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September 19, 2013 

Theological Seminary 

Installs New Dean 

Unleashing the Word 

The God of the Gap 

10 

14 

17

“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. 

20 14 8 6 

COVER FEATURE 

20 Habits of the Heart 

Bill Knott 

Doing them until they 

become part of our nature. 

ON THE COVER 

Our habits made us who we 

are, and will turn us into the 

persons we want to be. 

Alison Furminger, Calligrapher 

ARTICLES 

14 Unleashing the Word 

Kayle De Waal 

There’s a reason the 

Bible is central to our 

faith and practice. 

18 A Memorial to Salvation 

Andrew W. Kerbs 

Proving the vitality 

of our faith 

24 Parenting Teens in 

a Digital World 

Pamela Consuegra 

The convenience is 

staggering. So are 

the challenges. 

DEPARTMENTS 

4 Letters 

7 Page 7 

8 World News & 

Perspectives 

13 Give & Take 

17 Cliff’s Edge 

27 Back to Basics 

29 Etc. 

30 The Life of Faith 

31 Reflections 

EDITORIALS 

6 Lael Caesar 

Wonder 

7 Mark A. Finley 

Reflections on 

Christian Standards 

Next Week 

And They Followed Him 

What does it mean to be a 

Seventh-day Adventist? The 

2013 Week of Prayer readings 

explore discipleship in 

the twenty-first century. 

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. 26 

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www.AdventistReview.org | September 19, 2013 | (819) 3

inbox 

Letters From Our Readers 

The Tyranny of 

Smartphones 

»» 

I am writing in regard to 

Kimberly Luste Maran’s editorial 

“The Tyranny of Smartphones” 

(Aug. 15, 2013). I 

have witnessed many people 

using cell phones/smartphones 

in church. I sat right 

next to a woman who, from 

the time she came in to the 

time she left, was texting (for 

an hour and 20 minutes). She 

never put the phone down. 

The woman right behind me 

talked on her phone every 

time it rang. When I got up 

to take the offering, at the 

back of the church the kids 

were texting on their phones. 

While taking the offering, it 

was unbelievable the number 

of people I saw who were 

talking and texting on their 

phones. What benefit did 

these people get from the 

sermon? What about reverence 

in the sanctuary? 

Ronald Harmon 

Orlando, Florida 

Multiple Viewpoints 

Aired on Women’s 

Ordination Question 

»» 

Mark A. Kellner’s report on 

the Theology of Ordination 

Study Committee (TOSC) 

meeting, in the August 15 

Review (pp. 9, 10), was timely. 

It was refreshing to read what 

some of the scholars said 

with respect to both understandability 

and courteousness 

to those of the 

“opposition.” 

The 1888 conference on 

righteousness by faith alone 

was a similar meeting 

whereby opposing views 

were researched and 

resolved, was it not? Clearly 

progress in scriptural understanding 

is guided by organization, 

to the glory of God. 

May we pray that the Holy 

Spirit ignites the passion of 

the TOSC members to unify 

understanding of the subject 

as clearly as any fundamental 

belief. 

Bill Tassie 

Burlington, Michigan 

Redeeming the Blind 

»» 

As usual, I am challenged 

in thinking as I read the 

Review, and am responding to 

Justin McNeilus’ “Redeeming 

the Blind” (Aug. 8, 2013), 

STANDARD PUBLISHING/WWW.GOODSALT.COM 

but not for any controversy 

in anything he said. It is well 

written, but brought to mind 

another issue that I’ve 

thought about from time to 

time—that of the foreknowledge 

of God. 

McNeilus quotes The Desire 

of Ages: “Before the foundations 

of the earth were laid, 

the Father and the Son had 

united in a covenant to 

redeem man if he should be 

overcome by Satan” (p. 834). 

I have often wondered at that 

phrasing; it makes it sound 

as if He was waiting to see 

what would happen. 

I have sat in Sabbath school 

classes that discussed 

whether God knew of events 

before they happened or 

whether He limits Himself in 

some way. I find those discussions 

pointless. What 

bothers me is our reluctance 

to say God knew humanity 

was going to sin so He made 

a way to bring us back to 

Himself. Of course that raises 

issues and discussions I’m 

not going to raise here; but it 

also reveals that we don’t 

know why God does or has 

done the things He does. 

That’s why “we’ll understand 

it better by and by.” And 

that’s good enough for me. 

Trevor Connell 

Dallas, Texas 

Character Sketch 

»» 

I gained some wonderful 

new insights about the grace 

of God in the story of Korah, as 

presented by Trevor H. Paris 

and Thomson Paris in “Character 

Sketch” (July 18, 2013). I 

had known the story as told in 

Numbers 16 about the families 

of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram 

being swallowed up with 

them when the earth opened 

up, but I had missed the genealogy 

of Numbers 26, which 

says that Korah’s children did 

not die. I was very pleased that 

they brought this out, and 

through it showed the mercy 

of God to those who are innocent. 

I was especially pleased 

to read that one son was later 

appointed a chief musician by 

David, and that many of the 

psalms were written by the 

“Sons of Korah.” 

Psalm 46 has a wonderful 

new meaning for me now, 

when realizing that it is the 

Sons of Korah’s song saying 

“God is our refuge and 

strength . . . therefore we will 

not fear, though the earth 

give way” (verses 1, 2). They 

knew what it meant for the 

earth to give way, and their 

faith in God as our refuge 

was still very strong. 

Helen Fearing 

Mt. Vernon, Washington 

Don’t Hang Up 

Your Harp 

»» 

I’ve been reading the 

Review—and passing it on to 

others when I am finished— 

4 (820) | www.AdventistReview.org | September 19, 2013

July 1, 2013 

Vol. 190, No. 19 

for most of my life, and it has 

been a long one, but I’ve 

never before written to 

express my appreciation for 

an article. I need to do that 

now because I was really 

touched and encouraged by 

Hyveth Williams’ article 

“Don’t Hang Up Your Harp” 

(July 18). This quote especially 

inspired me: “If you 

find yourself by rivers of confusion 

and conflict regarding 

issues challenging our 

church today, don’t hang up 

your harp on the willows of 

pride or anger, with only the 

winds of despair blowing 

through its strings.” 

I can praise God in joyful 

song because I have been 

singing His praises all my 

life, and I know that God is 

leading His church as we 

await His coming. He who 

has promised to be with us 

will lead and guide us to the 

promised land. I believe that 

with all my 83-year-old 

heart. Thank you for the 

encouragement my friends 

and I receive from the Review 

articles, and this article in 

particular. 

Marie Adams 

Chino Valley, Arizona 

“I Don’t Want a 

God Who . . .” 

»» 

I appreciate what Clinton 

and Gina Wahlen attempted 

to do in “ ‘I Don’t Want a God 

Who . . .’ ” (July 11, 2013). We 

need some kind of objective 

authority by which to guide 

our beliefs. 

The problem is that for 

every 100 people who read 

the Bible, nearly 90 percent 

of them come away with a 

slightly different interpretation. 

That’s why we have 

conservative and liberal 

Seventh-day Adventists, and 

everything in between. None 

of them would admit to 

being unfaithful to the Bible; 

they just interpret it 

differently. 

Indeed, the existence of 

nearly 1,000 Christian 

denominations in North 

America alone suggests that 

the Bible cannot be interpreted 

as dogmatically as the 

Wahlens suggest. 

To be truly faithful to the 

Word, we have to model our 

lives after the Word, Jesus 

“I know that God is leading His 

church as we await His coming. He 

who has promised to be with us will 

lead guide us to the promised 

—marie adams, Chino Valley, Arizona 

land.” 

www.adventistreview.org 

July 1, 2013 

“I Don’t 

Want 

a God 

Who . . .” 

Robots Teach Science 

This Book Belongs to . 

À la Carte 

9 

23 

28 

“To be truly faithful to the Word, 

we have to model our lives after the 

Word, Jesus Christ. 

” 

—luis alvarez, Chicago, Illinois 

Christ. He swept away all the 

human traditions practiced 

by “God’s people” 2,000 

years ago, and left us with a 

remarkably simple formula 

for living the Christian life: 

“ ‘Love the Lord your God 

with all your heart.’ . . . ‘Love 

your neighbor as yourself’ ” 

(Mark 12:30, 31). Everything 

else will take care of itself. 

Luis Alvarez 

Chicago, Illinois 

What’s on Your 

Headstone? 

»» 

While reading the June 27, 

2013, Adventist Review, I was 

drawn to Mark A. Kellner’s 

article “What’s on Your Headstone?” 

perhaps because it 

was a question I had to 

answer in 2009 when I laid 

my husband, Warren, to rest. 

Accomplishments in this life 

really don’t matter much. 

The front of Warren’s stone 

contains the usual information, 

but I chose to put texts 

on the back as a comfort, and 

as a witness to our hope in 

Jesus. The texts are Job 19:25, 

1 Corinthians 15:55, and 

John 5:28. When choosing 

the texts, I noticed Job 

expressed a desire to write 

his belief in stone, and I hope 

one day to meet him and tell 

him I thought it was a good 

idea too. 

Karyl L. Crandall 

Durham, Maine 

History Lessons 

October is an important 

month in Adventist Church 

history—this fall our October 

editions will contain 

feature articles on some 

key events in our church’s 

past. Look for a 48-page 

special issue on the significance 

of 1888 (Oct. 10); a 

special cover package on 

1844 (Oct. 17); and a cover 

article on Guide, the 

church’s youth magazine 

that is celebrating 60 

years of publication (Oct. 

24). Look for these in print 

and online at www. 

adventistreview.org. 

Our Apologies 

»» 

Two illustrations appeared 

in the September 12, 2013, 

edition of the Adventist Review 

that inaccurately represent 

the goal of the author and the 

editors to highlight the confidence 

believers may have in 

the victory Jesus has won for 

us. We regret the inclusion of 

those illustrations, and apologize 

to the author and to our 

readers.—Editors. 


Editorials 

Lael 

Caesar 

Wonder 

Revelation and reason are equally about wonder. Choosing 

one over the other is a function of finitude. It is a way for fallen angels and humans to misapply 

the truth of free choice, and manipulate God by giving Him creaturely boundaries. He must be 

this, and He can’t do that. It is proof of how little we know of God. 

Revelation, special revelation, is indeed different from rational inquiry. Computational photography 

allows Ramesh Raskar’s camera at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to take 

pictures every two picoseconds, with an exposure period 1 billion times shorter than any normal 

camera. It lets him watch, and show us, the movement of light photons. Computational photography 

is the stuff of rational inquiry. And it is a matter of awe and wonder. 1 

Revelation, special revelation, is no less real, no less historical, than the movement of light 

photons. Special revelation is God telling Moses, and Moses telling us, that somewhere in spacetime 

a few thousand years ago God said, “Let there be light,” because light did not exist until God 

made it. Light is not eternal. God is. Saying “God is light” is only metaphor. But light is a created 

thing; both the light of Genesis’ “let there be,” and all the other light that shines throughout the 

eternity that deity and creatures inhabit. Special revelation is the psalmist exulting on how 

nature (in every photon) proclaims the work of God’s hands (Ps. 19:1). And special revelation is 

Paul rigorously reasoning that it is inexcusable to oppose that truth (Rom. 1:20). 

