Snell on “The Components of Being Called”
The May 28 Sabbath worship service at Berean Seventh-day Adventist church, Atlanta, was dedicated to the graduates of the Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy (GAAA for short). Here, as usual, is a link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. The sermon begins at time marker 1:17:57, and concludes, after a brief song, with an altar call at time marker 2:17:00. Pastor Debleaire Snell‘s remarks to the Class of 2016 were based on the experiences of Abraham as he transitioned from Ur to Canaan. God had called the patriarch. God has a call for all of us. It is important that we respond to this call, be we newly matriculated, or just seeking renewed purpose and a better direction in our lives.
Pastor Snell received his “calling” as a freshman at Oakwood University, an institution where many are called to ministry, and all are seemingly called to serve God in some manner. The Oakwood website currently displays the statement “God First,” a very streamlined motto. I think it used to be “Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve.” Oakwood President Leslie Pollard visited Berean back on 10/24/2015, at which time he noted that “excellence is the norm, and not the exception at Oakwood.” He also said that “Oakwood is a launching pad, and you can get to anyplace from Oakwood.” This last statement may have been a conscious tie-in to a Huntsville, Alabama neighbor of Oakwood, the Marshall Space Flight Center. The 1950 arrival of Wemher von Braun and his posse in Huntsville was the result of the existence of Army ordinance institutions in the area that were founded in 1941, at the beginning of WW II. These facilities came to be known, collectively, as the Redstone Arsenal. One of the early functions of one of these establishments was the production of chemical weapons.
Products fashioned in Huntsville wound up in Lexington, just like Pastor Snell did. But the pastor is now safely back in the environs of his first collegiate alma mater. His Masters Degree in Divinity was obtained from Andrews University, a credential that he has in common with last Sabbath’s sermonizer, Berean Associate Pastor Danielle Pilgrim. Pastor Snell has come in for both praise and censure as a result of his decision to hold worship services on Sundays, in addition to Sabbaths. This precipitated another denominational brushfire when it was first announced [my opinion, which counts for nothing, is that services should be offered every day, “lesser lights” that could rotate around the Sabbath, which is appointed by God to constitute the center of the worship galaxy].
“FOR MANY ARE CALLED, BUT FEW ARE CHOSEN”
The preceding verse, Matthew 22:14, has little to do with this Sabbath’s sermon, except in regard to the several instances where the speaker admonished his listeners not to be allow themselves to be deflected from the course that God has planned out for everyone, our “calling.” There are many instances in Scripture of God calling ordinary people to do extraordinary things. Moses is one example. Gideon is another. After a few false starts, Samuel enthusiastically responded to his call. But the call that started it all was the one God issued to Abram. The first stages of his foray into Canaan served as an allegory for the “commencement” of life’s vocational journey by the graduates of GAAA, and, by extension, to any graduate, anytime, anywhere. The theme of Pastor Snell’s sermon was universal, and should prove to be recyclable until the Second Advent.
Obligatory praise and thanks to his gracious hosts was offered, starting at the apex of the pyramid with GAAA Principal Johnny Holiday, descending the flanks to include the dedicated staff, and coming to rest at the base of the edifice, the “illustrious Class of 2016.” Somewhere in this last group, the pastor predicted, there may lurk the person who would cure cancer, or become a great evangelist, or possibly a great writer. A reference to the Janus-like nature of graduation was provided: “The journey is not over. It is just beginning!” [A prior sermonizer at Berean referred to the inscription over the entry of the National Archive building, “The Past is Prologue,” and interpreted it as meaning “You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet!”]
Some general autobiographical notes were provided. The speaker remarked that he had now been married 12 years, 6 months, 26 days…etc. He even cited the number of seconds. He met his wife at Oakwood, the former Gianna E. Norman. South Atlantic Conference President William L. Winston was thanked. Winston was in attendance, as was the conference Vice-President of Education (and Berean Associate Pastor) James Lamb.
Pastor Snell noted the decisions that were confronting the graduating class: “What will be your major? What will be your career field?” He warned the graduates that it was not what they would “do,” but what they would “be” that was important. “You got to be called,” he revealed. He who soon was destined be rechristened Abraham was called by God (Paul’s famous statements concerning the faith of Abraham, found in Hebrews 11:8, had been read to the congregation prior to the sermon). “Without evidence, without seeing,” he departed to go unto the land of Canaan. Pastor Snell revealed the title of his presentation, “The Components of Being Called.”
