The South Atlantic Conference Campmeeting
The 6/18/2016 Sabbath sermon at Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church, Atlanta, was a remote broadcast from the 2016 South Atlantic Campmeeting. The speaker was Pastor Gregory Nelson, current leader of Madison Mission Seventh-day Adventist Church in Madison, Alabama [the church is promoting a new building on these links, and is attempting to generate enthusiasm through the use of one of the most elaborate computer animations I have ever seen]. In addition to being a preacher, Pastor Nelson is also a musician, and his sermon was concluded with a highly musical delivery style that defies description. It can only be experienced. Here is a very incomplete link to the ENTIRE SERVICE. The beginning of the remote transmission from the campmeeting, held in Orangeburg, South Carolina is at time marker 51:50. unfortunately, this broadcast is not included in the YouTube video of the June 18 services at Berean. The campmeeting sermon is not lost to posterity, but is temporarily lost to me. For a mere $9.99 a month, you can listen firsthand via Churchpond Ministries.
Despite the fact that Pastor Nelson’s style defies description, a brief summary of some of the content of the sermon will nevertheless be provided. This discursive and flawed text summary follows a few notes about the creation of the South Atlantic Conference.
Here are four sentences from the South Atlantic Conference Website:
On December 4, 1945, at 10:00 a.m., the General Conference and Southern Union Conference met at the Berean SDA Church on Ashby Street to organize a black conference.
Elder H. D. Singleton became the first President of the South Atlantic Conference… Elder W. L. Winston became the eighth president of the great South Atlantic Conference.
Our conference center / campground facility, River Oaks Convention Center, is located in Orangeburg, SC, with a 4,100 seat facility, youth pavilion with a gym that can seat 1100 and 5 smaller conference rooms.
“ANGELS IN EBONY” CHAPTER 5: “REGIONAL CONFERENCES”
Events in 1943 constituted a reaction to the internal segregation that characterized Adventism, and were centered around the Ephesus SDA Church in Washington DC. James O. Montgomery stood at the end of a service and wondered aloud why it was that he could not send his kids to an Adventist college, nor be served in an Adventist cafeteria. He then related a third outrage. He had taken his light-skinned wife to an Adventist hospital. She was admitted, but when the paperwork was filled out, they discovered that she was “colored,” so she was ejected to the hallway. She was eventually admitted to Freedman’s Hospital, but died of Pneumonia shortly thereafter. White Australian General Conference President W.G. Turner was sent to placate the distraught congregation of Ephesus. He cited Peter 4:12: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial…” James O. Montgomery replied to the assembly, in so many words, that this citation by the president did not cut the mustard. A committee was formed at Ephesus to attempt to improve the position of black Adventists.
The first head of the North American Negro Department (in 1908) was a white man, J.W. Christian. It would be 9 years before a black man, W.H. Green, would head the department. This was a result of an improved racial climate following WWI, according to “Angel in Ebony” author Jacob Justiss. W.H. Green was selected, in part, because he had previously argued a case before the Supreme Court (just like Thurgood Marshall had done for the NAACP). Green was not allotted office space at the denomination’s Washington headquarters.
Alma J. Scott and J.T and Willie Dodson were the leaders of the Ephesus action committee (soon supplemented by A.V. Pinkney). Mr. Dodson and Mr. Pinkney paid their own train fare to Chicago to present their agenda to the 1944 General Conference. The grievances were assembled into a petition titled “Shall the Four Freedoms Function Among Seventh-day Adventists?” With the assistance of GC President James Lamar McElhany, the case for independent black conferences was made. The initially proposed alternate, integration, would have (in a “majority rule” context) diluted, rather than enhanced, the ability of blacks to take charge of their own affairs.
On April 10, 1944, the General Conference approved the formation of “black” conferences, under black leadership. The borders of these new districts did not have to duplicate those of existing conferences. President McElhaney then asked Mr. Dodson to disband his successful little lobbying team. Dodson reluctantly agreed to this request. It may be that the GC was somewhat fearful of the power and efficacy of the temporary combine. The make-up of the new conference organizational charts would be hammered out at the regional, and not the national level. The first of these new entities was born in New York. The organization of the South Atlantic Conference, in Atlanta, at Berean SDA Church in 1946 was mentioned at the beginning of this post in the quotations from the South Atlantic Conference website. It will soon be elaborated upon.
