Looking for Legalism, Finding Hypocrisy
It’s a good idea to define our terms before we debate them.
By Joseph Olstad
Though we run the risk of appearing closed-minded, most of us don’t have time to consider every new idea or teaching crossing our religious radar. We often pick and choose what to consider based on the theological models or paradigms in our minds that serve to frame or filter information.
My own modeling helps me frame an understandable picture of God’s wrath in the Old Testament with Jesus’ teaching on forgiving one’s enemies in the New Testament. Without a model, I’m either left with a contradiction or tempted to favor/ignore one part of the Bible over another.
On the other hand, if a biblical scholar tries to tell me that Jesus wasn’t really divine, or the New Testament documents are a collection of forgeries, I’m not motivated (in most circumstances) even to consider such positions. I just filter that out and make no attempt at changing my paradigm to accommodate what I consider nonsense.
Paradigms are essential and work well until we forget we are using them. If that happens, we may begin unconsciously filtering out crucial bits of data that would improve our paradigms to reflect the truth better. It may be that some Christians, including Adventists, have unconsciously assumed, when reading the Gospels, a paradigm that has caused us to overlook some of the sharper points Jesus was making. The concept of legalism is one of these problematic paradigms that warrants a closer look.
I read and hear the contours of this model everywhere—in Sabbath schools, sermons, periodicals, and casual conversation: “Pharisees were legalists and were teaching legalism”; “Jesus rebuked the Pharisees’ legalism and taught us a new way of grace and love”; “Christians should obey the law but not legalistically”; “Obeying the Sabbath is legalism”; and so on. Within this paradigm it seems that legalism is a major threat in the Gospels; therefore, Jesus’ rebukes and teachings are seen as correcting that problem. But I suggest a different paradigm. Remembering the saying “What you focus on determines what you miss,” I believe that legalism has been focused on or assumed . . . but hypocrisy has been missed.
When I started considering this distinction, I asked friends at church if they could offer a single text from the Gospels that addressed legalism. I usually received either silence or a response about “tithing dill and cumin.” Perhaps that phrase came to your mind as well. Let’s start there.
Given that legalism is usually defined as “keeping the law in order to be saved,” let’s see if Matthew 23:23 is a good example of such behavior.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”1
The Rebuke
Here is my question: what exactly is Jesus rebuking? Is He attacking legalism as commonly understood? It doesn’t appear so. In fact, in one sense the opposite is true. He is not condemning the Pharisees’ keeping of the law, whatever their motives may be; He is condemning their neglect of keeping the law.
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Not only does He rebuke their neglect of the law—He highlights that they are neglecting the most important matters of the law. According to Jesus, the Pharisees not only are lawbreakers, but also break the most important laws.
But Jesus highlights another dimension of their disobedience. It is this highlight that brings “legalism” to mind for many readers. They not only are neglecting the most important parts of the law, but are keeping less-important parts so that they appear to be comprehensive law keepers. This last point earns them a special designation by Jesus, but it is not the designation “legalist.” It is the designation “hypocrite,” which He uses repeatedly.
But what about their legalistic tithing of herbs? Does Jesus want them to stop tithing? Not quite. He cautions that neither the weightier matters nor the “others,” i.e., tithing, should be neglected.
Jesus closes His “woe to you, hypocrites” with a startling metaphor of someone straining a tiny gnat (notice the singular) out of one’s drinking water, but promptly swallowing a large, hairy camel. The insanity of such water filtration methods is coupled with the hypocrisy of keeping lesser laws while violating crucially important ones. The razor edge of Jesus’ words did not concern the tithing (the gnat), but instead the massive deletions of the law (the camel).
He launches His next woe using a parallel metaphor of beautiful, whitewashed tombs (verse 27). But take a peek inside and the beauty is forgotten at the sight of decaying corpses. The rebukes don’t center on the whitewash and gnat, but instead on the camel and dead men’s bones, which Jesus decodes for us as “hypocrisy and lawlessness” (verse 28).
To stick with Jesus’ parable, the legalistic paradigm has caused us to zero in on the gnat and whitewash, whereas the crux of Jesus’ rebukes is centered on the camel and dead men’s bones. When all the imagery comes together, Jesus calls the picture “hypocrisy.” Legalism, in fact, may be present, but as a paradigm it skews Jesus’ rebukes to the Pharisees into something quite different than what He intended.
Who Is a Pharisee?
As I took a closer look at these passages and others like them, the typical picture of the Pharisees began to crumble. The Pharisees have been considered the epitome of legalism: those who obey every law under the sun but whose exhaustive obedience is infected with motives characterized by a meritorious, works-oriented, salvation-earning, pull-myself-up-by-my-moral-bootstraps framework. The more I read the Gospels and take each dialogue Jesus had with them into consideration, the more problematic the traditional view becomes. The Pharisees Jesus addressed2 need to be recast as classic lawbreaking hypocrites, not meticulous lawkeeping moralists.3
Ellen White’s description is not as flattering as mine. She wrote that their “outward holiness” served to conceal “iniquity,”4 and though “they were punctilious in ritual observances, their lives were immoral and debased.”5
With this distinction in view, many Bible texts converge and are better explained by a paradigm of hypocrisy. For instance, Jesus commanded the multitude to do what the Pharisees and scribes say to do, but not to follow their example, because they didn’t do what they said (verses 2, 3).
Ellen White notes that Jesus made this statement in light of a greater purpose: the “character of the . . . Pharisees must be more fully exposed.”6 They preach the law, “but do not obey the law themselves.”7
The pressing question is “Was Jesus successful at exposing the Pharisees?” or are we going to continue repeating, as a church, how perfectly the Pharisees kept the law when in fact they didn’t? One time Jesus bluntly told those trying to kill Him that “none of you keeps the law” (John 7:19). Again, notice Christ’s warning: “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).
John the Baptist’s evangelistic strategy in Luke 3 may shed some light on the issue. If his audience had been immersed in a “works” theology of salvation, then John missed the target in his closing appeal. After giving a stirring message of repentance, John’s listeners asked, “What shall we do?”
Here’s John’s chance to turn them away from their legalistic moralism. But no, he tells them what they need to do: share your extra clothing, share your food, be fair in collecting taxes, don’t extort money through false accusations, and be content with your wages (Luke 3:10-14). I submit that John’s closing emphasis would not be safe for a “works”-oriented crowd. What if the people thought doing those works would earn them salvation? Obviously, that wasn’t the main concern. Let’s assume that John, the one more than a prophet, knew his audience better than we do in the twenty-first century, and knew exactly how to end his sermon. They needed to repent of bad works and to start doing good works.
Incidentally, John does pull the false “security blanket away from his listeners”—a blanket that very well could have been warming them into a counterfeit assurance of salvation. But that blanket wasn’t the I-keep-the-law-in-order-to-be-saved blanket; it was the I-have-Abraham-as-my-father blanket (verse 8). John’s next incisive comment implied that unless there is a shortage of rocks in Israel, one ought not to rely on ethnicity as giving automatic salvation status before God.
Motives
At this point someone may protest: “OK, I get it. Hypocrisy was a big problem. But concerning the laws that the Pharisees and others did keep, didn’t they keep them out of legalistic motives?”
This may very well be true, and I wouldn’t be surprised if legalistic motivations undergirded lawkeeping back then, as may be the case today. But even if it could be shown that the Pharisees were consistently legalistic by our standard definition, isn’t it interesting that if that was the case, Jesus consistently rebuked their lawbreaking instead of trying to critique any legalistic motives?
