EDITORIAL Lisa M. Beardsley-Hardy EDUCATING FOR ducation is front and center! it made recommendations on how to is the focus of a year-long se - ETERNITY achieve higher visibility for education ries of conferences and church globally and how to coordinate action E publications globally. Educa - through a united, empowered network. tion was the cover story for the Febru - Educators especially appreciated the ary 2017 issue of Adventist World .* discussion across different regions and This issue of THE JOuRNAL OF ADVENTiST the participation of division officers EDuCATiON shares a collection of talks and treasurers. Presentation topics and presentations made during the addres sed current trends, steps to over - 2016 General Conference Leadership coming chal lenges, and the influential Education and Development (LEAD) role of Adventist education in the lives Conference, the North American Divi - of those who become and remain Sev - sion Year-end Meetings, and the 2017 enth-day Adventists (John Wesley Tay - Pan-African LEAD Conference. Each lor V). one presented stakeholders with a call Adventist education in the North to action to ensure that all God’s American Division (NAD) is addres sed children are taught of the Lord within this issue (Jerome Thayer, (isaiah 54:13, KJV). Anneris Coria-Navia, Aimee The 2016 LEAD Con - Leukert, Elissa E. Kido, ference took place Octo - and Larry Blackmer). ber 5-7, 2016, in Silver Spring, Maryland. The theme This article reports the findings and recommendations “Educating for Eternity” underscored daily devotionals, from two study groups—The North Am eri can Division plenary and invited addresses, panels, and sessions Education Taskforce (NADET) and the Strengthening that outlined plans for each region of the world. Topics Adventist Education (SAE) research project. Officially ranged from Adventist education’s educational imper - shared with attendees at the 2016 NAD Year-end Meet - ative (George R. Knight), the divine plan for education ings in October, this report is made available through (George W. Reid), and cognitive and non-cognitive fac - THE JOuRNAL OF ADVENTiST EDuCATiON . A concurrent arti - tors contributing to academic success (Elissa E. Kido), cle, with specific recommendations for pastors who are to the state of Adventist education (Lisa M. Beardsley- the gatekeepers for church schools, will be available in Hardy), and challenges to increasing access (David R. the June 2017 issue of MiNiSTRY . Williams). Within this special issue are the adapted Work continues through the three remaining re - transcripts of the plenary and invited presentations gional summits in Slovenia (May 30-June 4, 2017), the shared during the conference. Dominican Republic (August 7-11, 2017), and Thailand The LEAD Conference “Educating for Eternity” will (January 29-February 3, 2018). But the real work oc - be replicated throughout various regions of the world curs day in and day out in thousands of classrooms church during 2017 and 2018. The first of these planned around the world where committed men and women conferences, the 2017 Pan-African LEAD Conference, faithfully and creatively carry out the teaching ministry took place in Kigali, Rwanda, February 15-19, 2017. of Christ. This issue is especially for them. There was a lot of energy in these meetings as educa - tors and church leaders from every part of Africa for - mulated educational plans to incorporate local, na - *Lisa Beardsley-Hardy, “Adventist Education: Rediscovering tional, and regional priorities and objectives. They Our Mission,” Adventist World (February, 2017): 24-27. http://jae.advehntttips:t/./ojrage . a d v e n t i s t . o r g T Thhee J oJouurnrnaal lo of fA Addvevenntitsits tE Edduucacatitoionn •• AApprirli-lJ-uJunne e2 200117 7 3 THE GREAT COMMISSION and the Educational Imperative hristianity is primarily a But the Great Commission of flying in midheaven, with an eternal mission movement. And Matthew 28 is only one of at least gospel to proclaim to those who the Seventh-day Adventist five mission commissions in the New dwell on earth, to every nation and C Church exists for only one Testament. tribe and tongue and people.” reason: Mission, especially end-time • A second is in Acts 1:8: “‘But There are several interesting things mission as Planet Earth moves to - you shall receive power when the about these five gospel commissions. ward the long-awaited eschaton. Holy Spirit has come upon you; and The first is that they imply education When Adventism loses its mission-to- you shall be my witnesses in Jeru - and teaching, a fact made explicit in the-world orientation, it has lost its salem and in all Judea and Samaria Matthew 28 with its command to only reason for existence. and to the end of the earth.’” “teach” all things that Christ had • A third mission imperative is im - commanded. The Great Commissions plied in Matthew 24:14: “‘And this