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October 24, 2013 

Survey to Inform 

Strategic Plan 

Christ, Character, 

and Creation 

Lessons, Unplanned 

12 

14 

28 

Connecting 

kids with Christ 

foR 60 years

“Behold, I come quickly . . .” 

Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ by presenting stories of His 

matchless love, news of His present workings, help for knowing 

Him better, and hope in His soon return. 

18. 28 9 6 

COVER FEATURE 

18 Growing Up With Guide 

Kim Peckham 

The magazine that connects 

with the church’s 

preteens is 60 years old. 

ARTICLES 

14 Christ, Character, 

and Creation 

John T. Baldwin 

Grappling with the reality 

of death and decay in 

God’s perfect creation 

24 Their Deepest Lessons 

Ellen G. White 

The genius of nature 

testifies of nature’s God. 

DEPARTMENTS 

4 Letters 

7 Page 7 

8 World News & 

Perspectives 

13 Give & Take 

17 Transformation Tips 

2 3 Dateline Moscow 

EDITORIALS 

6 Gerald A. Klingbeil 

Whatever 

7 Stephen Chavez 

Beyond Words 

26 Three-Part Gospel 

Max Hammonds 

Understanding the many 

aspects of salvation 

31 Reflections 

ON THE COVER 

The kids who first read Guide 

are no longer kids. But Guide’s 

ministry remains the same: 

connecting kids with Christ. 

28 Lessons, Unplanned 

Lindsey Gendke 

Teachers know everything, 

right? Not always. 

Next Week in 

Adventist world 

The Waiting Womb 

Anticipating the joys and 

challenges of motherhood 

Publisher General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists ® , Executive Publisher Bill Knott, Associate Publisher Claude Richli, Publishing Board: Ted N. C. Wilson, chair; Benjamin D. Schoun, 

vice chair; Bill Knott, secretary; Lisa Beardsley-Hardy; Daniel R. Jackson; Robert Lemon; Geoffrey Mbwana; G. T. Ng; Daisy Orion; Juan Prestol; Michael Ryan; Ella Simmons; Mark Thomas; Karnik 

Doukmetzian, legal adviser. Editor Bill Knott, Associate Editors Lael Caesar, Gerald A. Klingbeil, Coordinating Editor Stephen Chavez, Online Editor Carlos Medley, Features Editor Sandra 

Blackmer, Young Adult Editor Kimberly Luste Maran, KidsView Editor Wilona Karimabadi, News Editor Mark A. Kellner, Operations Manager Merle Poirier, Financial Manager Rachel Child, 

Editorial Assistant Marvene Thorpe-Baptiste, Marketing Director Claude Richli, Editor-at-Large Mark A. Finley, Senior Advisor E. Edward Zinke, Art Director Bryan Gray, Design Daniel 

Añez, Desktop Technician Fred Wuerstlin, Ad Sales Glen Gohlke, Subscriber Services Steve Hanson. To Writers: Writer’s guidelines are available at the Adventist Review Web site: www.adventistreview.org 

and click “About the Review.” For a printed copy, send a self-addressed envelope to: Writer’s Guidelines, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. 

E-mail: revieweditor@gc.adventist.org. Web site: www.adventistreview.org. Postmaster: Send address changes to Adventist Review, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740-7301. Unless 

otherwise noted, Bible texts in this issue are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Unless 

otherwise noted, all photos are © Thinkstock 2013. The Adventist Review (ISSN 0161-1119), published since 1849, is the general paper of the Seventh-day Adventist ® Church. It is 

published by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists ® and is printed 36 times a year on the second, third, and fourth Thursdays of each month by the Review and 

Herald ® Publishing Association, 55 West Oak Ridge Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740. Periodical postage paid at Hagerstown, MD 21740. Copyright © 2013, General Conference 

of Seventh-day Adventists ® . PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. Vol. 190, No. 30 

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www.AdventistReview.org | October 24, 2013 | (963) 3

inbox 

Letters From Our Readers 


September 19, 2013 

Vol. 190, No. 26 


Theological Seminary 

Insta ls New Dean 

Unleashing the Word 

The God of the Gap 

Habits of the Heart 

»» 

I am writing in regard to 

Bill Knott’s article “Habits of 

the Heart” (Sept. 19, 2013). 

During the recent Revelation 

cruise, I was privileged to 

visit briefly with Knott. He 

stated in passing that he had 

stayed up late the night 

before finishing an article to 

be published in the September 

19 Review. So I watched 

eagerly for the arrival of my 

magazine. When it arrived, I 

located the cover story he 

authored. 

Knott’s first paragraph 

contains the following quotation 

from Ellen White: “I 

long to be beautified every 

day with the meekness and 

gentleness of Christ” (Our 

High Calling, p. 247). This 

prayer is the secret to 

humility. 

The first desirable heart 

habit Knott mentions is solitude, 

which we humans 

sadly avoid even though it 

could give us an opportunity 

to listen to the “sound of a 

gentle whisper” from God, 

following Jesus’ example. We 

do need quiet moments to 

contemplate what God has 

done for us in the past. If any 

10 

14 

17 

© terry crews 

doubt crosses our mind 

about His leading, our faith 

will reassure us that we are 

still loved by a merciful and 

forgiving heavenly Father. 

And this is where a heart 

overflowing with deep gratitude 

comes into the picture. 

The steps mentioned in 

the article are so simple yet 

profound. If implemented, 

they will see us through to 

the day of Christ’s appearing. 

Thank you, Bill Knott, for 

outlining them so well in the 

“Habits of the Heart.” 

Laurice Kafrouni 

Durrant 

Keene, Texas 

Something’s Missing 

»» 

I like to read real-life, true 

stories in the Adventist Review; 

however, after reading 

“Climbing the Tree of Life” in 

the September 19, 2013, edition, 

I have a question: How 

did the lights get on the top 

of the tree? 

It’s not too difficult to 

write a story with a moral, 

but sometimes the details 

are important to understanding 

the entire story. The 

lights should be much easier 

to get down than to place up 

there in the first place. Did 

they use a ladder to get them 

up (and down), and did the 

author have to climb the tree 

to get them down? 

Norma J. McKellip 

Macon, Georgia 

The original story contained 

more details; unfortunately, 

because of space limitations they 

were omitted. Here (below) is the 

missing information; we hope 

this helps you and other readers 

enjoy the article that much 

more.—Editors. 

The Missing Details 

»»“Alas, the Christmas lights 

were still up in the tree, and 

the mission to retrieve them 

was still unaccomplished. 

Looking at the tree, I couldn’t 

honestly believe it had supported 

a six-foot-four-inch, 

nearly 200-pound man hanging 

lights on it. ‘Tossing’ had 

played a strategic part in getting 

them up there as well, 

which had made it easier to 

get them up than to get them 

down. So there we were in 

the front yard without 

cranes, ropes, apple picker, 

or any other gadget to help. 

My husband had swayed the 

tree too much originally, and 

our daughter had just given 

her most valiant effort. Two 

out of the three had ‘been 

there and done that.’ . . . As I 

removed my bulky vest, mittens, 

and scarf, I told them 

I’d give it a try.” 

No One Close 

»» 

The title of Andy Nash’s 

article “No One Close: The 

Finest Adventist Author” 

(Sept. 19, 2013) was attractive. 

I was eager to read it. 

But alas, what a shocking 

realization it was to find the 

article that seemed to praise 

Ellen White’s writings was, 

in reality, destroying any 

credibility of her being 

inspired by the Holy Spirit. 

The article states: “It’s OK 

to disagree with her, to point 

out her mistakes. It’s OK to 

limit her counsel; she herself 

said, ‘Circumstances alter 

cases.’ Those who read only 

Ellen White tend to be troubled 

people. But those who 

study Scripture, who also 

read Ellen White, are the 

recipients of rich last-day 

blessings.” 

Are there really people 

who read only Ellen White? 

She stated very clearly that 

her writings were to lead 

people to the greater light. 

Studies prove that those who 

read White spend more time 

reading the Bible compared 

to those who do not. 

Notice what she wrote 

about her own writings: 

“The very last deception of 

Satan will be to make of none 

effect the testimony of the 

Spirit of God. ‘Where there is 

no vision, the people perish’ 

(Prov. 29:18). Satan will work 

ingeniously, in different 

ways and through different 

agencies, to unsettle the confidence 

of God’s remnant 

people in the true testimony” 

(Selected Messages, 

book 1, p. 48). 

Meshach Samuel 

Memphis, Tennessee 

4 (964) | www.AdventistReview.org | October 24, 2013

Why Mission? 

»» 

I’m writing in regard to 

Nancy Vyhmeister’s “Why 

Mission?” (Sept. 12, 2013). 

Thank you for publishing 

this timely article. It’s wonderfully 

focused on God’s 

call to His church. 

A couple of comments: 

Under the section “How?” no 

clear reference is made to the 

integral working of the Holy 

Spirit. The sidebar texts, John 


Why 

Missi o n 


Vol. 190, No. 25 


Adventist Church 

Destroyed in Egypt 

Thinking the Unthinkable 

Milkw ed and Thistles 

20:21, 22 and Acts 1:8, explicitly 

demand the central role 

of the Holy Spirit in mission. 

Mission can be accomplished 

only by the presence of God’s 

Spirit. 

The discussion “Why?” is 

limited; it mentions only “listeners” 

and “missionaries.” 

Isaiah 43:10 states, “ ‘You are 

my witnesses,’ declares the 

Lord, ‘and my servant whom 

I have chosen, so that you 

may know and believe me 

and understand that I am 

he.’ ” Being God’s witness 

transforms the missionary by 

increasing both faith in God 

and intimacy with Him. 

When both individuals 

and the church respond to 

people or to crises (Matt. 

24:14), they reveal the character 

of God, His love, goodness, 

and faithfulness. They 

document why God can and 

therefore should be trusted. 

When ministry includes the 

whole person—physical, 

10 

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social, emotional, and spiritual—the 

gospel is painted 

in three dimensions and living 

color for all to see. This 

Holy Spirit’s work will bring 

praise to God. 

At this point in time the 

world is in crisis and awaits 

the clear revelation of God that 

only mission can accomplish. 

Harvey A. Elder 

Loma Linda, California 

Milkweed and 

Thistles 

»» 

Thank you for printing 

Kris Smith’s story “Milkweed 

and Thistles” (Sept. 12, 

2013). It is just the counsel 

I’ve needed at this change 

point in my life. Things 

haven’t been easy for me 

lately, but as Smith said so 

well: “The very worst of 

times can turn out to be the 

very best of times.” This has 

happened often in my life, 

but it helps to be reminded. 