After the General Conference in 1944, a survey committee was formed which included GC President McElhaney and NAD Colored Department Secretary G.E. Peters. The formation of two Southern Union black conferences was recommended, provided they received some financial help from the GC. The General Conference replied that they were strapped for cash, and requested that the formations be postponed until 1945. At that time, two separate groups of delegates met to organize the new conferences.
On December 4, 1945, about 300 delegates from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida met at Berean SDA Church in Atlanta. A report on these proceedings by Southern Union President E.F. Hackman notes that “the meeting was characterized by a beautiful spirit of unity and harmony.” The original conference, according to Jacob Justiss, was composed of 3,300 members [conferences sources cite alternate totals of either 3,523 or 3,614}, and 70 churches [62, says the SAC]. As an example of the described “unity” of the gathering, all of the new officers were elected unanimously.
The second southern black conference, South Central, covered Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. The delegates met in Birmingham, and the conference originally included 2,300 members and 40 churches.
The official launch of these entities was slated for January 1, 1946. The president of the Southern Union wrote the following benediction a few weeks before the startup:
“…we wish for them and their leaders God’s richest blessing. The way before will not always be smooth, but as they keep close to their Great Leader and keep in step with the remnant church who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus, there is before them a bright and glorious future.”
I may be an optimist speaking way too soon, but I don’t think so. I believe that in the United States, where race has defined so much for so long, change is on the way—where the issues that need to be tackled in our country are not just Black issues or White issues or Asian issues or Hispanic issues, but American issues. The issues and challenges we face are mostly common to us all.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS FROM ORANGEBURG
The congregation of Berean SDA Church joined the remote Campmeeting broadcast just as the offering was about to be collected. The speaker that introduced this collection was South Atlantic Conference Treasurer Dr. Larry E. Johnson. He put the attendees at their ease with a humorous tale. I am reluctant to replicate it, as I can no more do justice to it than I can to the dynamic preaching style of the featured speaker, Pastor Greg Nelson. But here goes…
The Breath of Life Quartet (now in business for over 40 years) sang an arrangement of “For the Beauty of the Earth” in the interim between the offering and the sermon. Also in the interim, a recital of Psalm 122:1: “… I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” by Pastor Carl Rogers. The sermon was introduced by South Atlantic Conference President William L. Winston. All words that are to follow are rough approximations of the words actually spoken.
Elder Winston thanked the previous speakers and singers. Treasurer Johnson had earlier noted that, when South Atlantic was formed, there were those who expressed doubts that African Americans would be capable of handling the kind of money that it takes to operate a conference. Elder Winston provided news of the result of this dire forecast by revealing that, last year, South Atlantic brought in more that 26 million dollars. Elder Winston recognized all of the pastors and pastor’s wives that were in attendance. Today’s speaker was from nearby South Central Conference, as was the guest choir. This was remarkable, President Winston said, as South Central was holding their Campmeeting simultaneously with South Atlantic this year.
Elder Winston attested that pastor Greg Nelson was an exceptional Man of God. For those who neglected to follow the link to Pastor Nelson’s bio at the beginning of this post, here is paste from it describing the speaker’s wide ranging gifts [I feel compelled to drag in the name of Uriah Smith, another Adventist jack-of-all-trades, every time a similar SDA polymath swims into my ken]:
In 2013, Pastor Nelson … took up the post he currently occupies as the Senior Pastor of the Madison Mission Church in Madison, AL. In addition to his pastoral functions, Pastor Nelson is a much sought after, multi-faceted minister, internationally recognized as worship leader, motivational/seminar speaker, preacher and evangelist. Pastor Nelson has also demonstrated proficiency as a writer, choir director, producer, concert promoter, conference organizer and chaplain.
THE SERMON BY PASTOR NELSON: “HE’S STILL GOT IT!”
The sermon opened with variations on the key lyrics of the song that had just been presented. “I’ve got so much to thank God for,” Pastor Nelson said. “That’s why I praise you, and for this I give you praise!” The pastor praised God for waking him up this morning. The speaker broke the ice with a confrontational, but nevertheless good-natured remark:
“Some of you are looking at me, wondering what’s wrong with me. And I’m looking at you, wondering what’s wrong with you!”
“The spirit of the Lord is in this place!”
Pastor Nelson expressed his regrets that his wife Carla was not with him this Sabbath in Orangeburg. He revealed that the musicians of his home church, Madison Mission, had just released an album, but that he was reluctant to promote it on the seventh day of the week. He related that his church planned to use monies raised by album sales to help finance their proposed new church building.
