Adventist News Network

Adventist Education must create value, Beardsley says

2010-09-02T17:13:14Z

Lisa Beardsley will promote Adventist identity in education in her new role as Education director for the Adventist world church. [photo: Ansel Oliver]

Lisa Beardsley wants to create value for the education consumer.

In business school she analyzed why people chose to pay $4 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. She now takes that same analysis and applies it to Adventist education, examining why spenders would offer a premium for its values and mission.

For Beardsley, the recently-appointed Education director for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, that analysis and its subsequent results, she hopes, will offer administrators and students clearer choices to navigate change in Adventist education. The system struggles to maintain Adventist identity in areas of surging growth and offer competitive programs in stagnating regions.

The typical college student is no longer just an 18-year-old coming to live in the dorm. Demand is increasing for graduate and professional degrees. Parents are returning to school, sometimes in downtown extension buildings or via online classrooms. The challenge, Beardsley says, is how to make each of those points in the delivery of the academic experience, whether rural or urban, distinctly Adventist. This updates the old business model of building Adventist boarding schools and colleges at the end of rural roads.

Much of that analysis will need to take place over the course of her department's five-year term. She and four associates comprise the core of the Adventist Accrediting Association.

Where's the growth?

For now, analysis of 1.7 millions students in Adventist education worldwide reveals their preferences by their tuition payments and attendance. The results: The church's education system is growing fast, mainly outside of North America.

While growth exists in the United States and Canada, Beardsley says enrollment in Adventist higher education only grew there about 3 percent over the past five years. Long established denominational infrastructure is waning in a few areas. Education leaders in North America say many academies built in the early 1960s to accommodate Baby Boomers are down in attendance from their prime. Beardsley points out that most colleges are strong, but changing demographics and market demand mean once flourishing schools should scale back operations, a few more radically.

Take Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts, which is on the verge of losing accreditation for financial reasons. It could perhaps re-emerge successfully as a junior college, Beardsley says, referring to the nation's \"booming\" demand for community colleges.

\"If people aren't able to pay or aren't willing to pay, and if [certain areas] close up, we should prayerfully consider what the Lord would have us do,\" Beardsley says during an interview in her office. \"There are other places where we can't manage the growth. I don't think we should keep other things on life support.\"

Source: GC Education department

Worldwide, however, higher Adventist education is growing so fast -- about a 26-percent enrollment increase over the past five years -- that more and more teachers are hired who aren't Adventist. Increasingly, they're teaching students who aren't Adventist either.

Granted, when 40 percent of students aren't Adventist, it's an opportunity to share the church's mission. But what defines Adventist education, Beardsley says, is who's teaching the class.

That's why one of her goals over the course of her term is to empower teachers to continue integrating faith with learning and increase the percentage of professors who are members of the denomination.

\"All of our teachers, even those teaching in an MBA program at night, need to understand how they can further redemptive purposes in their instruction,\" Beardsley says.

Additionally, she wants to increase spirituality on Adventist campuses, which emphasizes a balance of study, work, service and rest. That might include somehow boosting the influence of religion and theology departments on campus. The programs are shrinking relative to other disciplines in response to market demand and now have less of an influence on a campus culture, Beardsley says.

\"We need those teachers to exert leadership and influence not just for their students, but for the intellectual and spiritual climate of the entire campus,\" she says.

Although she seeks to increase Adventist identity and spirituality on denominational campuses, Beardsley isn't opposed to exposing students to a variety of ideas and evidence, even when in conflict with official Adventist beliefs.

\"It needs to be done, but in balance with Adventist identity and mission,\" she says. \"It needs to be done in appropriate context at the right time and with sufficient support for students as they wrestle through intellectual issues, such as what is the current scientific thinking about the age of the earth, and how do we reconcile that with our belief that God is our creator.\"

Still, she cautions that such topics should be taught with \"maturity, judiciousness and mindfulness.\"

\"There are things that academics talk about among themselves with other professors and there are things they talk about with undergraduates. And it's not the same thing. ...We should never throw our students to the wolves and let it be survival of the fittest.\"

Calling to ministry

Beardsley, 52, is fluent in English and Finnish (she's half Finnish and half Japanese) and a longtime professor and student in Adventist and public schools around the world.

She took the theology track in college in Europe, not realizing until her junior year that a woman couldn't serve as an Adventist minister. When asked about it, she says she was \"shocked\" at the time, but that her calling now is through the ministry of education.

