when inestimable generosity that David Leadership, Winter 1988, 63, 64. friends act strangely; even when (or snatched the only wife Uriah had. It is 8 Ibid., 65. especially when) speaking to Cod feels against Cod©s express command that he 9 Roy Hession, Forgotten Factors (Fort Washington: contrived or audacious. acted by snubbing His divine authority. CLC, 2003), 21. 10 Ibid., 22, 23. 2. Loss of marital innocence is another In the words of Matthew Henry, 11 Grenz, 125. surprise. The union with our wife, the "The devil, by aggravating the excep 12 Douglas Todd, "The Beginning of the End," support she has always given, the plans tion, endeavoured to invalidate the Vancouver Sun, 13 January 1994, Al. and dreams we shared are now off lim concession. The divine law cannot be 13 Cooper-White, 196, 197. 14 Hession, 25. its to us. We feel unworthy of this. We reproached unless it first be misrepre 15 Ibid., 25. have nothing to hold on to. sented."22 David knew that he lied to 16 Marie Fortune, Is Nothing Sacred? (San Francisco: > To begin with we have "lost any Cod directly: "Behold, thou desirest Harper and Row, 1989), 109, 110. reason to be trusted."20 truth in the inward parts" (Ps. 51:6). 17 Shirley Feldman-Summers and Gwendolyn Jones, "Psychological Impacts of Sexual Contact Between f While before we consoled, pro f Hardest of all is to face the Chief Therapists or Other Health Care Practitioners and tected, or rescued the family from Shepherd when as undershepherds we Their Clients," Journal of Consulting and Clinical trouble, we now cannot provide assis have acted as thieves and adulterers. So Psychology (1984): 105-161. 18 See Fortune, 99-107. tance, not daring nor knowing how to hard that all our instincts, reason, feel 19 Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Nampa, seek or receive the help we need. ings, experiences, and many friends Idaho: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1940), 218. + There remains precious little of our shout to us to "hide behind a fig leaf! 20 Bryce, 64. status as a husband or head of the fam Go to another place of labor!" 21 Selma A. Chaij Mastrapa, "Response by a Psychologist," Adventist Review, online edition: ily. We lose our job, income, and But where can we hide? Where http://www.adventistreview.org/2003-1509/storyl- position of honor. "I felt emasculated," indeed? Where can we go, if not to 2.html confessed a client to me. Him? It is now the time to offer the sac 22 Hession, 63.

September 2004 MINISTRY 11 Networking looks at the congregation not as a "sounding board" to ensure the success of sermons but as God's people who want to experience His message. The congregation is not uninformed listeners in need of admoni tion and repentance, but it is part of what the Reformers called God's universal priesthood, equipped and quite capable of declaring God's praises (1 Peter 2:9). Though the congregation may have just a "common-sense understanding" of the Bible, they do have an experiential feeling of the biblical message that can enliven the mean ings of the text. They know both God's Word and God's world, and this knowing is not Preaching beyond accomplished so much in a so-called learned, scientific way, but in a biblical way—a rela tional experience of knowing. modernism (Part 2) Preachers can never tell and interpret the stories of all the members of the congregation. Their stories cannot be cemented into one Gerhard van Wyk This is the second and final article in a two- grand determining narrative that unifies and and Rudolph Meyer part series. The first part appeared in the July represents all knowledge.3 Preaching beyond issue o/~Ministry. modernism needs to see people in terms of a node, a meeting point in a network, a "fabric new generation from diverse of relations," requiring preaching to be open backgrounds and complex situa to a multiplicity of discourses. tions challenges the church's tra By this we are not saying that sermons ditional preaching. Both liberal should be replaced with a kind of "chaotic and fundamentalist preaching preaching" in which everybody speaks when Aare problematic. The former does not main ever they wish. What we are saying is that tain the gospel as final authority, and the lat preachers need to play a more challenging ter tends to disregard the gospel and the but also a more humble role. context of the people's contexts. They should strive toward becoming Both have fallen prey to analyzing isolated methodological guides that provide directive texts and solitary people without their con "pointers." They are to inspire and enable Gerhard van Wyk, Th.D., text. Both have deteriorated into Descartes' people to discover for themselves the full retired guest professor subject-object split, in which subjectivism richness of God's Word. They are to guide from the University of prescribes objects in a rationalistic way. Such their congregations in different ways, show South Africa, resides in preaching has reduced life to narrow rational ing the different possibilities and implications Fresno, California. istic and mechanistic understandings. and thus "encourage people to find these The central question now is, How can riches for themselves."4 today's preacher "relate God's unchanging Preachers are like geologists. With their sci Word to our ever-changing world" while entific tools, they can point to where gold ore refusing "to sacrifice truth to 'relevance'"?1 may be found. They guide the miners, leaving Here are some pointers. the extracting task to them. Likewise, preach ers can guide the members to dig for the A networking approach "gold" themselves; without that experience, First, sermon construction needs to adopt a little lasting understanding occurs, and they networking approach2 and reject the atomism cannot fully rejoice in the experience and say, Rudolph Meyer, Ph.D., of modernism that takes into account only "we found it!" is a researcher for the partial aspects and not the whole. The Bible, Preachers communicate to serve the peo Institute of Theology and Religion, University the Holy Spirit, the preacher, and the whole ple of the congregation, not to manipulate of South Africa, congregation are brought together in the cre them. Their authority is not their own, but Pretoria, South Africa. ative "construction" of sermons. that of Jesus, internalized. They are not rulers

12 MINISTRY September 2004 or dictators. They are only privileged immersed participation."5 any means afford to belittle rational, servants. How can this networking be intellectual knowledge or the intu They do not throw the "absolute achieved? itive process. But preachers need to truths" they have discovered onto the To begin with, the sermon should recognize that knowledge, words, and people. Their sermon prepares the be constructed not merely within the concepts are not the same as "reality." stage where the Holy Spirit can create preacher's study, but "within" the Knowledge is an intellectual "repre an encounter between Himself, the workspace, home, and "play place" of sentation" and therefore a mental Word of God, and the congregation; the people. abstraction of reality. The map itself is this is where the Spirit speaks His own Some preachers emphasize the never the territory. words to the congregation within importance of a sermon resource Research has indicated that reli their context. group, 6 also acting as a feedback gious malfunctioning is more closely Such preaching is centered neither group, not only supplying good intel bound up with deficient emotional in the preacher as the expert nor in lectual information from the Bible contents than with inadequate intel the likes or dislikes of a "sweet- and their perspectives and needs but lectual contents. This is often seen toothed" congregation, but within also conveying the congregation's where a congregation is in protest the dynamic movement of a network. feelings about the suggested sermon against a preacher's repetition of In the network model, the preach topics. This could be more enriching intellectual content, while emotional ing event is not characterized by a for sermon preparation, because content is always experienced as sound, well-prepared and motivated preachers will know whether their "new," as each moment of joy or sad sermon that was constructed in the preaching was understood or not, and ness has something unique and exclusive privacy of the preacher's what emotional and intellectual con significantly different about it. study. It is rather characterized as a tents were invoked by it. Consequently, the verbal contents creative moment in which the people are quickly forgotten after a sermon, and the preacher listen to God's Word The toolmaker versus the but the feelings that it aroused are together and in which they share conduit metaphor vividly remembered. their findings and celebrate their awe Preachers with a modernistic Van Niekerk prefers the "tool- and wonder in the dynamic move approach have pursued the Shannon- maker's" metaphor rather than the ment of the sermon. Weaver communication model and conduit approach. The toolmaker's To create this internal collabora have largely fallen prey to the con metaphor presents preachers with a tion, preachers need to be "inviters"— duit metaphor by "sending" their multitude of communicative tools inviting people to become joint messages, as it were, through a con and signs serving as units of commu constructors of the sermon. The duit or a confined channel. In terms nicative transferences.7 These tools preacher's language, style, manner of of this metaphor, people are regarded may be concepts and words but also preparing the sermon, and the study simply as "reasonable beings," and cultural signs, directive "pointers," of the Bible should lure people into consequently, they are seen to come feelings, awe, and hope; they all func the Bible, inviting them to "come and to a full understanding almost exclu tion as commentaries on texts and see" for themselves (John 1:46). sively through intellectual processes. assist the congregation to grasp and Preachers are to invite people into Under this outlook, any nonra- come closer to "understand" God's the very "delivering movement" of the tional influences are distorting messages. sermon itself. We are not preaching to "noises" or "equivocations," repre Humans obtain knowledge not people, but together with them. Jesus senting interferences in the intended only through intellectual stimulation did not treat people as spectators but message. For example, when a baby but also through feelings, strivings, invited them into His sermons, cries during the sermon, it is regarded and impressions. We "know" by way enabling them to see, hear, and ex as noise having no part in God's mes of intellectual, willful, and emotional perience what was happening. They sage for that morning. interaction. It is no wonder that liter became a part of the great stories of Thus the sermon tends to become ary critics warn us against the God: they were the sowers, the lost a "still" picture, colorless, in black excessive emphasis on the intellec coins, the prodigal sons and daugh and white. The movement of the tual dimension. Intellectual words ters. wind, the smell of the roses, and the may wound listeners through emo People learn through personal par laughter or cry of children are left out tional dryness and emptiness. ticipation. Webber says the new of this "frozen" photo, and there are approach to knowing is no more only no subtle spiritual emphases of differ Our view of the Scriptures an "analysis" and a "linear sequence," ent "colors" that inspire creative awe Another effective tool that enables but it is "the primacy of [authentic] and wonder. us to go beyond the perils of the mod experience"; "knowledge through Of course, preaching cannot by ernistic pulpit is to be sure of our view

