I NTERNATI ONAL

J OURNAL FOR PASTORS

SEPTEMBER 2009
J
COVERED
WITH BLOOD
A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF EXODUS 12:7
Lawrence Geraty is the
President Emeritus of La Sierra
University. He grew up as a citizen of
the world in a Christian missionary
family who ministered in China,
Burma, Hong Kong, and Lebanon.
Educated in seven different countries
and various states across the USA set
him on a lifelong course committed
to the values of diversity. Lawrence
Geraty earned a PhD with distinction
from Harvard University in Hebrew
Bible and biblical archaeology, taking
examinations in 10 languages. In his
notable scholarly career, Dr. Geraty
has received numerous honors,
including a Fulbright Fellowship and
serving as advisor on archaeology
to former Crown Prince Hassan of
Jordan. As well as being president
of several scholarly societies, he
has also served as Professor of
Archaeology and History of Antiquity
at Andrews Theological Seminary,
President of Atlantic Union College,
and more recently President and
Professor of Archaeology at La Sierra
University.
Marguerite Shuster is the
Harold John Ockenga Professor of
Preaching and Theology at Fuller
Theological Seminary. She joined
the School of Theology faculty in
1992 after serving as an adjunct
assistant professor. Her courses
include Homiletics, Systematic
Theology, Making Doctrine Live,
and various preaching practica.
Marguerite Shusters published
books include The Fall and Sin: What
We Have Become as Sinners (2004),
Perspectives on Christology: Essays
in Honor of Paul K. Jewett (1991),
and Power, Pathology, Paradox: the
Dynamics of Evil and Good (1987).
She also edited and completed
Jewetts Who We Are: Our Dignity
as Human (1996) and has published
many articles, sermons, chapters, and
reviews. She is currently working on
a long-term project on the doctrine
of divine providence. Marguerite
Shuster is an ordained minister in
the Presbyterian Church (USA) and
served as an associate pastor for six
years then a solo pastor for ve years.
Roy Adams is the Associate
Editor of the Adventist Review and
Adventist World, serving in this
position since 1988. He was born
in the Caribbean, and received his
education at schools in Grenada,
Trinidad, Canada, and the United
States. The bulk of his pastoral work
was in the Ontario and Quebec
provinces of Canada. After obtaining
a PhD in Theology from Andrews
University, he lectured at what is
now the Adventist International
Institute of Advanced Studies
(AIIAS) in the Philippines. From that
base, Roy Adams teaching and
speaking appointments took him to
many other Asian countries, and he
continues to be a highly sought after
international speaker at major clergy
professional development meetings.
Dr. Adams has also served as
associate secretary of the Canadian
Union. Roy Adams is a prolic writer
and has authored several books over
the years. His three latest: Crossing
Jordan (2005); From the Heart (2007);
and The Wonder of Jesus (2008).
Miroslav Volf is the Henry B.
Wright Professor of Theology at Yale
Divinity School, and Founder and
Director of the Yale Center for Faith and
Culture. A native of Croatia, Dr. Volf
has forged a theology of forgiveness
and non-violence in the face of the
horrendous violence experienced in
Croatia and Serbia in the 1990s. While
he maintains active interest in many
aspects of faiths relation to culture, his
primary work has focused on theological
understandings of work, the church,
the Trinity, violence, reconciliation,
and memory. Miroslav Volf has given
many prestigious lectureships and
is a highly awarded author. Free of
Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture
Stripped of Grace was selected as the
Archbishop of Canterburys Lenten
Book for 2006. Exclusion and Embrace:
A Theological Exploration of Identity,
Otherness and Reconciliation received
the 2002 Grawemeyer Award. He
has also been featured on National
Public Radios Speaking of Faith and
Public Televisions Religion and Ethics
Newsweekly.
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9

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Vol. 81 Number 9 2009
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06
Covered with blood: A better
understanding of Exodus 12:7
Egyptian archaeology provides a clear understanding of the
events surrounding the Israelite slaves nal night in Egyptone
that delivers a powerful lesson about salvation by faith alone.
L. S. Baker Jr.
09
Evangelisms big picture: From
baptism to discipleship
Any approach to evangelism that focuses primarily on the
number of people baptized misses the mark.
Mark A. Finley
12
Pastoral care of veterans and their
families
With the increase of military activity worldwide comes an
increase in the need to minister to veterans. What are their
needs? And how can ministers address them?
Lawrence L. LaPierre
16
Ten things to be learned in pastoral
ministry
Twenty-ve years of ministerial experience condensed into ten
statements worth remembering.
Tom Hoehner
18
A closer look at Christian leadership
coaching
Mentoring is a process that ministers need throughout their
lifetimes, and is also something they can provide to others who
have also been serving for many years.
Nick Howard
21
The strength of the covenant
The beauty of Gods contract with humans lies in its inclusive
nature, its acceptance of all people.
Engin Obucic
25
Forgiveness: A part of the journey to
healing
A practical discussion on the why, when, and how of letting go
of a painful past.
Patti Ecker
04
LETTERS
05
EDITORIAL
27
RESOURCES
29
DATELINE
30
PASTORS PASTOR
C O N T E N T S
BIBLE CREDITS Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978,
1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. Scriptures quoted from NKJV are from The New King James
Version, copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quoted from KJV is from the King James Version.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from The New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,
1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
4 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
L E T T E R S
Preaching
I
appreciated the excellent article by
Loren Seibold titled, The Big Posi-
tive Purpose (May 2009). Seibold
identies a common aw in much
preaching: a lack of clarity both in
terms of the single dominant thought
and the purpose for preaching the
sermon.
I still remember the comment of
a local church leader who was anx-
iously awaiting the arrival of a new
pastor. He said, Our former pastor
was a good man, but he would speak
for thirty minutes; and when he was
done I had absolutely no idea what
he was trying to say. Thats tragic.
As Seibold observes, people come
to worship with real needs, real
challenges, and real hopes. Preach-
ers have a moral obligation to share
a biblical message that is clear and
relevant. Muddled preaching that
lacks clarity of thought and purpose
is totally unacceptable. Thanks for
publishing this helpful article. It is
worth reading more than once.
Derek Morris, Apopka, Florida, United States
Pastoral leadership
M
y thanks to Professor Patterson
for his important article, The
Pastor as Proactive Leader (May
2009). Reactive leadership is an
oxymoron. It suggests that the leader
is the one being led.
Ive struggled with this issue
as a new pastor, having this strong
sense that Im called to bring about
meaningful change in my churches.
However, Ive found that the expec-
tation of some is that I be little
more than an inspirational speaker,
visitor of the elderly, Sabbath School
teacher, and board meeting chair.
When I became a pastor, I did so in
order to lead the church in bringing
the gospel to the world!
We need leaders who have the
boldness, vision, and faith not to
bend to the demands of the vocal
minority; rather, to encourage pas-
tors to make God-sized plans for their
churches and mentor them as they
execute these plans in a Christlike,
compassionate way.
Jonathan Martin, email
Forgiveness
W
hile reading Colin T. Rich-
ardsons article on the topic
of forgiveness (Forgiveness: An
Essential in Christian Life, March
2009), I failed to nd any reference to
two crucial passages: Matthew 18:15
and Luke 17:3, 4. In these verses,
Jesus plainly states that apologizing
is a condition for being forgiven.
Why was this not mentioned?
If we forgive every unrepentant
perpetrator of inhumane acts, we
simply appear to condone their
behavior and make them think they
have nothing for which to apologize.
This applies to those who know
they have done wrong. When Jesus
prayed for the soldiers at the cross,
they did not know what they were
doing. That is altogether different.
H. L. Wipprecht, email
Involving children in
worship services
I
just read Karen Holfords wonderful
article, Simply Creative: Ways to
Involve Children in Your Worship
Services (May 2009). Well written
and practical, with references to
resources from which I can gain
more ideas.
Thank you for this helpful article.
More practical articles like this would
be great!
Marilyn string, email
Editors note: Ministry will publish
a follow-up article, also written by
Karen Holford, in an upcoming issue.
Demands placed upon
pastors
J
ames Cresss article on visitation
(Visitation Expectation, May
2009) was succinct yet powerful. As
a pastors wife, I watch my husband
put long and tedious hours into his
ministry. Yet some people still make
remarks about how easy the life of
a pastor must be.
While it may well be that case
somewhere (there may be a few pas-
tors who collect a full-time paycheck
for a ten-hour workweek), it certainly
doesnt depict most pastors. When
members make derogatory com-
ments about your spouse, the pastor,
its difcult to respond in a gracious
fashion, knowing that you really
wish you could see your spouse
more often.
Thank you, Pastor Cress, for this
article.
Sarah K. Asaftei, Marietta, Georgia, United States
Thanks for publishing
this helpful article. It is
worth reading more than once.
VI SI T
www.creationsabbath.net
OCTOBER
24
2 0 0 9
5 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
S
ome days we feel as though
chal l enges face us every
moment. That whatever we
touch, do, plan, or say presents
another challenge. Sometimes its
true both for personal and ministerial
responsibilities. What do you do on
such a day?
Look for the blessings, one of my
good friends said to me recently. As he
spoke those words, I listened to him
respectfully, not only because he has
lived more than 90 years or because we
have been good friends for many years
but because he has been a capable
minister during his years of service.
When to look for the
blessings
When we are facing challenges,
we must look for blessings, for if we
dont, those challenges will overtake
us. In fact, we should focus on bless-
ings at all times. Blessings come
from God who knows our needs,
capabilities, and future.
Look for blessings when the
situation seems hopeless, such as
what the Israelites experienced when
they were slaves in Egypt. However,
in the midst of their hopelessness,
they celebrated the Passover. The
Passover was much more than a
ritual; it was Gods way of blessing
them in the midst of a crisis. (I invite
you to read our lead article by L. S.
Baker Jr., for an insightful interpreta-
tion of the Passover experience.)
We are two-thirds of the way
through 2009, and perhaps you are
tempted to dwell on all the reasons
that exist to be discouraged. Focus-
ing on the blessings will provide
hope for our lives and call to ministry.
Where to look for the
blessings
Where do we nd these bless-
ings? Although we do not always
see it, one of the sources includes
the churches in which we serve.
Every minister faces challenges;
yet we all can testify that there
are members in our congregations
who go out of their way to bring
blessings to us. I recall, in one of
my churches, an older woman who
went out of her way to always speak
a word of encouragement. Perhaps
her many years of living close to
the Lord brought assurance to her
own life, and she wanted to share
Gods blessings with me. I looked
forward to hearing her words of
encouragement.
There are also people in our
communities who bring blessings
to us. I recall a man in our New York
City area neighborhood who never
joined or even attended our church
as far as I can remember. However,
when he passed by the church, he
would stop and speak words of
encouragement to me. He thanked
me for the ministry that the church
was providing to the community.
Now, years later, in my mind I can
still see his face and cherish those
words of encouragement.
Often neglected sources of bless-
ings in our lives are our families and
friends. Perhaps we just expect them
to speak words of encouragement
and fail to pause long enough to
realize that they live as a source of
blessing to us. Listen to their words
as they speak to you.
God, the One whom we wor-
ship, the One who has called us
to ministry, is the ultimate Source
of blessing. Lets face it. There are
times when God is the only Source
of blessing in our lives. The day I
wrote this editorial, I read a story
about a clergyman whose denomina-
tion and local congregation have
been experiencing great difculty. I
empathized as I read the challenges
they are facingfor all of us have
faced challenges in our ministry.
The challenges he faces seem insur-
mountable, and it will be hard for him
to nd blessings other than from God
Himself. To him and to all, I remind
us of the words of Proverbs 10:6,
Blessings crown the head of the
righteous (NIV). That kind of bless-
ing comes from God alone.
Look for the blessings, says
my friend. Sometimes they are hard
to nd. I am one of those individuals
who can go to a store to nd a cer-
tain food item and walk up and down
the aisles looking for it, but I just
cant nd it. At times I have stood at
the very area that the product should
be and actually is, but I still dont see
it. Im tempted to look somewhere
else even though I know Im stand-
ing where the product should be.
If I stay where I belong, I will nd
the product. If I look to God for the
blessings in my life, I will nd them.
Look for the blessings, and you
will nd them.
Look for the blessings
EDITORIAL
|
NIKOLAUS SATELMAJER
Tell us what you think about this editorial. Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Perhaps we just
expect them to
speak words of
encouragement
and fail to pause
long enough to
realize that they
live as a source
of blessing to us.
6 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
H
ave you ever wondered
why God asked the chil-
dren of Israel to paint
blood on the lintel and
two doorposts of the door to their
houses prior to the tenth plague
(Exod. 12:7)? Sure, you answer, it
was to serve as a sign for the angel
of death to pass over their houses
(Exod. 12:13).
Thats true. But why the door-
posts? Since no one is kept out of
a dwelling by doorposts, why not
paint something like a big cross on
the door itself?
Egyptian archaeology provides
an answer; one that can teach us a
powerful lesson about salvation by
faith alone.
A corrupted nation
One source descri bes t he
Israelites as a people who kept
themselves a distinct race, having
nothing in common with the Egyp-
tians in customs or religion
1
and thus
retained knowledge of the Lord. This
distinctiveness changed quickly after
the death of Joseph and, by the time
of the burning bush, Moses had fret-
ted over the blindness, ignorance,
and unbelief of his people, many of
whom were almost destitute of a
knowledge of God.
2