Special revelation is different from rational inquiry. It is more authoritative. It is the voice of 

the God who makes light photons move. It is wonder. 

Richard Schiffman offers insight on the difference between revelation and reason in a contribution 

to the newsletter of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, June 7, 2013. 

Reason, specifically “rational inquiry,” fuels science. Valuing “historical revelation,” etc., gives 

support to religion. 2 

Under the title “Fear of Death Makes People Into Believers (of Science),” Schiffman writes about 

a study he encountered in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Title notwithstanding, his 

article reports no research on moribund or recently resurrected people, only selected subjects 

with “weak religious beliefs” from two British universities. Compared to other subjects questioned 

about dental pain, these interviewees expressed more trust in science when asked to write 

about their own death. The research allegedly demonstrates that the more stressed you are the 

more you believe in science. 

Evidently, thoughts about dental pain are automatically more consoling than reflections on 

mortality. Too, “weak religious beliefs” is a valid variable for studying the impact of fear on attitudes 

to historical revelation. Maybe so. Interestingly, revelation’s effect on science or faith is 

unexplored. 

Schiffman’s treatment and title do seem to say that faith in science grows with increased appreciation 

for reality, even if it be a fear-inspired, fear-defined, or fear-enhanced reality. He seems to 

be promoting the misconceived choice between reason and faith. He does not know, perhaps, that 

fear is antithetical both to clear thought and to sound faith in God. 

Being scared is neither the best way to thinking straight nor to finding God. In fact, the God we 

all need is love, not fear (1 John 4:8, 18); He is reason, not mental confusion (Isa. 1:18); and He is so 

full of wonder that it’s in His name (Isa. 9:6). Reason and revelation are equally about wonder. n 

1 

www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23536536. 

2 

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/06/fear-death-makes-people-believers-science. 


Reflections on Christian Standards 

If you want to generate a lively conversation at a church 

fellowship meal, bring up the subject of church standards. A discussion of such topics as jewelry, 

dress, amusements, movies, and diet is sure to create a wide difference of opinion, sometimes even 

hostility. Some feel that one of the reasons people leave the Seventh-day Adventist Church, 

especially teens and young adults, is that the church still teaches antiquated standards that define 

Christianity too narrowly. In their view the church majors in minors and neglects “weightier” 

matters, such as justice and mercy, honesty, integrity, and concern for the poor and the environment. 

In a sense they are right. It is possible to equate external standards with godliness. It is unfortunate 

that some of the most vocal supporters of church standards are at times the least tolerant and 

most judgmental. The essence of Christianity is knowing Jesus. His love and grace transform our 

lives and lead us to higher standards, not lower ones. In Christ we become more likable, more loving, 

more caring, more concerned about others. 

Seventh-day Adventist churches ought to reflect the loving, accepting attitude of Jesus for anyone 

who walks through their doors regardless of their dress or lifestyle. Any visitor should feel welcome 

worshipping with us on Sabbath morning. 

But for those who desire to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church, there should be biblical standards. 

If the church is the “light of the world,” it must be different from the world. If the church is the 

“body of Christ,” it ought to reflect the teachings and lifestyle of Christ. Christian standards are simply 

biblical principles applied. They are the teachings of Jesus lived out in our lives. 

Christian standards are not archaic, arbitrary rules; they are Christian principles put into practice. 

After all, “we are . . . Christ’s ambassadors” (2 Cor. 5:20). n 

Mark A. 

Finley 

A Living Testimony 

On June 8, 1908, Sarah Davis was born. Theodore Roosevelt 

was president of the United States. A. G. Daniells was 

president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

The General Conference building had been established in Takoma 

Park, Maryland, and Ellen G. White would live yet another seven 

years. 

Jamaican by birth, Sarah moved to the United States in 

A 1975, finally settling in Georgia 11 years ago. This year she 

celebrated her 105 th birthday with family and friends at the 

Washington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, 

Georgia. She is a testament to the Seventh-day Adventist 

lifestyle of abstinence from meat, alcohol, and cigarettes. 

Davis walks with the aide of a walker, participates in chats, 

and offers smiles of gratitude. “God’s love,” she says, is her 

secret. “God loves me and I love him, and I want to be where 

He is; so I’m working hard.”

World News & Perspectives 

photos: Mark A. Kellner/Adventist Review 

CULTURAL HERITAGE: Reflecting the cultural heritage of Korea, Adventists in traditional 

costume and waving brightly colored fans delighted the attendees with their performance, 

one of several rich with folk traditions. 

■■Republic of Korea 

Northern Asia Adventists 

Launch Mission Conference 

With Impressive Display 

Four thousand gathered for Sabbath meeting. 

By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor, reporting 

from Jeju Island, Republic of Korea 

With the kind of pageantry worthy of a 

nation that has hosted both the Olympic 

Games and soccer’s World Cup, Seventhday 

Adventists from the Northern-Asia 

Pacific Division (NSD) welcomed thousands 

of delegates to the International 

Mission Congress (IMC) with festive 

singing, enthusiastic participation, and 

the overriding plea for an outpouring of 

the Holy Spirit to help Adventists finish 

the work of sharing the everlasting gospel. 

The event opened Wednesday evening, 

August 28, 2013, at the Jeju 

International Conference Center on the 

Republic of Korea’s Jeju Island. 

Against a backdrop of 600 LCD video 

screens merged to form a giant display, 

a virtual “choir,” comprised of videos of 

individual Seventh-day Adventists in 

the region singing “My Lord Is Coming 

ANGELIC VOICE: A member of the NSD’s 

famed “Golden Angels” vocal group offers 

a heartfelt message during the singing of 

“Holy, Holy, Holy.” 

Soon,” blended to offer a hymn of commitment 

in a division with both tremendous 

enthusiasm on the part of its 

people, but also incredible challenges in 

reaching others. 

With a region encompassing “one 

quarter of the world’s population, we 

have a responsibility to spread the gospel,” 

a slide at the beginning of the twoand-a-half-hour 

opening ceremony at 

the Jeju International Convention Center 

read. Slides in English, Korean, Chinese, 

and Japanese then noted the 

countries under the division’s aegis, 

reflecting that “the tears of North Koreans, 

God remembers,” as that country’s 

images were shown. Korean 

Adventists, and thousands of additional 

participants, were captivated by women 

wearing traditional Korean costumes 

and waving fans in a traditional folk 

dance, the first of the evening’s cultural 

elements. 

For China, that nation’s prosperity 

was noted, along with the comment that 

Christians have a “heavier” burden of 

“carrying the cross” in a nation of 

booming economic prosperity. Chinese 

Adventists performed a song, which 

included a performance on a traditional 

flute, as their cultural contribution. 

Japan, whose Adventists enthusiastically 

participated in the opening ceremonies, 

was dubbed “the land of the 

god of money—Mammon,” where “secular 

men have closed their hearts.” Notwithstanding, 

leaders from the Japan 

Union Conference wore T-shirts emblazoned 

with “Jesus@Tokyo” as emblematic 

of their effort to reach one of the 

world’s largest cities, as did members of 

a male singing ensemble who sang an 

arrangement of “Amazing Grace” as 

their cultural element. 

Participants from Taiwan and Mongolia 

were heartily welcomed, particularly 

by the hundreds of Seventh-day 

Adventists from the People’s Republic 

of China, who were seated just before 

the convention center’s main stage. The 

NSD presentation noted the “wilderness” 

nature of much of Mongolia, 


WARM WELCOME: Jairyong Lee, Northern 

Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists 

president, welcomes participants 

and guests to the 2013 International Mission 

Conference at the Jeju International 

Convention Center, Jeju Island, Republic of 

Korea. 

while in Taiwan the need for growing 

“the root of faith and Christian culture” 

was emphasized. 

The appearance of Taiwan brought 

together two presidents of the mission 

field on the IMC platform: Steven Wu, 

current mission field president, and 

Robert S. Folkenberg, Jr., former president, 

who now leads the China Union 

Mission from offices in Hong Kong. 

Both waved and applauded the Taiwanese 

acrobatic dancers who delighted the 

crowd, as did an equally acrobatic and 

enthusiastic group from Mongolia, one 

of whose members did backflips across 

the platform. 

But cultural highlights weren’t the 

most compelling element of the evening. 

Each union or mission field leader, 

along with NSD president Jairyong Lee, 

reaffirmed the commitment in their 

regions to spreading the good news, 

with Folkenberg making his declaration 

in flawless Mandarin, to the delight of 

his hearers. Dae Sung Kim, Korean 

Union president, welcomed visitors to 

the Jeju Island event, as did Lee. 

In turn, Kisung Bang, Jeju Island’s 

provincial governor, gave an impassioned 

word of welcome, speaking for 

five minutes in recognition of Seventhday 

Adventists, and greeting those who 

traveled to this spot off the southern tip 

KEYNOTE MESSAGE: G. T. Ng, executive secretary of the General Conference of Seventhday 

Adventists (left), noted the importance of sharing the good news: “It is no fun to be 

lost,” he declared. 

TWO PRESIDENTS: United on the IMC 

platform were Steven Wu (left), current 

president of the Taiwan Mission Field, and 

Robert S. Folkenberg, Jr., president of the 

China Union Mission, who previously 

served in Taiwan as mission president. 

of the Republic of Korea. He also singled 

out Ted N. C. Wilson, General Conference 

president, for a welcome. 

In his comments, Wilson expressed 

happiness at the event: “It is wonderful 

to have the Northern Asia-Pacific Division 

as part of [the global Seventh-day 

Adventist] family,” he said. “The reason 

we are here is that we have a great mission 

to accomplish through the power 

of the Holy Spirit.” 

G. T. Ng, executive secretary of the 

world church, the evening’s principal 

speaker, reflected on the program as he 

took the platform: “After such a wonderful 

opening, what can one say but to 

turn to the Word of God.” 

Ng then noted that Luke 15 presents 

“three experiences of lostness”—the 

lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost, or 

prodigal, son—because “Jesus wanted 

to emphasize the lostness of humanity.” 

He spoke of the need to reach those 

without the gospel: “It is no fun to be 

lost,” he declared. 

The International Missions Conference, 

packed with seminars and morning 

devotional messages from Ministry 

magazine editor Derrick Morris, culminated 

with a Sabbath message from Wilson, 

where upward of 4,000 people were 

anticipated. n 



■■NORTH AMERICA 

Installation 

of New 

Seminary Dean 

at Andrews 

University 

By Becky St. Clair, 

Andrews University 

On Tuesday, August 27, the Seventhday 

Adventist Theological Seminary at 

Andrews University held a dedication 

service honoring its new dean, Jiří 

Moskala. 