Satan wants us to become 

bitter and judgmental, but 

with Jesus we can change 

such tendencies into new 

growth that glorifies Him. 

I thank the Lord Jesus for 

this article—and for the 

whole Review. May Smith’s 

ministry—and her cheery 

smile—continue! 

Bettylou Moore 

Brownsville, California 

“At this point in time the world is 

in crisis and awaits the clear revelation 

of God that only mission can 

accomplish. 

” 

—harvey a. elder, Loma Linda, California 

Page 7 

»» 

I was indeed surprised to 

learn from Page 7 in the September 

12, 2013, Review that 

9 percent of those professing 

no religion, and 18 percent of 

those professing a faith 

other than Christianity, have 

read the entire Bible from 

start to finish. And I was dismayed 

that only 61 percent 

of professing Christians have 

done so. That leaves more 

than a third of Christians 

who have never read the 

entire Bible. This is a saddening 

statistic. 

I have just finished reading 

the New King James Version, 

and as one very familiar 

with the old KJV, I found the 

newer version a delightful 

read. There was only minimal 

changes in the wording. 

I hope Christians wake up 

and start reading! 

Irene Wakeham Lee 

Coalmont, Tennessee 

Correction 

»» 

Charlotte Ishkanian, featured 

for her work as the 

mission quarterly editor and 

mission story writer in the 

August 22, 2013, Page 7, has 

retired from the position of 

editor, although she still 

works full-time for Adventist 

Mission. We regret printing 

an inaccuracy about her 

retirement. 

We welcome your letters, noting, 

as always, that inclusion of a letter 

in this section does not imply that 

the ideas expressed are endorsed by 

either the editors of the Adventist 

Review or the General Conference. 

Short, specific, timely letters have 

the best chance at being published 

(please include your complete 

address and phone number—even 

with e-mail messages). Letters will 

be edited for space and clarity only. 

Send correspondence to Letters to 

the Editor, Adventist Review, 12501 

Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 

20904-6600; Internet: letters@ 

adventistreview.org. 


Editorials 

Gerald A. 

Klingbeil 

What caused 

Jesus to be 

passionate— 

what moved 

Him to action? 

Whatever 

My three daughters know the drill. If they want to see their 

papa distressed and ready to climb a wall, they just have to answer a straightforward question 

with a nonchalant whatever. “Would you like some salad on your plate?” A shrug, a look— 

“Whatever.” Whatever signals indifference, apathy, and sometimes even superiority. Whatever 

suggests lack of passion and interest. Whatever is one of the banner words of our time and 

challenges us profoundly. 

In ages past (it seems at least) people walked for ideas. They marched for equality and the 

right to vote, or against war, nuclear weapons, and racism. Today we say whatever, shrug our collective 

shoulders—and return to like a friend’s two-line posting on Facebook about a restaurant 

with abysmal service. What happened to the passion and convictions that our Creator 

endowed us with and that have driven so many movements—including our own? 

Before I receive a bag full of letters from passionate readers, let me clarify that whatever is not 

the only response I see around me—but it’s a prevalent one. My sense is that the whatever mindset 

has slowly but surely crept into every facet of our culture and has infected every age group. 

Here is the crucial question for the readers of the Adventist Review: has this whatever mind-set 

also crept into our faith community, or has it stopped dead at the threshold of our churches? 

Don’t get me wrong: there are plenty of important issues and places where Adventists engage 

in passionate discussion. Think of the question of appropriate worship music or the important 

discussion regarding the ordination of female pastors. However, where is the passion when we 

think about 3 billion people who have had little or no contact with the soon-coming Savior and 

His good news? Or, closer to home, where is the passion for the neighbors around us who may 

wonder why we leave our home every Saturday morning all dressed up, yet have never heard 

Jesus’ loving invitation into His kingdom? 

Matter of fact, there is passion in the whatever age. The rights of homosexuals seem to dominate 

the headlines of news and media outlets. You can find echoes of this discussion in some of 

our churches in North America and Europe as well. Equality and justice are the keywords of this 

debate. Gun control, universal health care, or the role of government are issues that are heatedly 

debated in our culture and have crept also into conversations around fellowship dinner 

tables in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Yet, I wonder—are these the causes that should 

dominate our hearts and minds? 

What caused Jesus to be passionate—what moved Him to action? If tears mark passion, we 

are told of two occasions on which Jesus wept. He wept standing at the tomb of His friend Lazarus 

(John 11:35). He also wept as He looked at Jerusalem during His triumphal entry (Luke 

19:41). In the midst of roaring applause and boisterous proclamations, Jesus stops and weeps. 

Anticipating the future of the city of His people, He knows about the stubbornness and pride 

and the sense of superiority of those who should have known. His passion leads Him to cleanse 

the Temple with authority. His love keeps Him on the cross. Jesus is passionate about people 

and salvation and the battle of which He is the centerpiece. 

I dream of a community of young and old—together—that is passionate about the well-being 

of people around them—and I am talking about not only social engagement but eternal destiny. 

I pray for church leaders, lay members, theologians, pastors, and anyone else who engages others 

passionately, but lovingly and respectfully, even on the topics that often divide us. I wish for 

conversations and warm embraces and prayer meetings that bind this movement to the passion 

of Jesus. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, whatever will not do the trick. 

Whatever did not motivate Jesus to give up the five-star glory of heaven and dwell in the lowlands 

of earth’s history. Whatever did not drive Paul to travel the ancient world untiringly— 

without any frequent-flyer benefits. Passion for the lost, love for the stubborn, salvation for the 

erring—that’s what moved the Master and all those following in His footsteps. They should 

also motivate us. n 


Beyond Words 

Next time your National Geographic arrives in the mail, check 

out the letters to the editor. In a recent issue I noticed that the letters typically published are five 

sentences long. That’s it: five sentences, often fewer. I once saw a letter that had eight sentences, 

but that’s rare. 

Now look at the letters published on pages 4 and 5 of this magazine: most of the writers are 

just getting warmed up after five sentences. To be sure, readers of National Geographic don’t feel 

a need to support their opinions with Bible verses and quotes by Ellen White, but this simple 

fact reveals an underlying truth: We Adventists love our words. 

Our idea of evangelism is a 45-minute verbal presentation, often accompanied by proof texts 

on PowerPoint slides; or handing out books, pamphlets, or magazines that can rarely be read in 

one sitting. 

Why? Because our message is important; and you can’t communicate an important message 

without words. Or can you? 

The other day one of my neighbors and I got to talking about the Sabbath. I told her briefly 

about what it means to us and how we observe the day. Then our conversation veered off into a 

discussion about salvation. I could’ve said more, I could’ve given her some literature, but I 

believe in going no farther or faster than the Holy Spirit leads. I felt led to leave it there, knowing 

that we’ll have more conversations, and believing that when she’s ready, she’ll ask for more. 

The truly important thing about our message is how we live it. The sheer volume of words 

written and spoken today makes it difficult to communicate our message above all the others 

out there. But few can argue with the powerful witness of a godly life. n 

Stephen 

Chavez 

Pray 

Pray for the pastor’s 

spiritual health, 

protection, and wisdom. 

The most affirming 

words can be: “Pastor, 

I’m praying for you.” 

rELEaSE 

Constant ministry can 

cause burnout. Urge 

your pastor to take 

weekly breaks for 

spiritual renewal as 

well as annual breaks 

for study leave and 

vacation. 

Seven Things Pastors Wish 

Their Congregation Would Do 

aFFIrM 

Pastors don’t live for 

affirmation; however, 

words of validation 

do provide a lifeline 

of strength through 

treacherous times. 

TaLK 

Talk with your pastor, 

not about or around. 

Complaining about your 

pastor to someone 

else is corrosive for the 

entire church family. 

Challenge privately. 

Affirm publicly. 

BLESS 

Bless their spouse. 

Bless the kids. Let go of 

any expectations 

and treat the family 

with a rich blessing of 

heaven’s grace. 

FOrGIVE 

Forgive your pastor 

for falling short of your 

expectations; no pastor 

will perfectly satisfy 

your ideals. Extend to 

your pastor the same 

grace that God 

extends to you. 

October is 

Clergy 

appreciation 

Month. 

Still time to 

find ways to say 

thank you! 

FEED 

Don’t expect to live on 

a limited spiritual diet 

of 30-minute weekly 

sermons.The role of the 

shepherd is not to stick 

grass in the mouths of 

the sheep but to lead 

the sheep to green 

pastures. Get into the 

Word every day. 

Adapted from “10 Things Pastors Wish Their Congregations Would Do.” Read the full article at http://www.nadministerial.org/article/670/for-nad-pastors/nad-ministerial-articles/10- 

things-pastors-wish-their-congregations-would-do.

World News & Perspectives 

■■World Church 

Statistics Reveal Massive 

Adventist Missions Challenge 

There’s substantial church impact in many lands, 

but 10/40 window remains unreached. 

By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor 

Although the Seventh-day Adventist 

Church has reduced its ratio to world 

population from 1 in 360,000 at the 

movement’s founding to 1 in 400 today, 

massive outreach challenges remain in 

many countries of the Middle East, East 

Asia, and Southeast Asia, church officials 

were told September 29, 2013, during 

the movement’s Urban Mission Conference 

at the Silver Spring, Maryland, 

headquarters. 

Citing the lack of Adventist penetration 

in many of the major cities of the 

Middle East/North Africa (MENA) area, 

China, India, and other parts of the 

10/40 window, Rick McEdward, director 

of the church’s Global Mission Religious 

Study Centers, said, “There is a tremendous 

geographical problem we have” in 

the region. 

Among Christians, the 10/40 window 

is defined as a geographical rectangle in 

the Eastern Hemisphere between the 10 

and 40 northern lines of latitude, where 

more than 60 percent of the world’s 

population live, most of whom have not 

yet been reached with the gospel message. 

Of the 500 world cities with more 

than 1 million population, nearly 250 

are in this area. 

Delegates to the meeting, which 

included leaders from each of the General 

Conference’s 13 world divisions, 

were told by David Trim, director of the 

church’s Office of Archives, Statistics, 

and Research, that there is one Seventhday 

Adventist Christian for every 65,000 

people in the MENA area, currently one 

of the highest ratios in the world. 

McEdward said there are 126 urban 

areas with a population of 1 million or 

more in which there are 125 or fewer 

Adventists in each area; in 33 of these 

urban areas there are no Seventh-day 

Adventists. And among the world’s 

least-reached cities with a population of 

5 million or more, they all share the 

same religion, Islam. 

