tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91489310615939907232024-02-08T01:24:23.870-05:00ReflectionsQuestioning. Searching. Learning. Sharing. Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-76302070091239142422014-05-04T23:09:00.000-04:002014-05-04T23:09:30.123-04:00New Blog Site!<span class="userContent">After weeks of work and research, I've finally
upgraded the blog to a more professional look and feel. I have also
decided to make writing a regular and important part of my life and
ministry so, I will now be posting new content every couple of days.
This is going to be an interesting adventure! Want to join the party?
Hit the subscribe, share or follow buttons!<br /><br />www.pastornelsonsblog.com</span>Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-67190001531777478232014-04-21T21:38:00.000-04:002014-04-21T21:38:53.860-04:00Karma, Hula Pie, and the Gift of a Lifetime<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week's blog is a short reflection based on a feel good video that I saw last week. I'm also letting my left hand recuperate a bit from my run-in with that Deacon this past Sabbath (check my Facebook page for more details on that). I am also getting ready to roll out the upgraded version of my blog next week and will begin blogging more consistently. So consider this an "in between" week.<br />
--<br />
<div class="wysiwyg_viewer_skins_WRichTextNewSkin" id="vwprxyWRchTxt1w-11c7" style="-moz-box-sizing: border-box; visibility: visible; white-space: normal; width: 100%;">
<div class="font_8">
It's
incredible to see what a little bit of generosity can do in someone's
life. I'm a firm believer in the idea that "kindness brings forth kindness." Sure, some people can call it karma.</div>
<div class="font_8">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdnfiles.hdrcreme.com/47830/medium/byodo-temple-honolulu.jpg?1357045312" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdnfiles.hdrcreme.com/47830/medium/byodo-temple-honolulu.jpg?1357045312" height="185" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture doesn't do Hawaii justice</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="font_8">
I'll never forget one experience Sarah and I had in
Hawaii on our honeymoon. We went to visit a memorial park called Valley
of the Temples in Oahu that had tons of cool replicas of temples from around the
world. Walking through many nice-looking memorial stones with flowers
around the tombstones, I saw an overturned and dirty looking tombstone
that had the inscription on it, “For Dad.”</div>
<div class="font_8">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://jennsadventures.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hawaii-deserts-hula-pie-whalers-village-web.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://jennsadventures.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hawaii-deserts-hula-pie-whalers-village-web.jpeg" height="243" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Delicious Hula Pie.... *heavy breathing*</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="font_8">
I thought, “What would it be like if it were my family
member there?” So I spent a few minutes cleaning it up, rearranging the flowers, said a prayer for the person's family and then we
continued on our way. That evening we went to eat at an awesome
restaurant called Duke's. Just as we were going to pay our bill, the
waiter brings Sarah and I a HUGE ice cream cake dessert called a Hula
Pie and told us that someone had bought it for us!</div>
<div class="font_8">
<br /></div>
<div class="font_8">
“There must be some mistake," I told him. “We don’t know
anyone here. Can you check to see if this is the right table?" He went
back and said, “No, there is no mistake, someone wanted you to have
this.” Till this day, I don’t know who did it; I don’t know what else to
attribute it to than to the idea that “kindness brings forth kindness.” Karma? Hula Pie gods? Providence? I don't know.</div>
<div class="font_8">
<br /></div>
<div class="font_8">
Like the video says, “You don’t be kind to others in
order to get something in return.” You are kind (which is different than
being nice) to others because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the
Golden Rule.</div>
</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-91893713489432103182014-04-14T16:34:00.000-04:002014-04-14T16:34:22.223-04:006 Ways to Guard your Marriage in Ministry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Nope, I’m not joining everyone else this week in discussing the
Record Keeper. I think others have said what I believe on the matter (one by Roger Hernandez)
<a href="http://leadsu.org/2014/04/11/three-things-i-learned-from-the-record-keeper-cancelation/">here</a> and (one by Ed Dickerson) <a href="http://outlookmag.org/the-record-keeper-and-two-masters/">here</a>. This week, I’m focusing on something that I think everyone
agrees on: marital fidelity. Last year I took a great class from Dr. John Nixon
Sr. and want to share with you all a few great lessons we learned that week
together. I thank him for this week’s post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sexual sin is not morally worse than other sins, but because
it has such a powerful effect on the whole person, it is more devastating. Sex
is dangerous when it is misused; it can destroy us body and soul. Recently I
have seen several pastors outside of Adventism resign from their churches
because of moral falls. How can we prevent these kinds of tragedies from happening in our own
churches and families? Here are a few tips to guard you marriage in ministry.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Speak
highly of your spouse to others.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Never share your marital problems with someone of the
opposite sex, unless it is in a professional therapeutic setting. It is a trap
of Satan to get us to complain about our spouses to “understanding” coworkers
and friends so that though their sympathy we may be led to sin.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Monitor
your personal spiritual life.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Conduct an inventory of your habits of prayer, Bible study,
meditation, etc. It is easy to neglect the spiritual disciplines, not intentionally,
but simply though business. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Make
yourself accountable to someone trustworthy</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here one pastor shares a personal story on this point.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Once
I was undergoing a time of strong sexual temptation and finally I called a
friend with whom I was having breakfast the next day. I said, ‘Please pray for
me, and ask me tomorrow morning what I did last night.’ He agreed, and the
moment I put down the phone, my temptation was gone. Why? I’d like to say it was
because I’m so spiritual, but the truth is there was no way that I was going to
face my friend the next morning and have to tell him I had sinned.”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Regularly
evaluate your marriage.</b></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Watch for signs of boredom and routine, lack of affection,
poor communication, poor sex life and discontentment. Read Christian marriage
books together, perhaps a worship devotional. Remember, marriages go through
stages of development and each new stage is an opportunity to grow in your relationship.
Don’t take anything for granted. Remember Proverbs 5:15-19.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Make no provision for sin. Romans 13:14</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Know the things that trigger impure thoughts and be
intentional about rooting them out. Guard the avenues of the soul. Watch the
things that you permit to enter your mind though the senses. In this way, you
guard your mind. Impure thoughts have a cumulative effect on the soul when we permit
them to have entry. They eat away at the integrity of our spirit like the ocean
eroding the shoreline. Immoral acts come from gradual steps.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A relationship can be sexual long before it
becomes erotic. Just because I’m not touching a woman, or just because I’m not
envisioning specific erotic encounters, does not mean I’m not becoming sexually
involved with her. The erotic is usually not the beginning but the culmination
of sexual attraction.”</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Back off
early.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As soon as you sense inappropriate feelings towards another
person, face it and back away from it right away.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“When
meeting a woman for our third counseling appointment, I became aware that she
was interested in me personally. What was more frightening to me was the fact
that I realized I had subconsciously sensed this before but enjoyed her attraction
too much to address the problem. Though I wasn’t yet emotionally involved or
giving her inappropriate attention, I wasn’t deflecting hers towards me,
either, and was thereby inviting it.”</i></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Do you know what is the most erotic organ of the body? The
brain. You can be alone and project yourself into arousal just by the thoughts
of your mind. Our minds belong to God also. And when our thoughts are stayed on
Jesus, we have the power of His Spirit to live for God’s glory no matter where
we are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">”Finally,
brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things <i>are</i> noble, whatever
things <i>are</i> just, whatever things <i>are</i> pure, whatever things <i>are</i>
lovely, whatever things <i>are</i> of good report, if <i>there is</i> any
virtue and if <i>there is</i> anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” –
Philippians 4:8</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span class="text"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">For more on this, check out Proverbs 6:20-32; 7:6-27. Have any other thoughts on the matter that you'd like to share? Comment below! </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b></span></span></div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-57963476982461246592014-04-06T21:45:00.000-04:002014-04-06T21:45:02.829-04:007 Areas to Focus On In Your First Year of a New Pastorate<div style="text-align: center;">
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Unlike most other jobs, the work of a pastor has no clear
instruction booklet that tells you what you’re supposed to be doing on a daily
basis. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember how nervous I was when
I found out that I would be going straight from seminary into my own church
district (instead of the “typical” track where you are assigned to work under a
senior pastor in a larger church for few years to gain experience). The
learning curve has been steep the past three years and I am still learning every day, but if you are
beginning a new assignment in a district or a single church, learn from my
mistakes. If I could go back in time and do it over again, these are the 7
areas that I would focus on in the first year. </div>
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Side note: keep in mind that much of what you end up doing will
depend on the size of the congregation(s) and your own personal gifts/abilities. There are congregational dynamics that happen in any church which you need to
be aware of and will impact the way you do ministry. A <u><b>MUST READ</b></u> article on
that can be found <a href="https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1997/09/how-group-dynamics-impact-your-ministry">here</a>. You may like some areas of pastoral work better than
others (for example, you may be more inclined to do visitation over
administrative work, or prefer preaching instead of training). Whatever your
particular church size or unique skillset, you should still try to pay
attention to these areas in your fist year.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Observation</b></div>
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Specifically for your first three to six months in your new
church, I would not chair any important meetings, make any large changes or
otherwise do anything that would jolt the church. Don’t feel like you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have </i>to start being busy right away… believe
me, that time will come. I remember feeling bad because the first few weeks on
the job, I didn’t have much to do and I felt like I wasn’t doing my job correctly. From my research both theoretical and anecdotal, this is actually quite normal. Your first task should really be to observe your surroundings. </div>
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Pastoral work is primarily relational more than
administrative, and in a new environment you are going to be working with people
who you have never met before. So, start by getting comfortable. Sit in on board
meetings as a fly on the wall to gain a feel of the different relational
dynamics in the group. Sit in all<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>of
the different Sabbath schools within your church (all the way from the children’s
divisions to the adults). Basically, observe as much as you can within your
church.</div>
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The benefit to you in doing this is twofold: one, it will
help you to see the church from the local member’s standpoint, and two, it gives
you visibility among your members (this is important early on and gives members a chance to meet &
greet you).</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Visitation</b></div>
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Plan a visitation blitz early on and try to visit as many
members in their homes as possible (no, not in your home, not in your office... in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their</i> home). It will get harder
for you to do this later on with your responsibilities, so do this at the
beginning. The rationale behind this the same as point #1. Moreover, doing
this, you will be able to gain a feel for the individuals that make up your
church. Start with your key leaders in your church board and work down from
there. Spend no more than 30-45 minutes in the home and try to cover these
areas during your visit. Remember this acronym: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">FORT.</b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Family</u>:</i> How many kids? Do they have family in the area? What do you like about the
neighborhood? Any good restaurants in the area? Just general questions about
themselves. </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Occupation</u>:</i> Where do they work? What led them to do that work? Etc. </div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Religion</u>:</i> How long have they been a member of the church or an Adventist? Was religion a
big thing in their home of origin? What have they enjoyed most about being a
member of this church? What are some areas that they would change in the
congregation? (Don’t let this question drag on since disgruntled members may
vent--limit it to one or two points.)</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><u>Testimony:</u></i> How did they personally come to the Lord? What do they love best about knowing Him? Where do they think God has gifted them to get involved?</div>
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End with a prayer, thank them for their time, tell them you
look forward to working with them, and move on. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You may want to consider taking notes of each visit and keeping them on
file so that you remember people’s names and their families (not to mention any
noteworthy details you may hear in conversation).</b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Preaching </b></div>
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Whatever your preaching style, bring your A-game, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">especially in the beginning</i>! Give them
your best sermons here and please try to use NO NOTES! Why not preach a series
outlining your views on your personal calling to ministry, the Gospel, and life? Give the church an idea of who you are. I’ve also heard the suggestion that you
could even give a week-long revival or hold an evangelism week in your first year and
invite church members to bring their friends. <br />
<br />
Remember, at this point you are still new and novel; people will be much more
favorable and willing to hear what you say <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">now</i>
than at any other time in your ministry at the church. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Visioning </b></div>
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In order to look ahead at what you’re going to do, you need
to look back at where your new church is coming from. If you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really </i>want to get a good pulse of that
you’re walking into, ask to see the last 3-5 years’ worth of board/business
meeting minutes and study them. This will give you an idea of your new church’s
strengths and areas for growth, and might spur some ideas in terms of what to do.</div>
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Why not also have a visioning weekend with your leaders
sometime in the first year to become acquainted with one another and hammer out
a shared vision for the future of the church? In seminary, I was taught the following principle: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">“People will rarely, if ever, take
ownership for something which they themselves are not a part of creating.” </b>Lead
from consensus rather than telling them, “This is what you will be doing.” When you
help create a shared vision at the beginning, there is a better chance that
they will be willing to follow along rather than be pastor-driven movement.</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Planning and Delegating </b></div>
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If you have a multi-church district, decide when you will be
where. Keep in mind, YOU are the one who decides your schedule, not your church
(more on that in point #7). If you have a church office, I would set office hours
here and let your church know. If you have a district where you all speak the
same language, why not gather the elders from all of your churches together
once a quarter for training, prayer and encouragement? (I have a bilingual
district and, while you can also do it here too, your brain may be as fried as
mine having to translate back and forth). Consider putting together a
preaching calendar together with your leaders and involving them in it. The
idea here is to get ideas down on paper as far as your own personal schedule
and direction with the church(es) and invite your leaders to be a part of the
conversation.</div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Community Networking </b></div>
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As mentioned earlier, your first few weeks are going to be
pretty slow. Why not take some time to get to know your area? Get lost and
drive around town to see the new area that you’re going to be working in. I
would also stop by your local officials' offices (city mayor, hospitals, police department,
etc.) and introduce yourself as the new Adventist pastor in the area. Offer them
your support and ask them how you can be of support to them in their work as
public officials. I’ve never been rejected doing this; the people are typically
very nice and it is a good opportunity for networking.</div>
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Also, become familiar with any local ministerial associations
and get a list of local community service agencies in case there are any
visitors or members who need help with basic necessities like food, water,
medical care, bills, etc. (and they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will
</i>come, so it’s better to be ready beforehand.) </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Boundary Setting </b></div>
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Boundaries are, in my opinion, one of the MOST important
things you can do when you begin. This lays the groundwork for what the church
can expect from you as well as establishes what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">you</i> expect from the church. Someone once said, “People will take
from you whatever you let them take.” And it’s true!</div>
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One of the biggest drawbacks of not having a set guideline