” I am not going to cover the [Adventist 28] Fundamental Beliefs. I am going to cover the Fundamental Belief” [singular]. Pastor Nelson recited a brief litany of the world’s woes. He also mentioned the increasing vilification and ostracism of Christians both domestically and abroad. What is the Fundamental Belief? Jesus, of course. And, despite all of the trauma that this is a hallmark of our current age, Pastor Nelson was anxious to communicate this fact about Jesus: “He’s still got it!”
Some may be mystified by the events surrounding the arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane [this episode was the subject of the Scripture that formed the launching pad for the preacher’s remarks]. “Jesus has all of the power,” the speaker said, “but still allows Himself to be captured, tortured, and killed” The topic of tribulation was applied to the Campmeeting congregation: “Is there anyone out there willing to confess, it’s hard to be a saint?”
“There are times when you will be frustrated. Being a believer does not mean that God will work things out for you in your timeframe, or in the way that you desire.” This remark served relate the transcendent agony of Jesus at Gethsemane, to the relatively insignificant agonies that we, as believers, are sometimes subject to. As Elder Jynean Palmer-Reid said a few weeks back at Berean, God doles out our measure of suffering to us in a “sippy cup.”
Jesus was very much alone in the garden when He commenced his prayer. The disciples that accompanied Him were “miserable comforters,” to borrow a line from Job. A touch of rhyme graced the pastor’s next statements. The “prayer warriors” had let their master down; but when things were bleakest, and Jesus was at His weakest, “He is still God,” Pastor Nelson proclaimed.
Point number one described the REPUTATION of Jesus. A description of the scenario that night in the garden was restated: “How many soldiers does it take to arrest one man?” The speaker revealed that scholars estimate that there were between 300 and 600 soldiers in the group delegated to apprehend Christ. In addition, religious authorities came along for the collar. The soldiers were outfitted with their full combat regalia. “Why?” The pastor answered his rhetorical question: “Because they were intimidated by the power of His reputation.” A generous number of examples of the power of Jesus, as revealed in Scripture, were described, enough to set up an old-school rhythm for this short portion of the sermon. A typical example is “He could lift up people who had been lying on their back for 38 years!” [This long-term vacillation by the paralytic has served as both the main subject, and as a subsidiary subject for several recent Berean sermons, including this creatively named Sabbath presentation: “You Got to Have to Want to.”]
Pastor Nelson now made a transition from the first to the second of five facets of Jesus that belied the superficial appearance of weakness that He preseted at Gethsemane on that fateful evening. “I’m telling you, there’s power in reputation! There is also power in DECLARATION!”
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he…
Pastor Nelson informed the congregation that “I am he” was rendered as “eimi,” or more picturesquely, “εἰμι.” in the original Greek. This Wikipedia LINK reveals that the concept of “deity” is implicit in this word, which the Gospel of John frequently utilizes. A connection to God’s identification of Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 is an obvious one:.
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
This is the Hebrew word “’eh-yeh,” or more picturesquely, “אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה”
The invocation of this mighty name literally knocks Jesus’ adversaries out. John 18:6 reads “As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.” Pastor Nelson now made the transition from attribute two to attribute three: “Not only is their power in reputation, and declaration; there is power in MEDIATION!”
A word by word transcription of the speaker’s remarks is not the intent of this summary, but the transition to the fourth attribute of Jesus at Gethsemane conveniently recapped the preceding three points, and thus looked both backwards and forward at once: “Not only is their power in reputation. Not only is their power in declaration. Not only is their power in mediation. I want you to know that in Gethsemane, when He appeared weakest, He also had he power of ASSOCIATION.”
Here is a digression by myself on the topic of numbers and Roman soldiers. The origin of the term “to decimate” comes from the Latin word for “ten.” With reference to quantities of Roman soldiers, the term Decimation was used to describe a means of punishing a large group of warriors, all of whom shared the guilt for an infraction. One tenth of a group would be chosen by lot for execution. The remaining ninety percent were charged with killing the chosen tenth. This left 9 out of 10 soldiers alive, so the unit would preserve most of its fighting strength. This trivia would form a very suspicious, but relevant (in a most curious manner) kind of analogy, were one composing a sermon on the subject of “tithing.”
Of the attributes that Jesus possessed, sub rosa, in the course of his Gethsemane experience, a firm determination to fulfil His mission was not only a source of strength to the Son of God Himself, it was also unbelievably important to every member of the human race. Jesus was the power of God unto SALVATION.