When Jesus does bring motives out on the table, the motives are in relation to appearing righteous before, or garnering praise from, people, not meritoriously gaining praise from God. Jesus said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15), and “They do all their deeds to be seen by others” (Matt. 23:5).
Ellen White concurs: “To make a show of their piety was their constant aim.”8 Jesus wanted people to do good works before the eyes of God as opposed to doing them before the eyes of others. “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1).
In contrast to what one might think, Jesus desired His listeners to perform their obedience and religious devotions for and before God, because placing God as the audience of one’s obedience was the antidote for hypocrisy. The greatest sermon ever preached deals significantly with this issue. Consider Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6), where He commands the following recipe:
How to Do a Righteous Act Without Being a Hypocrite:
Pick a righteous/religious action to perform (e.g., give to the poor, pray, fast).
Do it in secret or in a way imperceptible to others.
Result: Only the Father will see and will reward accordingly.
If desiring reward from others instead of the Father, see recipe “How to Be a Hypocrite,” in which religious duties are performed for maximum public exposure.
Wrapping Up
The crux of this rethink is that as long as legalism is seen as the massive religious issue that Jesus is dealing with, then lawkeeping, albeit with bad motives, is under attack. But if hypocrisy is the more nuanced rebuke Jesus is leveling, then lawbreaking and inauthenticity become the main issue. Why not reread the Gospels and ask yourself, “Which paradigm fits best with Jesus’ teachings and rebukes?” The model I am suggesting has the potential to free many sincere Christians to obey the law without being paranoid that they will become legalists or Pharisees in the process. On the contrary, if we are going to be paranoid, it should be concerning religious hypocrisy and its skillful and persistent lawbreaking.
It’s time for the teachings of Jesus on hypocrisy to make a major comeback. Legalism has been in the spotlight for centuries now, and if it is a problem in your life or church, then by all means confess it and by God’s grace—literally, His grace—root it out. But to be honest, I don’t see people keeping the law in order to be saved as much as I see them breaking the law because they think they already are. This rings more of hypocrisy than legalism, and thus makes Jesus’ words just as relevant today as they were 2,000 years ago.
1 All Scripture quotations in this article are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2 We must be careful not to generalize every Pharisee in Palestine as a hypocrite.
3 Though it is conceivable that both could be operating simultaneously.
4 Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 617.
5 Ibid., p. 309.
6 Ibid., p. 612.
7 Ellen G. White, Selected Messages (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958, 1980), book 2, p. 98.
8 E. G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 612.
Joseph Olstad is a graduate from the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies and Andrews University. He lives in Montana, United States, with his wife and three daughters.
Dispel the Darkness Let your light shine.
By Ted N. C. Wilson
It is no accident that at the beginning, and near the end of Christ’s earthly ministry, weddings were the focal point of lessons Christ wanted to teach His followers.
The first, at the wedding of Cana, was a lesson in faith, trust, and obedience—faith that God can supply needs, trust that He will do what is best, and obedience in following God’s instructions—even when those instructions might seem not to make sense, such as asking the servants to fill the vessels with water (see John 2:1-11), when they needed unfermented wine.1
The second lesson was brought home one evening as Jesus and His disciples sat on the Mount of Olives, where they had a clear view of the hills and valleys surrounding Jerusalem. The sun had just set, and the sky was painted with the colors of dusk.
Taking in the beautiful scene, the group noticed a home, brilliantly lit. They heard sounds of laughter and noticed 10 young women, dressed in white, and holding brightly burning lamps while standing outside. Clearly it was a wedding party, waiting for the bridegroom’s arrival.
Jesus takes in the familiar, festive scene and uses the occasion to teach His disciples throughout the ages some important lessons.
We know the story, recorded in Matthew 25:1-13, well. Often referred to as the parable of the 10 virgins, it tells the story of five wise and five foolish young women who were waiting for the bridegroom to appear. While all had lamps that were burning, only the wise ones brought enough oil to last through the night.
The Wise Ones
While this parable is full of meaning, let’s consider for a few moments the important work of the wise women. First, their lamps were lit, and they had enough oil to keep their lights shining, even through the darkest of nights.
In the Bible, oil often represents the Holy Spirit (see Zech. 4:1-6). Before we can let our lights shine, we need to be filled with this special oil. In the book Christ’s Object Lessons Ellen White beautifully explains how the Holy Spirit prepares us to shine:
“So the followers of Christ are to shed light into the darkness of the world. Through the Holy Spirit, God’s Word is a light as it becomes a transforming power in the life of the receiver. By implanting in their hearts the principles of His Word, the Holy Spirit develops in men the attributes of God. The light of His glory—His character—is to shine forth in His followers. Thus they are to glorify God, to lighten the path to the Bridegroom’s home, to the city of God, to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”2
Today a misunderstanding about God and His character enshrouds the world in darkness. God is calling each one of us to let our lights shine brightly for Him, not only for the sake of brightness, but—just as the wise women in the parable did—to light the way for others to find their way to the Bridegroom, Jesus, and to the Bridegroom’s home, heaven.
How to Let Our Lights Shine
But how do we let our lights shine? We are told, “Practical work will have far more effect than mere sermonizing. We are to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and shelter to the homeless. And we are called to do more than this. The wants of the soul, only the love of Christ can satisfy. . . . There are many from whom hope has departed. Bring back the sunshine to them. Many have lost their courage. Speak to them words of cheer. Pray for them. There are those who need the bread of life. Read to them from the Word of God. Upon many is a soul sickness which no earthly balm can reach nor physician heal. Pray for these souls, bring them to Jesus.”3
Take the Call
Let’s take this call from God personally and seriously. We can do nothing of ourselves. Only as we lean completely on the Lord for His direction and leading can we follow His call. Christ and His righteousness must permeate our lives.
The world is awash in existential behavior, with many people thinking that everything is relative, but it is not! There are absolutes, and they are found in the Word of God. Jesus tells us, “Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Rev. 3:11). We Seventh-day Adventists are called to be faithful to God.
Working Hand in Hand
I challenge you to become involved in the daily mission of the church far more than you ever have before. We are counting on you! God is counting on you! Evangelism is the lifeblood of the church. All of us are to be in involved, through personal witnessing, small group evangelism, or public evangelism in its various forms. I invite you to become involved, even if you think it won’t work in your area. Adapt your methods, but reach out. Every effort, under God’s guidance, that you make in reaching the hearts of people will bear fruit.
Church leaders and church members are to work hand in hand for mission outreach. Ellen White wrote: “The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers.”4
Revolutionize Your Thinking
Let the Holy Spirit revolutionize your thinking. Take the church’s mission of outreach into your hands on a daily basis, working closely with church leaders and pastors. Let it be total participation, no one left out, everyone a missionary, total member involvement. Do something for Jesus and for others. Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t needed; the Holy Spirit will empower you as heaven’s messenger to light your neighborhood. Revival and reformation will become personal and real.
“It is the privilege of every soul to be a living channel through which God can communicate to the world the treasures of His grace,” wrote Ellen White. “There is nothing that Christ desires so much as agents who will represent to the world His Spirit and character. . . . All heaven is waiting for channels through which can be poured the holy oil to be a joy and blessing to human hearts.”5
Jesus challenges us with this truth: “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37, 38). And in James 1:25 we are admonished to be “a doer of the work.”