of work requirements as a pastor is that people often want to make your schedule
and give you your duties. Unfortunately, one of the highest values that gets
placed in determining success is “busyness.” Especially if you’ve never been in
a senior pastor position before, some pastors may feel like they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> to be doing something at all times. This can lead to some very unhealthy patterns of behavior:</div>
<ul>
<li>Some pastors will accept calls from their
members at any hour of the day on any day.</li>
<li>Some pastors will gladly drop whatever plans
they have to tend to whatever “urgent” matter a member presents them with. </li>
<li>Some pastors will cave in to the first complaint they
receive from a strong personality.</li>
<li>
Some pastors will work 7 days a week and wear it
as a "badge of honor."</li>
</ul>
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I remember someone once told me to work basically seven days a week and
to take breaks “here and there, in between whenever I could.” Umm… no. As Seventh-day Adventists,
one of the primary principles that we emphasize is a Sabbath in peoples' lives. We recognize that we are not human doings; we're human beings, created to
"be" on a work/rest cycle as we find outlined in scripture. Sure,
this routine is not salvific but it does propose that if followed, this rhythm
improves the quality of one's personal life, family life, and work
effectiveness, among other things. It is contrary to our beliefs to expect any
pastor to work nonstop every weekday and weekend with no time off and with no
time for a personal or a family Sabbath of his own.</div>
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Your responsibilities are <b>(</b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">in this order):</b></div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Your relationship God and your health</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Your family</div>
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span>Your duties as a pastor and to your church</div>
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Be clear with your church about what day is your day off. Establish boundaries within your church board in terms of how you expect
communication and disagreements within the church to be handled. Be clear with
your leaders with what they can expect from you and what you expect from them. Obviously,
emergencies <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">will </i>happen and you may
need to flexible to deal with a change in your schedule. However, you
are not superman; the church will survive without our help.</div>
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Keep these basic pointers in mind, look out for the end of
your “honeymoon period” with the church at around the 6 month mark, always be
willing to admit your mistakes, stay humble, and learn all you can as you go along, and you will surely do a great job. Blessings in your new assignment!</div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Have any other
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Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-34107564415571892482014-03-31T21:02:00.001-04:002014-04-10T14:07:13.215-04:00Eccumenical Worship Lessons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://waysideweb.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Worship_1440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://waysideweb.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Worship_1440.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Conspiracy theorists, start your engines. Hopefully, the title was enough to get you to read this, lol. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Before you accuse me of being in cahoots
with some sort of Illuminati, Jesuit conspiracy theory seeking to bring all churches
under one roof, calm down. I’m still an Adventist pastor. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Seriously though, I've been on a bit of an eclectic
tour lately. Sarah and I have been wanting to check out how other people in the
area worship. So a few weeks ago, we visited a Greek Orthodox Church. Last
Friday night, we brought in the Sabbath at a conservative Jewish Synagogue (I
even got to wear a kippah! [That's the little cap on the head if you didn't catch it.]). Yesterday (Sunday), I got the unique chance to speak for the first
time at Southern Baptist church. These experiences have really made me look
forward to, actually more like long for, Heaven.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">To think that each one of these
individual congregations could each be trying to express their worship to the
same God really got me thinking about how we think about the point of worship and especially
our contribution to the community of faith as Adventists. This really came out at the Baptist service where the person giving the Welcome said something to
the effect of, "We've welcomed you all here this morning, but have you all
recognized that God is really our guest of honor today? Have you welcomed
HIM here today?" Then everyone clapped and stood up as if the King of the
Universe were actually there.</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">All worship services focused on what
God had done:</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Greek Orthodox church focused on God's sacrifice in
the Eucharist.</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Jews focused on God's care and deliverance for his
people with the Sabbath.</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The Baptists focused on God's providence with his
works.</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Side note: So what is the focus of an Adventist worship
service? Yes, while theoretically it should be the Second Coming and/or the Three Angels Messages, what does that look like in practice? I don't think that, as a denomination, we have that figured out yet collectively. From my own experience, I’ve noticed that in many of our churches, our worship
services are dryer than Wheaties with no milk. It's ironic that a denomination
that emphasizes the connection between the mind-body-spirit like Adventists do
would have many of their worship services so cerebral and formal that the
experiential (praise/emotional/physical) section of worship seems to go mostly overlooked. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The focus on any real worship
service should focus on something God has done for his people; He is the center
or the object of worship and not the other way around. Dangerous things happen
when <b>WE</b> become the center of worship. We can either go to one of two
extremes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A.
Wing it for Jesus (too casual)</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Have you
ever gone to or been a part of a worship service where things seem to come
together in real time? In some cases, people give God whatever happens to
show up at worship service without any practice. They might give an excuse and
say, “We rely on the Spirit’s leading,” but what they really mean is, “We didn’t
have time to rehearse and we hope this comes out better than we expect." I
guarantee that if you knew your local senator were going to visit your
church, you wouldn’t wing it when it came to worship. You also wouldn’t wing it
if you knew WHO the center of your worship was.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">B.
The Worship Critic (too rigid)</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">On the
other side of the ditch, you have the Nazi who has to have every detail go off
without a hitch. If the pastor’s sermon goes past 12:30, they’re out. If the
special music hit an off-key note, they squirm in their seat. If the children
are too loud, watch out--you can expect a lecture on the way out about the
importance of reverence in the church. If someone happens to connect with God
in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable (like particular musical instruments or a
physical expression like standing up and lifting up their hands), you can be
sure a letter will be drafted and calls will be made.</span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/simpsonschurchwide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.theawl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/simpsonschurchwide.jpg" height="207" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Does your worship service leave people feeling like this?</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Both of these ditches view worship as
something that is about US and think that our preferences have the highest
priority when it comes to what is acceptable and what isn’t. True worship is right in the middle; we plan, prepare, and strive to give God our best while recognizing that even our best isn't what He deserves. Worship is about
recognizing that HE is in the house!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Seriously, have you
considered what God sees when he looks at all of his people worshiping here in unison, at the same time, in different ways? Heaven will be full of people that worship
different than you here on Earth. If you want to see what God sees on a weekly
basis, consider starting your own little faith tour in your area. This way, not
only will you see the sheep Jesus has that are not in your own fold, you will
save yourself the embarrassment of having to admit that other denominations made it
to Heaven when you see them there!</span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-66248600093376678992014-03-23T19:39:00.000-04:002014-04-10T14:20:34.679-04:007 Principles for Handling Criticism like a CHAMP! Part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Continuing our list from last week!</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/criticism-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://leadershipfreak.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/criticism-1.jpg" height="218" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">He says, "Women shouldn't be pastors!" She says, "I see you're concerned."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">5)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t lose your focus of your mission just
because people say unkind things about you.</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">People who have a heart for people tend to take criticism
personally. You often remember one criticism over
50 compliments. Don’t overthink it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Interestingly enough, I have learned from experience that no one
operates in a vacuum. The saying is true: “Hurt people, hurt people.” </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Often
I have found that behind every critic, there are
other factors playing into their response that has nothing to do with
you
personally. Maybe they are going through
a hard time at home, or perhaps something about you reminds them of a
past hurt; thus, they are really projecting their problems onto you.
Sure,
some people may be straight up jerks, but learn to see the good behind
every
critic. No matter how nasty they may be, Jesus died to save them too,
right?</span></span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">6)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Learn when to let criticism slide.</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like one cool little <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwSU72bLEJc">video blog</a> says,</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“Most successful people are too
busy creating things in the world and actually living their lives to harshly
criticize and judge you. The majority of the time, the people who are your
harshest critics are creative cowards. They are bystanders on the sidelines of
life who risk nothing and create nothing. It’s easy to attack and destroy an
act of creation. It’s a lot more difficult to perform one.”</span></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">How do you do this? For example, you don't <i>have </i>to respond to every email or comment directed your way online. Another way to let criticism slide is, if you get a nasty letter
from an “anonymous concerned individual,” throw that mess away. If they are
anonymous in sending you criticism, they don’t deserve the right to be heard if
they are not willing to put a face on their complaint. Also, if the person that you are hearing criticism from is <i>always critical</i> of everything and everyone, let it go. That person probably just needs a hug (or a swift kick in the pants).</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Besides, are you really going to let people’s opinions have that much
power over you? Remember, you <i>will</i> be criticized since even Jesus got criticized form others. Yeah,
Jesus…so, if <i>he </i>couldn’t get out of
it... neither will you. But if he could manage to get through it, you can
too (as a side note, Jesus <i>rarely</i>
defended himself in the face of criticism. He often kept silent and/or let his
work do the talking).</span></span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">7)<span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></b><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">You are not defined by your critics or your
success, but by your identity as a child of God.</b></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This
actually cuts both ways. The comments from haters should
have little bearing on you as you try to fulfill your mission to change
the world. On the other hand, you may have a moderate to great amount
of success
with the work that you do (and your ability to rise above criticism).
However,
don’t think that any success makes you better than the rest of the
world, in the
same way that criticism makes you think of yourself as less than
everyone else. Don't be tempted to think of yourself as God's gift to
the world.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It goes back to Romans 12: <i>“Be honest in your evaluation of
yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”</i> Follow these
principles and you will be on your way to living out God’s calling in your
life! </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Care to share any other tips that have helped you handle critcism? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!</span></span></div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-13050842635403686462014-03-17T17:46:00.000-04:002014-03-17T17:51:16.196-04:007 Principles for Handling Criticism like a CHAMP! Part 1<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607995811014574100&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607995811014574100&pid=15.1" height="305" id="ihover-img" title="" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't predict what others will do or say but, you can train how you react.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week, I’ve decided to go back general help topics which are always pretty popular (see <a href="http://prnelsonf.blogspot.com/2014/02/bruno-mars-masonic-baby-haircut-and-5.html">“Bruno Mars’ Masonic Baby Haircut”</a>). I have also decided to actually write blogs instead of dissertations, so my posts will be shorter (between 500-750 words). </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whether you
are a doctor, janitor, president, or a guy who just finished a controversial
series about race relations, chances are that you are going to receive your
fair share of criticism. But how can you handle criticism in a way that will not leave
you drained and stressed? Here are 7 principles to keep in mind for handling criticism like a champ!</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><b>There is a difference between a disagreement
and criticism.</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b> </b>Don’t be frustrated because someone has a different opinion
than you. Just because someone disagrees with your idea, thoughts, or
viewpoints, that doesn’t make the the disagreement a criticism or mean that the person is a critic. First, you have to make a logical, conscious choice to not become defensive when our
instinct may be to fight back when someone disagrees with you. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leave your ego at the door; you can always learn something from a
disagreement or even a criticism.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Like Romans 12:3 says, <i>“Because of the privilege and
authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don't think you
are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,
measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us."</i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></i></b><b>Differentiate
between constructive and destructive criticism. </b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I define criticism as an insult that is attached to a complaint
in order to show displeasure. For example, when as a janitor, your superior
says, “You missed a spot. Go over it again,” that’s constructive criticism. However, if
he says, “You are the <i>worst</i> janitor
I’ve ever had. This job is terrible,” that's probably destructive criticism (and your supervisor needs a chill pill). The key difference to remember is that <u>destructive
criticism usually takes aim at the person rather than just the issue at hand.</u></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>3)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><b>Get used to the fact that you <i>will</i> be criticized.</b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><u><b>No one</b></u></i> is immune or above criticism. You are constantly being
judged for what you hear, wear, do, or don’t do. Everyone will have something to chime in about. You <i>could</i> just stay
home and play video games all day in an attempt to avoid criticism, but guess what? Then you’ll get criticized for being
lazy. Since you can’t get around criticism, you might as well
learn to get ahold of it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>4)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><b>The higher the profile, the more criticism
you will receive. </b></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A while ago, I shared <a href="http://prnelsonf.blogspot.com/2013/10/shutdown-politics-and-my-beef-with-dr.html">my beef</a> with Dr. Ben Carson. He probably has no idea who I am (nor does he probably care what I think). My point is that someone who is in the public eye, and/or has a prominent position of leadership, and is taking a stand for something they believe in will probably become a lightning rod of opinions. That’s the nature of the beast. I may get my fair share of criticism, but compare me to the kind of criticism that someone like President Obama gets and it makes me look like I shouldn't have a care in the world!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next time, the final 3 principles! </span></span></div>
<br />
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<![endif]-->Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-55125011013867551382014-03-11T22:02:00.000-04:002014-03-12T16:27:57.882-04:00Final Post-Elephants in the Room: The Regional Conference Debate, pt. 3B <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I'm tired of seeing this elephant every week!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let’s start out with some good news. I recently found out that at the
NAD Pastoral Advisory in January 2014, the committee voted the following: "To
recommend that the North American Division administrative team seriously study
our current structure and distribution model of ministry and support, to see if
it is maximizing or using the best approach organizationally in fulfilling the mission
in our division." Granted, while this is just a “study,” it hopefully will
be a step in the right direction instead of dying in the purgatory of Adventist
bureaucracy. Join me in praying that the Lord’s will (not mine, yours, or anyone
else’s) be done.</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I’m glad that this series is at least on the heels of changes that are hopefully being implemented. After three weeks of elephants, here
is where the rubber meets the road. To finalize my last three posts, here is
why I believe our church should take steps to end the historic divide between
“Black” and “White” conferences.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Our current administrative
structure, on the outside, has all the markings of the “separate but equal”
segregationalist era that birthed it; ending our divide would be a good witness
to the world about God’s desire for His people to unite based on the biblical
