exploring equality WHAT’S MORE IMPORTANT UNIFORMITY OR DIVERSITY? 14 NEWS AUC LAUNCHES UNPRECEDENTED CONSULTATION WITH CHURCH MEMBERS 5 ADVENTIST RECORD | NOVEMBER 18, 2017 ISSN 0819-5633 editor’s note who is your neighbour? It was Friday night and I was thrilled. Our hectic week Jesus can heal and cure the issues that are plaguing was finally finished and we had nothing on. Absolutely our communities. If I did not know Jesus I could almost nothing. guarantee I’d be trapped by one or many of those curs- I had it all planned. Vegetarian hotdogs, the ultimate es. easy Friday night meal. We believe the message of the three angels must “go Just my wife and me—a quiet night at home together, to all the world”. But will the world hear the message if just the two of us. they are broken and in need of healing? So how did we end up eating cold hotdogs when the And this is where the problem of how we “do church” police finally left? As they say, the best laid plans . instead of “being church” comes in. The church is no Our neighbours were having a domestic. Right next longer a hub of society. It’s a place you have to go out of door to our apartment. For the second night in a row, your way to get to, and most people won’t. and it sounded like it was escalating to violence. So we We must be the church where we are: reaching out, called the police. building relationships, providing support and counsel to A few days later it happened again—this time in the other couples and families (there are lots of young fami- apartment building next door, outside our bedroom win- lies in my area); to let them know they are not alone. My dow as we tried to sleep. She sat on the floor and cried wife and I are not perfect but we know the Perfect One, and he called her all manner of names (which I won’t the One who created marriage and us. repeat here). We saw them scuffle, pushing each other But how many suburbs do I drive through before I get as they argued. The shouting continued for a while but to my church? How many Adventist churches do I pass? the situation seemed to defuse. This is the great dilemma. Our communities need us That brings the total to three couples in three different and we drive six suburbs beyond our own and ignore our apartment buildings on our street this year who we’ve neighbour. The reality is, our churches are not always witnessed engaging in domestic violence. connected to the communities that surround them. We It brought home to us the reality that our own “safe, don’t have a grasp on the problems and needs around friendly” community is struggling with darkness and is in us. More than that, I would say, we don’t love our com- need of the hope we have. munities or those who live in them. Particularly in cities, Here is the question I must ask myself. What am I we attend commuter churches—we commute in and then doing to heal and reach my own community? Who is my away after the service—we don’t live and eat and minis- neighbour? And do I care about them? ter among the people. We don’t love them. Truthfully, we’ve made good connections in our neigh- My dream for the Church is to see that change but at bourhood . just not with the couple next door, who this stage, I’m still part of the problem. I belong to an always fight. active Church and am committed to its mission. It is that If we don’t step out of our comfort zones to bring vision, however, that feeds my dream that one day the healing and the gospel message to the world and our Church will meet in our home, and the homes around us, neighbours, then we are complicit. as we meet the needs of the community and invest in So what does that look like? and love our neighbours. Well, Jesus moved around in local communities and He So do we take the words of Jesus seriously? Do we healed those He met. “love our neighbour as ourselves”? Maybe domestic violence is the new paralysis. Mar- riage breakdown or crippling debt the new leprosy. Jarrod Stackelroth Alcohol and substance abuse the new possession. And editor spiritual blindness abounds. /JStackelroth senior consulting editor graphic designer noticeboard adventist media adventist record is the glenn townend theodora amuimuia [email protected] locked bag 1115 official news magazine of the senior editor copyeditor subscriptions wahroonga seventh-day adventist church’s jarrod stackelroth tracey bridcutt [email protected] nsw 2076 australia south pacific division assistant editors noticeboard + 61 (03) 5965 6300 + 61 (02) 9847 2222 kent kingston julie laws mailed within australia and cover credit: abn 59 093 117 689 maritza brunt letters nz $A43.80 $NZ73.00 other vol 122 no 23 Yuriy Zhuravov— vania chew [email protected] prices on application. iStockphoto linden chuang (digital) news & photos website [email protected] record.adventistchurch.com november 18, 2017 | Adventist record 3 news singing our message aussie abcs uniting online James and Ellen White stayed in scott wegener taverns as they travelled to support Half of Australia’s Adventist Book Jo-Anne the new believers of the early Sab- Centres (ABC) are now pooling their Boudan, bath-keeping Adventist movement. resources into a united Australian manager Taverns in north-eastern USA in the web store at <adventistbookcentre. of NNSW’s 1850s were like motels today and had a com.au>. Better central place where people gathered to The Victorian Conference accept- Books eat and drink, play games, socialise and ed the invitation to join North New and Food sing. James and Ellen were good singers South Wales (NNSW) and Greater store, said and often entertained other guests with Sydney Conference’s (GSC) joint web combining cultural and spiritual songs. Apparently store, which had been in collabora- resources is a win for the conferenc- they were so good that some tavern tive development since late 2016. es and a win for customers. “Togeth- owners donated meals and accommo- “This is a significant achievement,” er we can provide a better online dation. The Whites were singing evan- said GSC CFO Eva Ing. “It’s quite experience at a split cost.” gelists—using whatever talents they had unheard of for two, let alone three, Victorian Conference CFO Graeme to share God’s last day message. conferences to collaborate on a pro- Moffitt said Victoria originally Early Adventist music was very ject like this. There have been some planned to build its own online store. vibrant. James White wrote in his tricky hurdles we needed to clear “It made sense on many levels to join autobiography, “It is a fact that there before the traditionally very separate the project,” he said. was in those days a power in what was stores could even think about sharing The web store was launched with called Advent singing, such as was felt a web store, but I’m pleased to say its first 1000 products, but there are in no other” (Life Incidents, 1868, p 94). it’s now a reality and great things are plenty of improvements still to come Later William A Spicer, once a General to come!” over the following months. Conference president, wrote, “I remem- ber well, as a boy, in our church waiting for the preacher . Then suddenly the 200 tertiary students share their faith silence would be broken by a sweetly musical and strong, sure voice, singing tracey bridcutt a familiar hymn. I can see the singer More than 200 Sev- now, James White, silver-haired, com- enth-day Adventist students ing down the aisle, beating time on his from tertiary institutions Bible, and singing . .” (Pioneer Days of around Fiji took part in the the Advent Movement, 1941, p 146). recent Global Public Campus The early Adventist hymn music had Ministries (PCM) weekend. a number of different styles but most On Sabbath, October followed the popular upbeat style of the 21, students gathered at bible study in the park. Credit Petero Navosailagi time. The song lyrics highlighted their Lautoka Adventist School for beliefs and hope, including aspects of Bible study, group activities the special message. Here is a chorus and discussion. Trans Pacific Union Jesus. “They need to realise there is of one song about tobacco and health Mission youth director Pastor Faafe- a divine reason why God put them reform: “Chewing! Smoking! Spitting! tai Matai presented. The aim was to in their schools,” he said. “It’s not Choking! Sending clouds whirling in equip the students so that they could only to get a degree and a good everybody’s face. Chewing in the par- share the Bible with other students job. While they are in that institution lour, spitting on the floor, is there such and start small group ministries. they are an ambassador for Christ to enslavement? Is there such a bore?” Following the rally they went to a share their faith and lead someone The Adventist message should always park in the city and shared testimo- to Jesus.” be sung in ways that reach the intended nies, sang worship songs and gave The Global PCM weekend is an audience. Let’s recapture our pioneers’ out GLOW tracts. Some people were annual celebration of campus min- spirit and hope—even in so moved they asked the students to istry across the globe, organised by our singing.