December 2019

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December 2019 Issue

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Editorial

Jeffrey O. Brown

I was working at Agona-Ashanti Secondary School in Ghana when it happened. While I was speaking with Dr. Joseph Addai, the school chaplain, his son suddenly burst into tears.“Why is he crying?” I asked. The father conversed with his son, then turned to me, laughing.“What did he say?” I asked.“He said, ‘I fear him, the white one.’ ”Somehow, the sound of my British accent emerging from the mouth of an African Caribbean was too much for him to bear. I wondered to… Continue reading...

A theology of leadership for pastors cover image

A theology of leadership for pastors

Ted Wilson

The Bible is filled with instruction on godly leadership. One of the most instructive passages is Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” In the book…

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Independent congregations or worldwide organized church? cover image

Independent congregations or worldwide organized church? Lessons from early Adventist Church history

Pickle, Bob

Two church leaders accused James White of something absolutely scandalous. And James readily admitted that the accusation was true. So, what was this tale that Iowa Conference president B. F. Snook and secretary W. H. Brinkerhoff spread all around just after the May…

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What every pastor should know about disabilities cover image

What every pastor should know about disabilities

Johnson, Patrick

I don’t want to go with you to visit other churches anymore.” I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw Espen in the seat behind me, staring out the window with a somewhat resolute look on his face. As a pastor for more than 15 years, I had, up to this point, always…

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Hannah in the temple cover image

Hannah in the temple A spiritual care response to involuntary childlessness

Sikhumbuzo Dube

A couple of years ago, a nine-year-old girl asked me a question I had never expected.“Pastor,” she asked, “where is your child? I have never seen her.”Being involuntarily childless, I responded, “We are still praying that God may give us one. I have none.”The nine-year-old…

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A multichurch district board: cover image

A multichurch district board: Helping or hurting?

Prince Ng'andu

What exactly is a multichurch district council or board? A multi-church district is an amalgamation of several local churches in a given geographical territory under the guidance of a single pastor with associates, if any. The highest decision-making body for a district…

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​The end—and the beginning

The papers had been prepared. As I drove away from the attorney’s office, I reflected on the events that were bringing about a change in my life in a manner I never thought would happen. My wife Myrtle2 and I signed the papers. In six months, our divorce would become…

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More from this issue:

Revival and Reformation

​Not by might, nor by power—but still done only by His Spirit

Cabungcal, Jan-Harry

I was packing to catch my flight home from the Dominican Republic (DR). My teenage friends from Europe were singing songs of praise, reflecting on God’s goodness, and waiting for me to bid them farewell. As I looked into their eyes, I saw a glimmer of sadness. The blessed time together was over, and it was time to go home. I was thinking, How can we go back to the same old ways after a high experience with God and seeing many lives, including our own, transformed?= More… Continue reading...

Resources

​A Living Sacrifice: Unsung Heroes of Adventist Missions

DeWitt S. Williams

You may take out your handkerchief several times as you read David Trim’s latest book, A Living Sacrifice. Your heart may ache as you witness so many young people sacrifice their lives to take the love of God to others. These unsung men and women were willing to risk danger, deprivation, disease, and death—their all—for the church and Christ in the mission field. Their stories are sad but inspirational.Trim begins by chronicling the story of Eva May Clements, representative… Continue reading...

Dateline

Religious news from around the world.

South American Division president Erton Köhler (left) celebrates with Nélida Ifraín. Photo: Alexis Villar, South American Division NewsAdventists celebrate 125 years of gospel work in South AmericaCrespo Campo, Entre Ríos, ArgentinaOn a cool, sunny September morning, three horse-drawn carts carrying regional church leaders approached the exact spot where the first Seventh-day Adventist congregation in South America was organized on September 9, 1894. On September… Continue reading...