Still, she put that theology training to use during two stints as a hospital chaplain between teaching and pursuing academic degrees, which now form the alphabet soup following her name -- Ph.D., MBA, MPH.

Her four degrees -- in education, business, health and theology -- make up the four largest disciplines now on Adventist campuses.

Reaching students

Most recently, Beardsley served as a department associate director and editor-in-chief of Dialogue, a journal geared toward Adventist students on public campuses. That's where roughly 70 percent of Adventist college students in North America study. And she'd like to have more of them in Adventist schools.

Wouldn't that crowd existing campuses? Not outside North America, she says.

Her own career has more or less been aided by a rotation of schools and developing connections -- \"social capital,\" she calls it. Today, e-mails to executives in Indonesia or Pakistan aren't misinterpreted because of culture. Familiarity and trust was built on campuses decades ago. The denomination functions on that capital, she says.

\"I tell students, 'Don't just think of the school closest to you. Think of the world.' My own experience -- two years in England, two years in the Philippines, a year and a half at Loma Linda -- gave me an understanding of the world I could not have gained any other way.\"

--write her at beardsleyL@gc.adventist.org

Trapped Chilean miners find light of Word in 'mini-Bibles'

2010-08-31T11:37:29Z

The arrival of miniature Bibles to 33 Chilean miners trapped some 2,300 feet underground is bolstering their hope of rescue.

Seventh-day Adventist pastor Carlos Parra Diaz (left), shows one of the miniature Bibles sent down a supply shaft to the 33 trapped miners in the Atacama desert. Parra is serving as chaplain at the rescue site, local church leaders said. [photo courtesy South American Division]

\"Give thanks to those who sent us the Bibles,\" a miner identified as Renan told a Brazilian weekly newsmagazine last week. The Bibles \"gave me so much faith that I will leave here,\" Renan said.

Seventh-day Adventist officials in Chile say the Bibles they provided the miners are supplying spiritual light as the group awaits rescue. Local media outlets have labeled the miners' survival so far a miracle, and their reports have highlighted the church's initiative.

The miners -- who have been trapped since the August 5 collapse of a tunnel at the San Jose mine in Chile's Atacama desert -- rationed what would have been two days' worth of food to stretch until they were discovered some 17 days later. Now, they await rescue, which mining experts say could take up to four months.

The Associated Press on August 31 reported that preliminary drilling has begun to liberate the miners. While they wait, food, water, medical supplies -- and now, miniature Bibles -- are arriving through a supply shaft.

Carlos Parra Diaz, an Adventist pastor who oversees the northern Chilean district of Copiapo, secured approval from Laurence Golborne, the country's mining minister, to send Bibles to the trapped miners. Each volume is approximately three by five inches to fit into the device that is transporting supplies to the miners. Each Bible was personalized with a miner's name and included specific scriptures to encourage them.

\"We have always been available to help our brothers who are suffering both outside and inside of the mine,\" Parra said. \"Now we have prepared ... these mini Bibles so the miners, in their confinement, can read the Word of God.\"

A magnifying glass accompanied each of the mini Bibles to make reading easier, the Brazilian newsmagazine reported. Each Bible is labeled with the words, \"We are praying for your return.\" The magazine also said that Psalms 40 is highlighted in each Bible. The passage reads, in part, \"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit ... and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.\"

The church also gave a copy of the Bible to the ministers of health and mining, as well as to each of the families at the rescue site. Parra is acting as the camp's chaplain, local Adventist leaders said.

\"If God has kept them alive, he will continue taking care of them,\" Parra told the Brazilian newsmagazine. \"Before, the prayer was for our [countrymen] to be alive. Now, we pray that the final rescue [will] be long before they expect it to be. We are asking for another miracle,\" he said.

As a result of the Bible distribution, the church has established a presence in the mine area and is now a \"spiritual reference\" for the camp, local Adventist officials said.

U.S. Adventist Academy in contention for $500,000 award from online contest

2010-08-30T15:28:03Z

A small Seventh-day Adventist high school in the U.S. state of Montana is in the running for a $500,000 prize from an online contest sponsored by a clothing retailer.

Mount Ellis Academy, a 75-student school in Bozeman, Montana, is the only Adventist school in contention to receive a contest award, which school officials said would be used to replace the institution's aging sewer system. However, more votes are needed by the September 3 deadline.

Kohl's Corporation, a Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin-based department-store chain, will award $500,000 to each of the top 20 schools in the contest via Facebook. Mt. Ellis Academy is now in 21st place.