September 2004 MINISTRY 13 of the Scriptures. The fundamentalist movement toward the messages of "open" system allows preachers to orientation often takes a mechanistic God. This may stimulate our intellect, create a whole textual world that can and literal lexicographical view of the emotion, and will, and supply us with become a reality within the specific Scripture. It can lead preachers away a variety of spiritual emphases and context of every individual in the from the biblical message and the perspectives for the preaching event. congregation. Metaphors are not only context of people. ways of communication but also On the opposite side, the liberal The creative use of language ways to "know" the hidden. view of Scriptures, particularly the Another pointer in our considera Metaphors identify and describe historical critical method, has fallen tion of preaching beyond modernism things in a unique way; they are gen prey to Descartes' subject-object split, is concerned with the creative use of uinely creative and present something where the subject determines the language. in a way that cannot adequately be object logically beforehand. This One of the greatest challenges fac said in another way; they do not rep method, with its analytical approach, ing preaching is to formulate sermons resent things in a merely ornamental taking parts without the whole, and in a dynamic "open" language. manner, for the show only, but are an its eclectic approach, picking only the Influenced by the natural sciences, embodiment of new insights, reveal privileged parts, is in fact more criti some preachers tend to think that ing and unchaining "truths." cal than historical. It has silenced the they can describe reality in an Metaphorical language makes it living voice of the gospel. absolute and objective way.9 Language possible for us to speak about God and Webber insightfully says that while is then seen as a "system of signs with the greatness of His kingdom.12 It is the liberals tear the Bible to shreds a 'large overarching, communal important for preachers to realize that with criticism, the conservatives try to vocabulary' that is governed by rules metaphors not only illustrate and put the pieces back together with and words that have fixed mean explain difficult "truths" but also cre rational arguments. 8 Both these ings."10 Such language seeks to evade ate room for emotional modes and the extreme approaches can lead to the the ceaseless "play" of language. dire needs of those who are there to end of authentic preaching. By using correctly defined literal hear. The Bible is a book with more than words from the dictionary, those who Metaphors "interpret" the emo words; it spells out God's actions and follow this view seem to believe that tional and intellectual modes present even far more, God's redeeming things can be stated in an absolute in the texts in such a way as to carry actions. The Bible, however, is more way. Words are then regarded not as the congregation into the meaning. than mere activism; the Bible por signs or traces but, erroneously, as In the process, they carry not only trays God's redeeming love. Preachers conveying final meanings. Such a use rational meaning but also awe and should attach real "authority" to the of language tends to make it static wonder that is so much needed in Scriptures. The Bible as "God's Word" and predictable, to the point of preaching today. has far more depth regarding mean meaninglessness. ing and contents than any exegetical When we move beyond mod Preaching styles and hermeneutical tool can ever ernism, we realize that language is "a The final pointer about preaching fathom. The Scripture's meaning and system of signs which is in constant beyond modernism concerns style. messages will always transcend our play, and meaning is a product of this Sermon styles are not sanctioned by methods and our best interpretations. play of differentiations."11 This view, heaven. They are instruments of com Preaching beyond modernism however, does not mean that the munication, and they all have means the end of final atomistic understanding of a text is a haphazard limitations as well as possibilities for explanations. The Bible cannot be affair, or that any interpretation is cor preaching. It is, however, imperative reduced to a book of objective knowl rect. The approach to language beyond for the preacher's sermon style to have edge apart from subjective experience. modernism is about not the meaning the capacity to open up unlimited Academics, preachers, teachers, and of language but what language does; it potential for dialogue and encounters the laity, from their own perspectives, signifies and conveys "meaning" to between people and preachers, and by way of different hermeneutical people in a dynamic way. most importantly, with God and His tools, have unique and diverse inter Ignoring the metaphoric richness Word. pretations of the Scriptures that may of the Bible has led preachers to mini Because of the strong srorytelling not always be totally "correct." mize the symbolic forms of communi- character of the Bible, the narrative These varied interpreters, however, cation and has caused loss of approach can be helpful. We con may indicate different journeys understanding. stantly live by stories, those we hear toward meaning; as directive "point Metaphors are "pictures" assisting and the ones we tell. Narrative ers" they do not imitate and copy us to see the unknown in terms of the preaching is not a modern superficial each other but complement the known in a challenging way. This continued on page 29

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General Conference Ministerial Association • 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MB 20904 • tel 301-680-6500 • fax 11-680-6502 seen to be a series of purposeless events, or just cycles of action with no definable destiny. Right and wrong are no longer grounded in the personal character of an unchanging God. Truth is simply what humans think, feel, and perceive. Secular humanism is now the preferred religion. It is the prevailing and the under lying orientation governing what is taught in Ministering many of the schools and universities of our time. While this humanism affirms principles deeply rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradi in the midst tion, it vehemently denies the verity of the Source of these ideas. Its embrace of a broad, conflicting pluralistic spectrum of outlooks of competing allows for all points of view. But then those embracing such contradictions are naturally forced to ask themselves how they should worldviews integrate the confusing, contradictory world of ideas that result. Obviously all contradic tions cannot be reconciled. It is no wonder the modern human suffers from a kind of per ur society finds itself awash in manent spiritual schizophrenia. Trevor O'Reggio the sea of secularism, drifting amid waves of meaningless- Sweep of secular worldviews ness. Permanent, trustworthy The Secular Human Manifesto audaciously intellectual and spiritual moor asserts, "We find insufficient evidence for Oings seem a thing of the past. Relativity has belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is replaced constancy and certainty, and change either meaningless or irrelevant to the ques seems to be the only constant. In an ever tion of survival and fulfillment of the human increasing number of minds, God is reduced race. As nontheists, we begin with humans to nothing. He is no longer a personal, all- not God, nature not deity. Nature may indeed powerful transcendent being, but a mere be broader and deeper than we now know; influence. any new discoveries, however, will but enlarge The eternal verities that once undergirded our knowledge of the natural. . . . But we can our society are now cast aside as outdated discover no divine purpose or providence for myths and legends that have nothing to say the human species. While there is much that to us. Consequently, people are increasingly we do not know, humans are responsible for in search of themselves. But having cast aside what we are or will become. No deity will save divinely revealed truth, the search has us; we must save ourselves."2 become fruitless. Another pervasive philosophy or outlook Loneliness stalks the population and is on the rise is the New Age perspective. most present and persistent in our cities, Together with naturalism, it is influencing where the population is densest. Husbands and displacing traditional religion. Stanley and wives may live together for years, appar Krippner, a scientist in the Dream laboratory ently unable to fulfill the need for compan of Maimonides Medical Center in New York, ionship in one another. writes: "The New Age ... is a mindset whose Trevor O©Reggio, Ph.D., A naturalistic worldview has replaced the time has come. Most who believed parapsy- is director of the theistic. The famous American astronomer chic events were either fact or a distinct Master of Arts in Carl Sagan asserts, "The cosmos is all that is or possibility were convinced by personal ex Religion program at the Seventh-day ever was or ever will be."1 perience, not by research. For some reason, Adventist Theological Humans are now considered as mere com today many people are having experiences Seminary, Andrews plex machines whose personalities may be that they interpret as paranormal. . . . More University, Berrien explained in terms of the interaction of and more people are having [convincing, Springs, Michigan. chemical and physical properties. History is influential experiences through] meditation,

16 MINISTRY September 2004 hypnosis, and psychedelic drugs. been affected by just one of the two becomes especially relevant. More and more people are paying orientations we have briefly exposed First, if I have been called to pro attention to sleep and dreams. All so far. vide some satisfying answers to these these experiences provide fertile I find myself tending to speak only questions, I must fulfill that calling. If ground for paranormal events."3 to people of my own worldview. I I have been called to provide answers The New Age worldview is here. In know I have a responsibility to engage to these questions in the lives of the spite of advances in technology and others, but sometimes I don't know people, I can begin by picturing a science and the pervasiveness of how to communicate so that what I humanity created in the image of a Naturalism on our society, humans say has the kind of impact I want. loving God who is transcendent, all now thirst for the supernatural and In my own struggle to speak mean powerful, omnipotent, yet ever pres the paranormal. There is a desire for ingfully to the secular mind and be ent and deeply caring. This will go far an altered state of consciousness. relevant in an age of skepticism, I am in satisfying many in their desire to The New Age philosophy declares putting forth a number of proposals know their origin. that everything and everyone has the as a starting point: (1) My message If I can effectively portray the fact "god essence" within them. All that is must be timeless and universal; (2) I that we were all created for the glory needed is a change of consciousness must speak to people's deepest needs of such a God, and that He has a plan to awaken that inborn divinity. everywhere; (3) I must answer the for each life, including theirs, and New Age theories have infiltrated ultimate questions that everyone that He is coming back for them, per the major fields of learning, entertain struggles with; (4) I must present God haps that will help to answer their ment, and even sports. In the field of as the fulfillment of the deep void of questions of purpose and destiny. psychology and psychiatry we find the human heart and the only One In whatever form and fashion I do Aldous Huxley, Stanislav Graf, John who can bring stability, peace, secu it, I know that I must do it in order to Lilly, and Timothy Leary. In sociology rity, and love into human life, (5) I be relevant and meaningful in the and cultural history we have George must point out that the continuing faith I share with the world in which Leonard and Theodore Roszak. pervasiveness of war, riots, racism, I find myself and do my ministry. William Irwin Thompson's books poverty, and other forms of evil in Second, I must commit myself to be Passages About Earth and At the Edge of our world is proof enough of the fail God's witness in this world. Sproul History are laced with New Age theory. ure of what is merely human; (6) My said it best: "Our job is to make the In anthropology we have Carlos life must be exemplary. I must live out invisible reign of Jesus visible. The Castaneda's books The Teachings of Christ's ministry, feeding the hungry, world is shrouded in darkness. Don Juan, A Separate Reality, and clothing the naked, and speaking Nothing is visible in the dark. No won Journey to Ixtlan. hope to the hopeless; and (7) I must der that we are called to be the light of In the health field, especially in commit myself to the moral educa the world. Every single one of us has a holistic medicine, New Age theories tion especially of the young so that mission. We have all been sent to bear now dominate. In the movie industry they can carry on the legacy of truth witness to Christ. That means simply the work of Stephen Spielberg in Close to the next generation. that we are all missionaries."4 Encounters of the Third Kind and George As Harvey Cox said so eloquently Lucas's Star Wars series are just a few Wrestling with ultimate in his book, The Secular City, the examples of New Age philosophy. questions "church is not a building, a budget, a One of the most colorful and People of all ages have wrestled program, an organization. It is a peo enduring movie stars of our time, with the "ultimate questions": Where ple in motion, an 'eventful move Shirley MacLaine, is an ardent propo did I come from? (origin); what am I ment' in which barriers are being nent of New Age doctrine. Her books, doing here? (purpose); and where am struck down and a radically new com Out on a Limb, Dancing in the Light, and I going? (destiny). Since the dawn of munity beyond the divisiveness of It©s All in the Play have sold millions of time, philosophers and teachers have inherited labels and stereotypes is copies, testifying to the public's tried to answer these questions, and emerging . . . the real job of ... appetite for New Age philosophy. sometimes their answers touch on churches ... is to discern God's rec various aspects of the truth, but they onciliation is breaking in and identify Speaking relevantly to a still prove limited, inadequate, and themselves with this action."5 secular world insufficient. As Jesus came to us in the flesh, so As a Seventh-day Adventist minis People are still searching for mean we must exhibit a special kind of ter I sometimes feel overwhelmed by ing, purpose, and destiny. Every incarnation ministry to the world. We the contemporary challenge to speak generation approaches this quest in a must feed the hungry, clothe the with credibility, relevance, and effec different way, but the quest is always naked, house the homeless, comfort tiveness to a person who may have absorbing. This is where my ministry continued on page 28