The Edge of Eternity
We are at the edge of eternity. Truly, Jesus is coming soon! God wants to work in and through us. If ever there were a time to let our lights shine for Jesus, it is now (see 1 Peter 2:9)!
We are told that “it is not learned, eloquent speakers that are needed now, but humble, Christlike men and women, who have learned from Jesus of Nazareth to be meek and lowly, and who, trusting in His strength, will go forth . . . to give the invitation: ‘Come; for all things are now ready’ (Luke 14:17).”6
Jesus is coming soon! Lift your light high and share it in practical ways, pointing those around you to the One who has given us salvation and has promised to take us home soon! This is your church and your work as you lean completely on Christ, total member involvement. This is our work, entrusted to us from heaven itself. May God guide each of us in the days ahead as we “reach the world” for Christ.
Arise! Shine! Jesus Is Coming!
1-See Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 149.
2-Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900), p. 414.
3-Ibid., pp. 417, 418. (Italics supplied.)
4-Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 9, p. 117.
5-E. G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 419.
6-E. G. White, Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 36.
Relief From Osteoarthritis Pain
By Peter N. Landless and Allan R. Handysides
Like my father, I have osteoarthritis. I wonder whether I inherited this, and what I can do about it. The biggest problem is knee pain that seems to be present much of the time. I am 67 years old, and I have to admit that I am somewhat overweight.
You did not mention whether you are male or female. That might be of interest, because women have more osteoarthritis of the knee than do men. About 25 percent of people over age 55 have arthritis in their knees, and the prevalence increases as we age. Osteoarthritis of the hands can be inherited, along with other forms of arthritis.
Previous injury, work-related stress to the knee, and, of course, obesity all may play contributory roles in osteoarthritis.
Arthritis is inflammation of a joint, and as a consequence of pain, muscle weakness can follow. The cartilage lining the bones of the joints becomes damaged, and irregular surfaces are then even more prone to damage—a typical vicious cycle.
Misalignment of a joint leads to uneven wear and tear. In the knee, most pain is experienced between the kneecap and the femur (long thighbone).
Knee arthritis typically is more painful when climbing stairs, getting out of a chair, or walking long distances. Sometimes a person complains that their knee “gave way”; this can mean a ligament or cartilage is damaged, but more often it means the muscles supporting the joint are weak.
Tendons might be inflamed and cause pain that is mistaken for arthritis.
X-rays usually show evidence of arthritis, but at times pain caused by arthritis occurs in the absence of X-ray changes being visible.
Blood tests are not indicated, nor are they helpful in osteoarthritis.
Relief of pain is often the most pressing problem to the patient. Studies have shown that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents are superior in pain relief to acetaminophen or paracetamol. The side effects of acetaminophen, however, are fewer than the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, so it’s preferred as a first-line treatment.
Injections of hyaluronic acid into the joint do not seem beneficial. Injections of corticosteroids, while relieving pain, tend to degrade the bones of the joint and so are limited in their scope. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate are commonly used for pain relief. And while studies have found little toxicity, the evidence on these substances suggests no efficacy over and above a placebo (the “feel good” effect that occurs through the perception that the treatment may or will help).
In our opinion, exercise to strengthen the muscles around the knee will improve pain in many circumstances and will promote stability of the joint. Exercises should be aimed at improving the functions a person performs on a daily basis, such as bending, climbing stairs, flexing the knees while lifting weights, and improving balance.
Weight loss, combined with strengthening exercises, has been found to be superior to exercise.
If the joint is found to be poorly aligned (deformed), sometimes a brace can be helpful.
Southeast Asians seem to have reduced inflammatory flare-ups of osteoarthritis; whether this is genetic or related to dietary composition has not been answered. Some claim turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, and there is some limited data supporting this. A major study would be required to permit the recommendation of turmeric for arthritis as a fully tested therapy.
We suggest that you lose some weight, strengthen your muscles, and perhaps have a physical therapist oversee your exercise program. Simple lifestyle interventions are often the most effective!
Surgical approaches have not been covered. These should be discussed with a joint specialist.
Our prayer is that the Lord will strengthen you and, as you seek help and apply the advice given, that you will experience wholeness in Christ and relief from discomfort.
Being Grown-up Christians
A Christlike character begins with taking care of ourselves
By Elizabeth Camps
Some time ago a friend and I were reminiscing about our first year in college, when everything seemed so fresh, new, and exciting. There we were, on a huge campus, with hundreds of new people we could meet every day. The possibilities had seemed endless, and we were excited, to say the least.
My friend and I also talked about all the things we experienced for the first time when we came to college. From living in a dorm room with a roommate to cooking our own meals and remembering to do a load of laundry every now and then so we had clean clothes.
Something else was significant. For the first time, we were responsible for ourselves in every way. We were truly on our own; we no longer had Mom and Dad waking us up every morning, making sure we ate regular and healthy meals, and pushing us to go to bed early every night. Now in college, for the first time, we decided when to wake up, when to eat, and when to go to bed. Although we may not have realized it at the time, being completely accountable for oneself is a big responsibility! In the same way that we had full responsibility over ourselves as young adults, God has entrusted us with the full responsibility of taking care of our bodies.
Being Adult Christians
The phrase “Christian behavior” evokes a number of ideas and concepts. We may think about how we should treat and interact with others. We may also think about how we are a reflection of God and the church whenever we interact with those who have never heard the three angels’ messages. Because of this, we often pay careful attention to how we act, and keep in mind to always be a positive influence. But if we take a closer look, we can find that the concept of Christian behavior does not refer only to our relationship with others but also to the way we treat ourselves.
A quick review of the actual wording of fundamental belief 22 is instructive. “We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with biblical principles in all aspects.” In other words, we practice being followers of Jesus in every part of our lives. This involves not just our interaction with others but also the way we dress. We recognize that clothes can transform appearance, but can never change our character.
This Christlike character does not only represent inner beauty; it also involves our own bodies. It seems that God wants us to not only treat others in a Christlike way but also treat ourselves in a Christlike way.
In 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, we read that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, meaning that Jesus lives in us and is represented to the world through us. We are called to honor God with our bodies.
How better to honor God than by taking care of this temple He has entrusted to us? This means taking care of our basic health needs, such as making sure we get enough sleep every night, eating well, and drinking enough liquids throughout the day. Paul emphasizes the necessity of taking care of our physical needs in 1 Corinthians 10:31, saying, “If you eat or drink, or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God.”* Eating and drinking has something to do with our walk with Jesus.
Being an Adult Is Hard
When I entered college as a young adult, the last things on my mind were my sleeping and eating habits. In the hustle and bustle of brand-new classes, work, and many new responsibilities, I often forgot about getting to sleep at a reasonable hour. Sometimes I wouldn’t go to bed until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. It was a similar story when it came to my eating habits. I got so caught up with all the busyness of life that I forgot about food and neglected to consciously plan my eating. I just bought or made something that kept me going—quickly.
Even after college, taking care of ourselves is often not our first priority, and it proves to be just as difficult. Our lives become even busier with work projects, families, and church events that keep us occupied. It seems that no matter what stage of life we are in, we have to fight to care for our bodies.
