John Byington E. S. Walker Ted N. C. Wilson G. T. Ng Robert E. Lemon President Secretary Treasurer President Secretary Treasurer FEATURES EDITORIAL EDITOR Jonas Arrais 6 Recommitting to mission after 150 years EDITORIAL ASSISTANT 7 Stewardship of the Body Alfredo Garcia-Marenko 8 Those who believe in God MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION SECRETARY Jerry N. Page 10 OPEN YOUR BIBLE: ENTER THE GATEWAY OF GOD CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Robert Costa, Willie Hucks II, Anthony Kent, 12 “As I walked around and looked | CONTENTS Derek Morris, Janet Page carefully . . .” CREATIVE DIRECTOR 20 Seventh-day Adventist Statement on Erika Miike

Homosexuality MARKETING 21 The Foot-Washing Dilemma PUBLISHER Ministerial Association - General Conference 22 Deacons: Servants of the church of Seventh-day Adventists

VOL. 19 NO. 1 VOL. 19 NO. 26 Thoughts for the New Year MARKETING MANAGER Cathy Payne 27 LEADING WITH HEART DIVISION CONSULTANTS 30 Bringing Light to the World EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA Rudatinya M. Mwangachuchu EURO-AFRICA Mario Brito EURO-ASIA Michael Kaminsky INTER-AMERICAN 9 Héctor Sánchez NORTH AMERICAN Ivan Williams NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC David Ripley SOUTH AMERICAN Carlos Hein SOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN Jongimpi Papu SOUTHERN ASIA L. Chansanga Colney SOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC Houtman Sinaga SOUTH PACIFIC David Tasker TRANS-EUROPEAN 21 Janos Kovacs-Biro WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA Daniel Opoku-Boateng

TO WRITERS: Articles about the work of the local elder are welcomed and may be submitted to [email protected]. org or Elder’s Digest, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904, USA. Elder’s Digest is published quarterly by the 22 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Ministerial Association © 2012, which retains full editorial control. It is printed by Review and Herald ® Pub. Assn., 55 W. Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.

EDITOR’S NOTES: The articles in this publication have been revised slightly or updated to conform to the intended audience and nature of Elder’s Digest.

SUBSCRIPTION AND ADDRESS CHANGES: One-year subscription, US$18.00. Three-year subscription, US$47.00. Please subscribe at www.eldersdigest.org or send check to Elder’s Digest, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD EDITORIAL 3 20904, USA. Please send address changes to eldersdigest@ INTERVIEW 4 gc.adventist.org. BIBLE CREDITS: Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy QUESTION & ANSWER 9 Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission HEALTHY TIPS FOR ELDERS 11 of Zondervan Bible Publishers. SERMONS 15 OUR WEBSITE: www.eldersdigest.org THE ART OF SPEECH 25 Follow us on Twitter and Facebook 2 ELDER’S DIGEST JANUARY | MARCH 2013Kidder’s Column 28 DESIGNER: Erika Miike - [email protected] A New Year’s | EDITORIAL resolution to keep

J ON AS ARRA I S this time of year, after the overindulgence of the admit we are no better than anybody else. Our church is At holidays, we often make resolutions to change made up of imperfect people. our habits and our way of life. A new year gives us an op- Second, we must have a passionate conviction. Some- portunity to start fresh and better ourselves. But come the one once said that “one man with conviction is worth more middle of January, we somehow forget our resolutions and than 99 with opinions.” Dictionary.com defines conviction go back to our old ways. as “a strong belief.” I would add that conviction is a strong It is so easy to forget the commitments and resolutions belief that elicits a deep emotion. Your belief in Jesus has we make at New Year’s. There is, however, one resolu- to be passionate to be contagious. It has to be something tion we need to make and keep: to share Jesus Christ with that comes from deep in your soul. Enthusiasm goes a people. long way in convincing someone about Jesus. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus said, “Therefore go and make Third, we need to have a spiritual reliance. If we are disci