Thursday, December 31, 2015
Sunday, December 27, 2015
The Ted N.C. Wilson Post: his sermon at my church.
Ted N.C. Wilson Speaks at Berean Church Today
THE BUILD-UP: EARLY SABBATH SCHOOL
The early bird, 8:30 am Sabbath School at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church is conducted by Elder Douglas Wright, usually with an assist by Elder Jimmy Essex. It commences before the sound technicians arrive, so Elder Wright provides his own, a microphone and amp. Today’s service was such a special event, however, the sound team was in place by 8:30. Shy folk, like myself, who lurk in the back of the sanctuary could clearly hear the lesson. Elder Essex prefaced his Thanksgiving themed remarks by asking if anyone had a testimony to share. Sister Perdue had one. Brother Long thanked God for seeing him through a difficult year. Then Elder Wright himself made an extended remark.
Elder Wright said he could make a testimony every day. On five occasions in his life he should have been killed. Once the car he was in was flattened by a passenger train. All he suffered was a scratch on the ear. He commented on the current buzz over immigration. “They say we should stop all the people from other nations from coming here, all out of fear. Fear applied to God means ‘respect.’ Why do we want to put up walls, barriers, carry guns? Is that respect? If we show love one to another, we will be like Him.”
Elder Jimmy Essex expounded upon the theme of thanks. He quoted from and commented upon one of his favorite Psalms, number 100. This psalm, edited and set to music, furnishes the lyrics to a song that is a reliable component of every Sabbath service at Berean. “Come Before His Presence,” words and music by Richard Smallwood. This link to YouTube features a sedate, extended performance. At Berean the song comes across as a short, triumphant anthem that accompanies the entry of the pastoral staff and selected Elders into the sanctuary, in order of seniority. This infallible part of the service used to be described in the program as the “Introit,” but it is such a fixture they no longer bother to mention it. When it kicked off the 11:00 am service, I expected to see Pastor Fredrick Russell leading the procession, as usual. I was temporarily taken aback to see, instead, Ted N.C. Wilson leading the group. He definitely has seniority. But I am getting ahead of myself. At the end of early Sabbath school I was fortunate to have as my prayer partner the indefatigable Brother Roderick Long.
THE PRELUDE: SABBATH SCHOOL
Every Seventh-day Adventist on the planet, all 19 million I suppose, studied the same lesson this morning. Lesson 8 in the study guide focusing on the prophet Jeremiah is entitled “Josiah’s Reforms.” Elder Jimmy Essex is the teacher in the class I attend. His knowledge of scripture is extensive. An occasional attendee, Brother Harper, showed up today. Brother Harper know
is even more than Elder Essex, as he has been studying the Word an additional couple of decades.
One of the questions raised in the lesson and by the class was this: with all of the undesirable
attributes most of the Israelite kings displayed, how is it that Josiah managed to be a good king? Here is a partial quote from Ellen G. White (from “Prophets and Kings,” page 400), making her first, but not her last, impact upon the course of the day: “…the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation; and Josiah, discerning in this a willingness on the part of God to temper His judgements with mercy, determined to do all in his power to bring about decided reforms.”
A paragraph in the lesson book caught my attention, as I am currently revisiting the subject of church aesthetics. It begins with a reference to the beauty of the Temple, and winds up as follows: “History is replete with the sad stories of people who one minute were ‘worshiping’ in some beautiful church somewhere and the next minute were walking out and committing some atrocity, which was perhaps even instigated by what they learned inside that beautiful structure.” This statement is quite a harsh indictment of the bad influence false doctrine can have!
THE MAIN EVENT: DR. WILSON”S SERMON
To view the entire service (a good investment of your valuable time) you need simply click right here. All I ever do is hit the high points, and append marginally relevant asides.
President Ted. N.C. Wilson’s sermon was introduced by Dr. Jiri Moskula, Dean of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. President Wilson was attended today by what must have been at least 100 Adventist theologians and professors, in Atlanta for a convention of the Adventist Theological Society. I was sandwiched between two of them during the service. The service begins at 11:00 am. A seminar had been scheduled for 2:00 pm. This plan did not take into account just how protracted a service at Berean may become.
Dr. Moskula provided some interesting tidbits about President Wilson, who has been trotting the globe since his infancy. Dr. Wilson spent part of his childhood in Egypt, and can speak Arabic as a result. He can also converse fluently in French. He is a second generation Adventist President (a dynasty, kind of like the Grosvenor family at National Geographic), his father having served before him. Dr. Moskula presented seven topics that President Wilson emphasizes:
- Christ
- Unity
- Evangelism
- Mission to the cities
- The health message
- Daily reading in the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy
- Importance of prayer
The introduction also noted that President Wilson plays the clarinet, and sings in a quartet. He has a near infallible memory for names (President Kennedy, in contrast, had practically no memory for names; a functionary stood by his side at receptions whose job was to remind him). He has been married for forty years and has three daughters (just like Job), and is, fundamentally, a man of the Word. This set the stage for the sermon, one entitled “God’s Sure Word.”
Here the Inspirational Voices of Berean, under the direction of capable Luther Washington II, sang two songs. The first of these was “My Jesus I Love Thee,” pretty, inspirational, and expertly arranged and executed, but also the kind of thing you can hear anywhere. The second song, however, reflected more of the Berean (or more precisely, Oakwood University) character that is not mainstream, and should have made the service more memorable to the distinguished guests. The title is “My Soul’s Been Anchored in the Lord.” There is no version on the net as fine as the one performed today, so I can only offer again the link to the entire service, where you may find the song at marker 1:31:00. Check out time marker 1:44:45 for President Wilson’s recognition of 98 year old Dr. Richard Tottress, a classmate of Wilson’s father at Pacific Union. I gushed about Dr. Tottress a few days ago on the post entitled “Thanksgiving 1, and a Distinguished Elder.”
President Wilson offered a few prefatory remarks before jumping into the main body of his sermon. He lauded the aforementioned song, and said that it had, for all purposes, completed the worship service. He noted that Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church is the second largest non-institutional Adventist church in the world. He praised the church, Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy (hosts for a get-together the previous evening), and Atlanta itself, site of the General Conference 5 1/2 years ago. He complemented three elderly Adventists, including Dr. Tottress.
My experience at Berean belies it’s 4000+ plus membership. For starters, not more than half show up for church. The heart of the church is a nucleus of maybe 200 dedicated people. My Community Service family is like a church within a church. I do not feel lost in the throng.
