Clicktivist to Activist
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Edi<strong>to</strong>rials<br />
Bill<br />
Knott<br />
Each edition<br />
shines with<br />
clarity and<br />
grace.<br />
Go Ask Erica<br />
Jack and Marcia stand beside the shepherd at the sanctuary<br />
door, eyes alight with holy joy, hair still damp from the still waters of the baptistry. Erica, not quite<br />
4 and resplendent in her favorite purple dress, dances around them excitedly, knowing only that<br />
something big is happening and that she and her parents are at the center of it.<br />
The line of church members greeting the newly baptized couple at the exit is deliberately slow.<br />
This isn’t a moment <strong>to</strong> be rushed. The congregation hasn’t witnessed the baptism of an undivided<br />
family in six years, and there is—even though this is an Adventist church—an unmistakable<br />
mood of celebration.<br />
* * * * * *<br />
Jack and Marcia take the off-ramp from the interstate on their way <strong>to</strong> the Saturday “Price-<br />
Buster Day” at the Eastfield shopping mall. Erica, suddenly alert, points excitedly out the rear<br />
passenger window as the Camry passes within hailing distance of the modest brick church. “Are<br />
we going <strong>to</strong> Sabbath school, Daddy? Are we, are we?” she squeals in anticipated delight. “It’s been<br />
so long, Mommy. And I wonder if my favorite lamb is still there—you know, the one with the<br />
brown nose? Why don’t we go there anymore?”<br />
* * * * * *<br />
It is the least-acknowledged fact of our life <strong>to</strong>gether, the <strong>to</strong>pic we would rather not discuss.<br />
Fully 25 percent of those who join our fellowship by baptism or profession of faith have disappeared<br />
within the first 12 months of membership, taking with them their hope, their joys, and<br />
gifts the Spirit intended us <strong>to</strong> have.<br />
“It’s just the price of doing the Lord’s business,” someone says in explanation. “You win some;<br />
you lose some. It’s that way in every human enterprise.”<br />
“No church bats 1,000 percent,” another quickly adds. “It’s not our fault that they fell away<br />
from faith and s<strong>to</strong>pped coming <strong>to</strong> church. They probably never really unders<strong>to</strong>od what they were<br />
doing in the first place. Being an Adventist isn’t always easy, you know.”<br />
All of which seems remarkably clear-eyed and sensible, unless your name is Jack or Marcia—or<br />
Erica. So long as we continue <strong>to</strong> congratulate ourselves on the fact that most of the flock is still<br />
intact, we will not sorrow overmuch when some wander off and get lost; when wolves pick off the<br />
stragglers or the doctrinally unsure; when chairs go empty and woolly lambs remain unloved in<br />
the Kindergarten room. We did the best we could.<br />
Really?<br />
Among the ways of caring for the newest members of the church is a highly effective way of<br />
bringing all that Adventism has <strong>to</strong> offer <strong>to</strong> their mailboxes every week. For 15 years, thousands<br />
of generous Review readers have been sponsoring a one-year subscription—36 faith-filled, hopeinspiring<br />
issues—<strong>to</strong> those who have just joined this movement. Each edition shines with clarity<br />
and grace—with news, and Bible study, and s<strong>to</strong>ries of God’s everyday salvation.<br />
The New Believer plan takes your $15 gift, matches it with gifts from other ministry partners,<br />
and helps thousands of the “youngest” members of the flock find their feet in those challenging<br />
first months. Those who experience that kind of steady, strong support through this magazine<br />
and from fellow members invariably stay.<br />
One hundred dollars blesses six; $500 blesses 33. One thousand dollars keeps the equivalent of<br />
a small church—67 new believers—safely in the fold.<br />
Not those we win . . . but those we keep. That’s how the Shepherd counts His sheep.<br />
Send your gift of any size in the attached envelope by Christmas, and we’ll send you a KEEP HIS<br />
SHEEP lapel pin <strong>to</strong> wear with joy—and commitment. Send a love gift of $100, and we’ll send you<br />
a copy of Bradley Booth’s new book, Showers of Grasshoppers and Other Miracle S<strong>to</strong>ries From Africa, <strong>to</strong><br />
thank you for your caring.<br />
Are these new believers worth it?<br />
Go ask Erica. n<br />
6 (1030) | www.AdventistReview.org | November 21, 2013