Yet in the midst of all the responsibilities of life, I am drawn to John 14:15: “If you love me,” Jesus tells me, “you will obey my commands.” My motivation for living a Christlike life involving my character, my body, and my mind must be love-driven. If we love God, we will want to honor Him; and God has asked us to honor Him by caring for our bodies. By focusing on God and loving Him, we will have the desire and willingness to care for ourselves.
It’s good to know that God cares about every part of us: the spiritual, the emotional, and the physical. He thinks of even the smallest details for us, and reminds us of it again and again in the Bible, His love letter to us. So when He calls us to live a Christlike life, we must remember that it not only touches those around us—it affects us as well.
* All scriptures in this article are from The Holy Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
God’s Messenger Australian Writings Motivate Worldwide
A look at Ellen White’s life and legacy.
By John Skrzypaszek
Ellen White’s arrival in Australia in December 1891, and her nine-year ministry in the land down under (1891-1900), coincide with a significant period of her literary contribution to the global church.
The reality of the great controversy theme, and its impact on the spiritual life of the church, was clearly settled in her thoughts. She referred to the effect of the struggles not only “upon human hearts in America” but also “upon the human minds in that far-off country.”1 Further, prior to her arrival in Australia, Ellen White struggled with the challenge of facing the unknown, namely a clear lack of direction from God regarding her forthcoming journey. “This morning my mind is anxious and troubled in regard to my duty. Can it be the will of God that I go to Australia? . . . I have no special light to leave America for this far-off country. Nevertheless, if I knew it was the voice of God, I would go.”2
Ellen White was close to the age of retirement, in poor health, and her major goal was to complete her book on the life of Christ. “I long for rest, for quietude, and to get out the ‘Life of Christ,’?”3 However, her continual search to understand God’s involvement in human life heightened her confidence in His presence and guidance. She wrote, “I am presenting the case before the Lord and I believe He will guide me.”4 With such entrenched confidence in God, she arrived in Sydney aboard the S.S. Alameda on December 8, 1891. This time away from home opened new opportunities to reflect on what matters to God.
Ellen White’s contribution to the church during her years in Australia may be divided into three significant segments. First, she nurtured the spiritual life of the relatively infant church. Second, she provided a visionary motivation for institutional progress combined with an urgency for mission. Third, in the period of her most productive literary years (1888-1911), the nine years in Australia were significant. She placed a noteworthy emphasis on the spiritual life for the worldwide church. In the context of the great controversy, her publications explored the inspirational depth of God’s love that uplifts human value, dignity, and uniqueness.5 The focal point of her admiration was Jesus.
Nurturing
Ellen White’s spiritual nurture of the young church commenced the moment she arrived in Sydney. On her first Sabbath in Sydney she spoke from John 17. In a letter to O. A. Olsen she explained, “They had never before heard words that gave them such hope and courage in regard to justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ.”6
The same letter suggests that there was a general lack of understanding of this vitally important topic. Referring to A. G. Daniells, she wrote, “He has only a little glimmering of light upon the subject of justification by faith and the righteousness of Christ as a free gift.”7
The following Wednesday Ellen White arrived in Melbourne, where conditions among the workers at the Echo Publishing Company were poor. Based on a vision given to her in 1875, she spoke about the lack of unity and harmony among the workers.8 She warned of the dangers of the prevailing attitudes. In response, hearts were broken. “The brethren confessed to one another and fell on one another’s necks, weeping and asking forgiveness.”9
Space does not permit exploration of the plethora of spiritual nurturing provided by Ellen White during this period, nurture that stemmed from the depth of her personal search to understand God’s love. In a diary note dated December 27,1891, she wrote, “I had great freedom in presenting the plan of salvation and the wondrous love of God for fallen man.” The theme of God’s love and the authenticity of her spiritual nurture created a strong intimacy between Ellen White and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia. This relational bond has been compared to the impact that a mother exerts on a young child.10
Visionary Motivation
Ellen White shaped the church’s vision for institutional progress and the urgency of the mission. In a vision dated April 1, 1874, she was instructed: “You are entertaining too limited ideas of the work for this time. . . . You must take broader views.”11
The challenge was astounding, for it had a global application. “The message will go in power to all parts of the world, to Oregon, to Europe, to Australia, to the islands of the sea.”12
A few months after settling in Australia, she was able to say, “I now look back at this matter as part of the Lord’s great plan, for the good of His people here in this country, and for those in America, and for my good.”13
With this view Ellen White was instrumental in setting up a Bible school for missionary work (August 24, 1892), followed by the establishment of the educational institution known today as Avondale College of Higher Education (1897). Sheinspired an interest in health care and healthful living, encouraging the church to expand the realm of God’s mission. Her visionary impetus gave birth to the Sydney Adventist Hospital and Sanitarium Health Food Company. In her mind all institutions had a part to play in God’s great plan. They were to engage in the harmonious task of expanding His mission to the world and were to be seen as the means to an end.
Ellen White’s Vision for the Global Church
Ellen White greatly elaborated on the core biblical idea of the great controversy during her Australia years. The previously penned historical overview of the conflict between good and evil highlighted the reality of the interplay between the two opposing forces, God and Satan. The publications written between 1888 and 1911 directed the reader’s attention to the heart of the matter, namely the significance of one’s spiritual journey with God in a life opposed by the powers of darkness.
In her classic book The Desire of Ages (1898), completed in Australia, she penned the following gem. “Everyone needs to have a personal experience in obtaining a knowledge of the will of God. We must individually hear Him speaking to the heart. When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God.”14
In 1897 she began to focus on another theme, the value of Christian education. Commenting on the content for Ellen White’s coming book Education (1903), Willie White wrote that “more of the plan of redemption has been worked in by drawing from Mother’s published works, such as Patriarchs and Prophets, The Great Controversy, Desire of Ages, Mount of Blessing, and Christ’s Object Lessons.”15
It is evident that Ellen White encapsulated the heart of Christian education and its role in restoring human value, potential, and uniqueness in the vortex of the struggle between the opposing forces. While the forces of evil diminish human life, God’s presence inspires and restores its potential for service and the betterment of society.
While “down under,” Ellen White drew the attention of the worldwide church to the importance of shaping a point of reference not in time speculations but in a personal, implicit trust and confidence in Jesus. To her, such faith stems from the trustworthiness of God’s promises in the Bible. Her writings urged the worldwide church to become the extended hands of Jesus. In fact, while in Australia she stimulated the work in the United States through her letters and counsels.
Greatly Missed
Ellen White’s departure in August 1900 left the Australian church in a state of loss. During the nine years of her ministry people felt the kindness of her loving care. The spirit of the loss was summed up well by Thomas Russell, a businessman in the village of Cooranbong: “Mrs. E. G. White’s presence in our little village will be sadly missed. The widow and the orphan found in her a helper. She sheltered, clothed, and fed those in need, and where gloom was cast, her presence brought sunshine.”16
1-Ellen G. White manuscript 29, 1891, in Sermons and Talks (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 155, 156.
2-Ellen G. White manuscript 44, 1891, in Manuscript Releases (Silver Spring, Md.: Ellen G. White Estate, 1990), vol. 18, p. 155.
3-Ellen G. White manuscript 29, 1891, in Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, p. 156.
4-Ellen G. White letter 57, 1891, in Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Australian Years (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1983), vol. 4, p. 18.
5-Books written between 1888 and 1911: The Great Controversy (1888); Patriarchs and Prophets (1890); Steps to Christ (1892); Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing (1896); The Desire of Ages (1898); Christ’s Object Lessons (1900); Education (1903); The Ministry of Healing (1905); The Acts of the Apostles (1911); and several Testimonies for the Church volumes.
