This report is the record of the church in action, fulfilling the
Master's command and working "until the day dawns."
So what is it that makes us one? What makes Adventists different?
1. The Faith That Makes Us One
t the heart of our faith is Christ. He is the content and focus
of our faith. The cross is our message and our salvation. Through this Christ-centered
gospel we gain the assurance of who we are and the conviction of where we're
going. The God we know and preach is the source of the faith that makes us
one.
In an aimless world Adventists have faith in God and His promises.
Fundamentally, the belief of Adventists is in the salvation offered by the God
of the Bible. Our most specific goal is to meet Jesus at His soon coming and
to share this good news with everyone. Our whole identity is summed up in this
present and future experience of God that makes a real difference in the way
we live and work and act. As a church we are committed to "one Lord, one
faith, one baptism." We can say with assurance,� "I know the God who
saves me, and so I know He will be with me to the end."
Our faith is not without challenges�even direct literal attacks
on the church. For example, the only Adventist church in Turkmenistan was destroyed
last November. Or the attacks on churches in parts of Asia, with Adventist members
beaten and jungle chapels broken down or burned. But the church is not made
up of just bricks and mortar, and its beauty is not in buildings. The church
is the body of Christ, made up of us as members.
We also experience those very real challenges to individual faith
on a personal level. Like Anthony Alexander, imprisoned in Sri Lanka, accused
of being a terrorist. Or the three Cape Verde islanders from their country off
the coast of West Africa, jailed for allegedly desecrating Catholic churches.
We praise God for the release of these brothers in Christ and for the fact that
justice can still prevail in this world of ours.
We must recognize here too the more insidious challenges to faith,
when the values of the world invade the church. Such values reflect different
dynamics of life, and are out of harmony with the faith that makes us one. Financial
challenges also affect our faith, both individually and as an organization.
The result can be lack of commitment, altered priorities, arguments over practice
and policies. They are aspects that hit at the heart of faith.
That's why in a number of places around the world the church has
chosen to emphasize and celebrate the role of membership involvement--take,
for example, the Festivals of the Laity. It's been my privilege to participate
in such enthusiastic celebrations of the thrill of evangelism and of sharing
the gospel message. In these wonderful festivals of contagious excitement, we
catch a glimpse of what God can do through all of us. Such events are testimonials
to the importance of each and every member recognizing their responsibilities
and of experiencing the joys of telling others about their faith.
Or take the young people. All over the globe they are taking up
the challenge to make the church their church and witness to their faith.
For example, in Romania the Pathfinders write out the whole Bible
from memory on a scroll 1.7 miles (2.7 kilometers) long. Why? Because
they want to make a public statement. They want to show what they believe--that
the Bible is still relevant to young people today. Half a world away in Brazil,
there's a similar event. Together with the inauguration of a "Bridge of
Hope," young people write out the Bible, signing on with smiles as their
way of saying, "We really believe in God. We're committed to Him."
Or what about the biggest camporee of all in Oshkosh, Wisconsin?
Some 22,000 Pathfinders together "discover the power" of God to make
a difference in their lives. A truly marvelous testimony to youthful enthusiasm
linked to the power of God--an unstoppable combination!
The youth are on the march for change. Like the Walk Around the
World 2000 program--hundreds of marches in many countries round the globe. Walking
for a better world. Walking for a drug-free lifestyle. Walking toward
the glorious kingdom of God.
Similarly, young people in their teens and 20s are determined to
make an impact on the world through their church. A wide range of programs show
that they want to be involved, like ConneXions 99 and excite 99 and g2k. Such
events reveal that Adventist Christians are up-to-date, relevant,
and committed to God's plan for this world.
Faith in action: that's what defines the church. And that's the
faith that makes us one.
2. The Hope That Makes Us One
hat aspects of our belief really distinguish us? We can sum up
our ideas about God like this: God is good; God loves; God saves. God offers--and
He expects us to embrace--a better life with higher values. God is coming back.
God gives eternal life.
Simple. Because it expresses that most basic truth: hope. And not
just any kind of hope, but hope in God. Our hope, our future, is as bright as
the promises of God Himself. That is why the primary Adventist essential transcends
all cultures: because it hits all people at the heart of their being. Advent
hope gives meaning and purpose to life itself.