Last Sabbath’s post reported Pastor Fredrick Russell’s emphasis upon the Word. This Sabbath’s sermon was also focused on the Word of God. Pastor Wilson stated that “the Devil has always hated God’s Word, and will do everything to thwart the living out of Bible principals in your life.” Recent events such as the massacre in Paris were deemed points in an end time checklist. “We are living in the last times,” he said. Ineffective government. Bad morals. The economy a house of cards. He said hermeneutical (I had to look this one up) application to scripture displays this. He quoted some of the keynote verses his address was based upon: II Peter 1:15-21: the Bible is not a cunningly devised fable, (vs. 16), the benefits of prophecy (vs. 19), as well as the inapplicability of private interpretation to scripture (vs. 20). The later precipitated an allusion to the dubious practice of “higher criticism.” The theologians in attendance knew what he meant. Pastor Wilson advocated the “historical Bible approach,” and quoted from Ellen G. White’s “Testimony to the Church:” “We must accept the Bible as it reads.
”
This mention of Ellen G. White was attended by the mildest of disclaimers. Pastor Wilson is one of her biggest fans. He said that Adventists do not place the works of Sister White with the canonical writings. It is a lesser light. But both she and scripture were inspired by the same source.
Pastor Wilson made a few autobiographical remarks about his personal Bible. He was currently using the New King James Version. One of his old King James Versions was ruined by water in the Congo. It’s replacement was lost in South Africa. He said he received a waterproof Bible in Brasilia, product of an evangelist who wished to minister to surfers. This is my cue to scratch up an image of Brasilia, it’s church in particular, a masterwork of modernism by architect Oscar Niemeyer (who, like his mentor Le Corbusier, did not let their communist sympathies keep them from designing houses of worship). The Niemeyer link is to his New York Times obituary. He lived to be as old as an Adventist, 104 years.
Now Pastor Wilson asked a rhetorical question: “In an age of existentialism are we still known as “People of the Book?” A gloss upon rebellious peoples, based upon Numbers chapter 16 was planned for this portion of the sermon, featuring Korah and Abiram (another Bible episode ripe for a musical treatment). But Pastor Wilson, who I figured had pretty much seen it all, was nonetheless surprised at how far the day had progressed. There would be no illustration. We would have to settle for a reference only.
Pastor Wilson now said some courteous things about Bereans from Acts 17:10-11: ” …These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word in all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” He quoted Ellen G White in regard to the virtues of Bereans. A variety of her statements may be viewed by clicking this White Estate link.
Now Pastor Wilson cautioned against emotionalism (I have lamented this in a September 27 post entitled : Church Yesterday. TV Church Today. I even had the nerve to question Sister White’s elevation of music to the level of preaching). Pastor Wilson informed us that “feelings can lie, but God’s Word never lies.” A very Victorian remark from Ellen G, White was cited in regard to the dangers that lurk in popular art forms: “Thousands are in the asylum from reading novels.” Amen! There are thousands of books that I dearly wish I had never read.
Pastor Wilson compared the wisdom and riches of the Bible to a “pearl of great price.” He related a story about an ancient Greek farmer who told his sons, on his deathbed, that he had buried his treasure somewhere in the fields. After he died, his sons dug and dug until all of the land was well tilled. A bountiful harvest was the real treasure the late father had alluded to. Our greatest treasure: Jesus Christ our Lord. Another story related the life and death of Constantine’s nephew and successor, Julian the Apostate. His final words yielded the empire from his pagan grip back to the Christian fold. Below is a quote from Wikipedia about this remark:
Considered apocryphal is the report that his dying words were νενίκηκάς με, Γαλιλαῖε, or Vicisti, Galilaee (“You have won, Galilean, supposedly expressing his recognition that, with his death, Christianity would become the Empire’s state religion).
Pastor Ted N.C. Wilson’s last challenge to the congregation: “Be a Berean. If you wish to commit yourself to being a Berean, join me in standing to sing…”
Consistent with the day’s emphasis on the Word of God, the closing hymn was Wonderful Words of Life.
I hope that this gloss will motivate you to view the entire service, or at the very least, Pastor Wilson’s sermon. Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church excelled in playing the role of host this morning. But I am not an impartial observer.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
December 26 Sermon, Berean SDA Church. Watch It! Don't just read about it!
Sabbath Sermon: “You Gotta Have To Want To!”
As I walked into the early-bird Sabbath School lesson at Berean SDA Church this morning, the facilitator, Elder Wright, was reflecting upon the many names by which God is referred to. The list prompted him to reflect upon a recent encounter he had with a pair of missionaries from a denomination that prefers to use the name “Jehovah.”
Elder Wright greeted the two Witnesses at his front door. They asked him if he wanted to discuss the Bible. Elder Wright replied as follows: “Anytime anyone wants to talk about the Bible, I am ready.” The missionaries asked the Elder, “had he had ever read John 17:3?” Elder Wright quoted it to them from memory, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Elder Wright then added one of his favorite passages, First John 2:3-4 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. We are of God: he that knows God hears us; he that is not of God hears not us. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”
The emissaries of Jehovah probably felt as if they were in water that was over their heads. Perhaps, like the Queen of Sheba before Solomon, there was “no more spirit” in them. Rather than continue to hold a tiger by the tail, they chose to back down, saying, “We respect you for the things you have to say, and will see you next time.” I know it is a vanity to refer to my own song lyrics, but it put me in mind of a line from the irritating composition “Street Preacher.” Afraid that Elder Wright’s citations might “strike a chord, for comfort’s sake they left the word ignored.”
This morning I was trying to familiarize myself a little with the legacy of Soren Kierkegaard. He is hailed as the “Father of Existentialism,” but I am more interested in his attitudes toward Christianity. A few points tie him in with this week’s Sabbath School lesson. Jeremiah had a bone to pick with the errant Hebrews of his day. The first page of the lesson mentions Jeremiah’s struggle against “empty and dead rituals that can leave people in a false state of complacency.” Kierkegaard devoted the last years of his short (but productive) life to a struggle against the established church of his day. Some commentators feel that his attacks may have gone overboard, but Kierkegaard, like Jeremiah before him, did not allow criticism to diminish his zeal.
The Monday lesson, “Ritual and Sin,” repeats the introduction’s warning about the pitfalls of institutionalized worship. Jeremiah 7:9-10 describes the lifestyle of many who only claim to be Christian, a hypocritical blending of unabated worldly sin combined with regular appeals to God for forgiveness. This phenomenon will probably exist until the Second Coming. Jeremiah observed it in Israel, Kierkegaard was highly offended by it in nineteenth century Copenhagen. People I know right now cite hypocrisy as the reason they are not interested in joining a church.” My church isn’t like that,” I reply to them.