“Class of 2016, the one thing I want you to walk away with today is that your life matters.” We are all fashioned in such a manner, that when we align our wills with God’s will, we are fulfilling the “purpose of existence.” All of our moral compass is a product of our sense of self-worth. We were urged to be worthy. The speaker gave the college-bound some good advice: “Don’t buy spirits, because His Spirit lives in you.” Another word of caution was provided: “It is more important to be sealed than tattooed. You have been created in the very image of God.” The body is a temple that ought not be desecrated.
The commentary on “self-worth” was continued. “The truth is, that in the free market, something is worth whatever somebody is willing to pay for it.” We have all been assessed by others in material and societal terms, in terms of possessions and lineage. But this value, however high it might be, is nevertheless a fixed one. These temporal, terrestrial assessments fail to reflect a higher truth, for we all have an outstanding debt that we cannot pay. Pastor Snell stated it clearly. “Because my worth was established at the Cross, I’ve got value. I’m a son of the most high God!”
The residency of Abraham and his father in Haran, an intermediary step on the journey to Canaan, was subjected to scrutiny by the speaker. It introduced the topic of the first of three described “components” that attend the proper determination of one’s calling.
#1: YOU CAN’T SETTLE FOR “JUST GOOD ENOUGH”
The relocation of Abraham’s people to Canaan was originally the responsibility of his father, the patriarch Terah. But “daddy” has been stopped partway there. God calls his son to go further. “The goal of parents is to see the next generation to get a little further in life than they have.” Sometimes, the forward momentum of a life is stalled by the process of having to work in order to support and advance the chances of the offspring. Students owe it to their parents that they exert themselves in order to take these further steps. A kind of genealogy of forward momentum was provided by Pastor Snell. High School graduates beget college graduates. College graduates beget Masters candidates. Masters candidates beget Doctors, etcetera. God is able to easily orchestrate these generational advances. We should aim to build upon the foundations laid by our progenitors, and (the speaker admitted that he was a Trekkie) “Boldly go where no one has gone before.” He spoke encouraging words to the graduates, and to the rest of the overflow crowd: “You are going to prosper where others have failed, because you have an anointing. You are called!”
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilisations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
- “We were on our way to Canaan, BUT: We are already getting out mail in Haran!”
- “We were on our way to Canaan, BUT: There is a nice YMCA in Haran!”
- “We were on our way to Canaan, BUT: We are now a part of the Haran Chamber of Commerce!”
“The devil will deceive you into believing that you will be OK where you are presently comfortable,” the pastor remarked. Another illustrative anecdote was provide at this point, but not an autobiographical one. It concerned the storage and transport of live codfish (and reminded me of another ancient anecdote about the storage of sea creatures, which will be painfully recalled at the appropriate time).
- “Sometimes our teachers can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “Sometimes our parents can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “Sometimes our future roommates can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “Sometimes the people in our church can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “Sometimes the people at work can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “Sometimes our kids can act like catfish in our lives.”
- “You might be married to a catfish!”
What the crew that attended Abraham found so intimidating about going forward to possess the land of Canaan was the fact that you had to FIGHT for it. “You have to fight to get in, and you have to fight to stay in,” Pastor Snell revealed. “If you want to live a called life, you have to be prepared to face some resistance.” When we are in the process of trying to determine God’s will, we will sometimes choose the easy path [Here is a LINK to Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken,” which they made our class memorize in the eighth grade]. The pastor prepared the soil for the introduction of yet another illustrative anecdote with the following declaration: “It may not be the most comfortable place to be, but the BEST place to be is in the will of God.”
Pastor Snell spoke idiomatically for a moment, which served to underscore the homespun wisdom (a la Will Rogers) of his remark: “I ain’t never seen a plane turn around in midflight due to turbulence!” On a recent flight the pastor took, the flight attendant announced that they would soon be experiencing some turbulence. The pastor asked the attendant about how they could possibly know about the impending turbulence. The attendant replied that the only way to know was by finding out from planes ahead of them, ones that had already been through the turbulence. The lead plane would then advise the following planes to either go OVER it, or AROUND it, or THROUGH it. The preacher applied the concept of this anecdote to the Cross: “God has sent His Son to go through the turbulence.” It may not be the easiest thing in the world to do, but if Jesus could endure His measure of turbulence, then we, too, can safely make our way beyond whatever pockets of turbulence we may encounter in the course of our lives.