September 2004 MINISTRY 17 YEAR OF WORLD EVANGELISM 2004

The stripping process: broken down for breakthrough 2OO4

t was a frigid, snowy Saturday morn block up the street next to a snow bank. ing eight years ago when we pulled With some effort, we managed to get I up for the first time in front of my out of the van and made our way down new church. The entire metropolitan the block to the church. area had just been hit with its worst FREDRICK RUSSELL The building itself was a two-story snowstorm in decades. red brick structure occupying the cor Sprawled across our beds at a subur ner of Lombard and Fulton streets. The ban Holiday Inn watching the weather cornerstone announced proudly that report the afternoon before, our family the building had been built in 1866, wondered whether the streets would be one year after the conclusion of the clear enough to make it to the church American Civil War. The Miracle Temple where we were scheduled to be intro congregation had purchased it from a duced the next morning. We were Brethren congregation and had occu excited and apprehensive at the same our aging but trusty minivan, we fol pied it for a little over 20 years. time normal feelings for ministerial lowed the directions the lay elder had We were greeted warmly by the families anticipating the first day. given us the night before, and soon hard-working men out front and ush A month or so earlier, my wife enough, we turned onto the street and ered in. It took a couple of minutes for Brenda and I had decided to accept the into the neighborhood the church was the deacons to realize that I was the invitation to take the pulpit of the located in. To say I was shocked by what new pastor. While their warmth Miracle Temple church in Baltimore, I saw would be a gross understatement. touched me, I was overwhelmed by my Maryland. We had spent almost six initial take of the place. The building years in our present congregation and I can't believe this was relatively clean, but one definitely felt that it was the right time to move. Baltimore is a city of row houses. felt its age. It was obvious that attempts The peace we had felt was uncanny as They are essentially townhome-type had been made to improve things, but we contemplated and accepted this structures connected together and it still felt dark and clingy. call. It was unlike other times when we stretching along unending city blocks. The bedroom-sized lobby was were considering a change. There was In the city©s heyday, these types of uninviting with well-worn red carpet the sense of a yet undefined destiny. homes had been the "crown jewels" in and poor lighting. We were led upstairs Prior to the call we had not even the housing stock of Baltimore. And in to the small second-floor sanctuary. It heard of the church. We had accepted many areas of the city today, young was decent, but nowhere the size I was it sight unseen (not always the wisest urban professionals are moving in and used to. Downstairs was the fellowship thing to do). The conference president snatching up row homes in textbook hall that doubled as classrooms for the had kept emphasizing that the church cases of gentrification. children©s Sabbath School classes. There had great potential. Being somewhat of The section of the city where the were a couple of other small rooms a cynic, I felt that when a president church was located, however, didn©t attached to the back of the church, describes a church as having "great have to worry about young urban pro along with a kitchen. potential," that was an "alarm bell" sig fessionals or anybody else coming into As the deacons continued the naling an unambiguous message: Don©t their neighborhood. The housing struc church tour with obvious pride, I was go! Yet we had come. tures still appeared solid but were in becoming more depressed by the We knew that Miracle Temple was a massive disrepair. Many of the homes minute. Because of the snow, people much smaller congregation than we were boarded up, and the graffiti artists were gathering slowly. My wife went had led in our previous pastorates, but had done their work on them. with our kids to Sabbath School, where we accepted it anyhow, knowing that in As we drove up on the church, two or she tried to make the best of what was a couple of years they would move me three deacons were out front struggling happening there. I kept looking for the to a larger congregation. At least that©s to clear a pathway through the snow to conference president, who was sched how I explained it to my colleagues the building. At least they didn©t have to uled to meet us to introduce me as the who were as "size" conscious as I was. shovel the parking lot, because there new pastor. I thought of him coming As our family drove into Baltimore in wasn©t one! We found parking half a through the door to tell me it was all a

18 MINISTRY September 2004 mistake, that in fact it was another that I was in a "go nowhere" situation, disarmament of my pride, ego, and self- church in which I was to be introduced. in a bad part of the city, with a relatively confidence. God had tried this before, The fact is he never came, figuratively small congregation, in a building that but I had always rearmed. It was essen or literally. He was, of course, delayed had seen better days. To top it off, I was tial that I not do it this time. due to the weather. Thus, to add to my upset with God, the conference presi God wanted to use me so much that by then depressive state, I had to intro dent, and any other person responsible He was willing to take me down to posi duce myself to the congregation. for putting me "here." tion me for a future that I could only Now, in such a situation, what do The president felt that it had great dream about. All the great leaders of you say about yourself? "You are potential, that it was promising? For the Bible went through painful experi blessed to have me. I am considered, by me, right then "promising" was not ences before they were prepared to be a couple of people, including my wife, exactly the word! Someone once wrote, used by God, a "stripping" process if to be one of the most gifted pastors in "Whom the gods would curse, they call you please, in order to experience sus the church, and how in God©s name I promising." tained "favor" over their lives that came to pastor in this place, simply After a long day of preaching and would have been impossible prior to escapes me." Thankfully, I didn©t say it meeting the new congregation, and the pain. that way, but given my state of mind, or trying my cherubic best not to show my The "stripping" happened to Moses should I say, the wounded state of my disappointment, the day mercifully in the desert, to David in the cave, to ego, I did feel that way. ended. Our family made its way back to Peter in lonely abodes, to Paul on the the hotel, the place from which we had Damascus road, and to countless oth Ego and pride started out earlier in the day with such ers, all in a "place" of God©s choosing. Ego and pride are slippery and hope and expectation. For me, it was to be Miracle Temple. imperceptible to recognize in oneself. After my wife had put the children in And in ministry, it can be doubly diffi bed, we sat together in the room liter Almost there cult. This is because of the cloak of ally stunned at the "place" in which we Three weeks after my first Sabbath at spirituality that permeates so much of found ourselves. My wife tried her usual Miracle Temple, I stood at the window what we do and say. This is especially search for the "silver lining" in it all, but on the second floor of the church- true when it comes to the matter of even she found it unusually difficult this owned row house where my church "size," or numbers. time. That night, we got on our knees. office was located. Rat droppings were Wanting as it may be, success in min She prayed, and 1 cried. on my desk, the yellowed-stained walls istry continues to be defined relative to were bare, and the room was cold. the great three: buildings, bodies, and God and me Looking through the window onto bucks. What©s the size of your building? The next morning, I knew I had to streets that a few days earlier had been How many members and baptisms do regain my balance after the "surprises" covered with snow, I could see that only you have? And, how much money do of the day before. I phoned a few scattered, dirty patches of the "white" you have coming in? Even though there friends for perspective and encourage stuff remained. In the inner city, snow are heated denials, many in ministry ment. All of them struggled to put a can sometimes be a blessing in that it would probably admit in their more vul good face on what I described as my covers the grit and grime of the streets. nerable moments that our ministerial "predicament." Throughout the next But the snow was gone, and the grit self-worth is occasionally tied to this day, our family searched for housing in and grime had reclaimed its territory. matter of how big and how many ... preparation for the move to the Everywhere I looked from my second- What lies at the core of it all is ambi Baltimore/Washington area. floor perch, there was garbage. I felt like tion, which has its own rewards and There was a growing feeling and the followers of Nehemiah when their punishments. Psychologists speak of sense on the inside that God was about task of rebuilding the wall looked hope CEOs as having "encore anxiety;" a feel to do something in me, and it probably less: "The people saw the rubbish, and ing that every year must be better than was going to be painful. What I didn©t they were discouraged." I was still deeply the last. Well, pastors have that too, know at the time was that I was about discouraged by what I had seen during along with the feeling that the next to engage in "hand-to-hand" combat the last three weeks as I analyzed the church must be bigger than the last. with God, and it was not really going to church©s potential. And when it doesn©t happen, one©s min be about my disappointment with The people seemed warm enough isterial pride (clearly an oxymoron) can Miracle Temple. This was going to be and friendly, but I was not sure where take a hit. about God making a preemptive strike "I" could take them. I knew I had to My "ministerial pride" had not just in an effort to finally take over for good endure here at least a couple of years. taken a hit on my first day at Miracle in my life and ministry, and Miracle So standing at the window, I made up Temple, it was under assault. All around Temple was just the vehicle He would my mind that I would go into a "hold me were the clear, unmistakable signs use to do it. He was going for the total ing pattern," doing just enough to