Also, according to the biblical
record, by the time of the Exodus,
the Israelites were no longer nomadic
but were dwelling in houses (Exod.
12:22), an Egyptian custom that they
had adopted. In short, the Israelites
were becoming very much like the
Egyptians. This point is important for
understanding what follows.
State of the dead
The Egyptians believed in an
eternal afterlife, and their building
practices (that the Israelites adopted)
reected this belief. Egyptians built
their dwellingsfrom the lowly slave
houses to the luxurious palaces
with the same building material,
mud brick. Because this present life
was temporary, they used temporary
building materials for their homes;
in contrast, they built their temples
and tombs out of stone, reective
of an eternal afterlife. Any building
that was to be used for the afterlife
(temples and tombs) had to be made
out of a material that would last
forever.
The only exception to this archi-
tectural rule was the doorposts and
lintels of their mud-brick homes.
These were made out of stone. This
construction reected their belief in
what constituted a human being.
Egyptians believed in ve parts of the
human being.
3
If any of these parts
ceased to exist, the person would
cease to exist forever.
The physical body was one part
and this is why mummication was
important. The body had to survive
death if the person in the afterlife
was to survive. The shadow was
another. They believed that the
shadow demonstrated reality and
was a very real part of a persons
being. Another part was the ka or
life force. Christians call the force
that gives us life the breath of life
(Gen. 2:7). The fourth part of a per-
son was the ba or character traits.
The last part of humanity in Egyptian
thinking was the name.
What is in a name?
We must not underestimate the
importance of names. To the ancient
Egyptian, the name was a very real
part of a person. Therefore, any mod-
ern visitor to Egypt will nd examples
of names having been chiseled off
the remaining statuary. Hatshepsut,
for example, lived just prior to the
Exodus and ruled Egypt for about 20
years after death cut her husbands
reign short. Sometime after her
death, however, Hatshepsuts name
was scratched off many monuments,
a clear effort to erase her from the
afterlife.
This rationale appears in the writ-
ings of Moses, who was trained in the
Egyptian way of life. When depicting
the Exodus, he never mentions the
name of Pharaoh, but deliberately
gives the names of the two Hebrew
midwives who were loyal to God
(Exod. 1:15). They would live in the
real afterlife, and so their names mat-
tered; Pharaoh, who had rejected God
(Exod. 5:2), would not. His name was,
therefore, not important and could be
forgotten in history.
To combat the potential loss of
their names, royalty and nobility built
great stone monuments with their
names etched in as many places as
possible. The less wealthy, of course,
could not afford to do this. Instead,
their houses, although primarily mud
brick, were constructed with stone
doorposts and lintels. On these were
inscribed the name of the one who
lived inside. Even if the house was
destroyed, the chance of the name
existing through the survival of the
stone was very good.
Covered with blood:
A better understanding of Exodus 12:7
LEAD ARTICLE | L. S. BAKER J R.
L. S. Baker Jr. is assistant to the curator, Horn Archaeological
Museum, Institute of Archaeology, Andrews University,
Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States.
7 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
And they were rightat least on
their name surviving over time. As
more and more of these doorposts
and lintels are excavated, the names
of their ancient owners remain
intact. Egyptologists excavating the
Delta region of Egypt (the northern
marshland where the Israelites were
dwelling) have discovered many of
these early New Kingdom doorposts
and lintels (dating to the time period
of the Exodus).
4
The Delta region is
very damp, so little besides stone
has remained.
Names covered in blood
When the Hebrews immigrated
to Egypt, they lived in tents. How-
ever, over time they learned how to
construct houses (probably as part
of the labor they did as slaves) and
used that knowledge to build their
own more permanent structures,
probably no differently than the
Egyptians built theirs. When Moses
returned to Egypt, he found his
people living in houses, not tents.
They had much to unlearn, and the
plagues were going to be part of
that learning process.
The children of Israel had to learn
of Gods superiority over the gods
of Egypt, to which they had been
exposed for four generations. God
slowly taught them to trust Him, but
after nine plagues, He had one more
object lesson to teach.
When God required the Israelites
to paint the blood they collected
from the Passover lamb on the door-
posts and lintels, He was asking
them to cover their names with the
blood of the lamb. By doing this,
they were taught the rudiments of
salvation. Their names on stone did
not ensure life in the hereafter; only
the blood of the Lamb could do that.
In fact, at least one member of their
family would not survive the night
without it.
We, of course, have to learn the
same lesson. It matters where our
name is written. And anyone not
found written in the Book of Life was
cast into the lake of re (Rev. 20:15,
NKJV). This book is also called, the
Lambs Book of Life (Rev. 21:27). To
have our names written in that book
is not hard; we simply need to accept
the Lambs blood, which takes the
place of our own.
Of course, there is more to our
walk with God than this, but it all
starts here. The Israelites began their
Exodus out of Egypt by putting the
blood of the Passover lamb over their
names, and then began their journey
following God. It is the same for us.
Our path may be long and hard, but
we can avoid destruction the same
way the Israelites avoided destruc-
tionby beginning our journey with
our names covered with the blood of
the Lamb.
1 Ellen G. White, The Story of Patriarchs and Prophets: As
Illustrated in the Lives of Holy Men of Old (Mountain View,
CA: Pacic Press Publishing Association, 1958), 242.
2 Ibid., 252.
3 For an informative essay on this topic, see James P. Allen,
Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and
Culture of Hieroglyphs (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2001), 7981.
4 For some examples of these, see Labib Habachi, Tell
El-Daba I: Tell El-Daba and Qantir the Site and Its
Connection With Avaris and Piramesse (Vienna: Verlag der
sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2001),
4043, 5355.
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9 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
C
hri st s great commi s-
si on (Matt. 28:19, 20)
involves much more than
baptizing new converts.
Any approach to evangelism that
focuses primarily on the number of
people baptized misses the mark.
Jesus commission to His followers
was not merely to baptize, but to
make disciplesto develop faith-
lled, praying Christians who are
daily growing in grace, studying
His Word, worshiping with His
people, and witnessing to the glory
of His name. When the church
fails to nurture new converts, the
church fails in the mission of Christ.
Evangelism is incomplete without a
comprehensive strategy of nurture
and discipleship.
The Annual Counci l
1
of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church in
2003 voted on a document on evan-
gelism and church growth titled,
Evangelism and Church Growth
From Baptism to Discipleship. The
document sounded this note of
alarm: There is ample evidence and
growing concern that evangelistic
success does not always translate
into proportionate growth in dis-
cipleship. In far too many instances
there has been a dramatic loss of
attendance and membership within
a relatively short time following the
evangelism.
2