The lesson mentions “cheap grace.” Adventists strive to not be just another group of two-faced dabblers. As a Sabbath School classmate of mine one stated, “Christianity is not an easy religion.” Kierkegaard, as well, was not about to let anyone slack off. He believed that suffering, and absolute commitment, are both indispensable components of being a Christian. The Christian is obliged to imitate Christ,
The 13 week lesson ends with an analogy between the “remnant” of Hebrews the Babylonians left in Jerusalem and the “remnant” spoken of in Revelation. The source of the analogy is Ellen White herself. This LINK is to page 466 of her book “Prophets and Kings,” source of the quotation, but the print is too tiny to read on my bargain-basement screen.
I have read Jeremiah a few times. One episode that sticks in my mind is in 38:6, where the prophet is lowered, as punishment, into a muddy pit. An Ethiopian eunuch (Ebedmelech) intercedes with the king on Jeremiah’s behalf, securing his removal to a more humane location. The Ethiopian issues instructions to Jeremiah as to how he is to be elevated, by cords, from the narrow place he is in. 38:12: “…put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes…” Speaking English was a lot more fun in King James’s day.
Here are a few parting fragments from the Book of Jeremiah, highlighted in yellow by myself in a disintegrating Gideon Bible:
- 6:14: “They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
- 9:23-24 (cited in Lesson 7 “Let Him Who Boasts…”): Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”
- 11:19 (This one seemed kind of prophetic to me): “But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter, and I knew not that they had devised devices against me…”
- 12:8: “Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.”
- 15:17: “I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.”
- 17:7-8: “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters…”
- 17:9 ( So famous it had to have been in the lessons somewhere): “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
- 19:5 (God speaking, rather colloquially): “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”
- 22:29: “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.”
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.”
You need read no further, for here, as usual, is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. Pastor Boyd’s sermon commences at time marker 1:06:50.
Pastor Tyrone Boyd is currently Pastor at both Dallas Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church and Agape Fellowship Seventh-day Adventist Church., both located in the Lone Star State. He is also involved in Prison Ministry, and it was mentioned that he is Florida State Chaplain Services Administrator, as noted in this LINK to a Florida newspaper article on this activity
.
The geographic dispersal of Pastor Boyd’s talent is no more remarkable than our local mega-preacher Creflo Dollar pastoring churches in both the New York and Atlanta areas, but I suspect Pastor Boyd fills his multiple roles without using a $70,000,000 jet, as described in this LINK. I was intrigued that he hails from the Dallas, Texas area. If there is such a thing as a “Bible Belt,” then Dallas may be it’s buckle. A lot of churches in Dallas are into energetic evangelism, and some are fortunate to have access to the funds these efforts require. Some of them sink a lot of dough into building programs, too. Robert Jeffress, pastor at First Baptist Church, Dallas TX, was trying to raise millions for an expansion to the church’s downtown facility, and doing this when the economy was bad. He explained to potential donors that money spent on construction during a recession went a lot further than money spent when times were flush. It was an ingenious appeal, and the result can be seen at this LINK, one which bills it as “the largest church building project in modern history.” When I was working on the South Charlotte Baptist Church project, a member of the congregation remarked, “we want to give the pastor (retired Charlie Scott) what he wants.” Pastor Jeffress not only got what he wanted ($130,000,000 worth), but is being hailed as a hero for not abandoning the Dallas central business district for the suburbs.
I will present the conclusion to the sermon in this place, as it will help keep the reader oriented during the brief course of my summary. THE KEY TO THE HEALING WAS THE LAME MAN”S BELEIF IN JESUS. Knowing this conclusion will not spoil the experience of viewing the sermon on video. Pastor Boyd’s preaching style, like that of Berean’s own Pastor Austin Humphreys, is dramatic and forceful, and words (particularly my words) cannot do it justice. Pastor Boyd stated, at the outset of the sermon, that he did not intend to make an appeal to our “reason.”
Pastor Boyd began his sermon by recalling to his listeners one of the recurrent themes of the Gospel of John: Jesus is the “life.” Pastor quoted from John 14:6 , “I am the way and the truth and the…” He paused for a split-second in order for the congregation to respond, “life!” He tested our memories with a few other verses, but as the missing word continued to be “life,” we were all made into instant Bible scholars. Regarding Adventism, the pastor made this statement: “I love this church, but our faith is often a rational, intellectual faith.” He added that he did not mean that we should check our brain at the door, but noted that if we filtered everything we heard through “common sense,” then our faith would become only what our intellect allowed.
This recognition that the “heart” has an even larger role to play than the “head” in our spiritual makeup reminded me of one of Dr. Emil Peeler’s Berean sermons, mentioned briefly in a previous post, “Revival Report,” regarding the meaning of the Hebrew word Hallel (crazy, over-the-top). Here is a sentence from the post: “This Hebrew word forms part of “hallelujah.” Dr. Peeler Instructed us that Psalm 34 calls for extravagant, uninhibited praise, as if we were loosing our minds.”
Out of the large group of sufferers that lay poolside, Jesus, all knowing, selected one for His query, “Wilt thou be made whole?” The pastor feels that Jesus was aware of the lame man’s thirty years of simply hanging out. There may have been nothing in the lame man’s attitude that indicated that he even wanted to get up. The pastor hypothesized that he may have even been “comfortable” with his sickness. Pastor interjected a personal observation, saying that he was “tired of disturbing people who like it where they are. Some people are determined to stay in their beds.” (This is kind of a looney reference, but In a legendary fit of reclusiveness, Beach Boy Brian Wilson spent several years in bed.) The pastor said that these “bedridden” folk may wish for air-conditioning, or a big-screen T.V., but were basically happy with their lot. In an aside, the pastor pointed out that there were people who blamed all of their current difficulties on things they did NOT used to have.
Pastor Boyd related that, thirty years ago, he learned from the “Spirit of Prophecy” about Ellen White’s advocacy of “primitive Godliness.” Here is a LINK to part of an Ellen G. White work, “Modern Revivals,” that mentions “primitive Godliness” in section 464 as a fruit of revival. The pastor said “if we are going to survive, we are going to need simple faith.” (This LINK is to a Wikipedia article on the Shaker song “Simple Gifts,” used as a theme by Aaron Copeland in his composition “Appalachian Spring.” Like, “Go Tell It On the Mountain,” I can’t think of this tune without hearing hammered dulcimers in my head.)
The pastor said that the lame man needed to “believe” in order to be healed. This word, “believe,” was the common denominator in an extended statement of the pastor’s beliefs. It was an effective bit of oratory. Accompanied by the music of “If You Will Only Trust Him,” (by Richard Smallwood) this brought the sermon to it’s conclusion. The variations on “believe” begin in the YouTube LINK at time marker 1:37:00 (My head is visible at 1:27:04! Fame, Andy Warhol style.) Viewing the service again, I am made aware of how these synopses of mine pale when compared to the real thing. But perhaps all of this verbiage can serve as an internet vector, drawing strangers to an acquaintance with the significant activity at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta.
