Elisabet Kirkland Page 63

Steve Schwarz – Cedaredge, Colorado … When the church gathers on Sabbath morning, you never know who may be listening. Not all the listeners are inside the building if the worship service is being streamed online.

Rachel Williams, a Gen Z young adult and a leader in the Cedaredge Adventist Church, looked into the faces of the worshipers as she began her February 18 sermon, “Preparing, Not Fearing.” She could see that they related as she shared questions she had from her own experiences, like an ill-fated mountain climb in Alaska, and answers she had discovered from her search in God’s Word.

Rachel identified fear as something resulting from life’s “rough patches” and “everyday problems” as well as concerns about a future “time of trouble.” She said we must not minimize trouble, but face it with the faith of Jesus.

At Rachel’s invitation, the sermon took the form of a dialog. She asked the congregation to respond to two questions in turn. First, “The faith of Jesus, what does it look like to you?” And then, more personally, “What does you having the faith of Jesus look like?”

A church member’s Millennial grandson from out of town was in church. He told his grandfather that he enjoyed the interactive discussion. And he confided that it could be applied in his own life.

After church, one Boomer said the sermon was “a home run!” And a Gen-Xer agreed.

As the congregational dialog was going on, another Millennial slipped into a pew. The highlight, among highlights of worship, was when he said he had been watching online and had to come to join the conversation. He stayed for lunch.

The preacher of the day, Rachel, observed, “Churches, no matter how small, need to consider putting their services online, because you do not know how many people might want to watch.” Or maybe show up.

—Text and photo by Steve Schwarz, pastor of Delta and Cedaredge Churches.

Doug Inglish – Denver, Colorado … The summer before I began graduate studies at the University of Arkansas, money was tight. By the time I finished a teaching contract in June, no summer jobs were available, and my graduate-fellowship money would not become available until classes began in late August. Our meager savings were eaten up by moving costs. Susan, my wife, could not find a job, and the only work I could find was at a temporary employment agency. Every morning, I would call at 6:00 a.m., and they would call back if they had work for me that day. I was fortunate when I got two or three days of work a week.

One evening, Susan showed me that our checkbook balance came to $12 and some cents. We had little food in the apartment, rent was due the following week, and the utility bills would come after that. It was clear that something had to happen now, or we would not last until school started.

That night when I said my prayers, I kept them shorter than usual. “Father, I’m in this place because I heard You call me to graduate school. We have no more money. I have been faithful with my tithe, and You promised You would take care of me. It’s time for You to keep Your Word.”

The next morning, I didn’t call the agency. They called me at 5:55 a.m. “Doug, we have a job for you. It’s twelve hours a day, seven days a week, which means plenty of time-and-a-half pay. It lasts all the way until school starts for you in the fall, and you start as soon as you can get here and pick up your timecard. Do you want it?”

It was Tuesday, and I figured I could get in four solid twelve-hour days before they fired me for not working on Sabbath. “You bet!” I shouted, racing out to my VW Bug almost before I hung up the phone.

The work was miserable. I broke up concrete all day with a jackhammer. The only respite from that bone-jarring work came when I had to push a wheelbarrow full of rubble onto a truck. At the end of the first day, they fired one of the temporary workers for not hustling on the job, perhaps to make a statement to the rest of us. So, I really put my back into it, hoping to last to Sabbath. 

Friday, after I clocked out, I went to the foreman. “Sir,” I began with what I hoped was a tone of conviction, “I am a Seventh-day Adventist, and tomorrow is the Sabbath. I won’t be here to work, but I need this job. Will I still have it on Sunday?”

He cocked his head to one side and said, “The job is for seven days a week.” When he said nothing more, I pressed the issue. “Can I come back Sunday?” He shook his head and said, “I don’t know.”

With no more assurance than that, I kept the Sabbath. When I clocked in Sunday morning, the foreman said nothing. After another painful week with the jackhammer, I approached him again on Friday.

“I am keeping the Sabbath again tomorrow. Will my job still be here for me Sunday?”

He gave me the same quizzical look he had the week before and then said, “If it is going to be this way every week, I’m not sure we can use you.”

