Religious news from around the world.

Helping refugees is “as important as preaching the Second Coming”

Belgrade, Serbia—Seventh-day Adventist pastor Igor Mitrović once believed that the church’s prophetic calling was to proclaim the second coming of Jesus. But after working in Serbia on the front lines of Europe’s refugee crisis for the past year, Mitrović sees a second and equally important prophetic calling: to help the helpless.

“Whenever you find a stranger, someone very helpless, you are called to raise your voice and protect,” Mitrović said, citing Old Testament prophet Amos and his strong denouncements of the exploitation of the helpless in passages such as Amos 2:6–8 and 8:4–7.

ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) took the lead in opening a refugee crisis center with four other organizations near Belgrade’s main train station in July 2015, just when Europe’s refugee crisis spun out of control. “ADRA has invested significantly in establishing both an international and country level response to disasters,” said Jonathan Duffy, president of ADRA International. “The situation in Serbia serves as a good example of the plan working, where we were able to mobilize and respond rapidly.”

These days, about 5,000 refugees are living in Serbia at any given time, a decrease from a year ago when thousands of people flowed across the country’s border daily. Many of those refugees stop by ADRA’s Asylum Information Center, which provides food and supplies, psychological support, activities for children, and information. The ground floor, which is run by another organization, provides legal support and free Internet. The refugee center is open around the clock, and ADRA has seven paid employees working with 50 to 70 unaccompanied minors or families daily.

Many of the small Balkan country’s 6,000 Adventists sprang into action as refugees poured in last year, collecting food, clothing, and water and then distributing the supplies. Church members also wanted to open up their homes, but the authorities forbade this, saying they needed to keep track of the refugees by housing them at state-designated facilities, said Djordje Trajkovski, president of the Adventist Church’s South-East European Union, whose territory includes Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Montenegro.

“Church members have had a very positive attitude about the refugees coming to Serbia,” Trajkovski said. “We were surprised at the speed some churches organized themselves to help. Many young people volunteered at the spots where refugees needed initial help, especially at the beginning when other NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] were not prepared to help.”

He said church members were able to empathize with the refugees because they had experienced similar hardships amid a devastating armed conflict that erupted following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

“All of the Bible’s main characters have been refugees: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Jesus,” said Mitrović. “When you have firsthand experience, you can appreciate the Bible stories a little differently.”

While ADRA is doing all it can to help in Serbia, Mitrović said the refugee crisis remains enormous and is likely to only grow worse. “We are basically helpless,” he said. “All we can do when we see a need is to be smart in providing the best possible remedy. But the only solution will be the Second Coming.” Mitrović said the ongoing refugee crisis serves as a wake-up call for Adventists not only to dress up in “nice suits” and proclaim the gospel but to also engage with strangers who are helpless. [Andrew McChesney, Adventist Review]

Adventist and iconic Bermudian Johnny Barnes passes away

Hamilton, Bermuda—A long-standing figure on the island of Bermuda, Johnny Barnes was known for greeting residents and visitors with a warm “I love you!” For more than 30 years, Barnes was a daily fixture at the Crow Lane roundabout in the middle of the island. From 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., Monday to Friday, rain or shine, he would wave to commuters, saying, “God loves you, and so do I!” Visitors came from around the world to meet the man who felt called to share a message of love with everyone, every day. Barnes was a member of the Hamilton Seventh-day Adventist church.

“Johnny Barnes personified the North American Division’s top priority of Transformational Evangelism,” says Ken Denslow, assistant to the president for the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Denslow was one of several church leaders who attended Barnes’s funeral. He recalls the first time he met the famous Bermudianand asked how Barnes could do the same thing for so many years. He responded: “God has something for everyone to do.”

The iconic Barnes played a key role in helping make the Seventh-day Adventist Church a fixture on the small island located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A statue of Barnes in his familiar waving pose was raised by local business owners to honor his role in spreading the image of a warm and friendly culture with visitors from all around the world. Tens of thousands received his cheerful greeting, wave, and smile.

Ninety-three years old, Barnes recently had to stop his daily greetings because of failing health. He passed away early on the morning of July 9, 2016, from natural causes. Belvina, his wife of 65 years, was at his side. On July 18, Bermuda said goodbye to Barnes with a regal funeral in tribute to “Mr. Happy.” Many wore bright colors in keeping with Barnes’s wishes as they lined the funeral procession’s way. In 2015, the North American Division featured Barnes in its General Conference session video report. [Daniel Weber, North American Division] 

Hacksaw Ridge, new film on Desmond Doss, to be released shortly

Silver Spring, Maryland, United States—More than 70 years ago an unlikely hero saved the lives of dozens of American soldiers during one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. Now his story is about to explode onto movie screens all over the world (United States release scheduled for November 4, 2016).

The film tells the story of Corporal Desmond Doss , a Seventh-day Adventist combat medic who single-handedly rescued 75 soldiers during the battle of Okinawa, in the midst of a hail of enemy gunfire. As a result of his bravery, Desmond Doss was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States’ highest military honor.

While Doss’ story has been told many times, Hacksaw Ridge is the first feature film to recount his remarkable heroism. It is likely that millions of people will learn about not only his deeply-held beliefs and faith, but also about the remarkable God who enabled Doss to carry himself with such outstanding grace, commitment, and bravery. Corporal Doss, a Private First Class at the time of the Battle of Okinawa, is presented as a balanced, Sabbath-keeping, vegetarian, Bible-believing Christian who was moved by faith in God to adhere to his beliefs in the face of overwhelming opposition. Hacksaw Ridge was not made by Seventh-day Adventists; nor was it made for Adventists. But it presents Adventists, indeed Christians everywhere, with an unprecedented opportunity to speak up for Christ.

In one of the later scenes of the movie, Doss—played by Hollywood leading actor Andrew Garfield—is doing all he can to save American servicemen. After lowering a soldier to safety, Doss prays, “Lord, give me one more!” Each time he lowers another soldier to safety the prayer is repeated: “Lord, give me one more!” Doss’s prayer is the prayer that should be prayed by Christians everywhere. “Lord, give me one more. Help me get one more!”

Desmond Doss now rests beneath a simple grave marker in the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Tennessee. Ten years after his death Hollywood is telling the story of his battlefield heroism. It is up to us to tell the story of his Savior, the power of grace, and the promise of Jesus’ return.* [John Bradshaw/North American Division staff]