The shortcomings and inadequacies of Abraham were briefly alluded to, and would soon be revisited. This mention of his failures paved the way for a statement, by the pastor, of what constituted Abraham’s greatest strength (and what I will safely assume to represent “component” number three, one that must be present during the process of discovering your calling). It was what Paul revealed in Hebrews concerning the character of Abraham. It was a manifestation of his unquestioning “faith."
“We often make excuses for ourselves based on the idea that we do not possess adequate financial resources to seek advancement, or we blame our lack of progress on inadequate support by our families” (an extreme paraphrase of Pastor Snell’s remarks). “But the big problem is that we are just not WILLING!” God does not call you based of your sufficiency, or your strength. He rather identifies our weaknesses, and uses these to further His purposes. First Corinthians 1:26+ was referenced:
“Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” (NIV)
The pastor stated the reason for this by quoting verse 29 from the KJV: “That no flesh should glory in his presence” [There exists several other verses in the Bible that express the same sentiment]. “Those that we would call [based on societal criteria, several superficial instances of which were provided by the speaker] are not the ones that God would choose to call.” More idiomatic language from Pastor Snell: “God don’t care about any of that junk! He is just looking for someone He can use!” Several Bible heroes who overcame handicaps in order excel were noted, a subject that had been briefly touched upon in the introduction to this section of the sermon. The homicide by Moses is familiar to all. So is the infidelity, and fatal consequences that resulted from this infidelity, of David. Rahab [the subject of an whole sermon by at Berean by guest speaker Pastor Edward Woods III, and stored at his LINK] is invariably subtitled “the harlot,” yet she advanced the Hebrew’s cause at Jericho. and was also an ancestor of Jesus.
“I struggle cooking grits,” Pastor Snell revealed. “I always overestimate it, because it seems like it will not be enough.” But grits, when they are finished cooking, don’t look anything like they did when they started out. “One day,” he stated, addressing the graduates, “you are going to wind up looking nothing like you do today!”
Pastor Snell quoted Ellen G. White concerning Abraham, a passage that resides on page 126 of “Patriarchs and Prophets.” Here is a LINK to that page.
“In order that God might qualify him for his great work as the keeper of the sacred oracles, Abraham must be separated from the associations of his early life. The influence of kindred and friends would interfere with the training which the Lord purposed to give His servant.”
In the course of her May 21 speech (last week’s, the one that YouTube removed, presumably due to a copyrighted song that was played during the service) to the graduates od GAAA’s sister school, BCJA (Berean Christian Junior Academy) Pastor Danielle Pilgrim provided her own anecdote about not allowing oneself to be unequally yoked to old associates, and surrounded by bad influences. Her story, which was road tested at a previous Wednesday night prayer meeting (aka the “War Room”) employed Facebook as a metaphor for our proper relationship with God. She had ventured to honor a “friend request’ that she had received (as a pastor, she wryly noted, she had no option but to accept). The computer revealed that the persons “friend limit” had been reached. Pastor Pilgrim explained that, in order for there to be room enough for her to be friends will the person who made the request, the latter would have to “unfriend” someone else. She then drew an analogy to the process of letting God into our lives. In order to make room for God, it will often be necessary or you to “unfriend” some others {This summary will hopefully get replicated, should Sony Corporation ever choose to stop holding the 5/21/2016 Berean Sabbath service video hostage, and should this release also reflect God’s will].
The independent actions required by individuals seeking their calling was related to the self-sufficiency and power of God. The pastor noted that God did not require consultants in order to make His plans [this statement could serve as a summary for the last chapter of the Book of Job]. “When God calls,” Pastor Snell advised, “don’t run around to your associate to see what their opinion is. There are too many opinions! What we need to do is ‘be still,’ and know the will of God” [here is a LINK to a summary of a short Wednesday night sermon Pastor Russell delivered about six months ago on determining whether a proposed course of action truly reflects the will of God; hint- it has to feel right].
The subject of forsaking “old playgrounds, and old playmates” (a phrase from the 12-step universe, which I have thankfully never heard spoken at Berean) continued as the focus of this part of the sermon. A final anecdote was provided. Like Pastor Pilgrim’s Facebook analogy, it was relatively modern in its particulars, “high-tech” even.
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Pastor Snell recalled some personal situations where he felt more than justified in acting contrary to the opinions of others, specifically citing “church committee” business meetings. “When I get a word from God, I do not seek approval. I just say, ‘this is where God has me!'” Some examples of groups who might present some opposition were provided, including people you go to school with, relatives, etc. He noted that many would even be discouraged from answering an appeal, fearful of what others may think were they to do so. This kind of misplaced concern could even serve to dampen the intensity level of one’s praise. “Who cares what those around us think. Just say ‘this is where God has me!'” A few additional assertions of this nature, with the assistance of bursts fron the organ, served to highlight the importance of serving the perfect will of God, as opposed to the highly imperfect will of man. The high energy level of the sermon was temporarily curtailed with the statement, “Let the church say hallelujah!”