“The search committee wanted someone 

with the heart of a pastor who 

understood pastoral education and what 

is needed to make an effective minister,” 

said Andrea Luxton, provost of Andrews 

University, from the platform of the seminary 

chapel. “We wanted not just an 

administrator, but a leader; a pastor who 

looks forward to new pathways while 

still respecting valued traditions.” 

Luxton welcomed Moskala to his new 

position. “We look forward to your 

visionary and focused leadership, and 

we challenge you to take seriously the 

photos: Andrews University 

NEW ROLE: Andrea Luxton, provost of Andrews University, welcomes Moskala to his new 

position as deanof the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. 

model of Christ and His leadership of 

His disciples,” she said. “Challenging 

but nurturing; just and compassionate; 

providing opportunity for growth, but 

leading from the front. Most of all, I 

invite you, as Jesus was, to be always in 

communion with the Father.” 

Artur Stele, a general vice president of 

the General Conference and director of 

the Biblical Research Institute, read Exodus 

17:8-13, reminding the audience of 

Israel’s victories in battle that were realized 

only when Moses held up his arms. 

“Teamwork is key,” said Stele. “When 

Moses got tired, he had helpers. When 

the dean of the seminary gets tired, the 

leadership of the university on one side 

and the General Conference on the 

other have to support him and hold up 

his hands. If we all together lift him up 

every day in our prayers, we can be sure 

the best is yet to come.” 

Moskala joined the seminary faculty 

in 1996 and most recently served as 

professor of Old Testament. Born in 

Cesky Tesin, Czech Republic, Moskala 

received both a Master and Doctor of 

Theology from the Protestant Theological 

Faculty of Charles University in 

Czech Republic. He has since completed 

his Doctor of Philosophy at Andrews 

University. n 

SET APART TO SERVE: Administration, faculty, staff, and students gather to lay hands onJiří Moskala, newly appointed dean of the 

Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminaryat Andrews University, during his dedication ceremony. 


■■North America 

Three Adventist Colleges Create 

“Adventist Educational Alliance” 

By MARK A. KELLNER, news editor 

Three Seventh-day Adventist colleges 

and universities—Southern Adventist 

University in Collegedale, 

Tennessee; Southwestern Adventist 

University in Keene, Texas; and Union 

College in Lincoln, Nebraska—are 

planning a collaborative arrangement 

to save money and strengthen Adventist 

education, officials say. The 

venture, called the Adventist Educational 

Alliance, will begin cooperative 

moves this fall. 

“We believe that it would be irresponsible 

to all college costs to continue 

increasing faster than the rate of 

inflation,” declares a joint statement, 

“The Case for Working Together,” 

signed by the board chairs and presidents 

of the three schools. John Wagner, 

Union College president, added, 

“We have a lot of work to do.” 

“The three schools can work together 

without losing our distinctive identities 

and local traditions,” said Eric 

Anderson, president of Southwestern 

Adventist University. 

According to Gordon Bietz, Southern 

Adventist University president, “Our 

goal is to build a stable financial base 

for each institution, enrich our curriculums, 

and have a better experience for 

our students in a changing world of 

higher education.” 

Union, Southwestern, and Southern 

are working together, according 

to the three presidents, because “the 

three schools have similar missions, 

governance, and faculties,” as well as 

primarily Adventist student bodies. 

The Adventist Educational Alliance 

will not determine wider efforts at 

collaboration, said Bietz, such as a 

joint marketing initiative supported 

by the Association of Adventist 

Colleges and Universities (AACU). 

Bietz will continue in his role as 

executive secretary of AACU. 

Among the steps contemplated is 

using one recruiter to represent the 

three schools when visiting Adventist 

academy college fairs, along with finding 

a way to merge some “back office” 

administrative functions. Both would 

be seen as cost-saving measures, and 

Bietz said Southern is aligning its 

school year calendar with the other 

two schools in order to allow students 

to take highly specialized courses from 

the related institutions where desirable. 

The three schools are considering 

sharing outstanding faculty in a regular 

“Visiting Scholars Program,” 

according to Anderson. 

The three college presidents were 

joined by union conference presidents 

Tom Lemon (Mid-America), Ron Smith 

(Southern), and Larry Moore (Southwestern). 

Each leader and educator 

rejected the idea that “the success of 

Photo: Southern Adventist University 

EDUCATIONAL ALLIANCE: The presidents of three Adventist schools have announced plans to develop an Adventist Educational Alliance. 

Pictured are Eric Anderson, Southwestern Adventist University (left); Gordon Bietz, Southern Adventist University (center); and 

John Wagner, Union College (right). 



one is built on the failure of the 

others.” 

Together, the three institutions serve 

roughly 15 percent of the Adventist college 

and university population in 

North America, which was about 

28,300 last year. Of that number, 

approximately 2,800 were at Southern 

Adventist University, while Union College 

enrolled approximately 800 and 

Southwestern Adventist University 

enrolled approximately 800. Registration 

is currently underway at all three 

schools, and 2013 numbers are not yet 

available. 

Larry Blackmer, education vice president 

for the North American Division, 

voiced his approval of the move. “The 

future of Adventist higher education 

lies in finding ways to collaborate and 

work together to enhance the instructional 

value to students and to facilitate 

the mission-driven focus of 

Adventist education,” in comments via 

e-mail. “The alliance being developed 

and fostered by these three colleges 

and universities is exciting and at the 

same time challenging. Anytime change 

is in the wind, it is always unsettling. 

These administrations and boards 

need to be supported and encouraged 

to build the best higher educational 

system we can for our young people.” n 

■■North America 

It Is Written Speaker/Director John Bradshaw 

Optimistic About Health Challenge 

By Michele Stotz, communication director, It Is Written 

It Is Written speaker/ 

director John Bradshaw 

announced that he 

recently underwent surgery 

to remove a small 

cancerous tumor from his 

tongue. Following successful 

surgery, he will 

undergo a precautionary 

course of treatment, with 

doctors expecting a full 

recovery by January. In the 

meantime, It Is Written’s 

evangelism plans will 

move forward with guest 

speakers as he recovers. 

“Thankfully, the prognosis 

is good. God’s leading 

has been remarkably 

clear, and thanks to a fantastic 

team of physicians, 

I’m already back to talking 

and eating normally,” said 

Bradshaw. “Frankly, this 

whole thing really came as 

a surprise. When I asked 

the physician what might 

have caused it, he said the 

culprit was likely chronic 

John Bradshaw 

irritation from a dental 

issue, but the good news 

is that this type of cancer 

is very treatable and completely 

beatable!” 

Given Bradshaw’s passion 

for evangelism, It Is 

Written’s event calendar 

will remain relatively 

unchanged. He will 

attend events as he is 

able—and as his physician 

approves. 

“Obviously, I’d much 

rather have avoided all of 

this, but I’m encouraged 

that the way ahead is 

clear,” said Bradshaw. “I’ll 

have to spend a little time 

on the sidelines, but 

before long, I’ll be back to 

full strength. That’s good 

news, and I’m grateful to 

God for His blessing.” 

Bradshaw asked that 

people keep his family 

and It Is Written in their 

prayers. As he said, “The 

best is yet to come!” n 


adventist life 

Several weeks ago on the Adventist 

Review Facebook page we asked friends to 

briefly describe the Bible to someone who 

isn’t familiar with it. The guidelines: it can 

be a description of what it is, how it’s used, 

or what it does. Almost 200 people replied. 

Several people posted an acrostic. Here are 

creative comments from two respondents: 

Basic 

Instructions 

Before 

Leaving 

Earth 

—Submitted by Michelle Henry, John Basco, 

and Frank Kambare 

Best Instructions Before Life Ends 

—Submitted by John Pastor, Meru, Kenya 

Sound Bite 

“No failure is 

ever final or fatal 

when Jesus is on 

your side.” 

—Pastor Clifford Jones, in his 

sermon on July 13, 2013, at the 

Alberta, Canada, camp meeting 

poem 

WHIZZER 

Buzzzzz . . . 

Here come 

The dive bombers 

Midair hovercraft 

Stocked with standard 

Mini hemi 

Colorful covetous 

Friendly unafraid 

Guardians of the water 

nectar 

I freeze 

Within their range 

Me and the pixies 

Check each other out 

God’s amazing 

Garden fairies . . . 

Hummingbirds 

—Robert Black, Goldsboro, 

North Carolina 

camp meeting memories 

One Sabbath in the early 1990s my son and I were in 

the big tent at the Potomac Conference camp meeting 

listening to the conference president preach. I was trying 

to hear the speaker over the sound of the rain, 

which had started to get very loud. The water was filling 

the “ribs” on the top of the tent and making it sag. I 

watched these pockets get bigger and bigger, expecting 

the tent to burst at any moment. All of a sudden I 

heard my son yell, “Mom, move!” I looked over my 

shoulder and saw the tent coming down toward me. I 

got up and ran to the cafeteria. I looked back to see 

that the tent had flattened. 

When I got home, I told everyone how God had 

saved my life by letting my son know that I was in danger. 

But when my son heard the story I was sharing, he 

said, “Mom, I didn’t know you were in trouble; I was in 

the back picking chairs off people.” 

I knew then that God had used my son’s voice 

because that made me act faster than I probably 

would have with a stranger’s voice. God is so good! 

—Betty Gheen, Huntingtown, Maryland 

© terry crews 


Heart and Soul: 

Biblical Studies 

Unleashing 

the 

Word 

The biblical model of 

church growth 

14

I 

grew up in Durban, South Africa, 

and loved the Bible from a young 

age. One of my clearest memories 

is of my grandfather reading John 

14:1-3 for family worship. I 

enrolled in the Voice of Prophecy correspondence 

Bible course and looked forward 

to receive my lessons every two 

weeks or so in the mail. I would eagerly 

check if my answers were correct or not, 

and looked forward to digging into the 

next lesson. The lessons, printed in 

black on white, did not have an elaborate 

design—especially when compared 

to the glossy lessons we have today. Yet 

God’s Word was alive and full of power 

in my young teenage heart. 

Many years later, when I studied theology 

at Helderberg College, it was a 

great privilege to meet Heather 

Tredoux, director of the Bible School. 

The Word of God slowly transformed a 

shy, stuttering young man into a 

preacher. In fact, the Bible helps us grow 

into the people God wants us to be. 

illustration by ralph butler 

BY KAYLE DE WAAL 

The Word in Acts 

The living, enduring Word of God is 

central to the evangelistic explosion and 

the birth of the Christian movement in 

Acts. The Word was the source of power in 

the evangelistic ministry of the disciples, 

and the people yearned for this Word. 

Luke repeatedly tells us how people 

received the Word with gladness (see Acts 

2:41; 4:4; 8:40). The disciples studied the 

Scriptures daily and aligned their lives 

with its teachings (see Acts 17:11). In 

their sermons the disciples quote, allude, 

or refer to Old Testament passages nearly 

200 times. Clearly they had memorized 

and internalized the Scriptures and 

preached with deep conviction. 1 

Preaching is a major factor in the proclamation 

of the gospel and takes on the form 

of witnessing in Acts: “We cannot help 

speaking about what we have seen and 

heard” (Acts 4:20). 