Guest Pastor Tyrone Boyd’s closing words neatly tied up the presentation. “Don’t tell me about your common sense.” He quoted Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” His words again, a final restatement of the keyword, “You have got to believe!” A last verse from scripture, from Luke 18:8 (partial): “when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Church of God in Christ- Official Policies Concerning Adventism
The Church of God in Christ: Pentecostals
Having worked with dozens of denominations in the course of my church design career, I have always been interested in the similarity and differences between them. Bigger does not always mean better.
The current number of Seventh-day Adventists in the world is 19,000,000. Fundamental Belief #22, “Christian Behavior,” reads in part: “.. our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty.” Glosses on this statement exclude an awful lot of stuff, but if the Adventists can forgive my bad taste in music, then I strongly assert that I am an Adventist. The Sabbath is the Sabbath, and this point (Fundamental Belief #20) should not generate the least bit of controversy. Some esoteric theological points such as “Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary” (Fundamental Belief #24) are not particularly important to the man on the street looking for a good church home.
For many of my acquaintances, prospects for Adventism, a stumbling block exists in the form of Fundamental Belief #18, “The Gift of Prophecy.” The Bible asserts that there are indeed prophets walking among us. Brother Harper, a Sabbath School classmate of mine (and an Adventist to the core), recently stated that Ellen G. White was the last prophet. I think he may be confusing her with Muhammed (peace be upon his soul). This Ellen G. White Estate link clarifies this issue somewhat.
Before, during, and after my signing on as an Adventist. I have been immersed in a spiritual cauldron of prophecy and it’s fullfilment. Regarding Ellen G. White, I believe that she is supplementary to, and not a substitute for, the Bible. I believe her to be a prophet, but assuredly not the last one in history (although terrestrial history will not last much longer). To reiterate a line from my song, “SDA,” “I believe it for I also have had visions.” I have not had to consult any preachers or theologians in regard to this attitude, for it is stark and unambiguous reality to me. My current situation represents the perfect realization of a prophecy communicated to me thirty years ago, I have hardly lifted a finger to attain the wonderful life that I now enjoy. It was a promise made by God, and subsequently, perfectly fulfilled by God. You may consider the last few sentences to be a testimony. I am pretty certain that my non-negotiable views on the matter of modern prophecy can peacefully co-exist with Adventist policy.
ANOTHER RARE AND EXOTIC DENOMINATION: CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST, 6,000,000+ ENTHUSIASTS!
My personal research library for African-American studies is the West End Goodwill Store. It is just down the road from the Atlanta University Center, and a lot of rare and esoteric reading material winds up there that can be bought for a pittance. I thought I was buying a 1973 Official Manual of the relatively mainstream “Church of Christ,” (I am intrigued by their distaste for musical instruments) but when I got home discovered that it contained instead the Doctrines and Disciplines of the “Church of God in Christ.”
It is a predominately Black denomination. According to Wikipedia, “it is the largest Pentecostal denomination and the fifth largest Christian denomination in the U.S.” It was formed in Mississippi in 1897 by a group of disenfranchised Baptists ( C.P. Jones, C.H. Mason and others), and was influenced by the “holiness movement.” It got in on the ground floor of the Pentecostal movement when, in 1906, leader C.P. Jones sent a delegation to the historic Azusa Street Revival in Los Angeles. As a result, the denomination believes that “speaking in tongues” is a required manifestation of having received the Holy Spirit. Jimmy Swaggart‘s church shares this belief (this link to his Wikipedia bio does not mention the magnitude of his recent comeback, but his website probably does).
I have been hearing references to the Azusa Street Revival for the last twenty years. Pentecostals regard this event as a second Pentecost. Here are the words to a song about Pentecost which only exists in embryonic form. “Mesopotamia” gets rhymed with the made-up word “name-i-a,” a Ray Stevens inspired bit of foolishness.
Pentecost
One of the
8 Last things that Jesus told us, was to
8 Tarry in Jerusalem town, until the
8 Power of the Holy Ghost descended, until
8 Cloven tongues of fire were coming down.
8 Last things that Jesus told us, was to
8 Tarry in Jerusalem town, until the
8 Power of the Holy Ghost descended, until
8 Cloven tongues of fire were coming down.
8 Fifty days had passed, and out of Heaven, came a
8 Sound just like a rushing mighty wind, then
8 Fire appeared to sit on everybody. The
8 Holy Spirit started to descend. Now
8 Sound just like a rushing mighty wind, then
8 Fire appeared to sit on everybody. The
8 Holy Spirit started to descend. Now
8 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites,
8 People from Mesopotamia, Ju-
8 daeans, Cappadocians, from Pontus, from Asia, just a-
8 bout anywhere that you could name-i-a. From
8 People from Mesopotamia, Ju-
8 daeans, Cappadocians, from Pontus, from Asia, just a-
8 bout anywhere that you could name-i-a. From
8 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, from
8 Egypt, from Libya round Cyrene,
8 Romans, Jews, Cretans and Arabians, could
8 Understand precisely what you mean.
8 Egypt, from Libya round Cyrene,
8 Romans, Jews, Cretans and Arabians, could
8 Understand precisely what you mean.
16 The Lord was
8 Pouring out His Spirit on all flesh, to e-
8 quip believers for the task at hand, to go
8 Witness in Samaria and Judea, and
8 Then beyond to every far-flung land. The
8 quip believers for the task at hand, to go
8 Witness in Samaria and Judea, and
8 Then beyond to every far-flung land. The
8 Languages confounded back at Babel, were
8 Unconfounded so we could proclaim, that what was
8 Torn apart, is now together, to ar-
8 ticulate the power of His name.
8 Unconfounded so we could proclaim, that what was
8 Torn apart, is now together, to ar-
8 ticulate the power of His name.
The remarkable occurrences at on Azusa Street were initiated by William J. Seymour. He started life’s journey as a Louisiana Roman Catholic. In his early twenties he made an Exodus away from his benighted southern homeland. He was “born again” in Indianapolis at an AME Zion church. He was exposed to the “holiness” movement, and also to some advanced views on racial integration, at a seminary in Cincinnati. He dipped back into the south long enough for a meeting with “holiness” patriarch Charles Price Jones in Jackson, Mississippi, before moving on to Houston to spend a brief, but influential, six weeks with Charles Fox Parham , a pioneer of Pentecostalism (who, like Swaggart, was compromised by a scandal).
