PRESENT TRUTH IN THE REAL WORLD

by Jon Paulien
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

PART I:
THE CHALLENGE OF A SECULAR WORLD

1. GOD'S STYLE OF COMMUNICATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2. AN ADVENTIST PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
3. DEFINING THE SECULAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4. BECOMING SECULAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

PART II:
KEEPING FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD

5. NOT FOR EVERYONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

6. COMMUNICATING WITH GOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
7. A LIVING WALK WITH GOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

PART III:
SHARING FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD

8. THE BASIC NEEDS OF SECULAR PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . 131

9. CUTTING-EDGE PEOPLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
10. THE PRACTICE OF ONE-TO-ONE OUTREACH . . . . . . . . . . 153
11. OUTREACH AS A CHURCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
12. OUTREACH THROUGH WORSHIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
13. HOW TWO MODELS CAN CO-EXIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
14. AND NOW, SOME GOOD NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
 INTRODUCTION

The primary purpose of this book lies in its attempt to

describe reality. Reality is not always pretty. Reality is not

always what we want to hear or know about. But reality is where we

all live and move and have our being. Many today have lost

confidence in the Adventist Church and its people. But I have

found that most Adventists are hungry for truth and hungry for

reality. It is the Adventist people, including many God-fearing

leaders of this Church, who have driven me to publish these things

in a book. I do not claim to be the last word on the realities our

Church faces. Many will wish to respond to one point or another.

Much brainstorming and experimentation must follow from a reading

of this book. I offer this book with the prayer that it will help

precipitate a revival of faithfulness to God's purposes in a new

and often bewildering time in earth's history.

It is not the purpose of this book to offer a "last word" on

this subject from Scripture and the "Spirit of Prophecy". As a

Biblical scholar who is also thoroughly immersed in the writings of

Ellen White, I usually prefer to approach a subject from the

evidence of inspiration. A thorough investigation of these

sources, however, would have lengthened the book beyond the

endurance of most readers and would probably blunt the compelling

force of its glimpse of reality. Guided by my lifelong research in

inspiration but without constant reference to it, the content of

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this book arises out of my observations of the reality that

Adventists find themselves in as they seek to live out their faith

in a secular world. I am encouraged in this "dangerous" approach

by the thousands of Adventists who have heard this material in

spoken form and confirmed its observations. I invite readers to

search inspired writings for themselves to see if these things are

really so.

A major reality that Adventists face today is that while the

church as a whole is growing by leaps and bounds in selected

places, we aren't experiencing that kind of growth and excitement

in most churches in North America. While pastors in New Guinea

hardly have time for evangelism because they are so busy screening

the thousands that think success in life is spelled "SDA," most

pastors in North America, Europe, and Australia are delighted if a

handful of people show up for a stop-smoking clinic, much less for

spiritual meetings!

The hopelessness and malaise that I sense in so many Anglo

churches in North America is to a large degree the result of a

process that is called "secularization." Secularization means that

a society is becoming more and more inclined to view life without

reference to God or religion. There is an gradual erosion of

belief in the supernatural, whatever happens is limited to this

world and to sense experience. Religious values and practices are

increasingly discarded. And the church, as an institution,

declines in its influence on the larger society. A secular person

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or society may not have consciously rejected religion or God, but

God plays a diminishing role in people's day to day lives.

In a different category is the word "secularism." This refers

to a consciously-adopted philosophy which rejects all forms of

religious faith and worship. A secularist may be described as a

"missionary" for secularism. He or she is in contrast, however, to

the more-typical secular person who merely finds religion to be

irrelevant to life, but is not hostile toward it.

Many Adventists shy away from outreach to the secular mindset

because they do not believe that it is "do-able." If someone

handed you a basketball for the first time and eight of your first

ten shots went in, you would say to yourself, "This isn't difficult

at all--I can do this!" But if every shot missed by a mile, you

might never touch a ball again. So it is with witnessing, many

Adventists have made ten attempts to reach secular people and

missed by a mile every time. This lack of success makes people

reluctant even to try.

Another barrier we face in reaching out to the secular mindset

is that SDAs are really much more comfortable in their own cultural
setting than they are out in world. When we are among ourselves we

know how to talk and we know how to walk. For most Christians,

reaching out to secular people is like entering a foreign land. We

hear filthy language and dirty jokes. We smell tobacco smoke and

alcohol. We are faced with uncomfortable challenges to our faith

nearly every moment. Targeting secular people is not an easy

choice to make. It isn't a substitute for the more difficult forms

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of evangelism--it is the most difficult form. If this book will

encourage even one person to step out in faith and reach out to

secular neighbors, friends, and family it will have been worth the

effort.

Evangelistic success creates excitement and builds churches.

What excites me about this topic is that, if taken seriously by a

local church, it can put that church at the center of its commu-

nity's life again. Whenever I share this subject in a church,

inevitably there are half a dozen secular people there. They are

usually the ones who are the most enthusiastic and say, "If this is

the kind of religion you Adventists have, count us in." To

succeed, however, we need to know that there are certain approaches

that don't work with secular people. If you can come to understand

some of the ways that do work, your "hits" will increase and your

"misses" will decrease. You probably won't begin with an eighty

percent success ratio, but it is exciting to build your percentage

with God's help.

A number of areas which could profitably have been dealt with

in this book are intentionally left out so that the primary focus
is not lost on the reader. One major omission is in the area of

"apologetics," the task of finding answers to the many objections

that secular people have regarding the existence of God, the

reliability of the Bible, the problem of evil, and other issues

often used to excuse a disinterest in Christian faith. Such issues

deserve considerable treatment in their own right. Apologetics may

not be as crucial to the process as one might expect, however. In

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my experience secular people don't normally come to faith as a

result of intellectual argument, but because of an encounter with

the living God. And when God has become real to them, their

objections usually fall away in light of their new perspective on

life.

Another omission is the whole area of ministry to our own

Adventist youth. Many of the problems we face in relation to

secular outsiders we face also in relation to the youth that live

in our own homes and attend our own churches. Readers attempting

to reach youth will find much in this book that will be of use, but

little attempt has been made to spell out the relevance of this

material to youth ministry.

No attempt has been made to relate directly to issues of

peace, justice, and societal advancement. Those interested in such

issues, however, will note that Part Two does set out a biblical

and spiritual rationale for involvement in significant social

issues, although the connection is not explicitly made there.

Finally, although this book is very practical in orientation,

it aims to set out the big picture rather than a detailed "how-to"
approach. The general principles concerning how Adventist faith

can meet the challenge of a secular world will suggest a variety of

creative applications to the reader, however. Those seeking to

develop their understanding further are directed to the annotated

bibliography at the close.

Some may question whether the age of secularism has not

already come to an end with the fall of Communism in Eastern

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Europe, the onset of the New Age movement and the increasing

strength of evangelicals in North American politics. These

movements certainly bear watching, but secularism remains the

dominant intellectual force in the so-called "First World" and is

an increasing influence in the so-called "Third World." Time will

tell if the recent resurgence of religious interest in many parts

of the world is a harbinger of both end-time revival and end-time

apostasy. But for now the secular mindset remains one of the major

obstacles to evangelistic outreach.

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PART ONE

THE CHALLENGE OF A SECULAR WORLD

 CHAPTER ONE

God's Style of Communication

A World in Change

Growing up Adventist isn't what it used to be back in the

Sixties. Back then most Adventists preferred to avoid contact with

the world unless such contact took place on Adventist terms. By

contrast, in recent years Adventists have held such high-profile

positions as governor of Hawaii, Deputy Assistant to the American

Secretary of State, head of the Social Security Administration,

starting pitcher on a major-league baseball team, Hollywood actor,

conductor of a major symphony orchestra, head of state in at least

two countries in the so-called third world, and head of an anti-

communist guerilla army. It is a reasonable possibility that by

the year 2000 a major country in the South Pacific will be

predominantly Seventh-day Adventist. A sizable percentage of the

members of congress and several governors in that country are SDAs

(Recently in fact, the opposition party leader and the governor in

one province were elders in the same church!).

These are exciting and fearful times to be an Adventist. Many

of the old rules don't seem to work the way they used to. Many

Adventists are trying things we never used to try. The people that

I've just alluded to know by experience that maintaining a

distinctly Adventist faith in a high-profile position is no simple

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matter. Almost every moment of every day brings the challenge of

balancing one's convictions as a Seventh-day Adventist with one's

responsibilities to the job. It is certainly a big challenge to be

a starting pitcher on a major league team, even if your contract

does say that you will be given Sabbath off whenever possible!

The challenge of being Adventist in a secular world is not

limited to well-known personalities. It involves learning how to

get along with neighbors and even relatives--brothers, sisters,

parents, children and grandchildren--who don't look at the world

the way you do. Although they might live right next door,

Adventism can be as strange and foreign to them as though you've

just walked off a spaceship.

The Two Horizons

But is that really our problem? Shouldn't we just present the

message as we know and appreciate it and if they don't like it,

it's just too bad? Life might seem easier that way, but inspira-

tion suggests that the Gospel is not heard until it comes to people

within their own context. "Lessons must be given to humanity in

the language of humanity." (DA 34) People need to be addressed in

a language with which they are familiar. The gospel must come to

people in context. The reason the Adventist message is going like

wildfire in places like New Guinea, the Philippines, Kenya, and

parts of the Caribbean, is that Adventism as we normally express it

is exactly what those people are looking for. But in other places

the same message seems to fall flat.

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I was sitting on the living-room couch in a split-level home.

To my left were three or four stairs going up into the bedroom

section of the house. The family three-year-old was trying to push

a full-size baby carriage down the stairs. In the carriage was a

gigantic stuffed animal of some sort. Halfway down the stairs the

carriage tips, the animal falls out, tumbles down, and lies there

in a heap on the ground. She takes care of the carriage, goes down

the stairs, picks up the beast and comforts it.

I figured it was time for a comment, so I said, "I see you

helped him out." To which she replied, "Oh no, he fell out all by

himself!" Now what was happening here? We were speaking the same

language, simple basic English, and yet we were not communicating

at all. And that happens more often than we realize when we're

dealing with secular people.

Such miscommunication can be embarrassing in the extreme. A

missionary couple went upriver into the interior of New Guinea and

attempted to reach a group of tree-dwellers who had had no previous

contact with the outside world. The couple built a little dwelling

in the area between several villages, ministered to the people's

medical needs, and tried to understand their language and customs.

Many of the people settled around them and seemed to appreciate

what they were trying to do.

When they had reached a working knowledge of the language, the

husband felt that it was time to attempt a presentation of the

gospel. He went to the "longhouse" of one of the villages and told

the story of Jesus. And he did it well. But the people showed
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little interest in the story of Jesus. They didn't much care what

"the greatest Spirit" had done for some far-off tribe (the Jews) in

a far-away land. The biblical message did not seem to apply to

them in any way that they could understand until the missionary

came to the story of how Judas betrayed Jesus. Suddenly their full

attention was riveted on him. They began to signal understanding

and appreciation. It became clear that the hero of the story for

them was not Jesus, but Judas!

Did the missionary tell the story wrong? No. The problem was

that in this particular culture, the highest level of respect was

reserved for the person who had the intestinal fortitude to betray

his best friend. When the tree people heard the Gospel story, they

were impressed with a man who could keep close company with a

powerful figure like Jesus for three years, sharing his food,

traveling together and finally betraying him all by himself without

any of the other disciples ever suspecting! Such treachery

exceeded all the examples they had honored through the years.

How does one present the Gospel to people like that? The

local culture honored and revered behavior that was directly

contrary to the gospel. The missionary's presentation of the

gospel had been clear, powerful and convincing from the couple's

perspective, but to the tree-dwellers the gospel story confirmed

their own hideous practices. The gospel is not understood unless

it comes to people in context. But where in that culture was there

any useful analogy to the story of redemption?

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Shortly after the couple's attempt to share the gospel, war

broke out between two of the tribes they had been working with.

The couple did their best to intervene in the conflict but to no

avail. Finally, in frustration, they told the people that they

would have to leave and go to other tribes who would not betray and

kill each other. Because the people did not want to lose the

economic benefits that came with the couple's presence (better

axes, knives, mirrors, medicine, etc.) they promised to make peace.

But how could anyone trust a peace pledge in an environment that

glorified treachery?

The treacherous culture did, however, allow for an impressive

and effective peace ceremony. Warriors from the two tribes faced

each other in a clearing in the forest. A leading man from each

tribe, in anguish and trembling, selected one of his own treasured

baby boys and brought him to the most trusted man on the other

side. Both babies and names were exchanged. Each member of the

tribe that was willing to make peace came and laid their hands on

the baby. Each baby became the "peace child." The tribe loved and

guarded their peace child for as long as that child lived, they
knew that they were safe from attack by the other tribe. Why?

Because the other tribe would be afraid to harm one of their own.

And after all, any man who would give his own son to his enemies

was a man who could be trusted. As long as the peace child lived,

the two tribes would be at peace with one another. Following the

peace child ceremony, all the members of both tribes exchanged

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gifts and names so that each person was considered a full member of

the other tribe.

The couple observed all that had happened, and asked many

questions. Here was the redemptive analogy they had been looking

for. Now they could try to present the gospel once more. This

time they told about how there was war between heaven and earth.

But God so loved the world that He sent a "peace child." He gave

His Son to the human "tribe". He lived among us. And because He

died, was raised again, and lives forever, God has declared "peace"

with the human race and every tribe and every nation that is

willing to accept that "peace child" into their tribe can be at

peace with God too. And while peace among the Sawi people lasted

only as long as the peace child lived, permanent peace was

available in Jesus, because He now lives forever. God was now on

their side. He gives them new names to celebrate their new

characters. As a result of this and other presentations that

appealed effectively to the people in terms of their own cultural

context, many of the tree-dwellers accepted Christ.

Communication happens something like this. Every person on

this earth has what can be called "a horizon". In a physical

sense, the horizon of each person in a room is the four walls and

the ceiling, with a bit of a view out the windows. That person's

horizon is limited by the room in which they are. In a valley the

horizon is limited by the trees and hills, etc. In flat country

one can see even further. But if you can get on a mountain peak,

your horizon expands further still.

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Every human being has another kind of horizon. A horizon of

the intellect, of the emotions, of experience. Our knowledge and

experience tends to be limited by schooling, geography and family

background. When we encounter another human being, it is at the

points of common interest and common understanding that we can

communicate most effectively. The chief value of education is that

it is the intellectual equivalent of climbing a mountain. The more

education you receive, the broader your horizon, and the greater

your potential for influence on others in this world. You become

able to communicate particular thoughts in a variety of different

forms and expressions. What counts is not the form you choose to

use but whether the intended meaning is clearly understood by the

hearer.

A major purpose of this book is to broaden the reader's

horizon to include an understanding of the horizon or world view of

secular people. In dealing with the secular environment, Adven-

tists face a problem similar to that of the couple in New Guinea.

In interacting with secularized people, we often encounter world

views so distinct from ours that there is little or no meaningful

interaction. What must take place at such times in order for

communication to happen? One of the two individuals seeking to

communicate must broaden their horizon so as to include the other.

Whose responsibility should it be to broaden horizons in a

witnessing context? "Lessons must be given to humanity in the

language of humanity." (DA 34) This statement suggests to me that

some Adventists, at least, need to learn how to speak to secular

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people. As Emil Brunner has said, "The church nowadays speaks . .

. . primarily to 'heathen.'"1 If that is the case, we need to

learn how to talk to heathen.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

Many Christians, however, object to the idea that secular

people need to be met on their terms. "Isn't it the Holy Spirit's

role to bridge the gap between people? Doesn't the Bible say that

it isn't by might or by power but 'by My Spirit, says the Lord?'"

The Holy Spirit is, of course, essential to all effective outreach

work. To attempt to carry out any of the suggestions in this book

without the guidance and support of the Spirit would be absolute

foolishness. (Part Two will focus in detail on the spiritual

component of outreach to secular people.) Not only does the Holy

Spirit aid Christians in sharing their faith, He is also quite

capable of communicating directly to any human being regardless of

background! Rom 1:18-20, however, indicates that although the

Spirit's work is universal, it is generally quite limited in

content. Scripture and experience suggest that, as a rule, the

Holy Spirit does not function as a substitute for human effort (Rom

10:14).

Let's take Scripture as an example. Is the Bible based on

golden plates that came down out of Heaven? Word for word? No,

Scripture was given in the time, place, language, and culture of

1
Quoted in Donald Bloesch, The Christian Witness in a Secu-
lar Age (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1968), p.45.
 18

specific human beings. The knowledge, experience, and background

of the Biblical writers was respected. Paul, with his "Ph.D.",

expresses God's revelation to him in a different way than does

Peter, the fisherman. John writes in simple, clear, almost

childlike Greek. On the other hand, the author of Hebrews has the

most complex and literary Greek in all the New Testament with the

exception of the first four verses of Luke. In Matthew, you have

someone who understands the Jewish mind. He continually shows how

the life of Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures with which

the Jews were familiar (see, for example, Matt 1:22,23;

2:5,6,15,17,18). He uses Jewish terms without explanation. Mark,

on the other hand, reaches out to the Gentile mind. Jewish terms

are explained to his non-Jewish audience (compare, for example,

Mark 14:12 with Matt 26:17). The Bible writers constantly keep

their audiences in mind. Scripture is an illustration of the fact

that God expects us, and is even Himself willing, to reach out to

people where they are; to speak their language.