6-Ellen White letter 21, 1891. (See also A. L. White, Ellen G. White: the Australian Years, vol. 4, p. 22.)
7-Ibid.
8-Ellen G. White Estate Document File 105j: William C. White, “A Comprehensive Vision.”
9-Ellen White manuscript 45, 1891, in A. L. White, Ellen G. White: The Austrailian Years, vol. 4, p. 26.
10-Arthur Patrick, “Ellen White: Mother of the Church in the South Pacific,” Adventist Heritage, Spring, 1993, p. 30.
11-Ellen G. White, Life Sketches of Ellen G. White (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1915), pp. 208, 209.
12-Ibid.
13-Ellen G. White letter 18a, 1892, in Selected Messages (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1958), book 2, p. 234.
14-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 363.
15-Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Early Elmshaven Years (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1981), p. 181.
16-Thomas Russell, Cooranbong, May 3, 1900. This note was written in an album given to Ellen White on her departure to America in August 1900.
Hope Wins Over Loss
By Wilona Karimabadi
When I was in elementary school, I was pretty attached to my grandparents, who, unfortunately, lived far from us. But a few times a year they would come to visit for weeks at a time. It was always a welcome treat for me, for it involved some bending of the weekday rules: delicious treats always ready after school, late-night story time, and many other elements typical of grandparents who know how to spoil their grandkids. To me, their visit made the day-to-day routine of school, homework, and strict bedtime seem much more lighthearted and vacation-like.
Those fun days would roll by quickly, however. And before I knew it, we’d be at the airport saying goodbye. Then it would be back to the normal routine, which felt devastating, because, let’s be honest, in most cases grandparents trump parents. They would promise a phone call on arrival, saying that it wouldn’t be long before we’d be together again, but I don’t remember that making me feel a lot better. Perhaps I was an overly sensitive child, but after their plane disappeared from view (this was before September 11), I’d literally sink into depression. I’m not kidding—I would cry every day, roam listlessly around the house, and generally not be able to smile. Thankfully, this malaise would last only about a week. But I behaved as if I were in mourning. So much so that my parents quickly grew frustrated with my tears and sullen face, reminding me that my grandparents were very much alive and only a phone call away. But it wasn’t the same.
Sure, I knew I could hear their voices whenever I wanted to, but that amounted to nothing in comparison to their physical presence—to seeing them and being around them on a daily basis. To this day, I still remember how lost I felt when they’d leave, with a void in my stomach where nothing seemed fun anymore and I just felt so utterly sad.
Those Poor Disciples
I’ve been working through a one-year nonconsecutive Bible reading plan, which, at the time of this writing, has me in week 40 of 52. It’s been a fulfilling experience, as I’ve been reminded of scriptures I’ve known and loved, and delved into many new ones, some leaving me awed and others causing me to scratch my head. But as I’ve read through the Gospels and recounted the disciples’ experiences with Jesus, I have really felt for them, for during Christ’s crucifixion and eventual ascension, their sense of loss had to have been horrible.
After years of walking and talking with their Savior, the One for whom they had left everything and everyone to follow, He was gone. I can just imagine how they felt in those dark hours after He died on the cross. Of course they knew what He had taught them. And I imagine they believed in His promises never to leave them, even if they could no longer be in His physical presence. But it had to have felt so bittersweet when He returned to heaven.
We do know that after His resurrection, He didn’t leave them just yet. “After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave them many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3).*
The disciples asked the Lord about His plans to restore the kingdom of Israel. Perhaps in their human hearts and minds they wished for Christ to come through in the way they always thought He would, accomplishing the redemption of His people once and for all, right then and there. I’m sure they hoped against hope that at the end of it all their beloved Savior wouldn’t have to actually leave them again. But Christ reminded them that only the Father had the time frame absolutely right. In the meantime, however, He really was planning on making good on His promise to be with them always and, most important, to empower them. “But you will will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (verse 8).
A Promise Made Good
As my grandparents would encourage me over the phone once they made it to their own home safely, I believed that it really wouldn’t be long until we saw each other again. And after my weeklong depression finally abated, it got easier to look forward to that. Being busy with tasks at hand—school, friends, childhood life—certainly helped.
The disciples had big tasks of their own to accomplish now—to go and tell. Christ had challenged them to preach and teach in His name, establishing His kingdom on earth, preparing His people for His eventual return, a work that continues with us. I’m sure it had to have felt overwhelming to even think of what lay ahead as they watched Him taken up into the sky until that cloud hid Him from their sight (verse 9). But Christ wasn’t about to leave them without more encouragement—awe-inspiring encouragement.
“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven’?” (verses 10, 11).
I believe that in that moment their heavy hearts were lightened with that one element that still eases our burdens today: hope.
My childhood sadness was finally quelled with the promise of seeing my beloved grandparents again, and soon. And when they passed away years later, my adult sadness and the longing I still feel for them from time to time is again quelled with that same hope. I will see them again, and soon.
This hope carried the disciples forward. And it is that same hope that carries us forward today, until we reach that moment when goodbyes will truly be a thing of the past. What a lot we have to look forward to!
*Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version.Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reach the World It’s Personal
The church’s new strategic plan calls on every member to share Jesus.
By Andrew McChesney
A small prayer group that a Seventh-day Adventist couple began in western Kenya in 2011 has grown to 400 people and witnessed the baptism of 16 pastors from other denominations during the world church’s recent 100 Days of Prayer initiative.
The couple, entrepreneurs Philip Rono and his wife, Calvin Chepchumba Rono, are convinced that the baptisms on June 18, 2015, were a direct result of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit during the 100 Days of Prayer, a daily prayer program that ran from March 25 to July 3, 2015, the start of the General Conference session in San Antonio, Texas, United States.
“The 100 Days of Prayer became a big miracle that took everyone by surprise,” Philip Rono said by phone. “It has always been our tradition to invite those of other faiths, but this time the number was big, and we were surprised with how the Lord moved them.”
Prayer groups in Eldoret, Kenya, have swelled from a few dozen to a few hundred as people focused on prayer and revival.
The Ronos’ passion for sharing Jesus is just what Adventist Church leaders hope to see repeated among every one of the church’s 18.5 million members over the next five years. A main focus of the church’s new Reach the World strategic plan, which will be implemented from 2015 to 2020, is to find a way for every Adventist to get involved in evangelism.
The strategic plan, based on the results of a two-year survey of more than 41,000 current and former church members, aims to provide vision and direction in carrying out the church’s mission of preparing people for the return of Jesus. It urges General Conference department directors and world division leaders to create programs that nurture church members’ relationship with God and provide them with ways to evangelize.
Current programs include 777, during which church members pray at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., seven days a week; 10 Days of Prayer every January; 100 Days of Prayer; and Believe His Prophets, a daily online Bible reading with twice-a-week passages from the writings of church cofounder Ellen G. White. Those are all overseen by the General Conference’s Ministerial Association.
Other church initiatives include Mission to the Cities, comprehensive health ministry, and Revival and Reformation.
Adventist Church president Ted N. C. Wilson said those programs will be used to encourage every member to get involved in evangelism. “It is essential for our full proclamation of the three angels’ messages and the falling of the latter rain of the Holy Spirit,” Wilson said. “Everyone must be involved in sharing Christ and this precious Advent message within the context that they feel comfortable as the Holy Spirit leads them.”
