It is seldom the case that an initiative born from impulse lives on to see much success. In my life, I have been inspired at various times to try my hand at something, only to see it eventually fail. Nevertheless, I still find myself trying.
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1987. This was the year campus operations ceased at Berkshire Christian College. At that time, Berkshire was the primary means through which pastors were trained and developed within the Advent Christian Church. It had been more than a decade since pastoral studies programs had ceased at the Advent Christian Church’s other college, Aurora College, so with Berkshire’s closure, the Advent Christian Church was left without a clear avenue through which pastors and key denominational leaders could emerge.
Corey McLaughlin and Tom Loghry have levied some heavy charges over the last couple of weeks. They have indicated that it is our responsibility as Advent Christians to hasten the Second Coming of Christ. I want these good and well meaning servants of Christ to know this…I’m not ready for that. I certainly want Christ to return, but can’t he wait until I’ve gone on vacation first?
Read MoreThe title of this article is punctuated with a question mark because of the embryonic stage at which it is being put forward. In his latest two-part series, “Advent Christians in the 21st Century”, Corey McLaughlin has set before us what is in my estimation one of the most pivotal reflections on Adventism in late Advent Christian history. Conditionalism has dominated Advent Christian identity in the latter part of our history, but McLaughlin has reminded us of our other hand, in fact what was once our dominant hand, which is our Adventism.
Read MoreThere is possibly no greater challenge to the faithful Christian than living this life with eternity in mind. Paul warns us in Romans 13:14 that we should “make no provision of the flesh, to gratify its desires”. In 1 Corinthians 15 we are reminded that if it is in this life only that we have hope, we should be pitied. Indeed, our life is not our own, it belongs to God, “For none of us lives to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14:7-8).
Read MoreThe passionate, zealous, spirit of the Second Advent movement is still sought today by many in the Advent Christian denomination who pant with drought stricken desperation for the same radical demonstrations of faith as our early brethren. David Platt’s challenging call in Radical: Taking Back Your Faith From The American Dream, and John Piper’s Don’t Waste Your Life capture the essence of this spirit many seek while avoiding the pitfalls of fanaticism and abuse.
Read More“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards,” says Søren Kierkegaard. This is all the more crucial for the new generation of Second Adventist leaders as they ponder the four stages of social movements and apply them analogously to our denomination, noting that we are currently in the final stage of decline and therefore soon failure. The grave is dug, the tombstone is written, but the body has yet to fall. Is there yet still vibrant life in this mortal frame? In order to understand who we are, we must first look back:
Read MoreAbigail Messer was born on August 31, 1811 in the town of New London, NH to Zaccheus Messer and Hannah Hutchins Messer. She was one of nine children, living in a large house with all of her siblings, her parents, and a grandmother.
Read MoreThe questions surrounding the propriety and appropriateness of women in ministry have always seemed to be a popular topic for conversation, and it has at times caused much controversy and dissonance among church fellowship.
Read More“Impatient”- it is a word that singularly describes most of us who are Americans. From our fast-food to our hi-speed internet, we are seldom satisfied by anything less than instant gratification. We must have it all, right now.
Read More“O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!”
Each Advent season, these words are sung in churches around the nation and likely, in some form, around the globe. They are words of hope and longing. They are words of expectation and yet to be fulfilled promise. They are words that capture, very well, the mood of the Israelite people at the time of the incarnation. There was longing and pain, yet there was hope.
Read MoreThe Advent season calls us to consider the promise of Jesus to come again. When asked about the time of his return, Jesus gave us all kinds of signs that we could observe in the interim between his two advents. He said there would be wars and rumors of wars, famines and earthquakes and all kinds of things like that would happen but that we were not to get perturbed or anxious about any of them because the end was not yet. He also said the gospel will be preached to all people groups before the end would come. That is something that it would seem could possibly be completed at the rate is happening now within this generation especially with the advent of the internet. There was, however, one particular sign that he associated with his second advent and with which he gave a very strong admonition...
Read MoreEarly yesterday afternoon, Tim Keller sent out a tweet that set Twitter ablaze with controversy. Keller tweeted, “Jesus didn’t come primarily to solve the economic, political, and social problems of the world. He came to forgive our sins.” Accusations immediately began to pour in that Keller was claiming that Jesus does not care about social justice.
Read More“Mommy, can we open the gifts right now?” Wait for a second. Let’s go back approximately 12 hours before to a short exchange between my wife and I. After our bedtime routine with the boys, my wife says to me, “I think I am going to start wrapping presents tonight.” My wise and all-knowing response: “Okay, but you do realize as soon as the boys see the wrapped gifts they’re going to want to open them immediately.” Now fast forward 12 hours. Our youngest sees the presents and yells, “Christmas presents!” The oldest asks….and asks…and asks, “Mommy, can we open the gifts right now?” Their voices are full of excitement and anticipation. With one fell swoop, mommy and daddy crush the excitement—but hopefully not the anticipation—with a “No, we have to wait until Christmas.” Then comes the all too familiar whiney “Please?!”
Read More“Born thy people to deliver…born to set thy people free.” These words sung of Jesus in Charles Wesley’s well-known Christmas hymn could as easily be sung of another baby, the one whose birth brightens the otherwise dismal opening to the book of Exodus. There we find the chosen people of God suffering as slaves at the hands of a Pharaoh who knew not their forefather Joseph, nor their Father God.
Read MoreI stand at the open door staring at the number of single socks accumulating on top of the dryer. The other darks — underwear and jeans — were gathering clean, folded, soon to return to their assigned spots in my dresser. As the items piled up, I wonder how many socks must be removed before two can be paired and moved to the folded piles. For me the general rule of thumb — one of every pair.
Read MoreEdward Fudge’s life story has been summarized, written up in detail and even made into a movie already, so the only thing that I want to say about him is what he has meant to us as Advent Christians.
Read MoreMy evangelism professor in seminary was Jack Miller. He not only believed the gospel, he loved the gospel. He was gospel-centered and from that center he overflowed with joy and love. He was also a risk-taker. He believed the words of Paul in Romans 8 that if God has given us his Son then we can face death all day long. We can take risks for Jesus’ sake and Jack did. I am not sure how anecdotal this account is but I was told that he would often go up to a complete stranger and introduce himself by saying, “Hello, I am Jack and I am a recovering Pharisee.”
Read MoreWe live in a politically charged climate these days. As a pastor, it is a climate I usually try to avoid entering whenever possible. However, when politics crosses wires with the Church (typically evangelicalism) and issues of moral concern, I am compelled to share my own voice when other voices are effectively speaking for me. The case of Roy Moore is such an instance of the wires crossing.
Read MoreSo, all the book reviews I read are either summary and analysis types which can get too involved or interview the author types which can meander too much, but it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a Q&A review that gets to the meat and potatoes of an author’s premise and gives a taste of their core assertions. Then again, it is me writing this so it may be both too involved and too meandering! Note: Dr. Vanhoozer’s personal responses are in the last two questions if you are interested (basically the ones I could not confidently figure out on my own).
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