When Luke uses the phrase “word of 

the Lord” (Acts 8:25; 13:49; 15:35; 16:32; 

19:10, 20) and the “word of God” (Acts 

4:31; 6:2; 8:14; 11:1; 12:24; 13:5; 17:13), 

he is pointing to the divine origin and 

authority of the gospel. 

In the Old Testament the Word of God 

has tremendous power and ability to 

accomplish the tasks that God sets out 

for it to accomplish (Ps. 33:6-11; Isa. 

55:10, 11; Jer. 1:9-12). 2 The centrality of 

the “word” in Acts led French scholar 

Marguerat to write that the leading 

theme of Acts is “neither the history of 

the Church, nor the activity of the Spirit, 

but the expansion of the Word. The real 

hero of the Acts of the Apostles is the 

logos, the Word.” 3 

The Word moves the narrative of Acts 

forward—and, literally, in new directions. 

“So the word of God 

spread. The number of disciples 

in Jerusalem increased 

rapidly, and a large number of 

priests became obedient to the 

faith” (Acts 6:7). This is a summary 

statement of the work of 

the Word in Jerusalem and 

points to the satisfactory resolution of 

the conflict in Jerusalem (Acts 1:1-6:7). 

“But the word of God continued to 

spread and flourish” (Acts 12:24) marks 

another summary statement of the 

spread of the Word to the outer parts of 

Judea, Samaria, and other Gentile areas 

(Acts 6:8-12:24). The Word is on the 

move, conquering for the kingdom. 

The final summary statement of the 

section covering Acts 12:25-19:20 highlights 

the moving power of the Word and 

points to the geographical expansion of 

the Word into Asia Minor and Europe. 

“In this way the word of the Lord spread 

widely and grew in power” (Acts 19:20). 4 

Luke makes use of the term “word of 

the Lord” to show the progress of the 

church, especially in the context of 

human opposition. Just as the Word of 

God helped me to grow in South Africa, 

so the Word of God grew the church in 

Acts. The church grows as the Word grows. 

The Word conquers Jerusalem, then 

Judea and Samaria. The Word then conquers 

an African in Acts 8, giving the 

reader a foretaste of the Word’s conquest 

of a family of Gentiles in Acts 10. 

Finally the Word triumphs over one of 

the most influential cities in the firstcentury 

world—Ephesus. 

The church and the Word move and 

develop simultaneously. The two are so 

interconnected in Acts that it is almost 

impossible to separate them (cf. Acts 

2:47; 5:14; 6:7; 11:21; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20). 

This becomes apparent when one 

notices that the Word never returns to 

an area twice as Luke tells us about the 

growth of the church. 5 

The Word determines and sets the 

agenda for evangelism and discipleship. 

The same Greek word (plethynein) is 

used for the “increase” in the number 

of disciples (6:1; 9:31) as well as for the 

increase of the Word (6:7; 12:24). 

The church and 

the Word move 

and develop 

simultaneously. 

The Word in History 

Peter Waldo, or Valdes, was a wealthy 

merchant of Lyons (eastern France), 

who experienced conversion about 1175 

or 1176. He gave away his possessions 

and decided to follow Christ by leading 

a life of poverty and preaching. Convicted 

by the necessity of spreading 

God’s Word Waldo had the Latin New 

Testament translated into the vernacular, 

which formed the basis of his evangelism. 

He preached the message of 

Scripture fearlessly and powerfully so 

that he soon had a group of people following 

him. When the Word of God is 

preached fearlessly and with the anointing 

of the Spirit, there is normally an 

explosion of kingdom growth. 

The group that followed Peter Waldo 

grew so effective and powerful that they 

came to the attention of the pope. They 

were given the approval of Pope Alexander 

III at the Third Lateran Council in 

1179. They had one condition: Waldo’s 

followers were to gain the approval of the 

local church authority before preaching. 

However, the Waldensians preached the 

message of the Bible and exalted the virtues 

of poverty without first seeking approval 

from the local bishop. Waldo loved quoting 

Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than 

human beings.” 6 They continued to con- 


The proclamation 

of the Word 

disturbs, 

unsettles, and 

defeats the devil 

and his forces. 

demn the laxity and wealth of the medieval 

church. Their preaching of God’s Word was 

so Spirit-filled and blessed of heaven that in 

1181 the archbishop of Lyon prohibited 

their preaching. 

The Waldensians responded by 

preaching even more zealously. The 

church hierarchy were clearly troubled 

as the 1181 condemnation gained 

momentum. In 1184 at Verona, Pope 

Lucius III ordered that the Waldensians 

and other groups like them should be 

eliminated by inquisition and secular 

punishment. The Waldensians eventually 

fled from Lyons and grew rapidly in 

Lombardy and Provence. A movement of 

God always anchors itself in the authority 

of the Word. The proclamation of the 

Word disturbs, unsettles, and defeats 

the devil and his forces. 

ration in religious life 

when the people listen 

to sermon after sermon 

and do not put the 

instruction into practice? 

The ability God has 

given, if not exercised, 

degenerates.” 8 

The Word is not meant 

to stop with us—it has 

to spread through us! 

We need to let the Word out of the confines 

of the church building. The Word, 

and the Spirit that inspired the Word, are 

deeply relational. Hence the Word travels 

best in the context of relationship. Since 

the Word moves along relational lines, 

the church must be structured relationally. 

Discipleship structures have to be 

set up in the local church so that people 

have every opportunity to gather around 

the transforming Word of God and experience 

the power of the Holy Spirit in 

their lives during the week. Local churches 

that unleash the Word in the context of 

authentic discipleship structures can 

impact local communities and bring 

about lasting change for the kingdom of 

God. n 

1 

R. Coleman, The Master Plan of Discipleship (Grand 

Rapids: Fleming Revell, 1987), p. 105. 

2 

D. G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles (Grand Rapids: 

Eerdmans, 2009), p. 33. 

3 

D. Marguerat, The First Christian Historian: Writing 

the Acts of the Apostles, Society of New Testament Studies 

Monograph Series 121, translated by K. McKinney, 

G. J. Laughery, and Richard Bauckham (Cambridge: 

Cambridge University Press, 2002), p. 37. 

4 

Peterson, p. 34. 

5 

David W. Pao, Acts and the Isaianic New Exodus 

(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), pp. 150-155. 

6 

Bruce Shelly, Church History in Plain Language 

(Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), p. 208. 

7 

David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From the 

American Dream (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 

2010), p. 99. 

8 

Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain 

View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 6, p. 425. 

Kayle de Waal, originally from 

South Africa, is senior lecturer 

in New Testament in the School 

of Ministry and Theology, 

Avondale College, Cooranbong, 

Australia. He is married to Charmaine and has 

two children, Kerryn and Charé. 

The Word Today 

If the Word is central to growth and 

revival, then the local church must do 

everything possible to gather around 

the Word. Sadly, too often the Word is 

stuck in the local church building where 

it is proclaimed Sabbath after Sabbath. 

Are we receivers or reproducers of the 

Word? 7 Do we hoard the Word or do we 

share the Word? We often sit in church 

and take it all in but never pass the Word 

on. Or we may dissect the Sabbath morning 

sermon over Sabbath lunch and never 

share it with others or practice its principles 

during the week. We may study our 

Sabbath school lesson faithfully but never 

share it with others. The Word that is 

preached on a Sabbath morning or that we 

study in our devotions is a word that must 

be shared and practiced during the week. 

Talking about sermons, Ellen White 

wrote: “What can we expect but deterio- 


Cliff’s Edge 

The God of the Gap 

A cartoon shows two scientists looking at a complicated formula 

on a blackboard. Amid the numbers, letters, and symbols of the various steps are the words “And then a 

miracle occurs.” One scientist points to that sentence and says to the other, “I think you should be a bit more 

explicit here in step two.” 

The cartoon makes fun of what has been called “the God of the gaps.” Though understood in variegated 

and nuanced ways, the idea is that when scientists run into a phenomenon they cannot “explain” (a concept 

exceedingly more complicated than most people imagine), then God’s mysterious working must be the 

answer. “Creationists eagerly seek a gap in present-day knowledge or understanding,” wrote Richard 

Dawkins. “If an apparent gap is found, it is assumed that God, by default, must fill it.” 

As usual, that’s a Dawkins’ caricature of creationism and of science itself. The ancient Greeks, those 

whom we might loosely call the world’s first “scientists,” sought natural phenomena to explain 

other natural phenomena. In the twelfth century Abelard of Bath argued that in natural philosophy 

(the precursor to science) we cannot use supernatural causes to explain the workings 

of the natural world. Even when admitting that he had no clue as to how gravity worked (calling 

the idea that two bodies influenced each other across the expanse of space “an absurdity”), 

Isaac Newton never evoked God to scientifically explain this gap in his knowledge, despite 

being a creationist. What serious scientist involved in research, creationist or not, does 

what was mocked in that cartoon? 

Dawkins also propagates another misconception nestled within “the God of the gaps” 

notion. Just because science comes up with an “explanation” for a phenomenon doesn’t mean that 

God is automatically pushed out. It’s a metaphysical, not a scientific, notion that divinity is 

excluded by default the moment science makes a new “discovery” or devises a new formula. 

Besides, formulas only describe, not explain. E=mc 2 doesn’t teach us why energy equals mass 

times the speed of light squared. It’s just a succinct description of the phenomenon, not an explanation 

of it. 

Contrary to the “God of the gaps” idea, it’s what we know about the world, not what we don’t 

(the gaps) that reveals God to us. For example, our better grasp of the complicated biochemical 

process that forms blood clots doesn’t mean that God had or has nothing to do with it. If anything, 

our deeper scientific understanding of natural phenomena, in all their complexity and 

mystery, reveals more about how God works in our world than had been previously understood. 

Scripture is clear: God is not only the Creator of the physical world, but also its sustainer (see Heb. 1:3; 

Acts 17:28; Ps. 104). Meanwhile, a scientific explanation is just that, a “scientific” one, and thus remains 

limited within its own human-made confines about what it can claim, regardless of what’s beyond those 

confines. Given the limits of what nature reveals to us, added to self-imposed and often philosophically 

based presuppositions of science, it’s hard to imagine how science could ever “prove” the workings of God, 

no matter how obvious those workings. 

I titled this piece “The God of the Gap,” singular, to point out a specific gap and, even more specifically, 

where that gap is. Notice, it was “step two,” not step one, that the cartoon mocked. There’s a good reason, 

too. How could a scientific formula account for step one without first being explained by something prior 

to it, which means that it wasn’t step one, after all. In order to be step one, in order to fill that first gap, it 

would have to be uncaused and eternal, and what else could that be but God? 

To get out of that conundrum, some cosmologists, such as Stephen Hawking, argue that the universe 

arose out of “nothing.” What else? With the exception of an eternally existing God, only “nothing” needs no 

explanation. And if your science demands the exclusion of the divine anywhere along the line, then “nothing” 

is the only logical option. 