The statistics came during the Sunday 

morning session of the Urban Mission 

Conference, an event organizers said 

was designed not as a “show-and-tell” 

of self-congratulation, but rather as a 

strategy session on how Seventh-day 

Adventists can complete the task of 

world evangelization. With more than 

half of the world’s population residing 

in cities since 2007, a share expected to 

rise to 66 percent by 2050, the need is 

apparent, said Michael L. Ryan, a general 

vice president of the world church who 

oversees the Office of Adventist Mission 

and was a principal organizer of the 

conference. 

“We will not come up with methodologies” 

during the three-day session, 

Ryan said, “but we can agree on a common 

vision.” 

The presentation of statistics came 

photos: Mark A. Kellner/Adventist Review 

GOD DIDN’T TWEET: Gerson Santos, coordinator 

for Urban Mission Centers, said 

outreach “can no longer be called an 

option, but a commission to the [Adventist] 

Church,” adding that “God did not 

send a Twitter [message]; He came Himself” 

in the person of His Son, Jesus. 

RESEARCH RESULTS: Stephanie Sahlin 

Jackson, daughter of Seventh-day 

Adventist researcher Monte Sahlin, presents 

research results to the Urban Mission 

Conference, September 29, 2013, in 

Silver Spring, Maryland. 

INVOLVE YOUTH: Samuel Telemaque, 

Adventist Mission coordinator for the 

Inter-American Division, urged Adventists 

from “high areas of receptivity” to the 

church’s message—particularly young Adventists—to 

go as missionaries “into the 

areas of low receptivity.” 


first with a demographic overview prepared 

by veteran Adventist researcher 

Monte Sahlin but presented by daughter 

Stephanie Sahlin Jackson, who substituted 

for her father. “The mission 

given to us by Jesus requires us to go 

where the people are,” Sahlin Jackson 

said, noting the massive shifts to the cities 

that are continuing worldwide, as 

well as the present-day concentration of 

more than 825 million people globally 

in slum areas of the big cities. 

Gerson Santos, coordinator for Urban 

Mission Centers, said outreach “can no 

longer be called an option, but a commission 

to the [Adventist] Church,” 

adding, “God did not send a Twitter 

[message]; He came Himself” in the 

person of His Son, Jesus. 

Reaction to the statistical presentations 

was deliberate: Delbert Baker, a 

general vice president of the General 

Conference, urged participants to 

develop “a theology of how we wrap 

our minds around the challenge” of 

■■North America 

Pacific Press 

Cancels ABC 

Contracts 

Conferences will resume 

ownership; online 

options available. 


reaching so many people and people 

groups. 

Southern Africa-Indian Ocean division 

president Paul Ratsara said he 

viewed the reports with “mixed emotions,” 

saying his overwhelming feeling 

was “how are we going to do this?” Ratsara 

also quoted a French proverb that 

“A problem well stated is half-solved. 

We should not be discouraged.” 

Jonathan Duffy, president of ADRA 

International, the church’s relief and 

development arm, suggested his 

group’s humanitarian work “can open 

areas where it is not open [to evangelism] 

at the moment.” 

Samuel Telemaque, Adventist Mission 

coordinator for the Inter-American 

Division, urged Adventists from “high 

areas of receptivity” to the church’s 

message to go as missionaries “into the 

areas of low receptivity.” In response 

Ryan pointed out this is being done by 

students at River Plate Seventh-day 

Adventist University in Entre Rios, 

Argentina, many of whom are volunteering 

for missions in Kyrgyzstan, a 

landlocked central Asian republic, as 

well as in the Middle East/North Africa 

Union. 

Williams Costa, Jr., communication 

director for the world church, noted the 

movement’s efforts to increase Internet 

availability of the Adventist message in 

many places, while Jim Ayer, Adventist 

World Radio (AWR) vice president for 

advancement, pointed to the massive 

numbers of Arabic-language AWR podcast 

downloads in Saudi Arabia, as well 

as Mandarin-language programming in 

China. 

General Conference president Ted 

N. C. Wilson said that while he was 

“sobered and overwhelmed” by some 

of the statistics presented, he was 

encouraged by the attention being 

paid by world church leaders in these 

discussions. n 

A total of 17 Adventist Book Center 

retail stores servicing 24 conference territories 

operated by the Pacific Press Publishing 

Association (PPPA) of Nampa, 

Idaho, under management agreements 

with conferences, will transition to local 

Seventh-day Adventist Church conference 

administration, officials of the publishing 

house announced following a September 

26, 2013, board meeting. 

The board “voted to request termination 

of the management agreements” 

for the stores, which it has managed 

“over the course of nearly 15 years,” a 

pppa 

MANAGEMENT SHIFT: Pacific Press Publishing Association has announced it will seek 

termination of contracts to manage 25 Adventist Book Center retail stores serving half of 

the church’s North American membership. Shown here is the ABC in Loma Linda, 

California. 

statement from the organization said. 

The outlets, PPPA said, served “nearly 

half of the North American Division 

membership.” A plan to terminate management 

agreements for the stores 

should be in place by December 31, 

2013, the statement indicated. 

“The board recognized that the current 

business model for these management 

agreements has experienced challenges 

because of changing trends in technology 

and the way people access informa- 



tion,” the PPPA announcement said. 

The publishing house said it would not 

leave any local conferences or members 

without easy access to church materials. 

“We are committed to making all quarterlies, 

magazines, books, and music easier 

than ever to order,” says Dale Galusha, 

PPPA president. “For most products, the 

local church won’t even notice a change 

in how they are ordered or delivered.” 

These materials are available online at 

www.AdventistBookCenter.com. 

Pacific Press is a Seventh-day Adventist 

publisher based in Nampa, Idaho, that 

publishes books and magazines for all 

ages. The company, which has been in 

operation since 1874, has been based in 

Nampa, Idaho, since 1984. n. 

■■california 

Seventh-day Adventist Gains 

EEOC Win in Sabbath Case 

Employer pays $158,000 to settle workplace discrimination suit. 


A Seventh-day Adventist who was recognized for his 

“customer service and teamwork” at a northern California 

automobile dealership was awarded $158,000 in settlement 

of a lawsuit brought when Maita 

Chevrolet of Elk Grove, California, 

fired him for refusing work on the 

Sabbath, or Saturday. 

The lawsuit, seeking damages 

under Title VII of the Civil Rights 

Act of 1964, was filed by the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission, 

a U.S. federal government 

agency. Seventh-day 

Adventist attorney Alan Reinach, 

of the movement’s Church State 

Council, also represented the 

employee, Anthony Okon, in the 

action. 

“The EEOC’s investigation 

found that Maita supervisors not 

only failed to accommodate Mr. 

Okon’s religious practice, but 

answered his requests with 

harassment, discipline, and ultimately 

discharge,” said EEOC San 

Francisco regional attorney William 

R. Tamayo. “Employers must 

recognize the value of diversity in 

their workforce, including religious diversity, and not 

harass or discriminate against those of different faiths or 

religious practices.” 

Todd McFarland, an attorney with the world church’s 

Office of General Counsel, said the Seventh-day Adventist 

Church was “happy to partner with the EEOC in this action 

Adventist News Network file photo 

ATTORNEY INVOLVED: Alan Reinach, a Seventhday 

Adventist attorney and head of the Church- 

State Council in California, participated in the lawsuit 

over a member’s refusal to work on the Bible 

Sabbath, or Saturday. 

to ensure that employers honor their commitment to 

workers’ rights.” 

Okon, a Nigerian immigrant, worked for the dealership 

from April 2005 to May 2007. A 

key tenet of Okon’s Adventist 

faith is to observe the Sabbath by 

refraining from secular work 

from sundown Friday to sundown 

Saturday. The EEOC charged the 

company with persistently scheduling 

him to work shifts during 

the Sabbath, despite numerous 

requests from Okon and his pastor, 

explaining the requirements 

of their religion. In addition, the 

EEOC alleged that Okon was 

harassed, denied work on Sundays, 

and ultimately disciplined 

and discharged for taking leave to 

observe the Bible Sabbath. 

Under the court-approved consent 

decree settling the suit, Maita 

Chevrolet will revise its personnel 

policy manual concerning religious 

accommodation; train its 

managers, supervisors, and 

human resources personnel on 

this subject; and report to the 

EEOC all requests for religious accommodation or complaints 

of religious discrimination. 

Elk Grove, California, is part of the church territory 

known as the Northern California Conference. As of 2010, 

there were 41,824 baptized members worshipping in 151 

congregations in the conference. n 


photos: Mark A. Kellner/Adventist Review 

A TIME TO SPEAK: Ted N. C. Wilson addresses delegates to the Urban Mission Conference during Sabbath morning worship. 

■■World Church 

Seventh-day Adventists 

Urged Toward Urban Ministry 

Wilson: “It’s time to reach the millions” in the cities. 


The imperative to venture into the 

world’s cities with the Seventh-day 

Adventist Church’s special message 

sounded in both Sabbath worship and 

contemplation on September 28, 2013, as 

delegates to the Urban Mission Conference 

gathered at the General Conference 

headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. 

“It’s time to move forward. It’s time 

to reach the millions living in the great 

cities of this world,” said Ted N. C. Wilson, 

General Conference president, in a 

Sabbath morning message 

about the need to do the 

“work of Enoch” in reaching 

metropolitan areas. 

“God tells us, as He did 

Enoch, to enter the cities 

with the power of God’s 

truth to find those who are 

honest of heart who will 

respond to the tender 

pleading of the Holy Spirit 

as biblical truth is presented,” 

Wilson said. “That 

is why today and in the 

future we must be part of 

those who diligently seek 

God personally through 

revival and reformation in 

DELEGATES PRAY FOR CITIES: Following a call from Wilson, 

delegates at the Urban Mission Conference pray for work in the cities. 

our own lives, leaning completely on 

the merits and grace of Jesus Christ for 

our salvation and for the salvation of 

others as we proclaim the central theme 

in the three angels’ messages—the righteousness 

of Christ—righteousness by 

faith in Him.” 

Noting the need in today’s society, to 

which both Enoch and, later, Jesus Himself 

responded, Wilson said, “As Enoch 

did and as Christ did, we are [to] go into 

the cities to bring encouragement, healing, 

and spiritual blessing to those who 

need to hear of hope—this is mission to 

the cities.” 

Following Wilson’s sermon—broadcast 

on church-owned Hope Channel— 

Sabbath afternoon was devoted to 

several presentations about urban ministry, 

including a report from Tony 

Romeo, pastor of the Historic Manhattan 

Seventh-day Adventist Church, 

where a major NY13 evangelistic event 

took place. 

A highlight of the afternoon 

program was a DVD 

presentation of the innovative 

Simplicity program 

recently launched in Allentown, 

Pennsylvania. 