Contest participants are allowed 20 votes and may vote up to five times for a particular school.

Kohl's said the contest is in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the company's Kohl's Cares community outreach program.

Another Adventist school in the running, but farther down in the current ranking, is Upper Columbia Academy in Spangle, Washington.

Facebook users may vote and see current rankings at facebook.com/kohls.

In Pakistan, ADRA intensifies emergency flood relief effort

2010-08-25T11:50:47Z

The humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is redoubling relief work in northern Pakistan, a region devastated by recent flooding where residents now face widespread disease.

A flood victim receives treatment from one of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency's mobile medical teams in Pakistan. A recent sharp increase in waterborne diseases is worsening conditions in the country, where millions still lack shelter and clean water. [photo courtesy ADRA Pakistan]

Concentrating on the country's Nowshera District, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is mobilizing medical teams to treat a sharp increase in waterborne diseases among flood victims. In collaboration with local and tribal authorities, the teams are expected to support medical relief work at local schools, hospitals and community centers, ADRA officials said.

Their first response will focus on hospitals and clinics destroyed by the floods in the Nowshera District, ADRA officials in the United Kingdom said. Ongoing efforts will include a program for schools to raise awareness of waterborne diseases and how to treat them.

Spurred by heavy monsoon rains beginning late last month in the country's north, flooding has swept across the country's low-lying areas in recent weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands without shelter and vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

Floodwaters now cover approximately one-fifth of the country, Pakistan's government officials said.

Millions of flood victims still lack clean drinking water and basic shelter, the Associated Press reported. According to the United Nations, there are already more than 120,000 cases of suspected dengue and malaria, with skin infections and diarrhea affecting hundreds of thousands more. The threat of disease is most critical four to six weeks after an initial flood, Pakistan's national health coordinator Jahanzeb Orakzai told AP.

ADRA's emergency response is expected to last two months and will benefit an area with an estimated population of 200,000 residents, the agency said in a statement last week. ADRA said it will assist the most vulnerable groups first, including the elderly, pregnant women and children.

ADRA also reported that ongoing conflict along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan has further destabilized the region and continues to fetter relief efforts.

Adventist leaders update Brazilian consul on church's work

2010-08-24T11:40:47Z

Seventh-day Adventist Church officers yesterday welcomed Washington's Brazilian consul general to the denomination's world headquarters, lauding Brazil's commitment to religious freedom and showcasing the church's operations in the South American country.

Brazil Counsul Almir Barbuda addresses leaders at the Adventist Church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States on August 23. At center is Ted Wilson, president of the Adventist Church. At left is John Graz, director of the church's Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department. [photo: Ansel Oliver]

Church leaders said Brazil is home to one of the more \"vibrant\" regions of the denomination. Though the nation is largely Catholic, Brazil is home to nearly 1.3 million Adventist Church members, the largest Adventist population of any country. Brazil is also experiencing significant growth among other Protestant denominations.

\"We're very grateful for the religious freedom for not just the Adventist Church but for all churches,\" Adventist Church President Ted N. C. Wilson told Ambassador Almir Barbuda. \"Adventists are keen to hold onto and nurture religious freedom for all people.\"

Barbuda, a former Brazilian ambassador to Belgium, commended the church for its work in education and healthcare. \"You are doing a wonderful job in Brazil,\" he told a small group of church leaders in the executive dining room.

Wilson said the Adventist Church focuses on making Christianity \"practical\" where it operates. The church in Brazil runs 475 elementary schools, about 130 secondary schools, six colleges, and the largest university in the denomination -- more than 8,000 students attend Brazil Adventist University in Sao Paulo.

\"In Brazil we operate schools and hospitals and almost every week we're inaugurating a Hope Channel television station in a different city. We want to share with the government what we're doing,\" said Williams Costa Jr., the church's Communication director and a native of Brazil.

First blind doctoral student graduates from Adventist seminary

2010-08-23T17:45:38Z

A decade after he embarked on doctoral studies, a blind student has graduated with a Ph.D in religion, marking the first time such a student has earned the degree from a Seventh-day Adventist theological seminary.

Ray McAllister is awarded a Ph.D in Religion from the Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary on August 1. McAllister is the first blind student to graduate with the degree from a church-run seminary. [photo: Katelin Mitchell]

Ray McAllister, 35, who graduated this month from the Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, was born with a degenerative eye condition. At age five, one eye was removed; at age 12, he lost sight in the other, resulting in complete blindness.

Before enrolling in doctoral studies, McAllister earned a bachelor's degree in Theology and a master's degree in Divinity.