So “nothing” created the universe, or “the God of the gap,” the first gap, did. Take your pick. n 

Cliff 

Goldstein 

Clifford Goldstein is editor of the Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide. He is also featured on the Web site 1844made 

simple.org. 


40 Below 

BY ANDREW W. KERBS 

The issue with Seventh-day 

Adventists,” the preacher 

explained, “is that they 

believe they are saved by 

their works.” 

This accusation reappears every 

decade or so and is nothing new to the 

Adventist faithful. Since the days of 

Ellen White we’ve been bombarded 

with labels such as legalists, Pharisees, 

bigots, flat-earthers, and my personal 

Memorial to 

A 

Salvation 

do works 

favorite, Jews. Another critical remark 

I’ve heard about the Adventist Church is 

that our greatest blunder was the elimination 

of righteousness by faith. 

As a youth growing up in the Bible 

Belt of the United States, the varying 

doctrines of our fellow Protestants were 

ever-present and ever-vocal in my 

upbringing. Whatever doctrinal distinctive 

one may critique about the Adventist 

Church, the conversation would 

inevitably touch on righteousness by 

faith at some point. In those days the 


most common dispute I heard did not 

have to do with the sanctuary. Rather, it 

had to do with works. 

I must admit that even I didn’t fully 

understand the role works played. 

Hearing a constant barrage of criticisms 

against the importance of works made 

me second-guess whether they were at 

all necessary. “The just shall live by 

faith,” someone would say, quoting 

Martin Luther and Romans 1:17. From 

these encounters I would always walk 

away deep in thought. Were they right? 

Simultaneously, the familiar passages 

“Faith without works is dead” (James 

2:26)* and “A man is justified by works, 

and not by faith only” (verse 24) reverberated 

in my mind. Works did matter, I 

argued in response. 

Truly, works do matter. But do they 

save? 

My epiphany did not come until I 

reached my 20s, after several years of 

serious Bible study. Works do matter, 

but they do not save us. In fact, works 

are a memorial to our salvation, not the 

matter? 

source of it. 

Did God create the world by resting 

on the seventh day and sanctifying it? 

Of course not. So then do we find salvation 

by working? No, our works are a 

result of gratitude and remembering 

God’s saving work in our lives, just as 

the Sabbath stands as a memorial to 

God’s creative work in the world. 

In the Past 

In the book of Genesis, God told 

Abram that his descendants would be 

captive in a land not their own for 400 

years. The Lord also promised to judge 

their oppressor and to bring Abram’s 

posterity up from Egypt and give them 

the land He had promised to their 

fathers. When the time to free the children 

of Israel came, the Lord visited 

plague upon plague on the Egyptians 

and the hardened pharaoh. The final 

and most devastating plague brought 

on the mourning of an entire people, as 

all of Egypt’s firstborn died in the nighttime 

gloom. 

Remember, the law of Moses, the Ten 

Commandments, and the various ordinances 

given at Sinai 

were still unheard-of 

to the Israelites. The 

Lord saved them not 

by works, but by faith 

in the blood of the 

Passover Lamb, 

Christ Jesus. Truly, 

“the just shall live by 

faith” in both the Old 

and New Testaments. 

First God brought 

salvation, and then He brought His children 

to Sinai. Not the other way around. 

This illustration is akin to the idea 

that God will meet us where we are. God 

will always meet us where we are, but 

He refuses to keep us there. God did not 

expect Israel to escape Egypt and navigate 

their way to Sinai. Nor did He plan 

to save them but keep them in Egypt. 

With a mighty hand the Lord brought 

His children up. Not once did works 

play a role in their salvation—only faith. 

Then, with the giving of the Ten Commandments, 

God’s first words are “I am 

the Lord your God, who brought you 

out of the land of Egypt, out of the 

house of bondage” (Ex. 20:2). A deeper 

spiritual lesson exists here beyond literal 

Egypt. More important than the 

actual giving of the law, God first 

reminded the Israelites who He was, 

first and foremost—their Savior. 

After Sinai, the entire Jewish economy 

revolved around the elaborate sacrificial 

system. This system not only remembered 

the Lord’s salvation out of Egypt, 

but looked in faith to the future coming 

of a Savior who would free His people. 

The Source 

Any theology that makes works a 

part of receiving salvation is a false 

religion. As the apostle Paul so clearly 

states: “Where is boasting then? It is 

excluded. By what law? Of works? No, 

but by the law of faith. Therefore we 

conclude that a man is justified by 

faith apart from the deeds of the law” 

(Rom. 3:27, 28). 

God will always 

meet us where 

we are, but He 

refuses to 

keep us there. 

But before we throw the importance of 

works out the window, remember that 

Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” 

(John 14:15). We cannot 

minimize the importance 

of what Jesus 

is saying, or not saying. 

He is not saying, 

“If you want to be 

saved, keep My commandments.” 

He is 

expressing that 

those who have 

come to Christ, have 

experienced His 

grace and mercy, and 

have been washed in the blood of the 

Lamb will inevitably reflect Christ’s character 

by default rather than obligation. 

We live holy, consecrated lives not so 

that we may be saved, but because we are 

saved! Christ, the Passover Lamb, did not 

die to do away with the law; rather He 

fulfilled its demand for blood on our 

behalf. Now by faith and in constant gratitude 

we are enabled to follow in Christ’s 

footsteps as His children, as the seed of 

Abraham and heirs of the promise. 

Works are a memorial to the Lord’s 

salvation. They are never the source of it! 

In the days of Moses, when children 

asked, “What do you mean by this service?” 

parents would say, “It is the Passover 

sacrifice of the Lord, who passed 

over the houses of the children of Israel 

in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians 

and delivered our households” (Ex. 

12:26, 27). 

So today, when we welcome the Sabbath 

hours with prayer and hymns, 

when we take Communion, or when we 

study God’s Word together and someone 

asks, “Why do we do this?” we have 

an answer. 

“We love Him because He first loved 

us” (1 John 4:19). n 

* Texts in this article are from the New King James 

Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, 

Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Andrew Kerbs writes from 

Kernersville, North Carolina. 


Cover Story 

Habits 

of 

the 

Heart 

Three 

stages 

of a 

joyful 

journey 

BY BILL KNOTT 

“ I 

have a continual longing for Christ 

to be formed within, the hope of 

glory. I long to be beautified every 

day with the meekness and gentleness 

of Christ, growing in grace 

and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ up 

to the full stature of men and women in 

Christ Jesus.” 1 

Solitude 

It is perhaps the least practiced spiritual 

habit of our harried age. Yet solitude 

is preeminently the habit on which all our 

progress as spiritual persons depends. 

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 

46:10), 2 the Lord says to His people 

whenever they are anxious and fearful. 

But we live and move as though we think 

that just the inverse of His Word is 

true—that we can know Him just as well 

amid the roar and din we still somehow 

prefer. “Speak to me instead through the 

earthquake, wind, and fire,” we protest 

to the God who prefers the “sound of a 

gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12, NLT). 3 

So it is that we shy away from time 

alone the way a 10-year-old devises 

ways to avoid piano practice. We invent 

urgent duties—homework, even; we 

recall other obligations; we volunteer 

for otherwise unwelcome tasks, fearing 

any environment in which we make the 

only sounds. 

The prospect of spending half a day 

alone terrifies well more than half the 

world’s population, for we have 

absorbed the normative noise of our 

overstimulated world. Without the 

ambient sounds of our humming 

devices and chattering companions, we 

grow suspicious that something fundamental 

is wrong, perhaps even dangerous. 

A dozen Hollywood movies have 

made us wary of anything “too quiet,” 

for in just such moments, the dreaded 

something lurks. 

If we hear no human voices; if we hear 

no digitized music; if we see no flickering 

images upon a screen, we also feel 

deprived, as though our senses are experiencing 

unhealthy starvation. And so we 

make of solitude an unattainable goal, an 

accomplishment only for saints. The habit 

of solitude becomes a virtue we take none 

too seriously because it makes us feel 

uncomfortable, ill at ease, or unsettled. 

But it wasn’t so with Jesus. The Scriptures 

tell us that He chose aloneness at the 

beginning of His public ministry: “Immediately 

the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 

And He was there in the 

wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, 

and was with the wild beasts; and the 

angels ministered to Him” (Mark 1:12, 13). 

After rejoicing in His Father’s audible 

approval at His Jordan River baptism, 

Jesus chose the prolonged quietness of 

the wilderness in which only His Father 

spoke to Him. Before He turned water 

into wine at Cana, Jesus knew in the 

desert that quiet could be turned into 

strength. Before He gave a deaf-mute 

man the power to speak again, Jesus 

chose for Himself a fast from everyday 


words, except perhaps the words He 

whispered to His Father. 

The wilderness experience of Jesus 

underscores for us the differences between 

godly solitude and simple aloneness. Solitude 

was the habit Jesus chose, not just the 

accidental opening that occurred when all 

companions had departed and the crowd 

temporarily couldn’t find Him. Solitude 

doesn’t happen when others leave, but 

when we leave the places where we usually 

work, rest, and play. 

Jesus walked into solitude as a bridegroom 

preparing for a wedding—joyously, 

expectantly—certain that this 

chosen time alone would deepen both 

His joy and His usefulness. Thus we 

find Mark telling us that after Jesus’ 

first recorded day of healing and teaching, 

“in the morning, having risen a 

long while before daylight, He went out 

and departed to a solitary place; and 

there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). This isn’t 

the Man of sorrows we see here, sleepdeprived 

and tortured in spirit. No, this 

is the Son of 

man who found 

in solitude the 

grace and fullness 

from which 

to give unstintingly 

of Himself 

when He chose to be with others. “From 

hours spent alone with God He came 

forth, morning by morning, to bring the 

light of heaven to men.” 4 

It was also in solitude that Jesus 

experienced the conviction that the 

words He chose to speak were important 

and consequential: “The words that 

I speak to you I do not speak on My own 

authority; but the Father who dwells in 

Me does the works” (John 14:10). Solitude 

provided Him the witness that He 

was quoting no one other than His 

Father when He spoke the truth to multitudes 

and to individuals. No human 

Solitude doesn’t happen 

when others leave, but when 

we leave the places where we 

usually work, rest, and play. 

could justly claim that Jesus had borrowed 

their ideas or phrases, or that His 

teaching was originally theirs. Even the 

hardened Temple officers confessed to 

His sworn enemies, “No man ever spoke 

like this Man!” (John 7:46). 

As it did for Jesus, the habit of chosen 

aloneness will offer us a refuge from the 

din of soulless technology and the spin 

of others’ words. It will offer us, as it 

did Him, the certainty that we are offering 

the world something solid, significant, 

and life-saving when we tell the 

Savior’s story. The aloneness that we 

choose—where we are apart from 

everyone else but fully with the 

Father—allows us to reverently say to 

the world what Jesus said: “The words 

that I speak to you are spirit, and they 

are life” (John 6:63). 