Many have wondered what gives the Adventist Church its dynamism.
Some look to the organizational structure. But the power of Adventism is
not there. Some think it is in our lifestyle message. But good though that may
be, this is not the source but the result of the motivating power. Others believe
it is in small group ministry, or in the health message, or in education. But
though all these things are good, they are not in themselves the critical power
of the church.
This church began through preaching the message of the blessed
hope, the sure and certain return of our loving Lord. Only as we continue this
mission can we truthfully identify ourselves as Adventists. For the power of
the Adventist Church is in the Advent and in the Spirit who brings this power.
The Spirit brings Christ into focus and brings understanding, for the Spirit
leads us into all truth and reveals Jesus to us. This is the God who came, the
God who is with us and who saves us. This is the God who comes again to take
us to be with Him for all eternity. Our message is a message of hope and assurance.
This is the hope that makes us one.
That's the hope we want to share, using many different strategies
to spread the good news. Sharing hope with the hopeless. A return to the biblical
principles of taking the gospel into areas that have not heard, through teaching
ministries combined with working at trades--the tentmaking approach. As a result
of initiatives like Global Mission, the Adventist Church is now present in various
ways. The 1000 Missionary movement that began in the Philippines invited students
to commit themselves to giving their time and talents to the Lord to serve in
places that need to hear God's message for these times. So, too, the many satellite
evangelistic series share hope_Net '96, Net '98, Pentecost '98, Net '99, ACTS
2000, and more. Each one is a way of sharing with more and more people the hope
that we have in Christ.
The most recent--Impacto 2000 in South America--was a way of bringing
together all the elements of witness: Bible study, personal contact, and inspired
preaching, so that the blessed hope can become the personal hope of many millions
more.
Through ministries like It Is Written we have had the joy
of seeing many accept Christ in countries such as Cuba. In the Philippines,
more multiplied thousands. In Africa. In South and Central America. The church
is truly growing under the blessing of God. Each one who accepts is individually
a cause for celebration, both here on earth and in the courts of heaven.
But many challenges remain as we try to share the hope that we
have in Jesus. For example, the challenge of the 10/40 window. In this section
of the globe live 60 percent of the world's population, yet only 1 percent are
Christian. This is truly our greatest challenge.
Yet even in those countries of the world that are closed to the
usual forms of witness we can share our hope. Adventist World Radio crosses
boundaries and speaks directly to those who need to hear. In some countries,
the only "church" you can belong to is one that exists through radio
and correspondence, as the many letters coming into the Media Center in Cyprus
attest.
In all of this we are challenged to cross the boundaries of culture, race,
and geography. For us, diversity must be more than a slogan. We are all on a
journey of discovery as we understand the richness of life together as one body,
committed to the hope that makes us one.
3. The Love That Makes Us One
ithout love even faith and hope are "tinkling gongs and clashing
cymbals." For the church, that seems to be one of the easiest lessons to
forget. However right we may be, however passionately we may defend the truth,
if we have not love we are nothing.
No soft and sentimental feeling, this is tough love that brought
Jesus to the cross. This is the love that we desire, the perfect love that casts
out fear. For how did Jesus say that His friends would be identified? If they
have love one for another. Not by the programs they run, or the size of their
organization, or by the amount of their resources. But by the divine love they
reflect in their lives.
Such love cannot be faked, but is expressed in action. In the words
of John: "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in
truth"� (1 John 3:18).
From Alaska to Zimbabwe our role is to demonstrate this fundamental
truth. Unless we can show this, everything else is irrelevant. We can truly
say that the most amazing thing in the Adventist Church is that we can love
and support each other, even though we come from so many different backgrounds
and cultures.
That's why we want to share--telling others of the one faith we
have in Jesus. That's why we hold so many outreach meetings, large and small,
in Soweto and Stockholm, in New York and New Delhi, in Bogot� and Bucharest.
That's why a blind preacher in Guatemala gets up every morning at 4:00 to study
his braille Bible, so he can witness for the truth at the meetings he holds.
Why a 12-year-old girl leads out in evangelism in southern Mexico.