McAllister's doctorate emphasis, Old Testament Exegesis and Theology, meant he faced intensive use of Hebrew, Greek, Cuneiform and other Biblical languages. The Society of Biblical Literature and the National Federation for the Blind speculate that McAllister may be the first blind doctoral student ever to tackle a degree so heavily dependent upon such languages.

While studying Cuneiform, McAllister's friend, Sally Ann Trottier, whom he later married, created the impressions of Cuneiform letters on note cards so he could feel and memorize them, much like Braille. Toy magnetic Hebrew letters helped him learn their shapes, and a Braille Hebrew bible let him read letters directly with his fingers. He scanned documents so his computer, equipped with a computer-generated voice, could \"read\" their contents to him.

When the Michigan Commission for the Blind learned of McAllister's efforts, the agency upgraded his laptop with a new voice as well as a Braille display.

Teaching classes -- mandatory for doctoral students -- posed additional challenges. In 2002, when he taught a summer intensive on the Old Testament, McAllister couldn't see his students raise their hands for questions. Using skills he'd learned as an amateur radio operator, he asked students to call out their names if they had a question or comment.

McAllister stored lecture notes in a talking laptop, to ensure he covered the right material. Once, he felt impressed to memorize the following day's lecture. When the next day his laptop keyboard quit working, McAllister lectured from memory.

Now that he has graduated, McAllister looks forward to finding a job. \"I would like the opportunity to teach or in some way serve the blind community,\" he said. \"If all else fails, I'll go to massage therapy school.\"

Venezuela: Adventist Church celebrates 100 years

2010-08-20T10:29:47Z

Thousands of Seventh-day Adventist across Venezuela celebrated 100 years of church heritage in their country this month, honoring the work of Adventist pioneers, showcasing church growth and challenging a new generation of Venezuelans to continue the mission of the church.

Young church members in Venezuela wait at the airport to welcome world church President Ted N.C. Wilson to their country for a celebration of its 100 years of church heritage. [photo: Libna Stevens]

The August 8 and 9 event drew top church leaders to Venezuela, including Adventist world church President Ted N.C. Wilson, who marked his first visit to the South American country.

In his keynote address, Wilson commended the government of Venezuela for its commitment to religious liberty and reminded an audience of some 13,000 of their church's identity.

\"We are people of hope, a hope in the coming of the Lord,\" he said. \"We are a people seeking revival and reform, a people who are waiting to be transformed.\"

In his first official trip outside of North America after his election as Adventist world church president in June, Wilson praised the work of Venezuelan Adventists and challenged each member to move forward and \"expand God's work in a dynamic way.\"

Local church leaders embraced the challenge, harnessing the momentum of the centennial celebration to strategize for greater church growth.

\"This [celebration is] a turning point for the church in Venezuela,\" said Josney Rodriguez, president of the East Venezuelan Union, a newly formed church administrative body in the country. The centennial will spur younger church members to \"move forward and finish the work the pioneers began,\" he said.

(From left) Israel Leito, president for the church in Inter-America, translates for world church President Ted N.C. Wilson, who urged Venezuelan church members to \"expand God's work\" in the country. [photo: Libna Stevens]

One young Venezuelan member, Rodny Emmons, 30, said his country's rich church heritage brings responsibility.

\"I feel like my generation has a real challenge ... We live in a time when we have to be part of a force that can adapt the message to reach out through the means of communication, through social networks, to present the truth,\" said Emmons, who serves as treasurer for the East Venezuelan Mission.

For years, the church in Venezuela was part of the Colombia-Venezuela Union, headquartered in Colombia. In 1989, when the Venezuelan Antilles Union was established, the church was comprised of three conferences and missions and some 43,000 members. Today, the church boasts 12 conferences and missions and nearly 250,000 members.

\"We wanted to use this event as a launching pad to let Venezuela know more of what the Adventist Church is all about and our commitment to contributing to a better society and spreading the gospel,\" Rodriquez said.

A young Venezuelan studies a timeline of Adventist Church heritage in his country. [photo: Marcos Salas]

Several leaders from other church denominations spoke at the centennial, commending the Adventist Church for its growth, influence and unswerving commitment to upholding Bible truths. Representatives of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in Venezuela applauded the work of the church's humanitarian arm, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, for its work in the country's needy communities.

Church leaders in East Venezuela are committing 50 percent of their evangelism budget to television, radio and publishing to reach community members, especially in Caracas, the country's capital and its largest city with a population of over two million. Currently, nearly 20,000 Adventists call Caracas home.