The choice of solitude results in 

certitude. 


Certitude 

“Help my unbelief!” the father of a 

tortured boy once pleaded with Jesus 

(Mark 9:24), and in so doing voiced the 

heart cry of so many. 

An old cynicism reminds us that we 

can truly be certain of only two things in 

this life—death and taxes—and loss is 

the common denominator of both. We 

lose health and vigor to age or illness; 

we lose those we love to cancer, 

heart attack, or stroke; we lose savings 

to once-wise investments now 

gone south; we watch paychecks 

shrink to fund an ever-growing government. 

We can be certain, we say, 

only of the negatives—that we can 

never win, that we can never gain, that 

we can never get ahead. 

The pace at which we usually live our 

lives also seems perversely calculated to 

keep us doubtful and uncertain. We race 

through relationships, trying to extract 

what joy we can, and wondering why 

they offer us no deep, abiding sense of 

well-being and groundedness. We flit 

through our devotional time—all wings 

and color—and wonder why we get so 

little from it. Even the Sabbath, God’s 

weekly symbol of deep rest and sweet 

assurance, becomes for some a lengthy 

irritant. “When will the Sabbath be over, 

so we can buy and sell?” we ask repeatedly 

of the clock (see Amos 8:5). 

But Jesus came to free us from the tyranny 

of things we can’t be sure of. “And 

you shall know the truth, and the truth 

shall make you free” (John 8:32), He 

said, underlining the essential connection 

between His Word and the sense of 

deep security He intends His followers 

to know. Certitude is the fortunate experience 

of being sure of the most essential 

truths—truths that change and 

shape our everyday experiences. 

In place of our 

question marks, 

Jesus offers His 

declarations. 

So much of what we have come to 

think of as “normal” in the Christian 

journey—periodic anxiety, at least occasional 

doubt, and restlessness—was 

never in His plan for His disciples, then 

or now. He intended that His Word convey 

to us the blessed certainties of existence—that 

God is love (1 John 4:8); that 

we are loved (1 John 4:16); that we can 

learn to love as God does (1 John 4:21). 

In place of our question marks, Jesus 

offers His declarations: “My peace I give 

to you,” He assured His closest friends, 

“not as the world gives do I give to you” 

(John 14:27). “I have come that they may 

have life, and that they may have it more 

abundantly” (John 10:10), He promises. 

Choicest among the good things He 

offers us is the gift of discovering that 

we are deeply loved—before we are ever 

sorry for our sins; before we ever repent 

and reform; before we ever become useful 

to His kingdom (Rom. 5:8). It is only 

His estimate of our worth that makes 

us begin to believe that we are truly 

valuable, and that our lives have meaning 

beyond what we can get or achieve. 

When we learn that His love for us is 

so deep and vast and different that He 

laid down His life for those He prophesies 

will be His “friends” (John 15:15), 

we discover a new certainty we have 

never previously known. Nothing we 

have ever experienced in this life and 

nothing we can imagine in death can 

ever separate us from a love so broad 

and vast and deep (Rom. 8:38, 39). Even 

death, the greatest threat to human certitude, 

gives up its prizes on that day 

when it “is swallowed up in victory” 

(1 Cor. 15:54). 

Certitude, then, is more than simple 

optimism or righteous wishful thinking. 

Certitude is the habit of the heart in 

which we trust that what God says 

about us is always more true than anything 

we can say about ourselves. When 

His Word tells us that we are great sinners, 

we accept His Word by faith, 

even when we don’t feel ourselves to 

be so very sinful (see Ps. 139:23, 24). 

And when, having confessed and 

forsaken our sins according to His 

Word (1 John 1:9), we still feel condemned 

and guilt-ridden, we place 

our weight upon the righteousness that 

His Word says has actually been 

imputed to us: “And by this we know 

that we are of the truth, and shall assure 

our hearts before Him. For if our heart 

condemns us, God is greater than our 

heart, and knows all things” (1 John 

3:19, 20). 

Ellen White echoes this great truth in 

words we ought to frame for every wall: 

“We need a more firm reliance upon a 

‘Thus saith the Lord.’ If we have this, we 

shall not trust to feeling, and be ruled 

by feeling. God asks us to rest in His 

love. It is our privilege to know the 


Word of God as a sure and tried guide, 

an infallible assurance. Let us work on 

the faith side of the question. Let us 

believe and trust, and talk faith and 

hope and courage.” 5 

Knowing these truths with such certainty, 

we can also face the unknown 

with equanimity, for we have His assurance 

that God is with us, “our refuge 

and strength, a very present help in 

trouble” (Ps. 46:1). Even before we experience 

the deliverance that He has 

promised to all who put their faith in 

Him, we begin to sing as Jehoshaphat’s 

unarmed battalions did the thankful 

songs that celebrate what He is about to 

do: “Praise the Lord, for His mercy 

endures forever” (2 Chron. 20:21). 

The solitude that leads to certitude 

ends up in gratitude. 

Gratitude 

This is the habit of the heart about 

which we think we know the most. Ever 

since we were children, we have been 

routinely saying thank you to somebody—to 

playmates who loaned us toys 

in the sandbox; to classmates who loaned 

us study notes to prep for the big exam. 

By the time we entered the first grade, 

we had already been schooled in the 

basics of politeness—“Please,” “Thank 

you,” and “You’re welcome.” Saying 

thank you was a duty—a civic obligation, 

if you please—expected of everyone 

who didn’t want to be thought 

crude and ill-mannered. We gave our 

parents roses or carnations at graduation 

ceremonies and cards on Mother’s 

Day and Father’s Day, reaching for some 

overwrought words to share the thanks 

they so much longed to hear, especially 

in public. 

But saying thanks isn’t the same 

thing as gratitude, for we can say thank 

you a dozen times a day and still be lacking 

in the grace of gratitude. Truth is, we 

have thanked many a waitress or 

mechanic for their services without 

meaning to be truly grateful: we fully 

intended to forget their chatter or their 

skill once we were fed or on our way 

again. Saying thanks is a cultural saying—a 

phrase, albeit an important one. 

Gratitude, however, is an enduring 

habit, a way of living that often finds 

words but doesn’t actually require them. 

Gratitude is the habit of “thinking with 

admiration” about the one who has given 

us good things—contemplating the qualities 

in them that cause them to be so 

good and generous to us. And when, usually 

some years into our following of 

Jesus, we begin to regularly think with 

reverent admiration about “the Father of 

lights,” from whom comes “every good 

gift and every perfect gift” (James 1:17), 

we have finally identified the Source of all 

that blesses us, enriches us, and makes 

our lives joyful and secure. 

Gratitude is thus not a polite social 

remembrance for things given to us— 

toys, flowers, or graduation gifts—but 

a deep, abiding appreciation for and a 

relationship with the one who has 

It is us and not 

just our thanks 

that He really 

wants. 

done the giving. Gratitude to Jesus 

insists that we pursue a continuing 

relationship with Him. His poignant 

question to the one leper who returned 

after being healed reminds us that it is 

us and not just our thanks that He 

really wants: “Were there not ten 

cleansed? But where are the nine?” 

(Luke 17:17). 

True gratitude may begin with simple 

words such as “thank you,” but it goes on 

to become the habit of our hearts in 

moments too deep and too momentous 

for words. Ellen White reminds us: “God 

would make it impossible for man to say 

that He could have done more. With 

Christ He gave all the resources of heaven, 

that nothing might be wanting in the plan 

for man’s uplifting. Here is love—the contemplation 

of which should fill the soul 

with inexpressible gratitude!” 6 

We sing doxologies not just when the 

offering has been collected, and we 

remember that He owns the cattle on a 

thousand hills (Ps. 50:10). We also 

silently express our gratitude in the 

dark night of hospital wards when we 

find His comfort in the midst of our 

pain (1 Cor. 1:4). Our gratitude becomes 

solid and substantial in the midst of 

private storms when we come to deeply 

trust that “He himself is before all 

things, and in him all things hold 

together” (Col. 1:17, NRSV). 7 

At its heart, gratitude is just another 

word for the affection we always feel 

when we meet the risen Jesus—an 

affection that grows deeper and more 

committed the longer that we journey 

with Him. He gives Himself extravagantly 

to obscure disciples on the road, 

and love reciprocates in hearts that are 

“strangely warmed.” 8 “Did not our 

heart burn within us while He talked 

with us on the road, and while He 

opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 

24:32; see also verses 13-34). It is time 

walking with Jesus that brings us to the 

restful place called Emmaus (“warm 

spring”), and there we learn that this is 

just another name for gratitude. 

The journey that began in solitude 

leads on to certitude and ends in gratitude—which 

leads us back to solitude, 

and to certitude, and so on, and so on, 

until the New Jerusalem itself comes 

into view, and we break bread with Him 

in that life that never has an end. n 

1 

Ellen G. White, Our High Calling (Hagerstown, Md.: 

Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 2000), p. 247. 

2 

All Bible texts are quoted from the New King 

James Version unless otherwise indicated. Texts credited 

to NKJV are from the New King James Version. 

Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. 

Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

3 

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from 

the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 

1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used 

by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol 

Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. 

4 

Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain 

View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 56. 

5 

Ellen G. White, The Upward Look (Washington, D.C.: 

Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1982), p. 37. 

6 

Ellen G. White, Australasian Union Record, April 1, 

1901. 

7 

Bible texts credited to NRSV are from the New 

Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 

1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the 

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 

U.S.A. Used by permission. 

8 

The phrase is originally that of John Wesley, who 

used it to describe the moment of his conversion. 

Bill Knott is the editor and 

executive publisher of 

Adventist Review. 


Adventist Life 

BY PAMELA CONSUEGRA 

Parents in today’s technological 

age are dealing with 

issues that their parents 

never had to face. Social 

media is a cultural change 

that did not enter our world until the 

end of the last century—and it’s not a 

passing fad. Instead, it’s become the 

fabric of our American culture. 

As with many things, technology has 

proved to be both a blessing and a curse. 

We’ve witnessed ruling parties of nations 

overturned, in part, because of the influence 

social media had upon its citizens. If 

it can impact a nation, it surely has an 

impact upon our 

individual families. 

Many 

parents feel 

as if their 

attempts to 

control the 

use of media 

are futile. 

A recent study 

conducted by the 

Institute for 

Advanced Studies in 

Culture 1 revealed 

some startling 

information. Parents 

shared a view indicating 

that the family 

is in decline. This 

decline was attributed, to a large degree, 

to social media. Parents expressed a sense 

of danger to their child that was linked 

directly to the use of technology. Here are 

some of the findings the study revealed: 

• Eighty-four percent of teenagers 

carry a cell phone. 

• Ninety-three percent of teenagers 

are connected to their peers via cell 

phone or online social networking. 

• Seven out of 10 teenagers are texting 

at least once a day, and 64 percent 

are texting multiple times daily. 