September 2004 MINISTRY 19 maintain the church until I could get to His way. I fought God, and thankfully, I a more "substantial" congregation. lost, just as Jacob and Paul discovered, That attitude went against every when you fight with God and lose, you thing I thought I stood for, and God still win. As Paul put it, "When I am wasn©t about to let me get away with it. weak, then I am strong. His strength is In fact, at that moment, I was about to made perfect in my weakness." go to a place with God that I had never My ministry at the Miracle Temple been before. has exploded all my initial expectations. It is a rapidly growing church, filled with Give me a vision people who are passionate about Jesus Standing at the window, I actually Christ. After eight years, we have moved sensed God speaking to my spirit in off of Fulton and Lombard streets into a such a clear way that it almost scared new Worship Center and Ministry me. I sensed Him speaking to me about Complex. By God©s grace, Miracle the selfishness of my attitude; my quest Temple has truly gone on to accomplish to be always on top; the problem of my a holistic outreach, inreach, and com pride; and my proverbial lack of munity ministry that confirms its name. RELIGIOUS dependence on Him. The struggling group of that first In that brief, horribly serendipitous, Sabbath has moved on to be con insightful moment, I saw some of the sidered by many to be one of the most "darkness" inside my own heart, and I innovative and pace-setting congrega BOOKS didn©t like what God was showing me. tions in the Adventist Church. God has Standing at the window in my rat-and- our church on an incredible journey, roach-infested office, I made a request of and I©m glad to be along for the ride. NEEDED God that would change my life, taking After many pastoral years, my pas me on a journey that I, in my wildest sion for ministry on some days is off the Seminaries and Colleges dreams, could never have orchestrated. "Richter scale." During the last few around the world are in I prayed a simple prayer that I had years I©ve turned down a number of great need of quality never before prayed: "God, please give enticing invitations to some of the religious reading materials me a vision for Miracle Temple, and I largest congregations in the country for training and educating will give it all I©ve got." (something I wouldn©t have done a few future leaders. A peace and calm suddenly came years ago). I know for sure that I©m You can help meet this over me. Somehow I knew that every where God wants me to be right now. challenge by donating new thing was going to work out, and that I God has placed "favor" over the min or used religious books would be fine. istry He has given me. (avoid story or devotional He has taught me from His Word books), or by helping us Eight powerful years . . . and that to prosper in His favor, three things purchase the most urgently counting must occur: (1) 1 can have no known sin needed books through your The last eight years have been a in my life; (2) I must walk in obedience financial contribution. whirlwind. God has been teaching me to His Word; and (3) I must walk in daily, nurturing me in my dependence humility before Him. on Him, and convincing me of the value Then there is the powerful vision for Please send donations to: of rising early in the morning to seek His this place that He gave me when I asked Seminary Books face. Prayer is a nonnegotiable for me. I Him for it in the midst of my early GC Ministerial Association have a deepening desire to be more struggles. He continues to give me the In care of GC Transportation and more with God as He has always wisdom and continuing strength and 6620 Amberton Drive wanted to be with me. We©re finally on drive to see it through. Elkridge, Maryland 21075 the same page. Yes, of course I still Much like the delightful Delaney sis struggle at moments with the "stuff" of ters who summed things up after or, if you would like to meet the heart, but I©m more aware of it and surpassing 100 years of life, "I wouldn©t a specific need, please call confess it immediately when it rises up take anything for my journey now." IS! in my spirit. 301680 6511 or 301 680 6499 I watched God do the "stripping" to find out how you can help. process in my life; having to take me Fredrick Russell is pastor of the Miracle Temple down in order to build me up again Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

20 MINISTRY September 2004 is more of a living body than it is an organ ized, administratable entity. This new vision of the church has not emerged in a vacuum. There are cultural fac tors that have facilitated the phenomenon of its appearance.

The decentralized church Whether American culture was ever Christian is debatable, but there has been the assumption that Judeo-Christian values have shaped the culture of the West. In recent decades, however, the church has been The shape of the increasingly marginalized. As postmodernism has come to influence almost every arena, especially in Western cultures, the church— emerging church: built on the empiricist and rationalistic foundations of modernism—has lost its foot ing. In many cases we have placed our a pastor©s view (parti) confidences in the wrong places.1 So now, rather than holding the central role in the culture, the church has been decentered, Editorial note: This is part 1 of a two-part removed from its pedestal. We no longer hold Ryan J. Bell series. Part 2 will appear in the November issue of the easy place of influence and power.2 This Ministry. transition has been uncomfortable, but in new day is dawning, a fresh wind many ways it has been advantageous for us. is blowing. A new vision of what The comfort of cultural prominence has it means to be the church is made the church soft. Traditionally, the emerging. Those beginning to church has always thrived from the margins see it are on the edge of their but faltered when it got too entangled in Aseats. The picture of this church is not yet power. In this sense the challenge postmod completely in focus, though I suspect that the ernism poses for the church is an opportunity blurred depiction that is coming into focus to be more faithful. these days through the mists of change is The result of this shift is that the church is closer to the truth than the definitive por less clear about its role in relation to a great trayal we have traditionally struggled to many of the cultures in which it finds itself. maintain. The edges are fuzzy and open to Just as Israel had to reconsider its way of life further exploration. when carried off into Babylonian exile, so the It is difficult to quantify it, or to be assured church today must rethink its role in Western of its dimensions. It defies categorization, and society particularly. is more easily felt or intuitively sensed. It has In modernity, the church frequently saw qualities that reflect the mystery of the God itself as being in partnership with its host cul whose church it is. ture as both the church and the culture This new church seeks to be more faithful, sought to achieve the unchallenged goals of not less. In it there is a deep concern for society—commonly known in the United understanding and fearlessly embracing the States, for example, as the "American Dream." radical teachings of Jesus. This church is more The parlance of the church growth move rooted, less market-driven, and more mission- ment was "felt-needs ministry." The church's Ryan J. Bell is pastor focused; it is less segregated and fragmented, job was to the find out what the community of the Bucks County both racially and generationally. Neither is it needed and then meet those needs. The lingo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hatboro, a monolithic phenomenon built on repro of this kind of cultural relevance was on every Pennsylvania. ducible models and manifested in the same pastor's lips. way everywhere. On the contrary, the emerg The emerging church does not reject these ing church is a return to the biblical notion of goals out of hand. After all, who wants to be the organic nature of the church. This church irrelevant? And certainly Jesus went about

September 2004 MINISTRY 21 with great effect to meet the needs of the gospel is, and they will most likely God. The first deacons of the church thousands of people during His three- give you some version of Four Spiritual preached the good news of the king year ministry. Laws describing how a person can go dom (Acts 8:12). Luke also wrote that The difference is that the emerging to heaven when they die. Paul's message to the churches was church of today wants to be culturally No doubt there is truth in what the good news of the kingdom of God relevant but at the same time to be they say, but is this really the central (Acts 19:8; 20:25; 28:23, 31). In fact, countercultural in its witness. The message of Jesus? Is this, as such, the these are the closing words of Acts: church of this new missionary con ultimate purpose for which Jesus "For two whole years Paul stayed text does not want to meet came to earth? there in his own rented house and uncritically the needs of people in Dallas Willard says that this reduc welcomed all who came to see him. society but rather sees its role as being tion of the gospel to "sin manage Boldly and without hindrance he a mission to the culture. ment" has diminished the goodness preached the kingdom of God and It is through the witness of an of the news Jesus came to proclaim. It taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." alternative culture that the emerging is certainly good news that in Jesus These words stand as an open invita church hopes to call people to a bet our personal sins are forgiven and tion for the story of Acts to continue. ter way of life—life under the loving taken care of. But if this is the whole When we actually hear the gospel reign of God. It is also this alternative story, we are left with a narcissistic afresh, as the in-breaking of the reign culture that trains its members how obsession with our own survival both of God upon our world in Jesus to live by kingdom principles. The now and after death. This is precisely Christ, then as a church we reenvision church is the place in which we learn the thing Jesus was trying to avoid our role in relationship to that good how to live, quite literally, as "resi when He said that in God's kingdom, news. As we see this, it becomes clear dent aliens."3 the way to save your life is to lose it. to us that the gospel is not merely the It is in this contemporary "exile" After Jesus was baptized and then management of our sin so we can go that we are forced to reevaluate the tempted for 40 days, Matthew writes, to heaven one day. Instead we see that role of the church in the world. It is "From that time on Jesus began to our role and the role of the church is also in this exile that we must rehear preach, 'Repent, for the kingdom of to help bring the reign of Christ to the gospel. heaven is near'" (Matt. 4:17).* reality here and now, and in doing so The other synoptic gospels record to tell as many people as possible Rehearing the gospel a similar start to Jesus' ministry (Mark about the King and His kingdom, so it The new wind that is blowing 1:14,15 and Luke 4:43). He came pro can be established and they can also through the church is not primarily claiming an astonishing fact—the go to heaven. But, if the good news is methodological (though it will no kingdom of God had arrived. deeper and more far-reaching, then it doubt result in doing things differ But what does that mean? Certainly has profound consequences for the ently); it is a renewal, first of all, of central to any kingdom is the one who church. So, what is the role of the theology. It is not emerging out of the reigns as its king. In essence Jesus church with respect to the gospel old by tinkering or making minor announced that God's reign over the Jesus proclaimed? adjustments. It involves a fundamen entire world was finally present Jesus' parting words to His disci tal rethinking of the nature of the among them in the sovereignty of ples certainly give us a clue. "But you church and its place in God's plan. Jesus. People were then invited to will receive power when the Holy As such it is predicated upon a enter the kingdom and live under Spirit comes on you; and you will be rehearing of the gospel. After all, the God's loving rule. It is also unmistak my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). gospel is the mother of the church. It ably clear that Jesus' message was We will develop the implications is because of the gospel that the eschatological, leading the hearer of this passage to the ministry of the church exists, and so a healthy under toward the day when the reign of God emerging church in the second and standing of the church is contingent will become an ultimate reality. final part of this study, which will upon hearing the gospel afresh. One thing is certain from the life appear in the November issue, n Unfortunately, the gospel we know and teachings of Jesus Himself—the has been so influenced by modernist gospel is none other than the good *All Scripture references in this article philosophical categories that what we news that every person (whether poor are from the New International Version. actually hear as gospel is sometimes in spirit, whether mourning, or strug barely discemable. Ask many conserva gling to satisfy a gnawing spiritual church, see Blian McLaren, The Church on [lie Other Side (Grand Rapids tive American Christians today what hunger) is invited to live under the Zondervan Pub House, 2000); Stanley Grenz, A Primer on Postmodernism loving reign of God. (Grand Rapids Wm. B, Eerdmaris Publishing Co, 1996) See Alan J. Roxburgh, The Missionary Congregation, Leadership, and Liminality In Acts, chapter 1, Jesus is teaching (Hamsburg, Pa.' Tnmty Press International, 1997). www.ministrymagazine.org See Stanley Hauwerwas and Will Wdlamon, Resident Aliens (Nasfiville- His disciples about the kingdom of Abmgdon Press, 1989).