Perhaps even more significant than the unique writing styles

of the human authors of Scripture is the fact that God even

adjusted the content of visions in order to more effectively

communicate to the inspired prophet. The most striking example is

in the book of Daniel. There visions of similar content were given

to two people from completely different backgrounds. To

Nebuchadnezzar, the heathen king, God portrays the future world

empires by means of an idol (Daniel 2)! This Nebuchadnezzar could

appreciate, since he saw the nations of the world as bright and

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shining counterparts of the gods that they worshipped. For Daniel,

on the other hand, the nations of the world were like vicious,

ravenous beasts who were hurting his people (see chapter 7). God

spoke to each of them in language they could understand and

appreciate. God meets people where they are.

It is of interest that a century ago, New Testament Greek was

thought to be unique. It was quite different from both the

classical Greek of Plato and Aristotle and the Greek spoken today.

Some scholars thought that the New Testament had been given in some

special kind of Greek, perhaps a "heavenly language." Then someone

stumbled across an ancient garbage dump in Egypt. It was filled

with the remnants of love letters, bills, receipts, and other

products of everyday life in the first century. To the shock of

many, these papyrus fragments were written in the same language and

style as the books of the New Testament! The New Testament was not

written in a heavenly language, nor in the cultured language of the

traditional elite, but in the everyday language of everyday people.

God meets people where they are! The Sacred Word was conditioned

by the cultural frailty of human beings.

This is clearly articulated in Selected Messages, vol 1, pp.

19-22.

The writers of the Bible had to express their ideas in

human language. It was written by human men. These men were
inspired of the Holy Spirit. . . .
The Scriptures were given to men, not in a continuous
chain of unbroken utterances, but piece by piece through
successive generations, as God in His providence saw a fitting
opportunity to impress man at sundry times and divers
places. . . .
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The Bible is written by inspired men, but it is not God's

mode of thought and expression. It is that of humanity. God,
as a writer, is not represented. . . .
The Bible, perfect as it is in its simplicity, does not
answer to the great ideas of God; for infinite ideas cannot be
perfectly embodied in finite vehicles of thought.

There is an even greater example of how God chooses to meet

people where they are. When God Himself came down in human flesh,

he did not appear as a twentieth-century African or a medieval

Frenchman. He became a Jew, a first-century Jew, living in

Palestine, who talked in terms appropriate to the local language

and culture, who got dirty, hungry, and tired, who even at times

became frustrated, angry, and sad (see Mark 1:40,41; 3:4,5; 6:6;

10:13,14). God didn't choose to send us a Superstar, but one just

like ourselves. The incarnation of Jesus demonstrates the depth of

God's commitment to meeting human beings where they are in their

specific time, place, language, and circumstances.

It is this incarnational principle that motivated Paul in his

missionary endeavors. Paul's clearest reflection on the matter, 1

Cor 9:19-23, is also a mandate for secular ministry. Paul tells us

that it requires considerable sacrifice to reach out to people who

are different. The main reason we have little success with secular

people is because we haven't chosen to make that sacrifice.

"Though I am free from everybody,

I make myself everybody's slave,
in order that I might win all the more.
To the Jews,
I become like a Jew
in order that I might win the Jews.
To those who are under the law,
I become like one under the law,
not being myself under the law,
in order that I might win those
who are under the law.
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To those apart from law,

I become like one apart from law,
not being myself apart from the law of God
but rather under the law of Christ,
In order that I might gain those who are apart from law.
To the weak
I become weak
in order that I might win the weak.
I become all things to everybody
in order that by all possible means I might save some.
I do all these things for the sake of the Gospel
in order that I might become a partaker in these things."
1 Cor 9:19-23

Paul gives in this passage a mandate for secular ministry. A

mandate for reaching out to other horizons, for learning how to

speak to people where they are. And the bonus is that if we are

willing to make the necessary sacrifices, there is an excellent

chance that many more people will come to Christ than would

otherwise do so!

If God is so concerned to meet people where they are, why did

Jesus seem to deliberately confuse people in the giving of His

parables? (Mark 4:11,12) The answer is that Jesus spoke in

parables because of the resistance of the people to His message.

The parables were a means of bypassing their defense mechanisms to

introduce a seed of truth. In later life when circumstances

altered their resistance to Jesus, they might remember the parable

and grasp its significance. Thus, it was never Jesus ultimate

purpose to be obscure, but in many cases it was the only way to get

through to some people without bringing His whole mission into

jeopardy.
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To Finish the Work

There is, perhaps, an even greater reason to learn how to

reach secular people than that the Scriptures compel us to it. It

may also be the key to finishing the work. In the book Desire of

Ages, pages 31-38, there is a chapter entitled, "In the Fulness of

the Time". In that chapter the author explains that God spent

hundreds of years preparing the world for the coming of Christ. He

was working in the Greek world, in the Roman world, and in the

Jewish world, preparing people's minds philosophically for the

coming of Christ.

This description accords with the realities of history. In

all of known human history the era of the most radical religious

change occurred in the first millennium B.C. During this period

people in general moved from a devotion to what we would call

heathen religions (where religion was associated with the land and

the forces of nature) to the philosophical or world religions we

are familiar with today. All the great religions of today either

had their origin between 800-200 B.C. (Judaism, Zoroastrianism,

Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism) or are directly

dependant on those that did (Christianity, Islam, Sikhism). These

religions displaced the primal religions in all but isolated spots.

Ellen White well describes the restlessness that accompanied

this great shift in human relation to God: "At this time the

systems of heathenism were losing their hold upon the people. Men

were weary of pageant and fable. They longed for a religion that

could satisfy the heart" (DA 32). Ellen White was so impressed
 23

with the importance of this great shift in human religion that she

asserted that some of these great "pagan" religionists and

philosophers had received the "spirit of inspiration" from God! (DA

33)

Her statements become exceptionally interesting when one

discovers that those who study religion today are finding in the

current secularization process an almost exact counterpart to the

Hellenization ("making Greek") of the ancient world--the very

process that Ellen White was describing in that chapter.

Hellenization prepared the way for Jesus by creating a world in

which there was one basic language; Greek, and one overriding

culture; Hellenism (the culture originating in classical Greece).

In such a context, the gospel could spread like wildfire. If

secularization is the modern counterpart of Hellenization, could it

be God's instrument to prepare the modern world for the second

coming? We are told to expect that before Jesus comes the gospel

will be preached to all nations (Matt 24:14; Mark 13:10). It would

certainly aid that process if all nations were influenced by one

basic language and culture. And it's happening. There is one

major language in the world today, English. There is one increas-

ingly dominant culture, the secular culture originating in the

nations of the so-called First World. Secular culture is sweeping

the world through the visual and print media. One of the few

countries that has resisted the secular tide fairly successfully is

Iran. And there are already signs that Iran's resistance may not

last long.
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I shared some of these things with a student from Africa. His

response was, "This is of no interest to me. It's irrelevant to my

situation, that's a Western problem." About six months after he

got back to Africa, I received a letter from him. It was one of

those letters that I put in a special file I label "Personal

Encouragement". I put into that file the kinds of letters you want

to read over and over again when you're feeling down. He wrote,

"When I got back to my country they made me pastor of the church in

the capital city because of my master's degree. I have 26 Ph.D.s

in my church and everything you talked about is happening right

here. Thank God for Andrews University."

In the so-called third world, the secularization process that

has taken us 200 years may take only 20 years. My recent trip to

Africa confirmed this suspicion. With television and all the

influences of Western media and magazines, etc., secularization is

sweeping in so quickly that third world thought leaders hardly have

time to blink. Could this be part of God's plan to finish the work

rapidly? If so then the challenge to SDAs is very clear. If we

can learn how to reach secular people, we'll soon be able to reach
just about anybody if things continue the way they are now. This

topic, therefore, is of CRITICAL importance to the Adventist Church

today.
 CHAPTER TWO

An Adventist Problem

Diminishing Returns

Given all that has been said in the first chapter one might

still legitimately ask the question, "Do Adventists need to study

this topic? Surely a church growing as rapidly as the Seventh-day

Adventist Church doesn't need an overhaul of its evangelistic

methods." This is the point at which reality can become quite

painful. I want to make it clear, therefore, that I write this

book as a committed member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I

love this church--it's not just because I work for it, it is my

life. It has brought Christ to me. Nothing in this chapter is

intended to tear down or discourage. But we must also live in

reality. And the reality is that although Harvest 90 was tremen-

dously successful in many places (there were a total of two and a

half million baptisms around the world from 1985-1990), it is not

the whole story. We need to hear the whole story.

Reaching the world with the gospel involves two different

types of approach. One of these is growing the church; increasing

the number of members. Bringing the gospel to the world is a

sizable task. It requires an "army" of considerable size. Growing

the church as rapidly as possible helps to build such an army. We

have been quite successful at growing the church. As I write, our

25
 26

membership is approaching seven million around the world. But we

have been far less successful at the other type of approach;

reaching the unreached, approaching people effectively who have

never heard the gospel. The very strategies that may help to grow

the church may cause us to neglect people groups that are resistant

to the gospel because they seem to require much effort with little

evident result.

In the area of reaching the unreached we're having, at best,

limited success. Adventist work is growing rapidly in parts of the

less-developed world, and in some immigrant sub-cultures in North

America. But we are making very little impact on the vast majority

of people in this world. While Adventist work is exploding in

countries like New Guinea, the Philippines, and Jamaica, there are

also thirty-one countries like Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and

Afghanistan where there are few Adventists, if any, and no

organized body of believers. There are 17,000 distinct groups of

people in the world who have never heard the story of salvation,

who have no Bible, no church, and no Christians witnessing among

them. There are 2300 groups of more than a million people each
that do not have a single Adventist among them, much less an active

congregation. While "Global Mission" is beginning to focus our

attention on this reality, the work has only begun.

Although the United States is nominally a Christian nation,

Adventist work is growing in only a few population segments. For

example, during one year that I pastored in New York City, I held

meetings 3-4 nights a week for virtually the whole year. I was
 27

targeting white males in particular and was thrilled to baptize

about twelve with God's help. Then I got on the phone with a

friend of mine, who was a pastor in a neighboring church in the

Northeastern Conference, which specializes in ministry to African-

Americans. I had helped him that summer with a three-week tent

effort that resulted in the baptism of eighty-three people. When

he found out that I worked all year to baptize just twelve he

jokingly said, "What's wrong with you?" Was something wrong with

me? Perhaps not. After all, I had helped him with his tent effort

as well. I began to share with him how groups of people are not

equally receptive to the gospel. Suddenly, it became real quiet at

the other end of the line.

He said, "I just realized something."

I said, "What's that?"

He replied, "I just realized that we baptized 83 people and

not a single one is an American."

I said, "You see, you're beginning to face the same problems

in your community. It's just easier to ignore the problem as long

as you still have some receptive groups joining the church."

It doesn't matter if a person is black, Hispanic, or Asian,

after a generation or two in New York City, a decent income, and a

nice home in the suburbs, he or she is as impervious to the Gospel

as any white person in North America. This is underlined by the

results of a study of Hispanic evangelism in Southern California.

The Hispanic element of the church there doubled every three to

four years through the seventies. The study sought to discover

 28

what methods might be of general application. Instead it was

discovered that over a twenty-year period not a single third or

fourth generation Hispanic was baptized, unless they were already

married to an Adventist or had some other connection with the

church. The Church was baptizing only immigrants and the children

of immigrants. It is, therefore, clear that even in some of the

most receptive sectors of society, our impact is surprisingly

limited.

That impact is, of course, even more limited in other sectors.

A recent evangelistic innovation that has garnered some success is

Revelation Seminars. A massive attempt was made, therefore, to

reach large numbers of people in a suburb of a major city. The

suburb had a population of 60,000 and an average income of $100,000

a year, it was a prototype "Yuppie" neighborhood. A hundred

thousand dollars was spent on advertising and 40 pastors were

brought in to hold Revelation Seminars on nearly every block! The

result? A combined total of eight people showed up the first

night!

Contact was made with the marketing department at Andrews

University in an attempt to figure out what went wrong. With help

from the Donnely Marketing Corporation it was discovered that there

are 47 socio-economic groups in North America; from the richest of

the rich to the poorest of the poor. Everyone belongs to one of

those 47 groups--Madison Avenue has you pegged. If they can put

one of these 47 labels on you, they can tell you what kind of car

you drive, what kind of toothpaste you use, even the foods that you
 29

prefer for breakfast. It's uncanny--but they can do that. That's

how much we are like sheep. But the most interesting discovery for

our purposes was that among those 47 socio-economic groups, only

four or five Anglo clusters respond significantly to Revelation

seminars (another five to seven minority clusters also respond

well). Out of the 60,000 people in that suburban community only

twelve fit into one of those four or five groups. Eight out of

twelve is a tremendous response to advertising!

It is not my intention to criticize traditional methods of

evangelism. Most have functioned as long as they did because they

were very effective. In fact, quite recently a massive effort

involving some 60 Revelation Seminars in Seattle, Washington, a

highly secular metropolis, drew almost 3000 people. Methods that

are working with a given target audience should not be abandoned in

the process of targeting other audiences. If what you are

currently doing is effective, continue with it.

But in North America we are clearly facing a very serious

barrier to reaching most segments of our society with the gospel.

And that barrier is a problem of horizons. There are people out

there who are not responding to the Adventist message the way most

Americans used to respond. There are people for whom what we have

to say does not relate to life as they currently experience it, we

just don't seem to make sense.

Mistargeting the Message

A further reason that Adventists have difficulty reaching

secular people is the way we present our message. For example, the
 30

centerpoint of many traditional Adventist evangelistic series is

the Sabbath-Sunday issue. I have seen the issue placed as early as

the close of the very first week. That strategy has been effective

in many places. But what kind of signal does it send to the

secular person? "These people are into issues that are totally

irrelevant." The issue is certainly not irrelevant in the eyes of

God or of those who are in Christ. But to secular people there

couldn't be a more irrelevant issue than whether Saturday or Sunday

is the right day to go to church. They aren't even sure why anyone

would go to church at all, so a debate over the right day to go to

church sends a signal to the secular community that the meetings

are not worthy of their time and attention.

Adventists are also quite interested in what took place in the

year 1844 AD. But secular people very much live in the here and

now. If you hold meetings on the significance of what happened in

1844, they will consider it quite irrelevant. Again, the issue is

not irrelevant in itself, but it is certainly is not relevant to

where these people are. The message that we're used to giving

appeals to an increasingly limited audience.

Lest this appear totally heretical, it is necessary to

remember a little lady named Ellen White, who at the Minneapolis

General Conference in 1888 warned Adventists not to be afraid of

"present truth." What did she mean by "present truth"? Present

truth is that aspect of truth which is particularly relevant at a

given time and place. The reason I have written this book is

because I believe that within the Seventh-day Adventist belief

 31

system there is much that is "present truth," messages that can

communicate with power to secular people. Messages that can get a

whole community excited. We need to better understand what those

messages are. (In the first chapter of Part Three I will make some

suggestions of areas where Adventist belief is uniquely well

positioned to make an impact in the secular world.) But while our

message system may contain elements that appeal to secular people,

it is not self-evident in most places.

I do not want to be misunderstood. Traditional Adventist

evangelism is built on a long tradition and I certainly do not

suggest abandoning it. There are many types of people in the

world. In parts of the third world and some immigrant cultures in

North America, 19th-Century themes and approaches are working just

fine. They should be continued. But in so doing we need to

realize that we are inadvertently targeting certain types of people

and ignoring others. Without realizing it we may be telling

secular people that they are not welcome among us, that our message

is not relevant to them. Where it is clear that large segments of

a population remain unreached, approaches more compatible with the

mindset of the intended audience need to be tried. This book is

not a plea to abandon traditional methods but to supplement them

with new approaches that will welcome those who are not appealed to

by the time-honored approaches of past and present.

The Medium is the Message

A further barrier placed in the way of secular people is the

group-oriented approach of public meetings. The group approach is

 32

very efficient in terms of time and energy and has served us well

for many years. But secular people are rarely reached in groups,

they are usually reached best in one-to-one settings. This should

not surprise us. A study of Lake Union SDA Churches by Gottfried

Oosterwal (published in 1976) indicated that 85-90% of all baptisms

come primarily as a result of personal contact with a relative,

friend, or pastor. Public meetings, Adventist media, literature,

and journals are considered, by those baptized, to play a signifi-

cant role in less than one out of four cases. Secular people in

particular are even less likely to respond to a group-oriented

approach. Thus, we cannot expect It is Written or Voice of

Prophecy to reach secular people by themselves. Significant impact

in the secular world is largely the result of personal effort.