Baptism is not some magic for-
mula to solve all spiritual problems or
some panacea to deliver people from
all their difculties. Baptism does not
signify the end of a spiritual journey
but the beginning of a new life of
fellowship with Christ in the context
of His church.
The Acts model
The New Testament church
exploded in growth. Three thousand
were baptized on the Day of Pentecost
alone (Acts 2:41). The evangelistic
zeal of these early Christians was
unabated as believers were increas-
ingly added to the Lord, multitudes of
both men and women (Acts 5:14).
3
These committed believers were so
passionate about sharing the story
of their resurrected Lord that daily in
the temple, and in every house, they
did not cease teaching and preaching
Jesus as the Christ (Acts 5:42). Their
teaching and preaching powerfully
impacted rst-century society, and
the word of God spread, and the
number of the disciples multiplied
greatly (Acts 6:7).
In Acts, chapter 7, Stephen chose
to die rather than cease sharing the
Jesus he loved so deeply. Even in
death, he witnessed for his Lord.
The disciples placed priority on win-
ning the lost as Acts 8:25 declares,
So when they had testified and
preached the word of the Lord, they
returned to Jerusalem, preaching
the gospel in many villages of the
Samaritans.
The church grew so rapidly
that new churches were planted
throughout all Judea, Galilee, and
Samaria (Acts 9:31), and within a
few short years, the Christian church
grew from a small band of believers
to tens of thousands. This rapid
evangelistic growth necessitated a
carefully thought-through process
of nurture to enable new believers to
become strong disciples. Luke con-
sistently records, not only baptisms
in Acts, but the methodology of the
early church in nurturing these new
converts to Christianity.
After the Pentecostal baptism of
3,000, Luke states, [T]hey continued
steadfastly in the apostles doctrine
and fellowship, in the breaking of
bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42).
This passage lists three clear ele-
ments of New Testament nurture:
repeated doctrinal instruction, social
fellowship, and a personal devotional
life of prayer. Verse 46 adds a fourth
element: So continuing daily with
one accord in the temple. Corpo-
rate worship was a vital part of the
nurturing process. These new con-
verts were not baptized and left on
their own but were nurtured by the
church. When Paul was converted,
he was led to Ananias who mentored
him for three years in Damascus.
Similarly, Cornelius was led to Peter
to be nurtured and to grow in his
newfound faith. Throughout Acts,
strong evidence shows that the dis-
ciples genuinely cared for the large
number of new converts who were
coming into the church. The disciples
nurtured these new believers in small
groups, prayer, and Bible study.
They emphasized the importance of
corporate worship and praised God
together (Acts 2:42; 4:31, 32).
The disciples also were con-
cerned about the social and physical
needs of these new converts. The
early Christian church was a caring
church, with members revealing love
in action as they met one anothers
needs (Acts 6:17). The more they
shared their life and faith, the more
the church grew. It is a divine law of
spiritual life that the more we give
our faith away, the more it increases.
Evangelisms big picture:
From baptism to discipleship
M A R K A . F I N L E Y
Mark A. Finley is a vice president at the
Seventh-day Adventists world headquarters
in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.
10 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
God is a nurturing God
Nurture flows from the heart
of a loving God who desires to see
those who have just come to faith
grow in Him. He is the dedicated
Physician who tenderly cares for
His patients. He nurses each one to
health. He applies the healing balm
until they are whole (Jer. 8:22). He
is the loving Parent who instructs,
guides, corrects, and disciplines His
children. Even if they fail, He never
gives up (Isa. 49:15). He is the Good
Shepherd who cares for His ock,
and battles against the ravenous
wolves who want to destroy the
sheep. His overriding concern is the
safety and well-being of His ock (Ps.
23; Luke 15:17; John 10:1116).
Thus, nurture is deeply embed-
ded in the very nature of Gods
character because He is more con-
cerned about making disciples than
counting baptisms.
Discipleship: A process
Discipleship is a process. It does
not occur instantly at conversion
and is not complete at baptism.
Any evangelistic plan that does not
include a comprehensive strategy to
nurture and disciple new converts
is incomplete. When the number
of people baptized becomes the
criterion for success rather than
people growing in Jesus as disciples,
the Great Commission becomes
distorted.
If the goal of evangelism is to
develop disciples, how can the
church implement the principles of
Acts in the twenty-rst century to
nurture new believers? Luke makes
one thing clear in Acts: it is possible
to have large numbers of converts
tens of thousandsand not have
high apostasies. We cannot excuse
our complacency about winning
the lost with the excuse that we are
more interested in quality converts
than the number we baptize. It is not
either-or. It is both-and.
A careful study of the Acts model
reveals three critical aspects in the
life of the new believer: the con-
verts relationship with God, with the
church, and with the community.
Relationship with God. If new
converts are going to grow into
faith-lled, productive disciples, their
relationship with God is paramount.
This relationship grows through our
private devotional life and in fellow-
ship with other Christians as we
pray and study Gods Word together.
When the personal devotional life is
weak, with little serious Bible study,
the spiritual life withers and dies.
For the last 40 years, I have been
conducting major evangelistic meet-
ings around the world. During this
period of time, I have seen thou-
sands come to Jesus and rejoice in
His truth. When local congregations
have implemented the discipleship
principles outlined in Acts, aposta-
sies generally have been quite low.
Here are some things we have
discovered about helping new believ-
ers in their relationship with God.
Immediately after baptism, we seek
to nd a spiritual guardian for each
new believer. Our goal includes
finding spiritually minded church
members with like interests and
a similar background to the one
baptized. The established church
member becomes a friend and men-
tor for the new member. The week
after the individuals baptism, the
spiritual guardian visits the new
members home and delivers the
book Steps to Christ.
4
He or she
shares what Jesus means to him or
her and encourages the new believer
to begin reading a few pages from
Steps to Christ each day. We nd
Steps to Christ especially helpful for
new converts. The rst six chapters
deal primarily with justication and
the assurance of salvation, while the
last seven deal with sanctication
and growth in Christ. The spiritual
guardian offers to visit the new
convert weekly to study selected
pages and pray together. The spiri-
tual guardian may also invite his
or her new friend to a small Bible
study group to participate in weekly
studies on Christian growth.
To also help new believers in
their relationship with God, enroll
them in a new believers class to
re-study the great teachings of the
Bible. Although they may grasp the
essential truths of Scripture the rst
time around, at least some of these
truths will be hazy in their minds. Do
not assume that merely because an
individual has been recently baptized
that they understand each new
biblical truth fully. Repeating these
truths a second time xes them in
the mind of the new believer and
anchors their faith.
In all of our evangelistic meet-
ings, we recommend that pastors
begin either a midweek Bible class
or a Sabbath morning class for new
converts to review the message.
Often they use the book Studying
Together as a tool to help these new
believers mark their Bibles on the
key Bible truths. In our small group
ministry, we have used Unsealing
Daniels Mysteries, a series of lessons
in pamphlet form on the book of
Daniel, focusing especially on the
character of God and the character
qualities necessary to live in the end
times. These studies deepen faith,
encourage faithfulness, and enrich
the devotional life.
5
Relationship with the church.
The early church was a worshiping
church. The believers met together
to hear Gods Word, sing praises to
Him, pray together, fellowship with
one another, and share what God
had done in their lives. These times
of worship, praise, and fellowship
were moments of great encourage-
ment for these new believers (Acts
2:42; 5:42; 13:44; 14:27; 16:13;
Eph. 5:19, 20). If new converts con-
sistently miss corporate worship
and Sabbath worship, their spiritual
growth will be stunted and their faith
will be aborted. Gods plan includes
believers growing in the context of
a community of faith. All successful
plans for the nurture of new converts
involve ensuring the new converts
attendance at weekly Sabbath wor-
ship services. This necessitates
attendance tracking.
The Good Shepherd knew the
difference between 99 sheep and
100 sheep. You cannot tell the dif-
ference between 100 sheep and 99
sheep by merely lookingyou must
M A R K A . F I N L E Y
11 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
Tell us what you think about this article. Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
count. After each major evangelistic
series, we print out the names of
each person baptized and check
each Sabbath morning to see if
they are in church. If they miss even
one Sabbath, we call them to pray
for them. If we detect there are
any problems at all, we visit that
very Sabbath afternoon. A Semi-
nary professor once told our class
this story: After the baptism of a
couple in his local congregation, he
invited them to join his small Bible
study group. They attended weekly.
They were making good progress
growing in Christ until they had a
disappointing experience in their
lives. Discouraged, they missed
church. The professor noticed they
were not there and visited them that
Sabbath afternoon. While he was in
their home, encouraging them, the
doorbell rang. Two members of their
study group dropped by to see them.
Within 30 minutes, the doorbell rang
again. It was another couple from
the group. The discouraged new
converts were surrounded by love.
The small group members offered
them the support they needed, and
they were back in church the very
next Sabbath.
Many converts are lost because
members do not visit them when
they miss church. They feel isolated
and alone in facing their problems.
Visitation is critical if new members
are going to feel like they belong
in their new church home. A new
convert may possibly be doctrinally
convinced but not socially integrated
into the church. Although they have
been baptized, they feel like an
outsider. They still feel somewhat
uncomfortable with this new group
of people. How can we make them
feel at home? Discover what they
enjoy and connect them with a like
group of people in the church. Be
sure they have personal invitations to
the churchs social events. Remind
them when a fellowship dinner is
taking place and encourage them to
attend. If they come to church late
and leave early, this is a sure sign
that they are not socially integrated
into the church. If they have children,
introduce them to other parents with
children. Ask one of the committed
teenagers in your church to invite
the teenagers of your new converts
family into the churchs youth group.
Develop a hospitality committee to
watch for new converts and visitors
to be sure they are warmly wel-
comed and invited home for dinner.
Someone has said, You know
you belong when you feel needed.
As soon as possible, nd something
for a new convert to do. Ask them
to help. It might be something that
needs to be done around the church,
assisting in setting up tables for the
fellowship dinner, working with the
audiovisuals, picking up a shut-in
to bring to church. The task may be
simple but helps them feel needed.
The more a convert feels needed,
the more they will not want to miss
one Sabbath.
Relationship with the community.
New converts grow in Christ as they
have something to share with people
who do not know Christ. Christian
growth and Christian witness are
indissolubly linked. The Samaritan
woman immediately shared what
she had learned about Jesus. Our
Lord said to the delivered demoniac,
Go home to your friends, and tell
them what great things the Lord has
done for you, and how He has had
compassion on you (Mark 5:19).
The New Testament church was a
growing church because it was a
witnessing church.
Converted hearts have a story
to tell of Gods grace and power.
Encourage new converts to join a
witnessing class at your church.
They will need guidance, but they
will grow as they tell the story of
Gods grace. Help each new convert
become actively involved in some
form of witnessing. They may be
involved in literature ministry, visiting
the sick and shut-in, small group Bible
studies, health ministries, or youth
or evangelistic ministry. Supply them
with literature, CDs, and DVDs to give
to their friends. Encourage them to
participate in some form of outreach.
There are at least two decided
benefits in getting new believers
involved in soul winning. First, soul
winning drives people to their knees,
and they become dependent on
Scripture. Soul winning will dramati-
cally strengthen an individuals faith.
The questions others ask will lead
them to study Gods Word more
deeply themselves. Second, new
converts have a network of friends
that can be won. They have fam-
ily members who will be eager to
know what they believe. Witnessing
believers generally do not leave the
church, for participation in soul win-
ning strengthens the faith of those
who shares their faith.
Conclusion
Nurture and discipleship do not
happen by accident but must be
carefully planned. Without a strategy
of discipleship in place, apostasies
will be high. If the church does not
provide nurturing opportunities for
new believers, they will either be
weak in the faith for years and create
problems in the church or leave the
church altogether. When disciple-
ship is a way of life for pastors and
local congregations, new converts
become strong, faith-filled Chris-
tians, growing in their knowledge
of the Word, and witnessing for the
glory of the Lord. The time, effort,
and energy put into new converts is
well worth it as they become church
leaders in the future and nurture
others to become disciples of the
Master.
1 A meeting of Adventist clergy and lay members from
throughout the world.
2 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists,
Evangelism and Church GrowthFrom Baptism to
Discipleship, General Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists, http://www.adventist.org/world_church/
ofcial_meetings/2003annualcouncil/156G.html.
3 Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the
New King James Version.
4 Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ (Mountain View, CA: Pacic
Press Pub. Assn., 1956).
5 See Mark A. Finley, Studying Together: A Ready-reference
Bible Handbook (Fallbrook, CA: Hart Research Center, 1995);
for more information on Unsealing Daniels Mysteries, visit
www.itiswritten.com/store/products/unsealing_daniel_s_
mysteries_lessons.
12 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
V
eterans have been returning
from wars for countless
centuries in almost every
corner of the world. Battles
were and are being fought in local-
ized insurgencies, revolutions, civil
wars, regional conflicts, and, at
least in the twentieth century, in two
World Wars. Of the veterans who
do return, many are badly injured,
physically and/or mentally.
As a chaplain, I was responsible
for dealing with the spiritual needs
of veterans, their families, and those
who cared for them in the hospi-
tal. This article is intended to alert
pastors to some of the spiritual
consequences that military veterans
and their families often live with. I
am condent that military veterans
of other nations suffer similar con-
sequences, but I can speak only
about American veterans. My hope
is that, having been alerted to some
of the spiritual consequences of war,
pastors will seek to understand the
spiritual needs of the veterans in their
congregations.
Church attendance
One big problem for pastors in
seeking to minister to veterans is
that many Christian veterans do not
attend church.
1
My impression is
that combat veterans in particular do
not attend church for three reasons.
The rst includes a sense that the
church does not understand what
they endured in war. In nearly sixty
years of attending Christian church
worship services, I have never heard
a local church pastor even ask about
what veterans endure in the military,
in general, and in war, in particular.
(Unfortunately, I did not raise the
subject when I was a local church
pastor, either.) Only when I became a
Veterans Administration (VA) chap-
lain did I begin to learn and speak
out about the spiritual consequences
of war.
A second reason why combat
veterans do not attend church is guilt.
The reality is that many of the combat
veterans I met did things in war that
they cannot reconcile with, nd dif-
cult to talk about, and which most
church people would not want to hear.
The third, and perhaps most
frequently offered, reason given by
veterans for not attending church is
what they refer to as the hypocrisy
of most churchgoers. Many veterans
see churchgoers as sinners during
the week who nd religion for an
hour or two on their day of worship.
This may very well be a projection
of the veterans guilt onto others.
At the very least, this claim raises
the theological question of whether
the veterans who make this point
can stand being near a church that
preaches about a God who loves
them and us, despite our sin.
The spiritual issues
Have the churches avoided deal-
ing with spiritual issues experienced
by veterans? Perhaps. Some groups,
of course, are completely against war
and deal with the issue very directly
(Mennonites, Quakers, Church of
the Brethren). Other denominations
in the United States of America are
either tolerant of war or speak out
only when it comes.
The veterans are left to struggle
with the question of the morality
of warespecially of killing. Many
combat veterans spoke to me about
the commandment: Thou shalt
not kill (Exodus 20:13 and Deuter-
onomy 5:17). The veterans may or
may not remember the rest of the
commandments, but they remember
that one. Once having killed, the
veterans are often unable to process
the guilt. Notable exceptions to this
problem are the veterans who fought
in World War II, often seen as the
last good war. Many believe that
the killing they did in that war was
necessary and morally justied.
2
Some combat veterans wonder
if they have committed the unforgiv-
able sin. Who is there, in the church,
to listen to their anguish or offer
them help? Many pastors do not
even include a prayer of confession
in their worship. Others seem to
focus more on the punishment due
to sin and less on Gods mercy.
We can begin by using prayers of
confession, not directed at veterans
or at war, but at our human tenden-
cies to sin. Pastors can preach about
Gods love and forgiveness at least
as often as we do about Gods judg-
ment. William Mahedy, a combat
chaplain in Vietnam, suggests in his
book, Out of the Night, a service of
reconciliation that can be used to
help veterans reconnect with Gods
mercy.
3
Grief is another issue faced by
veterans. In fact, grief can accumu-
late so rapidly during combat, as
ones friends are dying all around
them, that there simply is no time to
work through the sorrow. The lack of
time to grieve may result in the grief
becoming chronicit never ends.
Pastoral care
of veterans and their families
L AWRE NCE L . L API E RRE
Lawrence L. LaPierre, MDiv, is a retired hospital
chaplain living in San Jose, California, United States.
13 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
Veterans may get stuck in any
stage of grief but many whom I have
known are stuck in anger. People
who are angry are often difficult
to be near. Angry veterans can be
particularly difficult to be around
because their anger is often directed
at forces that average Christians,
even pastors, have no way to do
anything about, especially in the
short run (i.e., the military, the VA,
the politicians who went along with
starting a war, the entire govern-
ment, etc.).
Also, anger in many churches
may be considered as everything
from not nice to sinful. That makes
it difcult for churches to deal with
anger other than in a confessional
way. In my experience, veterans have
legitimate reasons to be angry, and
someone must listen. Perhaps the
worst of the anger must be dealt with
in therapy groups in VA hospitals,
but the church still has a role to play
as well in providing a safe place for
people to talk about their anger and,
eventually, ask for prayerful support
in healing from their anger.
If no one listens, then the anger
can surface in really hurtful, dysfunc-
tional ways. It erodes and eventually
destroys relationships even with
the people who love the veterans
the most. One of the driving forces
for anger was explained by our eth-
ics professor in Seminary. He said,
Anger is the normal reaction to an
injustice.
4
If injustice in war exists,
then anger, even lifelong anger,
could be expected as the normal
reaction.
Dealing with death and
addiction
Another spiritual issue raised by
war is the reality of death. The sights,
sounds, and smells of death can be
so overwhelming that the veteran is
left with terrible memories that may
never go away. Veterans who had the
duty either of gathering body parts
after a battle or inspecting the body
bags are often unable to forget the
experiences.
This kind of unforgettable scene,
among others, raises the question of
Why? Why did so many friends
die? Why did the person next to
me die while I survived? This is the
issue of survivor guilt. There may
be no good answers. Still, someone
must listen so that the veterans do
not have to carry the pain alone.
Another problem that many
veterans suffer from is addiction.
Alcohol and drugs offer ways to
avoid remembering, at least for a
while. During my rst year in Semi-
nary, I met a Vietnam vet. He lived
across the street from us, and we
became friends through sharing a
car battery charger on a bitterly cold
winter day. I knew that John
5
was a
heavy drinker. He was on his third
marriage and couldnt work. One day
he told me about his experiences. He
ew as part of the crew of a B-52
bomber that made long ights to
drop bombs on Vietnam. Because
the planes were always ying at an
altitude of fty thousand feet, John
never saw the effects of the bombs.
But after he got out of the Air Force,
he wasnt able to cope with his role
in the bombings. Thus he drank to
forget, and the drinking got worse
and worse.
Of course, one of the problems
with drinking to forget is that sooner
or later the memories come backat
least until so much brain damage
exists from the alcohol that the
person forgets almost everything.
If you know people who drink too
much, you might consider the pos-
sibility that they are drinking to forget
and need Gods grace in place of the
alcohol or drugs.
Alcohol is not the only way that
veterans cope. A good friend, Frank,
was one of the most gregarious, out-
going, and seemingly happy people
that I have ever met. It wasnt until
one night when we were working
together in his pharmacy in 1965
that I learned of his experience in the
military. He had been a medic in the
Korean War, and spoke of having to
change the dressings on wounded
men.
6
Just viewing, much less treat-
ing, those wounds sounded like a
traumatizing experience. However,
listening to his infectious laughter,
one would never know that Frank
had been exposed to such sights.
Humor can be a helpful tool in cop-
ing with many of the stresses of life,
but humor can also cover up a lot
of emotional and spiritual wounds
that need to be treatedor at least
shared with a pastor trained to listen
in a nonjudgmental manner.
Combat veterans, unlike most of
us, live with the awareness of what
human beings are ultimately capable
of doing. It is a frightening reality
to live with and difcult to believe
that the people who love us (family,
friends, and churchgoers) can accept
us. The church needs to reach out to
veterans to reassure them that the
good that God can do is far bigger
than whatever they have done or are
afraid they might do again.
To realize that women served
and still serve in the military is also
important. Their suffering was often
severe too. The ten thousand or so
nurses who served in Vietnam saw
the broken and dying bodies of men
hardly as old as they were. Other
women were traumatized by sexual
assault in the military, frequently by
our own troops. All too often no one
listened to their stories.
Practical tips
A local church can conduct an
anonymous survey of its members
to determine how many are veterans
and, in particular, how many are
combat veterans. Then, with the
support of the church leadership, a
local VA chaplain could be invited
to preach or give a talk about the
spiritual needs of veterans. If the
congregation is too distant from the
local VA hospital, the church could
search for a retired VA or military
chaplain living in the area. Another
possibility would be to contact a
pastor who was in the military before
becoming a pastor. At least ve of
my colleagues in ministry were in
this latter category.
Whether or not a VA chaplain
is available, the church can be sup-
portive of the veterans and their
families by encouraging them to go
to Vet Centers.
7
These facilities,
14 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
usually some distance from the
grounds of a VA hospital, are staffed
with trained counselors (many, if
not all, of whom are veterans) who
can provide psychotherapy to help
stabilize relationships, help veterans
cope with the stress of living with the
consequences of war in general and
combat in particular, as well as deal
with sexual trauma.
A pastor can prepare to deal with
the spiritual needs of veterans by
enrolling in at least one unit of Clinical
Pastoral Education (CPE) in a hospital
setting.
8
This is usually easiest to do
when still in Seminary. However,
depending on location, it is possible
to take a unit of CPE at a VA hospital
in a later stage in our ministry. At the
very least, such training can help the
pastor be aware of their feelings as
well as the issues of health care as
they encounter patients, families, and
the hospital staff.
When it is not possible to take
part in this kind of training, pastors
may address their need to learn about
veterans issues by forming a study
group. If a VA chaplain or retired
military chaplain is available, they
could ask such a person to help them
explore the spiritual issues that veter-
ans face. They may also nd a book or
article on the needs of veterans and
discuss it without a leader.
Listen with respect and
love
What else can we do as pastors?
At a minimum we can encourage
our churches to recognize veterans
on Memorial Day and Veterans Day
or similar days designated for such
occasions in your area. Perhaps we
could offer veterans the opportunity
to take part in a discussion period
after worship for those willing to
listen to stories about the veterans
experiences.
As the veterans are telling their
stories, we can listen with respect
and love. We can be patient enough
to not rush in with assurances that
God forgives you. While God does
forgive anyone who wants to be
forgivencombat veterans, in par-
ticular, often need for their stories to
be heard before they can move on
to further stages of healing. If they
choose to confess something to a
pastor privately, that pastor should
maintain the condentiality expected
of them unless there is an imminent
threat to the veterans or someone
elses well-being.
If your church is near a VA hos-
pital or a veterans nursing home,
you could contact the office of
volunteers to arrange for ways for
church members to reach out to
veterans. Churches could provide
people to assist with transport of
veterans from one part of the hos-
pital or nursing home to another,
read to a veteran with impaired
vision, or write letters for those who
need help in this area. Members
can come and sing during the year,
especially at Christmastime. Church
families might volunteer to attend
VA hospital or veterans nursing
home worship services. It might
even work to host a lunch or supper
on Veterans Day to honor veterans
and their families. Also, pastors who
are willing to ofciate at funerals for
people who are not active in church
may discover opportunities to minis-
ter to the families of veterans.
If a VA hospital is nearby, pastors
of local churches can establish a
relationship with the staff chaplains.
Pastors may visit their own parish-
ioners when they are hospitalized
in VA hospitals and veterans nurs-
ing homes as well as nonveteran
facilities. Finally, pastors can attend,
and even offer to participate, in
local community Memorial Day and
Veterans Day programs at a VA
medical center. This becomes an
excellent way to convey the message
that we care about veterans and their
families and are available to them.
On a marble lintel over an inside
doorway at the Veterans Affairs
(VA) hospital, where I served as a
chaplain for twelve years, a message
is inscribed, The price of freedom is
visible here. These men and women
have sacriced for us; we need to be
there for them.
1 In a survey of 125 veterans at White River Junction, VT
[VAMROC], I conducted, it indicated that approximately 90
percent of that sample did not attend church. Lawrence
L. LaPierre, The Spirituality and Religiosity of Veterans,
Journal of Health Care Chaplaincy, vol. 4, no. 1, 80.
2 Personal conversations with dozens of combat veterans
of World War II, White River Junction, VT, VAMROC,
19892001.
3 William P. Mahedy, Out of the NightThe Spiritual Journey
of Vietnam Veterans (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1986),
229234.
4 Marvin Ellison, class discussion in an ethics course at
Bangor Theological Seminary, Bangor, Maine, U.S.A., 1981.
5 Pseudonyms have been used in this article to protect the
persons privacy.
6 Personal conversation with a Korean War veteran in
Leominster, MA, 1965.
7 Veterans Readjustment Counseling Centers.
8 For listings on CPE Centers, visit www.acpe.edu/
DirectoriesRegions.html.
Tell us what you think about this article. Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Resources for
ministering to veterans
Armstrong, Keith, Suzanne Best, and Paula
Domenici, Courage After Fire: Coping Strategies for
Troops Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan and
Their Families (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2005).
Dean, Chuck, Nam VetMaking Peace with Your
Past (Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1988).
Figley, Charles, and William Nash, eds., Combat
Stress Injury: Theory, Research, and Management
(London: Brunner-Routledge, 2006).
Frankl, Viktor, Mans Search for Meaning (Boston,
MA: Beacon Press, 2006).
Dina Greenbergs blog: dinagreenberg.blogspot.com/
Mahedy, William, Out of the Night: The Spiritual
Journey of Vietnam Vets (New York: Ballantine
Books, 1988).
National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder: http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/
index.jsp.
National Institute of Mental Health: http://www
.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/post-traumatic-
stress-disorder-ptsd/index.shtml.
Paulsen, Gary, Hatchet (New York, NY: Simon &
Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007)
Pennebaker, James, Opening Up: The Healing
Power of Expressing Emotions (New York, NY:
The Guilford Press, 1997).
________________, Writing to Heal: A
Guided Journal for Recovering From Trauma
& Emotional Upheaval (Oakland, CA: New
Harbinger Publications, 2004).
Tick, Edward, War and the Soul: Healing Our
Nations Veterans From Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 2005).
Tillich, Paul, The Courage to Be (New Haven, CT:
Yale University Press, 2000).
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16 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
W
hether its late-night talk
shows or sports pro-
gramming, its popular
to have a list of items
that are counted down from ten to
one. I suggest such a list of lessons
could be learned in pastoral ministry.
Number 10: Its easy for the
gospel to get lost in a church.
Between programming, administra-
tive needs, and the personal needs of
the congregation, the gospel can get
lost. People want to hear sermons
that will make them feel good, and
the message of repentance and faith
that leads to eternal life can nd itself
on the shelf. If so, you will struggle
your whole ministry to focus on
whats most important.
Number 9: You must some-
times define your ministry by
what you refuse to do. If you try
and do everything, a congregation
can become lazy. We eventually need
to learn to say No. The demands of
a congregation will increase until
your role as a pastor becomes estab-
lished, and it will only be conrmed
when you say, I cannot do that.
Launch this understanding early in
your pastoral assignment so that
your expectations and theirs can
match as best as possible.
Number 8: People are, for the
most part, often going to do what
they want to do. Some people will
often start a project with vision and
zest, only to nd that their heart was
really not into it. We have a hard
time knowing our own hearts. We
must continue to love people who
continue to disappoint us.
Number 7: You will have as
much authority in a church as
people give you. Those you serve
in a church can limit your authority.
Authority is like a bar of soap, the
more you use it, the less you have,
so use it wisely. Time and trust add to
your authority, so take the time and
build the trust, before you exercise
too much authority.
Number 6: You will be heard
with authority to the degree that
you are willing to stand up for
a principle. There comes a time in
every ministry when you must deal
with issues that you just dont want
to address. God tests every minister
with this question: Do we want to
please people, or do we want to please
God? Power structures exist in most
churches that would rather replace
you than do what God really calls
them to do. My experience has been
that every time I get knocked down I
must get right back up, but you have
to be willing to lay your life on the line
for what you know is truly right.
Number 5: You will never
do the will of God in a church if
you allow people with money to
control you. Every church needs to
change, and change usually costs
money. People with money in a church
may be the rst to resist change. And
yet, without change, old things will
not pass away, and all things will never
become new; and you will stay in a
rut. I always make it my practice not
to know who gives what in a church
because I tell my congregation that I
choose not to relate to people on that
basis. Then, all new ideas in a church
can be judged on merit alone.
Number 4: You have to work
with the team you have. The
best motif for ministry is that of a
coach who encourages the team
rather than a military officer who
only issues commands. You cant
produce ten talents from a ve-talent
church. You will face the challenge
many times: Do I start a ministry
with leaders who are unable to do
a really good job? Sometimes the
answer is Yes, and sometimes the
answer is No. When Jesus hands
out rewards, the criteria are good and
faithful (Matt. 25:21). Faithfulness is
half the grade. It does not matter
how bad things are, if we are faith-
ful, this impresses God. To whom
much is given, much is required.
The servant with the ten talents and
the one with the ve talents both
received the same reward because
they were both faithful in fullling
what they could do, and Jesus called
them both good. Play with the team
that you have and manifest love with
them, not frustration (even if you are
frustrated).
Number 3: Prayer carries the
church where God wants it to
go. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, I
will build my church. The legitimate
spiritual building of a church resides
in the hands of God. That makes
prayer the most important ministry
in your church. You can have all
the programs in place and all the
organizations on line, but if Gods
Spirit does not touch the work, it
will, at times, stagnate. A sincere,
intentional prayer focus will involve
the Spirit of God in His church. Other
than prayer, any foundation in a
church is a faulty one. Regardless
of where your church goes, you
always need to come back to prayer.
Your kingdom come, / Your will be
done, / On earth as it is in heaven
(Matt. 6:10, NASB).
Ten things to be learned in
pastoral ministry
T O M H O E H N E R
Tom Hoehner, MDiv, is pastor of the
Covington United Methodist Church,
Covington, Indiana, United States.
17 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
Number 2: There may be
people in a church who are
instruments of opposition in a
congregation. These may be good
people, well-meaning people, but
people who do not want to see the
church really move ahead. When
there is not much going on in a
church, these people just blend into
the apathy. But the minute new life
emerges, they are there to monitor
and try to control things. Mark 8:33
is a fascinating verse. Peter does
not want Jesus to go to the cross
and tries to talk Him out of it. Jesus
response is less than cordial: Get
thee behind me, Satan. People who
oppose the move of God in a church
must be opposed, and, as a result,
you will probably lose these people.
According to John 15, every branch
that bears fruit He purges, so that
it might bring forth more fruit. We
are often afraid to let God purge His
church, but if He does, the promise
brings more fruit. How can we be
a loving pastor and facilitate the
purging of Gods church? Its not
easy, but it has to be done.
And the number one thing that
must be learned in pastoral ministry,
if you have not learned it already is . . .
Number 1: Never take too
much credit for your successes
or too much blame for your fail-
ures. With the right atmosphere in a
church, the church will grow. Good
things will happen, God will show up,
and the church will be blessed. And if
things are not right in a church, prayer,
especially, becomes the key. Because
Paul said that we wrestle not against
esh and blood but against powers
and principalities (cf. Eph. 6:12), and
because Jesus said that whatever you
bind on earth will be bound in heaven
(cf. Matt. 16:19), we need to pray
against the spiritual forces that keep
God at bay in a church. If the church
becomes stagnant, we need to ask
God to show us specifically what
is keeping the church from moving
ahead and gear our prayer in that
specic direction.
Despite the frustrations of minis-
try, it is the highest of callings. I leave
you with 1 Timothy 1:12 I thank
Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath
enabled me, for that he counted me
faithful, putting me into the ministry.
Jesus is our Great Enabler.
VI SI T
www.creationsabbath.net
OCTOBER
24
2 0 0 9
Tell us what you think about this article.
Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org
or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
Silver Spring, MD 20904.
18 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
T
he call to Christian leader-
ship invites individuals into
pri vi l eged terri torythe
opportunity to carry the torch
handed down by Jesus. The call
centers on building up the body of
Christ (Eph. 4:13; Matt. 28:19, 20) and
includes growing in gifts that build up
the church (1 Cor. 14:12). Responding
to that call lls our hearts with antici-
pation, commitment, and gratitude.
However, seasoned leaders know that
Christian leadership can be very dif-
cult. Struggles with overextension,
isolation, and personnel problems can
create demands and drains that are
often overwhelming, and with that,
the hope of fruitful labor (John 15:2,
6; Phil. 1:22, 25) can seem more and
more remote.
As one moves into positions of
greater responsibility, the challenges
become more complex, and often the
solutions that worked in less demand-
ing roles no longer fit. Leadership
books and seminars do have value
in helping leaders grow and navigate
through difcult times, but they are
limited. They are not able to provide
personalized feedback for a leaders
unique context nor do they speak to
a leaders unique dreams.
All of these realities demand a
new avenue for helping leaders bear
fruit and grow in their gifts in todays
increasingly complex world. That new
avenue is Christian leadership coaching.
Why coaching works
Coachi ng works because i t
addresses the biggest hurdles that
hinder effectiveness in demand-
ing leadership roles: overextension,
isolation, and a lack of clarity. The
combination of these three can put
even the best leaders in a reactive,
maintenance mode where the vision
and mission become mere wishful
thinking.
Speaking to these daunting
hurdles, there is something profound
about the importance of not going
through lifeor any major chal-
lengealone. God addresses this
need for sounding boards in leader-
ship through examples like Jethro
and Moses (Exod. 18), Ahithophel as
a counselor to David (1 Chron. 27:33),
and Jesus sending out the disciples
two by two (Luke 9:1, 2; 10:1, 2).
At a deeper level, good coaching
works because the pattern follows
how Christ entered our world and
came alongside us lled with grace
and truth (John 1:14). As humans,
we thrive when we are relationally
connected in healthy ways. We
struggle when we are isolated and
overwhelmed.
Christian leadership coaching can
be defined as a relational process
between a coach and a coachee
(the one receiving coaching) that
creates a unique context for leaders
to gain greater clarity about their
values and vision, identify priorities,
and process obstacles. Leadership is
about coming alongside a leader and
skillfully drawing on grace and truth
skills to support God-honoring visions
and helping a leader gain greater
clarity, condence, and effectiveness,
over time, in growing Gods kingdom.
In good coaching, the coachee
feels connected, safe, honored, and
supported. They feel free to talk
candidly about struggles and hopes,
dreams and drains. That kind of a
relationship, perhaps more than any-
thing else, creates a context for new
possibilities, growing gifts, and a
greater impact.
How coaching works
The format for Christian leadership
coaching involves building around a
series of regularly scheduled conver-
sations called sessions. Depending on
the approach of the coach, sessions
can last between 30 minutes to an
hour. Ideally, the coach and coachee
talk twice a month for growth,
although sessions can happen once
a month as well, depending on time
or nancial realities. Coaching is done
over the telephone on most occasions
although sometimes in person. The
conversations are condential (within
limits), which creates a sense of
freedom and safety for the coachee,
and allows for more authentic sharing.
Early in the coaching process, the
leaders personal values and vision
are claried through a few exercises.
These exercises help the leaders
begin tapping into what matters most
to them and what brings energy and
hope to their dreams. Vital to the
coaching process, these exercises
help the leader orient around the
most important priorities in their
role. When this work is done well, it
creates a unique kind of energy that
enables the leader to increasingly
engage their work from a place of
strength and commitment.
After the values and vision are
claried, the next step, typically, is for
the coachee to set short-term goals
A closer look at Christian
leadership coaching
N I C K H O W A R D
Nick Howard, PsyD, is the founder of Cypress,
a leadership development rm that specializes
in providing coaching and training services
for Christian leaders and executives.
19 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
based on top priorities. This brings
greater structure to the coaching
conversations and provides an excel-
lent context for future work.
From that point forward, the
coaching process unfolds very natu-
rally. As the coachee feels increasingly
comfortable, they are able to discuss
what is most important to them at the
time of the coaching conversation.
Often a conversation will start with
a brief review of what has transpired
recently, or with some things that
have gone well, and then the focus
shifts to a substantial challenge or
obstacle that needs to be addressed
in order for the coachee to move
forward in their role, and move closer
to their vision.
As time goes on, the conversa-
tions proceed to deeper levels that
strengthen the coachees condence
and identity as a leader. By engaging
in the coaching work over a span
of time, from six months to a year
or more, the gains increase as the
coachee continues to grow, resulting
in greater internal resources that can
be drawn upon when pursuing greater
challenges.
Three major tenets set Christian
leadership coaching apart from other
forms of relational ministry:
The coachee sets the agenda.
The coachee decides what to talk
about. The coach spends the bulk of
the time listening, summarizing, and
asking exploratory questions that are
designed to help the coachee get to
the heart of the issue being tackled.
The answers to the coachees
struggles are found in the coachee. The
coach cannot be classed as a problem
solver or solution provider. The coachs
role is to help the coachee discover
the answers, and share perspective
and perhaps suggestionsonly after
the coachee has really tilled the soil
in pursuing a deeper understanding of
their challenge.
Coaching focuses predominantly
on the present and the future. Coach-
ing is thus distinct from therapy,
which often focuses on the present
and the past. Further, therapy con-
centrates on individuals who are really
struggling, whereas coaching works
well for those who are in a good place
and motivated to take their life and
ministry to a new level.
The common ow of a
coaching conversation
In a typical coaching session,
coachees think out loud or share a
complex or challenging problem that
they dont have clarity onsuch as
a personnel issue. The coach listens,
empathizes, and asks questions that
help the coachee move further into the
heart of the issue. As the process con-
tinues, greater clarity tends to emerge.
As the core issue becomes clearer, the
issue is eventually named (a way of
saying the core emotional and logical
aspects of the issue are distilled in
a manner that creates clarity and
often illuminates the wisest course
of action). Susan Scott, the author
of Fierce Conversations, notes that a
problem named is a problem solved,
which often brings condence and
strength to the coachee.* After the
issue is named, action steps are
explored with a timeline developed to
help hold the leader accountable for
the desired steps. As appropriate, the
coach may then share other things to
consider about moving forward well
or afrm the coachee in ways that will
encourage positive movement.
By continuing in this process,
leaders emerge with greater clarity
and confidence to tackle tougher
issues that are often neglected in
their workissues that can seem
insurmountable without a place to
process them.
To make this process clearer,
let me provide a real-life example
of how this works. Joe, who was a
congregational pastor, had recently
been placed in an administrative
position. As a pastor, he had found a
way to have a healthy rhythm in his
role. He had his day off in place, had
developed a strong set of lay leaders,
and was bearing fruit in his ministry.
The change to administration was a
lot tougher than he expected. He told
me that his new job made pastoring
feel easy in comparison. Now, there
were so many more expectations
and responsibilities that he was often
overwhelmed, not to mention the
travel demands that swallowed up
hours at a time. Before long, he wasnt
exercising, wasnt having date nights
with his wife, and wasnt maintaining
his devotional time.
In the rst few sessions of our
coaching experience, Joe focused
a lot on how overextended he was
and how hectic his schedule felt. He
was stunned by what had happened
to his life. As I followed the coaching
process by listening, empathizing,
and asking questions, it became more
clear to him that his pace just was not
sustainable and that his capacity to
lead would be truly compromised if he
did not begin to set better limits on his
schedule. He also expressed clearly
that he didnt want his marriage or
his wife to suffer over the long term.
Having the chance to talk out
loud in our coaching sessions about
what was going on, and hearing
himself describe how out of balance
his life was, helped Joe gain clarity
and develop a positive resolve for
healthy change. From there I asked
about what steps he could take to
change things around. He decided
to schedule a new day off, resolved
to communicate that to his boss, and
committed to carving out time for his
wife, his devotions, and exercise.
Since we began the coaching pro-
cess, his schedule can still be hectic,
but Joe has moved much closer to a
more balanced schedule. He enjoys
his role much more and feels more
grounded and effective as a leader.
One may ask the questi on,
Couldnt Joe have just gured this
out on his own? Yes, he could have.
But it likely could have taken him
much longer to acknowledge the
problem and develop the resolve to
make the necessary changes on his
own. In my experience, many leaders
do not find a way to set appropri-
ate limits and grow in effectiveness
over time when they do not have an
accessible ally to help them talk about
their experiences and nd ways to
overcome role or cultural expectations
that push so hard for overextension.
The point is, Christian leader-
ship coaching provides a supportive
20 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
and challenging context to address
positively the kinds of issues that
can make a substantial difference in
ones effectiveness and fulllment as
a leader. Coaching creates a chance to
be heard and grow in ways that would
be much more unlikely without it.
Finding a coach
If a leader or conference decides
to pursue coaching, finding the
right coach or group to work with
becomes very important. At this point
in the profession, there are no formal
requirements that must be met in
order for a person to call themselves
a coach. Most people who enter
the profession of coaching come from
the eld of human resources, mental
health, or have already had successful
leadership careers. Ideally, a coach
has at least obtained a certicate in
coaching from a reputable coach
training institute or received exten-
sive training from a skillful coach.
(As coaching skills are increasingly
recognized as valuable for leaders to
possess, coach training is becoming
more common for leaders as well.)
From my vantage point, a good
Christian leadership coach embod-
ies all of the following: is mature
emotionally and spiritually; is able to
enter a persons world well; has a rich
understanding of leadership, systems
thinking, psychology, and spiritual
formation; and has the skill required
to help people grow.
After finding a list of qualified
coaches, the next step would be to
contact a few of them and set up a
brief discussion to learn about their
respective approaches. The goal is to
see which of them the coachee would
most naturally engage with. After a
coach has been decided on, the coach
and coachee should discuss expecta-
tions and their respective roles. Then
the coaching process begins.
That coaching is not a quick x
for deeply entrenched problems must
be highlighted. Nor does coaching
become a vehicle for growing as a
leader overnight, but a process that
allows a leader to grow over time
in gaining stronger skills, deeper
i nsi ghts, and greater maturi ty,
enabling them to bear fruit in more
powerful ways.
While I do not believe this is com-
monplace, a coach must recognize
the importance of being careful not
to slide into a problem-solver mode
or an advice-giving posture that effec-
tively stalls the process of helping the
coachee grow through the conversa-
tions. It is also important that the
coach spends 70 percent or more of
their time listening, summarizing, and
asking questions. The session should
not become a forum for the coach to
ll with their stories.
Ideal outcomes
When a skillful, insightful coach
connects really well with a leader who
has a strong thirst to grow, powerful
things can happen. In my experience
working with pastors and administra-
tors, substantial growth can take place
in as little as six months, and can
continue over the span of years.
When the coaching goes well, cer-
tain common outcomes are expected.
The leader gains a capacity to set
better limits in dealing with overexten-
sion. They gain skills and insights in
confronting personnel issues and
become more vision and priority
focused. As the work goes past the
year or two mark, a deeper level of
peace and condence in ones leader-
ship often emerges, and the leader
becomes able to engage their top
priorities with greater effectiveness,
develop their key reports with greater
skill, and move into a greater aware-
ness of Gods leading in their life.
In summary, through the avenue
of Christian leadership coaching,
some of the main tactics Satan uses
to drain and overwhelm leaders are
chipped away, allowing them to carry
more faithfully and fruitfully the torch
in growing Gods kingdom for their
generation and beyond.
* Susan Scott, Fierce Conversations: Achieving Success in Work
and in Life, One Conversation at a Time (London: Piatkus Books,
2003).
ATTENTION
PREACHERS!
The Annual H.M.S.
Richards Lectureship on
Biblical Preaching will be
held at Andrews University on
Sunday, Oct. 11, and
Monday, Oct. 12, 2009!
Featured Speaker:
Dr. John S.
Nixon
Dr. John S. Nixon is
senior pastor of the
Collegedale Church
on t he campus of
Southern Adventist University in Collegedale,
TN. He has served in parish ministry for more
than 30 years. Collegedale is his third campus
assignment. He was also vice president for the
Southern California Conference.
Dr. Nixon earned a BA in Theology from Oakwood
University, an MA in Theology from Fuller
Theological Seminary, and a DMin from the
Adventist Seminary at Andrews University.
Dr. Nixon is married with three adult children
and two grandchildren.
Schedule & Topics
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Theme: Preaching as Encounter
1:00 p.m.
Lecture #1: Encounter With God
4:00 p.m.
Lecture #2: Encounter With Gods People
Monday, October 12, 2009
10:30 a.m. Worship & Preaching Service
Sermon: The Ultimate Praise
Location
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Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI
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21 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
A
ncient covenants formed
the basis for contemporary
legal contracts that regu-
late relationships between
two or more parties. Covenants in the
ancient world were usually closed by
an oath and assumed vassal treaties.
Both parties participating in a vassal
contract were obliged to take an
oath and swear in the name of a
higher authority, thus making the oath
authentic and effective.
1