Pastor Snell sought to assure the new graduates that God had a plan for them all laid out. He quoted from Jeremiah 1:4: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” He told the youth that the purposes of their lives have been ordained. “I want you to know, you have significance, You have value. Value to God.” We have been created in the image of God. “Boys,” the speaker stated, “need someone to pat them on the back.” A man, in contrast, will proclaim, “I don’t mind if I stand alone.”
Final instructions to the troops were issued. They should all learn to just sit still, and wait on the Lord. If need be, they may need to undergo a “hard reset,” one that will purge them of improper expectations. In a secret place, we should make the inquiry, “Lord, what would you have me to do?” We should be prepared to act upon the answer wherever, whatever, whenever. The pastor made a prediction. “You will not find fulfillment outside of your calling.” Money, yes, perhaps, Fulfillment? No! The pastor revealed that a song was about to be sung, and requested that we should meditate upon the words contained in it. An appeal would follow the song, but the final injunctions of the sermon were delivered just before the start of the song.
“A calling is not just for pastors. It is for everyone who has been created by God.”
Pass me not, O gentle Savior,
Hear my humble cry;
While on others Thou art calling,
Do not pass me by.
The reference to “calling” made this song an appropriate selection.
Here is a LINK to a uniquely pepped-up rendition by the Bowie State University Gospel Choir in Bowie, Maryland.
Here is a LINK to an inoffensive (way too inoffensive!) version by the Joslin Grove Choral Society (I think).
“To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some,”
The Christian content of Pastor Snell’s remarks is solid, and ecumenical by nature. This is what makes the presentation so “portable.” A brief citation of Ellen G. White’s book “Patriarchs and Prophets” is the only clue that it is by a preacher who represents the Adventist denomination. A Monday morning assignment served to remind me of what others have referred to as the “theological consistency” of Adventism. In an attempt to answer a question concerning a few lines of another Ellen White book, “The Great Controversy,” I inadvertently fashioned (reproduced, would be a more accurate term, as it represents no novel thought) a few sentences that not only capture the essence of the book, but also exhibit an edifying explanation of why there is evil in this world, and why a loving God would allow it. Adventists consider this to be a temporary state of affairs. God is giving men and angels, who are endowed with freewill, a chance to witness the regrettable (but not irreparable) consequences of allowing Satan to have temporary dominion over the earth. In Eternity, the question will never arise, “What if?” There will exist an indelible record of what can go wrong when we stray fron the path that God has so clearly marked for us through His Word, and by His Spirit, Christ has acted as trailblazer upon this path. This doctrine is one of a handful that serves to distinguish the Adventist denomination from most others, and is described in “Fundamental Belief #8” of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs.
Adventist South Atlantic Conference President William Winston delivered a sermon at Berean SDA Church that admonished Adventists to try to let go of their narrow obsessions long enough to talk about Jesus to others. This is the core value, one that Adventism claims no monopoly upon. Elder Winston was hoping to create new Christians. My current appeal is to those who, as was I, are already Christians, but feel as if something may be missing from their walk with the Lord. That’s how I felt. Whatever may have been missing, I was blessed enough to discover that the Seventh-day Adventists kept an abundant supply of in stock, and it was free to whomever might require it.
Satan is not particularly kind to those that he exercises dominion over. It is rejection of God that results in subservience to the Devil. Ellen White makes a statement with profound theological consequences. It might be restated as follows: “Difficulties in life, be they experienced at either the national or individual level, are not the result of active punishment by God for our transgressions. They represent, rather, the removal by God of the protection from evil that He consistently provides to those (be they nations or individuals) that are not living in His will. Without God’s protection, we are open to the adversary. Difficulty is not caused by God, but by ourselves when we reject God, and by Satan, who stands ever ready (until the return of Christ) to fill the power vacuum that results when God absents Himself from our life. This seems to be the essence of the “great controversy” theme, which serves to answer criticism (and there is plenty of it) that questions the purity of God, and His motives, and His methods. Needless to say, this principle assuredly applies to our own time. We collectively, and individually, must exert ourselves to render honor and obedience to He who, alone, can (in the words of “Come, O You Faithful”) “save us all from Satan’s power…”