When it comes to spiritual things secular people tend also to

avoid the lecture approach. They prefer to question and explore

and ask troubling questions. They aren't the kind of people that

come to you and say, "What does your church believe? Give me a

list of beliefs and I'll sign the line at the bottom." When

secular people decide to become Seventh-day Adventists, they prefer

to have a part in their conversion. They want to negotiate their

way into the faith. They may say, "Well, all right, this is what

you're saying, but would it be OK if I express it this way?" Or

they may say, "Is it OK if I don't see this item as all that

critical to my personal walk with God?" They want to own their

faith.
 33

I'll never forget a lovely couple that I baptized in New York

City. Just before their scheduled baptism they looked nervous and

said, "You know, you've been really great in working with us and

stuff, but there's something that really bothers us and we don't

know quite how to tell you."

I said, "Well, what is it? Come on, you can tell me."

They said, "These baptismal vows, we read them and we believe

all these things, but, you gotta understand, all of our relatives

are going to be there and if you read these things just the way

they're written, they're going to think we've moved to outer space

or something! Do you think you could, maybe, rewrite them a little

bit?"

I didn't tell my President or my board about this, but the

Lord impressed me to go home and do just that. I wrote that the

Seventh-day Adventist message is based on two great insights: how

to relate to God, and how to relate to others. In terms of

relating to God, I talked about what Christ had done for us and

how, as a result, we gladly serve Him with all of our hearts. If

He asks us to worship on Sabbath, we worship on Sabbath. If He

asks us to tithe, we tithe. If He asks us to live healthfully, we

consider it a fun way to respond to what God has done for us.

I continued by saying that we also respond to Christ's

marvelous work for us by living lives of principle in our relations

with others. Such principles as modesty, economy, and faithfulness

illustrate the self-sacrificing love of Christ to the world. As I

shared these re-focused vows that Sabbath morning, I kept a close

 34

eye on some dear old German ladies that had been members for sixty

years, anticipating the worst. And after the service was over, I

saw this one lady coming right toward me, just the one I was

expecting! As I braced myself she said to me, "Pastor, I've been

in this church 60 years and I've never heard vows like that before.

That's the first time in my whole life that I've really understood

why I'm a Seventh-day Adventist!" And I said, "Praise God." (And

thanked Him privately also.)

Now I'm not suggesting that you should redo the vows for every

occasion. And if you do, be careful that you get them right! My

point is that when secular people come in, they want to have a part

in their conversion. They like to discuss and negotiate, which is

a different ball game than we're accustomed to. Such a process

certainly happens more effectively on a one-to-one basis than in a

large crowd. Adventists tend to be lecture-oriented but secular

people are more responsive when someone takes the time to listen.

Signals We Don't Mean to Send

Another problematic area for reaching people of a secular

mindset is worship. Though it may sound harsh to write it, the

typical Seventh-day Adventist worship service invites a secular

person not to come back. Did you ever bring a neighbor on

visitor's day in your church only to wish you hadn't?

Allow me to illustrate the problem. Let us say that you have

a nice home in a nice neighborhood, but your neighbors move away

and new neighbors move in. They seem to be decent people. Your

kids become friends and as a result you get involved together in

 35

some community activities. So you're a bit shocked the day you

find out that they're Buddhists.

Some time later your neighbor comes over and says, "You know,

you guys are really great neighbors. We've never had neighbors

like you. We really appreciate that. My wife and I were thinking

that there's something you need to know. Something that's really

central in our lives and that is our faith. And we were just

wondering, would you be willing to come with us to the Buddhist

temple next weekend?" And, of course, being a good Christian you

say, "Well, sure, sure, I'll be happy to." But your spouse's

reaction later on is, "You promised WHO? WHAT? NO WAY!"

Let us suppose that your spouse finally agrees to go through

with it. What is going on in your mind as you drive to the temple?

No doubt you would express your anxieties to each other. "I wonder

what it's going to be like? Do you think they might make us chant,

you know, get up and dance around going 'awh-wah-wah.' Wow, that

would be embarrassing! I've never chanted before in my whole life.

I wouldn't know where to start." Then your spouse says, "What if

they take up a collection and offer it to an idol or something.

Should we participate or should we just act like it's not happen-

ing?" And you add, "What if they have a card at the door to sign,

you know, and we get on some kind of Buddhist mailing list? Or a

priest comes by Monday night to give us Buddha studies or what-

ever."

What would your preference be at that moment? To turn around

and go home, right? But that would destroy your good relationship
 36

with your neighbors so that is not an option. What is the best you

could hope for? Wouldn't it be to go in to the temple quietly, sit

in a far corner, look around, see what happens, and when the

service is over, make a quick and quiet getaway? And hope that

nobody noticed you, right? But suppose it doesn't work that way.

Right in the middle of the service someone says, "Would all the

visitors please stand?" Wouldn't that be embarrassing? There you

are in the Buddhist temple, looking like new converts just ripe for

the picking, too embarrassed to move.

Can you begin to understand why secular people don't usually

feel at home in Adventist churches? What is the first thing we do?

As soon as they come in the door, they are expected to sign the

guest book or a guest card. One of the big things secular people

fear about church is pressure for commitment. They don't want to

be cornered into signing something that they might regret later on.

They certainly don't want to be embarrassed by being forced to

stand up in front of everybody and be the object of attention of a

room full of strangers.

Singing a hymn can also be a real barrier. Imagine everyone

around you singing at the top of their voices and you have never

even heard of the song. There are few things more embarrassing

than being in a group that is united in doing one thing and you are

unable to participate.

Secular people also intensely dislike manipulation. They

fear, for example, being "conned" into give something in the

offering plate when they would really prefer not to. Their settled
 37

view of churches is, "All they want is my money." Before they know

it the plate is coming by, and they feel that all eyes are on them.

Not long ago I asked my wife, an Adventist for almost twenty years,

why she always put a dollar from her personal "mad-money" in every

offering plate, since it had already been tithed, etc., as part of

the family's budget. Her response was that she feared the

embarrassment of being seen not placing anything in the plate! If

a pastor's wife of long standing is strongly affected by such

pressures, how deep an impact the offering ritual must make on

those not accustomed to being in church!

If there is one thing above all others that secular people

fear in a media-saturated age, it is boredom. Is it realistic to

think that a typical Seventh-day Adventist church service would be

of much interest to a secular person the first time they walk in?

Would it speak to anything of serious concern to them? If the

worship services in your church do not hold the attention of your

youth, they will bore the secular visitor as well.

The reality is that secular people are almost totally

insulated from Christianity. They don't read their Bibles or

listen to sermons. They don't read tracts that someone may press

into their hands. If they see a bumper sticker that says, "Honk if

you love Jesus" they don't feel like praying or repenting. They

just say, "There goes another nut with bumper stickers!" They

don't watch Christian television unless Jimmy Swaggert is making

another spectacular confession. The reality is that secular

people, perhaps 70% of Americans, are almost totally insulated from

 38

everything that we consider normal. When you really get to know

them, you realize they are not at home with these things. I am not

suggesting that we have to change everything before we start to

reach out to secular people. But we might as well realize that the

typical Adventist worship service will not be attractive to secular

people.

But don't take my word for it. If you want to know why

secular people are not comfortable in most churches, just ask a few

unchurched people why they don't go to church. If they feel free

to tell you the truth, their answers will usually fall into one or

more of the four categories described above.

I occasionally get to preach in a Congregational church. I

search through my notebook of more than a hundred sermons on

general topics and find that there aren't very many that I can

preach in that church without a lot of revision. As Adventists we

have our own in-house language. We have our own special way of

reasoning to a conclusion. Just the thought of ten secular people

walking in and sitting down in the church would drive the average

Adventist pastor to distraction. What do you say? And how do you

go about saying it? Seventh-day Adventists are certainly concerned

about finishing the work. But if we are serious about it, we will

need to learn how to speak to secular people.

 CHAPTER THREE

DEFINING THE SECULAR

How Secular People Think

What does it mean to be a secular person? How do secular

people think? At this stage it will be necessary to use a few big

words because they express in an accurate, scientific way the sort

of understanding shared by the professionals who have studied how

secular people relate to life and its basic issues. It can be

difficult to find simple words that accurately express serious

concepts. The following basic outline was first presented by

theologian Langdon Gilkey in his book Naming the Whirlwind, and was

later popularized by Tony Campolo in the book A Reasonable Faith.

The first word that describes how secular people think is

"contingency". The word "contingency" describes the belief that

everything in this world happens by cause and effect within the

historical cycle. In other words, nothing that happens in this

life needs to be explained in terms of supernatural intervention.

Everything that happens to a person is the result of some other

event within history and experience. For example, if I am a bitter

person, it is because of the way my parents raised me. If I am

rich it is because my parents are rich or because I worked hard.

Nothing is to be ascribed to divine intervention. And everything

39
 40

we do causes other things to happen without any supernatural input.

Another term for this way of thinking would be "naturalism."

Although we would be slow to admit it, many Adventists

function on a daily basis as though God did not make a significant

difference in their lives. We may say otherwise theologically, but

in practice most decisions are made more on scientific basis than

on what we perceive Scripture to be saying. The extent of our

modern dependence on scientific method can be seen when we realize

that Luther wrote a tract condemning Copernicus' radical view that

the sun is the center of the solar system, rather than the earth.

He felt that the new astronomy was out of harmony with Scripture.

Yet in spite of our respect for Luther I know of no Adventist who

would argue as Luther did. Science has clearly opened our eyes to

reality in ways Luther did not expect. But the blessings of

science have their dark side for faith. When a person's view of

truth is in practice limited to the reality of the five senses, God

is crowded out of that person's existence.

In practical terms, then, secular people live out their lives

within the boundaries of reality as their five senses experience

it. But in such a limited reality there is no inherent purpose or

meaning in life. If God is not available to direct them people

must take charge of their own lives. The second major aspect of

secular thinking, therefore, is called autonomy. Autonomy is based

on the Greek words for "law unto oneself." Autonomous people no

longer sense any need for God's direction. They retain for

themselves all the rights and privileges in decision-making that

 41

they once assigned to God. Meaning does not come down from heaven,

neither do the answers to my questions or the solutions to my

problems. It is up to me to decide what meaning my life is going

to have.

A person may decide, for example, that meaning ultimately

resides in how I am remembered after I am gone. This explains some

of the interest in the environment these days. If by my action,

the world is a better place for my children and my grandchildren,

than my life has not been lived in vain. (I am certainly not

opposed to environmentalism, but you can promote ecology for

secular as well as Christian reasons.) Others may reason that if

they found the right kind of job, or married the right kind of

person, or raised beautiful and well-behaved children, their lives

would be filled with meaning. Still others seek meaning in art,

music, travel, or literature. In the grand experience of great art

or musical composition they feel transported into a higher plane of

existence.

By contrast lives that are centered on drugs, crime, or the

selfish pursuit of personal pleasure at the expense of other

people, are considered to be meaningless, wasted lives. According

to this philosophy, I must decide what meaning my life will have.

The typical secular person also does not look to God or anyone else

to determine his or her destiny. Thus secular people are forced to

become autonomous, a law unto themselves.

Very closely related to autonomy is the concept of relativity,

our third basic concept. If there is no supernatural, and if human

 42

beings basically decide their own destiny, then meaning, values,

and truth depend on the situation. What is right for one person

might be wrong for the next person. Morality is a social contract-

-whatever the group can agree on becomes the basis for judging all

behavior within the group. Homosexuality could be wrong for one

generation, yet acceptable for the next. Sex between consenting

adults is fine as long as no one is overly shackled by guilt as a

result of some quaint notion of morality. In this way of thinking,

society creates morals, principles, and "truth" on the basis of

social and economic needs. If something is useful or enough people

practice it, it can be allowed or even encouraged. On the other

hand, relativity denies that there are objective morals and

principles that should control the development of society. There

are no absolutes. All values are relative and any moral system is

viable only for the group that creates it. Rather than speaking

about "truth" or right and wrong, secular people like to talk about

whatever is "right for you."

The power that the principle of relativity has over people's

minds is illustrated by the decreasing significance of lifestyle

standards among Adventists today. Church standards were based on

the concept that there is a God who is actively involved in

everyday life and who has the right to tell us what to do in even

the most personal and intimate areas of our lives. But once a

person begins to question, even unconsciously, God's active

involvement in human affairs, many personal standards lose their

primary reason for existence.

 43

The fourth and final principle is called temporality.

Temporality expresses the concept that this life is all that there

is. To the secular person, belief in the afterlife is an attrac-

tive concept, but is only wishful thinking, conjured up by those

who cannot face the fears and anxieties related to death and dying.

It would be nice to be able to genuinely believe in life after

death, but the secular person mourns the lack of any solid

scientific evidence for it. Since this life is all that such a

person can be sure of, it is advisable in this life to "get all the

gusto you can." This concept is strikingly expressed in a recent

athletic shoe commercial on television, "Life is short, play hard."

Temporality means that we arrive on this earth, we live for a

short time, then we pass on. There is no lasting significance to

anything that we do, there are no rewards or punishments after the

close of earthly consciousness. If temporality is valid, then

ultimately whatever a person chooses to do is all right as long as

he or she doesn't seem to hurt anyone.

This is not an isolated way of thinking. I remember speaking

to an Adventist pastor who said, "You know, you wonder sometimes if

everything is really going to end up the way we say it is. I sure

hope so. But ultimately, the only part of ourselves that we can be

sure will still be left behind after we're gone is our children."

I don't think this pastor was a perverse man, shamelessly living

off the godly expectations of others. He was simply being honest

at that moment about some of the doubts and fears that assail us

all at one time or another. But such questions illustrate the

 44

extent to which the secular mindset affects even those whose

lifework is dedicated to the advancement of the biblical approach

to life.

While these are the four basic presuppositions by which

secular people face the issues of life, the average person on the

street rarely thinks about these things, and certainly doesn't use

these terms to describe them, any more than you do. These

principles of thinking have been handed down to our generation as

an unconscious legacy which affects the way we face life in America

as we approach the 21st century. A secular person is certainly not

an atheist, someone who has consciously rejected religion in the

ultimate sense. The secular person may believe in God, yet is not

continually conscious of God's involvement in the practical matters

of everyday life. Ninety-four percent (94%) of Americans may

believe in God but 70% don't go to church. In Australia, where 85%

of the people say they believe in God--96% don't go to church! The

secular person is not an atheist, he or she is simply someone for

whom religion has become irrelevant at the practical level of

everyday experience.
I should probably avoid leaving the impression that all

secular people think exactly alike. As will become obvious in Part

Three, secular people are as diverse as snowflakes even though

there are some common patterns in the way they think. That

diversity, of course, is the inevitable consequence of autonomy and

relativity. If each person strives for meaning and determines

 45

values for themselves, there will be great diversity of belief and

lifestyle among secular people.

What Kind of People Become Secular?

What type of person is more likely to become secular? What

type is more likely to maintain faith? What characteristics place

one under the umbrella of secular influence? All other things

being equal, men are more likely to be secular than women. Observe

the typical SDA church located away from one of our institutions.

Among the adults such a church will often consist of two-thirds to

three-quarters women. I can think of churches of as many as a

hundred members that include only one or two fully committed men.

The rest were there because of their families or for some other

social reason. Recent research by the Office of Human Relations

discovered that women make up more than 75% of the entire member-

ship of some conferences. Now I am certainly thankful for every

woman who has responded to the call of God. But somehow in the way

we approach people, men are generally being turned off. Targeting

males may need to become a conscious priority. Without seeking to

neglect the spiritual needs of women in my congregation, I have

sought to make reaching men a priority throughout my ministry. As

a result the majority of my baptisms have been men, and usually

young men. But at times it required breaking the ministerial mold.

Perhaps a brief example will help. I tried to visit an

elderly shut-in member of one of my churches every couple of months

even though she lived with her son fifty miles away. The son had

resisted all attempts at his soul for thirty years, and was
 46

threatening to sue the conference over their handling of his

mother's trust account. I was unable to make a dent in his anti-

Adventist shell. One day on a sudden impression I asked if he

liked football. He did. I mentioned that I didn't have a TV and

would he enjoy it if I came some Sunday afternoon and combined a

visit to his mother with a football game? He seemed hardly able to

contain his enthusiasm.

When the day came he had ordered snacks, non-alcoholic drinks,

and set up a special chair for "his pastor." We enjoyed the game,

then I visited his mother and went home, not realizing what had

happened in his mind that day. On my next visit, he asked if I

could spend a little time with him after I had visited his mother

downstairs. When I came up, he broke down in tears, sharing his

fears for the future, and especially his fear of where he would end

up in the afterlife. Somehow the man who had driven fifty miles to

watch a football game with him could now be trusted with his true

feelings. I have rarely felt so honored as I did that day. I

wonder how many men I have turned off because I was to busy to

share in their "trivial" pursuits.

All other things being equal, young people are more likely to

be secular than elderly people. Again one can verify this

proposition by a look at the typical Adventist church outside our

educational institutions. All other things being equal, people who

live in cities are more likely to be secular than those who live in

rural areas. Well-educated people are more likely to be secular

than the poorly educated.

 47

The rich are far more likely to be secular than the poor.

This is partly true, at least, because the rich are in a position

to take care of their own needs to a large degree and may not feel

a need for God. But wealth also provides access to options and

opportunities, such as travel, that expose one to a variety of

secular influences.