definition of unity (rather than the ecumenical push that traditional
Christianity attaches to that term).</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Especially in the Hispanic
work, there is duplicity in the day-to-day operation of our church that cannot
go unaddressed. "Working together" between conferences is not a very effective, long-term solution. To allow, for example, Hispanics to form their own conferences
would not mitigate the problem; it would just tell the world that within Adventism, races cannot
coexist outside of "separate but equal" administrative umbrellas. This would make our current problem even worse. </b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>It would be an external sign of healing taking place
among God's people, and would allow our church to experience a <i>real</i> taste of what
Heaven will be like instead of believing that God will allow us to believe the
lie that worship up there will be as segregated as our worship down here. </b></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607995338565681220&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607995338565681220&pid=15.1" height="280" id="ihover-img" title="" width="280" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hopefully that NAD proposal isn't in there somewhere...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, this solution post starts with this premise: any change to our
structure will meet with resistance. I see management from a systems theory
approach. That is to say that a change done in one area of an organization will
affect another area positively or negatively in an indirect way.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let me also say that unity is <b>NOT</b> uniformity. Do not assume that by
suggesting a different or new way to structure our church, I am suggesting
that all churches be English-speaking or all potlucks be catered by Hispanics (although... well,
let me not go there). Unity does not mean dumping your individual culture
identity at the door; it means submitting it to the greater cause of Christ's
command to His church. </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unity is also <b>NOT</b> forgetting the past. Only God can truly forgive and forget. It is acknowledging the good and bad from our combined past and being willing to step out and face the future together. If we are stuck living in the past, soon we will become as dusty and as forgotten as the past. Be willing to become partners with God and create something NEW! </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608051417952881596&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608051417952881596&pid=15.1" height="401" id="ihover-img" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">True unity is blending our individuality in corporate expression.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, any solution can not be superficial. One popular expression that
I’ve heard is, <b>“Let’s just do away with regional conferences.” </b>The problem with
saying, "Let's end regional conferences" is that, because of their
history, it sounds synonymous with, "Let's end the Black work and sweep
everything under the rug within the White conferences." Also, the problem
is not our currently separate, race-based dual conference system, either the
Regional or State conferences themselves; <b>the root problem is a human problem
that is found on all sides of the divide.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even though the suggestions I will present are external suggestions,
they hope to address a real internal problem that lies within each of us. We
tend to isolate ourselves and view the world through the scope of our own
“narrative.” When we come into contact with an "other" (someone outside of what
we are used to or comfortable with), there is a natural tendency to want to play it safe and stick with what we know. For too long, we have simply given
lip service to Jesus’ call to unity. It is time to provide a case study for the
text in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor
free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because our current situation began with an individual problem of
prejudice and spread to be a systemic, institutionalized divide we have today,
a holistic solution must likewise address individual as well as corporate
aspects. Here are some suggested solutions to address the internal and external
aspects of the color-coded condition of our church structure.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Individually:</span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the three steps that
Dwight Nelson <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvQXS6N9KsY&feature=share">gave in a sermon on this topic</a>.</span></div>
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</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Make sure that your own heart
is not color-coded or prejudiced.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We need to check our own
hearts to see if we harbor any resentment toward others and give those things
to the Lord. How are we supposed to move forward in the vehicle of progress if
we are constantly looking through our rearview mirror? Despite what may have
gone on in the past, make a commitment to be an agent of change in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>As an interesting side note, Pastor Nelson, quoting an author by the name of James Ditte, noted that those who
hold conservative social values (as many Adventists tend to) are more at risk
to holding racial prejudice. The quote says:</span><blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Those who are conservative in
their social values (most evangelicals) are more likely to be racially
prejudiced… more conservative attitudes on these issues [war, divorce, capital
punishment, abortion, socialized medicine, rehabilitation of prisoners, and
welfare] are correlated with more restricted and prejudice-like attitudes on
racial issues. To be sure, the correlation is not perfect. There are many
non-prejudiced individuals with conservative social views, and vice versa. But
the correlation is more likely than not.”[1]</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A caveat to this previous
point, however, was the attention to one’s personal life. “Most notable was
concern for the devotional life. Persons who thought that prayer and devotional
life were important were more likely to hold favorable and tolerant attitudes
towards [minorities].” [2] <br /><br />So, if we want to ask the
Lord to help us to see others through His eyes, some suggestions can be as
simple as reading though the Gospel story daily and meditating on the life of
Christ and Calvary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b>Cross a line! Choose a church
with a racial mix. Don’t only congregate with people of your own ethnicity.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span>It isn’t enough to talk about
integration; we have to step out and meet people from the other aisle. If you
have a State/Regional conference church mix in your area, visit a few that you
may not have visited before. I know that I always benefit from doing this. You could even consider joining a church where you are not the ethnic majority!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b>Talk to your leaders. Ask
them why we have to be “separate but equal” administrative structures.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>I’m not saying revolt, but
it is important that your leaders know what is on your heart. Sometimes what
leaders need is a bit of encouragement from someone to get them to believe that
this kind of change is possible!</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Local Church:</span></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607991331360736620&pid=15.1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.607991331360736620&pid=15.1" height="214" id="ihover-img" title="" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, I am going to talk to pastors (forgive me if I am a little more
direct here). Dear colleagues, I am acutely aware of my age and know that any of you reading
this may wonder what, if any, right I have to say anything. You’re right; life
experience has not given me the right to be so bold. However, if on the one hand you say that I'm<span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"> too "inexperienced" to offer real solutions, and then wonder why 60% of our young people leave the
church, I've got news for you... you're part of the problem.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body"><span class="UFICommentBody" data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0"><span data-reactid=".5.1:3:1:$comment605229629565456_605252992896453:0.0.$right.0.$left.0.0.0:$comment-body.0.$end:0:$0:0">Statistically, around half of the pastors around the NAD will be retiring withing the next ten years anyway. So like it or not, there will be a wave of young leaders flooding the church soon...and change with it. Before I come across too headstrong, consider this Biblical appeal:</span></span></span> Paul counseled a
young pastor like myself and told him the following words, "Don’t let anyone
look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in
speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. Sure,
unbridled youthful optimism by itself is a problem, but it’s oftentimes young
people who are the craziest ones to think that problems as complex and daunting
as this can be fixed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>ENCOURAGE YOUR MEMBERS TO GO VISIT OTHER
CHURCHES.</b><br />Do not think of other
churches and other conferences as competition. Organizations only go as far as
their leader does. So if you are serious about being a change agent, you’re
going to have to model it first. Don't hoard your sheep.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>VISIT OTHER CHURCHES YOURSELVES.</b><br />It is somewhat hypocritical
to encourage your members to visit other churches when you yourselves are
unwilling or "don’t have the time." Jesus is our example. Good
leaders lead by example and good shepherds don’t always need to be in the
pulpit to minister to the flock.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>If you have a Regional/State conference mix in your area, consider doing a pulpit swap once or twice a year.</b><br />That way, your churches can get to know other pastors in the area and build rapport with them</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Have a joint service, program,
or outreach event once or twice a year.</b><br />The Southern Union has been
doing some very great work in this area. Last year, the Union hosted their
first tri-conference camp meeting involving the Carolina, Georgia-Cumberland and
South Atlantic Conferences. I hope to see more of that in the future.</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Conference and/or Union:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
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</span><br />
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<a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608053780185680596&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608053780185680596&pid=15.1" height="320" id="yui_3_5_1_4_1394589159830_851" style="margin-top: 0px;" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I once heard that the movement to bring change to our church would have
to be a “grassroots movement” that would work its way through the system. That
is a half-truth. While a grassroots emphasis is important, any<b> lasting change</b>
will also necessarily have to involve a top-down process for follow through.
Besides, churches and pastors may drag their feet, so it is up to Conference and
Union leaders to build in areas where they too can bring change. Conference and Union administrators must see this issue as <i>their</i> issue also. Here are some ideas:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Consider a pilot city
initiative, whereby each Union would chose a major metropolitan area with a
high concentration of both Regional and State conference churches could be
merged to form an independent entity.</b><br />What if each union were to
choose a major metropolitan area (e.g. New York, Washington D.C., Miami) where there
are many Regional and State conference churches and have those cities be pilot
cities to build a microcosm of what can be done as a whole? For a set time
(2-4 years?), the churches in that area could be administered by the Union or a
joint coalition between the comprising conferences. Afterward, all cities can
talk about what worked and how a broader expanse to this idea could work. I
have more technical details on how this could work, but I’ll just throw this
out for now.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b>Consider funding a joint incentive whereby
local churches could qualify more evangelism funds if their evangelism plan is
done jointly with a Regional/State conference mix.</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><b>Consider planning a joint
minister’s retreat at least once every few years with the conference across the
aisle.</b></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Consider having regular joint
evangelistic events between conferences.</b></span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here I am offering baby steps toward change. Of course, the <b>drastic
approach</b> would be to establish a<b> joint integration committee</b> comprising various
delegates from Regional/State conferences, Unions and division officials to
<u>brainstorm how an entirely new administrative organizational structure could
look like and how it could feasibly operate</u>. This isn’t too farfetched because <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2014/february/black-and-white-pentecostals-mend-assemblies-of-god-upcag.html">it’s been done before</a> (although, to be fair, our church did not completely
split; we simply formed separate administrative units within the same
organization).</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are also anecdotal stories about how the North American branch of the church
basically got called out by the South African branch after
officials here urged integration after apartheid (by basically saying, “Go and
handle your own business before trying to come over here and fix us). This has
been an interesting series to write with a lot of feedback. Hopefully, someone
reading this post may be inspired or may someday be in the position to make
change happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If we work together, maybe in this generation we can all address this
elephant and help push him out once and for all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[1] James Ditte, Bias and the Pious, pg 25</span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[2] ibid, pg 75</span></div>
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<![endif]-->Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-25951585286611481672014-03-03T23:19:00.001-05:002014-03-03T23:53:29.248-05:00Elephants in the Room: The Regional Conference Debate, pt. 3A<div style="text-align: left;">
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The views,
opinions, and
positions expressed by the author and the provided comments on these
blogs are
the authors and his alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views,
opinions, or positions of the Carolina Conference of Seventh
day-Adventists, its churches
or other employee thereof. </span></i></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">We are in the home strech of this ofen tense subject.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I usually put up the header above when what I’m
about to write may spark some controversy!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">As I mentioned from the outset, it is <i>not</i>
the intention of this series to
cover every step of history. This is a
blog that I try to keep as short as possible. I offer an invitation for
those who would be
willing: to write a two-page (max) paper regarding any related area of
study
that I have or have not covered, I am willing to feature it on a future
blog
posting. However, too often have I seen our church spend more time in
contemplating theory instead of engaging in action. You can spend your
entire life looking at the <i>why</i> and the <i>what if</i> instead of looking at the ever important question of <i>what now?</i></span></span></span> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hopefully, though, the past couple of blogs
have given some indication of my familiarity with this issue from a conceptual,
historical standpoint. That is to say, I
get why we as a church are where we are today. To be clear, from my study, I
found that the accommodation to establish regional conferences was just that:
an accommodation. It started with tense
race relations and moved on to institutionalized segregation. Take, for instance, a letter that Edson White
wrote to his mother Ellen White (one of the Adventist Church founders), in 1899
regarding the opposition to the B</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">attle Creek segregation practices. He explained that their adaptations were made
in order to protect the lives of people of both races who were connected with
their work.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“The fact is, the people of the North do not
know anything of the true situation in this awful field. It is “Ku Klux” days right over and we are in
the midst of it… the North MUST realize that the workers coming here will have
to be the most careful that is possible for them to be. If not, they will not only imperil their own
lives, but will also imperil the lives and bring distress upon the colored
people themselves.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Ellen White also spoke regarding the methods
used in the Southern field:</span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">“I wish to say that it is necessary to use
the greatest caution in working with the colored people… Those who go to the
South must be very careful of what they say. Let them not criticize the white people in
regard to the way in which the colored people have been treated.”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a></span></span></blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img alt="" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608046345585954552&pid=15.1" height="211" id="ihover-img" title="" width="320" /> </span></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.blacksdahistory.org/image/41151536_scaled_217x224.jpg" height="224" id="asset_-25_245333" title="" width="217" /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Adventist integration efforts were the object of KKK persecutions early on. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">While in E.E. Cleveland's Oakland and Detroit crusades, the
Black Panthers supported the Adventist tent efforts by protecting the
Bible workers and the areas around the tents.</span> </span></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">It is clear that Ellen White’s statement
encouraging missionary accommodations were made against the backdrop of racial
violence and a deep concern for the success of the Black work. Her fundamental belief in the equality of the
races and the Christian duty to treat all people with respect had not changed. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even with all its defects,<span style="font-weight: normal;"> I love my church; I am speaking as a pastor
within the system, not standing on the outskirts throwing rocks. So as I share what may be some frank thoughts
on the matter, understand I want the best for the organization and am
expressing what I see holding it back from reaching the potential that I
believe God has for it.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Let’s assume for moment that these issues in
2014 were only a two-sided issue, a black vs. white thing. Here is a gross overgeneralization of what I
am seeing as I travel around the country and we as Adventists get comfortable
enough with each other to discuss these race-related issues in our church:</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Whites:</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Many are oblivious to the reality that regional conferences exist and/or
of their history. One pastor shared with
me that one of his members came across a regional conference church, not
knowing it was one. The member took a
picture of this church in my area and took it to him asking if this church was
in fact a “legitimate” Adventist church, or if they were just using the name
Adventist (implying that they might have to get the legal department involved).
