I N T E R N AT I O N A L J O U R N A L F O R PA STO R S A P R I L 2 0 1 0 LevItIcal festIvals A Seventh-d A y A d v e n t i S t p e r S p e c t i v e Make your next evangelistic meeting a true success with the latest handbill designs and coordinating supplies from HOPE™. Introducing NEW Canadian Handbills & Supplies! HOPE™ Customer Service is here to help! Call: 800-274-0016 or ™ email: [email protected] Visit us at: hopesource.com CONTENTS Should we observe the Levitical 04 LETTERS festivals?: A Seventh-day 06 Adventist perspective (Part 1 of 2) EDITORIAL Maybe by the marking of festivals, christians could be drawn 05 closer to the Jews? however, in the observance of festivals, serious theological, cultural, ethical, and practical problems 28 DATELINE invite caution and reservation. Jacques B. Doukhan 29 RESOURCES Pastors’ perspectives on assimilating new members: 11 Part 2—Discipling strategies Because making disciples should lie at the heart of the mission of each church, everything a congregation does for Ministry® intErnAtionAl Editors new members should reach toward that goal. International Journal for Pastors Chinese-Robert Wong 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Indonesian-Edwin T. Pandjaitan Jane Thayer Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A. Japanese-Yukio Ebihara www.ministrymagazine.org Korean-Sung Sun Hong [email protected] Portuguese (South America)- Zinaldo Santos Editor Preserving a vibrant family life in a Russian-Ilie Leahu Nikolaus Satelmajer multichurch district Spanish (South America)- AssociAtE Editor Marcos Blanco 14 Willie E. Hucks II Four ways to identify your family as your “first church” with Spanish (Inter-America)-Pablo Perla “sacred times” scheduled for your spouse and each child. consultAnts to Editor intErnAtionAl Advisors John Fowler, Clifford Goldstein, Balvin Braham, Ron Clouzet, Daniel David Guerrero Myrna Tetz Duda, R. Danforth Francis, Passmore EditoriAl spEciAlist Hachalinga, John Kakembo, Gerry Sheryl Beck Karst, Janos Kovacs-Biro, Ilie Leahu, Miguel Luna, Jan Paulsen, Bruno Finishing well opErAtionAl spEciAlist Raso, Ángel M. Rodríguez, Ranieri John Feezer IV Bringing a leadership career to a formal conclusion has Sales, Hector Sanchez, Houtman 16 officE AssistAnt Sinaga, Gary Webster, Walton become more an art than a science. ten ways to leave Mervyn Lee Williams, Measapogu Wilson gracefully when the time has come for you to depart . AdvErtising subscriptions Juan R. Prestol Cheri Gatton 12 issues: United States US$32.80; [email protected] Canada and overseas US$45.95. +1 208-965-0157 To order: send name, address, and Members who smoke and church subscriptions/rEnEwAls/ payment to Ministry® Subscriptions, AddrEss chAngEs 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver discipline: A view from the writings ministrysubscriptions@ Spring, MD 20904-6600 U.S.A. gc.adventist.org to writErs 20 +1 301-680-6508 of Ellen G. White We welcome unsolicited manu- +1 301-680-6502 (fax) scripts. Before submitting, review ellen White wrote to the leadership of one church in indiana, covEr illustrAtion the writers’ guidelines at “Forbear and be more patient with dr. Osborn.” Emily Harding www.ministrymagazine.org. Please lAyout send manuscripts via email to Luca Marulli 316 Creative [email protected]. “Miracles” in Nigeria: An evaluation of unusual occurences director Anthony Kent | [email protected] | +1 301-680-6516 24 can so-called miracles be performed anywhere? how should Ministry® has been published printEr Pacific Press® Pub. Assn., we take the warnings seriously about false teachings, false monthly since 1928 by the Minis- 1350 N. Kings Rd., Nampa, ID 83687 terial Association, general confer- christs, false prophets, and false miracles? ence of seventh-day Adventists®. Standard mail postage paid at Nampa, Ministry is a peer-reviewed journal. Idaho. (ISSN 0026-5314) Adelowo Felix Adetunji sEcrEtARY Member of Associated Church Press. AssociAtE sEcrEtAriEs Adventist®, Seventh-day Adventist®, Jonas Arrais, Sharon Cress, and Ministry® are the registered biblE crEdits Scripture quoted from KJV is from the King James Version. Scriptures quoted from NKJV are from The New King James Version, Anthony Kent, Peter Prime, trademarks of the General copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from The New Nikolaus Satelmajer Conference Corporation of American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Scripture quotations ® marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. MinistEriAl ResourcE CentEr Seventh-day Adventists . coordinator Cathy Payne vol. 82 number 4 © 2010 888-771-0738, +1 301-680-6508 www.ministerialassociation.com PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. MINISTRY 3 A P R I L 2 0 1 0 LETTERS “Thank you. .for reducing a comprehensive (many would say, complex) biblical teaching to a fascinating and readable story.” Assimilating new I pray for the Lord’s blessings to the pre-Advent judgment, where members on part 2 of Thayer’s series—that it destinies are decided; there is no jury believe church evangelism and will ignite an eternal flame, driven of peers involved in the trial. Nor in I church discipling is as important as by the Holy Spirit’s final outpouring, the millennial judgment since the getting married and staying happily the latter rain. peers are not a jury that can reverse married. —Stephen Dennis, Ardmore, Oklahoma, United the decision. I wish to commend Jane Thayer States —John Indermuehle, email for her extremely valuable and timely article (“Pastors’ Perspectives on Judgment hank you, John Duge, for reduc- Assimilating New Members: Part he article by John Duge (“The Ting a comprehensive (many 1—Challenges and Needs”—Febru- TJudgment: An Adventist Perspec- would say, complex) biblical teaching ary 2010). The article is very practical tive”—February 2010) provided some to a fascinating and readable story. and much needed. Our conference is great insights and summaries regard- I was nodding and in the mood for a asking both pastors and head elders ing the three phases of the judgment. nap when I reached for the copy of to share it with its congregations and There were several statements Ministry on my desk. The first article study how it can be implemented. that need clarification and support, I chose was Duge’s—and it literally —Mike Ortel, president, Northern New England however. The section referring to woke me up. Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Portland, Zechariah 3 describes the high priest It is an article I can share with Maine, United States going into the Most Holy Place and anyone who either fears the judg- states that if there was sin in the ment or finds it hard to understand. s a teacher in our church schools camp the high priest dropped dead. —Ken Lockwood, email Afor the past 35 years, it seems to This statement references Patri- me that discipleship has not been a archs and Prophets which says it the Bible and dinosaurs major topic or goal. It has been felt was the “fear of the people” that if appreciate Raul Esperante’s article by some that once you present the the priest’s time in the Most Holy I (“What Does the Bible Say About idea, then you are done with what Place was too long, their sins or his Dinosaurs?”—December 2009) you have to do. But if discipleship may have caused his death. Is the not only because it was very well- is another way of saying we are article interpreting the Ellen G. White written; but also because it stated following Christ’s method, then the statement saying that if even one of facts, not fiction. Much research “years of discipleship” Thayer called the two million people in the camp is still being done on the Flood for is the work of a lifetime. had unconfessed sin the high priest and the time immediately after it. Our key responsibility during our would die? Is there biblical support I believe that as we get closer to lifetime is to develop—and assist for this claim or interpretation? Christ’s second coming, we will others in developing—a personal The section on the millennial learn more and more to strengthen daily devotional life with Jesus Christ phase of the judgment states that the faith of many. This will be one of as our best Friend and Savior. Jesus the best systems of jurisprudence many mysteries opened to man as is to be the centerpiece to everything insist that the accused have the knowledge increases. we say and do. right to trial by a jury of their —Byron Fesler, Mountain Home, Idaho, United peers. This statement cannot apply States MINISTRY 4 A P R I L 2 0 1 0 E D I TOR I A L | N I k ola u S S atelma j er some things are worth doing repeatedly y the time you receive this issue, where exactly, but we can safely say at the General Conference Session, the 59th General Conference that these selected representatives your congregation is their home. BSession will be taking place in will come from most parts of the Perhaps you can introduce them as less than a few months. Even though world. The 2010 delegates will not only a delegate to the congregation and these sessions were once held every represent a diverse church, but we will have special prayer for them. I believe year, they are now held once every five also see a higher ratio of lay members, that something like that would have years. The session has always been a when compared to the 1863 session.