People who travel a lot--who speak in Australia one week,

California the next, and teach in Michigan the rest of the time--

are more likely to be secular than those who spend a lifetime in a

single locality. Why is this the case? Because travel, much like

education, brings you into contact with a wide variety of people

and a wide variety of ideas. To use a simple illustration, in

Europe they have latches instead of doorknobs. The reaction of

many first-time American visitors to latches is, "Boy, these people

are stupid, don't they know how to make a doorknob?" Then after a

while you discover that latches are very useful. If your arms are

filled with packages, you can open the door with your elbow. Try

doing that with a doorknob! After a while you are no longer so

sure that the American way of opening doors is all that great
anymore. This is an everyday illustration of how it becomes

increasingly difficult to hold strong convictions in the face of a

wide variety of claims to truth.

For similar reasons, people who are constantly in the public

eye are far more likely to be secular than are people who live

secluded lives. Hermits do not get exposed to many different

ideas! We will notice that one of the best ways to maintain faith
 48

in a secular world is to schedule periods of "derived seclusion,"

otherwise known as devotional time, where the spiritual batteries

can get recharged for the battle of life. Public people need this

even more than most.

People who work in factories, by the same token, are more

likely to be secular than people who work in agriculture. On the

other hand, people who work in information industries--bankers,

computer programmers, teachers, etc. are far more likely to be

secular than someone who works in manufacturing. Unless drastic

measures are taken to prevent it, a mobile, public person who works

in an information industry is marked for secularization. Note the

following table which summarizes the above discussion.

==================================================================

FIGURE ONE

Secular Religious

4444444444444444444444444444;4444444444444444444444444444444
male 5 female
5
young 5 old
5
urban 5 rural
5
well-educated 5 poorly educated
5
rich 5 poor
5
mobile 5 stationary
5
public 5 secluded
5
industrial 5 agricultural
5
information 5 manufacturing

==================================================================
 49

Most people, obviously, do not fit one side or the other of

this profile exactly. There are many godly pastors on the secular

side of the profile. On the other hand, many secular people fit

the more religious side of the profile to a large degree. The

purpose of these comparisons is to identify the kinds of people who

are more exposed to secular influences than most. As we become

more aware of how secular thinking impacts on our lives as

Christians, we are better able to deal with the challenges of

secularization in a constructive way.

 CHAPTER FOUR

BECOMING SECULAR

How Society Secularizes People

Why is it that males tend to be more secular than females?

Why is it urban people tend to be more secular than rural people?

Why is it that public people tend to be more secular than people

who live secluded lives? It is because people on the left side of

the last chapter's profile are more exposed to the forces that

secularize people than are those on the right side, all other

things being equal. What influences in society cause people to

become increasingly secular? Three predominant influences can be

identified. These are scientific reason, pluralism, and privatiza-

tion.

First, and perhaps foremost, is scientific reason. In the

world we live in today most people make decisions and solve

problems on the basis of what we would call science and scientific

method. You observe a situation. You gather information about it.

You talk to other people who have experience in similar situations.

You may formulate an explanation for what you see and try to

experiment with some possible solutions to the problem you face.

In the end you put all the information together and you make a

decision. Whether you knew it or not, the process that you went

through in making that decision is known as scientific method. The

50
scientific way of reasoning affects everything we do and everything

we believe.

This is not the way people solved problems in biblical times.

When Daniel and his three friends faced an information deficit,

their first thought was prayer, not research. Instead of getting

the "think tank" together, and interviewing other wise men to see

what kind of information might help them satisfy the king, they

went immediately to their knees.

Now this is not to put down the tremendous benefits that have

come to us as a result of a scientific approach to problems. The

problem is, however, that science cannot deal with the supernatu-

ral, it can only operate within the realm of what can be observed

with our natural senses. It, therefore, has a natural bias toward

explaining what happens in life as though God either didn't exist,

or is uninvolved in the natural processes of life on earth. Since

science has rightly demonstrated that many phenomena once assumed

to be the action of God can be explained in natural terms, the

increasing credibility of science in the world has led to a

corresponding lessening in the credibility of religion.

Let me illustrate with an analogy drawn from small-town

America in the 19th-century Midwest. In such an Anglo-German

setting one would expect a Lutheran church on one side of the town

square and a Methodist church on the other. Let us imagine the

people in town were feuding over which church more accurately

reflected the will of God. One night lightning strikes the

Methodist church and burns it to the ground. What is everybody in

51
town thinking the next day? "Looks like God put His word in and

settled the matter, didn't He?" It was natural at that time to

explain everything that happened on the basis of God's direct

intervention. What, however, would happen to the faith of those

people when they discover that a little piece of metal placed on

top of that Methodist church would have deflected the wrath of God

and prevented the church from burning down? Because science often

"works" when faith seems to have failed, it makes faith explana-

tions less convincing than they used to be. What was once ascribed

to God can now be explained in terms of natural cause and effect,

"contingency." As God is more and more removed from everyday life,

people sense the absence of God and increasingly live as though He

did not matter.

The main difference between religion and science is the

difference between truth and reality. Being raised in a scientific

world, secular people see no difference between the two. Truth and

reality are the same thing. What do we mean by reality? Reality

is what the five senses can perceive: what you can see, what you

can hear, what you can taste, smell, and touch. That is reality.

But Christians believe that truth is bigger than reality. We

believe that beyond what you can see, and hear, and touch, and

smell, and taste, there are other realities that transcend the five

senses. Although we all make use of science every day, there is a

fundamental clash between the scientific world view and the

Christian one. When a cosmonaut circles the earth and says, "I

52
didn't see God or angels up there," he is denying truth on the

basis of perceived reality.

The more that people rely on science in their daily lives,

(and I mean science in the broadest sense--not just the physical

sciences, but also the psychological and social sciences), the more

difficult it is to maintain a truth that transcends. So scientific

reason leads to a lessening of faith in society as a whole. This

is not to suggest that Christians need to go back to a pre-

scientific world, such is neither possible nor practical. But we

need to recognize the powerful impact on faith that scientific

reason has had and continues to have in the Western world and

increasingly throughout the entire world.

A second major secularizing influence is called pluralism.

Pluralism means that there are many different religious persuasions

in society, none of them dominant. In nineteenth-century America

it was much easier to develop and maintain faith than it is today.

Nineteenth-century America was a lot like campmeeting--when you

come out of your cabin on campmeeting weekend, you experience the

invigoration of a unified belief environment. Everyone around you

basically believes the same things. When you meet someone on the
road you say "Happy Sabbath" and the other person replies, "Praise

the Lord, it's a beautiful day isn't it? Beautiful Sabbath." What

happens at that moment? Another human being has affirmed your

faith and your faith becomes stronger as a result. That is why

retreats have become so popular today. When we are with people

that believe as we do it supports and encourages our faith.

53
 Contrast the campmeeting experience with what happens to faith

out in the secular world. The first twelve people you meet may

represent thirteen different religions. Or non-religions. If you

were to say, "Happy Sabbath" they might reply, "Huh? What's a

Sabbath?" Such constant interaction with conflicting ideas has an

erosive effect on faith.

The concept of pluralism explains why higher education is

often destructive of faith, it exposes you to a wide variety of

options to explain most things in life. The positive side of

education is that it broadens your horizons and makes you better

able to reach different classes of people. The pastor who has been

to the seminary is able to effectively reach a greater variety of

people both inside and outside the church than one who hasn't, all

other things being equal. But the down-side of education is that

being constantly bombarded with different ideas will inevitably

weaken faith unless drastic measures are instituted to maintain it.

Education is not evil in itself, but it is certainly a two-edged

sword. A pastor friend located near a great secular university

told me that unless he gets into the dorms and contacts Adventist

students within the first three weeks after they arrive, he can
usually do little for them after that. In a mere three weeks they

have been overwhelmed with a universe of ideas they had never

before been exposed to. In three weeks their faith has already

crumbled and gone.

Pluralism means that there is little or no social support for

your faith in society as a whole. This lack of support produces

54
religious uncertainty. The more ideas you are exposed to the more

difficult it is to be certain that your favorite idea is the right

one. This explains why certain classes of people tend to be more

secular than others. Public people are constantly being exposed to

other people and their ideas. Mobile people are constantly running

into new ways of thinking and of doing things. Urban people are

constantly rubbing shoulders with all kinds of ideas and expres-

sions. Young people, of course, are more open to new ideas than

are the elderly. The more that our life experiences expose us to

various ideas, the more difficult it is to maintain faith.

It may be that the main function of Christian radio and

television is not evangelism, but providing spiritual reinforcement

for people who otherwise live in a secular environment. There is

certainly little evidence that most secular people listen to

Christian radio or watch Christian television. But in a pluralis-

tic age, Christian media can provide the "campmeeting" atmosphere

for people who are already religious. People may watch and listen

to reinforce their views rather than to learn new ones.

The third major influence that produces secularization is

called privatization. Privatization means that it is increasingly

considered inappropriate to discuss religion in public. Religion

is confined more and more to people's private lives and experi-

ences. A familiar saying comes to mind here, "There are two things

you don't discuss in public, religion and politics." Religion only

makes the news when it has become a matter of secular interest: a

pastor slept with the wrong person, or stole something out of the

55
offering plate. But religion as such is considered a private

matter.

I'll never forget the NBA championship series of a few years

ago. The Philadelphia 76s won the series and the television media

rushed to interview their star player, Julius Erving, better known

as "Dr. J." As he was still dripping sweat from the game, they

asked him, live on national television, "What is the source of your

personal strength? What kind of support system enables you to not

only be a great athlete, but a gentleman who cares so much about

other people?" Without hesitation he responded, "There are two

things, first of all is my family. I give great credit to the role

my wife has played in my life. But even more important, I have

given my life to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. He is the

center of my life and deserves the credit for every good thing I

have done both on and off the court."

He went on for some time on this theme to the obvious

discomfort of the interviewer. The network could do nothing about

it! It was live television and editing was impossible. At that

moment Dr. J had transgressed the unwritten norms of secular

society. He seized his only chance to reach the millions who

thought of him as a hero and role-model and offer the message that

life is not in basketball, but in Jesus Christ. But what he did

was socially unacceptable in secular society. You don't talk about

religion in public. And I have not seen a live interview of Julius

Erving on television since!

56
 The church no longer dominates society. It is not a major

player in the public sphere. Politics, education, and economics

serve secular goals rather than religious ones. And this privat-

ization, this moving faith into the closet, is a factor that makes

faith seem increasingly irrelevant to everyday life.

We live, therefore, in an age of "secular drift." No one

plans to become secular, it usually happens gradually in one's

experience. Scientific reason, pluralism, and privatization

quietly take their toll. People continue to "believe" in some

sense, but without strong convictions and without a spiritual

outlet in some organized group experience such as a local church.

As a result of these trends, the structures of society provide less

and less support for a religious interpretation of life.

Religious convictions become unstable and relative, seeming to be

merely matters of preference.

One response to secularization (which destroys the relevance

of the past and hope for the future) is escape into the present.

An "eat, drink, and be merry" lifestyle of sports and entertainment

become a religion of the self which takes the place of church in a

person's life.
Another response to secularization is escape into a group that

protects itself by separation from the world. Such groups run the

gamut from fairly orthodox Christian "self-supporting" groups to

dangerous cults that turn normal people into social and religious

zombies. Whatever the type, the community becomes a refuge of

peace in a messed-up age.

57
 The most typical response to secular drift is to plunge into

the world as it is. If this world is all there is, its tasks and

problems are sufficient to absorb all one's attention. Prayer and

worship seem like escapes which waste time that could be put to

good use transforming society. Knowledge is obtained by reason and

research, rather than revelation. Secular people seek to create

their own values, sets their own goals, and look to God for neither

support nor judgment.

Secularization in itself is a fairly neutral thing. On the

positive side, by fostering education, science, and toleration,

secularization has bettered the lives of many, including Chris-

tians. In discrediting superstition, it has made it more difficult

for people to hide from their true needs by means of religious

systems that deny reality.

But on the negative side, secularization destroys faith in a

number of ways. It makes truth seem relative or irrelevant. It

crowds out the spiritual aspects of life in the struggle for

secular goals. Furthermore, since secularization has removed the

church from the center of life in most places, the church often

fails to get the attention of the very secular people who are
actively seeking spiritual solutions to life's problems.

Is there any way to avoid the forces of secularization without

falling into the trap of denying or escaping reality? In a media-

saturated age it is extremely difficult. Although secularism is

not a denomination, the most persuasive evangelist that ever lived

is preaching a secular message. And secular evangelistic meetings

58
have been held in nearly every Seventh-day Adventist home. I am

talking about the visual medium of television.

TV is the most powerful agent of secularization. Through the

television scientific reasoning, pluralism, and the privatization

of religion bombard homes everywhere. Adventists used to teach

that it is necessary to move out into the country to get away from

the evil influences of society. So I moved out of New York City

into a little town of 300 people, seven miles from the next town.

But every morning I watched about 20 kids vandalize my yard while

waiting for the school bus. Bring a television into a country

setting and the kids grow up with all the latest ideas, fashions,

drugs, and violence. Country living is not what it used to be

because of the media and related influences. Television has become

the "wild card" that can bypass aspects of the secular-influence

profile charted above. Television can provide, in one's own living

room, the mobility, the urban environment, and the powerful

exposure to ideas that used to be available only to those on the

left side of the profile.

Many people are concerned about the sex and violence on

television. And these are valid concerns. But there is plenty of

sex and violence in the Bible as well. I translated 2 Samuel 7-21

from Hebrew once. It was mind-boggling. David's court was

saturated with political intrigue, sexual antics, murder, and rape.

But there is a major difference between the Bible and TV. The sex

and the violence in the Bible illustrate the consequences of

opposing God or living contrary to His laws. The real problem with

59
television is that it glorifies life apart from God. When was the

last time anybody prayed and got an answer on prime-time televi-

sion? When did anyone pay tithe to acknowledge God's ownership of

their lives? When was witnessing portrayed as a positive and

valuable part of a person's life? The major shaper of philosophy

in our world today is a little box in people's homes. But it does

not portray life as Christians experience life.

The big problem with television is that it saturates our minds

with images of lives in which God does not play a part. Problems

are not solved by prayer and the study of the Scriptures but by

human ingenuity, skill, and luck. I remember turning on the

TV in a motel once and seeing a program called "MacGyver." The

unarmed hero is being chased through the back country of Montana by

eight Arab terrorists armed to the teeth with machine guns, armored

vehicles, and rockets. If I were in his shoes I would pray

earnestly, and so would most people, churched or not! That is the

one thing MacGyver doesn't need to do, because he has ingenuity,

skill, and some luck on his side. With botanical insight he

creates explosive and poisonous weapons out of plants and wipes out

the whole bunch without sustaining so much as a scratch! Now this

may all be innocent fun in a way, but a steady diet of such

material sends a subliminal message that a relationship with God is

not relevant to life and its problems.

I am not suggesting that all Adventists must remove the

television set from their homes. We have not as a church taken

such a stand. Neither am I suggesting that there is some great

60
Hollywood conspiracy to pervert our morals. Television simply

portrays normal life as its secular creators perceive normal life.

But every Christian needs to be aware that whatever gets your

attention gets YOU. If you spend more time with the television set

than you do in worship and Bible study, you are in great danger of

drifting into secular ways of living and thinking. Especially if

your profile indicates that you are vulnerable to secularization,

you need to ask yourself what kind of impact your entertainment

style is having on your faith.

How Adventists Become Secular

Before we begin to talk about solutions to the problem of

secularization, it may be helpful to look specifically at the

process by which an Adventist can become secular. As with gaining

weight and growing up secularization does not normally happen

overnight, it is usually a lengthy process. Adventists rarely just

get up one day and walk out of the church. Most Adventists DRIFT

out of the church gradually over a period of time. They may

continue to believe the basic teachings of the church, but

progressively become less and less involved in religious matters on

a day-to-day basis. For convenience we will call the process by

which an Adventist moves from deep commitment to secular detachment

secular drift.

The first step in the process of secular drift occurs in the

private prayer life. In its very secrecy, private prayer is the

ultimate personal barometer of spiritual commitment. Prayer is the

first thing to go, and even pastors are not immune to secular

61
drift. To be candid, I have had pastor's wives tell me, "My

husband hasn't prayed in twenty years except in public." While

such cases may be extreme, few Adventists do not admit to at least

some struggles in this area. Don't think that an uphill battle for

a meaningful devotional life is unique to you. It is a consequence

of being Adventist in a secular world. The most immediate impact

of secularization is felt in the prayer life. How many of us can

say that in our private lives, when no one else is looking, we walk

as closely with God as our public profession might indicate?

The next area affected is usually the study life, although for

some, especially pastors, Bible study can continue for a long time

in the absence of prayer. But while Bible study may continue in

such cases, it tends to have less and less personal significance.

It is simply something one does as a ritual or because it is part

of a job description. Meaningful personal study and prayer can

become absent from a person's life for years and yet no one else

knows, except maybe a spouse. The pastor may well be the last one

to know that an elder's personal walk with God is a thing of the

past.

The third step in secular drift occurs when personal standards

ob behavior begin to erode. This step may be the first that anyone

but your spouse will notice. It is virtually impossible to detect

that someone else is struggling in the inward spiritual life unless

God chooses to reveal it to you. Although He has occasionally done

that for me, it is not His normal procedure. Spiritual distress

sends up its first public signal when personal standards begin to

62
slip. I realize that standards are a big issue right now in the

church and I do not wish to address the issue of which standards

are appropriately enforced in a local church and which are not.