There is another group that has not had
much interaction with other culture groups, and some of the things said in
ignorance about race thus come across as racist. Their ignorance can feed into the cycle of
negative tension that keeps this divide alive. Take, for instance, one churchgoer who (when I
told him I was Hispanic) responded with a surprised, yet honest, inquisitive question,
“But pastor, I could’ve sworn that you had some Negro blood in you too!” Others feel so bad about the fact that
regional conferences exist, they would much rather talk about something else
instead of this issue.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Blacks (non-Caribbean's):</b> <span style="font-weight: normal;">Many inside and outside the regional conference structure still seem hurt
about past injustices, and the impression is that they are looking for more
than just an apology; it sounds like they are looking for the Adventist
equivalent of reparations<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a>. I grew
up in, and still visit, regional conference churches and some of the comments
that I hear from pastors and members is all about “how bad the ‘White’
conferences treated us” and why things will never change. A lot of it seems deep-seated and
personal. Whenever you bring up the
subject, the air gets tense because you sense resentment.</span></span></span><br />
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Interestingly enough, in response to my
question, “Why should the distinction between state and regional conferences
still exist?” the only answers that I currently have received from those in
favor of this distinction revolve around the following areas:</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span>
</div>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Money and retirement</span></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">Infrastructure logistics and leadership makeup</span></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><span style="font-weight: normal;">History and reluctance for change </span></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.75in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></h1>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608005560579261700&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608005560579261700&pid=15.1" height="200" id="ihover-img" title="" width="144" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">In the words of Yoda,"Do or do not... there is no try."</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You know what I don’t hear as reasons for why
they should remain? Mission, unity, and reconciliation
for the advancement of the Gospel. Look, I am willing to be proven wrong. I do not expect these three or possibly four posts to change the world, but I would like a real, legitimate reason why we should remain in this divide that we are in. But, I will <u>not</u> accept an answer of "it can't be done."</span></span></span><br />
<h1 style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Like I said earlier, let’s assume for a second
that this issue in 2014 is only a two-sided issue, a black vs. white thing. However, the world that we live in is not a black
and white one; there are many different ethnicities that comprise the
Seventh-day Adventist Church. Let’s now throw
in the fastest growing racial demographic in the country: Hispanics. Here is a
hypothetical, logistical reason why the current divide we have in our church gets really
redundant, confusing, and terribly frustrating.</span></span></span><br />
<h1 style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>Question</b>: If regional conferences were
started with the intention to better reach and serve the needs of Blacks in the
United States, which conference is responsible for doing the same with
Hispanics?</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <b>Answer:</b> It’s a trick question; BOTH
conferences do the same thing today.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span>
<br />
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Let’s assume that we are all in Texas, the
territory for both the Texas Conference and Southwest Regional Conference.</span></span></span></h1>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.destination360.com/maps/texas-map.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.destination360.com/maps/texas-map.gif" id="yui_3_5_1_3_1393903165364_3797" style="height: 425px; width: 415px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Texas...is a HUGE state...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Church “A” in Houston is a church within the
Texas Conference. Texas has their own
Hispanic pastors and their own Hispanic Coordinator, or VP of Hispanic
Ministries (or whatever title you give him), who specifically works doing
outreach within this minority group. Let’s
say that an issue arises within this church: the pastor falls out of favor with
Church A and the members want their pastor gone <i>yesterday</i>. Time passes and
the members of Church A don’t feel like the Texas Conference has done anything
to remedy the situation (such as kick the pastor out). So, what can they do?</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Simple: they can talk to the Southwest Regional Conference and ask to be
members of their conference… forming a new church, Church B, in the Southwest
Regional Conference made up of all the members of Church A (minus the pastor). Yes, the entire church. Putting aside the ethical fairness of what
this church may be doing, they would be within their rights to do exactly what
I have described. After all, there are
two conferences competing for the <i>same
people group</i> in the <i>same territory</i>.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dduncanconsulting.com/files/slideshow/_Top/Hispanic%20Family%20for%20Web1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://dduncanconsulting.com/files/slideshow/_Top/Hispanic%20Family%20for%20Web1.jpg" height="211" id="yui_3_5_1_3_1393905709647_3852" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Fact: Most Hispanics in the U.S. are natives (born here)-says Barna</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This scenario isn’t as far-fetched as you may
think. While many conferences have begun
working together to ensure that these types of things don’t happen anymore, I
can’t count the times I have seen this very scenario take place in many
different territories from the Atlantic, Southern, Southwestern, and Lake
Unions (and these are only the situations that I personally know about; there
are many untold stories among Hispanics that would corroborate this scenario).</span></span></span></div>
<h1 style="margin-left: 0.25in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></h1>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So, tell me, how can this administrative
divide be considered a blessing to God’s work? You may say, “Well, double the workers means
double the work being done in the area.” That would be true if the left hand knew what
the right hand was doing. Among Hispanics,
the reasons for the establishment of regional conferences are irrelevant to
their everyday function. Notice that I
didn’t say that it’s not important; I said that is isn’t <i>relevant</i> to them, probably since this history doesn’t involve them
directly. The question many of them have
is, “Why is there another Spanish church across the city with the same
Adventist name as us, but for some reason, are not part of the same conference?"</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Unfortunately, because many do not understand
the history, some Hispanic pastors have even counseled their member to not be involved
with churches from the other conference. Even from a secular standpoint, any efficient
business would be forced streamline this duplicity. Why does God’s business have to flounder
around like this? It’s because we are
more concerned with clinging to our history, money, power, and prestige than
going through the inconvenient transition that real change brings. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DBtQqwb3KwxD0h6oIMFbpXxEQ7emCpeeVTy9FAXp44b0-gq1wMxuoh_uYa-Qa5viOWvjV5SkcElyEZr1FN-qY5P_KSApjN0DwiLrRML_4muvREx0bqKh_vOX6T8cENm34WdQRqlIM1MX/s1600/israel_0198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3DBtQqwb3KwxD0h6oIMFbpXxEQ7emCpeeVTy9FAXp44b0-gq1wMxuoh_uYa-Qa5viOWvjV5SkcElyEZr1FN-qY5P_KSApjN0DwiLrRML_4muvREx0bqKh_vOX6T8cENm34WdQRqlIM1MX/s320/israel_0198.jpg" height="240" id="yui_3_5_1_3_1393903867717_2689" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">How many generations must we sacrifice in the desert? </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I fear that we as a people have been stuck in
a holding pattern in this desert before reaching the Promised Land. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Why? </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Like
the generation in the Exodus story, I fear God has to allow those who refuse to
trust in His power to bring us together to either retire, or be laid to rest,
before He can entrust his vision to a generation that <i>will</i> be willing to step out in faith. Don’t get me wrong; I know there will be some
Caleb’s and Joshua’s from the previous generation who will join in the movement
to unite and march together. These are people who had an eye for this future even in the
past. These are leaders and laypeople that
wanted the church to trust in God’s promises and move forward corporately but
were held back because popular opinion was against them.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Whether this is a right assessment or not,
those are my two cents and we are still here today. It turns out that this will have to be cut
into a part 3A and part 3B since this is already a lengthy post in itself. The next half will deal entirely with suggested solutions for members and leaders as we seek to move from where we are to
where, I believe, God wants us to be as a people in this journey into the
Promised Land together. I know I will get heat for this...but if you made it this far, I thank you for taking the time for at least hearing me out. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Till next time!</span></span></span>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span><br clear="all" />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></span>
<br />
<hr size="1" style="margin-left: 0px; margin-right: auto;" width="33%" />
<div id="ftn1">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[1]</span></span></span></a> J.E.
White to Ellen G. White, 14 May 1899, quoted in Graybill, E.G. White and Church
Race Relations, 61-62.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div id="ftn2">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[2]</span></span></span></a> Ellen
G. White, “The Southern Work,” 202-203.</span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div id="ftn3">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[3]</span></span></span></a> For
a treatment of this topic, see Graybill, E.G. White and Church Race Relations;
Roy L. Branson, “Ellen G. White- Racist or Champion of Equality?- 3: The crisis
of the Nineties,” Review 147. No. 17 (17 April 1973): 4-6. </span></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div id="ftn4">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9148931061593990723#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;">[4]</span></span></span></a> Reparations
are a proposal that some type of compensation should be provided to the
descendants of enslaved people in the United States, in consideration of the
coerced and uncompensated labor their ancestors performed over centuries.</span></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-63095895976423943242014-02-24T13:45:00.001-05:002014-02-24T17:24:35.221-05:00Elephants in the Room: The Regional Conference Debate, pt. 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It's been said that unless we learn
from the past, we are doomed to repeat it. Last week, I shared some experiences
of missionaries in the South and the initial struggles they faced in trying to
reach out to the southern Black population. They encountered unequaled racism in an
area that they called "a closed field, where violent men defended
prejudices with guns and whips."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span><br />
<br />
According to Kessia Bennett, who dedicated her master’s thesis to the study on
the resistance and accommodation that Southern Adventist missionaries had in
reaching out to Blacks during this time (again, this series is based on that thesis; a link to it can be
found <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/54579829/Resistance-and-Accommodation-to-Racism-Among-Early-Adventist-Missionaries-in-the-American-South" target="_blank">here</a>), this probably explains why, in part, the church was so late to
begin laboring in that region. It certainly helps explain the reactions of
mild astonishment when Northern missionaries encountered Southern racial
customs at the time.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We also saw how the original two separate entities in the South (the Southern
Union Conference and the Southeastern Union Conference) were created with the
intention of "better reaching the needs" of Black people. However,
Bennett writes that the missionaries who sought to evangelize the area did not
believe this rationale as part of their missionary endeavors. They believed
that the barrier to true racial harmony was not integration, but prejudice,
which explains why they viewed the segregation of conferences as a concession
to prejudice.<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> 2</span><br />
<br />
If you noticed the dates in the last blog though, you will see a 40
year gap between the violent acts that Mr. Rogers had to endure (not <i>the </i>Mr.
Rogers you might be thinking of, this is the non-PBS missionary) to the formal
establishment of regional conferences in the 1940s. So what happened during
this time? This leads me to the point of this week’s look at the debate: <b>it
would be nice to say that the church established regional conferences as a
concession to only the “external” societal pressure that they faced in trying
to reach out. However, historically, that is sadly not true.</b> Racism, particularly in the form of segregation, infiltrated
the policy and unconscious culture within the Seventh-day Adventist church in
America. <b>This racism was manifested in hiring discrimination,
underrepresentation in leadership, unfair financial practices, and persistent
segregation of policies</b>.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4839703564716816&pid=15.1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4839703564716816&pid=15.1" id="yui_3_5_1_3_1393160886977_996" style="margin-top: 0px;" /></a></span>This is why this situation has
become a hot button issue and an “elephant” within our church: because we have to sit
down, look at ourselves in the mirror and admit, “Yes, we as a church treated
our fellow believers no better than the rest of society at the time… the only
difference was that we were better at keeping our racism under wraps through
the guise of piety” (and it's hard to admit that kind of glaring hypocrisy). This lack of knowledge in many ways is what keeps this
issue from being dealt with in the honest way that is needs to be. By the
1940's the formation of regional conferences was the climax of long
dissatisfaction within the Black community about the church's treatment of
their community and mission; it was an easy and convenient way to provide a
“separate but equal” administrative structure where Black Adventists leaders
could advance professionally while having their own structure and White
Adventist could have their own.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I know that is a pretty bold
statement to make. However, I am comfortable saying that because there is
plenty of historical evidence to support it. Below are some examples of leadership discrimination manifested when the church
appointed White leadership over the Black work during the early part of the 20<sup>th</sup>
century, even though the church had already produced some very capable Black
leaders by then:<span style="font-size: xx-small;">4</span></span></span><br />
</div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Although the equivalent departments
for Germans and Scandinavians were led by people of the targeted ethnicity, for
nine years (1909 through 1918) the North American Negro Department was
led by a White man. </span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">The editor of <i>Message</i>, the
denomination's magazine for Black leadership, had a White man as its editor for
13 years from 1932 through 1945.</span></span></li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Until 1932 Oakwood's top
administration (the Historically Black Adventist university) was White.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These
influential and important leadership positions in the Black work were
held by Whites, revealing that the denomination either did not trust that
Blacks could lead the work, or that they felt they should lead it instead.
You may think "Hey, how can you know what they thought at the time?" You are right, I can't know for sure, but history shows that hiring discrimination was not limited to the key leadership
positions. Doctors, nurses, and office secretaries were all underrepresented on
the church payroll, thus revealing a disturbing trend at all levels of the adminsitrative structure. Being hired did not guarantee equal treatment either, though. W. H.
Green was the first Black man to lead the Negro Department at the GC. Here are
his words regarding his treatment on the job:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVywArkHhfVt_ZUBRRsqY8H3UgggAGOxh_22pi-BgkFbBsOE_S16o3ZVlAtwvpElfF7THuOjSEWJP5Sh2HAIEmORZlqRlnHu9m_g5X2B58nB8WY_yXw2XgBotVF5Ket8rt22el3HWmg0/s1600/racism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeVywArkHhfVt_ZUBRRsqY8H3UgggAGOxh_22pi-BgkFbBsOE_S16o3ZVlAtwvpElfF7THuOjSEWJP5Sh2HAIEmORZlqRlnHu9m_g5X2B58nB8WY_yXw2XgBotVF5Ket8rt22el3HWmg0/s400/racism.jpg" style="height: 323px; width: 325px;" /></a></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>“It
was very uncomfortable from the very first… I could not eat in the General
Conference cafeteria with everyone else. Some whites would not even greet you
when they saw you in the morning. When they saw you coming, they would look at
you, look by you - there would be no greeting at all. This was largely on the
part of the womenfolk, but once in a while the men would do it too.” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">5</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of the
most visible features of racial inequality in the North American Church was the
segregation of Adventist facilities. Black students were denied entrance to the
Adventist schools on the basis of their race; Black Adventist patients were
even denied care at Adventist hospitals.6 By the 1940s, enough
dissatisfaction with the status quo had occurred among the Black community
that the church was forced to take action.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> <i>“Black
ministers felt that the only way to improve the work among Negroes of the
country was to organize colored conferences, whereby the colored people may
handle their own money, employ their own workers and so develop administrative ability
in all cultural lines of work ... to organize Negro conferences that would
function in exactly the same relation to the General Conference as white conferences.” <span style="font-size: xx-small;">7</span></i></span><br />
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Bennet notes that "Some thought
that regional conferences would advance the mission to Black America (which
indeed they did), but there were other Black Adventists who opposed it. It
ended up being something like a lukewarm compromise -- better than being
ignored and kept from leadership positions, but not the full recognition and
integration that had been hoped for."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">8</span> Regional
conferences we</span>re voted in the Spring Council of 1944, long after they had been
proposed. This was not full integration and empowerment, but but it did mean
much more self-determination for Black administration while remaining in the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist church. Regional conferences are not segregationists in
the sense of the Jim Crow laws of the past era; they are not attempts to keep Whites and Blacks socially separated because of racial superiority or
inferiority. The formation of regional conferences as a parallel structure
within the church did, however, testify to the failure of North American
Adventism to offer full legitimacy to its Black American members.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">9</span><br />
<br />
Two non-Adventist historians looking at the Adventist church, Bull and
Lockhart, claim that the establishment of regional conferences was adopted only
to appease the Whites, not for the sake of Black people. In what some have
called a "singing criticism," they wrote about the church during the
1940s, "[Adventism] was still a White movement, with a mission to White
America, and Blacks were not allowed to jeopardize the evangelistic objective
of the denomination."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">10</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blacksdahistory.org/image/43136584.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.blacksdahistory.org/image/43136584.jpg" height="215" id="asset_-25_5326997" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">One bright spot in this dark time of our history was that there were key leaders within the church who knew
that there was inequality within the Adventist church and its facilities, and
tried to take action to stem the tide. In 1950, the president of the world
church, W. H. Branson, sent a letter to denominational leadership (including
every Union president and every local conference president) urging
integration. He pointed that the progress of the rest of the world was passing by the church in
this area. He said, "Perhaps no religious group in United States or the world
claims so fully that it is intentional in its attitudes and services as do the
Seventh-day Adventists and yet, in this manner of Negro segregation, we are trailing
behind the procession."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 1;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Sadly, still no change took place. Twelve years
later, at the 1962 General Conference session in San Francisco, it took
physical demonstrations, written demands, and front-page news stories for the
announcement to come that indeed the church would desegregate.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">11</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.waalexander.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Racism-MLK-Jr.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://www.waalexander.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Racism-MLK-Jr.gif" style="height: 256px; width: 350px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Preview of next week's blog</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">I believe
this post covers much of what led to the establishment of regional conferences.