Mr. Seymour moved to LA in 1906, where the Spirit descended, and an influential new (or old) movement was born (or reborn). The revival Mr. Seymour initiated was open to women and non-blacks. Parham came for a visit from Houston, and was scandalized by the exuberance and racial integration that was on display. He also felt (as do many Adventists) that when a person speaks in tongues, it ought to be in a recognizable language. The Azusa crowd countered that they were speaking a language intelligible only to God. Some modern Pentecostals (like Swaggart’s operation) claim that they are speaking a real language, but it may be so rare, or obsolescent, that no one present can understand it. All I can say is this: with God all things are possible. I believe that Pentecostals are regularly filled with the Spirit, but do not feel that speaking in tongues is a required stamp of divine approval.
All of this forms the background for the creation of the Church of God in Christ. Here is a link to the denomination’s website. Andrea Crouch was associated with this denomination. This fact is not quite as surreal as the association of Little Richard with Adventism. It is headquartered in Memphis, a place that, for it’s size, seems to be associated with an awful lot of history. It requires it’s members to live a holy life, apart from the sinful mainstream of this world.
It shares many common traits with Adventism. An insistence upon speaking in tongues, however, and Sunday worship, are two prominent differences. I feel as if the two denominations may be competing for the same demographic to convert. The Church of God in Christ Official Manual specifically condemns five competitors: Jehovah’s Witnesses (not a close relative at all, but demanding a similar level of commitment), Roman Catholics (an aversion shared by Adventists), Unity and Apostolic faiths, and, last, but not least, Seventh-day Adventists. Like Muslims, I think they reserve their greatest animosity for their closest relations, but the objections they raise to Adventism seem half-hearted, and not so very condemnatory.
The “General Rules of Order,” found in Part 3 of the Church of God in Christ Official Manual contains this statement: “…anyone who teaches doctrine contrary to the Church of God in Christ should be dealt with according to Titus 3:10.” This biopsy from the Scriptures reads as follows: “A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject.” They enumerate six heresies that Adventists are purported to teach.
- “The sinful nature of Jesus while in the flesh.” Here is a link to Ellen G. White’s observations on the human nature of Christ. I will initially offer the passage of scripture everyone knows, Hebrews 4:15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” This does not seem to require a gloss in order to be made comprehensible. It is the bedrock upon which Ellen G. White’s referenced analysis is erected. Jesus knew all men, but remained “yet without sin.”
- “The atonement was not completed when Christ suffered and bled on Calvary.” My kneejerk reaction to this is to remember Christ’s words on the cross, from John 19:30: “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” Here is another good link that makes hash of this spurious accusation by the Church of God in Christ.
- “Eternal life is only a future hope.” When I was being recruited into Adventism, my Bible instructor, Mrs. Mae Williams, cited many instances of scriptural verification of what was once quaintly referred to as “soul sleep.” As long as we eventually reach our destination, we should not obsess over any intermediate steps. Ellen G. White’s views on this matter were received from George Storrs. The unconscious state of the dead is clear from scripture, but the Church of God in Christ cites John 5:24 in order to refute this: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” I am no theologian, but If I wanted to pass from Chattanooga to Paris, I would still be required to layover at the Atlanta airport. The much larger, and groundbreaking insight of George Storrs, that regarding the fact that eternal life is not a universal destination, is mentioned in the following link, but is not mentioned by the Church of God in Christ.
- “Eternal life is obtained by one’s ‘perfect obedience’ to the law of Moses.” Adventists draw a distinction between “ritual law” (now superseded) and “moral law” (still enforced). One of my denomination’s favorite citations from the Bible is Jesus’s words in Matthew 5:18: “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” My personal favorite is a statement from Jesus that I have heard some claim was meant to be ironical, but I consider it an unambiguous marching order; Matthew 5:48: “Be you therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect.” The Church of God in Christ believes in the “total depravity of mankind.” So do I, but through the process of sanctification we are able to overcome depravity. “Perfect obedience” is a worthy goal to aspire to. I once heard Dr. Charles Stanley remark that “no one starts their day with the intention of committing a sin” (referring to Christians, of course). One more citation (from a possible list of dozens), John 15:10: “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” We will never be as perfect as Christ, but, please do your best to be. This does not represent an exercise in futility. The more you practice “perfect obedience,” the easier it becomes to largely realize.
- “The law is still in force” This is a variation on the previous point, and may be answered in the same manner: “That’s affirmative, good buddy!” Here is a link to a”Spectrum Magazine” analysis. It is not the most conclusive thing I have ever read. The author, in regard to the commandments of God, concludes, “This is a Law I aspire to keep, even while I acknowledge my inability to do so.” Everyone seems to be planning to screw up. As Dr. Stanley remarked, it is a good idea not to make such plans. Here is a more assertive link to a page from Ellen G. White’s “Lift Him Up,” (page 178) containing this piece of advice: “The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves.” This is a polished way of saying what I have been struggling to say.
- “Only by observing the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath may one be ‘sealed with the seal of the living God” and experience true peace within his soul.” Pentecostal evangelist Jimmy Swaggart likewise accuses Adventists of “worshipping a day” (but graciously concedes that some Adventists will go to Heaven). The scriptures that The Church of God in Christ cite in order to diminish the significance of the Sabbath refer to Jesus being “made a surety of a better testament” (Hebrews, but not very applicable), being “Lord even of the Sabbath day” (Matthew, but this represents Jesus’s criticism of excessive man-made restrictions) and orders from Paul to lay offerings in store on the “first day of the week” (I Corinthians). Millions of words have been written by Adventists and others on this subject. All I know is this: the fourth commandment certainly represents significantly more than a “jot” or “tittle” of the law. Here is a link to a web page (from nonsda.org) that does all that it can to rip the Adventist’s views on Sabbath-keeping to shreds. It twists the art of scholarship into whatever shape serves it’s agenda, and dismisses whatever inspired insight Ellen G, White may have on the subject as having zero credibility. Leave that woman alone!
I have devoted more space to the Church of God in Christ’s attitude toward Seventh-day Adventists than to the Church of God in Christ itself. The Adventists admit the validity of John 10:16: “And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” This, undoubtedly, would describe the Adventist view of the Church of God in Christ. But the Church of God in Christ does not reciprocate this kind of good will.
A canard! Scared of reddit people right now. Still hiding out at homemadegospel,org.
Controvery: Is There or Is There Not a Trinity?
There is not a lot of reading material available outside the Grady Memorial Hospital McDonald’s in Atlanta, A row of empty racks for free literature stands by the door. Publishers seem to have washed their hands of the transient and largely destitute patrons of this restaurant. As I walked by these forsaken racks the other day, I noticed that one was freshly stocked with brochures. I grabbed one, unfolding it to it’s 8 1/2″ x 14″ extent. One side was printed with a Biblical prophecy time-line that is also visible at the website mentioned in the brochure: www.7thmonth10thday.org. This big chart was familiar to me from viewing Adventist prophecy lectures. The threads spun by Leviticus, Hosea, Jeremiah, and, primarily, the Book of Daniel get knit together in the year 1844.