But as a pastor I have discovered that when a person has believed

for a long time that a particular action is wrong, and suddenly

acts in a contrary manner, it tends to be a red flag that screams

out, "I'm in spiritual trouble."

Let me use a controversial issue among us just to make a

point. Although the Seventh-day Adventist Church does not enforce

any standard against the wearing of wedding rings, many Adventists

sincerely believe that a wedding ring is not in harmony with God's

will for them personally. I have learned from experience that when

a person has believed for years that they should not wear a wedding

ring and one Sabbath shows up with one, it is often an indication

that the individual is in serious spiritual difficulty. This does

not suggest that the wearing of a wedding ring is inherently

related to spiritual difficulty. The point I am seeking to make is

that whenever there is a significant change in personal standards

it can flag the presence of secular drift. Other early warning

signs of secularization can include such areas as the way one

relates to the tithe, social drinking, and choices in entertain-

ment.

The fourth step tends to be slippage in church attendance.

You wake up one Sabbath and say, "Oh, it's such a beautiful day,

let's go to the mountains." Now you may on occasion have a very

good reason to skip church. But as part of the process of secular

63
drift, slippage in church attendance becomes a very public

indication that the earlier steps in the process have become quite

advanced. Slippage in attendance is usually quite gradual. First

you miss once a month, then it's twice a month, and then you start

coming only every other month and then finally, it is just seems to

be more trouble than it is worth. After a while you don't even

miss it.

The fifth step in becoming secular is to begin to doubt the

Bible itself; to doubt the afterlife, to doubt whether there really

is a God. You pick up the Bible and it is as if a voice in your

head is saying, "What are you reading this for, it's just ink on a

page. This is a book like any other book." That is secularism.

That is the result of the natural influence of our society, which

leads us away from God and a believing relationship with His Word.

The sixth and final step in the process of secular drift is an

increasing distrust of institutions. This includes a lack of

loyalty to religious institutions of any kind, for example, the

institutions and authority structures of the Seventh-day Adventist

church. "No one can tell me what to believe. Nobody can tell me

what to do." The most interesting thing about this aspect of

secularization is that it is often seen most strongly in groups

that are sometimes characterized as "right wing," groups which

would be quick to deny that secularism could have any impact on

them. In spite of this denial such groups tend to manifest some of

the same consequences of secularization as their more "left-wing"

counterparts. Either extreme may signal dnager, but "right-wing"

64
Christians are usually either less aware of it or less willing to

admit it. Since I brought the subject up, I might as well say that

I believe every church needs two wings to fly--a left wing and a

right wing! The point I am attempting to make is that, in their

increasing distrust of Adventist institutions, the so-called right-

wing Adventist groups betray that they are far from immune to the

influence of secularization.

I'll never forget the pastors' conference where I was speaking

on this subject and the President of the conference was sitting to

one side of the group. I made the comment, "I'll bet that your

President doesn't feel like he gets half the respect from you that

he gave to his conference president when he started out in the

ministry." It was as if I had pressed a button: he shot up in the

air and said, "You listen to this guy! You listen to this guy! He

knows what he's talking about! You wouldn't believe what I have to

go through. You wouldn't believe the mail that comes across my

desk. Hate! Hate! Hate! And often in four-letter words! And

from people who pride themselves in their conservatism." He went

on like this for about half an hour.

In my experience, what that president said was true. Some of

the most conservative people now tolerate truly bizarre behavior in

the name of truth. Satan has subtly spun his web of secularism in

both "wings" of the church, hampering our ability to fly together,

and largely preventing a positive influence on the world. We are

all affected by secularization regardless of our theological

preferences. The scary thing is, the less you are aware of secular

65
drift, the more spiritually dangerous it becomes. Disrespect for

religious authority, whether one recognizes it or not, is the

natural outgrowth of contingency, autonomy, and relativity, the

philosophical products of the secularization process.

Now secular drift does not always take place in the exact

order described above. In special circumstances the order may be

altered or even reversed. For example, if a person is embittered

by some real or perceived action on the part of a church institu-

tion, attendance and loyalty may be affected immediately while

prayer, study, and standards linger on for a great while, perhaps

even a lifetime. On the other hand, a young person newly exposed

to a secular university may abandon the entire spiritual life in

such a brief time that the very levels of secular drift can hardly

be discerned. What I have shared here is the most typical order in

which the process occurs, usually over a fairly lengthy period of

time.

People often tell me that my description of secularism and

secular people sounds a great deal like most Adventists today, not

just the so-called "backsliders." I have never intended a

deliberate comparison. But the more you become acquainted with

Bible-believing Christians of other faiths, the more you suspect

that Adventists may be more secularized than the average Christian.

If so, secularism has wounded us more than once, it has not only

made it more difficult for us to communicate with those who are not

Adventists in our communities, it has sapped our own faith as well.

66
 In the previous century Adventists saw themselves as a reform

movement within the larger Christian church. Most of the people

they worked with did not need an emphasis on Christian spiritual-

ity. So their emphasis was on assembling logical and reasonable

arguments that would persuade people intellectually that they

needed to pursue their spirituality along different lines than they

had previously. In a world full of Christians, this worked out

reasonably well for a generation. But by the year 1888 this

approach resulted in an entire generation of Adventists who knew

the arguments but were losing touch with a personal God. And in

spite of the power of the message that was born in Minneapolis in

1888, to this day Adventist distinctives tend to get more emphasis

in most circles than does a living relationship with God.

In a secular world an intellectual faith is no longer

sufficient to guard against secular drift. Adventists, therefore,

are crying out more and more for a living walk with God, for a

taste of His presence. A doctrinal construct by itself may not

touch the heart. In Part Two I will try to offer some helpful

insights in how to activate and personalize our walk with God in a

secular world.
We may summarize the first part of the book by noting that the

secular worldview has hurt Adventists in at least three distinct

ways. First, it has made it more difficult to communicate what we

believe to others. It has hurt our evangelistic impact in the

world. Second, it has, as we have noticed, been extremely damaging

to individual faith. We ourselves often feel that we are losing

67
our way with God. And third, it has resulted in great frustration

to the Adventist organizational structure. Being an administrator

in the Adventist church today is, if you'll forgive the expression,

a hellish experience. A president dreams of a finished work, but

everything attempted only seems to make the situation worse. One's

best attempts just aren't good enough anymore. And it is secular-

ization that has clipped the church's wings so that it works

against itself.

Part Two moves us now into a discussion of the most vital

issue facing us as a church, how to maintain faith in a secular

world. You cannot share what you do not have. Part Three goes on

to discuss how to share faith in a secular world. Because I am

neither gifted nor experienced in administration, I hesitate to say

a great deal about the administrative consequences of recent

developments. Nevertheless, my study and experimentation has

raised ideas that may be helpful to those in administration. A

section in the Appendix to this book offers some tentative

suggestions on how to more effectively administer the church in a

secular world.

68
 PART TWO

KEEPING FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD

 CHAPTER FIVE

NOT FOR EVERYONE

Biblical Examples

Our look at the impact of a secular society on Adventist faith

forces us to take a careful look at the issue of how one maintains

faith in a secular world. How do you maintain a strong relation-

ship with God when your neighbors, yours friends, and your family

are all pursuing lives directed primarily by secular interests?

Although there was no such thing as a full-fledged secular

environment anywhere on earth in Biblical times, the narratives of

how several biblical figures responded to radical faith challenges

may help us develop an answer to the above question.

Daniel attended the "University of Babylon," and became Prime

Minister in the Babylonian court. The culture and religion of the

Babylonian court was not only totally foreign to Daniel, it was

also extremely hostile. In Prophets and Kings, pages 479-490,

Ellen White has some fascinating suggestions on how Daniel

maintained his faith in that challenging situation. A similar

situation to Daniel's is that of Joseph in Egypt. The basic

circumstances are the same. Joseph stands alone in a foreign

court. Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 213-223, wrestles with how

Joseph maintained his faith in prison as well as in Pharaoh's

court.

Ellen G. White cites Enoch (Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 84-

89) as a particularly interesting example of how to respond to

69
 70

challenges to one's faith. Enoch spent half his time in the

mountains and the other half in the valleys and cities. What was

he doing in the mountains? He was recharging his spiritual

batteries so that he could come out and deal effectively with the

everyday world. He repeated this cycle over and over again. We

noticed in Part One that people who travel a lot and live public

lives are far more likely to be secular than those who live

stationary, secluded lives. Since being a hermit is not a live

option for most of us, it becomes necessary for public people to

carve out periods of seclusion where they can become re-centered on

God. Enoch was creating what I like to call "derived seclusion."

He was a public person in the valleys; he was standing alone for

God in a very godless age. He found it needful from time to time

to separate himself from that society to restore his spiritual

vision. Enoch moved back and forth between two ages. He was a

person who was able to live in two different horizons at the same

time. In his particular case it was a mountain horizon and a

valley horizon. In his double life Enoch becomes a model for

secular ministry.

Radical Conservatism

At the risk of being misunderstood I will try to put a label

on Enoch's style of ministry. The ideal philosophy of life for

those interested in reaching secular people for Christ is what I

call "radical conservatism." I realize that the term "radical" may

offend some people, but I use it for lack of a better word to

describe the kinds of steps inspiration suggests are necessary in

 71

order for us to reach out to other cultures. Radical-conservatism

sounds like an absolute contradiction in terms, doesn't it?

Actually the Bible is full of apparent contradictions in which both

parts of the equation are true and necessary. For example, Christ

is 100% human, yet He is also 100% Divine. In terms of pure logic

that is an impossibility, but it is true because the Bible clearly

teaches both sides of the equation. We're saved by faith apart

from works, yet we're not saved without works. For centuries

logical people have tried without success to resolve this tension

in the Scriptures, but without logical success. If you concentrate

on faith, you may find yourself overlooking some passage on works.

If you concentrate on getting your performance act together, you

may find yourself boasting more in your accomplishment than in what

Christ has done for you. Life is filled with constant battles of

this kind.

It is certain that such battles will only escalate when you

seek to reach out to secular people. The only way that a committed

Seventh-day Adventist can effectively function in the secular world

is through a lifestyle of radical conservatism. The radical has to

do with how we reach out to secular people; the conservate has to

do with how we maintain our faith in the course of that outreach.

This part of the book focuses on the conservative part, how to

conserve and even build up faith in a secular environment. The

next part explores the radical aspect, how to effectively reach

people who find your world to be totally incomprehensible.

At this point we need to return to 1 Corinthians 9 because

 72

that is the key Biblical text for our topic. Paul was an example

of a radical-conservative. The radical part comes in verses 19-23.

"Though I am free from everybody,

I make myself everybody's slave,
in order that I might win all the more.
To the Jews,
I become like a Jew
in order that I might win the Jews.
To those who are under the law,
I become like one under the law,
not being myself under the law,
in order that I might win those
who are under the law.
To those apart from law,
I become like one apart from law,
not being myself apart from the law of God
but rather under the law of Christ.
In order that I might gain those who are apart from law.
To the weak
I become weak
in order that I might win the weak.
I become all things to everybody
in order that by all possible means I might save some.
I do all these things for the sake of the Gospel
in order that I might become a partaker in these things."

No doubt it was statements like this that got Paul in a lot of

trouble from time to time (cf. Acts 21:17-21; 2 Cor 1,2; 2 Pet

3:16). And I must admit the implications of this passage are as

challenging to me as they may be to you.

Paul offers in this passage a strategy for winning more souls,

for reaching more kinds of people. Why does Paul do it? "For the

sake of the Gospel," "to win all the more," as many souls as

possible. Any way you look at it, it is a radical strategy. I

wish Paul were here so I could ask him in modern terms, "Paul, what

did you mean about 'being all things to everybody?' How does a

Seventh-day Adventist Christian relate to such a text in the

contemporary world?"
 73

As I was discussing this text in class one day a student

raised his hand. His name was Clifton Davis, a converted Hollywood

actor whom I grew to appreciate a great deal as a human being.

When I acknowledged his signal, he said, "I just went to visit one

of my old friends in California. You have to understand that in

much of Hollywood society, drugs function in much the same way that

coffee does elsewhere in American society. It sets the context for

relationship, it fuels the conversation. So this friend invites me

to join him in the back room behind his operation. Like so many

times before he offered me a reefer (marijuana cigarette). Would

Paul have advised me to take it? What does 'all things to

everyone' really mean? You have to understand that to refuse an

offer like that, given our past relationship, was to set up a

serious barrier between us. Would Paul have accepted?" (Clifton

hadn't.)

My purpose in mentioning this story is to illustrate how

following Paul's counsel will sometimes put the Christian in

delicate circumstances. Given the spiritual danger that lurks

everywhere in the secular world, why would a Christian place

himself or herself in even greater danger in the attempt to reach

out to others trapped in that secular way of life? Paul's answer

is clear: "I do all these things for the sake of the Gospel." 1 Cor

9:19-23. The gospel is the message that Jesus Christ did not

remain in the isolation of His comfortable heavenly neighborhood,

waiting for us to rescue ourselves. He came down, became one of

us, reached out to us in our own world, a world that was hostile to
 74

everything He stood for. He thereby did for us what we could never

have done for ourselves. When Paul acts "for the sake of the

gospel," he seeks to bring to the lost the great blessings which

Christ had brought to him. In light of the great salvation he had

already received, he is compelled to go. Thus, in 1 Cor 9 he calls

on Christians to follow his example of reaching out to the lost in

"radical" ways.

I use the term "radical conservatism" because it illustrates

well the tension that outreach to secular society creates in the

life of a true Christian. On the one hand is the critical need,

through faith, devotions, and a consistent Christian lifestyle, to

get our own spiritual house in order. A settled focus in that

direction often attracts the label "conservative" or "right wing."

On the other hand, when we go out to do secular ministry we will

inevitably be facing difficult choices, visiting places, and doing

things that might make conservative Christians uncomfortable. It

is hard to do that without being labeled "liberal" or "left wing."

I illustrate this tension by means of the term "radical conserva-

tism."
It is inevitable that the person seeking to minister to

secular people within an Adventist context will be misunderstood.

An excellent example is the television ministry "Faith for Today"

which produces the Adventist program Lifestyle Magazine. Faith for

Today has great difficulty raising funds from Adventists because

the program is aimed not at the Adventist audience, but at a more

secular audience. Lifestyle Magazine seeks to approach secular

 75

people where they are. In so doing, however, Faith for Today often

finds it difficult not to alienate its own financial support base.

The conservative reaction against secular ministry must,

however, be taken seriously. The crucial point of this section of

the book is that reaching out to people in the secular environment

is an activity that can place the Christian at risk. I must level

with you on this point, and I intend to level with you throughout

this book. Ministry in a secular context is dangerous to your

spiritual health. Because of this I must make clear at this point:

it is not for everybody. Not every Christian should seek to make

a major difference for Christ in radical ministry to a secular

world. Many Adventists had better stay "in house" for their soul's

sake and leave it at that. Why bother to write this book then?

Because thousands of SDAs have felt the call to make a difference

in the secular world, to make a difference among secular friends,

neighbors, and family. And because the Bible makes clear that it

needs to be done.

Secular ministry can be a very frightening thing. Every day

in the secular world you are faced with unpleasant choices. And
they are rarely easy choices. I absolutely hate coffee; the few

times in my life when I--whether by accident or knowingly--have

drunk some coffee, I got a headache almost instantly and it stayed

with me in each case for a long time. So, I don't touch the stuff

by choice--anytime, anyplace. However, I also realize that coffee

has become the fuel of secular relationships. And I know that at

times refusing a cup of coffee has created a barrier in a relation-

 76

ship that I was never fully able to overcome. I have met people

who are more skilled than I am at declining things so graciously

that it doesn't seem to cause any trouble, but even they confess

that knowing what to do in such situations is always a challenge.

Life is simplest when we can choose between good and evil. But in

the secular world we are more often faced with choices between two

evils or two goods. Such times require tough and courageous

decisions.

A rather scary Biblical example is the story of Esther.

Please do not confuse Esther with Daniel. The circumstances were

similar, but their responses were quite different. While I can

understand that you sometimes have to alter Biblical stories a

little to protect the innocent, I am a little disappointed that I

had to read the book of Esther in the Hebrew before I realized that

she didn't become queen as the result of a beauty contest. The

Hebrew clearly says that on her contest date she left the house of

the virgins to see the king. The next morning instead of going

back to the house of the virgins, she goes to the house of the

concubines. Do you follow what was going on there? Esther earned

the queenship by a one night stand with the king--she was better

than anybody else in bed. She was probably beautiful also, but the

king could have determined that without spending the night.

Did she maintain all the standards of the "church" while

living as the queen? Definitely not. How do we know? Mordecai

had commanded her not to reveal her faith to anyone in the court.

And the king is surprised to learn many years later that she was a
 77

Jew. You could not practice the Jewish lifestyle in the court of

Persia without being known any more than Daniel could. You would

eat differently, as Daniel did. You would live differently. You

would keep the Sabbath. Esther wasn't keeping Sabbaths, she wasn't

eating as a Jew eats. In a practical sense she had given up the

faith. But perhaps the most troubling thing about it is that there

is not a word in the book of Esther that condemns her for doing so.