Spreading the church's message of hope, not only to Caracas, but to the entire country, is in the hands of church members in Venezuela, said Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America.

\"I encourage you, as you celebrate the past, the pioneers, the victories won, the institutions established here, I challenge you to fill the country with the message of life, of the soon coming of the Lord,\" he said.

Venezuela is home to nearly 250,000 Adventists worshipping in 849 churches. The Adventist Church operates a university, several clinics and dozens of schools in the country.

Shirley Burton, former Adventist Communication director, dies

2010-08-18T17:25:32Z

Shirley Burton, a former Adventist Church director of Communication, died Monday. She was 83. [photo: courtesy Archives and Statistics]

Shirley Burton, former Seventh-day Adventist world church Communication director who helped shape church public relations, died August 16 at the BryanLGH Hospital in her native Lincoln, Nebraska. She was 83.

According to a family spokesperson, Burton died of complications following a stroke she suffered at home the previous Friday.

Burton's denominational service spanned more than four decades, including stints as professor, dean, editor and director of Public and Media Relations before her appointment in 1988 as Communication director for the world church, a post she held until 1994.

Burton was a \"genuine pioneer\" in print-oriented church public relations and, with M. Carol Hetzel, among the \"most prominent women in church communication\" at the height of her career, said Robert Nixon, who preceded her as Communication director.

Burton earned a bachelor's degree from Adventist-run Union College in 1949, shortly after which she began teaching English, journalism and speech at Oak Park Academy in Nevada, Iowa. Another education post followed -- this time, at Laurelwood Academy in Gaston, Oregon. Colleagues said she was influential in shaping the church communication careers of many of her students.

In 1961, Burton earned a master's degree in Communication from Southern Oregon College. Afterward, she studied at the University of Oregon under a fellowship from the Wall Street Journal.

An advocate for better communication between the church and the community, Burton in 1963 accepted a job as director of Public Relations for the Oregon Conference. Six years later, she served in the same capacity for the Pacific Union. While there, she also acted as managing editor of the Pacific Union Recorder, which saw an increase in subscriptions to some 54,000 homes during her watch.

In her final editorial for the Recorder, Burton envisioned church communication solidifying an Adventist presence in the secular media, writing that Adventists should be known as leaders in humanitarian outreach and mission work and seen as \"happy, rejoicing Christians.\"

In 1985, Burton accepted a post as associate director for Communication at world church headquarters. Three years later, she was elected director of the Communication department at headquarters, which at that time moved from Takoma Park, Maryland to Silver Spring, Maryland.

During retirement, Burton volunteered for Adventist-laymen's Services and Industries.

A memorial service is set for Sunday, August 22 at 11 a.m. at the Piedmont Park Adventist Church.

Church leaders hope Adventist anti-abuse message takes root in local churches

2010-08-17T11:01:11Z

This month, Seventh-day Adventists worldwide are encouraged to raise awareness of violence against women and girl children within their respective congregations.

Respect as a God-given right is the theme of this year's Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day. On Saturday, August 28, Adventist congregations worldwide are encouraged to raise awareness of violence against women and girl children. [graphic: Women's Ministries]

The Adventist Church holds its Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day annually on the fourth Saturday of each August. Church leaders launched the initiative in 2001, noting that domestic violence and sexual abuse affect Christian homes at rates similar to the general population. The first steps to fight abuse, they said, are awareness and education.

This year, resources produced by the world church's Women's Ministries department focus on violence against women, including topics such as human trafficking, the forced prostitution of young girls, Female Genital Mutilation, child marriages, domestic violence, forced abortions and rape. Previous years have tackled domestic violence, incest, abuse of power and abuse of the elderly.

One out of three women worldwide is a victim of physical or psychological repression, while approximately 135 million girls have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, church leaders have said.

This year's materials are designed to help church members approach the subject of violence against women by first affirming that every individual is a \"temple\" of God, deserving of respect, according to a website launched for the emphasis day. The resource packet includes a sample sermon, Scripture reading selections, a children's story and a PowerPoint presentation that local church leaders are urged to present on August 28.

\"If we are precious in God's eyes, then we must do all we can to prevent anyone from desecrating not only our own bodies, but those of our sisters [worldwide],\" said Heather-Dawn Small, world church Women's Ministries director, in a letter distributed with the resource packet.