22 MINISTRY September 2004 Genesis Creation books of Moses, and in the entirety of No wonder Christ referred to the Scripture leads one to conclude that creation of Adam and Eve as literal continued from page 7 God created during a literal, contigu (Matt. 19:4). HI "God said" for each of the six days of ous period of six days, followed by a Creation reveals the power of His cre literal Sabbath. Any accommodating ative word. For all but one of the of the literal Creation week to an evo created (69) and that there is an "immutability of species" (317], and pre days, "God said" is followed by "and lutionary worldview (theistic evolu sented "the theory ot descent with modification through natural selection" (435) The Origin nf Spen« (New York: GramerCv Books, 1979, 1st ed , 1859) it was so," proclaiming the power of tion) replaces God's Word with the theologians accept Genesis as pie-scientific v. ith no interest in the process of His commands. Theistic evolution words of humans and concurs with creation which science allegedly provides For example, Augustus Strong stat ed, "Evolution does not make the idea of a Creator superfluous, because needs to take God's creative word seri the cosmic controversy at whose heart evolution is only the method of God " Systematic Theology (Philadelphia, Pa ously as well as His written Word that is the questioning of God's Word and Judson, 1907), 465, 466 Carl F. H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority (Waco, Tex Word, 1983), widely supports a literal creation. nature (Gen. 3:1-6). Such an accom 6226 Gordon R Lewis and Bruce A Demarest, tntegrative Theology (Grand Rapids The awesome power of God's cre modation replaces the love of God Zondervan, 1990), vol 2, 44 ative word is further demonstrated by For example, Francis Turretm, Imtitute* of Elenitic Theology, trans George with a God who created through bil Musgrave Giger, ed , James T, Denmson, Jr (PhiUipsburg, Pa . Presbyterian the speed with which His commands lions of years of suffering, which por and Reformed, 1992), 1 444-452 and Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids. Eerdmans, 1996, includes the i932 and 19.S8 vols), 155. were fulfilled, for the Creation days trays Him in a way incompatible with For example. Martin Luther, Luther1©, Work©,, ed,, Jdroslav Pelican (St Louis' Concordia, 1958), 1 80, see i.82 were literal, continuous, contiguous, Calvary and removes a literal Sabbath For example, John Calvin, Calvin©-. Coinmentanre-i Gettem, trans John King 24-hour periods of time. The Hebrew as the climax of Creation. (Grand Rapids'Baker, 1989), 1 92, John Brown [1772-1787), Systematic Theology (Ross-shire. Scotland Christian Focus, 2002), 170, Hemnch Heppe, Reformed word for day, yom, when used with Any replacement of a literal ordinals (2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) is always Creation Sabbath by a day-age 1950, 1st 1861), 199 a literal day. His commands had Sabbath makes no sense when Christ (Nashville Kelson, 1998), 393, 394. David Hull, "The God of Galapagos," Nature 352 (1991) 486. instant response. That's why He could wrote in the fourth commandment See Cornelius G Hunter, Darwin©s God. Evolution and the Problem of Evil (Grand Rapids. Brazos, 2001) say each day the new created reality that He created in six days and rested Ibid, 159 The Hebrew word reku/lah means "trading" or "peddling" referring to goods was "good." on the seventh day, and asked His fol or gossip Here Satan spreads gossip about God See Richard M Davidson, On the sixth day "God saw all that lowers to keep the seventh day as "Cosmic Metanarrative for the Coming Millennium," journal of the Adventht Theological Smiety, 11 (2000) 1-2 108 he had made, and it was very good" Sabbath (Exod. 20:8-11). Karl Barth, Church Dogmatic* (Edinburgh T & T Clark, 1958), vol 3/1, 223 (Gen. 1:31, NIV). We are dealing with a literal record that gives one method God used in creation: He com manded and it was so. Genesis is only one of five books Moses wrote under God's guidance. Do his other books interpret the Creation week as literal? All subsequent references of Moses to Creation week are given a literal interpretation. For example, (1) manna fell for six days but none on the seventh day Sabbath (Exod. 16:4- 6, 21-23). (2) The Sabbath in the fourth commandment is based on the seventh day that God blessed after six days of Creation (Exod. 20:8-11). (3) The Sabbath is a sign between God and His people, "for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, GRSGGS UNIVERSITY/HOME STUDY INTERNATIONAL and on the seventh day he abstained With Griggs University/Home Study International you won©t find seating charts from work and rested" (Exod. 31:16, or a musty classroom. From preschool through college we offer flexibility, 17). To interpret the Creation record online courses, excellent student services and a Christian values-based curriculum. Fit school into your life, not the other way around. as nonliteral does not make sense in Visit us online at www.hsi.edu or call 1 -800-782-4769. these subsequent references.

Conclusion ^2i£WColumbia Pike Silver Spring The overwhelming evidence in the PROVIDING ACADEMIC STABILITY IN A CHANGING WORLD! Genesis Creation record, in the other

September 2004 MINISTRY 23 ELEMENTS OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST FAITH

An enemy defeated: death and resurrection

Seventh-day Adventist Statement mental acquiescence." Death comes to of Faith #25. The wages of sin is death. all of us, they purr, but there is no rea But Cod, who alone is immortal, will son to fear it. The end of our existence grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until is as natural as the beginning, and we that day death is an unconscious state for RICHARD RICE should approach it with complete all people. When Christ, who is our life, peace of mind. appears, the resurrected righteous and The ancient Stoics looked on death the living righteous will be glorified and with resignation. If something is bound caught up to meet their Lord. The second to happen, don©t stress over it, they resurrection, the resurrection of the argued. Accept it with equanimity. "I unrighteous, will take place a thousand was not. I was. I am not. I care not," an years later. (Rom. 6:23; 1 Tim. 6:15, 16; ancient tombstone read. fee/. 9:5, 6; Ps. 146:3, 4; John 11:11-14; In sharp contrast, the poems of Col. 3:4; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13- those who grieve and have no hope William Ernest Henley and Dylan 17; John 5:28, 29; Rev. 20:1-10.) (1 Thess. 4:13). Thomas approach death with some Until the advent of modern medi thing like "desperate defiance." This life eath haunts human life in every cine, death was something everybody may be all we have, they concede, but age and every place. The oldest knew about firsthand. There wasn©t a we should hang on to it tenaciously. D buildings in the world, the family of any size who hadn©t lost a Resist death to the bitter end that©s colossal pyramids of Gaza, are monu child and often a parent as well. In their advice. "Beyond this place of ments to its poignant power in human nineteenth-century America, someone wrath and tears looms but the horror of consciousness. once told me, a bride and groom who the shade," exclaimed Henley, "And yet The ancient Egyptians were preoccu promised to love, honor, and cherish the menace of the years finds and shall pied with death. It was the central each other "until death do us part," find me unafraid." In a similar vein theme in their religion. As soon as a had, on the average, 12 years together Thomas cried out, "Do not go gentle Pharaoh ascended the throne, he until that happened. into that good night. Rage, rage against started planning his tomb. And the Nowadays, of course, things are the dying of the light." elaborate paintings and exquisite arti drastically different, at least in the devel facts that filled the royal burial chambers oped countries of the world. It is not The Christian view of death were designed to assist their occupants unusual for children to reach adulthood None of these attitudes or their varia as they journeyed in the afterlife. without having lost a single close rela tions, ancient or modern, expresses the The Pharaohs tried to face death tive. We may hear about death and Christian response to humanity©s deep bravely, but the art of other ancient read about death, but for many of us it©s est fear. The Christian perspective on people reveals the sorrow and suffering a vague possibility, not a present reality. death is more complicated than any of it always brings. A large room in the Or is it? The truth is that death is all them. On the one hand, there is noth National Archaeological Museum in around us. In the past several months, ing sentimental in the way Christian Athens is filled with funerary monu thousands have perished in Iraq. In the faith views death. It looks death square ments from ancient Greece. The faces United States last year, more than ly in the face and sees exactly what it is. on those stone reliefs are etched with 43,000 died in traffic accidents. In Death is a destroyer, an intruder, an grief. In one scene after another, a fig Africa, the number of AIDS victims enemy. It was not meant to be, and it is ure reaches out to someone dear a reaches into the millions. And all this on horrifying. mother, father, brother, child, or the heels of the twentieth century, "the On the other hand, Christian faith friend but there is no contact. The century of death," as many call it, in looks past death. Death is undeniably dead are unresponsive, withdrawn, for which up to 120 million people died at powerful, but it is not supremely power ever beyond their grasp. the hands of their fellow humans. ful. There is something, some-one, who The sad profiles of those ancient In spite of its gruesome visage, peo is even more powerful. Furthermore, mourners, frozen in time, illustrate per ple often try to paint a positive picture that power has confronted death and fectly the apostle Paul©s reference to of death. Some respond with "senti gained the victory over it. So, not only is