Adventist Mission director 

Gary Krause interviewed 

Wes Via, director of Simplicity, 

about this churchowned 

“center of influence” 

recently inaugurated in 

suburban Allentown. The 

program, Via said, is an initiative 

of the Pennsylvania 

Conference and integrates 

Bible work, canvassing, 

door-to-door contacts, wel- 



fare work, and medical missionary 

efforts. He noted the program is 

attempting to demonstrate the comprehensive 

evangelism being described in 

the new urban ministry model. 

Via said the ministry is making an 

average of 100 contacts per week with 

the unchurched. And, he added, two 

baptisms have already resulted. 

Associate GC ministerial secretary 

Anthony Kent said the presentations 

were helpful. “It was particularly valuable 

to see courageous, innovative, and 

effective methods that individuals and 

congregations are using to reach out to 

people in their communities, particularly 

in those communities that are challenging 

to reach,” Kent told the Adventist 

Review. “It was also clearly apparent that 

these methods were successful not 

because they were innovative but primarily 

because the Holy Spirit seems to 

be blessing and leading in these 

approaches.” n 

■■world church 

Major Survey to Inform Adventist 

Church’s Next Strategic Plan 

Churchwide canvass to identify areas of concern, opportunities. 

By ELIZABETH LECHLEITNER, Adventist News Network 

Seventh-day Adventist leaders are making initial recommendations 

for a global strategic plan based on the 

results of an unprecedented survey of the opinions, attitudes, 

and spiritual life patterns of church members worldwide. 

Survey results will guide members of the church’s 

Strategic Planning Committee as it identifies areas of concern, 

ranks priorities, and seeks opportunities for growth 

through 2020. 

“The church regularly engages in strategic planning to 

carefully position the organization to best pursue its mission,” 

said Mike Ryan, chair and director of the Strategic 

Planning Committee and a general vice president of the 

Adventist world church. “Data collection and analysis are 

crucial steps in this process,” he said. 

In 2011 top church officials voted to establish an ongoing 

budget for Adventist research. Since then 11 research teams 

have conducted five major surveys. Seven teams worked on a 

survey of church members, eventually receiving completed 

surveys from 22,500 Adventists from nine world church divisions. 

Other research included a survey of more than 4,000 

pastors from all 13 divisions. Including both survey and 

interview-based research, the study polled a total of 38,000 

Adventists worldwide. 

“That gives us a lot of rich data to work with,” said David 

Trim, secretary of the Strategic Planning Committee and 

director of the Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research for 

the Adventist world church, which oversaw the research 

project. “Some of the results might come as a surprise, but 

[division presidents] already know the nature of the 

research,” Trim said. 

Indeed, division leadership has been instrumental in the 

research process, Trim said. As well as supporting the work 

of the research teams, each division was asked to submit an 

appraisal of the strategic issues it rates most important, 

both for the world church and its own territory. Each 

department at Adventist world church headquarters submitted 

a similar appraisal. 

But strategic planning doesn’t end with survey results, or 

even the best interpretation of those results, church leaders 

said. “Strategic planning must go far beyond decision-making 

based on the best orator—the most eloquent speaker. It 

must be built upon a solid biblical basis, the best research 

and information, and, most important, the guidance of the 

Holy Spirit as we choose a direction and begin to expend 

the resources of the church,” Ryan said. 

Comprehensive strategic planning, church officials said, 

should also have a practical side and lead to measurable 

results. 

“Encouraging more Bible reading and prayer will probably 

be in every Adventist strategic plan until the world ends, 

but strategic planning doesn’t stop at identifying areas of 

concern,” Trim said. “It’s also asking, ‘What can be done to 

effect positive change?’ and identifying key performance 

indicators so that in five years we can go back and measure 

our progress.” 

G. T. Ng, a committee member and executive secretary of 

the Adventist world church, said that any strategic plan 

should propel the mission of the church forward. “We 

know that strategic planning is important, but it must be a 

servant to mission,” Ng said. “Planning is valid only when it 

helps the church fulfill the purpose for which it was 

established.” 

A revised draft of the 2015 to 2020 strategic plan went to 

delegates of the 2014 Annual Council for approval. n 


think about it 

When the church first started, it was like 

the day of Pentecost or the beginning of 

the Exodus: everyone came together in one 

accord and literally heard God speak, and 

they were able to communicate with others. 

But over time there have at times been 

breaks in communication. We live in 

Judges-like times. Cultures, and subcultures, 

seem to influence Christians more 

than Christianity affects individuals. 

—Falvo Fowler, Silver Spring, Maryland. 

Sound Bite 

“A whole lot of 

people come 

close to Jesus, 

but they never 

really ever touch 

Him.” 

—Wintley Phipps, March 29, 2012, 

during the General Conference’s 

Week of Spiritual Emphasis. 

adventist life 

“Pastor J” was being introduced as the guest speaker 

in a central Texas church one Sabbath. The presiding 

elder mentioned that it was written in the bulletin that 

Pastor J had “pastured” in Marshall, Texas, for six years, 

to which the guest speaker stepped up and quipped, 

“Well, at least I was not out in the ‘pasture’ as long as 

Nebuchadnezzar.” 

—Helen Johnson, Keene, Texas 

herald’s trumpet 

Hi, kids! Herald’s trumpet is once 

again hidden somewhere in this magazine. 

If you find it, send a postcard telling us where. 

Be sure to include your name and address! Then we’ll 

randomly choose three winning postcards. 

In our last contest (August 8, 2013) we had 15 

entries! Our three winners were Caleb Kim, from Hendersonville, 

North Carolina; Hannah Scalzo, from New 

Albany, Ohio; and Christina Wood, from St. Petersburg, 

Florida. Each received a book from Pacific Press and 

KidsView putty. Where was the trumpet? On page 10. 

If you can find the trumpet this time, send your postcard 

to Herald’s Trumpet, Adventist Review, 12501 Old 

Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. The 

prize will be a kids’ book! Look for the three winners’ 

names next year in the January 16, 2014, edition of the 

Adventist Review. Have fun searching and keep trumpeting 

Jesus’ love—and His second coming! 

© terry crews 

(973) 

13

Theology 

The “former things” and the 

BY JOHN T. BALDWIN 

Creation is a hot topic both inside and outside the Seventh-day 

Adventist Church. The question of origins is also highly debated in scientific 

circles and theology faculties by scholars trying to grapple with 

the biblical as well as the scientific data. Progressive creation and 

theistic evolutionary models of earth history are two models that scientists 

and theologians outside the Seventh-day Adventist Church have proposed. 

In both the progressive creation and the theistic evolutionary models of 

earth history, various forms of life are assumed to have been present on earth for 

about 3.7 billion years before the appearance of Homo sapiens. 1 

Do these models of earth history impact the beneficent character, the “lovingkindness” 

(Ps. 36:5) 2 of the Creator and His worship worthiness? Do they necessarily involve 

Him in action contrary to His divine nature, indicating “injustice with God” as measured 

by the cross, and by His own self-described portrait of divine goodness, the moral Ten 

Commandments, which are “holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 9:14; 7:12)? 3 


Christ, 

Character, 

and Creation 

Creator 

A Loving God and 

Theistic Evolution 

Considering these questions, we note 

that these models necessarily render the 

“former things” (Rev. 21:4, KJV), listed by 

John as death, sorrow, crying, and pain, 

as the Creator’s originally intended things, 

or means by which He created life forms 

on earth over millions of years. How so? 

The answer lies in what drives these 

models of creation. Death, the life cycle, 

predation, cancer, other diseases, suffering, 

pain, extinction, and other horrors, 

necessarily drive the development of life 

forms in these models in combination 

with some form of divine action. 4 

Moreover, these models assert that at 

some future point the Creator brings 

forth the new creation out of the old in 

Photo © Zack Ahern 

which new laws of nature replace the 

present laws. Then enabling these “former 

things” or the allegedly divinely 

intended means of creation “pass away” 

(Rev. 21:4). Hence, according to these 

models of earth history, there will be no 

evolution and no death in the new 

creation. 5 

Does this good end justify these means, 

or the allegedly divine use of these “former 

things” to create this end? In God’s sight, 

does the end justify the means —whatever 

they may be—even if the means are evil? 

Not so according to Paul, who states that 

some individuals slanderously reported 

that he proclaimed: “Let us do evil that 

good may come.” Paul then adds that their 

“condemnation is just” (Rom. 3:8). Surely 

all the “former things,” are regarded as evil 

things in the sight of the Lord. They are 

abhorred by Him who explicitly calls diseases 

evil ,and death the last enemy to be 

overcome, and admonishes humans to 

“hate evil” (Ps. 97:10; see 

also Deut. 7:15; Ps. 36:4; 

Prov. 6:16-19; Amos 5:15; 

Matt. 6:13; 1 Cor. 15:26). 

Consequently, the 

biblical God would be 

acting contrary to His nature if He were 

to create through evil things He considers 

to be enemies of life, and through 

things He abhors. This means, and these 

words are said gently, long-age models 

of earth history slanderously render the 

geologic column, with its mayhem of 

destruction, as a rock record of how 

God originally creates, rather than a 

rock record of how God judges sin 

through a global flood (Gen. 6-9). We 

turn to the ultimate reality challenging 

these models. 

Christ cannot be the God of 

either progressive creation 

or theistic evolution. 

The Cross and Origins 

The cross is the final and most powerful 

evaluation of any model of earth history. 

Driven by His profound hatred of 

the “former things,” and by His desire to 

dwell with His creatures, on the cross 

the Creator perished to perish perishing 

(John 3:16)! How could this God, without 

fatal self-contradiction, use, as tools 

of original creation, these “former 

things,” that He died to eradicate? To do 

so would be for the Creator to clothe 

Himself with the attributes of the enemy. 

The cross of Christ tells us that the “former 

things,” such as death, suffering, 

disease, and so on, are an outrage 

against the love of God. 6 Ellen White 

insightfully writes: “Christ never planted 

the seeds of death in the system.” 7 For all 


thy of worship as judged by the cross 

and by His own self-described standard 

of goodness, the Ten Commandments. 

Hence, the “former things” are not 

God’s things or His tools of creation. 

They are the products of the enemy and 

will pass away with him. 

Scripture asks, “Shall not the Judge of 

all the earth deal justly?” (Gen. 18:25). 

Indeed, “The Rock! His work is perfect, 

for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness 

and without injustice, righteous 

and upright is He” (Deut. 32:4). The 

Bible records that this merciful God created 

all things recently and benignly 

through His word over a brief span of 

time measured by six historical earth 

days as we experience them today (Gen. 