The emphasis day is also an opportunity to rally the community in support against abuse. \"When you invite the community to come to your church to discuss abuse and learn how to end it, this is common ground,\" said Raquel Arrais, associate director for Women's Ministries. \"They come not only to support the program, but to learn more about the God who says 'yes' to love and 'yes' to justice,\" she said.

Also part of the Women's Ministries department's ongoing abuse awareness effort is EndItNow, launched last year with the church's humanitarian arm, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, to end violence against women and girl children.

To learn more about EndItNow, visit www.enditnow.org. Find the resource packet for Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day here.

Barbados to ban smoking in public places

2010-08-16T15:44:34Z

Seventh-day Adventists are among those applauding a forthcoming ban on public smoking in Barbados.

Already passed by the country's cabinet and headed for its parliament, the legislation will protect citizens from second-hand smoke, Barbados' minister of health, Donville Inniss, said during an August 5 announcement.

Expected to take effect in October, the ban extends steep fines or imprisonment -- or both -- on those found smoking illegally and businesses allowing it, the Caribbean nation's government announced this month.

The International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, a non-governmental agency supported in part by Adventists, joined likeminded organizations in Barbados to lobby for the landmark legislation, said Peter Landless, ICPA executive director and an associate director of the Adventist world church's Health Ministries department.

The legislation is the latest move in the country's effort to curb smoking. The government of Barbados previously hiked taxes on tobacco, abolished duty-free concessions at the country's ports of entry, banned sales of tobacco to minors, and prohibited the employment of minors in the sale of tobacco products.

Coming from one of the Caribbean's largest and most influential nations, the move is particularly significant, Landless said.

\"Setting a strategic and planned approach [to restrict the use of tobacco] sets an example to highly developed countries worldwide,\" he said.

During the announcement last week, Inniss said smokers found defying the ban will face a maximum of a U.S.$250 fine, a 12-month prison sentence or both. Similarly, businesses who permit customers to smoke in public could see fines as high as $2,500, 12 months in prison or both.

While the legislation appears rigorous, Landless said its implementation may be regulators' greatest challenge.

Personal evangelism is the real 'public' evangelism

2010-08-12T19:25:16Z

I dislike the term \"public evangelism\" and I believe we should retire it.

The term is a misnomer. Is it \"public\" because we do it in the open air, public space, in view of all people? Or do we suggest that it is directed to the public, the secular, the strangers, the world? The issue is that I have a hard time figuring out what about the Great Commission is not public. My question would be, then, what is \"private evangelism?\"

The gospel is not a secret. And in no case when I share it do I suggest that I don't want the whole world to know all about it. Evangelism is always public. I'll share the gospel with anybody. This morning I witnessed to a girl while I was jogging. Yesterday, I gave a Bible study to a man at his place of employment.

The gospel is always with me and I take it everywhere I go -- to share with anyone I meet. That is public evangelism.

Please don't misunderstand; I am not suggesting that we abandon evangelistic events. However, my main objection to the term \"public evangelism\" is that it tends to lead us toward a seasonal or event-based approach to sharing the gospel.

In his 2008 book Preparing for Your Harvest, Jessie Wilson makes it clear that our major evangelistic events are like a grain harvest, which requires a quick and decisive effort. He adds, however, that many harvests are like a fruit harvest where many people pick the fruit by hand, piece by piece.

I suggest that most of our churches, most of the time, are in better position to hold a fruit harvest than a grain harvest. We need every member in the groves examining the fruit and picking it as it ripens, even though it's a longer and more painstaking effort.

What denominational leaders say

I echo the consensus drawn by Mark Finley and other church evangelism leaders when they met this past April. \"Evangelism is not an event, but rather, a process,\" Finley said. I would take this concept a step further by saying that evangelism is not an event, but rather part of the process of discipleship.

As disciples in the process of being shaped in the image of Christ, we are committed to the task of inviting others to join us in this journey. This journey does not happen overnight, but rather, in the words of early Adventist writer Ellen White, \"Sanctification is the work of a lifetime.\" This demands a great commitment.

We are all disciples and thus we are all committed to making more disciples -- not just converts or proselytes (see Matthew 23:15). Just as God is not finished with us, we are not finished when a person accepts Christ and buries their past life in the watery grave of baptism. We must be committed to seeing them through to the other side of their journey. We must demonstrate a commitment to their full spiritual development.

Just as you were careful to win that person to the faith you must be just as careful -- and perhaps even more careful -- to teach him how to walk in the Spirit.