• Four out of five teenagers have a 

Twitter, Facebook, or other social networking 

account with which they follow 

and “friend” people whom their 

parents don’t know. 

• Two thirds of teenagers connect 

to their online social networks at least 

several times a week. 

• Sixty-two percent of all parents of 

teenagers say their children “ are constantly 

connected electronically with 

their friends.” 

Another study indicates that the situation 

is actually worse than parents 

report. It shows a disconnect between 

parents’ perceptions and reality. “The 

Online Generation Gap: Contrasting Attitudes 

and Behaviors of Parents and 

Teens,” conducted by Hart Research Associates 

for the Family Online Safety Institute 

(FOSI), 2 found a “generation gap” 

between what parents think they know 

about their kids’ online behavior and 

what the teens say they actually do know. 

In short, this study revealed that parents 

think they have a better handle on their 

kids’ online behavior than they actually 

do. This means that the problem may be 

worse than parents think it is. In fact, 71 

percent of teens say they hide their 

online activity from their parents. 3 

Our children’s lives are infused with • 

contacts, conversations, and information 

that many parents feel are out of their control. 

Parents readily admit that their child 

sees things in media that they should not 

be seeing. Parents have a sense that they 

should, in fact, be doing more; however, 

they’re uncertain as to how to get a handle 

on social media and the digital world that 

has invaded their child’s life. Many parents 

feel as if their attempts to control the 

use of media are futile. 

If parents try to envelop their child 

in a safety net against the influences of 

social media, they are left with 

nowhere for their child to go. After all, 

social media is all around us. There’ s 

no escaping it. So should parents just 

admit defeat? Do we throw up our 

hands and give up? 

A key role of parenting is teaching 

our children to become responsible 

adults. This is not a matter of control; 

it’s a matter of living up to our Godgiven 

responsibility as parents. In so 

doing, we’ll help to ensure their safety 

amid social media frenzy. 

Here are some thoughts to consider: 

Install parental 

control software. 

Teens should never have accounts that 

don’t allow parents complete access. Noth- 


Parenting 

Teens 

in a Digital 

ing should be secret to you regarding your 

children’s online activities. Software is 

available that can be installed on all household 

computers that allows you to retrieve 

a report of your child’s online activity, 

including gaming and pornography. You 

may want to consider Net Nanny, a toprated 

parental control software, which 

sells at a very affordable price. 

Set boundaries and monitor 

use of technology. 

Limit your child’s time on the computer, 

and be sure the computer is 

located in the main part of the house. 

Allowing your children to have computers 

in their rooms may limit your ability 

to monitor their activity and screen 

habits. This may not be a popular move, 

but that is OK. Remember, you have a 

responsibility as a parent to protect 

your children, as well as to teach them 

responsibility and time management. 

Spend time considering what you 

value as a family. Some families have 

decided to ban the television from 

their homes completely, finding the 

merits of television to be minimal. 

Other families have chosen to control 

television usage and programming, 

again reflecting family values. Internet 

access can also be gained directly 

from your television, so setting 

boundaries and monitoring its use is 

vital for this purpose as well. 

Many teenagers can’t seem to put 

down their cell phone. They walk with 

it, eat with it, and lie in bed at night 

World 

talking on it. At times they seem more 

interested in talking or texting on 

their phones than in interacting 

with family and friends in person. 

Texting has gotten out of control 

at every age, and it seems as if 

families can no longer enjoy a 

meal together without texting 

or talking on the phone. Establish 

ground rules for your family—adults 

included—so that 

time to talk, share, and listen are a 

normal part of your family’s interactions. 

Set up “no-texting” times and 

(841) 

25

zones, and be firm on this matter. 

Many have established rules about 

putting cell phones away when they 

come into the home at night; others 

h ave limited the amount of time 

spent on them. Otherwise, if we don’t 

take such measures, technology will 

control our families instead of our 

controlling it. 

Review all social 

media accounts. 

If you as a parent chose to allow your 

teenagers to have a Facebook, Twitter, 

or other social media account, sit down 

with your teens at unannounced times 

on a regular basis and review entries on 

their accounts. This will help you to 

become familiar with sites on which 

your teens are spending their time and 

with whom they’re communicating. 

You’ll learn a lot when you see photos, 

read stories, and ask questions. Many 

parents would be shocked if they knew 

what their teens knew, saw, wrote, and 

read from their friends. 

Supervise access to social 

media at friends’ homes. 

Many parents say 

that even if they control 

social media in 

their own homes, 

their children are 

exposed to it at the 

homes of their 

friends. Perhaps this 

is the easiest issue of 

all to solve: don’t 

allow your child to 

stay overnight or visit 

that friend’s home 

unless you are along. 

This is not harsh; 

remember, you’re the 

parent. 

Model 

responsible 

behavior. 

Perhaps the most 

important element of 

parenting in this digital 

world is being a 

positive role model in 

the way that you yourself use technology. 

Many teens are simply mimicking 

what has been modeled by 

their parents. Too many parents 

operate their lives by the 

premise “Do as I say; not as I 

do.” This is no way to effectively 

teach your children 

appropriate ways to utilize 

social media. 

Parents must model 

moderation in their own 

use of the television, computer, 

and cell phone. Model 

the observance of laws, 

including laws about the use 

of cell phones while driving. 

When your teens get their driver’s 

license, they will imitate the 

model that you have set. If you don’t 

want your child doing it, writing it, or 

watching it, then neither should you. We 

are counseled, “The words and acts of 

the parents are the most potent of educating 

influences, for they will surely be 

reflected in the character and conduct of 

the children.” 4 

Many of the arguments as to how to 

handle social media place too much 

responsibility on the child for their 

own well-being, and this is simply 

unfair and unhealthy. Children need to 

grow up with parents doing their job 

so they don’t have to grow up too 

quickly. A clear distinction must be 

made as to who the parent is and who 

the child is. What is the role of each? In 

essence, the question for many families 

is: Who is in charge? 

Technology has the potential to be a 

valuable contribution to our children’s 

lives if parents allow it to be a tool 

instead of a substitute for real relationships. 

Parents must set boundaries, create 

balance, and teach responsibility. By 

being intentional in our ever-changing 

digital world, parents may greatly reduce 

the likelihood of having regrets. After all, 

every parent wants to know they have 

done all they can do to raise healthy, 

well-adjusted children—not just for life 

here, but more important, for eternity. 

We have a God-given responsibility to 

introduce our children to Jesus. There is 

no work more crucial. Everything our 

children are exposed to should bring 

them closer to their Savior. Perhaps we 

should let Scripture be our filter as we 

navigate through our digital world: 

“Finally, brethren, whatever things 

are true, whatever things are noble, 

whatever things are just, whatever 

things are pure, whatever things are 

lovely, whatever things are of good 

report, if there is any virtue and if there 

is anything praiseworthy—meditate on 

these things” (Phil. 4:8, NKJV). 5 n 

1 

Carl D. Bowman et al., Culture of American Families: 

Executive Report (Charlottesville, Va.: Institute for 

Advanced Studies in Culture, 2012), p. 8. 

2 

Family Online Safety Institute, “The Online Generation 

Gap: Contrasting Attitudes and Behaviors of 

Parents and Teens” (Hart Research Associates, 2012). 

3 

Erik Sass, “Teens Running Circles Around Parents 

on Social Media,” www.mediapost.com/publications/ 

article/177499/teens-running-circles-around-parentson-social-med.html#axzz2b7ubQBJa. 

4 

Ellen G. White, “Education,” Health Reformer, May 1, 

1889. 

5 

Texts credited to NKJV are from the New King 

James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by 

Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights 

reserved. 

Pamela Consuegra is 

associate director of family 

ministries for the North 

American Division of Seventhday 

Adventists. 

26 (842) 

| www.AdventistReview.org | September 19, 2013

Back to Basics 

With All Our Might 

Recently I participated in an extraordinary homecoming at Sligo 

church, where I spent three years as associate pastor for evangelism. It was a grand reunion reminiscent of 

heaven as I reconnected with friends I had not seen in almost two decades and sang of God’s great 

faithfulness. I was dancing in my heart. 

Since joining the Adventist Church more than 30 years ago, I’ve heard the caustic criticism that dancing 

is the sole domain of the devil. But a review of the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy writing shows that there is 

dancing, and then there’s dancing. 

A diligent study of His Word reveals that God loves dancing (see Ps. 149:1-4). He Himself put rhythm 

in our bodies and the beat in our hearts so that when we hear the sweet music of grace, we can respond 

naturally to the cadence of holiness and the melodies of salvation. 

Dancing was a significant part of community life and worship in the Old Testament. Jubilation or 

exuberant rejoicing and singing were always accompanied by dancing to the rhythm of tambourines 

and clapping. This moving expression of commitment was consecrated as part of a Jewish 

wedding ceremony and performed by the groom after vows of fidelity to his bride. It inspired the 

sons of Korah to pen a poem called “A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage” (Ps. 45). 

King David danced vigorously when he restored the ark, despite the denouncement of his wife 

(see 2 Sam. 6:14-16). Ellen White cautions against conjuring images of worldly dancing when we 

read or hear this story.* She wrote that there was nothing in David’s dancing that is comparable to 

or will justify modern dance. The popular dance of our day draws no one nearer to God, nor does it 

inspire us to purer thoughts or holier living. It degrades and corrupts. It unfits men and women for 

prayer or the study of God’s Word, and turns them away from righteousness into ways of revelry. Morals 

are corrupted, time is worse than wasted, and often health is sacrificed. 

David’s dance was an act of sacred worship steeped in gratitude with songs of a nation saved by grace 

through faith in God. It wasn’t some halfhearted moves performed with reluctance like a despised duty. 

It was a dance full of energy and excitement compelled by the Holy Spirit, energizing David from his 

head to the soles of his feet. He was inspired from the depths of his soul to the marrow of his mind. His 

moves were spontaneous with passion as one who is a man after God’s heart and realizes that he is. 

When we perform our religious rituals, we should do them with all our might. Conductors have dislocated 

shoulders while leading orchestras. Singers lose their voice while practicing for a performance. 

Athletes suffer concussions, break bones, and sprain joints while intensely pursuing their sport. But we 

seem to lack the passion or purpose to stretch beyond our natural capacities when we worship the Lord. 

When we sing, we must sing with all our might. When we pray, we must pray with all our hearts. When 

we study Scripture, we must do so with all our mind, soul, and spirit. And when we sense the powerful 

presence of the same Holy Spirit who motivated David to dance, I hope we’ll have the courage to rejoice with 

mind and body. 

The New Testament use of the term agalliao suggests that some of God’s good saints may be in for a great 

surprise. The word describes the passionate dance of a bridegroom. And Jesus did it, despite the dismay of 

His disciples (see Luke 10:17-21, where the word is translated “rejoice”). And the redeemed, it seems, even 

those reluctant to dance on earth, will dance before the Lord at the marriage supper of the Lamb (see Rev. 

19:7-9, where agalliao appears). 

