Honor Thy Father and Mother
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May 21, 1998 Cutting Edge Honor Thy Father and Mother “Are you going to grow up and be ashamed of us?” they would query. Seinfeld’s Missing Ingredient When We Feel Like Dirt LETTERS The Local Church is vital. I challenge all denominational Bryan’s reference to the early rain in Whew! Finally someone says what’s really leaders to go beyond lip service and actu- Acts as “spiritual adrenaline” trivializes going on. I applaud ally do whatever it takes to make this what really occurred! The apostles the Adventist Review happen—redistribution of resources received the outpouring power of the for printing Alex (including tithe), development and sup- Holy Spirit only because they laid their Bryan’s “The Local port of pastors and other local church pride, self-righteousness, and jealousies Church Is the leaders, and creation of a corporate cli- at Christ’s feet in earnest prayer. They Church” (Mar. 19 mate that really values the life and min- were completely surrendered to God in Cutting Edge istry of the local church. all aspects of their lives. They were of Edition), as well as Just as an example: I pastor a large “one accord”; they did not worry about the other two articles that examined the church (1,000-plus members) that gener- contriving different kinds of worship state of the local church. ates almost $1.5 million a year in rev- styles to meet the likes and dislikes of As associate lay pastor/elder at my enue. After we send the tithe to the their church body. If we ever hope to church, where I have been a member for local conference and the subsidy to the have the latter rain fall upon us, we 15 years, I have seen our struggle in the local school, we have about $250,000 must first humble ourselves before the “typewriter” age, as Bryan so aptly put it, (less than 17 percent) left to do the min- Lord and repent of our own self-righ- while “the latest communication and istry of the local church—Sabbath teousness. It’s not about what we can do, information technology is found in our school, evangelism, worship, discipleship but about what He can and will do! colleges and conference offices.” Our training, fellowship, maintenance of the congregation has supported the physical plant, etc. If we add in the sup- —Kathie Heydt Adventist system willingly, has little port from the local conference that sup- READING, PENNSYLVANIA funds to support our own congregation’s plies the pastors to my church, the per- ministries, and often has been in “critical centage increases to about 26 percent. condition” along with other churches. We can say what we like about the Bryan hit the nail right on the head! He As the mother of a Gen Xer and two importance of the local church, but the maintained fairness and balance in teenagers who are already assuming lead- truth is that the local church stands at granting the parachurch its legitimate ership roles as they attempt to minister the end of the line in our denomination, and necessary role, but reminded us who in their community, I shudder to think hoping that there will be something left work in the parachurch that we must what the local congregation will be like after the denominational bureaucracy not fall to the temptation of thinking for them in five to 10 years. Yes, we all and the educational system have taken we occupy the central position. “must commit ourselves to the primacy of their share. The crumbs left are barely the local church” if our churches are to enough to sustain life. —Gorden R. Doss emerge from languishing, sometimes DEPARTMENT OF WORLD MISSION pathetic, stupors and begin to flourish as —David VanDenburgh, PASTOR ANDREWS UNIVERSITY God intended. Thank you for such a KETTERING, OHIO timely call to action! Look for more letters on this subject in two weeks.—Editors. —Iris Stovall With all due respect, the articles about HYATTSVILLE, MARYLAND the weakness of the local church missed the mark. When we focus our attention Waggoner and Jones on numbers and what “works” in other I disagree with one of the points Bryan’s central point—that we must ensure churches, we have lost sight of what we made by William G. Johnsson in his edi- the health of the local congregation— as a church are supposed to be about. torial “Right About Jesus” (Mar. 19). 