Granted, this is not intended to be an exhaustive/comprehensive study; there
are other people who have done a <a href="http://library.puc.edu/heritage/bib-Afri-Am.html" target="_blank">better job at looking at the factors</a> from all sides than I have. If you want a summary of 15 events that were directly or indirectly the catalyst to the establishment of regional conferences, click <a href="http://www.blacksdahistory.org/rc-catalysts.html" target="_blank">here</a>. In this post I am only sharing interesting points that I have found on this
study. However, having established all of this groundwork, the next question
that I hope to address next week is a personal/practical note on this matter.
Why is this subject so important to me, and what can really be done about solving this
issue? Should anything even<i> be</i> done, or should we just ride this thing
out until Jesus comes and hope that He will clean up the mess we got ourselves
in? (You may sense what my feelings are.) Thanks for reading and see you all
next week!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: .5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Arthur Spalding, first volume of a
history of Seventh-day Adventist covering the years 1845 through 1900.
captain of the host, page 488. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Kessia Reyne Bennett, <i>Resistance
and Accommodation to Racism Among Early Seventh-day Adventist Missionaries in
the American South, </i>(Andrews University Press, Berrien Springs, MI), p. 36. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">3.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>ibid, 63. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">4.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Ibid, 65</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">5.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Malcom Bull and Kevin Lockhart,
Seeking a Sanctuary: Seventh-day Adventism and the American Dream (Indiana
University Press, 1987), pg 201.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">6.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Bennet. Pg. 65-66</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">7. Justiss, Jacob. <i>Angels of Ebony (Justiss, 1975)</i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">8. Bennett, Kessia. Personal interview.
19 Feb. 2014. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">9.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span>Roy Branson, “Adventism’s Rainbow
Coalition,” In <i>Make Us One, </i>edited by Delbert W. Baker. (Pacific Press)
pg.77-80</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">10.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Bennett. Pg 68.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">11.<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Bull and Lockhart (1989), pg 197.</span></span></div>
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<![endif]-->Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-10929301101790191712014-02-17T18:39:00.001-05:002014-02-18T08:37:42.592-05:00Elephants in the Room: The Regional Conference Debate pt 1<a href="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://petersonspace.com/img/series/ElephantInTheRoom1.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think it's pretty safe to say that an elephant is hard to miss in a room. I mean, they're huge </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">animals. My wife, Sarah, and I go on weekly walks for a few miles on a trail that happens to overlook part of the elephant exhibit at the Greenville Zoo. We can see those huge creatures and we can testify to this fact. So, if an elephant were to casually walk into our living room, it would be impossible for either of us to overlook; we would have to consciously choose to ignore it. Thus the idiom "the elephant in the room" has been used to describe an obvious truth that is being ignored or unaddressed.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Maybe if we ignore him, he'll leave on his own.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well, it is time to address one of the the "elephants in the room" within the Adventist Church in North America... the existence of institutionally segregated conferences. While we as a denomination are currently discussing the issue of ordination (a very important topic in its own right), you would figure that in 2014 when we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of many events in the civil rights movement, and in a world where we already have the first biracial American president, we as a church would reflect the rest of the nation. However, the sad reality is that this issue has been kicked down the road as long as the issue itself has been on the table.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This post strikes a very personal chord for me for reasons that I'll discuss later on in this three-part series, but for now, I want to give you the backstory to why we find ourselves here today. The majority of the evidence is cited from other published works and I'd especially like to thank my friend Kessia Reyne Bennett for her study on this issue. I remember us talking in seminary about her Master's thesis on this subject and it is an extraordinary work. I will be highlighting some of her work. If you'd like a link to her entire thesis, you can check it out <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/54579829/Resistance-and-Accommodation-to-Racism-Among-Early-Adventist-Missionaries-in-the-American-South" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you were like I was up until the age of 18 and have no idea what I'm talking about, let me spell it out for you: in several unions in the Seventh-day Adventist Church within North America, there are administrative divisions in the church divided primarily based on race. There are "state conferences," which cover one or more states, and "regional conferences," which cover the the same area, but usually also larger territories than the state conferences (hence the difference between "regional" and "state"). However, among some circles, the former have been referred to as "white conferences" while the latter known as "black conferences."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you were as shocked as I was to realize this difference, understand that at their inception, they were the best option at the time. Without going into too much detail (you can read all about it in Kessia's thesis in the link above), the Southern part of the United States was a pretty racist place to live in before, during, and after the civil war while in the Reconstruction era... and pretty much up till the 60's (at least publicly). Missionaries who tried to reach out to black people during this time were frequently the targets of death threats and violence because of the prejudice that existed during this time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For Southerners, the integration of blacks and whites was an attack on their way of life and faith. For instance, take this quote published in a newspaper defending segregation as the order of the natural world and obedience to God's will:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"This rule of color and law of race has always been preserved in the South. We have treated the Negro always kindly and considerately, but always with a firmness that could not be misunderstood. We have built him a home, but have not permitted him the liberties of our own; we have built him a church, but have not allowed him to mingle with us in worship; we have built him a schoolhouse, and taxed ourselves to support it, but we have seen to it that his children have not mingled with our children in the study hall, on the playground, or elsewhere. We have treated him justly; but in doing so, we have also been just to ourselves. In doing this we have simply enforced natures law, and obeyed the will of that Being who created a superior and inferior race."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Seventh-day Adventists," Yazoo Sentinel (07 June 1900), quoted in J. E. White, "The Southern Field Closing to the Message," 86.</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Somehow, Adventist missionaries had to fight against this wave of animosity in order to reach this group. So, when the SDA church began formally organizing in the South in order to better minister to the growing number of churches in 1895, they took up the name of the Southern Missionary Society or SMS in order to legitimize themselves as a group. In 1901, the General Conference decided to establish Unions in order to better service the areas where work was growing and the SMC became the Southern Union Conference.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, in 1908, the Southern Union Conference became two entities, one bearing the original name and the other called the Southeastern Union Conference. Accordingly, in 1909, the SMS was renamed the Southern Union Mission in the new, smaller Southern Union conference: the correlating department in the new Southeastern Union conference was named the Negro Mission department (better explained in the following diagram).</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to the aforementioned study, this change was part of a larger movement within the denomination to "make a more noticeable impact on the growing Negro population." This department was designated to oversee the evangelization of blacks, including all matters relating to educational institutions connected with this work and the publishing ministry in this line. However, looking at the historical context, it seems like this move was done in order to distance the two groups out of fear of violence.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I believe this theory to have merit because of many turbulent events ranging from 1898 through 1899. One example is the removal of F. R. Rogers, a white missionary, from teaching in classrooms of black students. At first, the Adventist missionaries resisted local cultural custom by having white teachers in black classrooms. Then, late in 1898, Rogers received an in-person threat at Yazoo City regarding the destruction of the boat Morning Star and was told that the missionary work must stop. When the work didn't stop, half a year later, a mob looted the Adventist facilities there, breaking their materials, forced at least one Adventist into an outbound train, and physically attacked a black Adventist with a whip and shot his wife in the leg.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">1</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The troubles for Rogers were not of a general nature only. This same source records that when Rogers walked down the main street of Yazoo city, a choir of boys would chant and hang onto his coattails, shouting: "Nigger lover! Nigger lover!" On other occasions, his hat was once shot off, and he was pelted with brickbats.<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhZSgNO9oNoZxJWYnXn1Xj4DZsnLknH6DmS3T_AT43WFL_C28bvS5QsnKdgne6TpbB-WlMa84CRyUr8UFwrUpG-oyW3GoMyscLJRV8yb4xTq2qSrEQuyKTxvetWAqeKhWCAgji0-pOmHwIpef75ZOVsjp0tfHAJhYg=s0-d-e1-ft" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Edgefield Junction-- Allison Family" border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhZSgNO9oNoZxJWYnXn1Xj4DZsnLknH6DmS3T_AT43WFL_C28bvS5QsnKdgne6TpbB-WlMa84CRyUr8UFwrUpG-oyW3GoMyscLJRV8yb4xTq2qSrEQuyKTxvetWAqeKhWCAgji0-pOmHwIpef75ZOVsjp0tfHAJhYg=s0-d-e1-ft" style="margin-top: 0.4em; max-width: 100%;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Members of the Edgefield Junction Church–the Allison family.</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> The first SDA Church to be established in the south was at Edgefield Junction, Tennessee.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This example is but a drop in the bucket of many similar stories which could be brought up to point out that the initial divide was based on fear rather than an intentional initiative to reach black people. The Adventist church was slow to act in any radical, countercultural way. However, the Negro department was relabeled the "colored department" in 1942 because it somehow seemed "less harsh, less divisive." Yes... that actually happened. Unfortunately, it would be long before the constituency of the church would demand more than a name change. Dr. Delbert Baker, former President of Oakwood University mentions that, "in 1940 a vote was taken at the Spring Council to establish regional conferences, and between 1945 and 1947 seven such conferences were created in six of the nine unions; there are nine operating today."<span style="font-size: xx-small;">3</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It all seems pretty harmless and straightforward right? This week, I'm really oversimplifying the issue. Next week, we will look deeper at why I call this issue the "elephant in the room" of the SDA church. It may be somewhat uncomfortable to read, but unless we take an honest, brutal look at the past, we won't be able to see how we can really move forward. So, if you'd like to see how deep the rabbit hole goes, subscribe and be the first to catch next week's post!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1-</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">J. E. White to Ellen G White, 25 May 1899, quoted in Grayville, E. G. White and church race relations, page 56 through 57.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">2-Kessia Reyne Bennett, </span></span></span></span><i><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Resistance and Accomodation to Racism Among Early Seventh-day Adventist Missionaries in the American South, </span></span></span></span></i><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(Andrews Univeristy Press, Berring Springs, MI), p. 56.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3- Delbert W. Baker, "Regional Conferences: Fifty Years of Progress," <i>Adventist Review </i>172, no. 49 (November 1995): 12-14.</span></span>Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-25040036949823126062014-02-09T00:08:00.000-05:002014-02-10T10:55:30.369-05:00Bruno Mars' Masonic Baby Haircut and 5 Ways to STOP Misinformation on the Internet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Bruno Mars and his inverted pyramid guitar (joke)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Okay, so Bruno Mars doesn’t <i>actually </i>have a masonic baby haircut, but you are reading this, which shows that you are the target audience for this article. In today’s world where anyone with a keyboard and Internet connection can claim to be an authority, you have no doubt come in contact with (and maybe even shared) information which is simply not true. It has become especially important for people to be able to identify the difference between real information and misinformation that floats around online, as well as how to properly respond to it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">That being said, here are <b>FIVE</b> easy principles to stop misinformation on the Internet.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">1)</span> Source check:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Sometimes the easiest and simplest way to determine if something is true or not is by checking out the website providing this information. There are many fake news websites that are dedicated to writing news that <b>isn’t actually real</b> (yes, believe it or not, it <u>does</u> exist and it is <i>hilarious!</i>). If you see any “news” coming from The Onion, The Daily Currant, The Borowitz Report, News Mutiny, Hollywood Leek, The Spoof, etc., the news you are reading is not real; it is <u>fake and intended to be a joke</u>. A few sample headlines would be things like: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>"BREAKING: White House Authorizes Search for President's Mojo"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>"Human behavior is no worse than it's ever been, it's just now we have camera phones"<br />"Mitt Romney Adopts New ‘Ronnie Ferocious’ Persona for Debates"<br />"Michael Phelps Returns To His Tank At Sea World"<br />"Obama Plan to Extend Mayan Calendar – Approval by Drop Dead Date Doubtful"</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>"Find Jimmy Hoffa Craze Causing Shovel Shortage in America"</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW6ME-9wAMyNwm88oUhGepRpSvK-c5c3nE5-VBjCPwQGSVeS3Gv98lsts-35-BA5Ac5cX1vD9lHcXbrGsi-JJDZVE9FtSLPkGmdD1RKnZIyFmgAkuZGEm60wtBR2t0AmsJpcrAn-MtRs/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW6ME-9wAMyNwm88oUhGepRpSvK-c5c3nE5-VBjCPwQGSVeS3Gv98lsts-35-BA5Ac5cX1vD9lHcXbrGsi-JJDZVE9FtSLPkGmdD1RKnZIyFmgAkuZGEm60wtBR2t0AmsJpcrAn-MtRs/s1600/photo.PNG" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A great example of fake news</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A key word that you may want to keep in mind here is <b>satire</b>. <i>Satire is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts,
in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to
ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations,
government or society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be humorous, its greater purpose is often constructive social criticism, using wit as a weapon and as a tool to draw attention to both particular and wider issues in society. </i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="citation" id="CITEREFElliott2004">Elliott, Robert C (2004), "The nature of satire", <i>Encyclopedia Britannica</i></span>.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />If you are not sure if something is true or not, here are some good websites to keep in mind: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Snopes.com<br />Google.com (it’s really that simple)<br /><br />Get the point? This brings me to our second principle:<br /><b><br />2) If it sounds too ridiculous to be true, it most likely isn’t true.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />Have you heard that <a href="http://diversitychronicle.wordpress.com/2013/12/05/pope-francis-condemns-racism-and-declares-that-all-religions-are-true-at-historic-third-vatican-council/" target="_blank">Pope Francis recently said</a> at a Vatican council that, “the church no longer believes in a literal hell, Adam and Eve were fictitious, all religions are true, and the Catholic Church is going to start ordaining women priests”? Hmm, the Pope will really admit that his entire church has been wrong all along? Doesn’t that all sound just a little too out there? Yeah, that’s because it most likely is not true. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... it's a duck.<br /><b><br />3) Don’t post up anything that you’re not prepared to defend.</b><br /><br />This is a great principle that I go by which has probably saved me more times than I can count. Just because something is interesting to me doesn’t mean that I should share it. This goes with the previous two principles; if I haven’t done my research and am not prepared to defend what I have found, I don’t waste my time by hitting “Share.” Only share what you yourself have checked into and can defend. Don't share something because it is shocking and you want to be the first person on your News Feed to break this incredible news you just heard... that's usually the fastest way fake news is spread.<br /><br /><b>4) Be ESPECIALLY suspicious when it comes to any conspiracy theory.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Did you hear the one about the <a href="http://www.jesusisfreedom.net/seventh-day-adventists-symbols.html" target="_blank">SDA logo being masonic</a> (because the letter A looks like a pyramid and we all know how Freemasons loooooove hiding their symbols right under our noses?). Insidious… I’m not saying that there isn’t something going on behind the scenes (after all, Adventists do believe in this thing called “the Great Controversy,” which exposes a conspiracy of sorts). But <b>by their very nature conspiracies cannot be proven either fake or true.</b> So what have you just done? You've put a piece of unverifiable information on the Internet which doesn't edify the body of Christ as much as it creates a feeling of fear and dread about the "Devil's work".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt; line-height: 115%;">The Freemasons all up IN that GC logo... as well as the