He said church leaders and church members should work hand in hand for mission outreach, noting that Ellen White wrote, “The work of God in this earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers”*
The drive to get every member involved—“total member involvement,” as Wilson calls it—is to become a major focal point for the entire church over the next five years. Wilson is placing the General Conference’s Sabbath School/Personal Ministries Department, led by newly elected director Duane McKey, directly under his office to serve as adviser, and all departments will be involved in this integrated evangelism outreach.
How 16 Pastors Got Baptized
Philip and Chepchumba Rono’s prayer group in Eldoret, Kenya, offers a glimpse of the total member involvement envisaged by church leaders thousands of miles away at world church headquarters in Maryland, United States.
For four years Chepchumba Rono, and her husband, Philip, used initiatives that were part of the church’s Revival and Reformation initiative to conduct community Bible meetings.
The Kenyan couple started a small prayer group of five people under the world church’s Revival and Reformation program in 2011. Members of the group prayed for two to four hours every Monday and, as the church unveiled 777 and 10 Days of Prayer, encouraged one another to observe those daily initiatives on their own.
Attendance soared after the couple placed an even greater emphasis on prayer and organized a second group in a larger, Adventist-owned building in Eldoret in February 2014. The second prayer group grew in 2014 from 50 to 150, then to a crowd of 200 people who attended 10 Days of Prayer in early January 2015. It swelled to 300 people when 100 Days of Prayer started in late March, and to more than 400 people in May.
The new group initially agreed to meet two days a month for Revival and Reformation meetings.
“Then we saw that this was not adequate, and we began to meet three days a month, usually on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sabbaths,” Philip Rono said. “On Sabbaths people prayed in the afternoon, went home for a couple hours, and then returned at 7:00 p.m. for all-night prayers.”
Attendees followed the daily 10 Days of Prayer and 100 Days of Prayer programs in their homes.
In May, during the 100 Days initiative, two members of the group invited 12 pastors from other denominations to attend the all-night prayer sessions.
“They were so impressed by the reception and the lessons presented, and they felt that they needed to know more about Seventh-day Adventists,” Rono said.
A three-day seminar was organized immediately, and 50 pastors were invited to attend it in Eldoret. At the end of the seminar a group of pastors asked if another three-day meeting could be held in their hometown so that their church members could attend. After that meeting, 16 pastors requested baptism.
In August members of two of the churches whose pastors became Adventist decided to rename their church as Adventist. A member of the prayer group donated US$12,400 toward the purchase of the properties, and the local Adventist conference pledged to pay the difference.
A series of fall meetings have been scheduled to reach the baptized pastors’ former congregations. In addition, another group of pastors from a nearby region have asked for private seminars to learn about Adventism.
All-night prayer meetings conducted by Philip Rono and others resulted in 16 pastors requesting to be baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Rono said the revival in western Kenya was the result of prayer. “We need to take prayer very, very seriously, especially during this period of revival and reformation,” he said. “Meeting every week makes a big difference. We have witnessed many miracles.”
Rono and his wife are now setting up a “center of influence”—a wellness center with treatment rooms, a library, a chapel for daily prayers at 1:00 p.m., and a restaurant in downtown Eldoret—as they latch onto another world church program, Mission to the Cities. The couple toured several wellness centers in the United States this summer looking for ideas and advice.
What Divisions Are Doing
Blasious Ruguri, president of the Adventist Church’s East-Central Africa Division, which includes Kenya, said prayer was vital for the fulfillment of the church’s Reach the World goals.
In his division, he said, “prayer life by all members in every church will be maintained to keep the fire burning in every heart.”
Ruguri also said his division has found that child evangelism is extremely effective in reaching people, and that people respond more readily when women are involved in mission initiatives.
World church leaders are encouraging each region of the world church—indeed, every member—to find methods that work best for them.
The South American Division has found that Revived by His Word and its successor, Believe His Prophets, have gained considerable traction among its members.
“We are motivating our people to dedicate the first hour every day to be in the presence of the Lord, participating in #RBHW, #BHP, studying the Sabbath school lesson, and praying,” said division president Erton Köhler.
#RBHW and #BHP are the social media hashtags for the daily Bible study plans, and Adventist Twitter users in the South American Division are among the most active worldwide in using them.
“The only way to be renewed is personal time with God at the best time of the day, when the mind is open to read, understand, and be close to God,” Köhler said.
Paul Ratsara, president of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division, said his region’s biggest challenge related to the availability of resources. “It is my dream that sufficient Bibles and Spirit of Prophecy books will be available for all of our members,” Ratsara said. “We need to make sure that every member intensifies their reading plans.”
He said he greatly appreciated Revived by His Word, and now Believe His Prophets, and he intended to promote the reading plan vigorously. “As the availability of smartphones and Internet penetration increases, more and more of our members will have access to the huge blessing of these daily readings,” he said.
Access to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy is also a challenge in the South Pacific Division, whose president intends to put a strong emphasis on discipleship. “The written Bible is very accessible to most of the people in the South Pacific in English and French, two of the main languages, and in all the languages of the Pacific Islands,” president Glenn Townend said. “But not everybody, let alone Seventh-day Adventists, can read.”
He said three entities—It is Written Oceania, the Papua New Guinea Union, and the Solomon Islands Mission—have worked on putting the Bible and some of Ellen White’s books into audio forms on solar-powered “Godpods.”
“Also, leaders will teach and model creative biblical ways to pray, and Hope Channel will have programs on spiritual habits that connect people with their God,” Townend said. “The Bible reading plan will certainly be encouraged. Discipleship does not happen without a close connection to Jesus through spiritual habits.”
In the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, president Leonardo R. Asoy faces a formidable challenge with a number of unreached groups as well as millions of people from three of the world’s major religions, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. He said the division would continue to use initiatives such as Mission to the Cities and One Year in Mission to reach those communities, but it would put a stronger focus on nurturing and retention.
“New members, particularly those coming from non-Christian religions, need mentoring, a sense of belonging, training in personal evangelism, and discipleship, so they can become joyful, active Christians who share Jesus through their life examples,” he said.
Asoy expressed particular enthusiasm for a new local program called Integrated Evangelism Lifestyle, which was championed by his predecessor, Alberto Gulfan, Jr., and he said would advance Reach the World’s objectives.
“It uses Christ’s method of evangelism and encourages members in personal revival and reformation,” he said.
Under the program, members commit to two months of prayer, focused Bible study, and preparation. After this time, members invite their family, friends, and neighbors to join them in weekly care groups in their homes or other informal settings. The focus is on building relationships. During these weekly gatherings, they discuss topics of general interest, such as health, family, happiness, and community involvement, and offer faith-based perspectives. They also choose projects to do as a group to improve their communities.
While the family unit is the basic starting point, with one family inviting another family to join the group, care groups also consist of individuals with common backgrounds, such as young professionals, single parents, and seniors.
“The focus is not on evangelism as an event. Instead, the Integrated Evangelism Lifestyle program offers evangelism as a process through long-term personal contact and the nurturing of individuals,” Asoy said. “It will take time, but we look forward to seeing how the Lord will lead.”
* Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 9, p. 117.