2 (690) ADVENTIST REVIEW, MAY 21, 1998 Johnsson states that many of the pio- Along with the early Adventists, Waggoner neers saw Jesus as an “exalted, divine and Jones apparently believed that while the being who was not eternally God,” and Son of God shares an equality of nature with includes Waggoner in a list of those the Father, this was conferred upon Him by holding these Arian, or semi-Arian, virtue of His literal Sonship. Thus Waggoner beliefs. wrote: “While both are of the same nature, COVER STORY While it is true that Arianism was the Father is first in point of time. He is also rampant among the pioneers, I feel greater in that he had no beginning, while 8 Honor Thy Father and Mother Johnsson should give credit to Waggoner, Christ’s personality had a beginning” (Signs Just because we make our own who actually made significant strides of the Times, Apr. 8, 1889). Jones wrote: decisions doesn’t mean that we away from Arianism. Waggoner’s first 13 “He came from heaven, God’s firstborn, to aren’t still impressionable. meetings at the epochal 1888 conference the earth, and was born again. He BY EILEEN GREENWALT were recorded in shorthand by his wife whose goings forth have been from the days and published in 1890 as the book Christ of eternity, the firstborn of God, was born and His Righteousness. In Waggoner’s again, in order that we might be born ARTICLES series, he first spent several meetings again” (Review and Herald, Aug. 1, establishing the divinity of Christ. In 1899).—Editors. 14 When We Feel Like Dirt An opportunity too good to be true fact, he warred against the belief that is still true. Jesus was a created being. He said, “Now BY JENNIFER JILL SCHWIRZER if He created everything that was ever Nash Ramblings created, and existed before all created Congratulations to Andy Nash for his things, it is evident that He Himself is not fine editorial “Nash Ramblings” (Mar. 24 The Missing Ingredient on among created things” (Christ and His 19). He has many insights about issues Seinfeld What comes after fame and Righteousness, p. 21; italics supplied). facing our church today and is able to fortune? Waggoner also described the deity of express these in a loving, kind, and BY DAVID B. SMITH Christ in phrases such as “Life inheres in forceful way. Many of his “ramblings” Him,” “The very substance of God,” and are topics needing exploring and/or “Jehovah, the self-existent one” (ibid., explaining. DEPARTMENTS pp. 22, 23). Instead of viewing Waggoner Take the simple statement about 2 Letters as entrenched in Arian thought, we Ellen White being progressive. How dare should see him as one of the first who we as a church condemn the thinkers 7 Give & Take began to break free. inside our church doors today. We need 17 Book Mark and should welcome the questions being 18 World News & Perspectives —Jennifer Jill Schwirzer asked by our young people and applaud 22 The X-Change PUTNAM, CONNECTICUT the fact that they are searching for the answers that we do not seem to have for 29 Leaving the Comfort Zone them. 30 Reflections William Johnsson states that A. T. Jones “saw [Christ] as an exalted, divine being —Mae Feldmann who was not eternally God,” with a APOPKA, FLORIDA EDITORIALS “diminished Christology.” 5 Focus, Focus, Focus Here is what Jones actually said about Christ: “Christ is revealed as God, of the When Jesus “Fails” 6 Real Community name of God, because He is of the nature We have been warned never to ask of God. And so entirely is His nature of Why? However, in his inspiring “When the nature of God, that it is the very Jesus ‘Fails,’” (Mar. 19) Victor Czerkasij NEXT WEEK impress of the substance of God. dares to ask Why? And he gives several [Christ’s likeness to God is] the very satisfying answers. I wish there were The Vision Glorious Ellen White’s “great controversy” vision ‘impress of His substance, Spirit of Spirit, more articles that contain solid biblical ISC substance of substance,’ of God” (The content and are imaginatively written. is 140 years old. Yet it still shapes the D way we see end-time events. HOTO Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, P original edition, pp. 16, 17). —Dan Guild BY THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA PHOTO —Robert J. Wieland VER O MEADOW VISTA, CALIFORNIA C ADVENTIST REVIEW, MAY 21, 1998 (691) 3 “Behold, I come quickly . .” Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ through stories of His matchless love, news of His present workings, help for knowing Him better, and hope in His soon return. The Adventist Review (ISSN 0161-1119), published since 1849, is the general paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is published by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and is printed 40 times a year each Thursday except the first Thursday of each month by the Review and Herald® Publishing Association. Periodicals postage paid at Hagerstown, MD 21740. Copyright © 1998, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Publishing Board: Robert S. Folkenberg, chair; Phil Follett, vice- chair; Lowell Cooper; William G.