letter "A" in the alphabet. I see you, Sesame Street.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a pastor, I would rather uplift Jesus and His work instead of anything that the Jesuits, Illuminati, Knights of Columbus, Masons, The Muppets, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, or any other secret organization may or may not be up to. More than that, though, posting these kinds of things that cause fear/speculation do nothing to bring people into a closer walk with Jesus. Oh, it may <i>scare</i> them to think, "Man, times are really getting close to Jesus' second coming, I should really get my life together." But fear is typically a very terrible and short-lived motivator because once the feeling of fear wears out, you tend to slip back into old habits.<br /><br /> For a GREAT article the dangers of conspiracy theories, check out <a href="http://www.libertymagazine.org/article/the-hidden-danger-of-conspiracy-theories">this article</a> from Liberty Magazine.<br /><br /><b>5) Don’t be a fact check Nazi.</b></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Okay, so you may have followed all of the above principles and realized that Bruno Mars doesn’t have a masonic baby haircut. But, how do you go about in pointing out this error to your friend who has this misinformation all over their social media page? Remember the golden rule: do unto others as you would like them to do to you. How would you feel if someone publicly called you out online? Sometimes, the best thing to do is one of three things:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A) Send them a private message (if they are a friend).<br />B) Write them a simple note that corrects their information and provide them with a source for your corrected information.<br />C) Do nothing. Yes, this is sometimes actually a good option. As another blog site put it:</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2013/April/130427/6C7122001-original.blocks_desktop_small.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="xkcd via LifeHacker" border="0" src="http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/streams/2013/April/130427/6C7122001-original.blocks_desktop_small.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This will show them!</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Being helpful and pointing out a hoax or false rumor is nice, but if doing so begins to damage your ability to be productive, it's time to <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5872379/how-do-i-get-out-of-an-argument-with-an-irrational-person">hang up your hat</a>. Everyone has that one friend that will continue to re-share everything in their feed, no matter how many times they're reminded to double-check. Sometimes the best solution is to say nothing at all.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ultimately, you have to realize that you're not going to fix the Internet's problems single-handedly, which is a very liberating thought. You are free to do other things. Your life does not need to center around exposing Nigerian princes."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Put these principles into practice in your life and you will soon be a helpful, trusted source of factual information for those around you!</span> Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-56677335315315473192014-02-03T11:25:00.000-05:002014-02-03T12:19:02.707-05:00In the words of...Satan<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I’ve been meaning to post this up for quite some time. There is a great
song that I hear from time to time called “In the Words of Satan” by a South
African Christian band called The Arrows. I find the words really powerful and
telling but, I wanted to put it in my own words (I’m not blind to the irony in
that statement, lol). Basically, it’s Satan letting you in on his “game plan”
for the human race. Here is my rewording of what I hear when I listen to that
song. A link to the original song will be at the bottom for you to check out if
you’d like. </div>
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--</div>
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<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhGnWgnXehJumrVJT92bhzunMRbxXUx7MeiOpMNmLPBVg_jV2VWWx_4JR4gC7bHREShOPeY3anWwzaEQZHfNJQ1KK4zTMFYcKxyH-KHNqmo_HMeH27G65DlIE0BC4pzp770t6_9oT_Wh1L2WMdn7RhRfnMstqq2UcZscQxlog3QxiFocD4HfQ=s0-d-e1-ft" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhGnWgnXehJumrVJT92bhzunMRbxXUx7MeiOpMNmLPBVg_jV2VWWx_4JR4gC7bHREShOPeY3anWwzaEQZHfNJQ1KK4zTMFYcKxyH-KHNqmo_HMeH27G65DlIE0BC4pzp770t6_9oT_Wh1L2WMdn7RhRfnMstqq2UcZscQxlog3QxiFocD4HfQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="border: 0px none; min-height: 600px; text-align: center; width: 394px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Revelation 12:7 </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I've been here before any of you existed</div>
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By now, I know exactly how you work</div>
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I know all of your cravings</div>
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I know what makes you go bezerk</div>
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Been lying from the start just to make you play a part in my Great Rebellion
against the Father God</div>
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<br /></div>
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I Hate</div>
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Everything he is</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I’ll make you hate him too</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Make you hate him with your actions it's so easy for me to do</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
'Cause you like it...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
“Sinning” feels good for the ego...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You love it...just admit it, let your hair go!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And every day I’m looking for ways to wind you up</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Like my perfect little puppet, you're my favorite robot, you think
you’re watching the world but <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I'm</i> the
one who’s watching you and all of hell is with me too, helping me make my lies
look true</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>believe me, there is a
lie that works for everyone. Everyone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
A lie that opens your hearts so I can get me some more of your free
will</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm winding you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Winding you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Give me the control that's why I'm telling you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Selling you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Anything!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Everything!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Appealing to your human way of being and I use it all against you to
just keep your eyes from seeing past the life you're living</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Past the moment you're in</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Past the pleasure of your sin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4628481367934084&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4628481367934084&pid=15.1" id="yui_3_5_1_5_1391444232210_785" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>2 Corinthians 11:14</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Or the drug in your system</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Choke on your lust</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'll make you drunk with pride and hate</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So deeply spun into my system that you won't see the light</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Never mind that I'm drowning you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I keep deceiving you...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
`Cuz I don't tell you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bout the God in Heaven</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who loves you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who yearns for you, no</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I don't tell you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
`Bout the freedom of forgiveness and truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why would I tell you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why would I tell you, the truth?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Instead, I’ll say that millions of years ago an anomaly exploded</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And you're the result of this cosmic unknown, with no real purpose </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
You weren’t created for any real intent</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The “reason” for your living or existence is so statistically impossible;
it might as well be considered coincidence!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
So all the remains is what you can gain and whatever meaning you attach
to your days…you decide</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Mmm, but I help you recognize the important things in life</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Introducing money! It’s the root of all evil…or so they say</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The concept is simple: I attach your self-worth to the salary you're
paid. Be a slave to your desire for property</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Your jewelry</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Your cars and material things</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Advertise that lie up on the TV so you want that bling</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Selling and compromising bit by bit the little pieces of your soul, all
to climb up the ladder of economic control</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, the greed of man makes it so easy to pervert the Father's plan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Or I'll tell you...</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4584496615522656&pid=15.1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4584496615522656&pid=15.1" border="0" class="decoded" src="http://ts1.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4584496615522656&pid=15.1" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Revelation 20:10</b></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sure, there is a heaven…but there's many ways to get in…then see people
fight over which is the best way to view the world</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Keep you so confused with the search for the truth that you will be
paralyzed from actually looking for the truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tell you there are many ways to the same God…it’s all relative.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For you religious people, I’ll keep you distracted with your methods so
your heart stays hard,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'll make you think you've got spirituality, but it's really just
emotional alchemy</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh, the vanity of self-idoltary I never let you see that it breeds</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hedonism! Whoo!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And it's the anthem of this generation</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Come on, drink it, snort it, smoke it, swallow it</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Chew on my illusion of freedom til you vomit it</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
And still I don't tell you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bout the God in heaven</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who loves you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who yearns for you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
No I don't tell you</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bout the freedom of forgiveness and truth</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why would I tell you?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why would I tell you the truth?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
---</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Want to hear the original version? You will probably like it better. Check out the link below!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz2LTIkWIB0" target="_blank">In the Words of Satan- Original Song</a><br />
<br />Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-86762337487374337072013-10-12T12:32:00.000-04:002014-04-17T11:02:39.347-04:00Shutdown, Politics, and My Beef With Dr. Ben Carson<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The views, opinions, and
positions expressed by the author and the provided comments on these blogs are
the authors and his alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of the Carolina Conference of Seventh day-Adventists, its churches
or other employee thereof. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media2.wptv.com//photo/2013/09/29/WPTV_Government_Shutdown_20130929175934_320_240.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://media2.wptv.com//photo/2013/09/29/WPTV_Government_Shutdown_20130929175934_320_240.JPG" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s no secret that over the last few weeks, our country has experienced troubled waters. With day after day of government shutdown, hundreds of thousands of employees are left to wonder when they will they get back to work, if ever. This “madness” as Barry Black,
Chaplain of the U.S. Senate and Seventh-day Adventist pastor put it, is revealing
in ever more glaring ways, the polarization of America. What moves me today to
write on this subject is time (since I now have much of it over the
weekend due to doctor's orders) and circumstance. I am frustrated; frustrated by a fear that Seventh-day Adventism seems to be on its way to following
the path of many well meaning denominations by identifying itself with partisan
politics in a way which will undermine our witness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"What do you mean?" you might ask. Let's begin with what we see going on today. Today’s world is all about storyline and narrative. Like a compelling book or movie, we try to make sense of our experience and develop our worldview (again, a term I'll call <b>"<u>narrative</u>"</b> for the rest of this entry). When this narrative is passed on
in a way that makes sense to someone else, they buy into it. This is how
everything--from philosophical positions, religious beliefs, or political persuasions--are formed and passed on. A bothersome component to this narrative concept, though, is that sometimes, like every good story, there has to be an antagonist or "bad guy" for the "hero" in your narrative to be up against.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Oftentimes, specific groups, races, or even entire countries are seen as foils to the hero of the story, an enemy that your hero has to overcome. A perfect modern example of this component of narrative idea is what is unfolding in the political discourse you hear in the news. Here is the brief and simplified way the narrative is presented on both sides during the current shut down:</span></div>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Republicans </b>(especially
the Tea Party)<b>:</b> “We are trying to protect the values and freedoms granted to us
within the Constitution. These liberals are trying to force us to become a
socialist country through Obamacare and we are standing our ground for the future of America.” <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-UZ415_debate_G_20121016221854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-UZ415_debate_G_20121016221854.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Democrats:</b>
“The conservatives are holding a gun to America's head. They do not believe in
democracy and they are willing to gamble the country’s economy as a way to deny
people from receiving the healthcare that they actually need.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Both see themselves as the defenders of America, while the other side are the villains. Now whenever the two sides meet and one of these narratives is brought up, almost immediately there is a counter-argument presented in order to justify one position and discredit the other. "Yeah, but those liberals did so and so," or "But don't forget that these conservatives are all about this and that." This is basically another way of deciding who is right and wrong, who is really the hero or the villain in the story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, if you are looking for a conversation on who I think is right or
wrong in this shutdown situation, you’re missing the point.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Right and
wrong are not what separate us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints,
our perspectives that separate us. Both sides blame one another. There's no
good or bad side. Just two sides holding different views.”</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I haven't watched the news recently because I don't have cable at home, but I am amazed to see how original thoughts or willingness to find mutual solutions come few and far between. Most
people get their news from one of the major news stations: Fox News, MSNBC,
CNN, ESPN (what? Some people only seem to watch ESPN!). And when they view these
stations day after day, they learn how to say what you're supposed to say (or the
way I describe it: believe their narrative). So if you have your liberal or
conservative lingo, talking points, or principles down, when you meet
someone that has different views than you, you won’t be able to think outside
the box because you’ve already been instructed on what to think. I see it every day on my News Feed and it is not only dangerous, but annoying.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The heart of what is bothering me is not political; it is spiritual. This "us vs. them"narrative has recently crept everywhere and, as well intentioned as it
may be, several prominent Adventist ministries and personalities have recently been promoted on politically "conservative" media outlets. Sure, while we as a church are traditionally more "conservative" in terms of our values, two things jump out at me once I think about these recent events:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Not all of our members are political conservatives (as a matter of fact, the overwhelming majority of Adventists are outside of the United States, and outside of our partisan politics entirely).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus did not leave any room for deep political identification with either party (for
more on Jesus’ political thoughts, see Matthew 6:24; 22:17-21, Mark 12:13-17,
Luke 20:25 for starters. If you want to see Jesus’ followers had to say about
politics, you can check out 1 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12; 1 Peter
2:17; Philippians 3:20; Titus 3:9).</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, Glenn Beck recently
featured <i>The Great Controversy</i> and
Remnant Publications on one of his shows. I’m not as concerned over the
advertising of this book itself, since any producer has the liberty to
decide what they bring on the air. Also, as some might quote, “any
publicity is good publicity.” However, it is also true that you oftentimes judge a book
by its cover and when the message (however "good" or "true" it may be) is promoted by a messenger
who is no stranger to insensitive, combative, and downright divisive rhetoric in our country
to begin with, you have to wonder if you might be undermining the image you want associated with your message by way of your choice of messenger (I would say the same if the book was to be featured on a "liberal" show like <i>The Daily Show with John Stewart </i>[which it most likely wouldn't, but I'm using this to say that I don't care what side of the political spectrum you're talking about--the point is still the same]).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://carsonscholars.org/files/imce/bccurrent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://carsonscholars.org/files/imce/bccurrent.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">My bigger issue is with the well-known and beloved Adventist figure, Dr.