The chart even displays the name of William Miller. The cover of the brochure bore the title “Israel’s Scattering, Gathering,” along with four Hebrew letters: yod, hey, vav, and hey (I forgot I had to read it backwards when I first Googled it). This is a respectfully oblique way of referring to “God.” I immediately observed that the pamphlet spelled “God” as “G-d,” a warning to me that something might be a bit off about the message. Ninety percent of the pamphlet covered prophecy and fulfillment. The last 10% was reserved for what I assumed would be the “pitch” from the producers of the document. It read as follows:
“We are now in the 2nd GATHERING TIME. There is hope for you and me, brothers and sisters. We, too will be tested. Will we worship the One True God of Heaven and receive His seal, or will worship a false god and receive the mark of the Beast. Saturday or Sunday is the test. In 1888 Senator Blair introduced a law that would cause all buying, selling, and business to cease on Sunday. A.T. Jones, a 7th day Adventist man, refuted it. Because of his efforts, we still have the right to worship according to our conscience.”
The last thing on page was the website address. Folks without the internet may have just learned a bit about prophecy, but would remain stymied as to how to follow up on this lead. I have the internet, so I accessed the address offered. But it took 10 or 15 minutes of research at the site to partially clear up my confusion. The content was simultaneously familiar and strange. Everything looked and quacked like an Adventist duck, but it did not seem very polished or professional. Another 10 minutes of digging revealed the name of Talking Rock Sabbath Chapel , located in Talking Rock, Georgia. Another link to this church is right here.
I then looked on the Seventh-day Adventist Georgia-Cumberland Conference directory to find out more. This church, whose primary web presence appears kosher in every regard, was not listed a an Adventist operation. Links from the church site took me to a site much more organized than the scrappy and inscrutable “www.7thmonth10thday.org.”
I then looked on the Seventh-day Adventist Georgia-Cumberland Conference directory to find out more. This church, whose primary web presence appears kosher in every regard, was not listed a an Adventist operation. Links from the church site took me to a site much more organized than the scrappy and inscrutable “www.7thmonth10thday.org.”
It is Maranatha Media, a production of former Adventist pastor Adrian Ebens, a person who was “disfellowshipped” from the mainstream Adventist Church in 2012. He joined a small contingent of former Adventists who share his divergent viewpoint, including the members of Talking Rock Sabbath Church. Maranatha Media offers it’s content in four languages, although this fact does not necessarily indicate the scope of his operation. His lectures garner a small, but respectable, number of viewers on YouTube. Several other anti-trinitarian YouTube videos exist. One of these, by Bill Stringfellow, has been viewed 11,556 times. As a fairly new Adventist, I had no idea that this contentious flap existed. I drug along my preconceptions about the Trinity when I joined up. Like my pre-existing notions regarding prophecy, it looks like my belief in the Trinity can meld with Adventism. A vocal minority seems to dispute this, however.
Another 10 minutes of scratching around Maranatha Media revealed that Adrian Ebens does not believe in the Trinity. He was disciplined for this attitude while still an Adventist pastor. This link is to commentary generated by his 2010 retraction of this view. But, by 2012, he was no longer penitent, and a schism was the result. I glanced at some of his writings as a preliminary to viewing some of his YouTube lectures. An anemic defense of his standpoint, written in one of his articles, states that “nowhere in the Bible is the word ‘Trinity’ used.” The Bible doesn’t use the word “rapture” either, but the phenomenon will take place nevertheless, and is described in Adventist Belief 25. Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief 2, entitled “Trinity,” is reproduced below. I will foreshadow a later discovery by stating now that Mr. Ebers considers Belief 2 to be corrupted addenda to a much purer original Adventist foundation.
“There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons. God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present. He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His self-revelation. God, who is love, is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.”
At this point in my researches, I could not help but jump to a premature conclusion. It would appear that Adrian Ebens’s faction is trying hard to out-Adventist the Adventists themselves, claiming to be the real deal, but compromised by their anti-trinitarian stance. The Adventist message is so attractive and cohesive, I fear the group has co-opted it, with only apparently slight modifications, to use as a lure for their own evangelistic effort. The neophyte could be easily blown away by the prima fascie evidence, becoming attracted by the insights this splinter group offers without initially being made aware of the existence of a more theologically correct mainstream church. The pool of potential converts that is being targeted (disenfranchised folk, such as I am) may have never heard of Seventh-day Adventism before being exposed to Adrian Ebens’s variation on the theme. Mr. Ebens could sincerely be dedicated to his views, and considers himself as following in the footsteps of reformers like Luther.
Here is a much more uncharitable theory: he wants to become the “one-eyed king” of the blind. He cannot be singled out for criticism, for many share his notions. He does possess, however, the distinction of having put himself on record, at length, and has thus presented himself as open for rebuttal.
Here is a much more uncharitable theory: he wants to become the “one-eyed king” of the blind. He cannot be singled out for criticism, for many share his notions. He does possess, however, the distinction of having put himself on record, at length, and has thus presented himself as open for rebuttal.
I had always associated the denial of the Trinity with Unitarians and Jehovah’s Witnesses. I would not be playing true to form if I did not immediately digress in order to mention that Frank Lloyd Wright’s ancestors were all Unitarians. This probably gave him the inside track in securing the commission for Unity Temple (link to congregation), and, in a different vein, Unity Temple (the work of architecture). Wright was a native of Wisconsin, but Unitarians are predominately a New England phenomenon.
“The History of Christianity” by Paul Johnson prefaces a short passage about Unitarianism with a sentence about the rise and fall of denominations in America. The early dominance of Congregationalism and Presbyterianism yielded (at least numerically) to Baptists and Wesleyans (Methodists). I had learned from a different source that one of the barriers to the spread of Presbyterianism was the denomination’s insistence on a college education for it’s ministers.
The rise of Unitarianism was an elitist affair. They were all collegians, the principal hotbed of the movement being Harvard. A police line-up of suspects would include Emersons, Everettes, Danas, Adams, Lowells, and Hales; a veritable “Mayflower Mafia.” It represented the unusual synthesis of Puritanism with the humanist attitudes best exemplified by Erasmus (Martin Luther’s contemporary). Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain champions the Erasmus viewpoint over the Lutheran viewpoint by way of a protracted debate between two representative characters.. The Enlightenment (characterized by the winning “Erasmus” character) made a god of “progress,” but Mann’s novel ends, ironically (a Mann specialty) with the insane debacle of WWI.