Instead, she is described as being in the place where God wanted

her to be when the time was right. I don't know how this affects

you, but it was some pretty heavy stuff the first time I noticed

these things.

Now I am certainly not writing this book in order to tell

everyone to go out and do what Esther did. Please don't misunder-

stand me. The opposite is the case. The point I am making here is

that God sometimes has agendas that we don't fully understand.

Many SDAs are very critical of Clifton Davis for returning to

Hollywood, and exposing himself to the dangers there. But when I

see the example of Esther, I have to confess that sometimes God is

bigger than we are, and more tolerant than we are. And God can
sometimes use methods that we couldn't use to reach people that we

couldn't reach. I find all this most challenging in my own

experience. I am a very conservative Adventist by nature--I don't

even let my daughters play with Barbie dolls although all their

friends do. That's conservative, wouldn't you say? There are

reasons. Research indicates that an obsession with Barbie dolls in

childhood is probably tied in with low self-esteem in teen-age

 78

girls, after all nobody is anatomically constructed quite like

Barbie. Kids growing up with Barbie as an ideal have trouble being

satisfied with the "imperfections" of their own bodies. And that

can create other problems in later life. I believe that everyone

that God made is beautiful in at least some way. I protest at

anything that makes us rebel against the way God made us.

I'm a conservative guy. My family does not have a television

in the house, we haven't had one for the nearly twenty years my

wife and I have been married. I am probably going to ridiculous

lengths to make this point because I don't want to be understood as

destroying the foundations of Adventism, that is the opposite of

what I intend. But we Adventists need to broaden our vision, we

need to understand that God is BIGGER than our narrow horizon. And

that God can use people, and use methods, that we would not even

dream of at times. In 1 Cor 9 Paul is outlining something very,

very radical. We must be extremely careful in the implementation

of his counsel. But Part Three of this book offers some tested

ideas on how to implement Paul's counsel within an Adventist

context and with the result of reaching greater numbers of people.

The purpose of this part of the book, however, is not to

understand the radical part of Paul's counsel, but to get at the

kinds of conservative attitudes and practices that are mandatory to

the success of secular outreach. It is spiritually dangerous to

read 1 Cor 9:19-23 out of context. In verses 24-27 Paul makes it

crystal clear that secular ministry is as dangerous to spirituality

as anything gets. Verse 24-25:

 79

"Don't you know that those who run in the stadium all run,
but only one gets the prize.
So, run, that you might attain.
But, everyone who strives athletically,
exercises self-control.
Athletes do it to receive a perishable crown
but we are striving for a crown that will never fade."

Now the perishable crown Paul was talking about was the laurel

wreath that was placed over the heads of the winners at the

Olympics--it was the ancient version of a gold medal. "All these

athletes," Paul is saying, "are knocking themselves silly for a

gold medal. That is all they will get. But the Christian is

striving for a medal that will never tarnish--a medal that will

last for eternity." What is Paul's point? If athletes can

exercise self-control to such an extent for a gold medal, what

should we, who are looking for an eternal crown, be doing to make

sure of our own salvation? So alongside the radical Paul places

the conservative. You cannot separate the two or secular ministry

will not work.

Paul presses the point home in verses 26-27:

"Therefore,
I run,
but not uncertainly.
I box,
but not as one who is beating the air.
So I give my body a black-eye
and make it my slave,
lest having preached to others
I myself should become disqualified
for the prize."

Paul must have enjoyed sports, for they often illustrated his

points. In this case he is running and boxing, but he isn't just

shadow-boxing or running in circles, it all has a purpose. In his

outreach to the world of his day Paul became "all things to

 80

everybody"--a very radical concept. He realized, however, that it

was a dangerous thing to do. He realized that evangelism is a two-

way street. You not only share, but you also learn. When you are

dealing with secular people, there is a lot of give and take and

you will be changed by it. Though you may never drink a cup of

coffee, you will still be changed by continual encounters with

secular people for evangelistic purposes. Paul recognized that and

said it was essential that those who go out to minister in this way

see to their own house, their own body, and their own soul. They

need to go into rigorous training, much as Olympic athletes do.

Two Models of Ministry

On account of the dangers in secular ministry it is not

surprising that the Bible describes two major models of ministry.

Secular-type ministry is not for everyone. There are many people

whose soul is at too great a risk to try it. If you are one of

those people, read what I have written here, try to understand

what's going on, but do not feel obligated to go out and do exactly

what Paul did. Certainly not what Esther did!

The two Biblical models for ministry can be found in Matt

5:13-16. Verse 14 uses a figure of speech to describe the model of

ministry with which Adventists are most familiar: "You are the

light of the world; a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid."

A hilltop city is very visible, it is beautiful, and people are

attracted to it: "Let's go visit that place. Let's see what's

going on there." The city draws people in, its presence is an

attracting factor.
 81

This metaphor of ministry is sometimes called the "fortress

model." This is the typical Adventist model of outreach. Just as

the lighted cities on the hillsides around the Sea of Galilee

functioned as beacons guiding those fishing on the lake at night,

the Adventist church has functioned as a prophetic beacon to

society. A fortress-city has walls around it to protect those who

are inside from the dangers outside. Every so often, the inhabit-

ants of such a city may send out the army to conduct a "crusade."

They open the gates quickly, rush out to snatch up a few captives,

bring them back in through the gate and slam the door. That is the

fortress model of ministry.

While the Seventh-day Adventist Church has, in the past,

tended to focus mainly on the fortress model, Jesus offers more

than one model of ministry. The other model opens up new dimen-

sions of outreach to those who have felt like round pegs in a

square hole in some of the more traditional approaches. Notice the

text:

"You are the salt of the earth.

But, if the salt has become tasteless,
how will it be salted again?
It is not good for anything anymore
but just to be thrown out
and trampled under foot by people."
Matt 5:13

"You are the salt of the earth." What kind of ministry model

is this? How does salt do its ministry? It mingles with the food

and disappears. It becomes part of the crowd, so to speak. But as

a result of that ministry, what happens? The food tastes better.

The salt has an effect upon the whole. It is a quiet ministry, an

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infiltration ministry. But the "salt model" of ministry takes one

outside the walls of protection. Matt 5:13, therefore, underlines

the same message as 1 Corinthians 9. If the salt becomes tasteless

it will no longer function as salt. It can no longer accomplish

anything by infiltration.

That is what radical conservatism is all about. The radical

means being scattered out there, mingling with the people where

they are. Adventists are not like that by nature. We prefer the

other model of ministry that Jesus talks about in verse 14. There

is nothing wrong with the fortress model. It is a valid option,

according to Jesus. Both fortress-city and salt models are valid--

both of them are needed. I'd like to suggest that "finishing the

work" outlined by Jesus' Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) involves

two tasks. One of those tasks is growing the church, because it is

only as the church grows that it can develop the work force

necessary to go out and reach the unreached. The SDA Church has

now grown to nearly seven million in numbers, larger than the

combined military of both the United States and the former Soviet

Union. Growing the church has progressed significantly. But the

other task which must be done is reaching the unreached. It is not

enough simply to grow a big church, the gospel must go to all the

world as a witness to all nations (Matt 24:14).

What adds complexity to the issue is the fact that the two

models of ministry can work against each other at times. An

outreach activity that effectively brings in people from certain

sectors of society may completely stymie outreach to another

 83

sector. Let me illustrate. Church growth theory suggests that it

is crucial to get everyone's name and address at the door, make

sure you welcome them publicly, then make sure you visit them

Sunday night right after their first visit to the church service.

That is church growth theory. And it works well, for example, for

people who are already Christians. A good growth program will

usually attract Christians from other churches to your church. And

there is nothing wrong with that. A little competition makes

everyone better. But, as we saw previously, these very things that

may help grow a church can turn off the secular people who might

come.

I remember a quiet, sweet lady in New York City who came out

month after month to every outreach meeting our church held.

Everything that I had been taught suggested that I needed to get

into her home as quickly as possible. Something in the way she

carried herself, however, signaled to me that this was not a good

idea. But after some six to eight months, I developed a serious

case of ministerial guilt for not visiting her in her home. It was

time to do what I had been taught was right, even though I retained
the nagging suspicion that in this case it was not right. I parked

my car near the neat duplex where she lived. Although every light

was on in the apartment where she lived, there was no answer to my

repeated ringing of the bell. She never came to another meeting.

I had violated an unwritten code of secular privacy. It was one of

God's first signals to me that there was more than one right way to

do ministry.
 84

Paul and James are good examples of these two models of

ministry. Paul tried to be "all things to all people." James, on

the other hand, stayed in Jerusalem and kept the fortress together.

He boasted to Paul about the thousands of Jews in Jerusalem who

were observing the law instead of doing all the radical things that

Paul seemed to advocate. "You know, Paul, people around here are

wondering if you're still a Christian. What are you going to do to

put a stop to these rumors about you?" (see Acts 21:17-25)

It is seriously inaccurate to suggest that life in the early

church was paradise compared to today. As I told my wife after our

first and only visit to Hawaii recently, "One thing is for sure,

there's no place on earth called Paradise." Hawaii is a beautiful

place, but no place could live up to the incredible expectations

that people have when they go there. It gets cold there occasion-

ally and the surf isn't always great. And sometimes the fish bite

you (at least it happened to me) and you get scratched by the coral

under the sea. There is no place on earth called Paradise! In my

opinion Paradise is being wherever God wants you to be and making

the most of it.

So it was with the early church. Paul and James had real

disagreements. If one reads Acts 21 carefully in the original

language it becomes clear that when Paul paid his last visit to

Jerusalem he was welcomed gladly by only a handful of people.

These were probably the remnants of Stephen's ministry as described

in Acts 6. But the vast majority of believers in Jerusalem were

hostile to Paul or at least suspicious of his intentions. In Acts

 85

16 and Gal 2 we find that even among the apostles there were

tensions. In Gal 2 Paul and James decided to shake hands and go

their separate ways. "You do ministry your way and I'll do it my

way." It may be that we ought to make similar kinds of agreements

today. "You have a 'fortress-style ministry,' the Lord is calling

me to a 'salt-style ministry.' I need you to pray for me and you

need me to pray for you; I will encourage you and you can encourage

me."

One can find a similar contrast in ministry styles between

Jesus and John the Baptist. John the Baptist lived out in the

wilderness. He had nobody to preach to unless they were somehow

drawn to him. Jesus worked on a different basis. He lived, at

least for a while, in Capernaum, He mingled with the people, He

went from city to city, He met them where they were.

Compare Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was out there in the

wilderness, eating raven's food, drinking mountain water. Elisha

lived in town. He was as comfortable in a king's court as in a

farmer's dwelling. While Elisha dressed in ordinary clothes,

Elijah dressed in a wild-man's outfit. You could say that he had

his own unique dress code. It is no coincidence that Adventists

often call our mission the delivery of an "Elijah message."

We have a choice, we can say "God has not called us to secular

ministry. We have been called to a John the Baptist/James/Elijah

type of ministry." That is one option. It is certainly the option

most familiar to SDAs. But if God has truly called us to reach all

people everywhere, we cannot ignore the need to broaden our

 86

approach. It would not be the first time. We started out just

ministering to former Adventists, then we broadened it out to

include people who had not heard the Millerite message, then we

broadened it out to foreign-language speakers in America, and

finally J. N. Andrews went over to Europe, and the gospel began to

go out to the world on our terms. I wonder if it is not time for

the fifth step--to take the Gospel to the world on its own terms,

as the missionary couple in New Guinea did, and as Paul outlined it

in 1 Cor 9.

Selected Messages, volume 3, pages 231-234 contains statements

called to my attention fairly recently by a good friend in the

General Conference. Until I read this portion of her writings I

had the impression that Ellen White was interested in only one kind

of ministry, the fortress-style. She advocated separation from the

world with a special dress code and so forth. As a result, the

following passage absolutely shocked me:

"It would be perfectly safe for our youth to enter the

colleges of our land if they were converted every day. Now shall
professed Christians refuse to associate with the unconverted and
seek to have no communication with them? No. They are to be with
them, in the world and not of the world. Not to partake of their
ways, not to be impressed by them, not to have a heart open to
their customs and practices. Their associations are to be for the
purpose of drawing others to Christ."
3SM 231

Now that sounds like secular ministry to me. Although several

Adventist colleges had already been established at the time this

statement was made (1891), she was not talking about Adventist

colleges, but about secular campuses. One could rephrase her

statement in contemporary terms: "It would be perfectly safe for

 87

our youth to enter the secular colleges of our land." Four years

later she repeated the call:

"Those who have the Spirit of God, who have the truth wrought
into their very beings, should be encouraged to enter colleges and
live the truth as Daniel and Paul did."
3SM 233

Perhaps you can now understand the surprise with which I

greeted these statements. Selected Adventist youth should be

ENCOURAGED to enter secular colleges. She elaborated on this

further as published on page 234 of 3 Selected Messages:

"There are those who after becoming established, rooted, and

grounded in the truth should enter these institutions of learning
as students. They can keep the living principles of the truth and
observe the Sabbath. And yet they will have opportunity to work
for the Master by dropping seeds of truth in minds and hearts.
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, these seeds will spring up
to bear fruit for the glory of God and will result in the saving of
souls."

I do not want to be misunderstood. I am a strong believer in

Adventist education, I teach at one of our Adventist institutions.

I think that our schools are the best place for most Adventist

young people. There are selected young people, however, those who

have their act together as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, whom

she suggests ought to be encouraged to infiltrate secular campuses

for Christ. Such a secular ministry is certainly not for everyone.

But that does not mean that selected ones should not be encouraged

to go. Ellen White was keenly aware of this dilemma:

"I scarcely dare present this method of labor, for there is

danger that those who have no connection with God will place
themselves in these schools, and instead of correcting error and
diffusing light, will themselves be led astray."
3 SM 234

At the risk of repeating myself, let me say it again, secular

 88

ministry may be dangerous to your spiritual health. The last thing

I want is for every reader of this book to run out and lose their

souls. It is not safe unless the person is spiritually prepared

for the ordeal. "There is danger that those who have no connection

with God will place themselves in these schools and. . . be led

astray." Shall the danger cause us to reject this method of

ministry? Notice how Ellen White's statement continues. "But this

work must be done and it will be done by those who are led and

taught of God." Paul was compelled to do it. Jesus and Elisha

were compelled to do it, and many who read this book will be

compelled to do it. But before the radical must come the conserva-

tive, because if you do not have your act together as a Seventh-day

Adventist Christian, your attempts to reach secular people will

fail. And you may lose your own way in the process. Effective

outreach to the secular world must begin in the privacy of one's

own walk with God.

 CHAPTER SIX

COMMUNICATING WITH GOD

How is it possible to maintain faith in a secular world, the

kind of faith that will result in successful outreach to secularly-

minded people? The place to start is in the devotional life. It

is the devotional life that provides the derived seclusion from the

secular environment that allows one's spiritual life to flourish.

It involves coming apart from the world every day for some time

with the Lord. As we noticed earlier it is weakness in the

devotional life that is the first step on the road of secular

drift. It causes one to wonder why we don't spend more time in

devotion, why the devotional lives of so many Adventists are not

more energizing than they are.

We tend to live very noisy lives. Even pastors spend their

lives running from one thing to another, from one idea to another;

from one situation to another; from one emergency to another. And

if it is like that in the pastor's study, it is usually even worse

at the conference office. We need desperately to slow down. We

need desperately to reflect. We need desperately to take stock.

I am contending here that this is our greatest need. If you do not

have a living relationship with God, please don't try to reach

secular people. If you are as secular as the person you are trying

to reach, you are on the same spiritual level. Like cannot elevate

like. You cannot help a secular person to find God if you do not

know Him for yourself. Now it may be that in helping someone else

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search for God, you might find Him for yourself. So don't turn

down opportunities to witness. But never try to develop a radical,

secular-style ministry if you do not have a living relationship

with God. It will not work.

Those ministers, evangelists and church members who do win

secular people succeed because they have a living relationship with

God even when they are not aware of the best methods available.

When I was pastoring in New York City in the late seventies and

early eighties, I remember a place called Living Springs, a self-

supporting institution that may have had little idea of the kinds

of concepts discussed in this book, but they loved the Lord and

somehow, in their special way, they succeeded in reaching selected

secular people that nobody else was reaching. I once sent a

hardened street kid up there to deal with some substance abuse

problems, and although he was somewhat critical because they seemed

out of touch with life as he knew it, he nevertheless decided to

commit himself to Christ and the church because of the spiritual

warmth and familial atmosphere of the place. A living walk with

God is certainly a basic asset in anyone seeking to reach secular

people. Secular ministry must begin in the devotional room.

In what follows I would like to offer a number of practical

suggestions that have helped me to maintain and develop a living

walk with God in the face of the inevitable dangers of secular

drift. These suggestions are not primarily gained from the reading

of books, but from personal experimentation and trial. They are

offered not as a cut-and-dried formula that everyone must follow,

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but rather as a smorgasbord of ideas from which the reader can

pick and choose as may seem appropriate in his or her individual

circumstances.