Following the ancestral succes-
sion of various covenants similar in
form and nature to the vassal treaties
mentioned, the Jewish people entered
into an identity-forming covenant. At
Mount Sinai, Israel made preparations
to enter the covenant that would
constitute it as a unique nationa
people exclusively dedicated to God.
The generation that left Egypt,
stood in close proximity to Mount
Sinai and listened to Moses reading
of the words and laws that he had
received from God. It was upon this
utterance that the promise given to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob contin-
ued. As a sign of acceptance of the
contractual terms, having heard the
prescriptive contents conveyed by
Moses, the contract mediator, the
people verbally afrmed, Everything
the LORD has said we will do (Exod.
24:3).
2
The peoples verbal acceptance
of the contractual terms warranted the
covenant (contract) signature prepara-
tion: burnt offerings and bulls were
sacriced and the blood was used as
the contractual medium. Half of the
blood was placed on the altar, and
the other half sprinkled on the people.
Moses then took the blood, sprinkled
it on the people and said, This is the
blood of the covenant that the LORD
has made with you in accordance with
all these words (Exod. 24:8).
Blood and words
Two elements that dominated the
signed contract immediately draw
attention: blood and these words.
The blood of the bulls was necessary
to express the level of seriousness
involved in the contractual relation-
ship. Namely, should the contractual
terms fail to be honored, the shedding
of the bulls blood would set the
equivalent penalty for any inconsis-
tent contract signatories. The fact
that there was no atoning sacrice
allocated to those who intentionally
violated the words of the covenant
solidied the penal measures.
These words, or simply words, is
a technical phrase that refers back to
the Ten Commandments. Translators
of the New International Version
inserted a footnote to explain that the
term words is a technical term for
(covenant) stipulations in the ancient
Near East (e.g. among the Hittites
. . .). The basic code in Israels divine
law is found in [Exodus 20:]217,
elsewhere called the Ten Command-
ments. . . the Hebrew words for
which mean lit. Ten Words.
3