24 MINISTRY September 2004 death defeasible, death has been de sin doesn©t belong, then death doesn©t feated: its power is broken, and its reign belong either. It was not part of God©s If you interact with people will end. So, even though death is still a original plan for humanity. According to of other faiths, part of things in this world, it is on its the Bible, then, death is not our destiny. way out. The last word on human exis We are susceptible to death; we are tence belongs not to death but to life. mortal. But we are not meant for death. YOU NEED Let©s look at each element in this per We were meant to live forever.2 spective. This view of death goes hand in hand with a certain view of life. It means that THIS! - Death and sin in the Bible physical experience is an essential aspect In its first description of death, the of all our experience. We are fundamen Bible makes a crucial connection tally physical organisms in a physical between death and sin. There is noth world. We are not just bodies, of course. ing natural about death. Death is a But the Bible knows nothing of human consequence of sin; it is the fruit of experience without a body. rebelling against God. This contradicts some popular views As described in the early chapters of of the future. Many people believe that Genesis, our first parents were meant to each person has a physical body and an live forever, in perfect harmony with immortal "soul" or "spirit." The two are their environment and perfectly loyal to connected during our lives, but when

God. As long as they accepted God©s death comes, the body dies and the soul © ~ sovereignty and faithfully served Him, or spirit goes on to future experiences. their joy would know no end. Their obedience, however, was voluntary. How the Bible looks at death Instead of forcing them to do His will, The Bible does not support this view, God invited them to do it. He gave them however. It uses the words "soul" and the freedom to accept or reject His love. "spirit" quite differently. Consider this Since God was the source of life, they important verse in Genesis, as it appears would live as long as they remained con in the most popular English version of nected with Him. If they rejected God, the Bible: "And the Lord God formed they would lose their connection to life, man of the dust of the ground, and and eventually they would die. breathed into his nostrils the breath of As the book of Genesis describes it, life; and man became a living soul" "And the Lord God commanded the (Gen. 2:7). man, saying, ©You may freely eat of The word for "breath" here could every tree of the garden; but of the tree also be translated "spirit," and the of the knowledge of good and evil you expression "living soul" could also be we have Issued a revised shall not eat, for in the day that you eat translated "living being." According to edition. of it you shall die©" (Gen. 2:16, 17, this text, then, the first human life Quantity Price RSV). 1 As these words suggest, death began when God placed breath in a Free with SASE was a natural consequence of sin. It body he had formed from the earth. US $5.00 wasn©t an arbitrary penalty that God When someone dies, according to the 10 US $7.50 imposed. God wasn©t telling Adam Bible, the opposite happens: "the dust 20 US $10.00 what He would do to punish him if he returns to the earth as it was, and the 50 US $15.00 sinned. He was warning him what spirit returns to God who gave it" (Eccl. 51 and over US $.25 each would happen; in other words, what he 12:7). At death, then, the person as such (Price includes a durable, plastic sleeve was in effect doing to himself. ceases to exist. Physical, mental, social, plus shipping and handling.) Centuries later, the apostle Paul spiritual experience everything that Order From makes a similar connection between makes us what we are comes to an end. death and sin. "Therefore, just as sin "The living know that they will die, but Ministry Professional Growth Seminars came into the world through one man, the dead know nothing; they have no 12501 Old Columbia Pike and death came through sin, and so more reward, and even the memory of Silver Spring, MD 20904 USA death spread to all because all have them is lost. Their love and their hate and Phone 301.680.6518; Fax: 301.680.6502 sinned" (Rom. 5:12). their envy have already perished; never E-mail: [email protected] If death is a consequence of sin, and again will they have any share in all that

September 2004 MINISTRY 25 happens under the sun" (Eccl. 9:5, 6). the past. It directly depends on our con As the Bible uses the words, then, fidence that Jesus came to life from the neither "soul" nor "spirit" refers to dead. something that could exist apart from the body. The "soul" is the person as a Jesus and death whole, the entire being, body included. While it is true of everything that And the "spirit" is simply the animating Christians believe, the centrality of influence that comes from Cod. It does Christ is nowhere more important than not exist apart from the body; it is what in the hope for life after death. makes the body alive. So, the body is The apostle Paul puts it this way: "If essential to human life. there is no resurrection of the dead, then As the Bible describes it, a human Christ has not been raised; and if Christ being is not an incarcerated soul but an has not been raised, then our proclama animated body. A person is a complex, tion has been in vain and your faith has highly integrated being, but not a com been in vain" (1 Cor. 15:13, 14). bination of a material physical form and To paraphrase, if Christ came to life an immaterial substance. Because we from the dead, then we have every are inherently physical beings, any thing to hope for, and if he didn©t, we future beyond death must include have nothing to hope for. Everything What Only Believers physical existence. And that is exactly depends on the resurrection of Jesus. Can Do what the Bible claims. Life after death Not only is this true of the life to come, As a church, we do many good begins with the resurrection of the body. it is true of life here and now. things which the world is quite The earliest book in the New And this brings us to a fourth el capable of providing (and does) for Testament describes this event in these ement in the future life. itself. Nothing wrong with support words: "But we do not want you to be Although life after death does not groups, disaster relief, health uninformed, brothers and sisters, about begin until the return of Christ, the res programs, community services, or those who have died, so that you may urrection life begins as soon as we many other areas of outreach, experience the saving power of Christ. However, there is one thing that no not grieve as others do who have no one but a Christian can do; a service hope. For since we believe that ]esus For the apostle Paul, our solidarity with that no one else can provide. We can died and rose again, even so, through Christ in death and resurrection begins pray to Jesus for them. Jesus, God will bring with Him those with baptism. Our old life comes to an If we believe in the power of prayer, why keep it to ourselves. In who have died." "For the Lord himself, end, and a new life begins. our church, we are bold for Jesus by with a cry of command, with the We see this idea in passages such as door-knocking our local area to pray archangel©s call and with the sound of Colossians 2:12, 13: "When you were for neighboring residents. We say, "Hi. My name is Dave God©s trumpet, will descend from buried with him in baptism, you were from the Adventist church. Every heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise also raised with him through faith in the week we pray for one of the streets first" (1 Thess. 4:13, 14, 16). power of God, who raised him from the in this area. I'm wondering if there dead. And when you were dead in tres are any specific things which we can These verses tell us three important pray .about for you and yoflr family." things about the life to come. passes and the uncircumcision of your We give each person a "Prayer First of all, it is "eschatological." That flesh, God made you alive together with Promise" card, write down their is, it begins at the end of time. Until him, when he forgave us all our tres requests, and promise that we will pray for, them on Saturday morning. Christ calls them to life, God©s people passes." : The rewards ar.e great! Very few wait in the grave, a condition the Bible "So if you have been raised with people are rude or even,stand-offish. sometimes refers to as "sleep" (1 Thess. Christ," Paul continues, "seek the things ...•S6me,are:arHused,;butmost-are , , 4:13). Second, the future life is inher that are above, where Christ is, seated ently social. It begins for everyone at the at the right hand of God. Set your same time. We do not enter heaven one minds on things that are above, not on by one as our lives end. The dead along things that are on earth, for you have with the living meet Christ together in died, and your life is hidden with Christ one glorious reunion. And forevermore in God. When Christ who is your life is their lives are linked to another and to revealed, then you also will be revealed Fresh ideas for developing him. Third, the power that raises the with him in glory" (3:1-4). \our church's spiritual life dead to live forever is the same power The resurrection has both future and that brought Jesus back to life. Christian present dimensions. hope for the future is thus anchored in continued on page 29