This is exactly what Jesus did for the disciples. He spent every day with them for three and a half years. He taught them everything he could and then promised them that the Holy Spirit would come to teach them everything else they needed to know (see John 14:26, 15:3). Then he turned them loose on the world and said, \"Go...do for others what I just did for you.\" Jesus displayed an undying commitment to their spiritual development and demanded the same type of commitment from them.

Supporting a new believer

I have worked with churches that have attempted to retain new members by assigning to them \"spiritual guardians.\" This process often falters because the two people who are thus connected often have had no prior connection and feel practically forced to be friends. Just think how much easier spiritual guardianship becomes when you serve to \"guard\" the one whom you have won to the kingdom. It's not a burden that has been forced onto you, but rather a responsibility that you have already shouldered when you first introduced them to Christ. The process of discipleship simply continues after their baptism.

Other pastors suggest that we retain new members by quickly assigning them to some ministry within the church. While this is important, without a trusted friend who brought them into the church standing close by their side to help them, support them, equip them and encourage them in that ministry, it is more likely that they will become discouraged and let go of the reins before they have had a chance to provide and receive the blessings that will result from Christian service.

All of this happens naturally when we begin to empower our people with understanding, resources, and skills concerning the \"why,\" \"what\" and \"how\" of personal evangelism and spiritual mentoring.

At local administrative levels, let's appropriate less funding for public evangelistic events and more funding for training in these methods of personal evangelism and spiritual mentoring.

I appreciate the approach taken by Paul Ratsara, president of the Southern African-Indian Ocean region when he said, \"We tell our pastors, 'We are happy to receive the report about [the number of] your baptisms, but we would like to wait three months and then again in one year to see how many of those people are still in church and involved in outreach.'\" The emphasis is not being placed on how well we win people, but rather how committed we are to building people up in Christ.

Discipleship is the process in which a person is conformed to the will and character of Christ. I am committed to that process and my commitment includes assisting others whom I know God is leading in the same path.

--Christopher C. Thompson is pastor of the Rock of Faith Adventist Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, and the Berean Adventist Church in Pittsburgh. He is the author of the forthcoming book \"Disciplemaking\" from AdventSource.

Somalia's ruling militant group orders ADRA to leave country

2010-08-10T09:47:12Z

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is one of three humanitarian agencies that Somalia's ruling militant group is asking to leave the region.

The al-Shabaab ruling militant group has banned ADRA from operating in Somalia, which, if enforced, could affect up to 180,000 people currently receiving aid. Above, a woman in south-central Somalia at an ADRA water project. [photo courtesy ADRA]

Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen (Movement of Warrior Youth), declared in a statement Monday that ADRA, World Vision and Diakonia can no longer operate inside the country because they are \"acting as missionaries under the guise of humanitarian work.\"

In a statement, ADRA denied that it is attempting to proselytize through its humanitarian work and said leaving the area would adversely affect more than 180,000 people. The agency is working to build and rehabilitate wells, provide livelihoods and increase access to education.

A World Vision spokesperson said they were \"surprised\" to receive the order to cease operations there and that the aid group recognizes the \"need to remain impartial in responding to the needy,\" the Associated Press reported.

Al-Shabaab has claimed affiliation with al-Qaida and responsibility for last month's blasts in Uganda that killed 76 people. The group rules most of Southern Somalia and maintains strict Islamic Sharia law.

As a global international humanitarian organization, ADRA is a signatory of the Code of Conduct for The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief, which states that \"aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint\", that \"aid is given regardless of the race, creed, or nationality\", and that organizations \"shall respect culture and custom.\"

ADRA said it remains committed to serving the people of Somalia as circumstances allow.

ADRA conducts humanitarian aid in more than 120 countries, and has served in Somalia since 1992. It's work there has focused solely on implementing emergency relief and development interventions through various sectors, including water, sanitation, food security, education, health, infrastructure, institutional capacity building, agricultural support and economic development.

In 2008 alone, more than 650,000 Somalis benefitted from ADRA's humanitarian work, which is located in various regions in northern and south-central Somalia.

For more information, visit adra.org.

ADRA assessing needs for flood-affected Northern Pakistan

2010-08-09T14:37:56Z

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency is assessing the immediate needs of communities in Northern Pakistan following some of the worst flooding in the area in 80 years, the agency reported.

Some of the most urgently needed relief aid in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province includes shelters for displaced families, hygiene kits, food, water, and medical assistance, ADRA officials said.