Those who are not here
today
Since the covenant was initially
made with Moses generation of
Egyptian refugees, God added an
extended clause, rendering impos-
sible the potential exclusion of their
offspring: I am making this cove-
nant, with its oath, not only with you
who are standing here with us today
in the presence of the LORD our God
but also with those who are not [yet]
here today (Deut. 29:14, 15).
Those who are not here today
fall into two groups: the rst group
included the direct descendents of
those Israelites standing here . . .
today. The second group included
non-Israelites, individuals who did not
have an ethnic origin in Israel. They
were the proselytes, woodcutters,
and water drawers: All of you are
standing today in the presence of
the LORD your Godyour leaders and
chief men, your elders and ofcials,
and all the other men of Israel,
together with your children and your
wives, and the aliens living in your
camps who chop your wood and
carry your water
4
(Deut. 29:10, 11).
According to the rabbis, these
foreigners entered the tribes of Israel
either intentionally (i.e., motivated
by religious interest) or involuntarily
(i.e., sold as slaves). Regardless of
their social standing or ethnic origin,
however, they, too, were included
in the covenant obligation between
God and Israel and thus assumed
the legal right to participate in the
contractual relationship.
These non-Israelites who signed
and kept the contract by oath were
described with great respect by Israels
prophets. In the scroll of the prophet
Isaiah, theythe eunuchs and foreign-
ers who decided to participate and
consistently honor their contractual
obligationswere described by God
as individuals whose burnt offerings
and sacrices will be accepted on my
altar (Isa. 56:7).
Including the offspring and for-
eigners highlighted the openness
characterized by that contract. The
existing universal dimension of the
contract reached a particular expan-
sion with the coming of the Messiah.
Namely, the coming of Yeshua, the
Messiah, signaled further public
replication of the already available con-
tract. Corresponding to the formula
of the contractual invitation (rst the
Jews, then the Gentiles), the Messiah
The strength of the covenant
E N G I N O B U C I C
Engin Obucic i s affi l i ated wi th the nati onal
interreligious dialogue in Sarajevo, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and works as a real estate portfolio
coordinator for Unipromet d.d. Sarajevo.
22 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
strengthened the contract with rabbim
(many)rst with the Jewish offspring
as expected, transferring it then to the
Gentile offspring. Jacques B. Doukhan
explains the context: It is noteworthy
that the prophet Daniel does not
describe the work of the Messiah
as a new covenant, but rather as a
strengthening of the original covenant.
The passage uses the word conrm
(NIV) or strengthen (higbir from the
root gbr denoting strength).
5