The Study Life

It is absolutely essential to Christian experience that the

devotional life center on the key issues that affect a person's

everyday experience. To be devotionally useful, reading must be

relevant to present experience, to things that matter in practical

terms. Our study lives need to be centered on things that matter.

What are the greatest concerns and needs in your life? To center

study on matters of lesser concern would certainly be a mistake.

Genealogies and prophecies may be of intense intellectual interest,

but they may not offer practical guidance for the issues of the

household, the workplace, and the neighborhood.

Since a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most

relevant of all spiritual concerns, I would like to suggest that

devotional study needs to focus on Jesus. He needs to be the very

center of our study life. To illustrate in terms of the writings

of Ellen White, I have found it helpful to limit myself devotion-

ally to the books in the Conflict Series (the five books that cover

the broad scope of the Biblical story, running from Patriarchs and

Prophets to The Great Controversy) and to the Jesus books. By

Jesus books I mean those which center on the life and teachings of

Christ, such as Christ's Object Lessons, The Ministry of Healing,

Steps to Christ, and Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing. In fact,

at one time they were all going to be part of the book Desire of
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Ages but it just got too big. So Ellen White divided the material

into a book on the life of Christ, a book that focused on His

healing ministry, a book on the Sermon on the Mount, a book about

the parables of Jesus and a book that focused on practical living.

My personal favorite for devotions is a toss-up between Christ's

Object Lessons and Ministry of Healing. The first hundred and last

hundred pages of Ministry of Healing are, in my opinion, the very

best that Ellen White ever wrote. As we focus on Jesus, our

devotional life will be energized. The best place to develop a

relationship with God is to learn to know Jesus.

The amazing thing to me is that, even in our devotional life,

we have a tendency to set secular goals. For example, when I

started out in my devotional life, I would say to myself, "Let's

see how many pages I can read in the next hour." In devotional

reading, the most important thing is to discern God's voice to you

personally, not to accomplish the task of completing a certain

amount of pages, or mastering a certain amount of information. If

it takes a whole hour to meditate on one sentence, so be it. The

devotional life is not the time and place to rush. Take your time;
go no further or faster than you are able to understand what you've

been reading. Allow the reading to sink in--let it impact in the

very core of your being.

In the process of devotional study, I have found it helpful to

have some kind of place where you write down the insights that God

gives you as part of your devotional experience. The reason for

this is that people forget what they don't write down. If you are
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really into the computer age, it may even work well to have a

laptop computer at your side as you work through your devotions.

I remember a couple of occasions where my heart was so filled with

joy and insight that I grabbed the laptop and spent more than an

hour recording insights that I have treasured ever since. The new

generation may find laptops a more relevant way to maintain faith

than to use a mode (paper and pencil) that is increasingly foreign

to the rest of their lives.

I would not limit devotional note taking, however, to the

spiritual insights that result from one's reading. I have found it

extremely meaningful to spend time with what I call a "spiritual

diary." Most of us live "unreflective lives," we rarely stop to

think, "What am I really doing from day to day? Does it make any

real difference in the world? Am I sensitive to the Lord's

leading? Is my work effective for the Lord? How am I raising my

children? Was I the kind of father I wanted to be yesterday, or

were there some real flaws in the way I dealt with my children?

What are my most important needs right now? How would God want me

to meet them?"
Most of us take very little time to reflect on our lives. But

the fact of the matter is, if you don't keep score of your life you

will repeat the same errors over and over again. At times when I

have neglected my spiritual diary, I can go three to four weeks and

not even be aware that I have been exhibiting a nasty temper around

the house, for example. Without regular self-examination, you

drift into counter-productive behaviors with the same ease that you
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drift into secularism. If every day we would take time to sit down

and reflect on the previous day and say, "Did I give glory to

God?," there would be an amazing growth of self-awareness. We

would begin to see things in ourselves that everyone who knows us

can see, but we are blinded to ourselves. (Perhaps someone should

write a book entitled All the Things You Ever Wanted to Know About

Yourself--But Were Afraid to Ask.) To write down these things in

a diary and to meditate on them is to learn how to see oneself the

way God sees us.

Virtually all the great spiritual giants, like Wesley, Luther,

and Ellen White, kept diaries most of their lives and they are

filled with little tidbits of how God had helped them to understand

themselves and the world in which they accomplished work for God.

God may impress us that we didn't handle a particular situation

very well the previous day; a letter or word of apology may be in

order. Or it may become evident that a child or spouse has not

received the kind of attention that they need, and a reorienting of

schedule is in order. Or you may become aware that feelings of

bitterness related to home or business are undermining your

usefulness as a Christian. A spiritual diary is probably the best

way to prevent oneself from drifting into unproductive behaviors.

Since we live in the hurry-up world of the information age, it

will benefit some to discover a marvelous side-effect to the

keeping of a spiritual diary. When we stop and reflect upon our

lives, the workaholic atmosphere most of us live in day by day

begins to calm down. Although it may take 45 minutes to an hour,

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the brain waves slow perceptibly from the usual 10,000 RPMs down to

idle. It really works. Taking the time to reflect on the past 24

hours and on what God is doing in your life can really stop you in

your tracks. Of course, you are probably thinking, "Who's got an

hour? I certainly don't." I would be the first to admit that I

struggle with the issue of time, but there are no spiritual

substitutes for reading and reflection. Although they take

precious time, they are worth every minute.

A Life of Prayer

The prayer life is certainly an area of great difficulty for

most Adventists in a secular age. I would like to share some ideas

in this area, not in terms of a right way or a wrong way to

maintain a meaningful prayer life, but in terms of practices that

have helped me a great deal. If you have found a better way to

commune effectively with God, praise the Lord for it. And by all

means share it around--I too will be eager to listen. But if your

prayer life is not what you would like it to be--and the general

silence that usually sets in when I talk about prayer publicly

indicates to me that it is an area of great concern for most

Adventists--let me share with you what has helped me.

The attitude in prayer has varied through the ages. By

attitude I mean whether or not you are on your knees, whether your

eyes are open or shut, whether you fold your hands or put them

behind your back, or raise them up in the air. These kinds of

things are more cultural than they are specified in terms of God's

absolute will. When it comes to prayer, I am a pragmatist--if it

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works, use it. A careful look at the prayers described in the

Bible indicate that there is no one right prayer attitude, God is

interested above all else in communicating with us, so whatever

aids that process is a blessing.

You may not have the same difficulties in prayer that I do,

but I find that when I close my eyes and pray silently, my mind

wanders almost instantly. I have no idea what causes it, but the

minute I close my eyes and try to pray, my mind is off in all kinds

of directions and fifteen minutes later I realize that I have been

in another universe for fifteen minutes. I sometimes totally

forget that I am in prayer. If I didn't know that many people have

the same problem, I would probably be reluctant to discuss this in

a public way. But if you can relate to my problem I am glad to

report that I also have a solution. The solution for me is to pray

with my eyes open! To me that has made all the difference. And

frankly, if you read the Bible carefully, you'll discover that many

people prayed with their eyes open. Even Jesus is described as

lifting up His eyes to Heaven when He prayed (John 11:41). If you

have difficulty focusing your mind in silent prayer I would suggest

that you find a special prayer location and then focus your eyes on

a particular spot. It could be the carpet, or the pattern in the

material of a couch, or it could even be a picture of Jesus.

Whatever it is seems less important than having a focal point. I

find that a visual focal point helps me to concentrate my thoughts

and direct them to God. If something else works for you, that is

fine, but I have found that when I close my eyes, it doesn't work.
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In a media age, we may all need some help in developing our ability

to concentrate.

Another thing that is very helpful is to write out one's

prayers. It is amazing what the process of writing does to help

concentrate you mind on the reality of being in the act of prayer.

Take a notebook, and a pencil or a pen, and sit down and construct

a carefully worded prayer to God. Some computer wizards may again

find a notebook computer the most relevant way to do this.

Let me illustrate the importance of the writing process to the

way people focus on a task. I have made it a personal policy never

to accept a major speaking appointment without a written letter of

invitation. I do this because I have found that when I have only

a verbal agreement over the phone all kinds of things go wrong. I

can arrive in a place only to discover that the people who invited

me had completely forgotten the appointment. But selective memory

can be even more embarrassing. On one occasion I was asked to be

the speaker for a college graduation overseas. The contact person

kept calling and calling and calling. Against my better judgment--

because I was going to be there anyway--I accepted the appointment.

Despite repeated requests, he never wrote me a letter, never

communicated in writing. When I arrived for the graduation

ceremony, he discovered that he had not ordered an academic robe

for me. Everybody from the President on down was wearing the

typical robes, all except the speaker! Why? Because the contact

person never thought of it. If he had sat down to write me a

letter, he would have had to think, "Well, what do we each need to

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do for this thing to work out? Can the speaker bring his robe, or

do we need to order one for him?"

Shortly after that a conference official in the United States

called me five times over a period of fifteen months to try to get

me to come to a workers’ meeting, and I said every time, "Write me

a letter." I refused to agree to a date without him taking the

time to put it in writing. Finally, Andrews University gave me an

excuse to play "hardball" with him. I said, "We have a new policy

at the University, you have to write the President and ask him for

permission to talk to me." Only then did the letter finally get

written. In terms of focusing the mind on the full implications of

a task or request there is no substitute for sitting down to write.

Many of the spiritual greats throughout the ages have written out

their prayers, and it is now possible to read them. Many of the

Psalms in the Bible are written prayers. Godly people sat down and

wrestled to formulate what they wanted to share with God. The most

important things in life are worthy of that level of attention.

Whatever the method or the attitude in prayer it is important

that our inner prayer life focus on the things in life that matter
the most to us. One reason that prayer may seem irrelevant to

everyday life is that the crucial elements of everyday life are not

brought forward to God while in the attitude of prayer. Discuss

with God the very things that the journal has revealed are of

utmost concern to you at a given time. Share with Him the events

of the previous day. Share your concerns about the implications of

those events. If the only prayer you know how to pray is in behalf
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of the missionaries and colporters all over the world, etc., your

prayers may border on the vain repetition that Jesus warned about

in Matt 6.

Prayer at the devotional level needs to touch base with the

deepest needs of life. We can tell God the things that we cannot

tell our spouse, or even a psychiatrist. What better person to

unburden your heart to than to Someone who knows all about you

already and yet loves you just the same. Psychology has a role to

play in helping many Christians deal with life's major issues, but

psychology WITH prayer is even more effective than prayer or

psychology alone.

While you have a pad in front of you to write out your prayer,

why not let God answer the prayer? I find it amazing how rarely I

give God the opportunity to answer my prayers. So often my prayer

life goes something like this, "Dear Lord, I'm busy today so I'll

have to be quick. These are the things that bother me, I hope you

know about so-and-so, be with the missionaries and colporters,

blah, blah, blah! OK! Gotta run now. Amen!"

It reminds me of my well-known friend, Sam Bacchiocchi, the

world's most lovable Italian. I'll never forget the time that I

called him to get a "yes" or "no" answer to a question. He picked

up the phone and I said, "Sam, this is Jon Paulien." "Oh, I'm so

glada you called! I wanna tell you abouta my new book. It's a

book about da Sabbath. A wonderful book about da Sabbath. In

backa you finda these Sabbath recipes, Mama Mia, my wife she make

a lasagna like-a you wouldn't believe, you gotta have these recipes
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and give them to alla your friends. . ." He went on for 15

minutes like this and then all of a sudden said, "Well, I won't

take up any more of your time. Goodbye." Click. I had to dial

the phone again and say, "Sam, I have a question for you."

Now I like Sam--we are friends. And he wouldn't be half as

much fun if he tried to change his personality. But I mention this

incident to illustrate that we often don't let God get a word in

edgewise. Try this sometime. When you have finished praying, stay

on your knees. Pull the pad in front of you, pick up your pencil

and wait. You have put yourself in tune with God, you have

examined your life, you have grasped a clearer picture of Jesus in

your devotions. You have talked to God about the things that

matter most. You have asked for His presence with you. You are

now in a position to receive. So write down whatever comes to

mind. Sometimes the thoughts that come may seem silly. But do not

try to evaluate them at once, treat it as spiritual brain-storming.

As a result of this kind of activity, there have been times when

God has planned my whole day. Someone will come to mind--"Oh,

yeah! I haven't thought about that person in weeks. Maybe I

should give him a call--see how he's doing. Or maybe I should drop

by and visit." The exciting thing is that when I carry out these

impressions, I find that the contact came at just the right moment,

just when it was needed. God is willing and eager to guide us day

by day.

I believe that this is an element we have lost somewhat as

Adventists. We have a relatively intellectual and secular

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religion. We know about God, we talk about God, we talk about the

Bible, but when do we really talk to God and let God talk to us?

When do we let God speak to our personal needs? When do we let Him

speak to our hearts? When do we let Him guide our lives? I

realize that there is potential danger in this. I am well aware

that impressions can come from the devil. But I also know that a

person who has walked with God for twenty years can gradually learn

to know God's voice as opposed to other voices. After all, didn't

Jesus indicate that his "sheep" would know and follow His voice?

(John 10:4,5,14-16,26,27)

The only way to explain the incident in which Abraham was

commanded to sacrifice his son Isaac is that God knew Abraham would

recognize who it was that was speaking to him. The command was

directly contrary to Scripture. If Abraham had been an Adventist

he would have ignored the voice because it spoke contrary to

Scripture. But Abraham wasn't an Adventist so he went ahead

anyway. Why? Because he knew it was God's voice. How did he

know? Because he had been talking to Him for years. Gradually he

learned to distinguish God's voice from other voices and from the
voices of his own natural desires.

This is the kind of relationship God wants to have with each

of us, a living and active relationship. It is also the kind of

relationship that will move a secular person out of his or her

world. One reason that Adventists seem less effective at reaching

secular people than many other Christians is because we have become

secularized ourselves. As a result we have a hard time elevating

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secular people to an experience that we ourselves do not have.

People will not sacrifice the trappings of secular existent for

anything less than a living faith that is self-evidently superior

to what they already have.

The great tragedy of Adventism is that not only are we secular

ourselves, but we are enmeshed in a religious language and culture

that is totally foreign to secular people. We are secular, yet we

have great difficulty communicating with secular people. What a

tragedy! Lost in both worlds! Missing in action on both counts.

And more an more of us are saying that it just is not worth the

trouble anymore. The fact that many of our best and brightest no

longer see anything worth clinging to in Adventism compels me to

appeal that it is not too late. We can learn how to get our own

spiritual house in order. And then we can learn how to communicate

with secular people. As we do both and in the proper order, we

will reclaim many who have dropped out, along with many others who

will find a spiritual home for the first time.

There is one final aspect to prayer that I would like to

emphasize. In a busy and depressing world, I often need to take

time for some "thank therapy." There are times when the only way

to maintain a positive attitude in life is to spend some inten-

tional and planned time every day thanking the Lord for what He's

done for me. I learned about this from the ministry of Glenn Coon.

He suggested, "Take some time every morning to write down ten

things that you're thankful for." The goal is to pray through this

list from time to time throughout the day as needed. He underlined

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the importance of making this exercise as practical as possible.

"Thank you Lord for the color of the carpet, thank you Lord for

Ponderosa Pines (my candidate for the most beautiful tree in the

universe), thank you Lord for the raccoon that went by my window

yesterday, thank you Lord for the air." Did you ever thank God for

air? Where would you be without it? If God ever quit on the job

and didn't stock up the air supply, where would you be? And if you

feel so depressed that you can't come up with ten things to be

thankful for, I have a solution for you: get out a dictionary--it's

loaded with gifts of God. Just open any page and you will find

them; apes, apples, apricots, and so on. When was the last time

you thanked the Lord for those things?

Yes I know, this sounds like the most childish thing you have

ever heard. But I want you to know something--it works. The Bible

says, "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh 8:10). The best

way to find the joy of the Lord is through a spirit of gratitude

and praise. One of the greatest chapters in all of Ellen White's

writings, in my opinion, is the chapter called "Mind Cure" in

Ministry of Healing, from pages 240-260. The basic thrust of that

chapter is that a spirit of gratitude and praise is the key to

curing the mind of its ills.

We are all sick in some aspect of our mental and emotional

experience. We are just beginning to learn about co-dependency--

how if you grew up with an alcoholic or an abusive parent, you will

have problems that are related to alcoholism. You may not drink,

you may not smoke, instead you exercise the addictive tendencies in
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a way that is more socially acceptable. It is OK to become a

workaholic, or a football-holic, or even a sugar-holic. Some even

exercise addictive tendencies in their church relationships. I

have known many emotionally unhealthy churches. We are all sick to

some degree as a result of the sin problem, but to recognize our

condition is the first step on the road to recovery. One of the

most effective pathways to recovery is to thank God everyday for

the many benefits He showers on our lives everyday. "Thank you,

Lord, for the air that we're breathing. Thank you, Lord, for that

carpet, the floor would be quite uncomfortable without it." It is

at this practical level that the secular person can see in

Christian experience something that is worth making major life

changes for.

A strong devotional life, then, serves two purposes for the

Christian struggling to cope with the issues related to life in the

secular world. It serves to maintain and strengthen the basic

faith relationship with God, and it provides an attractive way of

life which can stimulate in secular people an interest in spiritual

things. The great interest in the bizarre aberrations of the New

Age demonstrates the tremendous hunger secular people have for a

living relationship with God.