Here is a link to a short article that traces the genesis of the American Unitarian movement, entitled The Unitarian Controversy and It’s Puritan Roots. It is very interesting, but probably does not bear directly upon “Adventist” cases of Trinity denial ” A long footnote: Paul Johnson’s history book cites Arminianism as an influence on Unitarianism. This link to Wikipedia tells us that Arminius’s notions about freewill and grace were an influence on Seventh-day Adventism, but claims that Paul Johnson’s connection of it with Unitarianism is poppycock. My less complicated notions about grace all come from scripture: “by grace ye are saved by faith, and that not of yourselves.”
Jehovah’s Witnesses are like the polar opposite of New England transcendentalists, but they also deny the Trinity. Here in Atlanta they are fixtures in all of the MARTA Stations. You may question their theology, but not their zeal. Go to the ant, thou sluggard!
The majority of the material presented by Adrian Ebens on YouTube is orthodox Adventism. I was in search of differences, and not similarities, so I selected a speech entitled “The Cornerstone of Seventh-day Adventism by Adrian Ebens” (from July 4, 2013). The talk began with many non-controversial scriptural citations that may be summarized by Paul’s hope for the church, Ephesians 5:27: that Christ might “present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; that it should be holy and without blemish.” “How true!” I thought to myself. But Mr. Ebens was not extolling the purity of my church, but of his.
He now came to the point.
He now came to the point.
Adventism did not originally embrace the Trinity, Adrian Ebens stated. He spent several minutes repeating a comment made by Ellen G. White in 1858, one partially described as follows in this Ellen White Estate link, “The three angels’ messages were to her a ‘perfect chain of truth,’ The messages she designated as a ‘firm platform,’ or a ‘solid, immovable platform.'”
The Seventh-day Adventist church had reached a state of permanent perfection in the year 1858. This was Mr. Ebens interpretation of Ellen G. White’s statements. Mr. Ebens said that the cornerstone of the true church was Jesus (whose relationship to the Father soon raised an additional controversy), and that the church’s fidelity to “truth” lasted only from 1872 until 1914, This “truth” was described, for all eternity, by Fundamental Principles promulgated in 1872.
The Spirit does not get mentioned until we get to Principle XVI, but it is mentioned. As I have said before, I am no scholar, but I do recall that the Bible itself mentions the Holy Spirit, more than a few times. Some theologians refer to Matthew 28:19 as the only unambiguous description of the Spirit as a divine person: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” Doug Batchelor would add (among others citations) First John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
The Spirit does not get mentioned until we get to Principle XVI, but it is mentioned. As I have said before, I am no scholar, but I do recall that the Bible itself mentions the Holy Spirit, more than a few times. Some theologians refer to Matthew 28:19 as the only unambiguous description of the Spirit as a divine person: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost…” Doug Batchelor would add (among others citations) First John 5:7: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
Adrian Ebens’s Adventist history lesson included both good characters ( Ellen G. White), and bad guys (those awful Kelloggs of Battle Creek). Mr. Ebens blames Ella Eaton Kellogg, wife of famous Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, for contaminating the atmosphere of early 20th century Adventism with her “Seventh Day Baptist” predilections. I scratched around the internet for a half hour trying to verify this. I learned a lot about the eccentricities and religious fervor of Dr. Kellogg, but (even though she wrote a book) I could find out nothing about the spiritual influences his wife may have exerted. The story sounds apocryphal to me. My favorite Dr. Kellogg trivia is that he helped preserve the life of the Dionne quintuplets, a feat commemorated in this link. He had a stormy, but loving, association with Ellen G. White.
Adrian Ebens also expressed some objections to what he described as a theological transformation of Jesus from “Son” into just an “metaphorical Son” by the Adventists. Debate about the nature of Jesus (God? Man? God-Man? Man-God?) has plagued Christianity for nearly 2,000 years now. Mr. Ebens cites Fundamental Principle #2 from 1872 to prove his claim. This Principle commences, “That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father…” and goes on to describe Christ’s continuing ministry in the sanctuary (a topic not germane to His nature, and one I continue to struggle with, although I am sure that Jesus is not resting on His laurels just yet. His early retirement would place us in the kind of clockwork reality Descartes described).
“Modern” Adventist Fundamental Belief #4 starts like this: “God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ…” Just what the word “Son” means is hotly debated by the speaker. Mainstream attitudes about the eternal nature of Jesus are perceived by Adrian Ebens to be yet another defection by Adventists from the “golden age” (1855-1905) values that he calls the “cornerstone” of the faith. Here is a link to a Jehovah’s Witness page: https://www.lds.org/scriptures/tg/jesus-christ-divine-sonship?lang=eng. concerning the second-fiddle position many seek to place Jesus into.
They, too, would like to convince you that Jesus falls short of those attributes His Father possesses. The whole crazy Arian Heresy was (and I looks as if it still is) about this issue. My limited scriptural knowledge about this imbroglio impels me toward a single verse, First Corinthians 15:24: “Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.” When Jesus eventually subordinates Himself to God the Father, it will be a voluntary act, and not just the continuation of some pre-existing state. Ellen G. White will have the last word on this exasperating topic, the following extract from the linked Adventist Review article on the subject:
Against the theory that Christ was “the first created being” and “proceeded forth” from God back “in the days of eternity,” White stated that “in Christ is life, original, unborrowed, underived,” and that “from all eternity Christ was united with the Father.” Ellen G. White, Selected Messages (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958, 1980), book 1, p. 228.)
Getting back to the main topic, I now began to watch a popularYouTube video called “Adventist Pastor Learns Truth About Trinity!!! By Bill Stringfellow.” It began with a cute preamble that was a retelling of the story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” Disarming images from a cartoon appeared onscreen. I’m sure the lecture would have been rhetorically competent, but to continue to view the intro would have been like watching a train wreck in slow motion. We all are looking for porridge that is “just right.” I was no longer in the mood to listen to lectures by heretics. I had pretty much found out all I cared to know by now: the Arian Heresy is alive, and well, and has even staked out a claim in Adventist land.
In order to cleanse my palate after such a rich, but unsavory, repast, I thought I would watch “The Mystery of the Trinity- Doug Batchelor,” which had thoughtfully queued up behind the preceding videos. I had seen it before. I knew it would expound only tested theology, and, in addition, would not profess knowledge that can only be known by God Himself. This kind of exegesis will not satisfy critics who demand that all of the questions they ask be answered promptly. Even though the Book of Job ends well enough, Job’s persistent question throughout, “why me?” never really gets an answer.
But my faith in the existence of the Trinity does not leave any room for doubt, and is unshakable enough that I may expose it to onslaughts of balderdash without it suffering the slightest dent.