A second thing to note is that the When we think of mission, Mat - gospel of the kingdom will be first three of those commissions have thew 28:18 to 20 generally comes to preached throughout the whole been undertaken by the Christian mind: “‘All authority in heaven and world, as a testimony to all nations; Church in general. But the last two in on earth has been given to me. Go and then the end will come.’” Revelation 10 and 14 have been therefore and make disciples of all • The fourth commission is found sounded only by the Seventh-day Ad - nations, baptizing them in the name following the bitter experience of the ventist Church, which has put the of the Father and of the Son and of opening of the little book of Daniel in preaching of the end-time apocalyptic the Holy Spirit, teaching them to ob - Revelation 10:11: “Thou must prophesy package and the three angels’ mes - serve all that i have commanded you; again before many peoples, and na - sages at the very center of its identity. and lo, i am with you always, to the tions, and tongues, and kings” (KJV). in other words, Adventism has never close of the age’” (RSV). 1 • And the fifth is found in Revela - viewed itself as merely another de - tion 14:6: “Then i saw another angel BY GEORGE R. KNIGHT 4 The Journal of Adventist Education • April-June 2017 http://jae.adventist.org nomination, but as a called-out move - cation “bug” had firmly implanted it- ment on education (“Proper Educa - ment of prophecy with a unique mes - self in the Adventist mentality. tion”) for the new school, was in full sage to teach to the ends of the earth. James White’s reply is of interest, harmony with that aim. “We need a That understanding has pushed Ad - since he argued in answering Ball school,” she penned, “where those ventism around the world, making it that “the fact that Christ is very soon who are just entering the ministry the most widespread unified Protestant coming is no reason why the mind may be taught at least the common body in the history of Christianity. should not be improved. A well-disci- branches of education, and where plined and informed mind can best they may also learn more perfectly the The Adventist Journey From Anti-mission receive and cherish the sublime truths of God’s word for this time.” 7 and Anti-education truths of the Second Advent.” His Meanwhile, by 1873 James White Modern Adventism views (or wife was of the same opinion. 5 and other denominational leaders were should view) its massive educational Early Adventists were both anti- realizing that the 1872 school was in - system as a major arm of its missio - mission and anti-education. That adequate and that “there is no branch logical endeavor. But that wasn’t al - would change in the early 1870s, of this work that suffers so much at the ways so. in fact, early Adventists were nearly 30 years after the Millerite dis- present time as the proper education of both anti-mission and anti-education. appointment. By 1872, the church was men and women to proclaim the third The earliest Seventh-day Advent - not only growing, but also needed angel’s message.” He noted that the ists firmly believed that they had no ministers. Those who had come into church needed to prepare “young men mission to the world. As they saw it, the church from Millerism were aging, and women . to become printers, the door of probation had been shut and the church needed to think seri- editors, and teachers.” in addition, in October 1844, and future mission ously about training future leadership. they needed to be taught the “living was impossible. Their only task was Beyond that, by the early 1870s the languages” (rather than the dead clas - to comfort one another and seek to church was earnestly considering its sical languages), since we have “a mes - wake up backslidden Millerites until responsibility toward foreign missions. sage . that is to be proclaimed be - the soon-expected end came. 2 it was with those concerns in mind fore many nations and tongues and Only very gradually did they give that the General Conference estab- peoples.” 8 up their Shut Door to mission theol - lished the School Committee. The com- By early 1873, the recognition that ogy in the early 1850s. Slowly, very mittee reported in May 1872 that “there the denomination needed to send slowly, they began to understand that are persons all through our ranks, who men and women overseas also was they had a wider mission. But even as have come to years of maturity, who becoming intense. Thus, in April late as 1859, uriah Smith put forth the have convictions that they ought to do 1873, John Nevins Andrews could ed - idea that since the united States was something to directly forward the glori- itorialize in the Review and Herald composed of people from around the ous and important cause in which we that “the calls that come from every world, the message of the three angels are engaged.