1; 2; Ps. 33:6; Matt. 1; John 1:1; Eph. 3:9). 

Among many reasons, three show 

clearly that the special creation worldview 

is the true model of earth history. 

1. It is the one described in the Word of 

God. 2. It does not use the “former 

things” as tools of creation. 3. It powerfully 

establishes God’s matchless goodness 

and renders Him worthy of 

worship by applying the “wisdom from 

above which is first pure, then peace- 

Photo © Zack Ahern 

these reasons, God would not, could not, 

and thus did not create through the “former 

things.” This conclusion means that, 

banned from employing these tools or 

means of creation, Christ cannot be the 

God of either progressive creation or theistic 

evolution. 

The above understanding means that 

we can safely say that no true model of 

earth history will render God cruel, or 

unworthy of our worship. If a model 

undermines the goodness of God, 

something is amiss—not with the biblically 

described benevolent character of 

God, but with our understanding of the 

model in question. Further research will 

correct our understanding either in this 

life or in the next. 

In conclusion, if the Prince of Peace 

used the “former things” originally to 

create life forms on earth for millions 

of years prior to the Fall, He would be a 

serial slayer of species and “a murderer 

from the beginning”—an epitaph 

Christ reserved for Satan (John 8:44). 8 

In this case the God of peace would 

merit such adjectives as “cruel,” “vile,” 

“criminal,” “unrighteous,” “wicked,” 

and “demonic,” rendering Him unworable, 

gentle, reasonable, [and] full of 

mercy and good fruit” (James 3:17). 

Hence, it matters greatly what model 

of earth history we adopt. This explains 

why Jesus carefully worded the first 

angel’s message to endorse a special 

creation worldview and a global flood, 

both so important to the worship of the 

Creator. 9 How beautifully, then, the 

name Seventh-day Adventist testifies to 

the goodness and worship worthiness 

of our God, the benevolent Creator, who 

banishes forever the “former things.” n 

1 

The following work represents the classic formulation 

and endorsement of the progressive creation 

perspective: Bernard L. Ramm, The Christian View of Science 

and Scripture (Grand Rapids: W. B. Eerdmans Pub. 

Co., 1954). The theistic evolution orientation is probably 

best exemplified in Nancey Murphy, Robert John 

Russell, and William R. Stoeger, eds., Physics and Cosmology: 

Scientific Perspectives on the Problem of Natural Evil 

(Vatican City: Vatican Observatory Publications; Berkeley, 

Calif.: Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences; 

Notre Dame, Ind.: Distributed by University of 

Notre Dame Press, 2007). 

2 

Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture references in 

this article have been taken from the New American 

Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 

1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman 

Foundation. Used by permission. 

3 

Numerous other self-descriptions of His goodness, 

faithfulness and mercy are presented throughout 

the Bible, such as, but not limited to, Exodus 34:6, 7; 

Psalms 34:6; 145:8, 9; 146:5-10; Isaiah 43:1-4, 25; 49:15, 

16; Lamentations 3:22-26; 1 John 4:8. It is important to 

remember that the standard by which we judge any 

model as rendering the Creator unworthy of worship 

is not one that we humans erect by ourselves. Rather it 

is the biblical measurement of divine goodness and of 

worship worthiness revealed on the cross and by 

God’s self-description in the Ten Commandments. 

4 

The most open and frank discussion of this point 

that I have discovered to date is contained in the work 

edited by Murphy, Russell, and Stoeger, Physics and Cosmology: 

Scientific Perspectives on the Problem of Natural Evil. 

5 

Personal conversations by the author with the Rev. 

Dr. John Polkinghorne. See also John Polkinghorne, 

Science and Religion in Quest of Truth (New Haven, Conn.: 

Yale University Press, 2011), pp. 102-109. 

6 

Thomas Torrance, Divine and Contingent Order 

(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981), p. 139. 

7 

Ellen G. White manuscript 65, 1899, in Ellen G. 

White, Ellen G. White Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, 

Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990-1993), vol. 16, p. 247. 

8 

In this case, Christ would also be a serial destroyer 

of life-sustaining habitats recorded in the strata of the 

geologic column. 

9 

A topic for a possible subsequent article. 

John T. Baldwin, Ph.D., 

recently retired as emeritus 

professor of theology from 

the Seventh-day Adventist 

Theological Seminary at 

Andrews University. 


Transformation Tips 

Next Time, Stand! 

It was one gloomy, dark day for Job. He was unspeakably sad, 

depressed, and morose. Things had reached such a low point that the old man, about 80 years of age, found 

a mound of manure and sat on it. 

His losses were incalculable. His sons, daughters, animals, tents, wealth, even his health—were lost. 

So it’s no surprise that he was caught unexpectedly in a snare of despair and desolation. Some 

believe that his forlorn condition may have lasted up to a year. 

The Job Saga 

We’ve all been there to some degree. We’ve felt a similar stark loneliness, a comparable icy 

isolation, and a hollow lack of motivation. If we’re honest, we’ve asked or thought about asking 

the same question Job asked: “Why me?” 

Those were the thoughts I reflected on when I recently read about Job in the Revived by His 

Word Bible-reading initiative (revivedbyhisword.org). I was strangely sympathetic. Maybe it 

was my own maturation and exposure to the cruelties of life. Or maybe it’s that age, armed 

conflicts, destructive weather patterns, or unprecedented atrocities were having their effect. 

All I know is that this time while reading the story, I related to Job in a personal sense. 

God and Suffering 

What is especially vexing is the problem of innocent suffering. Self-inflicted wounds we can 

live with. But when we suffer for no apparent reason, the first question is, understandably, “Why?” 

or “Why me?” 

But such questions betray an understandable egocentric notion about suffering: that it’s all about 

me, all about us. If Job learned anything in this experience, he learned that suffering wasn’t about 

him; it was about God. 

Suffering tends to turn us inward; it becomes a mirror in which we see only ourselves and wonder 

why such disfigurement has come our way. Author Kathleen Norris argues that we “should drop the 

mirror and look for God.” Indeed, the question in suffering, as God points out to Job, is not 

“Why?” but “Where?” Where is God in all this? 

People say that when you go through tough times you have to get some light, pull back the curtains; 

open the windows. 

The issue for Job was whether he could trust a God when everything happening in his life seemed 

to argue against a God who could be trusted. It was a test to see if Job could stand when the pressure 

was on and the lights were out. 

Delbert W. 

Baker 

Stand and See God 

In his suffering, Job had an opportunity to encounter God. It was a powerful experience in which he 

learned more about God than he learned about himself. Suffering is not about us: it’s about being able to 

see God in the presence of the storm and know that God is there somewhere. God told Job to stand up, to 

be a man. Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase, The Message, says: “Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! 

Stand tall!” (Job 38:3).* Even in hard times, God never abandons us. 

In the end, God restored everything Job had lost. God, through Christ, can restore to us what we need as 

well. He may not necessarily restore to us what we have lost in this life. But if we stand in trust, we will know 

that God is with us, and that He will make it right in His own way. Ultimately, it makes no difference whether 

He makes it right in this life or in the life to come. 

So if we find ourselves sitting in the manure mounds of life, if we find ourselves sad, depressed, or lonely, 

if we find ourselves in hard times—God is with us. 

So next time our test comes—and there will be a next time—our job is to stand and trust God! n 

* From The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. 

Delbert W. Baker is a general vice president of the General Conference. 


Cover Feature 

FOLLOW ME: 

Lawrence Maxwell 

served as Guide’s 

first editor. 

Times 

change, but 

Guide 

magazine 

remains a 

constant 

in the 

experience of 

growing up 

Adventist. 

BY KIM PECKHAM 

Sometimes it’s funny what people 

remember about growing up Adventist. 

Kristen Heslop, a professional musician 

who grew up in the ’70s, recalls sitting 

around a bonfire at Indiana’s Camp Timber 

Ridge making hand motions and singing: “Waddle eee ah cha, 

waddle ee ah cha, doodle eee dooo, doodle eee dooo.” (Now, try to 

get that song out of your head.) 

There are other good memories to choose from: The smell of sizzling gluten samples in the 

camp meeting store. That one time you beat everyone else to the text in a Bible sword drill. Sipping 

hot chocolate after a cold night of Ingathering. Gathering around the piano on a Sabbath 

evening singing, “Day Is Dying in the West.” 

Just for Us 

Many memories involve a little story magazine that has been a part of the Adventist experience 

for 60 years—Guide. “Guide taught me multitasking,” jokes Loren Seibold. “It taught me 

how to read the magazine while also pretending to listen to the sermon.” He remembers the 

issues that had nature stories on the back page that were formatted like comic strips. This was 

strangely wonderful to Seibold, whose parents forbade the reading of dime store comics. “It 

was generally more interesting than what our pastor was saying,” he remembers. And Seibold 

has a license to say that because he is a pastor himself. 

Before the 1950s Juniors had much less to read during the sermon. They had only one page 

dedicated to their age group in the Youth’s Instructor, a more mature weekly magazine that was 

18 (978) 

| www.AdventistReview.org | October 24, 2013

the forerunner of Insight. But that all 

changed in October 1953. 

Now retired from teaching at the Seventh-day 

Adventist Theological Seminary, 

Jane Thayer was attending a small 

church in Owensville, Missouri, when 

those early issues of Guide were handed 

out in her Junior class. She couldn’t 

believe her good fortune. “We had a 

small journal that was all ours, and 

when you opened it, it was full of stories—there 

weren’t any lectures,” she 

says. “It always amazed me that the people 

who were writing the stories knew 

just what we were interested in.” 

Several trends helped Juniors and Earliteens 

end up with a paper that they could 

call their own. One was the Baby Boom 

that filled Sabbath school rooms and 

Adventist schools to overflowing. In the 

years after World War II, a church with 

100 members would be throwing baby 

showers almost as often as it observed 

Communion. The introduction of Guide 

also owes a lot to the connection Seventhday 

Adventists have always made between 

reading and the spiritual life. 

“We have a fundamental reverence for 

the Word of God,” says Adventist 

researcher Monte Sahlin. “Ours is a 

Scripture-based faith, in contrast to the 

more tradition-based faith in many 

other churches. Young Adventists learn 

the faith by reading.” As a child and 

teenager, Sahlin remembers often hearing 

the statement “He read himself into 

the truth.” 

Perhaps this is why research consistently 

shows Seventh-day Adventists 

are better educated and greater con- 

Favorite Memories of Growing Up Adventist 

My favorite thing growing up was Friday night, hair washed, in 

our jammies, listening to my mom play the piano or listening to 

Sam Campbell stories.—Laurie Gauthier 

At camp meeting, I loved waiting in the long line, late Saturday 

night after the evening meetings, for a veggie burger.—Teri 

Pollard 

Lying on the floor listening to The Bible in Living Sound while coloring. 