The presence of the technical term
rabbim is indicative of the availability
of the contract. The covenant was
not only strengthened with many
Jews but also equally strengthened
with many foreign nations.
6
For
this reason, the full horizon of the
contractual strength emerged in the
work of the Messiah.
The Passover, the
Sabbath, the name
The Messiah strengthened the
contract in three ways: He specically
requested the eating of the Passover
meal in remembrance of Him; He
carved the Sabbath sign into the
body of time, making it a permanent
signal of His blood sacrice; and He
announced the presence of the name
of God in the contractual relationship.
Apart from the roasted lamb,
unleavened bread, wine, and bitter
herbs, the principal theme of the
Passover meal was blood. Placed
on the wooden doorframe, this is
the blood of the lamb that saved
the Israelites from the nal plague.
The Messiah provided clarication
as to the meaning of the Passover
blood represented by wine. Namely,
the Messiah equated the wine with
His own blood, insisting that the
wine represents my blood of the
covenant, which is poured out for
many (rabbim) (Matt. 26:28).
Moreover, the Passover blood
of the covenant was poured out to
indicate the manner in which God
makes people holy. Namely, since the
religious life of contractual people was
centered on the sacricial system, the
shedding of judgment and Passover
blood was a daily requirement that
meant the difference between life and
death. The mystery underpinning the
shedding of the Passover is revealed
in the Messiahs own sacrice: Jesus
also suffered outside the city gate to
make the people holy through his
own blood (Heb. 13:12).
The conclusion is unequivocal.
Through the Messiahs Passover blood,
the people were made holya mystery
that cyclically returned every seventh
day. Specically, the activity of making
the people holy stood fixed for all
generations by way of a transhistorical
semiotic sign that endures through
time. God stated the duration of this
sign: You must observe my Sab-
baths. This will be a sign between me
and you for the generations to come,
so you may know that I am the LORD,
who makes you holy (Exod. 31:13).
The shedding of the blood comes
as a strengthening of the contract that
God, by means of Jeremiah, promised
to the contractual people. Through the
repetition of the personal pronoun I,
the Speaker uses the tetragrammaton
(YHWH), or His name, to announce the
physical connection with His people:
I will put my law in their minds / and
write it on their hearts. / I will be their
God, / and they will be my people
(Jer. 31:33). In the contractual context,
knowing Gods name meant that God
Himself was intimately and physically
present in the relationship. The implica-
tion is both clear and terrifying: the
intimate and physical presence of God
among His people was fully realized in
the body of Immanuel who exemplied
His identity in the following statement:
Before Abraham was, I am (John
8:58, KJV). The I am identification
represents a direct reference to the
tetragrammaton, YHWHthe name of
God revealed to Moses and the people.
Therefore, the Passover blood, the
Shabbat, and the tetragrammaton
mediate the eternal permanence of
the contractual responsibility between
God and His contractual people.
The forming Jewish-
Messianic community
The continuity of the contractual
relationship represented itself in
forming the Jewish community of
Jerusalem that accepted Yeshua as the
Messiah. Although those Jews who
accepted Yeshua as the Messiah con-
tinued to pray regularly in the temple
and synagogue, conflicts followed.
Due to their views, they were not
allowed to fully participate in regular
synagogue services through prayer
leadership and synagogue manage-
ment; and with time, a stronger division
between the two Jewish groups was
cemented. This happened because
the Jews who upheld Yeshua made
bold Messianic claims that inspired
constant controversy and occasional
rejection. Such friction prompted the
group to gather in private houses for
prayer, reading, and sharing of the
Passover meal in remembrance of
their Messiah. In addition, instances
of persecution by fellow Jews as
well as other nationals to whom they
preached the message of Messianic
salvation were not rare. Although their
complete excommunication occurred
in the fourth century,
7
the period after
the destruction of the second temple
witnessed an event that brought about
signicant changes.
Hans Kng explains, The deni-
tive break was brought about after the
destruction of the second temple by
the Romans in A.D. 70, by a Jewish
council in Jamnia (near Jaffa), which
was composed of Pharisees: this was
the formal excommunication of the
Christians, a curse on heretics which
was to be repeated at the beginning
of every synagogue service.
8
Kngs statement exemplies the
sentiment expressed towards the
Jews who accepted Yeshuas Mes-
sianic commission. Namely, the curse
reected the existing attitude towards
Yeshuas followers, thus stimulating
the beginning of a serious process of
separation between the two collec-
tives that had no realistic, long-term
prospect for integrated coexistence.
The covenant, not the
Messiah
Yeshuas Messianic identity,
although contentious, was not the pri-
mary cause for the separation; rather,
it was the controversy over contractual
obligations placed on the Gentiles
that accounted for the separation. In
E N G I N O B U C I C
23 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
FIND YOUR PLACE
FAITH FRIENDS FUTURE
T
he 15 accredited Seventh-day Adventist colleges
and universities in North America are working
together to create a broader awareness of the
benets of Adventist higher education. The Adventist
church looks to our colleges to supply a steady stream
of leaderspastors, educators, healthcare professionals,
as well as well-rounded and ethical professionals in a
variety of elds, states Niels-Erik Andreasen, president of
Andrews University. We want to make sure our young
people are aware of what we offer as a system of
Adventist colleges.
To better understand what Adventist students
are looking for, focus groups were facilitated on the
east and west coasts, and a nationwide telephone
survey was conducted. These conversations revealed
a general lack of awareness about Adventist college
options, especially among students who dont attend an
Adventist academy.
Further research* showed Adventist colleges
promote the faith factorthe ability to nd friends, peers,
mentors, and teachers who believe and reinforce a
common faith. These students, whether they attended
an Adventist academy or not, also stated that Adventist
colleges offered the chance for personal attention
and meaningful interaction with professors that may
be hard to nd at other larger educational institutions.
Additionally, all groups of Adventist students regard
Adventist education as providing quality academics.
Adventist colleges have joined together in a
coordinated effort to help young people, their families,
and local church pastors, understand the benets
of a Seventh-day Adventist education. A direct mail
campaign, print advertising, e-mails, and a website,
www.adventistcolleges.org are some of the methods
being utilized.
We encourage pastors to share the benets of
Adventist education with their congregations.
Visit our website at www.adventistcolleges.org
* Research conducted by Strategic Research Partners
Andrews University, Michigan
Atlantic Union College, Massachusetts
Canadian University College, Alberta,
Canada
Columbia Union College, Maryland
Florida Hospital College
of Health Sciences, Florida
Griggs University, Maryland
Kettering College of Medical Arts, Ohio
La Sierra University, California
Loma Linda University, California
Oakwood University, Alabama
Pacic Union College, California
Southern Adventist University, Tennessee
Southwestern Adventist University, Texas
Union College, Nebraska
Walla Walla University, Washington
Accredited Colleges/Universities
in North America
24 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
particular, it was the issue of Gentiles
religious integration in the Jewish
community that caused aggressive
divisions within the community itself.
The divisive milestone occurred when
Peter, in a confronting vision, received
instruction to visit the Roman ofcers
household (Acts 10:920). While there,
Peter preached, Gentiles listened and
accepted Yeshua, and unexpectedly
received the Holy Spirit. This chain of
events prompted Peter to conclude
that the sealing presence of the Holy
Spirit authorizes the Gentiles to par-
ticipate in the contractual relationship.
9

Subsequently, this realization
raised a question pertinent to the Gen-
tiles contractual obligations. Namely,
Do Gentiles need to observe circumci-
sion and all precepts? Some Judeans
in Antioch were clearunless the
Gentiles get circumcised, according
to the custom taught by Moses, they
could not be saved (Acts 15:1).
10

Others disagreed. Sharp differences
in opinion prompted the community to
send Saul (Paul) of Tarsus, Barnabas,
and other local community members
to Jerusalem to discuss the matter
with the leaders of the community.
Having carefully listened to Sauls
and Barnabass reports detailing
Gods manifestation among the Gen-
tiles, the leaders in Jerusalem were
impressed yet divided. Both views
for and against were represented. The
Pharisees and the Law mediated by
Moses demanded circumcision while
others held more exible views.
11

After much discussion, the dis-
pute was solved and the following
compromise reached: the Gentiles
shouldnt be burdened with the full
requirements. Four commandments
would sufceabstinence from food
sacriced to idols, from blood, from
the meat of strangled animals, and
from sexual immorality (Acts 15:29).
Although James and the apostles
were opposed to the full requirements
dictated by the decrees and laws that
regulated life in the Promised Land,
they certainly implied that the Gentile
offspring should sign the contract
based on the wordsthe Ten
Commandmentsas the basis for the
contract very familiar to the Gentiles
in the preaching of Moses in the syna-
gogues every Shabbat. Stating that
the four mentioned commandments
were the onl y commandments
prescribed to the Gentiles would
entail contractual irregularities and
relationship absurdities. This line of
reasoning would connote a reductio
ad absurdum, untenable consequ-
ence since the converted Gentiles
were certainly obliged to worship the
God of Israel as opposed to engaging
in the polytheistic practice of wor-
shiping foreign gods, to consequently
eliminate graven images, to avoid
the misuse of the name of God, to
observe the Sabbath, to respect ones
parents, to stop killing, committing
adultery, stealing, lying, coveting, etc.
By making the aforementioned
decision pertaining to the Gentiles, the
apostles and elders thus effectively
regulated the Gentiles concessional
proselytic status within Judaism of
the time.
Conclusion
Although we were not present at
the time of the signing of the contract,
wethe Gentile and the Jewish off-
springenjoy the same entitlement
in assessing, with a sense of maturity,
its terms and conditions. Should the
terms and conditions be accepted, we
ourselves will enter into the covenant
of God your Lord, and [accepting]
the dread oath that He is making
with you today.
12
The dread oath
alone indicates the seriousness of the
contractual acceptance. Since the
covenant is strengthened with the
Messiah who shed His holy blood for
many, the blood could mean either
death or life for us depending on how
seriously we approach our contractual
commitments. The newly signed cov-
enant will become effective only when
contractual commitments have been
honoredcommitments we vowed
to honor when we expressed our
faith, were immersed in the water, and
received the Holy Spirit. In this man-
ner, the covenant between God, the
Israelites, and the Gentiles will reach its
full expressive form. The full number of
the Gentiles will come in so all Israel
will be saved (Rom. 11:26).
1. Vassal treaties demonstrate that a vassal was bound by an
oath in the names of several gods to keep the stipulations of
the treaty. If the treaty should be broken, the incorporated
curses would take effect. This relationship can be seen
in the Hittite vassal treaties, the Assyrian vassal treaties in
Esarhaddon, and the Aramaic vassal treaty of Sre. Geoffrey
W. Bromiley, ed., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,
vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986), s.v. oath.
2. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations in this article are
from the New International Version (NIV).
3. Kenneth L. Barker, ed., The New International Version Study Bible
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995), 171n20:1. The following
instances exemplify the occurrence of the term in The Living Torah
(New York: Moznaim Pub., 1981), by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan: (a) Exod.
20:1, God spoke all these words [The Ten Commandments] (all
emphasis added); (b) Exod. 34:28, [Moses] remained there with
God [on the mountain] for 40 days and 40 nights without eating
bread nor drinking water. [God] wrote the words of the covenant,
consisting of the Ten Commandments, on the Tablets (brackets
in original); (c) Deut. 4:13, He announced to you His covenant,
instructing you to keep the Ten Commandments, and He wrote
them on two stone tablets; and (d) Deut. 10:4,[God] wrote on
the tablets the original script of the Ten Commandments which
He declared to you from the mountain out of the re on the Day of
Assembly (brackets in original).
4. Rabbinical comments elaborate on this detail: Some say that
these were Canaanites who came to embrace Judaism, just as
in the time of Joshua (Tanchuma 2; Rashi); cf. Joshua 9:21-27.
Others say that they were the mixed multitude (Exodus 12:38;
Ramban), or the Israelites slaves (Baaley Tosafoth; Chizzkuni).
Navigating the Bible II, Deuteronomy 29, World ORT, http://
bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=
5&CHAPTER=29.
5. Jacques B. Doukhan, Secrets of Daniel: Wisdom and Dreams of
a Jewish Prince in Exile (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald
Pub. Assn., 2000), 150, 151.
6. Ibid.
7. Interview, Mordechai Arad, Shabbat Shalom 51, no. 2
(2004): 7. Arad explains that coexistence ceased to be feasible
in the fourth century A.D. due to the accumulated layers of
cultural, political, and theological differences.
8. Hans Kng, The Catholic Church: A Short History, trans. John
Bowden (New York: Modern Library, 2003), 14. What Kng refers
to is the birkat haminim (the curse against the heretics) in the
Amidah (an essential prayer of Judaism). A second-century text,
Tosefta Shabbat 13:5, conrms an existing animosity between the
two groups. Mordechai Arad, Shabbat Shalom, 7.
9. Hence Peters afrming statement concerning the Gentiles
in Acts 15:8, 9: God, who knows the heart, showed that he
accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did
to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he
puried their hearts by faith.
10. Rabbinical commentary explains the background: From here
our Sages learned that our ancestors entered the covenant
with circumcision, immersion (in a mikvah), and the sprinkling
of the blood of the sacrice on the altar, for there is a law that
one may not sprinkle blood unless immersion has preceded it.
Chaim Miller, Chumash: The Book of Exodus, Gutnick ed. (New
York: Kol Menachem, 2005), 174.
11. James, for example, wanted to avoid burdening these
individuals with hundreds of commandments in conjunction
with extratextual rabbinical precepts, advocated four simple
commandments: It is my judgment, therefore, that we
should not make it difcult for the Gentiles who are turning to
God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain
from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the
meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has
been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read
in the synagogues on every Sabbath (Acts 15:1921).
12. Jconnect Seattle, Deuteronomy 29:9-20, Nitzavim,
Hillel UW, www.jconnectseattle.org/Documents/
Deuteronomy_29_9-20.pdf (brackets in original).
E N G I N O B U C I C
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25 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
I
n nine years of working with
divorce recovery groups, I have
found that the topic most people
do not want to talk about is for-
giveness. Invariably someone will
ask, Do I have to forgive my former
husband or my former wife?
No, I respond, you have to
forgive only if you want to heal.
What is forgiveness, why should
we forgive, when should we forgive,
andmost importantlyhow do
we do it?
Why we resist
People going through divorce
want to stop hurting, but they often
resist the most effective treatment
for their painforgiveness. Often
people resist because they do not
understand what forgiveness isand
what it is not. Forgiveness is not
saying that the offenses your former
spouse committed against you were
OK. Many of the things that occur
between a husband and wife when
a marriage collapses are, in fact, sin:
adultery (Matt. 5:27, 28), anger (vv.
21, 22), lying (Prov. 6:16, 17), selsh-
ness (James 3:16), violence (Mal.
2:16), and arguing and slander (Eph.
4:31). Likewise, forgiveness does
not minimize the offense, or say, It
wasnt that bad. Neither does it let
your spouse off the hook.
Forgiveness also does not say that
you must trust your former spouse
again. A spouse who has been violent
or committed adultery or lied to you
repeatedly, will need to regain your
trust by demonstrating that they have
repented and are working on making
restitution (if necessary).
Similarly, forgiveness is not forget-
ting the offense. In fact, forgetting
may even be counterproductive, for
we cannot forgive a wrongful act that
we do not remember.
1
Thus we may
be reminded of an offense that was
committed against us, but if we have
forgiven the offense, the reminder
is like a scar. When we see it, we
remember there was once a wound at
that spot and that the wound used to
be painful or tender. But now, healing
has taken place, and our wound no
longer hurts, even though seeing
the scar causes us to recall how the
wound occurred.
Another reason we resist forgive-
ness is that it is not natural. If it were
natural, God would not have to tell
us to do it (Luke 17:3). After all, He
does not have to tell us to eat or drink.
These activities come naturally to us;
we feel like doing them. We some-
times do not feel like forgiving; but
He commands us to forgive anyway
(Matt. 18:20, 21).
Our pride also causes us to resist
forgiveness; indeed, pride may be the
biggest hurdle. Pride results because
of our failureperhaps even refusal
to seek rst [Gods] kingdom and
his righteousness (Matt. 6:33).
2