Elijah Mighty Man of Faith
By Mark A. Finley
This month we begin a new series of Bible studies. We will study the great heroes of faith throughout Scripture. The purpose of these studies is much more than to learn facts about these faithful men and women of God; it is to examine the challenges they faced, explore their reactions to those experiences, and discover the secret of their stalwart faith. We will learn from their successes and failures, their victories and defeats, their mountain peaks and valleys.
We begin with Elijah. We are particularly interested in Elijah, because although he lived in a time of apostasy, he remained faithful to God and was translated without seeing death. Those of us preparing for translation at the second coming of Christ can learn vital lessons of faith from this mighty man of God.
Read 1 Kings 16:29-33. What was the spiritual condition of Israel during the days of King Ahab and the prophet Elijah?
King Ahab reigned for 22 years in Israel. He married Jezebel, a heathen queen. Together they led the people of God into Baal worship and deep apostasy. The biblical record declares that Ahab “did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him” (verse 30). What a horrible legacy!
What message did God send to Ahab through the prophet Elijah? Read 1 Kings 17:1. What qualities must Elijah have had to deliver such a startling message?
How did God provide for Elijah in this time of national famine? Read 1 Kings 17:1-5; 8-14. What does that teach us about God?
An old Christian hymn has these words in its refrain: “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.” When we trust God implicitly, and lovingly obey His commands, He takes the responsibility to meet our needs (Phil. 4:19); He keeps His promises. When we place a priority on the things of the kingdom, He promises to provide life’s necessities (Matt. 6:28-33).
After three and a half years, what command did God give Elijah? How did Elijah respond to it? Read 1 Kings 18:1-3.
What challenge did Elijah give to the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel? Why do you think he asked them to pray first? Read 1 Kings 18:21-24.
Baal worship included idolatry, sun worship, and sexual immorality. It exalted nature above nature’s God. It placed priority on creatures rather than on the Creator. On Mount Carmel, Elijah demonstrated the absolute foolishness of exalting human theories above divine revelation. Humanistic forms of religion have absolutely no power to change lives.
Read 1 Kings 18:38, 39, 44, 45. How did God respond to Elijah’s faithfulness?
Faithfulness to God, and trust in His promises, prepare us to receive His blessings in abundance.
Read James 5:17. How is Elijah described in the New Testament book of James? How is he an example for us?
Elijah was “a man with a nature like ours.” He had challenges and character deficiencies like any other human being. But through faith in the promises of God, and trust in His power, Elijah became a mighty man of faith. In the life of Elijah we learn lessons of trust, obedience, and total commitment.
Next month we will study more about Elijah, who was ultimately translated without seeing death.
Pioneers Everywhere
Adventism’s first African American missionary family in Africa
By De Witt S. Williams
Independent-minded Englishman Joseph Booth had a missionary idea for W. A. Spicer, secretary of Adventism’s Foreign Mission Board. As he listened, Spicer became convinced that it would be a great blessing to the work in central Africa. The region, Booth insisted, would benefit dramatically from “colored” workers. As Spicer wrote, they would be able to “render special service, where the white face could not get access.”1 Besides, Booth had at his disposal an estate of 2,000 acres, with buildings, that could serve as the mission compound, and much more. Seventh Day Baptists, owners of the US$25,000 property, had agreed to transfer it to the Adventists for just $4,000. But somebody had to run the mission outpost, manage the compound, and develop its potential.
PIONEER FAMILY: Henrietta and Thomas Branch (seated); behind them: Mabel (center), Robert (extreme left), and Paul (extreme right).
Thomas and Henrietta Branch
The Colorado Conference recommended a “colored” family. If the General Conference would pay their transportation, the Colorado Conference would sponsor them by paying their salary while in Africa. Thomas H. Branch was born in Jefferson County, Missouri, December 24, 1856. Henrietta Paterson was born March 12, 1858, at Roanoke, Missouri, the youngest in a large family. They met and married on December 7, 1876, in Kansas City, Kansas. Their first child, Mabel, was born in 1878. They joined the Adventist church in 1892. By that time Mabel had been joined by Thomas (June 1887) and Paul (March 1891). Robert would come later (January 1896).
Colorado Pioneers
When the Colorado Conference chose them, the Branch family were already pioneers. Henrietta had received some training as a nurse and would gain extra training to be able to serve as a missionary doctor. Thomas was an able speaker, a diligent Bible student, and enthusiastic lay worker in Pueblo, Colorado. Today the seeds he planted a century ago have borne ample fruit in four large African American churches in Pueblo and Denver.
The Branches were older than most missionaries sent out by the church: Thomas was 46; Henrietta, 44. Their unmarried daughter, Mabel, had just turned 24. The three boys were 15, 11, and 6, and eager for the new experience. We find no evidence that the oldest son, Thomas, accompanied his parents and the rest of the family on their adventurous expedition.
Since no other Black person from the Adventist Church had been sent to Africa, the Branches were again going to be pioneers. They had no role models to copy. It took courage, bravery, and great faith in the providence of God to accept this Macedonian call. But they were glad to go. The Colorado Conference ordained Thomas Branch on May 22 and the account of their departure is recorded. “Immediately taking leave of brethren and fellow laborers, and of those for whom we labored, we went to Denver, our former home, to make ready for the journey. . . . We packed a few necessary articles, and bidding our friends goodbye, we left for Chicago. Elder Spicer met us there, and gave us all needed instructions for our journey.”2
Off to Africa
The Branches sailed for London, England, Wednesday morning, June 4, 1902, arriving June 12. Their first Sabbath in England they were guests of the Duncombe Hall church, where they were “given a hearty welcome by all the brethren.”3
A fortnight after arriving in London they sailed again, in the company of the single-minded Joseph Booth, whose initiative and ideas had started them on this journey. Before them was a seven-week voyage from Southampton to East Africa and service for the Lord in a new field of labor. They had left the world behind, but could say with assurance, “We know there is a great harvest field to which the dear Lord is taking us and we are glad for a place in His vineyard.”4
Booth the Maverick
At the mouth of the Zambezi River the British Consul detained them for nine days, which apparently allowed the Branches to find out who Joseph Booth really was and what he had got them into. Booth, it turns out, was an enthusiastic advocate for highly pro-African political and social ideas. Officials already worried that the teachings of some Black Americans induced a spirit of independence, even insubordination among Africans: Ethiopianism, a movement of African nationalism, began in South Africa around 1890 when independent African churches started forming, based on their reading of the biblical promise that Ethiopia would one day “stretch out her hands unto God” (Ps. 68:31, KJV). Colonialists equated Ethiopianism with educated American Negros, though it was Joseph Booth the Englishman, not Thomas Branch the African American, whose ideas and action were to be associated with this thinking.
Booth had written Africa for the African, in which he outlined a program for abolishing British colonialism. Booth believed in complete racial equality, and felt called by God to speak against inequalities. His industrial mission was a way to develop financial and educational independence for Africans. Spicer and the Adventists knew nothing of this when Booth first charmed them with his estate initiative. Booth had mentioned nothing of it. It took some effort to convince the authorities that the Branches were not involved in
Ethiopianism.
Plainfield Mission, the estate outpost, involved great problems between Branch and Booth. The Branches were not interested in Booth’s proposals, but in teaching and preaching the gospel. Booth was always involved in some project and never had enough money to pay the mission bills or the Branches’ salary. After just six months the Foreign Mission Board recalled Booth and asked him to become a colporteur in England.