I pray that you’ll be at that great homecoming to shake off the awkward fear that inspires frigid sanctity, 

and dance with Jesus in glory! n 

Hyveth 

Williams 

* 

See Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1890), p. 707. 

Hyveth Williams is a professor of homiletics at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. 


At Rest 

COFFIN, H. Beth Armstrong—b. Dec. 

9, 1922, Tokyo, Japan; d. Jan. 28, 2013, 

Gresham, Oreg. She served as a teacher 

with her husband in Singapore. She is 

survived by one son, David; one daughter, 

Kathy Marshall; four grandchildren; 

and two great-grandchildren. 

DUNDER, George—b. Apr. 30, 1927, 

Dugger, Ind.; d. Nov. 6, 2012, Cicero, Ind. 

He served as principal of Ikizu Secondary 

School (Tanzania) and Maxwell Adventist 

Academy (Kenya). He is survived 

by his wife, A. Virginia; three sons, Terry, 

Neil, and Roger; two sisters, Shirley 

Secrest and Grace Casey; six grandchildren; 

five stepgrandchildren; and five 

great-grandchildren. 

FORD, Venessa Standish—d. Apr. 19, 

2013, Loma Linda, Calif. With her husband 

she served as a missionary in Central 

America, where they established 

schools and churches in Honduras, 

Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, and El Salvador. 

She is survived by two sons, Robert 

and Dan; two daughters, Kathleen 

and Patricia; one sister, Juanita Gosse 

McGann; four grandchildren; and one 

great-grandchild. 

JOHNSON, Tressa C.—b. Aug. 24, 

1913, Avinger, Tex.; d. July 11, 2013, 

Altamonte Springs, Fla. She was 

employed by the Oklahoma Conference. 

She is survived by one son, Johnny 

Johnson. 

KENASTON, Henry, W.—b. May 31, 

1932, Providence, R.I.; d. Apr. 17, 2013, 

Crystal River, Fla. He served as a teacher 

and later as a pastor in 11 conferences. 

He is survived by his wife, Hannelore; 

two sons, John Kevin and Peter; two 

daughters, Clarine Nordell and Resi 

Kowski; and nine grandchildren. 

OWENS, Arthur M.—b. Sept. 13, 1926, 

Ocean Falls, B.C.; d. May 22, 2013, Covelo, 

Calif. He served as a missionary doctor 

in Nigeria. He is survived by his wife, 

Luthea; three sons, Geoffrey, Gregory, 

and Douglas; and one daughter, Cynthia 

Hudson. 

PETERSON, Wesley D.—b. Dec. 28, 

1932, Chamberlain, S.Dak.; d. Mar. 18, 

2013, Moberly, Mo. He served as a 

teacher in several conferences as well as 

in Kenya, Lebanon, and Cyprus. He 

served as associate education superintendent 

in the Rocky Mountain Conference, 

and as education superintendent 

in the Minnesota and Dakota conferences. 

He also served as a pastor in the 

Iowa Conference. He is survived by his 

wife, Lois; one son, Eric; three daughters, 

Kristine Key, Linnaea Swayze, and 

Ingrid Amonette; one brother, Perry 

Peterson; two sisters, Karen Wade and 

Normalie West; eight grandchildren; 

and two great-grandchildren. 

PIERCE, Bruce A.—b. July 13, 1928; 

d. Dec. 4, 2012, Hagerstown, Md. He was 

employed by the Review and Herald 

Publishing Association. He is survived 

by his wife, Doris; and one daughter, 

Judith. 

REICHARD, Paul S.—b. July 18, 1915, 

Macungie, Pa.; d. Feb. 25, 2013, Apopka, 

Fla. He served in treasury at Glendale 

Sanitarium and Hospital, and as vice 

president of finance at Eastern Adventist 

Health System. He is survived by his wife, 

Elda Mae; two sons, Gordon and Richard; 

one daughter, Margaret; two grandchildren; 

and one great-grandchild. 

TATE, Walter—b. June 23, 1925, Richmond, 

Va.; d. Mar. 14, 2013, Bradenton, 

Fla. He served as a literature evangelist. 

He is survived by his wife, Wanda; one 

daughter, Sheri Hoff; two grandchildren; 

and four great-grandchildren. 

VON POHLE, Evelyn A.—b. Nov. 16, 

1911, Sioux Falls, S.Dak.; d. July 16, 2013, 

New Smyrna Beach, Fla. She served in 

the Inter-American Division. She is survived 

by one daughter, Esther Bailey; 

five grandchildren; and eight greatgrandchildren. 


The Life of Faith 

Andy 

Nash 

No One Close: 

The Finest Adventist Author 

My work in Adventist publishing has allowed me to walk with many 

of our church’s most gifted authors. 

Twenty summers ago Adventist Review editor William G. Johnsson welcomed me to a summer internship 

at the Adventist world headquarters. Bill was most of all a father figure—more interested in me than my 

work. But the guy could also write—prolifically. Articles and books flew off his yellow notepad in a single 

draft—his prose crisp like Mark, rich like Hebrews. 

One afternoon Bill suggested I walk over and meet the young associate editor of Liberty, Clifford Goldstein, 

a Jewish novelist turned Adventist apologist. “I think you’ll find Cliff quite interesting,” Bill 

said, smiling. 

Edging around the corner of Goldstein’s office door, I was greeted with a worn pair of proppedup 

shoes and a hand raking through wavy black hair. 

“Oh, you’re interning with Bill Johnsson?” Cliff said, impressed. Then he quickly switched subjects. 

“Here,” he said, “tell me what’s wrong with this.” Groaning the whole time, Cliff (who’d just 

authored Day of the Dragon) read me the awkward opening sentence of another book about lastday 

events. Nervously I identified its problems, passing the test. 

Cliff worked at Liberty under Roland Hegstad, whose strength was his surgeon-like editing. “I 

took a continual beating under Roland for 10 years,” Cliff once told me, “but I didn’t mind because 

I knew he was making me better.” 

Later that summer I visited Insight magazine, where Chris Blake sat looking haggard. “I’m done,” 

he said, sighing. After eight award-winning years and approximately 400 weekly deadlines, he’d hit 

the wall. A convert to Adventism, like Bill and Cliff, Chris moved on to Union College and wrote the 

best-selling Searching for a God to Love. 

And that was just one summer. Through the years I’d be privileged to work with a notebook 

full of gifted Adventist authors who, by God’s grace, create beauty and change lives with 26 letters 

and 12 forms of punctuation. 

But of all the Adventist authors I’ve known and read—and I know they’d agree with me here—one stands 

far above the rest: a girl with a third-grade education, with nineteenth-century limitations, yet with the 

incredible designation of being the most translated American author in history. 

Ellen White is different. She had a special line to God. Why do I believe this? Because I can spend hours 

grappling with a biblical passage, then turn to Ellen White and wonder: How does she do that? Because I can 

travel Israel myself and find her descriptions more vivid than a guidebook’s (she never traveled there). 

Because I can read the authors from whom she borrowed material, and their final package is nowhere close 

to hers. Because she turns our eyes upon Jesus. 

Ellen White’s work is not Scripture. She grew in her understanding of the grace and love of God. 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.” 1 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. 

When you walk inside an Adventist Book Center, you find two types of Adventist books: books by Ellen 

White, and books by other Adventist writers. The other books have value; we’d like you to buy them. But our 

books don’t compare to Ellen White’s. She had a gift we don’t have: the Spirit of Prophecy. 

Ellen White wrote, “From time to time I have been permitted to behold the working, in different ages, of 

the great controversy between Christ, the Prince of life, the Author of our salvation, and Satan, the prince of 

evil, the author of sin.” 2 n 

1 

Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 6, p. 339. 

2 

The Great Controversy (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1911), p. x. 

Andy Nash is the author of The Haystacks Church. He and Cliff Goldstein are leading a tour to Israel in June 2014. Contact 

him at andynash5@gmail.com. 


Reflections 

Climbing the Tree of Life 

One January our family set out to take down Christmas lights from 

the front yard cedar tree. We had hoped one simple tug would send the rest of the upper lights down. But 

it was not that easy, so we were left with two choices: either risk looking like the nutty neighbors that leave 

Christmas lights up until the Fourth of July, or climb that tree and take them down. 

My 11-year-old daughter volunteered to climb first. With all the excitement she possessed, she placed one 

foot in Daddy’s cupped hands, and he lifted her up to the first branch. “Keep your feet close to the base of 

the tree and use the part of the branch that is connected closest to the trunk,” her father instructed her as 

she climbed. We watched in awe at her bravery, but were also concerned for her safety. 

Midway up, the footholds grew smaller. The tree swayed with every movement of her body, and her 

excitement gave way to fear. “Daddy, I’m gonna come down now,” she said, unease in her voice. 

“OK, honey. Use your feet the same way you did going up. I’ll catch you when you get down 

close enough,” my husband replied. When he caught her, I felt relief for her safety, but 

also a sense of pride that my little girl had just gained a lesson in courage. However, we 

still had the problem of the Christmas lights. 

There we were, the three of us looking up at this spindly cedar tree, reviewing our 

peculiar circumstance. Finally I removed my bulky winter clothing and decided I 

would give it a try. 

My husband gave me a boost to the first branch, followed by the same direction 

he had given our daughter. Higher and higher I climbed, until I began to 

feel the swaying of the tree underneath my weight. My husband and daughter 

shouted encouragement to me from the ground: “You’re halfway there, 

Mama!” and “It looks like you’re about there, honey.” Despite the swaying 

and nerves, I reached my destination. My grip tightened on one branch so I 

could untangle the web of lights. After a few minutes I finally released the 

light strand and sent it flying to the lawn below. Although the first part of 

my mission was a success, I was still up the tree! 

“OK, honey, just come down the same way, keeping your feet close to the 

base,” my husband directed. I began my descent, exhaustion already setting 

in. I paused, gripping a branch to take a few deep breaths to regain my strength, 

and then I continued. Nearing the base of the tree, I felt my husband’s arms circle my 

waist. Finally I could let go. 

Some of us have climbed a tree or two as kids and reveled in the opportunity of adventure, 

only to see our kids do the same thing decades later. Whether or not we climb 

literal trees as adults, we daily encounter “trees” in our lives that we must scale. The 

adventure is different, and some of the branches are steadier than others. There’s foliage 

that gets stuck in our hair and bark that breaks away in the climb. Sometimes we’re 

ascending, other times we’re descending, but we keep striving through moments of triumph and moments 

of exhaustion. 

At times it may feel that we don’t have anyone guiding us through the twists and turns life throws our 

way. We forget the concept of rest—of letting go and giving it all to Him. We feel the worst thing would be 

to fall, forgetting He can use every broken branch as a lesson in trusting Him. I think my daughter said it 

best: “Isn’t it the best feeling when Daddy catches you in his arms?” One day I look forward to seeing her 

climb heaven’s tree of life all the way to the top. n 

© terry crews 

Heather Vandenhoven is a freelance writer from northern California, where she lives with her husband 

and daughter.

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