26 MINISTRY September 2004 PASTOR's PASTOR

Non-investigative judgments

ne of those letters arrived last It is neither my intent nor practice to use week. Full force vitriol came the material of others without credit. O from the writer©s suppositions And in this case, with cash to the author. that I had stolen a sermon outline from However, my guilt was judged with him which he had cited from another JAMES A. CRESS out seeking my input. The letter might minister at a seminar he believed I had have be accompanied by some research, attended. if not on the facts, at least for the writer©s Had I actually stolen or not credited own soul on topics of evil surmising, gos the original author, I might deserve the sip, prejudging without asking (we could salvo. Evaluation is a fact of life and easily have spoken at the church door), every preacher anticipates that the plus the futility for body building of audience will evaluate what they jumping to conclusions. preach. At this moment, you are evalu favorable acknowledgment and promo Finally, the missive suggested the ating the worth of your time to finish tion of Warren©s current Purpose Driven ultimate ethical test. Would I have been this article. titles. He sells excellent church growth embarrassed had the original author However, the facts may differ from resources. been present to hear? Indeed, I would our assumed conclusions. Since I reject But back to my sermon which I had have been comfortable if Rick Warren plagiarism as well as often borrow from been requested to present, with less had heard. I think he may have "bor others (hopefully with appropriate than a week©s notice, in order to pinch- rowed back" some of the adaptations I source credit), I do not opine on the sin hit for our injured pastor who was still made to his outline. I hope his organiza of thievery through uncredited source recuperating from a serious accident. I tion benefited from my purchase or at stealing. Rather, 1 write of rash assump was also requested to adapt whatever I least that he took his wife to lunch on tions about other©s behavior. would preach to acknowledge the royalties. Later this year I expect to About 15 years ago I purchased a America©s Memorial Day. While neither see Rick and discuss this with him, even series of sermon outlines on faith (the short notice or need to acknowledge though I already anticipate his response. referenced outline among them) from public holidays is a valid excuse for pla Likewise, I hope my correspondent Pastor Rick Warren, who had advertised giarism had I actually stolen the will re-evaluate his complaints concern them for sale as pastoral preaching materials, it was my reason for adapting ing a colleague©s integrity. Outstanding resources. Note! I paid my own money an excellent outline for which the talents for ministry, teaching, leader to purchase what the author advertised. author had received royalty plus public ship, and organization would serve Since then I©ve ordered and advocated acknowledgment. Cod©s cause even better if they were other of his materials and seminars. I abhor plagiarism. I apologized in a tempered with consideration for peo Regarding the assumed purloined recent article for not remembering the ple. Rather than assuming the worst of sermon, I bought it and I used it. No, I source of an idea I had jotted down years a person or situation, the writer could didn©t preach it verbatim. I adapted the ago. If I can discover the author, I will have chosen to assume the best. It outline, contextualized it for my setting, acknowledge my benefactor. We each really is a choice. and utilized it consistent with the rea develop and utilize the ideas of others By the way, I expressed my gratitude son for which I had purchased it. that we stir our thinking. If you advertise to my correspondent because he gave Perhaps my correspondent "bor to sell architectural blueprints and I pur me an excellent idea for this article on rowed," without paying royalty, the chase them to construct a new house, judging others. So I close this article material he believed I had stolen from who is the craftsman? All claims of total with credit to him plus the same quote him. I had not heard his seminar, nor originality rarely persuade. I shared in response: "Remember that obtained the material I used from him. I Many great preachers sell their ser you cannot read hearts. You do not presume he obtained it honorably mons to assist other churches and to know the motives which prompted the because he wrote that he had acknowl make money. Many of them hire full- actions that to you look wrong."1 Bl edged Warren©s authorship and I time researchers to create the messages 1 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Nampa, believe him. I wish he had "heard" my they preach and the products they sell. Idaho: Pacific Press® Pub. Assn., 19O5), 494.

September 2004 MINISTRY 27 Ministering In one of his classes, theologian as a logically and theologically sound Edward Heppenstall once said, "There presentation of the gospel. continued from page 7 7 is a God, but more than that He is a In order to accomplish this, I must good God, loving, kind, and merciful. jealously guard what Gordon the grieving, bring hope to the Secondly, He has revealed Himself to McDonald calls "my inner world" in despairing, and encourage the faint of me." That simple knowledge and expe his book, Ordering Your Private World. heart. Our power and relevancy is not rience is to be our ever-burgeoning "There is a great need for this espe really found merely in well-articulated starting point. cially among those who engage in the doctrinal tenets of theoretical faith Are we relevant today as preachers Lord's work. I don't want to have that but in lives lived to the fullest, moti in the modern age of secularism? Do sinkhole syndrome, where everything vated by love, and poured out in we have that capability? Absolutely! in the outside looks good but the inner unselfish service for the humanity Because human beings still need God core is empty, devoid of God's pres about us. as they did from the moment time ence. I want to come to the point in began. my life where the development and Embracing the world, not In spite of our repeated denials and maintenance of a strong inner world woridliness the suppression of our spirituality, we becomes the most important single The desire to maintain relevance have a need that only God can fulfill. function of [my] existence."7 does not mean a blindly conforming No wonder Augustine said "Thou has Anne Morrow Lindbergh in her to the world or irresponsibly accom created us for thyself and our souls book, The Gift from the Sea, said it modating the prevailing philosophies shall not find rest until they have beautifully: "I want first of all... to be of those I'm trying to reach. But I live found you." People everywhere still at peace with myself. I want a single in this world, and I cannot escape the want to know a God they can love ness of eye, a purity of intention, a reality of this. and trust. God, their Creator, has writ central core to my life that will enable Our task is to escape not the secu ten this upon the fiber of our being. me to carry out these obligations and lar, but secularism. We simply must My role, then, as a minister and as activities as well as I can. I want, in embrace the world without embrac a preacher is to present the message of fact, to borrow from the language of ing its woridliness. We must not a loving God in word and deed in the saints—to live 'in grace' as much attempt the absurd task of syn such a way that people will see His of the time as possible. I am not using cretism, where some Christians have reality and their need of Him and this term in a strictly theological tried to combine Christianity and come to Him for the fulfillment of sense. By grace I mean an inner har secularism. that need. mony. ... I am seeking perhaps what Sproul is correct when he says, "The Socrates asked for in the prayer from root concepts of Christianity cannot The relationship between the Phaedrus when he said, 'May the be unified with the root concepts of relevance and authenticity outward and inward man be at one.' I secularism. If we seek to breed them Bringing meaning and relevancy would like to achieve a state of inner the result will be a grotesque hybrid. It to an unbelieving world demands spiritual grace from which I could will be sterile, like a mule, powerless to that I live an exemplary life. There function and give as I was meant to in reproduce. If we seek to effect a syn must be no cognitive dissonance or the eye of God."8 thesis between radically conflicting superimposition of non-integratable The power of a Christian life well world views, we must inevitably sub values. There must be no gap between lived will cause even the most deter merge one into the other. The result of what I say and what I do. As far as mined atheist to consider the such bastardization can be neither possible, my stated and practiced val possibility that there may be a God Christianity nor secularism. If a ues should be the same. My life after all, even when he or she cannot Christian buys into secularism his should follow the model of Jesus be swayed by rational arguments. • world view is no longer Christian. If a Christ Himself, as closely as possible. secularist buys into Christianity he is My religion must be authentic, no longer a secularist."6 believable, and creditable. 1 Cart Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), 4. 2 Our relevance must be grounded A sermon lived is better than one 3 Stanley Krippner quoted in W. James Srre, The Universe Next in the changeless and eternal princi preached. A sermon is never actually Door (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1976), 159. 4 R. C. Sproul, Lifeviews (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, ples of the revelation of God in the proclaimed unless it is accompanied 1986), 38. Bible, whose climactic revelation is, and authenticated by an authentic 5 Harvey Cox, The Secular City (New York: The Macmillian Company, 1966), 226. of course, the Word made flesh in the Christian life. The fact is that such 6 Sproul, 38 person of Jesus Christ. The special authenticity or personal integrity has 7 Gordon McDonald, Ordering Your Private World (Nashville: revelation of God as revealed in easily as much to do with the per Thomas Nelson Inc., 1984), 25. 8 Anne Morrow Lindbergh, The Gift from the Sea (New York: Scriptures is our primary source. ceived relevancy of our proclamation Pantheon, 1955), 23, 24.

28 MINISTRY September 2004 Preaching beyond meaning, and not mere spectators. move to new territories beyond mod Narrative preaching, however, also ernism fails to keep our traditions modernism has its own problems; for example, alive. The result is that tradition continued from page 14 we can easily superimpose our own becomes a museum piece and we the kind of storytelling but introduces a stories on God's story as we churn out curators of a lifeless system. Hi movement where, for example, God, our own assumed psychological ver people, and evil play dramatic sion of the experiences of the people 1 John R. W. Stott, Between Two Worlds: The Art of metaphoric roles. making up the stories of the Bible. Preaching in the Twentieth Century (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, Narrative preaching beyond mod 1982), 192. 2 Bernard Lategan, "The Reception of the Reception Theory in ernism is important, because people Conclusion: caring for a South Africa," in The Reader and Beyond (Human Science corpse? Research Council, 1992), 5. evaluate their lives not in terms of 3 Gerhard van Wyk, Practical Theological Discourse: Modernism dogmas or confessions, but in terms Preaching needs to move beyond and Beyond (Practical Theology in South Africa, 1999), 14.86. of biblical and other stories. Because 4 Charles Bradford, "The Imperatives of Preaching," Ministry, modernism not just for functional January 1997, 6. their own stories have become lifeless, reasons. 5 Robert E Webber, Ancient-Future Faith (Grand Rapids: Baker people need an "enactment of the Books), 24. Modernistic sermons have often 6 See H. J. C. Pieterse, Verwoording en Prediking (Pretoria. N.G. narratives of the biblical text" that can portrayed a "gospel" and a "God" Kerkboekhandel, 1985) 131-136, and John R. W. Stott, Between Two Worlds. provide "an alternative reality ... the that is true neither to the Bible nor to 7 E.. van Niekerk, Postmodern Theology (Pretoria. University of terrible, life-giving reality of God." the contexts of people's lives. South Africa, Package 2 for STH41I-T), 13. 8 Webber, 45. Preaching God's Word gives them Conservatively oriented preachers 9 Willie de Koker, Evangelisasieteorie en -praktyk in die lig van die "models of alternative imagination." cannot be criticized when they paradigmaverskiiiwing van modernisme na postmodernism? (Practical Theology in South Africa, 1998), 5. Narrative sermons let us encounter emphasize the preserving of their tra 10 Johan Degenaar, Deconstruction of Language: The Reader and new "truths" that the so-called fac dition; if we lose our historical Beyond (Pretoria: Human Science Research Council, 1992), 188. tual sermons cannot." Biblical 11 Ibid., 189. "pointers" and directives, we drift 12 Wentzel van Huyssteen, Teologie as kntiese geloofsverantwoord- dramas that are not overdramatized toward an uncertain future and a mg. Teorievorming in die Sistematiese Teologie (Pretoria: Raad vir can challenge people to become par Geesteswetenskaplike Navorsing, 1986), 158-168. merciless postmodernism. 13 W. Brueggemann, Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism: Living in takers of the sermon and the Preaching, however, that does not a Three-Stoned Universe (Nashville1 Abingdon Press), 9, 11.