Ben Carson. Dr. Carson has recently been in the news due to his vocal opinions
about the President and, specifically, his dissatisfaction with Obamacare (also known as the Affordable
Care Act [yes, there are still some people who "prefer" one over another
without realizing that they are in fact <i>the
very same thing! For more on this, search for “</i>Jimmy Kimmel Affordable
Care Act” <i>on YouTube. It’s funny but also
sad.])</i>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">One of the most disappointing remarks came when he recently said the following:</span><br />
<div style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Dr. Ben Carson, a conservative commentator and neurosurgeon, on Friday likened the health care law to slavery.</span><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“Obamacare is really, I think, the worst thing to happen to the nation since slavery,” Carson said, speaking at the Values Voter Summit. “And it is slavery, in a way.”</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="border: 0px; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">Read more: <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ben-carson-obamacare-slavery-98185.html#ixzz2hWa8xE2G" style="border: 0px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://www.politico.com/story/2013/10/ben-carson-obamacare-slavery-98185.html#ixzz2hWa8xE2G</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Before offering criticism, I think that he is a great role model to all young people; his example of hard work, education, and philanthropy are worthy for anyone to emulate. I remember reading some of his book <i>Gifted Hands</i> when I younger and being encouraged by his story. On that end, I am happy and proud to call him a fellow Seventh-day Adventist.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Also, as a citizen of the United States, Dr. Carson is free to express his opinions any way he wants; he is free to chose to be a Fox News contributor (as he did recently). I am glad to live in a country that allows people to
express their opinions this openly. I applaud that! However, as a pastor, my concern and disappointment stems from the fact that, in the last few months, we now have well-known Adventist
literature and personalities promoted on politically polarizing venues.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>As a
pastor, when someone hears the word Adventist, I don’t want the first thing
that comes to their mind to be Fox News, Glenn Beck, Tea Party or any sort of
political term due to Dr. Carson's contribution as a Fox News contributor or consider <i>The Great Controversy </i>as a book written with a political agenda to get across. The main narrative that informs a Christian's perspective is not a political one, because it was not a politician who founded it. I wish Dr. Carson the best in his future path, but pray</b><b style="text-align: left;"> he does not become a pawn for political use and become exploited for being a successful black conservative.</b></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">You can be a religious or political conservative or a liberal (which personally, I find "liberal" and "conservative" as
stupid categories anyway because you always consider yourself as “balanced,” which
you probably are not), but Christ is not exclusive property of either side. God is as unbiased as the Sun; it shines on all people regardless of where they stand
(unless it is winter in Michigan, in which case it is equally hidden from all... thanks to the permacloud that takes up residence for months on end).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Proverbs 14:34 says,<b><span style="color: #4f441f; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Corbel; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"> “</span></b>Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">We are all currently developing the narratives of our lives. The question is,
when it is said and done, how do you want be remembered? Another worthy question is: what is the "righteousness" that we want our nation to have? Is that the same "righteousness" that we find in the Bible?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's put another spin on it: what does your
Facebook wall say about your life’s narrative? Christians, are you representing
the narrative that you learned from Christ faithfully as it was given it to you, or is it being mixed in
with the political divisiveness that has kept our government closed for the
past few weeks? Are we in danger of bringing in that ridiculous concept of “right” and
“wrong,” “liberal” vs. “conservative” nonsense into our lives and dividing amongst ourselves?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll again mention Chaplain Barry Black. I love what he’s doing through his prayers
on the Senate floor. In his prayers, he is asking God to speak to the hearts of
our leaders and bring understanding in the midst of discord. He is being a
modern-day Daniel and we need more of them in today's polarized world. May we all be like Daniel and work toward unity instead of adding to the
madness that drives us apart!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-91827631505585032782013-08-15T17:13:00.000-04:002013-08-15T17:13:04.248-04:00Life: what is it all about?<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="http://mollygalbraith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/1479669-City-reflections-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://mollygalbraith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/1479669-City-reflections-2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s
somewhat ironic how one death put a pause on my blog writing experience, while
another death almost exactly six months later has moved me to get back into
the swing of it. The sudden loss of one of the nicest people that I had known,
Chavelo Hernandez, in February triggered weeks of frustrating phone calls,
emails, and communications to get his body back to Mexico (for more details,
see the previous blog entry). Well, thankfully, his body was sent back but,
even then, I still couldn’t bring myself to write out of how “busy” I thought
myself to be.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Last week,
I along with many other people who knew her, were shocked and saddened to hear
about the sudden passing of a friend Anaely Arocho. She was my wife’s friend
from high school and her college roommate at AUC before she came to Southern. Her
death gave me a renewed perspective on the reality of life.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Death has
an interesting way of reminding all of us about our own mortality and
finiteness, doesn’t it? After the last death I faced in February, I tried to be
as involved as possible in meeting the needs of my work and church. Same thing
goes with all of us: we work, go to school, and fill our lives with “busyness”
but when someone close to us dies, how important is all of the busyness of your
life?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This more
recent death has caused me to ask more questions about my life. Namely the
following:</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What
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<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">How
will I be remembered?</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Am
I living a life that I can look back on and be proud of?</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What
am I working towards?</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Really,
these are the kinds of things we all probably ask ourselves subconsciously and
should ask ourselves more purposefully. That’s why we as human beings have an
innate desire to fill our lives with some sort of meaning or purpose. This search
for meaning has given birth to all kinds of ideas and theories on the “ultimate
purpose of life,” some say:</span></div>
<br />
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<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
see humanity and human thought flourish </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
see the environment flourish</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
see other cultures </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
seek pleasure </span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
be happy</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
do your duty</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
love</span></li>
<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Symbol; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to
seek wisdom</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> For some
people, <u>there is no</u> ultimate purpose. You live your life and then you
die, and your existence fades to black. Now, today is not the day to discuss
the validity of each of these worldviews. My point is, if you haven’t taken the
time think about what life is all about, you may want to put that on your
agenda at some point. We take many things for granted and assume that we are entitled
or have “a right” to be happy and live long prosperous lives. Guess what? Life
doesn’t work that way.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Make it a
point today to call up your loved ones and say hi to them. As much as possible,
seek to live in peace with those around you. Live with no regrets, but
remember: while people will tell you to “just do you” and do what makes you
happy, there is a consequence for living a life where you are the center of the
universe while ignoring the rest of the world (not to mention that this theory
is impossible to live out in practice; we simply <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">can’t </i>ignore people- you’re proving my point by reading this). Take
time today to enjoy the amazing gift of life.</span></div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-1278232081936505422013-02-24T12:01:00.000-05:002013-02-24T12:01:00.846-05:00Dealing with the Unexpected: A Death in the Church<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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It’s been quite a while since my last entry. I had expected
to have the blog on race and the SDA church up a while ago. However, life being
what it is, has thrown an unexpected curveball which has taken up most of my
attention since it happened two weeks ago. I’ll get to work on that race and the
SDA church blog as soon as I deal with the big challenge that you’re about to
read ahead. Therefore this blog will be to update you on what’s been going on,
while at the same time serving as a form of therapy to get my thoughts out.</div>
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<br /></div>
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During the second week of February, I was at Lake Yale, FL
at the Hispanic Lay Evangelism Festival. I was there with many pastors and
members from around the Southeast part of the US having a great time learning
about lots of great things to bring back to our churches. When we were driving
back on Sunday, I got a call form one of my church members who was concerned
that another of our church members had been missing over the weekend and
neither his roommates nor the church knew where he was. </div>
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<br /></div>
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We asked around the community on Monday but no one had any
information on him. Finally on Tuesday, I decided to call the police department
and file a missing persons report on him. During the course of the conversation
from one agency to another, someone suggested that I try the Greenville county
coroner’s office because there was a person that was struck and killed on
Friday and the details resembled my church member. Long story short, Tuesday at
around noon I find myself in the coroner’s office at the major hospital in Greenville
looking at the picture of my deceased member’s face…he had been struck and killed
by a car Friday morning while crossing the street wearing dark clothing.</div>
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<br /></div>
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To make matters worse, he had no papers. And I don’t mean
the typical issue in the immigration discussion of no papers. This brother was
born in an indigenous tribe close to the Guatemalan border in Mexico. They
didn’t speak Spanish there, only a local dialect. Therefore, when he was born,
no one gave him a birth certificate. So when I say he had no papers, I <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mean</i> that He. Had. No. Papers. </div>
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<br /></div>
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I wondered how I would respond to this situation. After all,
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in
times of challenge and controversy." In other words, someone’s true
colors come out when you throw them into high stress and conflict. The same is
true of a church.</div>
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<br /></div>
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During this last week, the Greenville Spanish Church in
South Carolina pulled together and formed a small army to find this man’s
family, clean up his apartment, and give his clothes to people who needed it.
He was also a colporteur and had many books about health to spiritual topics.
He always dreamed of one day going back to his small village and sharing the
message of Jesus with tribe. A visitor this past Sabbath offered to actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">pay</i> for his entire collection of books
to be sent back to his family (we’re talking about several hundred dollars
here)!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After countless international calls, we finally got ahold of
his family and I have been in contact with them through an interpreter who is
talking to me in Spanish while he relays the information in their dialect to
get the details worked out with the coroner’s office, the Mexican consulate,
and funeral home. We even had to get counsel from the General Conference due to
the unusual case that this was. I’m so glad that I work with a church that has
such a broad, international scope of law, ministry and mission; they were able
to provide awesome counsel and advice thorough this entire ordeal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re not out of the woods yet. Our brother is still in the
morgue and there is international paperwork that has to be processed. Keep the
church, and me, in your prayers. However, with the way this situation has
worked out, I’m sure that something good will come out of what has truly been a
tragic and unexpected event. The brother who passed away, a 33-year-old man
nicknamed “Chavelo” was an awesome, gentle soul who would gladly give the shirt
of his back to help others even though he didn’t have much himself. The world
is going to miss a great guy like him. RIP my friend.</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-62502964538524898722013-01-18T14:00:00.002-05:002013-01-18T14:00:39.214-05:00Pressing Towards the Goal 4/4<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In case you
were wondering where was yesterday’s post, there wasn’t one. Thursdays are my
family day/date night and even though my default mode is to keep working, I
really have to make an effort to not do any work. My wife will be sure to tell
you that I’m still working on detaching myself totally. lol</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeigBi6KPNqxQTCbyaX8GRHKWJvGqyIddHNvpzaU5a63uk5facjvoG9KdS" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeigBi6KPNqxQTCbyaX8GRHKWJvGqyIddHNvpzaU5a63uk5facjvoG9KdS" width="320" /></a>Anyways,
this week the two biggest stories that I kept hearing about through Facebook
and ESPN was Lance Armstrong’s admitting to taking performance enhancing drugs
(PED’s) and the story of <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Manti Te'o’s imaginary girlfriend.<i> </i>In
case you missed it, Lance Armstrong, a famous American cyclist and cancer
survivor, won every single Tour de France from 1999-2005. For years, he had
denied accusations that he had been taking PED’s. He lied to the American public
and made them believe that what drove him forward was his dedication, hard work,
and unwillingness to give up in the face of opposition. What a story!</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unfortunately,
it was a lie. He in fact, did take PED’s and now his reputation and credibility
are down the tubes.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I
find Manti Te'o’s story equally incredible. He was the face of the Notre Dame Fighting
Irish football team and runner up for the prestigious Heisman Trophy. His
football team lost to Alabama in the nation championship game. What was amazing
about this kid was his story to the media that what drove him to be a better
athlete was the sudden death of his girlfriend who had leukemia.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Unfortunately,
it was also a lie. His girlfriend not only didn’t die, she never existed! Now
some are wondering if this was a hoax perpetrated against the Notre Dame
linebacker or if he was part of the deception as well.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<i><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">These are two crazy stories that
leave you wondering, “What in the world was going through their heads?”</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Now, I’m not
going to say that these men are not at fault, but it’s pretty sad that at how
everyone is bashing them for portraying an image that was misleading when
people do it every day on Facebook. (I mean, let’s be real; most people don’t
post pictures when they look busted and just woke up. You put the best picture
to give others the impression that you’ve got your act together, right?) I’m
sure that if the news media were to do an investigation on you, they’d probably
find a few skeletons in your closet too.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
What was
lacking in these men was the last point that we need in order to reach our
goals. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>To reach our goals, we must have
a sure foundation.</b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
If you ask
the apostle Paul what was his foundation, he could give you a pretty clear
answer. We find this in the 2<sup>nd</sup> half of Philippians 3:14:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span class="text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">14B the upward
call of God in Christ Jesus.</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
For Paul,
his desire, goals and future focus were grounded on the fact that he wanted to
live to be like his Lord. As we saw earlier this week, he said that even though
I’m not perfect, I strive to be the closest thing to perfect even though I know
that I fall incredibly short of what I’m supposed to be. Now, for you
theologians out there, he is not abandoning justification by faith; he is not
denying that salvation is free. It is in fact because both our salvation and our
sanctification have been perfectly and fully accomplished by Christ that we too
can be saved by responding in faith without works, and sanctified by responding
in faithful obedience.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The
confidence that we can also have in moving forward is the same as Paul’s. It
goes back to Paul’s preliminary statement in chapter 3 verse 12. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="text"><u><sup>12 </sup>Not that I have already obtained this or am
already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has
made me his own.</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="text">As you go forward in life and your story unfolds, people will ask
you, “What is the secret to your success?” Lance Armstrong said his success was
“hard work.” Manti Te’o said it was “motivation from his deceased girlfriend.”