All of our questions will be answered in Heaven. The final quotation in this lengthy post is from Charles A. Tindley, a great turn-of-the-century preacher, and a songwriter as well. His gospel number “We Will Understand It Better By and By” is a Berean favorite. It a pleasant way of saying, :”don’t become mired in esoterica.”
By and by, when the morning comes,
All the saints of God are gathered home,
We’ll tell the story of how we’ve overcome,
For we’ll understand it better by and by.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Wednesday Sermon at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church: Repost from homemadegospel.org
Wednesday nights usually cap a hard day’s work at the church food pantry, but it is closed until January 6 for the holidays. Instead of working, 35 Community Service volunteers commuted to the remote, but thriving, intersection of Barret Parkway and I-75 in order to compromise the profitability of a Golden Corral. Barret Parkway is incredibly built-up at this location. The road has it’s own Wikipedia article, which notes that the thriving thoroughfare remains under local, as opposed to state or federal control. It is named for the politician whose (surprise!) family land was partially sold for the road’s right of way. Corruption is today’s homemadegospel theme, as you may learn on the post previous to this one.
Elder Irene Bowden is about to step down as director of Berean’s Community Services. I think she told me that she was 87 years old, but her virtuous lifestyle seems to have forestalled any trace of this. She is a retired math teacher. My friend Ms. Barnes referred to her as “that Saint.” I am given to hyperbole, but Ms. Barnes is always strictly accurate in her statements. I callously commented on the saltiness of the bourbon chicken I had selected to Elder Bowden. I deeply regret this, for she was the hostess of today’s event. I took my camera on the lengthy commute. A convoy of two church buses ferried the group. Interstate 75 was the path to the restaurant, but we took scenic Route 41 back into Atlanta in order to avoid rush hour traffic. The dense development on these corridors was a thrill for me to observe, as it is rare when I venture beyond the pathways that MARTA serves. Below are two images of local significance.
I have been hearing about “The Big Chicken” ever since I moved to Atlanta about 8 years ago. 100,000 cars a day probably drive past it, so traffic reporters love to use it as a reference marker. This shot makes it look two-dimensional, but in plan it is really a triangle, like a lopped-off cousin to the “Trylon” at the 1939 World’s Fair. KFC has revamped most of their stores with a new look, but they probably have sense enough not to mess with this one.
The church bus drove by Dobbins Air Reserve Base, fabled for it’s long association with Martin Marietta (now called Lockheed Martin). B-29’s were produced here from 1943 until the end of the war, A B-29 was utilized to drop the first “big one.” My neighbor on the bus asked me if the picture I took of the B-29 they had on roadside display turned out OK. I replied that it would make for a lousy image, as it was ridiculously horizontal. The clouds today, however, were very nice.
As I was showing this image to my neighbor, some gigantic military transport plane swooped over the bus. She quickly scented this quarry, but, being generally inept at everything, I could not readjust the camera to take a picture until the plane was half a mile away. I must plaster the image here anyway, as it will give a pretext to digress in order to mention country performer Boxcar Willie, who was in the Air Force from 1949 until 1976, and served as a flight engineer on planes ranging from B-29’s to gigantic cargo planes like the one seen below. The C-130 “Hercules” transport was produced by Martin Marietta for 50 years. This kind of longevity is similar to that of the B-52, a plane not produced here. The musical group of that name is, however, a product of Georgia,
SOME TIMELY ADVICE FROM PASTOR PALMES
Projected song lyrics are rare on Wednesday nights, so it was a relief when the first hymn of the evening was one that was actually in the hymnal: “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.” The lyrics I just looked up on Hymnary.org rhyme “all” with “fall” in three verses and with “call” in a fourth verse. This is some kind of update. The Adventist Hymnal, instead of using “call” as a fallback rhyme for “all,” uses the phrase “terrestrial ball.” This usage is so quaint and obsolete that I hope it never gets updated. It allows the singer to experience “time travel.”
Pastor Palmes mentioned that the Berean pastoral staff had just been on retreat in Rome, Georgia, presumably at the WinShape Retreat. This was founded in 1982 by S. Truett Cathy, the father of Chick-fil-a. He was a Christian for sure, but many would claim that his chain is closed on the wrong day (the first, not the seventh).
Pastor’s sermon, “There’s Still Time,” commenced with a citation of Proverbs chapter 6, verses 9-11, as stated in the NIV. My much more poetic King James begins these verses as follows: “How long will thou sleep, O sluggard?” Verse 6 was used by myself as the basis of the song “Go to the Ant,” one I like, but apparently very few others do. One person downloaded an mp3 from SoundCloud, maybe a wife who intended to play it to her lazy husband. Pastor Palmes’s references were about making the best use of the time God grants you.
The pastor accused us of “slacking off the accelerator” during the holiday season. Instead of working out, we plan on eating, a plan that starts with Halloween candy, drives through Thanksgiving turkey, and ends in Yuletide excess. We hope that at 11:59 on December 31, everything will become miraculously better. But this is no way to look at it, for the right time to get something done is right now (my citation: II Corinthians 6:2: “…now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”) God may be waiting for you to make a move, before He jumps in with an assist.
- YOU ARE CALLED TO SOMETHING GREATER. God is not waiting on the new year to bless you. He wants to bless you today. It is therefore urgent that you discover your “calling” ASAP! He has one for you, and it is already planned out. Pastor Palmes quoted Jeremiah 1:5: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee.”
- YOU CANNOT PRESS SOME SPIRITUAL “RESET” BUTTON. You cannot go on sinning, thinking that at some future point things will instantly aright themselves. (This reminded me of some overlords from the early Christian era, usually Germanic, usually Arians, who would put off baptism until they were on their deathbed. They were great sinners. St. Augustine had something to say about this phenomenon as well.) You may hate the way that things are at present, but not make any move toward improvement. The pastor provided two quotes. 1: “The Lord helps those who help themselves,” a piece of folk wisdom not found in the Bible. 2: “Faith without works is dead,” definitely found in the Bible, but not entirely to Martin Luther’s liking. To summarize this point- another non scriptural citation by myself: “carpe diem!”
- YOU DON”T KNOW WHAT TOMORROW WILL BRING. The pastor here restated the necessity to change now, and not later. Know your “calling,” and get to know Jesus. He will “enlarge your territory.” (This citation always reminds me of the “Prayer of Jabez” craze, which I regarded as focused on material, as opposed to spiritual enlargement. The pastor may be too young to have such associations poisoning his mind.)
- THOSE WHO SEEK TO DISCOVER THEIR “CALLING”
- THOSE WHO KNOW THEIR CALLING BUT NEED MOTIVATION.
- THOSE WHO ARE STRUGGLING WITH SOMETHING. The pastor informed us that we were currently in a “judgement free zone.”
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