January

Erton C. Köhler

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has declared, “The COVID-19 pandemic is the greatest public health crisis in a hundred years.”1 The consequences of the pandemic on the church and membership have been devastating. Over the past two years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has lost more than 17,000 members to COVID-19. This includes “at least 773 pastors, retirees, church workers, missionaries, and church leaders.”2 And, by all estimates, this is… Continue reading...

Jason Sliger

We’ll be sending you a check for . . .” I almost dropped my phone when I heard it. I tried to say something but could not think of any intelligible response to this miracle. I managed to stutter, “Thank you.” Rewind. About five months before this, our family had felt the leading of God to go into foreign missions and to serve among the Gogodala tribe of Papua New Guinea, a river-going people in the Western Province. This was a radical change from the steady, comfortable,… Continue reading...

Ryan Rogers

As a pastor and content creator, when I come across content that is exceptionally valuable, something happens. I get the urge to preach it myself. When I read Craig Groeschel’s book Winning the War in Your Mind, that urge came midway through the first chapter. The book pinpoints crucial areas where the Bible and modern science come together regarding the mind. The message is particularly relevant in our current culture, and the book is exceptionally clear. Groeschel… Continue reading...

Pandemic hits Bible societies hard Stuttgart, Germany In 2020, the coronavirus pandemic had a massive impact on the worldwide distribution of the Bible, according to a recent report by the United Bible Societies (UBS). The UBS recently shared that in 2020, only 30 million complete Bibles were distributed, a quarter less than in 2019. “The COVID-19 pandemic has severely restricted the work of many Bible societies,” Horst Scheurenbrand, director of international… Continue reading...

Over the past few years, my wife and I renewed our CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) certification. As I revisited the procedures and mindset of one working on behalf of another in need, I could not but help think of some parallels to church life. Disclaimer: I have never actually had to implement my CPR skills. 1. CPR requires intense focus, effort, and initiative on the part of the one implementing CPR The one in need typically does not request CPR but relies… Continue reading...