An enemy defeated and spiritual existence to an end. It vio death will be expelled from God©s good lates everything that God wants for us. world once and for all. HI continued from page 26 It is an intruder and an enemy. Death is The resurrection of Christ thus the ultimate fear. provides us a basis for living with confi But death does not have the last Richard Rice, Ph.D., is professor of religion at dence here and now. When Christ came word. We can face it with confidence Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California. to life from the dead, He broke the and hope, because Jesus fought it and power of death for all of us. Even defeated it. He died on the cross and 1 The Hebrew expression behind these words, literally "dying you shall die," does not mean that death would though death is still a fearful enemy, it rose from the tomb, and in doing so, he follow sin instantaneously. It means that once sin has suffered a mortal blow, and its reign broke the power of death. occurred, death was inevitable. Sooner or later, life was certain to come to an end. will soon come to an end. As John So, the great enemy has been con 2 The expression "conditional immortality" is sometimes Donne wrote, "Death, thou shalt die." quered. Jesus© resurrection gives us the applied to this viewpoint. It expresses the conviction hope of life everlasting, and it gives us that eternal life was possible for human beings not because they possessed "natural immortality," that is, Death, a defeated enemy the power to live victoriously here and not because they were inherently immortal, but The notion that death is a "con now. We can experience its death- because they were loyal to God. They would receive life quered enemy" justifies the complex as long as they were connected to the Source of life. In conquering, life-transforming effects other words, their immortality was conditional on their feelings we have in its presence. day by day as we await the day when continued relationship to God. First of all, it honors our revulsion as we look death in the eye. In spite of Visit our updated and improved Web site: everything that people have said in recent years to demystify death and WWW.MINISTRYMAGAZINE.ORG treat it as a perfectly normal, natural process with nothing for us to fear, our hearts know better. Archived articles, Writer©s Guidelines, Death is horrible. It is the antithesis advertising information, and more! of life. It brings physical, mental, social,

September 2004 MINISTRY 29 to develop specific recommendations of ser mon series that would connect with the individuals that they have contacted. You will be surprised how seriously individuals take hold of this assignment! Begin this process four months prior to the beginning of your preaching calendar. This allows adequate time to work through the process and still provide some lead time for the worship teams to plan services at the beginning of the preaching calendar. From panic It is helpful to change the composition of the Sermon Planning Group annually. This provides opportunity for a broad cross-section to purpose: of the congregation to participate. It also avoids the criticism that a handful of mem the process and benefits of bers are controlling the preaching calendar of the church. planning a preaching calendar Step #2 Bring your Sermon Planning Group together for a brainstorming session. During still remember my panic as a young this session, listen to reports from your Derek J. Morris preacher. With the early part of each Sermon Planning Group members. Take week slipping through my fingers like notes. Writing suggestions on a whiteboard or dry sand, I would be staring at a bulletin large notepad helps group members to see deadline: the time my sermon title was emerging patterns. Idue. That meant I had a sermon to write, but Several individuals may suggest a series of didn't even know where to begin. sermons on a similar theme, or on a particu I can remember browsing through reli lar book of the Bible. Decide together the best gious periodicals, desperately searching for format and length for each series. Solicit inspiration. At times, I found myself giving group feedback regarding titles.1 By the end of the church secretary a generic sermon title this brainstorming session, you should have a like "The Love of God," hoping for enlighten collection of sermon series. ment later in the week! Allow a minimum of four hours for this How can a preacher avoid this weekly panic brainstorming session. You may decide to attack? Here is one practical suggestion: plan take the Sermon Planning Group to a retreat an annual preaching calendar. Most ministers center for the day or even for a weekend will admit that there are benefits to a preach together. Either way, if you spend a minimum ing calendar, but many don't know where to of a full day with your Sermon Planning begin. Here's a simple process (tested in the Group, you should be able to complete a local church) for developing such an annual rough draft of your preaching calendar. calendar. Adequate time spent doing Step #2 will save time later in the process. Step #1 Personally select a group of 12-15 members Step #3 from your congregation to serve on a Sermon Solicit feedback from other pastors on your Planning Group. Look for individuals repre staff or from key lay leaders. While these indi sentative of the diversity of your congregation viduals may not have participated directly in (age, gender, ethnicity, and religious heritage). the group work mentioned above, they are Derek J. Morris, Give this Sermon Planning Group a 30-day sensitive to the needs of the church family. DM in., is senior assignment. Ask each member to solicit feed Give them an opportunity to review the pastor of the Forest back from family members, neighbors, and rough draft of the calendar. Encourage them Lake Church, friends about topics that would interest them to make suggestions, either adding to, delet Apopka, Florida. in the coming year. Encourage group members ing, or modifying the recommendations of

30 MINISTRY September 2004 the Sermon Planning Group. During this third step, you may also deter mine who will be responsible for each SAMPLE SERMON SERIES preaching assignment. "Rejoicing in the Lord"

Step #4 1. "Two Reasons to Rejoice" (Phil. 1:1-11) Go to the mountain. This is a time 2. "Rejoicing in Adversity" (Phil. 1:12-30) for you to prayerfully reflect on your proposed preaching assignments. 3. "Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory" (Phil. 2:1-11) Take the revised draft of the preach 4. "Rejoicing Together" (Phil. 2:12-30) ing calendar with you, along with 5. "Rejoicing in Jesus" (Phil. 3:1-4:1) any notes from the brainstorming 6. "Always Rejoicing" (Phil. 4:2-23) session. Consider the flow from one sermon series to another. As you look at the bigger picture, you will begin to see what needs have "the whole counsel of God" (Acts neighbors, and friends to an upcom not been addressed.2 Make additions, 20:27, NKJV). ing sermon series. deletions, and modifications, fitting A balanced preaching calendar will There will inevitably be a few times into any liturgical or denominational include both the Old Testament and during the year when your preaching plans you may need to observe. Then, the New Testament, and will cover calendar will need to be modified. •fake a calendar and assign a specific the broad themes of the Bible as well Events like September 11, 2001, can weekend for each sermon. as issues of practical concern for not be ignored. Unexpected transi As part qf the preaching calendar, everyday Christian living. tions in the congregation might also include a proposed sermon title, The one-sermon pastor who necessitate the addition of a sermon preaching passage, and preaching preaches the same sermon every week not originally scheduled. At times like idea.3 with a few minor variations bores the these, make prayerful adjustments to congregation and leaves them spirit your preaching calendar. Such The benefits ually malnourished. A lack of changes create a certain amount of Planning a preaching calendar prayerful, intentional planning can disequilibrium, but they are the takes time but the benefits far exceed also result in myopic preaching preoc exception rather than the rule. any such cost. cupied with chasing after immediate Fifth, a carefully planned preaching First, as mentioned, having a concerns while failing to declare the calendar will give your communica preaching calendar helps you to avoid whole counsel of God. This tions team enough lead time to the weekly panic attack that comes unplanned preaching is often at the announce upcoming services and from last-minute sermon planning. bottom of much of the mediocre invite people in the community to Beginning the sermon preparation preaching that we hear about. join your church family for worship. H process weeks or even months ahead Third, a preaching calendar also provides incubation time for you to enables your worship teams to plan 1 My 2002/2003 Sermon Planning Group showed a process ideas. ahead. You may not actually begin to tremendous amount of creativity. They sensed the Once your preaching calendar is write a specific sermon until the first need for sermons that connect with everyday life. complete, you can create a file for each part of the week, but the worship One four-part series that they suggested was enti tled "Christianity in the Marketplace." This sermon sermon. As you find relevant resources team assigned to that weekend can series included "Being Christian in the Classroom," or ideas, drop them into the appropri plan weeks or even months ahead, "Being Christian in the Care-Giving Professions," ate file. Then, as you begin your ser designing a worship service around "Being Christian in Business," and "Being Christian at Home." For more information on this series, read mon preparation, you will not only your preaching passage and preaching the article entitled "Start a Sermon Resource Group: know your basic direction but you will idea. Even though your preaching Unleashing Your Congregation's Creativity" in the also have resources to work with. idea may be modified, the basic September 2003 issue of Ministry. 2 For example, after reviewing the rough draft of my Second, a carefully planned preach theme will remain the same. 2002/2003 preaching calendar, I was impressed to ing calendar helps to ensure balance Fourth, with advance notice regard follow up an evangelistic series with a three-part in the spiritual diet of your congrega ing upcoming sermons, your commu series entitled "The Family of God," which included the following topics: "Who Needs Church?" "Why tion, and more life in the delivery of nications team can provide articles for Are There So Many Denominations?" and "Life- the sermon. The apostle Paul re local newspapers and make postings Changing Fellowship." minded the Ephesian elders that, on your church Web site. You can also 3 For a sample preaching calendar, visit the Calimesa SDA Church Web site at . during his extended time of ministry encourage church members to plan Sermons are also available as audio files or manu in Ephesus, he had declared to them ahead and invite family members, scripts.

September 2004 MINISTRY 31 The Year of World Evangelism 2004- The Total Inclusion of Leadership and Membership for the Final Conclusion of the Harvest.

| ; Go 1 Million Sow 1 Billion Satellite/Net Events Public Evangelism if, Small Groups and Seminars Bl«i i Church Planting/House Churches Personal Evangelism • 13 Million Reapers fora 63 internet Evangelism World Creative Evangelistic Outreach For more information, stories, and a look at the calendar of events front every division around the world, log on to the website www.yearofworldevangelism.org "~~2"0"O4~YEAR OF WORLD EVANGELISM Office of Evangelism and Church Growth Ministerial Association Leadership and Membership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Joining Hands in Evangelism [email protected] with Jesus Christ

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