Dressing up and acting out the Bible stories.—Teresa Peckham 

My Junior Sabbath school leaders gave us a seashell when we 

knew our memory verse. By the end of the year, we had a nice collection 

of small but beautiful shells from around the world—each 

identified and tied to a memory verse.—Glen Milam 

It was all those enjoyable Pathfinder camping trips: sleeping in 

old pup tents; sitting around the campfire listening to stories.— 

Steve Hamilton 

Haystacks for Sabbath lunch every single Sabbath there wasn’t a 

potluck!—Katrina Pepper 

Friday evenings. Lights dimmed. Candles burning. A stack of Heritage 

Singers LPs on the record player. And me, lying with my 

5-year-old head resting on my daddy’s chest as he patted my back 

along with the rhythm of the songs. That’s gold. Can’t wait to see 

him again.—Mark Bond 

Saturday night popcorn and fruit salad, and getting together 

with other families to play games.—Alyssa Truman 

We had our own record player, and all those Eric B. Hare stories such 

as “Pip Pip the Naughty Chicken,” on 45s.—Ronald Simkin 

At the Michigan camp meeting, standing on the porch at the 

back of the main auditorium with all the other academy girls 

watching the boys go by.—Sheryal Vandenberghe 

Shoes polished with white shoe polish Friday afternoon. Roasts 

with crusty edges. Potluck vegetarian steaks with sour cream gravy. 

Jell-O salads.—Pamela Maize Harris 

Sabbath school songs—“The Captain Calls for You,” “We’ve a 

Story to Tell to the Nations,” “Love Lifted Me”—although that last 

song seems more appropriate, on reflection, for a group of reformed 

drunken sailors than primary kids.—Evelyn Caro 

Back when “camp” was still part of camp meeting, and we 

camped in the back of the farm straight truck. We had to spend 

some time cleaning it up good first—it was used to haul cows as 

well as corn!—Deea Kaufmann 

The most reverent foot washings in my memory were at Platte 

Valley Academy with the girls singing hymns softly.—Monica 

Wootton 

Going Ingathering door to door to residential areas and bars (I 

can’t believe we did that), caroling, coming back to the church with 

our tin cans full of money, and having hot chocolate.—Rejane 

Jackson 

At Lone Star Camp (Texas) we had to learn to waterski quick, 

because if we fell we would be next to the water moccasins. I loved 

growing up Adventist.—Shayne Remmers 


Is It Better to Be a Junior Now, 

or Then? 

It’s easy to see that growing up is different now than it 

was when the Review and Herald Publishing Association 

introduced Guide magazine 60 years ago. When was the 

better time to be a kid? 

Advantages of Being a Junior in the 1950s 

&& 

More time was spent outdoors and in nature. 

&& 

Junior Missionary Volunteer programs gave youth 

something to do every Sabbath. 

&& 

Adventists were sheltered from media, especially 

from movies. 

&& 

No addictive video games (unless you count 

pinball). 

&& 

Mother was more likely to be at home. 

&& 

Lower rates of divorce. 

&& 

Strong emphasis on temperance. 

&& 

No Internet. 

Advantages of Being a Junior Today 

&& 

The Internet. 

&& 

Smoking tobacco is less of a temptation. 

&& 

Houses, on average, are twice as big. 

&& 

More ethnic diversity among friends at church and 

school. 

&& 

Racism is no longer openly tolerated. 

&& 

Many media choices. 

&& 

Seat belts and bicycle helmets. 

&& 

More Lego kits. 

&& 

Opportunity for short-term mission projects. 

&& 

More career options—especially for minorities and 

women. 

&& 

Spiritual education is more likely to emphasize God’s 

love and grace. 

&& 

Haystacks. 

sumers of books and 

magazines than the 

general population. 

This is true around 

the globe, according 

to Sahlin. 

The Paper 

Then and Now 

Now Guide is looking 

back on 60 years 

of telling stories to 

the church’s young 

people. In the 1950s, 

many stories 

reflected life growing 

up in rural locations. 

“In those early magazines, 

many illustrations 

reflect farm 

settings. There are 

milk cans and lost 

cows,” says Guide 

editor Randy Fishell. 

“It was like watching 

Green Acres.” 

Mission stories 

were more common 

in the 1950s and 1960s. 

American missionaries 

would come back 

from Africa or Borneo 

with amazing stories. 

The adventures of 

native children would 

show up regularly. 

Stories told of escapes 

from wild elephants 

or crocodiles. 

“One feature that I 

really got a lot of 

benefit from was Pen Pals—a list of kids 

that wanted to write letters,” recalls 

Thayer. I would go through the list and 

look for those that were from countries 

outside the United States. It took forever 

to get an answer back, but when it 

came, the letter looked so fancy with all 

its foreign stamps.” Sadly, the chance 

for kids to connect with pen pals ended 

in the early 1990s with the heightened 

awareness of child predators. 

A positive change is that stories now 

reflect the rainbow of ethnic diversity in 

the church. “It’s fascinating to see the 

monochromatic approach to the presentation 

of most stories in the past,” 

says Fishell. In the 1950s, 75 to 80 percent 

of Juniors were of European 

descent. Today 75 percent of Juniors 

represent other ethnic groups. 

“We recognize that the demographic 

in the North American Division is very 

multicultural,” says Guide assistant editor 

Laura Sámano, who is Hispanic herself. 

“We ask authors to send us stories 

that are set in different countries and 

with heroes of different ethnicities.” 

Guide continues to adjust to stay relevant. 

There are fewer stories about how 

to get your horse out of quicksand, and 

more about how to respond to text messages 

from a depressed friend. But there 

are aspects of the magazine that don’t 

change. Today, all the stories in the magazine 

are true. The first editor, Lawrence 

Maxwell, held to the same standard. “I 

didn’t want made-up stories,” he said 

during a 2003 interview. “I felt that if 

we’re going to tell the children this is the 

way Christianity works, it had better be 

the way Christianity works.” 

Distinctively Guide 

The stories in Guide continue to affirm 

what Fishell calls an Adventist 

worldview. They show how 

God honors those who 

keep the Sabbath. They 

underscore the 

importance of honesty, 

compassion, 

and other Christian 

virtues. The true stories 

of children dealing 

with problems in their 

lives become an inspiration 

Lawrence 

Maxwell 


to the thousands of Juniors and Earliteens 

who open up their Guide magazines 

each Sabbath morning. It is these stories 

that help them map out the unseen spiritual 

world and their place in it. 

“The power of a story is that it will literally 

change your life for good or bad,” 

says former Guide editor Penny Estes 

Wheeler. “A well-written story taps into 

emotions—what we feel and who we are. 

It makes us a participant in the story.” 

“Kids are always getting in trouble 

for talking too much. If you listen to 

what they’re saying, they’re telling stories 

to each other about what happened 

this week,” says José Rojas, who got his 

start as an international youth speaker 

working with Juniors. “Stories are what 

drives a person’s life. Guide leads with 

those stories to the feet of Jesus.” 

“I find Guide magazine really inspiring,” 

says 13-year-old Jackie Recuenco. 

“It inspires me to take a stand and fight 

for things I believe in. I remember reading 

this one story about a girl who was 

on a public bus, and they were playing a 

horror movie on the TVs that creeped 

her out. At first she was afraid to ask 

anybody if she could turn it off. But 

then she gathered up the courage to say 

something, and everybody was like, 

‘Yes, please do. It’s about time.’ ” 

“I don’t think we can get along without 

stories,” says Southwestern Union children’s 

ministries director Margaret 

Taglavore. “It gives a child something to 

relate to. They haven’t seen God. But when 

you tell children a story, they can place 

themselves in it.” Ultimately, they can 

share an experience that someone else had 

with God and learn about Him that way. 

That’s not to say that the appeal of 

60 Years of Editors 

Pen Pals for Life 

Jan was a teenager in 1956 when she submitted 

her name to the Pen Pals column in Guide 

magazine. Her entry in the long list of names and 

addresses caught the attention of Leroy Dickhaut, 

an academy student in South Dakota. 

He began writing to her, and continued until a 

wedding was planned. “My [future] husband 

wrote to me for five years,” Jan recalls. 

The couple had seven children and enjoyed 49 

years of marriage until Leroy’s death in 2010. Jan 

Dickhaut still writes to several friends she made 

through Guide’s Pen Pal column. 

the stories is limited to children. “I see 

adults in our church reading Guide 

instead of listening to the sermon,” says 

Taglavore. Some church members are 

drawn into smuggling operations 

where they snatch unused Guides from 

the Sabbath school room and take them 

to friends in a nursing home. 

A good story draws in everyone. The 

Review and Herald Publishing Association 

has produced a series of best-selling 

books simply by collecting the top 

stories from the 15,000 that have been 

printed over the history of Guide.* 

Where do all these stories come 

from? Oakwood professor Derek Bowe 

has provided several notable stories to 

Guide. “I ask the Lord to give the 

thoughts and the stories,” he says. “A 

particular episode will come to mind 

that I was not thinking about at all. I 

thank God for helping me every step of 

the way from conceiving the story to 

refining it. He’s the one responsible for 

the whole thing.” 

His is a thankless job in some ways. 

“Kids don’t pay attention to who wrote 

the story,” says Bowe. “But that doesn’t 

matter. I write so that kids all over the 

world will see how great God is and ask 

Him to be a part of their lives forever.” 

Guide is obviously a kind of child 

evangelism. It touches the lives of kids 

at an age when research shows that they 

are likely to make a lifelong decision 

about whether or not to follow Christ. It 

may be part of many happy memories 

that we have from the past, but its real 

value comes from how it leads children 

into the future. n 

* The most recent is 60 Years of Guide: The Anniversary 

Story Collection. 

Kim Peckham directs 

corporate communications for 

the Review and Herald 

Publishing Association. His 

favorite memory growing up is 

lying on shag carpeting on Sabbath afternoons 

listening to a recording of the King’s 

Heralds singing “Wheel in a Wheel.” 

Lowell Litton 

Penny Estes- 

Wheeler 

Jeannette 

Johnson 

Carolyn Sutton 

tim lale 

randy fishell 


How a Runaway Horse Led Me Home 

During a painful spiritual struggle, I reluctantly made my way to a 

conference I had been invited to attend as a guest speaker. 

Frankly, I didn’t want to participate, because I felt unworthy to speak to the group of Christian professionals. 

But something compelled me to go anyway, and I’m glad I did. I met a professional horse jockeyturned-pastor 

named Pavel, and he told me three stories in rapid succession. 