Leading at Plainfield
With Booth gone, Branch labored alone as the director of Plainfield Mission until the Mission Board sent Joseph H. Watson with his wife and son to join Branch. But in less than a year the climate had ravaged Watson. He passed away at age 33, was buried on the grounds of the mission station, and his wife and son returned home. Branch continued as director, and on July 14, 1906, organized the first Adventist church in Malawi.
Branch continued to direct the mission until another missionary, Joel C. Rogers, renamed the mission Malamulo (meaning “commandments”), and the Branches went to South Africa in 1907 seeking a better climate and to put their boys in school. To their great disappointment, their boys could not attend White Adventist schools. This, along with challenges to Henrietta’s health, led them to return to the United States the next year. Thomas was placed once again in charge of the colored work in Denver.
Branch left at least one more pioneering mark on the work when he was called to the East Pennsylvania Conference in 1911. There he organized and pastored the First African Seventh-day Adventist church of Philadelphia. Later the church was renamed Ebenezer, and it became the mother of nearly a dozen African American churches that exist in the Philadelphia area today. Henrietta Branch died in Philadelphia on April 4, 1913.
The Branches were pioneers, in Colorado, Malawi, and Philadelphia. Rather than focus on politics and prejudice, they proclaimed the gospel and brought true liberation to many. Their amazing legacy to the Adventist Church stands as an inspiration and path-breaking model of the church’s international mission by everyone, from everywhere, to everywhere, until the whole world knows.
1-W. A. Spicer, “The New Missionary Enterprise: Nyassaland,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May 27, 1902, p. 17.
2-Mr. and Mrs. T. H. Branch, “Called to Africa,” Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, July 15, 1902, p. 20.
3-Ibid.
4-Thomas Branch and Family, “On the Ocean,” Echoes From the Field, Sept. 3, 1902, p. 2.
Sitting by the Stuff
Finding Spiritual Fulfillment in Mundane Tasks
By Shandra Kilby
The wind is blowing hard, so I get up to close my office window. As usual, I pause for a moment, letting my gaze linger upon the gut-pinching view. Every time I look out my window a desperate emotion boils up, threatening to leap from my throat, but somehow I am addicted to the sight. Haggard towers, pockmarked from bullet holes; rushing lines of traffic; countless rows of laundry flapping from countless apartment balconies in the dirty air of Beirut—the view represents millions of unreached people. As my fingers close around the window frame, a nearby mosque begins its mournful call to prayer. For a moment I consider the sheer number of people who have never heard the gospel message—people right outside my window—and my heart can barely keep itself from bursting. But obediently I shut the window and sit back down at my desk.
After all, it’s not my job to reach those people.
I work as a personal assistant for an Adventist office in the Middle East. Like countless other denominational employees throughout the world church, I complete reports, fill out statistical data forms, and collect information from our various fields. On slower days I water the potted plants and clean the windows. It’s a job that goes by many names—personal assistant, secretary, or administrative assistant—but whatever it may be called, I’m quite sure that I’m not the only one in our denomination who can sometimes feel that the stack of reports cuts a cruel dividing line between me, the office worker, and “them,” the mission of the church: those nameless, faceless people waiting to be touched by heart-to-heart ministry. We want to be out there, leading souls into a relationship with Christ—but for whatever reason, God has called some of us to jobs that have less action.
Are office workers missionaries? Are those engaged in denominational support roles really partaking in ministry? Recently I began searching God’s Word to see if it offers any advice for office workers.
Tarrying by the Stuff
First Samuel 30 tells the harrowing story of when David and his 600 men returned to the city of Ziklag to find it plundered, burned, and looted. Their wives, children, and livestock had been captured, and, as can be expected, David and his men fell into momentary despair. Hastily pulling themselves together, they determined to pursue the retreating Amalekite army—not an easy feat! Burdened down with weapons, food, and presumably a fair amount of other military supplies, they promptly departed.
The Bible doesn’t specify whether they were speed-walking, jogging, or running, but it does say that by the time David and his 600 men reached the brook Besor, one third of his men were too exhausted to continue. Rather than taking a break for his men to rest, David decided to leave the 200 weary soldiers at the brook. To lighten the load of the still-pursuing 400, he had them leave their baggage with the exhausted men. The Bible records that these 200 men tarried by the stuff (1 Sam. 30:24).
Many office workers feel like those 200 men who had to sit by the “stuff” while others go forward to fight the battles of the Lord. Our role can feel unimportant, unrecognized, and insignificant. But, like the exhaustion of the men, we each have our own things that keep us back from crossing the creek. Health issues, family obligations, age, experience, education, or other circumstances can keep devoted Christians from doing frontline, soul-winning ministry. We can be left pondering whether we are really contributing to the mission of the church.
If you’ve wondered about that, you wouldn’t be the first one. In fact, some of David’s own men accused the 200 of being unworthy to share the reward at the end. Verse 22 records that after David’s army rescued their families and possessions from the Amalekites, some of his soldiers felt that the 200 who had “tarried by the stuff” should not share in the spoils. “Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except for every man’s wife and children, that they may lead them away and depart.”
It was as if the support staff that remained behind was substandard, lazy, and unworthy of a reward. The ones from the battlefront urged them just to take their wives and be gone.
Not so with David.
David must have recognized that these 200 men, although not engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield, were nonetheless a valuable asset to his army. After all, if they hadn’t stayed by the luggage—thus lightening the load of the pursuers—perhaps they wouldn’t have been able to travel fast enough to catch up with the enemy. David’s answer to the disgruntled fighters is inspiring:
“My brethren, you shall not do so with what the Lord has given us, who has preserved us and delivered into our hand the troop that came against us. . . . As his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike” (verses 23, 24).
The book Christ’s Object Lessons shares an interesting tidbit from God’s perspective for those who stay by the “stuff”—or, in our day, stay in the office: “Not the amount of labor performed or its visible results but the spirit in which the work is done makes it of value with God.”1 Not everybody can fight on the front lines, but we can faithfully stay by the duties given to us. We can care devotedly for the supplies and pray for those who are in battle. At the end of the day, whether we have been wielding a sword or tending supplies, God will give us an equal reward. Although we office workers might not be baptizing new members or preaching evangelistic series, God views our humble, devoted efforts as worthy of the same recompense!
Finding Meaning in the Mundane
When I look out my office window, the sight of a massive city full of lost individuals drives a restless wedge of pain into my ribcage. When I see the girl 6 or 7 years old begging at the traffic intersection; when I meet the hauntingly beautiful Muslim woman with a purple bruise under her eye; when I observe the Syrian refugees, the young men already showing dramatic streaks of gray hair—I can only pray for more workers on our front line. As for me, I would like to know that my life makes a difference here—for someone, anyone. I am energized to know that what I do in the office, no matter how mundane it may be, plays a small part in supporting the other “400” who are called to be on the front line.
Thus it is recorded that “the work of many may appear to be restricted by circumstances; but, wherever it is, if performed with faith and diligence it will be felt to the uttermost parts of the earth. Christ’s work when upon earth appeared to be confined to a narrow field, but multitudes from all lands heard His message. God often uses the simplest means to accomplish the greatest results.”2
Whether we are waiting by the brook Besor or are in the heat of the battle, let us take courage that God counts our labor as valuable, and if we are faithful, our work will be felt to the uttermost parts of the earth.
1-Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900), p. 398.
2-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1898), p. 822.
The Adventist World, an international periodical of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The General Conference, Northern Asia-Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists®, is the publisher.