With nothing to lose, I again asked, “Will you take me on Sunday?” Again, his noncommittal “I don’t know” ended our discussion.

Every Friday I told the foreman I would not be in on the Sabbath, asking to be back Sunday. He never gave me any more assurance of work than a simple “I don’t know.” But, he never fired me when I returned on Sunday morning.

As it turned out, my arthritic knee couldn’t keep up with the pace all the way until school started, and I had to quit. But, by the time it gave out, Susan was working and my overtime pay was enough to carry us to the start of graduate studies.

Knowing such a God who answers so suddenly in time of need and sustains so faithfully when we have no other assurance, how could we deny His claims on our time or finances?

I know the blessing of tithing, and I know the blessing of the Sabbath. I commend them to anyone willing to receive them.

“Them that honor me I will honor.” (1 Samuel 2:30 NIV)

—Doug Inglish is the RMC vice president. Published with permission from Over & Over Again. Photo by iStock.

RMCNews with Erik Stenbakken and Leandro Bizama – Loveland, Colorado … Several dozen Campion Adventist Church members and Campion Academy students attended a 5-part video series entitled, New Freedom to Love, February 8-11. “After producing the original content more than four years ago, it was an honor and privilege to present it at the Campion church,” said Erik Stenbakken, host and producer of the series.

According to Leandro Bizama, associate Campion Church pastor, the church’s Evangelism Council and Family ministries worked together to provide the five-video series to our church members, community, and students. “Several parents, couples, young adults, and students came to the meetings. Personally, I saw it as a way to start a much-needed conversation in our church, school, and family,” Pastor Leandro said.

“Everyone in Loveland makes a big deal about Valentine’s Day, so we thought this would be a good time to try to start a conversation about the subject of love, sex, and porn,” he added.

Even though there was a lot of information and having a frank conversation about porn is not easy, the resource is useful in bringing awareness and talking about important subjects.

The seminar’s web page provides astounding statistics about the problem of pornography today: there are 68 million internet search queries for pornography each day and the top five porn sites in the world have a combined 17.73 billion visits per month. The pornography scourge affects 77% of Christian men ages 18-30 who view porn at least monthly. Thirty percent of pastors report they have visited a pornography site within the last 30 days, and the average age of exposure to porn in the U.S. is 11 years old and dropping.

The video content, created by North American Division of the Church, was made to be a stand-alone workshop that anyone can run, and it worked just as designed! Erik presented a short intro to each section, then ran the video for each of the five main presenters. The presenters included Mike Tucker, Faith for Today and Mad About Marriage TV series speaker on marriage and relationships; Bernie Anderson, pastor, speaker, and coach for men; Dr. Celeste Holbrook, Christian Sexologist and speaker for women; as well as Troy Beans, speaker and coach for youth/young adults.

“After each of the sessions, I had at least one person come up to me and say something like, ‘I’m so glad our church is doing something about this!’ ”

“Another attendee expressed surprise and said they were ‘glad that the material was presented in such a positive way. No shame. Focusing on God’s ideals,’ ” Stenbakken added.

Two “Grow Groups” were formed at the same time as the workshop was held. One group is tackling addictions in general and using a specially organized version of Ellen G. White’s Steps to Christ, which flows parallel with the 12-step recovery programs of today. One group was formed to support and grow men through sexual addictions. Both groups are led by local members.

Campion Academy students attended three of the five sessions and were very attentive and focused. “How focused, you might ask? During Mike Tucker’s presentation there was an audio glitch, and we could see Mike talking, but no sound. Immediately, the Campion students called out, ‘Stop! Pause the video! Go back! Fix it!’ They *really* wanted to hear what Mike was saying about how to live a life with true love and relational fulfillment.”

After the meetings, the church offered two small groups as a follow up, one following the Steps to Christ Recovery Edition, which combines the 12 steps of AA recovery programs with each chapter of the book, and the other, designed specifically for men to find support and accountability using the 7 Pillars from the Pure Desire ministry.

—RMCNews with Erik Stenbakken and Leandro Bizama.