The Runaway Horse 

Shortly after becoming a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, Pavel was working at his stables in 

Kiev when one of the animals escaped and fled down a busy street. 

Pavel was horrified. He didn’t know how to stop the horse. He saw the creature darting through 

traffic. He heard squealing tires and the neighing animal. An injured horse would hurt his 

team. A dead horse would prove costly to his wallet and career. Helpless, he prayed, “God, 

make the horse stop.” At that precise second, the horse halted in midgallop. 

Pavel approached the animal cautiously. It didn’t twitch a muscle. Gently Pavel began to 

nudge the horse back in the direction of the stables. Step by step it followed him obediently, its 

movements resembling a robot. It was as if angels had grabbed the horse’s legs and were planting 

one in front of the other. 

“It was a miracle,” Pavel told me. “The incident occurred when the horse was full of energy. It 

should have been impossible to stop the horse.” 

Dateline Moscow 

Give Me Vision 

Several years later, after Pavel had given up horses to keep the Sabbath, he met an elderly woman at 

one of the three churches which he served as pastor. The woman was losing her sight. She went through 

three pairs of glasses, each thicker than the last. It got to the point that she couldn’t read at all. 

Weeping, she prayed over her open Bible one evening, “God, I want to see. All I want is to be 

able to read Your Word.” Through her tears something incredible happened. The words of the 

Bible came into focus. The woman began to read. 

At church the next Sabbath, she read from her Bible before the entire church. A shocked member 

exclaimed, “You’re reading without glasses!” 

“That’s right,” the woman replied with a smile. “I can see like a first grader!” 

Andrew 

McChesney 

A Freed Prisoner 

A young man contacted Pavel to ask for food and a job after being released from prison, where he had 

served time for theft. But the man had a problem. While in prison, he had been beaten brutally by the guards, 

who had broken his spinal cord in three places. He could not walk. 

Pavel brought the young man to church. Seeing the visitor with his thin legs dangling limply over the pew, 

church members felt compassion and decided to pray for him. They held a season of special prayer for a 

whole week. They prayed morning and evening. 

One morning the man, excited, called Pavel on the phone. “I’m walking!” he exclaimed. 

My Story 

When Pavel reached the end of the third story, my mouth hung open, and all I could say was “Wow!” 

Jesus said to a woman caught in her own painful spiritual struggle: “Neither do I condemn you . . . go now 

and leave your life of sin.” Why? Because “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk 

in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:11, 12). 

I left the conference knowing three things: The God who set an ex-convict free from his prison of immobility 

could break my ugly chains of sin. The God who gave a woman her sight could allow me to see His will. 

And the God who stopped a runaway horse would lead me home. n 

Andrew Mc Chesney is a journalist in Russia. 


Spirit of Prophecy 

david knott 

david knott 

Their 

Deepest 

Lessons 

BY ELLEN G. WHITE 

24

He alone 

who recognizes in nature his Father’s 

handiwork, who in the richness and 

beauty of the earth reads the Father’s handwriting—he alone learns 

from the things of nature their deepest lessons, and receives their 

highest ministry. Only he can fully appreciate the significance of hill 

and vale, river and sea, who looks upon them as an expression of the 

thought of God, a revelation of the Creator. 

david knott 

Many illustrations from nature are used by the Bible writers, 

and as we observe the things of the natural world, we 

shall be enabled, under the guiding of the Holy Spirit, more 

fully to understand the lessons of God’s Word. It is thus that 

nature becomes a key to the treasure house of the Word. 

Children should be encouraged to search out in nature the 

objects that illustrate Bible teachings, and to trace in the Bible 

the similitudes drawn from nature. They should search out, 

both in nature and in Holy Writ, every object representing 

Christ, and those also that He employed in illustrating truth. 

Thus may they learn to see Him in tree and vine, in lily and 

rose, in sun and star. They may learn to hear His voice in the 

song of birds, in the sighing of the trees, in the rolling thunder, 

and in the music of the sea. And every object in nature 

will repeat to them His precious lessons. 

To those who thus acquaint themselves with Christ, the 

earth will nevermore be a lonely and desolate place. It will be 

their Father’s house, filled with the presence of Him who 

once dwelt among men. n 

This article is drawn from Ellen G. White’s classic book 

Education, pages 119, 120. Seventh-day Adventists believe 

that Ellen G. White (1827-1915) exercised the biblical gift 

of prophecy during more than 70 years of public 

ministry. 

25

Devotional 

Three-Part Gospel 

As empowering as our deepest need 

BY Max Hammonds 

The gospel comes in three 

parts. All Christians know 

the first part: “Believe in the 

Lord Jesus, and you will be 

saved” (Acts 16:31). And we 

yearn for the third part, to be filled with 

all God’s fullness (Eph. 3:13-19), and 

swept away at Christ’s second coming. 

This is Christianity for most people: a 

conviction by the Spirit; sorrow for sin; 

and repentance of our past lives. We go 

through a major struggle about choosing 

Jesus, and we make that choice. We know 

we want to be included when Jesus 

comes. But what happens until then? 

One to Three 

The thief on the cross didn’t have 

much time to wait. But for most of us 

the lapse between our choice to follow 

Jesus and our elation at His second 

coming involves years. We have to live 

in a real world that does not follow the 

Ten Commandments. We have to maintain 

our Christianity in the midst of 

people who do not. If we are to follow 

Christ’s great commission, we must 

grow our Christian witness. And we 

carry a gnawing awareness that something 

is supposed to happen between 

part one and part three of the gospel. 

What’s the second part? 

Everywhere around us are people 

caught in the grip of the world. In developed 

countries, business and the busyness 

of everyday life distract people 

from their life in Christ. In developing 

regions, superstitions and spiritistic 

influences of cultural and life habits 

frighten believers away from their newfound 

life in Christ. 

Does Christianity have a practical 

answer for how to live and thrive in 

these circumstances? The answer is 

“yes.” And it’s Christianity’s part two. 

The First Gift 

When we are led to Christ, we become 

recipients of two gifts—salvation and 

righteousness—given out of God’s 

grace and love (Rom. 10:9, 10; Eph. 2:8, 

9). God-given faith enables us to receive 

these gifts and believe that “God [has] 

to do what he [has] promised” (Rom. 

4:21). In obedience from our hearts 

(Rom. 6:17) we make public, through 

baptism, our commitment to living “a 

new life” (Rom. 6:4). But most of us 

don’t know how Jesus will perform such 

a radical change in our lives. 

Jesus identifies two agents of change 

in our Christian life—water and the 

Spirit—that are necessary for entrance 

into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). We 

receive the one through water baptism, 

the external, public announcement of 

our hearts’ decision. We receive it too 

through the “washing with water 

through the Word” (Eph. 5:26), the 

instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 

3:16) that introduces us to God and His 

plan for our lives. 

The Second Gift 

But Jesus also promises us another 

gift: “I will ask the Father, and he will 

give you another advocate . . . the Spirit 

of truth” (John 14:16, 17). While water 

baptism covers our bodies and Word 

baptism enlightens our minds, the Spir-

it’s baptism affects us in another vital 

area. “I will give you a new heart. . . . And 

I will put my Spirit in you and move you 

to follow my decrees” (Eze. 36:26, 27). 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit begins 

with the heart, for out of it flows the 

issues of life (Prov. 4:23). The values that 

guide our life choices and the decision 

as to which master we will follow are 

made at the very core of our being. This 

is where our obedience from our hearts 

originates (Rom. 6:16, 17). 

As the calendar flips forward, we are 

quickly reminded that this faith transaction 

is a process, not a point in time. 

God will put His law within us (Jer. 

31:33) and transform us by renewing 

our minds (Rom. 12:2), which means 

working from the inside out. The articles 

of furniture in the first apartment 

of the Old Testament sanctuary illustrate 

the tools the Holy Spirit uses to 

make this transformational change. 

1. The seven-branched lampstand 

illustrates the light of present truth and 

prophetic guidance (Ps. 119:105; John 

16:13) that bear witness of Jesus (John 

15:26). By this light the Spirit helps us 

behold as in a mirror the glory of the 

Lord in order that we might be transformed 

into the same image of Jesus 

Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). This is Bible study. 

2. The table of the presence brings us 

into an abiding relationship with Christ 

without whom we can do nothing (John 

15:5). Partaking of His life signifies 

sharing the experiences of Christ. We do 

His works in the world (John 14:12). 

This is witnessing; this is ministry. 

3. The altar of incense places us as 

close to God as it is possible to be. Especially 

here, we are encouraged to “draw 

near to God with a sincere heart and 

with the full assurance that faith 

brings” (Heb. 10:22), to share with our 

Lord Himself in intercessory prayer. 

The first apartment of the sanctuary 

itself speaks to the fact that we carry 

out these functions as a royal priesthood, 

not as individuals (Heb. 9:1-6; 

1 Peter 2:9). We are a collective priesthood 

(1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 5:10), with gifts 

the Spirit gives “for the common good,” 

distributed “to each one, just as he 

determines” (1 Cor. 12:7, 11). The gifts 

fit the church “for works of service,” 

building up the body of Christ “until we 

all reach unity in the faith . . . and 

This is the secret 

of the daily, 

overcoming 

Christian life. 

become mature, attaining . . . the fullness 

of Christ” (Eph. 4:12, 13). 

This is the purpose of church: learning 

from the Word; living ministry; 

interceding on behalf of others. We 

cooperate as a church, exercising our 

spiritual gifts for the good works that 

God prepared for us to experience (Eph. 

2:10). And even as we externally employ 

these tools we are internally “being 

transformed into his image . . . , which 

comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit” 

(2 Cor. 3:18). Quietly but effectively the 

Holy Spirit is using His tools to grow 

the fruit of the Spirit in us, making us 

partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 

1:4). Our transformation is “ ‘not by 

might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ 

says the Lord Almighty” (Zech. 4:6). 

The human contribution to this second 

part of salvation is the same as it was in 

the grace-faith first part: relationship. It is 

a mutual abiding between us and Christ 

as we accept by faith that “God [has] 

power to do what he [has] promised” 

(Rom. 4:21; see John 14:17; 15:5). This is 

the secret of the daily, overcoming Christian 

life, a new life in which the Spirit 

empowers us to do that which we were 

unable to do on our own (Rom. 8:11). 

Conclusion 

The gospel comes in three parts. Day 

to day we may revel and triumph in part 

two, and be more than conquerors 

through Him who loves us (Rom. 8:37), 

as we look forward to being swept away 

in part three. n 

Max Hammonds is a retired 

anesthesiologist, writer, 

missionary, musician, and sailor 

who lives in Hendersonville, North 

Carolina. He delights in teaching 

his grandson, Braeden, the Bible and sailing. 