Why teams of workers are leading out in all kinds of outreach, by satellite,
radio, TV, on the street, in community halls, in tents, or under the shade of
the village tree. Why? Because "the love of Christ constraineth us."
We are not an organization directed by managers. We are a community
of faith, a family of believers, one in Christ Jesus. Our mission, our goal,
is to spread the good news, and invite all who will to come into God's family,
eagerly awaiting His return. Why? Because we are more of a community than
an organization.
We show who we are by practicing what we preach. That means showing
love in action, which is where our welfare, medical, development, and emergency
aid programs come in. Adventists are not just sitting by on the sidelines waiting
for the Lord to come_we are out there in the world, demonstrating truth by our
actions.
As always, there is so much more, so many to help, so few resources.
In a world divided between those who have and those who do not, we struggle
to provide care and health education to those who most need, while we also have
to deal with the complexities of modern managed health-care programs.
May we have the wisdom to follow the example of Jesus in all that we do.
������� In 160 countries the development and relief aid that arises from
our Christian compassion is shared, without regard for who the recipients may
be. But by being there, we show the loving face of our Lord to the many millions
in need--whether it be the devastation of Hurricane Mitch or the floods in Mozambique
or the long-term tree planting program in Ghana.
We truly live in a "Global Village," and the Lord would have
others see Jesus in us, in all we do.
Nor can we miss the huge contribution of committed laity to the program
of the church--such as the work of Maranatha Volunteers International and Adventist-Laymen's
Services and Industries. As each member makes a contribution according to their
time and talents, the cause of God is advanced, and the world recognizes God's
disciples because they have love one for another and for every soul for whom
Jesus died. The roofs for Africa program, the Cuba churches, the many building
activities all around the world, the volunteer service--all are reflected in
such ministries, and we give praise to God for all who have contributed in these
ways.
All around the world, the church involves itself in community--for
example, in the multiplied thousands of feeding programs, in Belgrade as well
as in Baltimore. In Lisbon, Lima, and London, we see in action the love that
makes us one as we reach out in love to those around us. Positive lifestyle
seminars, stress clinics, smoking-cessation programs, education for street
kids--practical love is shown in what we do that is relevant to those with whom
we live.
One way in which the staff at the world headquarters has sought
to reach out to the community has been by providing an interactive Walk through
Bethlehem. Through a realistic bazaar scene from the time of Jesus visitors
are encouraged to think what it was really like to be part of the story, to
"be there" at the coming of Jesus. And of course, recognizing that
first coming means pointing to the Second Coming, too. Making what we believe
relevant and important to those around us, helping them to see Jesus. That's
our business.
During the past five years we have deliberately focused on the
themes that hold us together as a church. Our chosen theme this year leads directly
to the motto of this session, "Almost Home." These themes become more
than mere slogans as we take them seriously and nurture them deep down in our
hearts.� We are a people together, a community of hope that is welcoming the
dawn of God's eternal day. That is the meaning we express through the love that
makes us one.
Our world transformed���������
he world is a hungry, violent, and tragic place. But with the
light of God's salvation the future is sure. The church is truly confident,
because God is the one who promises salvation present and future. He is the
one "who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Peter
2:9). Jesus says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will
never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). "For
God, who said, `Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:6). "For you were once darkness, but now you
are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Eph. 5:8).
In this world of darkness we are children of the light and of the
day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. God sends us to open
the eyes of the blind, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power
of Satan to God (see 1 Thess. 5:5; Luke 4:18; Acts 26:18).
"It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding
the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood
and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message
illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be
made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory,
the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth. . . . The last rays of merciful
light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of
His character of love" (Christ's Object Lessons, p. 415).
At this General Conference session, as we make decisions
for the future under the guidance of God, and as we celebrate together the assurance
of faith, hope, and love, may our gracious God be close to each of us, here
and around the world, as we look forward to a hope-filled future now and
for eternity. For "we have the word of the prophets made more certain,
and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark
place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2
Peter 1:19).
We are the church of today and tomorrow, together in the God who
makes us one, looking unto Jesus, working together "until the day dawns."
May we all be there.
* Scripture references are from the New�International Version.