William Loveless

Just as in many other professions, the work of the church pastor continues to be increasingly complex. Wearing multiple hats at the office, at church, at home, and in local communities, today’s pastor deals with various kinds of conflicts,…

Whether obtaining it from Adventist or non-Adventist institutions, pastors’ education impacts their lives and ministry. It also influences how they value and support Adventist education, which they can do through either explicit or implicit…

Ellen G. White famously urges the need for “revival and reformation.” Of these, revival has been what the church has recently focused on the most, perhaps because it is easy to understand what that is. But what did she mean by reformation?…

Seventh-day Adventists are accustomed to being members of a worldwide church, so much so that probably many take it for granted, not realizing that Protestant denominations are mostly organized around national borders. Adventist ecclesiastical…

What does it really mean to be a Christian?” asked a student at Australasian Missionary College in August, 1939.¹ Although always an important question, at this particular moment in history it held special significance for Adventist…

Christ’s statement in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” was foundational to Ellen White’s understanding of global mission. She believed…

In April 1908, Walter Ising, a young German Adventist—just turned 27— and his wife, Frieda, arrived in the bustling port city of Beirut, then part of the Ottoman Empire. Sent…

When a revival of true godliness in our own lives does not have the impact on our fellow believers that we want, how should we respond?

The easy way is to invoke the spirit of the Old Testament prophets and of Revelation 3:14–17—to…

When the junior pulpit gets on fire, the whole family will go to church to see it burn. No longer will we hear the pastor and the junior leader say, "oh, those juniors ! What are we going to do with them?" As ministers of God we must sincerely…

Better start packing up, for we will soon be going places," I remarked to my wife when news of the Pearl Harbor disaster was first received over the radio. As an officer in the Medical Corps of the United States Naval…

One of the outstanding genuine revivalists of the nineteenth century was Charles Grandison Finney. His natural gifts were not phenomenal, yet under the mighty hand of God he was the instrument for bringing thousands upon thousands to the…

The Adventist pastor has many opportunities for guidance in the program of his church. In many cases, not only can he have direct contact with all age groups of society, but he can be a moving force in guiding and counseling in the church…

[Every denomination produces at some time a preacher's preacher—one who can inspire and guide fellow ministers. Such a man was Carlyle B. Haynes. Who of us has not been blessed by the overflowing of his rich life? Author of some forty…

The days of Indian summer are always fleeting. Winter is approaching. Change is everywhere. The sap has returned to the ground, the leaves are brown. The com­mitments of an earlier day have dulled. Compromise has washed away resolve. In­dian…

ANY lack of good rapport between min­isters and laymen naturally inhibits the program of the church. In seeking the reason for such a situation both ministers and laymen should be willing to examine themselves. Of course, it may be that our…

IT ALL began two years before it happened. This is the simple story of an evangelistic campaign that became a profound experience for a church.

[Our recent correspondence on retirement problems has brought this reply from a respected doctor. The author has served this cause in various capacities, including a staff appointment at the College of Medical Evangelists. At an age when…

ADVENTIST medicine got off to a good start in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Aided by advanced concepts in the realms of nu­trition, sanitation, and hy­giene, combined with a per­sonal relationship to God that transcended the…

Battles have been lost, property destroyed, and homes broken up by failures in communication. In a broad sense, to communicate means more than the conveyance of a message. It implies identi­fication, sympathy, under­standing with and of another;…

The "Old Mother Hubbard" Sermon

THERE are three types of sermons that have been imposed on patient congregations times without number.

The most common one that comes to mind is the "Old Mother Hubbard" discourse. I take…

What would happen if the medical and dental staff of a major, acute-care mission hospital in one of the world's most sophisticated cities decided to talk directly to their patients about Adventist medicine and religion? Hongkong…

I started "looking" at meditation about fifteen years ago when I found my own spiritual life deficient. I soon discovered, though, that you can't understand meditation by just looking at it. You have to experiment personally with it. My interest…

Can preaching change behavior? Of course. Can preaching change behavior easily? Of course not. For behavior to change, preaching must deal with issues listeners care about, and the listeners must understand what is…

The ultimate practical measure of good preaching is what the preacher and the listener take away from the sermon. By precept and example, good preachers give voice to Scripture and to beliefs linking…

AIthough it is said that data, and knowledge in general, doubles every eight months or so, the primary source material for preaching remains the same as it has been for thousands of years: the Bible.

The…

How should we view human nature and spirituality? The history of theology provides different answers, each one affecting in its own way how we minister. After a brief review of this historical background, this article aims to draw some lessons…

What does your church's public worship say about the life of the body of Christ where you pastor? There's no shortage of ideas regarding public worship in most churches these days. Worship style is big with all kinds…

Jesus once said to His disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart . . . and rest awhile." And in the "Testimonies," we are instructed:

"You should labor with care, and observe periods of rest. By so doing you will retain your physical and…