Pastor Nelson refreshed everyone’s memories about the horrible ordeal that Jesus endured subsequent to His arrest that night. The people that He had come to save had become His executioners. And it was not simply physical pain that our Savior endured. The pastor stated that “He bore the wrath of God” [Hebrews 10:31 proclaims that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”]. “Jesus was treated like a scapegoat,” the speaker asserted.
“God will punish sin, even when it is in His own Son!” Second Corinthians 5:21 had been previously quoted. It reveals the enormity of the spiritual anguish that Jesus experienced in the course of this unmerited punishment: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” The wages of sin is death, so “…he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). The speaker now made the kind of incendiary proclamation he had warned us about: “I am not just another preacher who talks around sin, and not about sin!” [This comment could be construed as a breach of professional courtesy by Pastor Nelson’s peers, as it insinuates that other preachers are falling short of the mark (and despite the speaker’s next sentence), perhaps even a few who profess to also be Seventh-day Adventists.]
“I an proud to be an Adventist, because we are not afraid to talk about sin! The word of God does not change. Sin is still sin! If He did not spare His own Son, He will not spare us either!” The pastor appended a footnote to the great truth that he had just proclaimed. “I don’t care if they take away my credentials” [His credentials are probably safe, but you can be sure that nothing provokes the fierce animosity and opposition of Satan as quickly as a discussion of the topic of sin does].
The pastor provided a list of features that distinguished the position of Jesus on Friday evening, in the garden, from the wee hours of Saturday after His apprehension. A half dozen of these contrasts served to establish another one of those rhetorical “rhythms” previously noted as being distinctive of, but not necessarily exclusive to, the African American clergy. Everything about Jesus appeared as normal on Friday, but Pastor Nelson noted that “On Saturday He was victimized and traumatized.” Jesus bore the imprint of the corporeal punishment He had been through. He appeared to be thoroughly defeated. Pastor Nelson observed that “It looked like Hell had the power to hold Him.” The repetitive sequence of contrasts was terminated by extending the time-frame all the way into a magnificent Sunday morning.
“On Saturday He was in the grave. BUT…”
“Early on Sunday he is alive and animated, deified, magnified, glorified!” The speaker now provided several examples of his own “magnifications” that described the joy and glory of Christ’s resurrection. This newest rhythmical sequence was briefly interrupted by an important theology lesson: “Because He met the standard of heaven, he is able to save sinners. My burdens are lifted! My sins have been forgiven!” Several more magnifications followed this important revelation by Pastor Nelson. Pastor Russell has described to the preceding few sentences as “Christianity in a nutshell.”
“Here’s some good news, before I take my seat,” said the pastor. “After 2,000 years, He’s still got the power! He’s a shelter in the time of storm!” Several minutes of additional metaphorical descriptions of Jesus were provided. They passed by too rapidly to record precisely, but they were all comfortably familiar. There has got to exist some technical term for a protracted series of varied metaphorical descriptions of a single subject ( such as the power of Jesus, for example). The televangelist John Hagee must carry a library of hundreds of poetically composed descriptions of Jesus around in his head, as he can, in the course of his sermons, insert a sequence of 20 or 30 effortlessly. He is a controversial figure, but is nevertheless an accomplished orator. Below are eight statements by Hagee, delivered in less than 30 second during a sermon aired 9/7/2106 that are illustrative of the omniscience of Jesus the Creator of Earth. In addition to being a sequence of “variations on a theme,” it is also yet another sermon extract that exhibits the compositional device known as Anaphora, albeit in a very attenuated manner, as the only common denominator of these sentences is the word “he.”
He knows where the last nugget of gold can be located.
He knows where every ounce of silver can be found.
He knows the value of every ruby, every sapphire, every pearl, every diamond, every emerald.
He knows the value of the earth to the last dime and dollar.
He knows where the last drop of oil is going to be found.
He knows where there are undiscovered treasures so vast; it would stagger the mind of man to be able to find it.
Pastor Nelson embellished his own list with the following conclusive, and extremely comprehensive statement about Jesus: “He is everybody, everywhere, and everything.”
Pastor Nelson is not only an accomplished speaker. He is also a creative writer. In the final, climactic phases of his sermon he leavened his lofty expository material with some complimentary, but also contrasting “low comedy.” References to advertising songs and slogans were drafted as references to the nature of Christ. They were representative of two aspects of all great comedy: familiarity, and surprise. The pastor observed that…
“Jesus is like UPS– ‘He Delivers!'”
“Jesus is like Ajax– ‘He is Stronger than Dirt!”
“Jesus is like Timex-‘He Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking!'”