Instead, we build kingdoms of our
own where we are in control and get
to decide who deserves to be forgiven
and who does not. In our kingdoms,
we will be the ones who mete out
justice (after all, we are not sure God
can be trusted to punish our former
spouse as they deserve).
Likewise, our pride prevents us
from seeing ourselves as we really
aresinners desperately in need of
a Savior (Rom. 3:23). Instead, we
compare ourselves to others and
conclude that we are not so bad, that
what our former spouse has done
to us consists of an action far worse
than anything we may have done to
them. But the Bible cautioned, those
who are pure in their own eyes (Prov.
30:12) to examine themselves more
closely (Luke 6:41), and Paul warned
us against thinking of ourselves too
highly (Rom. 12:3).
Finally, we may resist forgiveness
because we do not want to appear
weak.
3
But because [Gods] thoughts
are not [our] thoughts, / neither are
[His] ways [our] ways (Isa. 55:8),
what appears to be weakness is really
strength (2 Cor. 12:10). Forgiveness,
then, becomes powerfulso powerful
that it can break the chains of bondage.
When you forgive, you set a prisoner
free, but you discover that the real
prisoner was yourself.
4

Why forgiveness?
Forgiveness offers many benets.
For one thing, you feel better, both
physically and emotionally. From a
physiological standpoint, forgiving
can reduce the severity of heart
disease and may even help cancer
patients live longer.
5
Forgiving also
may reduce anxiety and depression
and improve counseling outcomes.
6

In contrast, refusal to forgive may
contribute to heart disease, high
blood pressure, depression, alcohol-
ism, and drug addiction.
7

Forgiveness also helps in our
interpersonal relationships. Bear
with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one
Forgiveness: A part of the
journey to healing
P A T T I E C K E R
At the time of writing, Patti Ecker was a student
at Lincoln Christian Seminary in Lincoln, Illinois,
United States. Now she is a mental health therapist
at Crosspoint Human Services, a community
mental health agency in Danville, Illinois.
26 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
another (Col. 3:13). A forgiving spirit
may protect us from those who seek
revenge against us, as David learned
when he spared Sauls life in 1 Samuel
24.
8
It also opens the way for us to
receive forgiveness as we do to
others as [we] would have them do
to [us] (Luke 6:31). In keep[ing] no
record of wrongs, forgiveness also
becomes a mark of love (1 Cor. 13:5).
In contrast, withholding forgiveness
allows a judgmental spirit to take
root,
9
because we ourselves decide
whether our former spouse deserves
to be forgiven (James 4:12). Similarly,
it sets us up for judgment by our ex-
husband or ex-wife (Matt. 7:1).
Most important, though, are the
spiritual benets of forgiveness. First,
we are obedient to God when we for-
give (Luke 6:37). Second, we become
more like Christ as we extend forgive-
ness to those who have wronged us
(Luke 23:34). Then, as we participate
in the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4),
forgiveness offers us an opportunity
to partner with God in what He wants
to do in our lives as well as in our
former spouses life. And one of the
things He wants to do is to bring
healing; in fact, that is why He sent
Jesus (Luke 4:18). When we forgive
our former spouse, we experience the
peace of God, which transcends all
understanding (Phil. 4:7).
When to forgive
When peopl e experi enci ng
divorce ask, Do I have to forgive my
ex? they often are still experiencing
pain. They may be still in the heat of
the battle: working out a settlement,
deciding child custody issues, talking
with lawyers, appearing in court,
facing almost daily some new con-
sequence of the sins that have been
committed against them. They cannot
imagine forgiving their soon-to-be-ex-
spouse, and at this point, it would be
extremely difcult, if not impossible,
to forgive. One researcher says that
before forgiveness can occur, the
offending act must be past.
10

But once life has assumed some
new semblance of order, the indi-
vidual who wants to heal (John 5:6)
should begin to consider forgiveness.
Recognize the importance of not
waiting until you feel like forgiving
becauseyou may never feel like it.
Besides, forgiveness is not a feeling
but a decision. When God says, I
will forgive their wickedness / and will
remember their sins no more (Jer.
31:34), He does not mean that He
cannot remember them; He means
that He has decided to act toward
us as though He does not remember
themand this He asks us to do
when He commands us to forgive
(Eph. 4:32). He asks us to decide to
behave as though we have forgotten
what our former spouse has done to
us. You will make that decision when
you dont want to hurt any more.
11

Sometimes people say, My ex
has never said theyre sorry for what
they did. But you do not need to wait
until they ask for forgiveness. Once
you know the benets of forgiveness,
why would you wait to reap them?
Besides, what if your former spouse
suddenly did ask for forgiveness? If
you have not begun to work through
the process, you will be broadsided.
You might say something you will
regret laterNever! Ill never forgive
you! If you have begun the process,
you will be able to respond in a more
reasoned way, perhaps saying some-
thing like, Im working on forgiving
you; Im not quite ready yet to say Ive
forgiven you, but I am working on it.
Until you forgive, you are allow-
ing your former spouse to control
youhow you feel and your physi-
cal and emotional well-being. You
are surrender[ing] [y]our future to
them.
12
Not forgiving is like drinking
poison and then waiting for the other
person to die.
13

How to forgive
The process of forgi veness
begins with the decision to let go
of the offenses your former spouse
committed against you. Remember,
you are not saying that what they
did was acceptable; you are simply
saying that you will no longer hold it
against them. You are surrendering
your right to get even.
14

Begin praying about your decision
(Matt. 7:8). Be honest with God. Tell
Him how badly you hurt.
15
Confess
what you are feeling: anger, hatred,
resentment, jealousy. Ask God to
remove these feelings and bring heal-
ing. If you are not ready to forgive, ask
Him to help you to become willing.
Talk with a counselor or a trusted
friend (Prov. 15:22). Ask them to pray
for you too.
When I began the process of
forgiveness after my divorce, I found
it helpful to ask God to show me the
offenses I needed to forgive. It had
occurred to me that I might forgive
my ex-husband for divorcing me,
but then I might think of something
else later and be tempted to with-
draw my forgiveness. Throughout
20 years of marriage I had harbored
an unforgiving spirit, although I had
not recognized it then; now I wanted
to be fully cleansed, fully at peace.
I fasted and prayed and, as God
responded, I began to make a list of
those offenses. I lled ten pages on
a legal pad, beginning each line, I
forgive [my ex-husband] for . . . To
me, it was important to write those
words for every offense. When I was
nished, I felt like I was, indeed, a
new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
Another question we frequently
hear is, Do I have to tell my ex Ive
forgiven them? Lewis Smedes, prob-
ably the foremost Christian writer
on forgiveness, says, Forgiving is
essential; talking about it is optional.
16

I believe in the importance of examin-
ing your motive in telling them. Be
sure that your asking their forgiveness
does not consist of a self-righteous act
(Luke 18:14), or intend to prompt your
former spouse to extend forgiveness
to you, too, perhaps before they are
ready. Ask God to show you whether
your motive is pure and the timing
is right. If you decide to tell them,
Smedes recommends that you make
it short [and] keep it light.
17