Story 

Lessons, Unplanned 

Learning about 

myself, and God 

BY LINDSEY GENDKE 

Twenty-three years old and 

fresh out of college, I was 

hired to teach freshman 

English at a rural Texas high 

school. I was poorly 

equipped for the job. Having decided at 

the last minute to postpone graduate 

school, I had little pedagogical training 

and no student teaching experience. 

With these glaring shortcomings I was 

amazed I even got the job. However, as 

time went on I began to realize that my 

lack of professional knowledge was the 

least of my problems. 

The product of a broken home as a 

teen and plagued by depression ever 

since, I was still too focused on my own 

life’s losses to care deeply about others. 

Moreover, having married nearly on the 

heels of completing high school, then 

relying on my husband’s financial and 

emotional support to get me 

through college, I had not yet 

learned toappreciate self-reliance. 

I had not yet learned 

what it meant to rest in God’s 

strength. I certainly wasn’t 

equipped to take on the pain 

of 100 adolescents while still grappling 

with my own. But God doesn’t always 

call the equipped. 

God was about to teach major lessons 

through this job, the most important of 

which would not be for my students. 

First Year: I Need Help 

On Friday afternoon at the end of my 

first week, I was so exhausted that I collapsed 

into bed at 6:00 and slept until 

morning. This turned out to be a fitting 

start for the school year, as the next nine 

months brought alternating bouts of 

stress, exhaustion, and tears. Often that 

year I woke anywhere between 4:00 and 

5:00 a.m. with knots in my stomach, 

dreading having to manage seven classes 

of hormonal, unpredictable teenagers. 

In the evenings, I left school thankful 

to have escaped one more day, yet 

already dreading the next. To cope with 

my stress, which also caused me loss of 

appetite and lack of sleep, I exercised 

excessively, trying to sweat myself into a 

stupor. If before the job I’d thought I had 

made progress in my personal mental 

plights (a college degree is, after all, quite 

an accomplishment), the stress of the job 

was calling forth my darkest demons. 

On those mornings I woke at 4:00 or 

5:00, though I might crack open the 

book of Psalms for comfort, my mind 

was generally racing too fast for me to 

concentrate. Because I couldn’t relax 

long enough to surrender to God, I tried 

to battle each day in my own strength. I 

usually ended up barely clinging to my 

sanity. By the end of the year I was ready 

to slam the door on teaching. 

Second Year: Trust God 

Since my husband wouldn’t let me quit, 

the next year I found myself back for more. 

Somehow (perhaps because I now 

taught juniors instead of freshmen) the 

year got off to a much better start, and 

by the end of the first week, I actually 

felt somewhat excited. 

But just weeks into the semester I 

was informed that back home, more 

than 1,000 miles away, my mother had 

been hospitalized and my 10-year-old 


other placed in foster care. I 

was told the possibility existed 

that Mom might not be able to 

get my brother back. 

The knots in my stomach 

returned, but this time my mind 

was far from school matters. During 

my childhood the family had been 

through many similar episodes, and 

I had often let them upset me to the 

point of incapacitation. Now, 1,000 

miles away from my family and 

with adult responsibilities, I had no 

choice but to seek help beyond my 

own strength. That September I 

spent hours on my knees, pouring 

out my heart to God. 

I was also learning how to sit 

down and have devotions every 

morning. Unlike my first year of 

teaching, out of necessity, I was 

now disciplining myself to read 

my Bible, even when I didn’t feel 

like it. 

By November, Mom was out of the hospital 

and in the process of getting custody 

of my brother back. But with all the 

recent turmoil, I was ripe for a life 

change. 

About the middle of the school year 

my husband shared material from a Revelation 

Seminar with which he’d assisted 

years before. Listening to the wealth of 

scriptures and hard-hitting truths the 

speaker invoked, I had nowhere to turn 

but to examine my own life. 

I looked inside and saw a self-centered, 

self-pitying soul. I saw that I had 

not fully given my life to Christ—the 

biggest indicators being my frequent 

and sometimes long-lasting bouts of 

anxiety or depression, as well as the 

unhealthy need I felt to micromanage 

every aspect of my life. 

I saw that to be wholeheartedly with 

Christ I could not remain where I was. I 

started becoming more conscious of the 

decisions I made throughout the day, 

asking myself whether they would 

bring glory to God. 

Toward the end of the school year I 

began memorizing Scripture and 

started a systematic plan to read the 

Bible through in one year. The first passage 

I memorized was 2 Corinthians 

12:9, 10. After the events of the past two 

years, I could say with confidence God’s 

grace “is sufficient” for me, that His 

“power is made perfect in weakness,” 

and “when I am weak, then I am 

strong.” 

As I came to realize that God’s 

strength made up for all I lacked, I 

noticed my focus gradually shifting 

from myself to my students. 

Third Year: It’s Not 

All About Me 

I entered my third year of teaching 

feeling victorious and determined. By 

now I had enrolled in graduate school 

part-time, and I had a pretty good idea 

that this would be my last year teaching 

high school. I had finally figured out 

that God had placed me there for a reason, 

and I determined to make the most 

of my last year. 

When planning lessons, instead of 

asking, “How can I fill the time?” I 

Through my 

crucible God 

refined me. 

started asking, “How can I positively 

impact these students? What lessons will 

be most useful to them in the future?” 

Although I couldn’t explicitly share 

my newfound religious convictions, I 

found creative ways to slip Bible-based 

principles into my classes. As the year 

wound to a close, I saw the fruit of my 

heart’s conversion in my students, a 

number of whom, knowing I would be 

leaving, expressed sincere gratitude. 

On the last day of school, many students 

stopped by with hugs, cards, and 

words of thanks for my practical and 

caring instruction. Perhaps most memorable 

was a phone call I received from a 

parent in tears, who told me I had been 

the most influential teacher for her son 

throughout his high school years. 

Still a Learner 

When I think back to who I was at the 

beginning of my teaching stint—college 

grad and married woman, yet too scared 

of responsibility to own a pet, much less 

have kids; a perpetual pessimist; a virtual 

bump on a log in face of perceived 

crisis; and a lukewarm Christian—I can 

only marvel that God used me to change 

lives. 

Through my crucible God refined me. 

Before I began teaching, I felt I deserved 

a path free from obstacles (the anxiety 

and depression that had characterized 

my past). Now I realize that a rocky road 

was exactly what I needed to grow 

beyond my self. 

God placed me in a situation in which 

I was held accountable for my attitude 

and actions by perceptive, sometimesincisive, 

and always-searching teens. He 

taught me how to trust Him, and that 

it’s not all about me. 

Had I merely gone to graduate school 

after college, those three years would 

still have been emotionally wrenching 

(grad school, as I’ve learned, is pretty 

stressful). However, I would not be “the 

new creation” I am today (2 Cor. 5:17). 

I praise the Lord. Those three Godappointed 

years taught me lessons I 

could never have planned, and will 

never forget! n 

? 

Lindsey Gendke, a freelance 

writer, recently earned a 

master’s degree in English. 

What Do You Think? 

1. What time in your life taught you 

most about yourself, but at the 

same time was the most challenging 

spiritually and emotionally? Recall it 

briefly. 

2. What two or three influences connected 

with those events helped you 

cope, and taught you important life 

skills? 

3. Why does it seem that we don’t 

learn as much or as quickly when 

everything is going our way? 

4. Do you know how to recognize stress 

in someone else’s life? If so, what 

can you do to help relieve it? 


Reflections 

Why Peacemakers Are So Special 

Drew remembered the feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he 

thought about it. A coworker, someone he considered a close friend, had taken credit for his idea and was 

reaping the benefits at work. 

Drew soon noticed that his anger had little effect on his coworker but a big effect on him. A doctor’s visit 

confirmed Drew’s suspicion. His anger was causing significant health problems. When the doctor asked him 

if he was under any unusual stress, he had only one explanation. 

James 5:16 came to his mind. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” 

Drew absolutely knew that he was powerless to repay God for the sins he’d committed. He finally realized 

that it was unfair for him to refuse to forgive others. The desire to extend the gift of grace to his coworker 

began to fill his heart. 

He no longer wanted to harbor anger and disappointment. While he considered the friendship irreparably 

harmed, he didn’t want to dwell on the hurt he felt. The only way past this situation was to let it go. By an act 

of his will, Drew decided to forgive. Mentally, he bundled up all his hostile feelings and surrendered them to 

Christ. His identity was now solidly based upon who he was in Christ, and he soon felt peace in his heart. 

A prominent Christian medical doctor and professor told me this story of his own life. 

A coworker gave him a “dirty deal.” Thereafter, whenever he would see that man crossing the campus, he 

would make a quick detour to avoid him. This went on for months. Every time his “enemy” came up in any 

conversation, he would get in a little “dig.” 

He was getting tired of this ongoing warfare. His feelings frightened him, and the Lord spoke clearly: 

“Can’t you see what this is doing to you?” How could he make peace with someone who didn’t want anything 

to do with him? 

He decided to go to his colleague’s office to apologize and to ask for forgiveness. I can imagine the two of 

them kneeling beside each other, talking to their Father in heaven. 

Through the awesome power of God, the men were able to resolve their issues and become good friends. 

Their initial decision to forgive was followed by the faith walk of forgiveness. 

“People shouldn’t have the power to make or break our day depending on how they treat us,” writes North 

American evangelist Charles F. Stanley. “When we decide to forgive as an act of the will, we absolve others of 

any responsibility to meet our needs. Forgiveness is genuine when we don’t feel the way we used to when we 

run into those who offended us. Harsh feelings will be replaced with feelings of concern, pity, empathy, but 

not resentment. We might not forget the offense, but the old negative feelings aren’t there. Also, we’ll find it 

easier to accept them without feeling the need to change them. It is our responsibility to let go of the pressure 

and weight of an unforgiving attitude. Remember, the other person doesn’t have to apologize or change for 

you to find freedom.”* 

Jesus taught His disciples, “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will 

forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14, 15). 

The apostle Peter once asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone. Jesus answered by saying: 

“It’s not the number of times that’s important, but your attitude. If your attitude is right, you’ll forgive 

someone 70 times if you have to” (see Matt. 18:21, 22). 

The most beautiful expression of a loving and forgiving heart was Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, 

hanging on the cross of Calvary. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). 

To such a wise Savior be glory, majesty, dominion, and power, both now and forevermore. Amen. n 

* The Gift of Forgiveness, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1991. 

Dick Rentfro was a longtime Adventist Review contributor as well as a pastor for many years. He passed 

away in 2011.

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