“Jesus is like Lexus– ‘He is Engineering the Impossible!'”
“Jesus is like IBM– ‘He has Solutions for a Small Planet!'”
“Jesus is like McDonalds– ‘I’m Lovin’ It!'”
[I feel the need to add Scrubbing Bubbles– “He Works Hard so You Don’t Have To!”]
THE LAST ACT, A PRELUDE TO AN ALTAR CALL
The lion’s share (a very apt figure of speech) of the sermon had been dedicated to revealing just how great our Savior is. The remainder of the sermon would focus on the benefits of establishing a personal relationship with Jesus, accompanied by a short tribute to the success and prosperity of the seventy year history of the South Atlantic Conference.
It is almost impossible to believe that the being that the pastor had been describing, a being so incontrovertibly superior to us, would condescend so far as to become flesh, to die in order to atone for our sins, and to rise from the grave, thus proving to us that we, too, can be resurrected. An even more incredible fact is that He wants to be friends with us, for we are all most assuredly unworthy of this honor.
Pastor Nelson did not promise that Jesus offers an easy road for those who want to walk with Him. Some remarks on the strength of the opposition, and the higher purposes of God were provided. The speaker compared God to a playwright. The play has alternate conclusions. The ending can be a happy one, or the ending can be tragic.
“The God that we serve has a PhD in drama. God often sets things up in such a way that He gets the glory. In Exodus, there was a direct way [from Egypt] to Canaan. But God heightens the drama.” There was a forty year build-up to the dramatic entry of the Hebrews into the Promised Land. This “grand entrance” had very much in common with the passage through the Red Sea which marked the commencement of the journey.
Good drama has good guys, and bad guys. Satan is, of course, archenemy number one. His minions, such as Pharaoh, are onstage frequently, throughout the entire script (meaning the Bible, of course). Pastor Nelson captured the attitude of God, and His worthy minion Moses, toward the King of Egypt by making a statement that reflected the attitude of the good guys: “Pharaoh, you’re a punk!” The irresolute, protracted, and adversarial relationship between Pharaoh and the Hebrews prior to their flight augmented the dramatic tension that built up to Israel’s escape from bondage. The long meander through the Wilderness likewise made crossing the Jordan an equally cathartic scene.
“Sometimes, when God will deliver you,” the pastor observed, “He gives your enemy the power to try to stop you” [Theologically considered, this is more about God’s permission, than His complicity. Here, again, is a link to Elder Jynean Palmer-Reid’s SERMON on the spiritual benefits of trials, adversity, and suffering]. There by the Red Sea, the “punk” Pharaoh was about to meet his comeuppance. Pastor Nelson proclaimed that “two million immigrants walked on dry land because He had the power!” The tale of the flight from Egypt may legitimately be described as perhaps the most important theme for the African American church in America, and its inclusion in a sermon at a campmeeting celebrating South Atlantic was very appropriate.
Adversity does befall us. In those moments, we are like “Job in his season,” Pastor Nelson said. Our temporary inability to grasp God’s higher purposes was intimated by the speaker (as it was also mentioned by Elder Palmer-Reid during her remarks, as we without doubt “see through a glass darkly”). We would do well to emulate the patience and stoicism of Job. Pastor Nelson quoted Job 1:21: “…the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Black Adventists endured much before the formation of the black conferences. Pioneers like Lewis C. Sheafe and J.K. Humphrey contributed a lot to the denomination, but eventually, having stood for as much as they could possibly stand, chose to separate themselves from the home office. The later creation of the conferences served to empower black Adventists by giving them stewardship over their own affairs, but blacks, as a race, continued (and sad to report, still continue) to suffer oppression as a people for a period after the creation of the conferences. Thing got better, at least from a legal standpoint, during the Civil Rights era. But even though laws can be changed, people’s attitudes are much harder to change. Jesus Christ, however, is perfectly able to perform this difficult task. The following statements represent an extreme paraphrase of Pastor Greg Nelson’s closing comments.
The awesomeness of God was once again emphasized by a rendition of the Charles Jenkins song “My God is Awesome.”
[As it is not currently the Sabbath, here is a mercenary LINK (but mercenary for a noble purpose) to some of the Madison Mission Mass Choir’s musical offerings.]
Prominently featured in the “appeal” that followed this song was the statement duplicated below. A repetition of the sermon’s title at the close of Pastor Nelson’s remarks provided a nice set of bookends for the presentation.
“Make your way down to the altar today, and declare “God… I think You’ve Still Got It!”
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