How will you know if you
have forgiven your former
spouse?
One indicator that forgiveness
is occurring is that you will be able
to let go of the outcome of the
situation;
18
you will no longer feel
P A T T I E C K E R
27 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
R E S O U R C E S
the need to control or manipulate,
but are willing to trust God to deal
with your former spouse. A lingering
desire for revenge would suggest
that you have not forgiven.
When you can extend compas-
sion to your former spouse and no
longer want to see harm come to
them, forgiveness is taking place.
19
Being able to pray for them, not just
about them, remains a good sign that
you have forgiven them. For example,
if your divorce has caused your former
spouse to move away from God and
you can pray for that relationship to be
restored, or if your former spouse was
not a Christian and you can pray for
their salvationthen you can know
that your forgiveness is real.
Just as forgiving an offense is not
the same as forgetting it, forgetting
it is not a test of having forgiven it.
20
I am convinced that when Jesus
commanded us to forgive often (Matt.
18:21), He did not necessarily mean
that our brother (or ex-spouse) would
sin against us over and over. I believe
He knew that we would remember a
persons single sin against us many,
many times, and He was telling us
that every time we do, we must
choose again to forgive.
Seeking forgiveness
Of course, we would like to believe
that our former spouses were com-
pletely at fault in our divorce while
we were the perfect mate. But the
hard truth is, we committed offenses
against them, too, and we need to
seek forgiveness.
Chances are you do not remember
all the ways you have offended your
former spouse. Or you may have said
or done things that you did not, and
perhaps still do not, realize were hurt-
ful. Therefore, the rst step in seeking
forgiveness is to ask God to show you
the things for which you need to seek
your former spouses forgiveness.
You will know that you are ready
to seek forgiveness when you possess
genuine sorrow for your offenses. You
also should feel empathy for them,
some sense of the pain they must
have felt when you hurt them and may
yet feel. Finally, you should have an
attitude of repentance, even a desire to
make restitution, if necessary and pos-
sible.
21
If any of these are missing, ask
God to create within you that sorrow,
empathy, or repentant spirit (Ps. 51:10).
Conclusion
Forgiveness becomes crucial to
healing in divorce. But divorce also is
one of the areas in which forgiveness
is most difcult. Because of Gods
design for marriage, in which a man
and woman become one esh (Gen.
2:24), a husband and wife achieve the
greatest level of intimacy possible
between two human beings. The
depth of that intimacy, however, also
makes them more vulnerable to one
another than to any other individual.
Our spouses know those places in
our hearts that are most tender, most
easily bruisedand when the mar-
riage covenant has been broken, the
wounds we inict on one another are
especially deep . . . so deep that we
really do not deserve to be forgiven
for having inicted them. Yet, by the
amazing grace of God, we can be.
And just as we can be forgiven, we,
too, can learn to forgive.
1 Lewis B. Smedes, Forgive and Forget (New York: Harper &
Row, 1984), 39.
2 All Bible references are from the New International Version.
3 Bob Jones, When Forgiveness is Hard (Lancaster, CA:
Central Christian Church), retrieved April, 22, 2006, from
http://www.centralchristianfamily.org/Counseling.
4 Smedes, op.cit., 133.
5 Campaign for Forgiveness Research, Research Into the
Strength of Forgiveness; retrieved April, 22, 2006, from
http://www.forgiving.org.
6 Scott Heller, Emerging Field of Forgiveness Studies
Explores How We Let Go of Grudges, Chronicle of Higher
Education 44, no. 45 (July 17, 1998), A18-A20; retrieved
April 22, 2006, from http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.
7 Tara Roberts, Why Forgive? Essence 36, no. 12 (April 2006),
180; accessed April, 22, 2006, from Academic Search Premier.
8 Bob Jones, Benets of Forgiveness (Lancaster, CA: Central
Christian Church), retrieved April, 22, 2006, from http://
www.centralchristianfamily.org/Counseling.
9 Ibid.
10 Heller, op. cit.
11 Lewis B. Smedes, The Art of Forgiving: When You Need to
Forgive and Dont Know How (New York: Ballantine, 1996), 66.
12 Ibid., 178.
13 Actress Carrie Fisher is credited with this expression in
reference to resentment. Retrieved December 27, 2007 from
http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/39439.html.
14 Smedes, Art of Forgiving, 7.
15 Ibid., 139.
16 Ibid., 178.
17 Ibid., 146.
18 Beverly and Tom Rodgers, Adult Children of Divorced
Parents: Making Your Marriage Work (San Jose, CA:
Resource Publications, 2002), 132.
19 Smedes, Forgive and Forget, 29.
20 Ibid., 39.
21 Rodgers, 133, 134.
Life Is Mostly Edges: A
Memoir by Calvin Miller,
Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson, 2008.
I
f youve ever wondered why
youre a pastor, you will enjoy
reading Calvin Millers Life is Mostly
Edges: A Memoir. If youre like
I am, you dont
quest i on your
call to ministry;
but sometimes
you quest i on
God about the
people to whom
you are called
to minister.
You also thought that you were a
pastor when they gave you your rst
church or when they ordained you.
Miller will free you of such notions.
He shares his life with us not only as
a pastor but as a human being who
survived the pastorate, even thrived.
Miller talks about the pastor who is
still becoming a pastor.
y
y
ly
ke
I a
q
ca
b
y
Tell us what you think about this article. Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Continued on page 28
28 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
R E S O U R C E S
Reading Miller, you see yourself.
You identify with people and prob-
lems, joys and hopesand come
away with condence in God and
His call for your ministry. I consider
Life Is Mostly Edges: A Memoir as
not only a pastors manual on how
to live life as a pastor full time, but
more importantly, living a great life
as well. His writing integrates the
pastoral ofce and the human life.
He paints the picture for us of a life
lived well and happy over much of
the twentieth century and into the
current one, all the while serving as
pastor of a church that he founded
and loves.
The picture, while not always
attractive, is powerful because the
story comprises an honest account
of a pastors life. His memories
become way marks on your journey.
Many of his experiences are uni-
versal to all pastors, and Im fairly
certain that every pastor who stays
at it for a while will find relevant
wisdom in Millers open book.
The temptation to deny our call-
ing to ministry inltrates our lives
in dozens of ways. One of them
includes being consumed by the
pastorate, thereby living the other
parts of our lives in poor fashion.
As I read Miller, I hear the voices
of pastors whom I know. They look
back over the years and events of
their lives, wondering if they could
have done better. And I think of lifes
true goal: living at the edges as well
as the centernot satised that my
pastoral role alone is living a true and
fullling life.
Reviewed by Marty Thurber, pastor of the Fargo
Seventh-day Adventist Church, Fargo, North Dakota,
United States.
From Midterms to
Ministry: Practical
Theologians on
Pastoral Beginnings
by Allan Hugh Cole Jr.
editor, Grand Rapids,
MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., 2008.
H
addon Robinson once
told a Seminary class
that he would gladly pay the
price of a book if it produced
just one great illustration. This
volume easily exceeds that guideline.
The editor, Allan Hugh Cole Jr., has
assembled two dozen pastors who
offer short chapters on their personal
perspectives of transitioning from
Seminary to ministry. Few books
exist that address this unique niche
in the life of an evolving pastor. Three
audiences in particular would benet
from Coles contribution: Seminary
professors, Semi nary students
or early graduates, and ministry
employers, i.e., church administra-
tors and ministerial leaders.
Repeatedly and from various per-
spectives (all authors have recently
been or still are pastors), these
writers address what various con-
stituents believe Seminary education
should accomplish and compare that
with their own experience. What
becomes clear is
the misperception
that exists, across
denomi nat i ons
and Semi nari es
and among most
church members
and non-Seminary
trained pastors,
a b o u t wh a t
Seminary does
and does not do.
Clarity on this
issue would transform the Seminary
experience itself as well as focus
on ongoing post-Seminary pastoral
development.
The editor correctly identifies
the target of his compilation as
principally for new ministers or
those who soon will become new
ministers. The so-called gap exist-
ing between Seminary and actual
ministry is maintained to be real and
acknowledged as such, not made
dichotomous of each other. Indeed
good ministry is found, rather,
where pastors stand with one foot
firmly planted in their theological
education and the other foot just as
rmly planted in the parish, and allow
the resulting tension to shape their
pastoral practice.
Special attention should be given
to the chapters by Thomas Long, Ray
Anderson, Craig Barnes, Karen Yust,
Anthony Robinson, Wallace Alston
Jr., and William Willimon. In fact,
Willimons article should be required
reading for all Seminary students and
professors. For example, he aptly
states, when seminaries appoint
faculty who have little skill or inclina-
tion to trafc between academia and
church, is there any wonder why the
products of their teaching nd that
transition to be so difcult?
While it is easy to cast cheap
stones at advanced theological
education, the reality of current min-
istry demonstrates the long-term
benets of adequate preparation.
Over a lifetime, todays pastor,
engaged in eschatological ministry,
will encounter more transitions
and challenges than any clergy in
history. As Willimon concludes, if
you dont dene your ministry on
the basis of your theological com-
mitments, the parish has a way of
dening your ministry on the basis
of their selsh preoccupations and
that is why so many clergy are so
harried and tired today.
Reviewed by Walton A. Williams, associate
ministerial secretary and coordinator of off-campus
continuing education for North American Adventist
clergy from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological
Seminary at Andrews University, Berrien Springs,
Michigan, United States.
b
t
t
Continued from page 27
29 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
D A T E L I N E
KIDS engages
in the Middle East
Beirut, LebanonJune 1821,
2009, was dedicated to the Kids in
Discipleship (KIDS) training semi-
nars in Lebanon.
The mission of KIDS is Mentor-
ing Kids as Empowered Disciples of
Jesus NOW! with a vision described
as Equipping parents and mentors
to disciple kids to Jesus and to
empower each child to use their gifts
in worship and ministry.
Five teams were organized, includ-
ing pastors, elders, and members
traveling from Abu Dhabi, Bahrain,
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Qatar.
Three main presenters and six coaches
instructed and trained the teams
throughout the four days of the gath-
ering. In all, a group of more than 30
people met each day. There were many
brainstorming activities, planning ses-
sions, and other exercises designed to
lead the participants step-by-step to
learn how to reach their goal.
This was a really inspiring and
rewarding training event, said
Anne-May Wollan, Childrens
Ministries Director of the Trans-
European Division of Seventh-day
Adventists. We had some really
wonderful and dedicated coaches
that were wholeheartedly engaged
in the training. [Aranka Bajic/TED
News Staff/TED News]
Handwritten Bible
brings insight to
participants
C
rieff, ScotlandInspired by
the 66-language Bible traveling
the world leading up to the General
Conference session of the Seventh-
day Adventist Church to be held
in Atlanta, Georgia, United States,
in the summer of 2010, Scottish
Seventh-day Adventists decided
to have their own personalized,
handwritten Bible. Members from all
the churches in Scotland submitted
handwritten passages of Scripture
that were compiled into the Scottish
Adventist Bible.
The Scottish Adventist Bible
attracted considerable attention at
the Scottish Mission Day of Fellow-
ship as members poured through the
pages to see who had contributed
and in which languages. More impor-
tantly, as part of Follow the Bible,
Pastor Llew Edwards, president of
the Seventh-day Adventist Church
in Scotland, hopes that this initiative
has helped Adventists in Scotland
appreciate their Bibles more, not
just as a historical heritage, but as a
life-changing book worth cherishing
and sharing.
For more about the Bible in 66
languages that is traveling the world,
see the interview in the January
2009 issue of Ministry, titled Follow
the Bible: A Journey to Spiritual
Renewal. [BUC News/TED News]
Adventist Church
moves to strengthen
partnerships with
health organizations
G
eneva, Swi tzerl andOn
July 7, 2009, the Seventh-day
Adventist world church president
called on Adventists to partner with
other health organizations in offer-
ing primary health care globallya
request that urges the denomina-
tions members and institutions to
shed individualistic approaches in
offering care to communities.
Jan Paulsens remarks came on
the opening day of a global health
conference, which explores ways to
achieve public health goals through
partnerships and the role faith-based
organizations (FBOs) play in such an
effort. Church health leaders also
hope to demonstrate the role that
spirituality and holistic living can play
in primary care and nd common
ground when working with partners.
Recently, the World Health Orga-
nization (WHO), a United Nations
agency, sought to bolster partner-
ships with FBOs, which deliver as
much as 40 percent of primary care
in some nations.
In his keynote address, Paulsen
urged community involvement as a
way for Adventists to express their
own values in an age of globalization.
Such involvement, he said, would
dene the publics perception of the
churchs approach to primary care.
An individualistic, inward-looking
conception of Christianity is utterly
at odds with the Savior who reached
out to restore blind mens eyes, cured
lepers, and healed an emotionally
broken woman, Paulsen said. We
cannot express our faith, our desire
to imitate Christ, in seclusion.
Paulsen said the church would
continue to prioritize facilitating,
funding, and supporting profes-
sional medical health care through
its network of more than 600 hos-
pitals, clinics, and dispensaries.
The denominations 150-year health
focus also emphasizes health educa-
tion, advocacy of vegetarianism, and
living alcohol- and drug-free.
Paulsen also addressed concerns
that partnerships would be at odds
with the churchs mission, saying,
Some have been critical, and rightly
so, of an eschatological perspective
that serves simply to reconcile us to
current miseries. Awaiting [Christs
return] is not a passive exercise, but
something that demands action [in]
the present.
The churchs emphasis on health,
Paulsen said, should not just be one
of treating disease, dening what is
healthy to eat or drink, or the train-
ing of medical professionals. Our
approach to health is a concept that
encompasses all that contributes
to the fullness and completeness
of human existence. [Ansel Oliver/
ANN]
30 M I N I S T R Y
S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
M
emorial Day, Americas rst
of the summer holidays
celebrated at the end of
the month of Mayis a time to
remember our fallen soldiers, share
family reunions, and enjoy picnics,
baseball, popcorn, and the arrival of
summers warm weather.
This year, Sharon and I would
have much pref erred vi si ti ng
a location where we could have
remembered her father, Ewell Wyatt,
a genuine hero pilot of World War IIs
greatest generation, who died just
over a year ago. Or we could have
shared the day with good friends and
a backyard cookout commemorating
our wedding anniversary that always
falls just a few days after the holiday.
This year I had planned to install a
birdbath fountain in our garden to
honor our 39 years of marriage.
However, instead of fun in the
sun, I was convalescing at home after
15 days in the hospital and watching
from my sickbed as Sharon valiantly
installed the birdbath on her own.
I feel fortunate to be alive. After
months of ignoring a low-grade
infection, the problem suddenly
turned vicious. While Sharon was
traveling, I was left alone, uncon-
scious on our bedroom oor for over
12 hours with a fever and disease
compromising virtually every bodily
system coupled with hallucinations
wilder than any drug-induced trip
could have produced. When my
coworkers alerted Sharon of my
absence at appointments, she tele-
phoned our neighbors to search for
me, and I was rushed by emergency
squad to the hospital.
Although the reasons for my
predicament were my own faulta
vastly overextended travel schedule,
long hours in the ofce during too-
short interludes between itineraries,
neglecting exercise, disregarding a
balanced diet and sufcient rest or
even a vacation breakthe conse-
quences of this rampant infection
spread until our whole family suffered
as the doctors battled the disease.
I believe I have learned some seri-
ous lessons. Please pray for me as I
resolve to change my behavior. I am
on a new exercise regimen aimed at
weight loss, glucose control, blood
pressure reduction, and regaining
strength.
My experience has been a par-
ticularly bitter education since I had
mistakenly presumed that I was
the exception to what I understood
and preached. I have always taught
and proclaimed grace; but I have
worked as if I believed that earnest
labor would somehow merit Gods
protection from the consequences of
disobeying His natural laws of rest,
balance, health, and exercise. So,
when the crash came, it was more
than physical as I grappled with the
reality that my treatment of the Holy
Spirits temple in my body had been
disgraceful. More than my blood
chemistry being out of balance, my
entire being had been compromised.
During my month-long absence,
my associates performed outstand-
ing service in carrying the workload;
and my trust of their judgment and
competence was greatly rewarded.
The spiritual care I needed was also
abundantly supplied as my pastor
and the hospital chaplains visited
and prayed with me, and prayer
chains across the globe included me
in their petitions. One group from
another denomination even heard
of my plight and convened a special
Communion service to focus their
prayer and fellowship on my needs.
How gracious and kind!
Beyond these generous out-
pourings of thoughtfulness from
family, loved ones, and individuals
whom I have never met, Sharon and
I were particularly blessed by two
dear friends whom we requested
to spiritually minister to us. As they
prayed and read wonderfully assuring
Bible passages, waves of gospel joy
ooded into my mind and body with
reassurances as I once again felt the
good news applied to my own soul.
And I cannot sufciently express
love and appreciation for Sharons
patience and partnership in this long
process. Beyond her already-too-
heavy load, she undertook many
extra detailed responsibilities and
functionsin addition to the stress
of having a sick spouse whom she
describes as not a good patient.
If I am not a good patient, I must
add that Sharon is not a natural
nursealong the model of the
good Samaritan who applied sweet
oils, bound up lacerations, and ten-
derly cared for the wounded victim.
Instead, Sharon chooses a more
direct style. Paraphrasing Jesus own
command, she says, Get out of your
bed and walk!
So as I attempt to implement her
directive with signicant changes in
dietary, exercise, rest, and workload
factors that sanity should have altered
long before this, I solicit your prayers
both for me as well as for too many
other pastoral colleagues who need
this cautionary counsel about rushing
down the same destructive path.
PAS TOR S PAS TOR
|
J AMES A. CRES S
Tell us what you think about this editorial. Email MinistryMagazine@gc.adventist.org or write to 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904.
Memorial Day recovery
VI SI T
www.creationsabbath.net
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S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9
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Alejandro Bulln
ISBN 13: 978-0-8163-2335-7
ISBN 10: 0-8163-2335-6
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19 ................US$1.99
1099 ..........US$1.49
100999 ....US$1.29
1,000+ ........US$1.09