Both of these foundations were built on sand made from their own hands. Paul would say that his foundation was trying to live honestly, openly and humbly like his Lord. If
there ever was a time to be reminded of what a good foundation looks like, it
is today.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/images/projects/slc1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.earthbagbuilding.com/images/projects/slc1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span class="text">“Therefore everyone
who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man
who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="text">As people there is a danger in relying on the greatness of our
story, our accomplishments or the hope of human glory. As a church, there is
danger on relying on the greatness on our money, outreach methods and theology.
If you hope to reach your goals using these things a foundation, you’ll be disappointed
once you realize that someone has a better story, or the fact that, once we
die, people will forget all about your money or your greatness. These
foundations are not good ones in and of themselves. Whatever may have been your
experience in the past, it’s not too late to begin to rebuild starting today
towards a brighter future. Why not start today?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span class="text">So as you think about your own life, I’d like to finish with the
words of F.B. Meyer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“It
is a mistake to be always turning back to recover the past. The law of
Christian living is not backward, but forward; not for experiences that lie
behind, but for doing the will of God, which is always ahead and calling us to
follow. Leave the things that are behind, and reach forward to those that are
before us, for in each new height to which we attain, there are the appropriate
joys that befit the new experience. Don’t fret because life’s joys are fled.
There I more in front. Look up, press forward, the best is yet to be!”</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-50484433114242077652013-01-16T22:52:00.003-05:002013-01-16T23:09:51.702-05:00Pressing Towards the Goal 3/4<br />
<br />
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<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/27931_424296167638711_260395214_n.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/27931_424296167638711_260395214_n.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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A few weeks ago, I was in Boston visiting my in-laws. I love
Boston. Everyting from the sights and the smells just makes me feel right at
home. Not only do I love Boston, I’m a Red Sox fan. </div>
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<br /></div>
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But wait, you may say, aren’t you from Miami? Shouldn’t you
be a Marlins fan? Well, I am. They’re my National League team while Boston is
my American League team…but unfortunately, neither the Marlins nor the Red Sox have
anything to look forward to for the next few years, but that’s besides the
point. I remember a few years ago how excited everyone that is not a Yankees fan was when the Red Sox won
the World Series. Interestingly, check out what one newspaper wrote after their win:</div>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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"After their team won the 2004 World Series of baseball, fans
of Boston’s Red Sox struggled to adjust. A New York Times article chronicled
their confusion:</div>
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Having waited 86 years for a World Series championship,
Bostonians found themselves…swirling with elation, but also scratching their
heads.</div>
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<br /></div>
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What are Red Sox fans to do when the angst of being one of
the world’s greatest underdogs is gone?</div>
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<br />
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“I’m having trouble dealing with it,” said Mike Andrews, who
played second base for the Red Sox in 1967, when they lost to the Cardinals
during one of their many close-but-no-cigar face-offs. “You’re kind of caught saying, “What’s next?” I don’t want to say it’s a letdown. But it’s certainly part of your life and it’s gone now, and
we need to come up with something new."</div>
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In so identifying themselves with a prize such as a
World Series title, the Red Sox were left without a mission or purpose after their
goal of winning a championship had been achieved. Sure, they became the first
team ever to come back from an 0-3 deficit to beat their rivals, the New York
Yankees, but what was next after that? Without a greater goal to strive for,
they were left with a time of rediscovering their identity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Striving for your goals isn't bad, but have you ever asked
yourself, “What exactly IS my goal?” Do you have anything that you want to do
with your life? I don’t mean to sound like your mother, but if you’re just riding
the waves of life without a goal in sight, what good is anything?</div>
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<br /></div>
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For some people, their goals are what Tony Montana said in
Scarface (I don’t condone that movie, I’m just using it as an example :))
“Money, power, respect.” Unfortunately with things like this, there is really
never an end in sight. Once you get your first big break, you’ll notice that
someone else has a nicer office or a bigger paycheck and you’ll eventually want
their position too. Thus, it becomes an ever ending journey for a goal you’ll
never actually reach to begin with.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Paul did have a goal, a desire in life. He said this in the
first half of Philippians 3:14:</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>14A I press on toward the goal for the prize </b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Sometimes a thing is all the more impressive for being left
undescribed. Paul tells us neither what the goal is, nor what the prize will
be. Yet suddenly the earthly scene with all of its strivings, sufferings and
sacrifices gives way to heavenly glory. One scriptural picture after another
fills and elevates the mind upwards to his celestial goal. Still, from this
piece of scripture, we arrive at our third lesson for reaching our goals.
Namely, <span style="font-size: large;"><b>to reach our goals, we must have an absorbing desire.</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Our desire is based on what we are aiming towards, what we want out of life. What are
you aiming towards? Do you have any goals for this New Year? Let’s first talk
about you as a person or as a leader. What <span style="font-size: large;">INSPIRES </span>you? What gives you life, purpose,
meaning? Are you happy where you are? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://18.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksiz1pfkaK1qze5g2o1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://18.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksiz1pfkaK1qze5g2o1_500.gif" width="320" /></a>Do you have a goal? Once you reach that goal, what happens
next? Don’t be like these guys to the right from Finding Nemo that once you reach your goal,
you’re left wondering, “What’s next?” Today, think about what are your goals and make sure that your absorbing desire doesn’t leave you empty once you reach it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>“The meaning of earthly existence lies not as we have grown
used to thinking, in prospering, but in the development of the soul.”</b> Alexander
Soizhenitsyn, Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-58896189546456959972013-01-15T23:04:00.003-05:002013-01-16T22:53:31.855-05:00Pressing Towards the Goal 2/4<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<a href="http://images.shaklee.com/pws/sports/athletes/Matt_Emmons_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://images.shaklee.com/pws/sports/athletes/Matt_Emmons_lg.jpg" width="320" /></a>"Matt Emmons had the gold medal
in sight. He was one shot away from claiming victory in the 2004 Olympic
50-meter three-position rifle event. He didn’t even need a bulls-eye to win.
His final shot only needed to hit the target anywhere.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Normally, the shot he made would
receive a score of 8.1, more than enough for a gold medal. But in what was described
as an “extremely rare mistake in elite competition,” Emmons fired at the wrong
target. Standing in lane two, he fired at the target in lane three. His score
for a good shot at the wrong target? 0. Instead of a medal, Emmons ended up in
eight place."</div>
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<br />
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<br /></div>
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His story shows us that it
doesn’t matter how accurate you are if you’re aiming at the wrong goal.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
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The apostle Paul had a goal in
sight. It was a goal that drove him, kept him going even when everything else
was going wrong around him. As a matter of fact, he was in jail when he wrote
this letter (which was actually a pretty common place for him to write his
letters. Maybe it was because that was the only time he could sit still long
enough to get work done!). Here in his letter to the Philippians we find the
second characteristic that we need to have in order to reach our goals in the
second half of chapter 3 and verse 13. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"13B; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching
forward to what lies ahead,”</b></div>
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In other words, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">to reach our goals, we must have a single-minded future focus.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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This is to say a single desire
that is based on what you hope to accomplish ahead of you. Paul here seems to
make a pretty big emphasis on forgetting the past. However, he clearly hadn’t
forgotten his. If you look earlier in the chapter, he listed a ton of his
accomplishments. So why does he now say that it’s important to forget your
past?</div>
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I think that it’s because when we
become <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">too </i>focused on our past, it
limits our present effort and kills any future progress. </div>
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Take for example if someone has
done us wrong in the past. The resentment and bitterness (be it real or imagined)
can keep us rehearsing the same broken tape over and over again and we’ll carry
that baggage with us whenever we meet new people. Or focusing on past sins
which, when you keep dwelling on them, make you believe or wonder if God can
actually forgive you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Or the church that keeps remembering
the “good ol’ days” when we had x amount of members, or when Pastor X, Elder Y,
or Sister Z were here and everything was just rolling along. By contrast, Paul
here says that the progressing Christian must cultivate a concentrated forward
look to where the Goal lies.</div>
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This is a goal that is not caught
up on our past success or past failure. Not on our actions, achievements or
behaviors, but on realizing that life is all about learning and growing. This
is true of both the development of our physical life as well as our spiritual
life. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Who knows what was going through Matt Emmons head when he hit the wrong
target. He may have felt that he had success in the bag, but that moment of
failed concentration cost him everything. Keep your sights set on the
future target because, even though you aren’t all that you should be yet, you also
aren’t all that you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">WILL</i> be yet.
</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-17399652226469341902013-01-14T23:19:00.002-05:002013-01-14T23:20:10.369-05:00Pressing Towards the Goal 1/4<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://0.tqn.com/d/forestry/1/0/7/e/blu_ridge_pkw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://0.tqn.com/d/forestry/1/0/7/e/blu_ridge_pkw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.everymantri.com/.a/6a00d83451b18a69e20147e0367616970b-500wi" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>
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Have you ever been in church, sitting through just another “regular”
service when, all of a sudden, you hear the WEIRDEST thing you’ve ever heard in
your whole life? Maybe it hasn't happened to you yet, but that was my case
a few years ago. Many moons ago (well, not that many, it was back in 2005) I
was a freshman theology major at Southern Adventist University. One weekend, my
friend invited me to come up to western North Carolina to preach at one of his
churches.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So me, along with about 5-6 other people all packed into a
few cars and drove all the way to western North Carolina, stayed with some nice
hosts and did a service at this church. Now, this church was a not big at all.
During Sabbath School there were maybe about 25 people. They were great people though; there was nothing too much out of the ordinary about them. However, during Sabbath
school, it happened.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
During the normal teacher/class interaction regarding how
was their week, one lady asks for the mic and says “I want to thank God because
I’ve reached perfection.” Immediately, my ears shot up like a dog hearing a noise in the house. “Yes, I want to thank God because since Wednesday of this
week, I haven’t thought or said anything sinful.” My friend who had invited us
over for the weekend quipped back: “I think you may want to start over because
you’ve fallen through your boasting.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians had a
different view of himself when he wrote</div>
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<sup> </sup><b><i> </i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i>"Not that I have already obtained this or am already
perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his
own."</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="text">Even though he had, up to that point, done more “good things” than
many of us combined, Paul still admitted that “hey, I’m not perfect; I haven’t
figured this whole thing out yet.” As we begin our series entitled “Pressing towards
the Goal,” I believe that we should possess 4 important characteristics if we
hope to reach our goals as individuals or as a body of believers.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="text">The first lesson is found in the first part of verse 13:</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="text"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">13A Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of <i>it</i>
yet;</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="text">In other words, I believe that in order to reach our goals,<u><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"></span></b></span></u></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>we must have a balanced view of ourselves!</u></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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There are
two ways people tend to view themselves. Either as too high and mighty (like
Ms. Perfect in the opening story). Or through the eyes of what’s called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Grasshopper Complex</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can read about it in <span class="st">Numbers
13:33, but basically this is when you doubt your potential for achievement by
throwing some excuse (weather real or imagined) in order to prevent you from
trying. </span>Whenever you find the grasshopper complex in
either people or an institution, it stunts the growth that’s possible. Why?
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<br /></div>
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You say you
can’t achieve what you’re aiming for. Why? Because (insert excuse here). So
what ends up happening? You don’t do anything and, because you don’t achieve
your goals, you say it’s not worth trying. Why? Because you can’t achieve what you
aim for. It's a vicious cycle.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Imagine the
difference in outlook if, instead of calling a small church a small church,
they called themselves as “a growing church.” Sure, the reality may be that
there are only 15 people in the church, but their identity is no longer that of
tiny, lowly grasshoppers; there is a drive for future success based on a
balanced view of themselves.</div>
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Optimistic people and institutions tend to see success as being part of personal
traits that they bring and failure as being caused by unfortunate
circumstances. Pessimistic people see failure as part of personal traits that
they bring and success as part of random fortunate circumstances. How do you
see yourself today? Have you lived with a grasshopper complex? Today, it’s time
to get that stigma off your back, have a balanced view of yourself and say like
Paul, <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">I’m
not perfect; I know that I haven’t reached my goals yet. I’m still working to
get there, but I believe that, one day, I will get there!</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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So tomorrow, go out there and work to be something great (in
the words of Mr. Miyagi from the “Karate Kid”) “young grasshoppers.”</div>
Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148931061593990723.post-57234135044115060542013-01-13T23:51:00.001-05:002013-01-13T23:51:46.324-05:00So it begins!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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With the start of every new year, there is the promise of new opportunity and adventure. Having put off writing for far too long, I've recently been reminded of the importance of writing your thoughts down. So, I've decided to give blogging a try. As the description for this blog says, what I share will be a combination of what I question, search and learn.</div>
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<span>Being a pastor, much of what I say will be written from the context which I find myself in. Although there will most likely be times when I break out of the box with something different. This week, I want to share a 4-part devotional series taken from Philippians 3:12-14 which reads:</span><span><span class="text Phil-3-12"></span></span></div>
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<span><span class="text Phil-3-12"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></span><span><i><span class="text Phil-3-12"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></i></span><span><i><span class="text Phil-3-12"><sup class="versenum"></sup></span></i><b><i><span class="text Phil-3-12">"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.</span> <span class="text Phil-3-13" id="en-ESV-29418">Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,</span><span class="text Phil-3-14" id="en-ESV-29419"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.</span>" (ESV)</i></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div>
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<span>New Year's resolutions seem to be pretty popular this time of year. Unfortunately, the amount of us who actually reach our goals by the end of the year are pretty slim (I'm one of the worst offenders. After all, starting a blog was something that I had as a resolution way back in 2010!). That being said, this week we're going to see what are 4 important characteristics that Scripture says we need as we hope to reach our goals (be it personal or spiritual). My intended audience here is both to individuals hoping to achieve their goals and to churches and their leaders as they hope to reach their own. Feel free to leave your thoughts and/or feedback as we explore this weeks series entitled <span style="font-size: large;"><b>"Pressing Towards the Goal!"</b></span></span><br />
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Nelson Fhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02991755868737395423noreply@blogger.com0