Keith1949 said:
“Great words and great ideas but that is were they stay , just words, it remains but wishful thinking. I do recognise individual members who risk helping outside the Church boundaries.
I work in refugee detention centres every week, I have yet to meet on solitary Adventist they are not to be seen in the trenches of human miseries. I meet Catholics, Presbyterians, Unitarians, Baptist organisations working with Refugees but never Adventist they prefer to just talk.”
Sadly, I have to agree with Brother Keith. Lately, we don’t even do much talking any more. For years as a former Pastor and then a Chaplain working for interfaith hospitals, hospices, and mental health agencies, I had urged and begged the local Adventist pastors in several large cities where I worked, to become involved and stand up for social issues that are in the “trenches of human miseries” as Brother Keith eloquently refers to. Some of these are AIDS Ministry, Domestic Abuse, Homelessness, Hunger, Prison Ministry, Hospice Volunteer Pastoral Care, Refugees, etc. I never once got a positive response or anything that resembled a sustained effort from any SDA Pastor.
In one pathetic encounter I was told by a colleague in ministry that he had been reprimanded by the local conference leaders for “wasting time” or being “distracted” by the community’s needs that he was serving in. He was told to prioritize his time and attention with issues and concerns having to do with his church’s growth and visibility in the community. He was also told to focus his ministry on “positive causes” (health screenings, Wealth management and Estate Planning classes for the potential converts and then donors in the community). He was told that he should target his efforts and ministry would produce “the highest caliber of church members”.
As a retired Pastor and Chaplain Educator I was recently invited to present a Crisis Intervention Seminar at an Adventist Church, with the proviso that I emphasize evangelizing persons in the community who are vulnerable and in a crisis mode. The Elders and the Pastor preferred a short course on “showing concern” but limiting our follow-through as church members with platitudes, “Glow Tracts” and “preparing them for the next evangelistic outreach”. Before declining this invitation I met with them and tried to explain what the Bible and ethics teach us about helping others. It was a sad exchange when at the end they said they were representing and fulfilling their mission to protect “Historical Adventism”.
As a retired Pastor and Chaplain Educator I was recently invited to present a Crisis Intervention Seminar at an Adventist Church, with the proviso that I emphasize evangelizing persons in the community who are vulnerable and in a crisis mode. The Elders and the Pastor preferred a short course on “showing concern” but limiting our follow-through as church members with platitudes, “Glow Tracts” and “preparing them for the next evangelistic outreach”. Before declining this invitation I met with them and tried to explain what the Bible and ethics teach us about helping others. It was a sad exchange when at the end they said they were representing and fulfilling their mission to protect “Historical Adventism”.
In response to Brother Keith’s statement “Adventist they prefer to just talk.” Brother K. Paulson says; “I have a sermon on this topic myself, titled "Hope and Tears,…” More words! Donate money for a refugee camp or better yet go to a UNICEF refugee camp Brother Paulson, and keep your sermon safely in your files.