Christ Kona?

■■WORLD CHURCH
At Andrews, Wilson Urges
“Authentic” Spirituality for Adventists
Vespers service includes revealing question-and-answer exchange
By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor
No doubt one of the most important aspects of genuine
authenticity is in the spiritual realm,” said Ted N. C. Wilson,
president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,
during a vespers service at church-owned Andrews University
in Berrien Springs, Michigan, on April 19, 2013.
He added, “No one who ever lived on this earth was more
spiritually authentic than Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Wilson’s message to students gathered at Pioneer Memorial
church at the heart of the Andrews campus followed
a day-earlier morning worship in which he
also addressed the theme of “Authentic Christianity.”
The world church leader came to the church’s flagship
school after Spring Meeting, during which time
Adventist leaders noted the 150th anniversary of the
General Conference’s organization in 1863 in Battle
Creek, Michigan.
He began his Friday night message with a brief
account of the career of Martin Frobisher, the sixteenth-century
British privateer-turned-explorer
whose search for the Northwest Passage, an Arctic
Ocean sea route from Europe to the Pacific, was
derailed by what he thought was the discovery of vast
quantities of gold. Raising money for more ships and
bringing home 200 tons of ore, Frobisher discovered
he had found only pyrite, a substance known as
“fool’s gold.”
Of Frobisher, Wilson noted, “Because he wasn’t
patient enough to investigate the facts, he was
fooled.” The Adventist leader then urged his hearers
not to fall for inauthentic messages, but rather to seek the
authentic Word of God.
“Jesus went to God’s Word for His authority,” Wilson
said. “You can be sure that the Bible is God’s Word. . . . It is
authentic, it is true, it is absolutely trustworthy. One of the
great challenges to our future is whether or not you will
accept this Word as it reads.”
He continued, “If you really want to know if the Bible is
God’s authentic Word for today, use the gold standard of
prophecy.”
Wilson urged students to “look at Daniel and Revelation.
Understand the prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament
and become convinced that Jesus is the one” who fulfills
those prophecies.
Andrews University photos
QUESTION TIME: Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the General Conference
of Seventh-day Adventists, answers a question posed by Evan
Knott (left), Andrews Student Association vice president.
“The three angels’ messages are the reason God raised up
the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” Wilson added. “We
belong to a heaven-born movement, the Advent movement,
called by God for a very unique time, purpose, and message.”
Earlier, while being interviewed by Andrews Student
Association vice president Evan Knott, Wilson spoke about
his initial goals of church service, the challenges he faces as
General Conference president, and the reason for emphasizing
mission to the cities: “It’s where the people are,” he
explained.
His most candid remarks came in response to a question
about how Wilson and his wife, then Nancy Vollmer, met
and married. Four years elapsed between their first meeting
and their courtship, he noted. While she turned down a
proposal given on April 1—in Wilson’s telling, she thought
it wasn’t serious—a second proposal a few weeks later was
accepted. Now married for 38 years, the Wilsons have three
daughters and three sons-in-law, and will soon welcome
their eighth grandchild.
Wilson called his commitment in marriage “one of the
best decisions I’ve ever made. It’s a privilege to be married
to Nancy.” n
www.AdventistReview.org | May 16, 2013 | (427) 11