More than 1,500 people have died since flooding began last month, the Associated Press reported. Officials for a United Nations office said the disaster has affected more than 4 million people. The effect of the flooding on farmlands, crops, cattle, roads, buildings, and communication networks has been severe.

\"The entire infrastructure we built in the last 50 years has been destroyed,\" a spokesman for the provincial Disaster Management Authority in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said, according to AP.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the threat of water-borne diseases remains high in all affected areas, as the flooding has contaminated water sources. Though a 2005 earthquake killed more people, the concentrated location of death and damage to newly built infrastructure has frustrated local officials.

\"This is the worst ever calamity in our history,\" said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

As more heavy monsoon rains are in the forecast, government authorities expect the number of dead to climb further. In addition, the vast amounts of water, which are now flowing south through Baluchistan, Punjab and Sindh provinces, have already caused flash flooding and are threatening low-lying areas.

For more information, visit adra.org.

In South Africa, 22 dead as fire destroys church-owned nursing home

2010-08-04T18:06:09Z

The death toll has risen to 22 in the wake of a nighttime August 1 fire that destroyed the Pieter Wessels Frail Care facility, owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Transvaal Conference. The Wessels home, which serves low-income elderly, is in Nigel, about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Johannesburg.

Initially, 17 were reported dead at the scene, officials said. Another person died from an apparent heart attack following the blaze. Media reports in South Africa on August 4 indicated an additional four people died while hospitalized.

By the time the night staff stumbled upon the scene of the fire just before 9 p.m. local time, the heavy smoke overwhelmed them, curbing efforts to douse the fire. The fire soon spread via curtains to the ceiling, setting the roofing timbers ablaze. Local emergency services were immediately summoned.

The 102 residents, many in their nineties, who have been in 24-hour care were the focus of the rescue effort. Staff and rescuers managed to carry out 84 residents who could save only what they were wearing. When firefighters brought the fire under control round about 11 p.m., 17 bodies were carried out.

Local volunteers and churches from other denominations stepped forward and offered temporary shelter for the survivors.

The fire destroyed all the residents' possessions, including medication and personal documents and patient records.

Some of the staff, who number 80, were gathered outside the premises this morning and were visibly affected by the traumatic event.

Provincial government officials were on hand quickly to offer their assistance in managing many aspects of the tragedy. Rescue officials were still on the scene the following morning, along with forensic experts who sifted through the ruins for evidence of how the fire was started.

The Transvaal Conference is deeply affected by this tragedy, officials said. A recovery plan has been implemented to develop immediate plans to re-house residents and find alternate employment for staff.

New research may aid in early Alzheimer's detection

2010-08-03T11:09:13Z

Several researchers for the Seventh-day Adventist Church's leading school of medicine discovered what they hope will be a method to detect Alzheimer's disease in its earliest and most treatable stages.

Members of a joint research team from Loma Linda University, Matthew Schrag, left, and Dr. Wolff Kirsch. The team has discovered what could be a method to better detect and treat Alzheimer's disease. [photo: Loma Linda University Office of Public Relations]

The neuroscience researchers found a trail of biomarkers -- proteins in the bloodstream that show the severity or presence of a disease by their high concentration -- that could lead to early detection of the brain-destroying disease.

The team of researchers from Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California and George Mason University in Virginia published their findings earlier this year in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, volume 19.

Using mass spectrometry, an analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of samples, the team screened for low-abundance serum proteins and protein fragments in search of products connected to the existence of Alzheimer's disease.

The team consisted of Claudius Mueller, then a graduate student affiliated with the Loma Linda University School of Medicine; Wolff Kirsch, professor of neurological surgery and biochemistry at Loma Linda University School of Medicine; Lance Liotta, professor of life sciences at George Mason University; and Loma Linda University graduate student Matthew Schrag.

Mueller, now employed at George Mason University, said the team was looking for \"garbage\" in the blood. The damage Alzheimer's causes to the brain leaves its mark, even in the early stages, Kirsch added.

\"Inflammation of the brain causes a reaction,\" Kirsch said. \"Blood cells break down and are digested by the body. These signal the production of enzymes that break down the blood even more. Fragments of these enzymes are getting into the blood. There's going to be some collateral damage.\"

Alzheimer's, named for the German physician who first described the disease in 1906, ultimately destroys nerve cells and tissue in the brain. Individuals with advanced Alzheimer's lose their communication skills, memories and the ability to care for themselves.

Discovering the biomarkers for early stage Alzheimer's is important because that is the only time the disease is treatable, Liotta said. \"This study provides some new candidates for that purpose.\"