Facing Problems

How can we find time for devotions in the midst of the

crushing load of responsibility most of us bear? This is a

question I have certainly faced on a repeated basis throughout my

Christian experience. Few people have the time to accomplish all

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that they expect to accomplish in a day. Ultimately it is up to us

to decide what is truly worth our time and what is not.

What has helped me more than any other concept of time

management is the concept of the "news-hole" mentioned by John

Naisbitt in the original book Megatrends. He describes how

American military intelligence learned more about German capacities

and intentions by subscribing to the local newspapers in Germany

than by any other means. The reason for this is that local

newspapers are priority and interest-driven. Each paper has a

"news-hole" or space devoted to news that is of a fixed size for

each issue. Articles are prioritized in two ways. The most

important article is top front on the first page, the least

important is buried somewhere near the back. Paragraphs within

each article are also prioritized in order of importance, the last

paragraph being the least crucial to the story. If a new story

comes in at the last minute and is of top priority, the news hole

is not expanded. Instead all articles are bumped down in location

and space is created either by dropping the least important

article, by cutting the bottom paragraphs out of several articles,

or by some combination of the above. The news hole never expands,

therefore, whatever is found in the local paper is considered of

top priority in interest and importance to the local community.

Our use of time is a lot like that news hole. When new

activities clamor for involvement, it is crucial to realize that

you can't add anything to life without taking something else away.

When I decided to take Ph.D. studies I realized that I was adding

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a huge drain on my time. My life would become impossibly complex

unless I consciously chose to eliminate some major things from my

life. I chose to drop playing the organ and the watching of

spectator sports. I have taken a lot of flak over the former one,

but I determined that I could not be an excellent organist and an

excellent Bible scholar at the same time I was raising a family.

To have tried to do both would have squeezed my family out of my

"news hole" by default. I rated my family and my doctoral program

as of greater interest and importance than music and sports.

The problem is that most people prefer not to make such

choices. They seek to accomplish everything that is set before

them (expand the news hole!), and it just does not work. Inevita-

bly, either the family or the devotional life or both are sacri-

ficed on the altar of indecision. Whenever someone asks me to take

an office or perform a task these days, I ask myself the question,

"What activity will this replace? Is this more important or

interesting than what I will have to give up in order to do this?"

Life is a choice. If we don't choose time will choose for us. And

we will be unhappy with the choice.

All this has large implications for the devotional part of

life. Our time with God is often crowded out by the press of

lesser concerns. If we don't choose to spend the best part of

every day with God, we will inevitably drift in a secular direc-

tion. So the first step in enhancing our devotional experience is

to choose to make it a front page priority in our lives. The

danger of secular drift should motivate us to make our time with

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God the headline event of the day. The great thing about will

power is that it is strengthened by use. Choose to put God first.

Say it out loud. Write about it to your friends. Expressing that

choice will make the choice stronger.

Another step that has helped me is to make a plan. Decide

what in your life needs to go if your devotional experience is to

grow. Be careful about adding new assignments or responsibilities.

Particularly important are the time and place where devotions

occur. Some office workers have found that the only way they can

carve out time to spend with the Lord is to go in an hour early to

the office. They get there before anybody else gets there, lock

the door, put a sign out "Do Not Disturb", and spend some time with

God. For some the time saved by avoiding rush hour traffic may be

greater than the time spent in devotion.

Whatever venue you prefer, it should be chosen to minimize the

possibility of interruption if at all possible. Early in the

morning is the best for most people, particularly if no one else in

the family is awake yet. For many families, however, there are no

easy solutions. I have a ten-year old, a six-year old, and a four-

year old, and when they hear me getting up, they like to come and

see what is happening. Some of you can relate to that. A very

positive thing that has happened recently is that the ten-year-old

has decided to follow my example and spend the first part of every

day in "devotions." I am hoping that it is possible to create a

family habit, where each member of the family co-operates with the

others to create the kind of environment in which devotions can

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take place.

At times, however, I get up, shower, eat, dress and get to the

office before any secretary, teacher, or student arrives, then lock

myself in that office until my time with God is over. Perhaps

other options may work for you. Maybe there's a room over your

garage where you can be left undisturbed--H. M. S. Richards did

that. Whatever your specific solution, it is critical to create a

regular time and place. If we don't intentionally create a time

and a place, circumstances will see to it that we never get around

to devotions. Life is so driven these days, one can even find

phones on airplanes now. Isn't that disgusting? Right now it is

only possible to call out, and I make sure I don't use it. But

when people can start calling you on an airplane, there will be no

place to hide anymore.

Every Christian needs a time and a place for seclusion. That

includes pastors and conference officials. It is not fair to think

that a pastor or conference officer should give you immediate and

full attention just because you happened to think of a problem in

the last minute. We all need to create space and time to spend
with the Lord. And sometimes the only way to do it is to make some

hard choices regarding the way we deal with people during that

time. Such choices won't make you popular, they may even cause

others to think of you as cold, unfeeling, or "uppity." "He has no

time for the little people any more." Although the choices are

difficult, they are necessary if we wish to avoid the inevitable

slide into secular modes of thinking and living.

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I realize that planning is easier for some people than for

others. If your personality is of the type that prefers to hang

loose most of the time, you may need to enlist some help along the

way. Counsel with a friend or a pastor who has good planning

skills. Invite family and friends to help you arrange your

schedule in order to make God first in your life. Consult with

those in your job situation about alternative schedules and/or pay

arrangements that free up extra time. Invite God to assist you in

this process.

Perhaps more helpful than anything else is accountability.

Accountability means that you make a covenant with a trusted friend

or family member who will help you stick to your plan. Everyone

needs a "hard-nosed" friend who is not afraid to look you in the

eye and say, "I'm concerned about where your life is going right

now." My idea of a hard-nosed friend would be someone who cares

too much not to tell the truth. Someone who will call you at 7:17

every morning to ask if you did your devotions that morning as

planned. Someone who isn't afraid to chew you out now and then so

that you can achieve in life what matters most to you. Without
friends like that none of us would know when we were slipping.

Invite that friend to monitor your devotional life, your time spent

watching TV, your use of money, whatever stands in the way of

achieving your goals. Accountability provides strength when we

have little strength, and focus when we have a hard time getting

focused. Some combination of the above ideas has helped me

whenever my devotional life slips.

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What if you spend significant time each day with God and

nothing seems to be happening? Your prayers seem to go no higher

than the ceiling? First of all, know that every Christian has

times like that. Don't pretend that things are going well if they

are not, just keep on studying and praying. Adam Clarke, the

author of one of the classic Bible commentary sets, went through a

two-year dry spell in which his devotional life was absolutely

empty. Two years! But he stuck with it. And when he came out at

the other end, he was a much richer person for having gone through

that struggle. Even Jesus experienced a dry spell in His relation-

ship with God in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet that was no

reflection on the reality of His walk with His Father.

The problem is that when things are going well devotionally,

when we feel that we have our act together spiritually, we tend to

become judgmental of the spiritual experience of other people. "We

have our act together, what's wrong with them?" Sometimes the Lord

allows us to struggle so that we have sympathy with the struggles

of others. If we are elders in the church we need to have mercy on

the little ones and realize that if it is a struggle for us, it may
be ten times more difficult for them. So the Lord will let you

have dry experiences now and then. But keep with the program, the

devotional life is the bottom line, whether or not you feel good

about it. There will be days when you skip it, days when you sleep

in, days when some emergency comes up, these things happen. But if

it happens, get back with the program again the next day and go on.

Having said this, it is still important to place the devo-

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tional life within a larger context. Those who have struggled long

and hard in the Christian walk are well aware that a spiritual life

that is restricted to the devotional room soon grows stale unless

worked out in concrete, everyday action. We turn now to the kind

of practical, everyday lifestyle that is crucial to faith mainte-

nance and development in a secular age.

 CHAPTER SEVEN

A LIVING WALK WITH GOD

Acting Out our Faith

When it comes to maintaining Christian faith in a secular

world the concept of "derived seclusion" is critical; finding a

regular time and place to be with God in the midst of the secular

rat-race. I am reminded of a bumper sticker I saw not too long

ago; "God is not dead, I talked to Him last night." Secularism is

something that happens when you have drifted away from that walk

with God and you begin to believe what your senses tell you instead

of what you have known in your experience with God. But without

concrete and practical faith-action in the life, the devotional

experience can easily become confined to a closet in a person's

life leading to a schizophrenic existence where faith impacts on

the life for a short time each day, followed by an essentially

secular existence for the rest of one's experience. Doing battle

with secular drift calls for more than just the devotional

experience, as effective as that may be.

In his book The Human Puzzle, David G. Myers confirms what

Ellen White taught a hundred years ago; what a person believes may

have relatively little impact on how they live. What happens in

the devotional life will have little impact on everyday experience,

unless accompanied by conscious, corresponding action. When people

survey conservative Christian churches, including Adventist

churches, they discover that the typical, conservative Christian

112
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church may have virtually as much adultery, alcohol problems, drug

use, and physical abuse as the non-churched culture, the problems

are just less visible in the church setting. The reality is that

few pastors are permitted to see below the surface of what is going

on in their own churches. This is particularly true of the

Adventist setting, because our high behavioral standards make it

socially unacceptable to confess sins such as adultery, alcohol,

drug use, and the abuse of children or spouse. In the secular

environment, such problems are generally out in the open. But in

a relatively closed society like the Adventist Church, you tend not

to talk about problems, especially not to the pastor who has

considerable control over your continued acceptance in the group.

Quite often, therefore, belief in Adventist teaching has relatively

little impact on how people live.

In churches where action does not follow from belief, the

church's witness is seriously damaged. While pastors and church

leaders may not be aware of how little practice may follow from

profession in our churches, our secular neighbors are intensely

aware of it. Secular people share with relish stories about the
foibles of Christians and churches they know. The media are

equally searching in their scrutiny. Thus, an Adventism that

confines itself largely to doctrine and things of the intellect is

doomed to failure in a secular context. Its witness has already

been fatally discounted before it occurs.

Although what you believe may have little impact on how you

live, how you live has a powerful impact on what you believe. This
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is another major theme of the crucial chapter "Mind Cure" in the

book Ministry of Healing (pp. 241-259). The routine actions of

daily life have a massive effect on what a person believes and how

they feel and think.

Let me illustrate. I have a daughter who is now entering

adolescence. Until fairly recently she would, on occasion, pout

with a whole heart. She would be sitting at the dinner table and

some thing or other struck her wrong. Her whole face and body

would twist up and she would avoid all eye contact. I discovered

that I could get her out of the pout with surprising ease. All I

had to do was to find a way to get her to smile. In the act of

smiling that miserable feeling, the whole attitude of pouting just

vanished. I would say, "What's that? You're not smiling, are you?

Don't you dare smile! Do I see the corners of your mouth turning

up?" I do not know why, but somehow that gets her every time--she

cracks up! And when she does, the pout is gone, and she cannot

seem to get it back, even if she tries! With my four-year-old the

magic words are, "Don't smile, your face might crack!"

Something similar can work with groups of adults as well. If

a group you are speaking to has confidence in you, ask them to

smile as big and broad a smile as possible. Give them a big smile

and invite them to return it. Unless the audience is feeling some

resistance toward the speaker, a group smile seems to make everyone

feel better almost immediately. This is only an illustration. How

we behave has a powerful impact not only on what we feel but on how

we think and what we believe.

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I know this sounds like manipulation--and to some of you that

may be offensive. But I look at it this way, God made us the way

He made us. He has set laws into our minds and hearts. Is it a

bad thing to consciously choose to live in a way that will assist

my walk with God and resist secular drift? If we know the things

we need to do in order to stay close to God, why not do them? The

reality is that how you live has a powerful impact on what you

believe.

This is why evangelists like to call people up front. There

is something about getting out of your seat and walking to the

front that nails down a decision in a way that very few other

things can do. In mentioning this, I should probably point out,

however, that altar calls must not be handled in a way that

compromises integrity and free choice. Secular people do not

respond well to the traditional call in most instances. One must

be careful not to unnecessarily violate social boundaries. So I

normally try to find other ways than altar calls to seal decision

in the experience of secular people.

The one time in a secular person's life when you can make that
kind of an appeal is when they attend a baptism. I am not sure how

to explain that. But after baptizing people, I like to say

something like, "Well, you've all seen what just happened; if you

have never been baptized you may be thinking, 'My, I'd like to do

that. I'd like to be fully devoted to God.' I'm not talking about

baptizing you tomorrow or next week. But you'd like to learn what

baptism means and what Christian life is all about. If you feel
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that way this morning would you just stand for a minute?" I

remember one time I made such an appeal and nineteen people stood

up, half of whom I'd never seen before. I had sensed that it was

a non-threatening situation. It was part of a whole context in

which the call was perceived as appropriate. And people were

standing up that had just walked into the church for the first

time! There is something about standing up at such times that

solidifies a decision. It has to do with acting out our faith,

even the first glimmer of faith.

The strongest safeguard against secularism--and even a secular

psychologist will tell you this if you ask--is a seven day a week

religion. It is a faith that impacts in some way on every moment

of every day of our lives. I was somewhat amused to discover that

on many of the Caribbean islands, Adventists are known as "Seven

Days." When I arrived for a campmeeting in the Bahamas, the

newspaper declared, "Speaker arrives for Seven Days Conference."

I wish that were not just a misunderstanding but a statement of

reality! Adventism cannot afford to be isolated in the closet of

our experience; to be effective in a secular world, it must affect

the whole of our experience in this world.

When we talk about Seven-day-a Week Adventism we are talking

about practicing the Seventh-day Adventist life-style. Now I

realize that this gets us into something that is a little bit

controversial. Many people have different opinions of what it

means to live as a Seventh-day Adventist. But the point I want to

make with absolute clarity is that without some kind of consistent

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practice of faith, secular drift is inevitable in one form or

another.

With all of its perceived flaws, however, the Adventist life-

style that has been handed down to us is a superb example of a

seven-day religion. When we shop for clothes, what are we doing?

We are asking ourselves questions such as, "What impact will this

clothing have on my witness for Christ? Will it aid or hinder my

mission in life?" When we shop for groceries we spend a lot of

time reading labels. Why? Because we do not want to put into our

bodies things that will clog up our minds and render us less fit

for the difficult task of honoring God in all we do, say or think.

As a result, when we shop for clothing or groceries, we are

constantly being reminded of God's claim on our life.

When I make up the family budget each month, guess what is on

top of the list? Tithes and offerings. Everything that a Seventh-

day Adventist does in life is potentially tied in with God in some

way or another. And rightly handled, this is a tremendous asset to

faith in a secular world. I am not trying to tell you exactly what

form the Adventist lifestyle should take in your particular case.

But frankly, Adventism without consistent daily practice is not

going to be maintained effectively in a secular world.

There are dangers in two extremes. A rigid lifestyle without

a living relationship with God is drudgery. A devotional life

without practice is also doomed to fail. What is happening now in

many families is that we have grandparents who believe in Adventism

and practice the lifestyle. Then there are children who either
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believe without practice or practice the lifestyle without a clear

understanding of what it means. The grandchildren often just throw

the whole thing out. What we need most desperately is to restore

the unity of Adventist faith; not only holding certain ideas about

God, and about Scripture, but including a whole-hearted practice in

lifelong response to what Christ has done for us.

This whole-hearted style of life is no denial of justification

by faith--it simply recognizes that when Christ offers the gift, He

also makes a claim. The great rallying cry of the first century

Christian church was, "Jesus is Lord." To modernize that terminol-

ogy a bit results in something like, "Jesus is the Boss". When a

first-century Christian said, "Jesus is Lord," he or she meant, "He

has the right to tell me what to do, how to live." The relation-

ship between justification and lordship is most effectively

illustrated by a story Jesus told His disciples. In Matt 18:23-35

a king forgives his servant a debt of 10,000 talents (perhaps 10

billion dollars in inflated currency!). It is assumed in the story

that the servant would gladly respond by forgiving his fellow

servant a debt of a mere 100 day's wages. The story is a parable

of divine and human forgiveness. What God does for us becomes a

model for how we should treat one another. A balanced, living

faith includes both devotion and action. We are saved by faith

alone, but saving faith is never alone!

Not only is the Seventh-day Adventist life-style one of the

best ways to maintain faith in a secular world, it offers a major

side benefit as well, self-discipline. Self-discipline is

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something that is rarely seen these days. Couch potatoes would

love to be Michael Jordan or Joe Montana. But few realize what

such athletes have to go through to attain that kind of excellence

in their chosen field. Paul argues in 1 Cor 9 that our chosen

field is worthy of a similar discipline. The Seventh-day Adventist

life-style was designed to enable people to function as peak-

performance Christians. If you wish to make a mark for Christ in

the contest of life, a disciplined life is the only way to go.

I am not suggesting a miserable, spoilsport lifestyle. To

deny oneself the lesser things in life helps to guarantee that the

greater things will get their proper attention. Take family

budgeting as an example. Somebody once said that the cost-of-

living is whatever you make plus ten percent! Most people find

that ridiculous assertion to be true! Everyone gets used to

whatever their income is and then wants just a little bit more.

Now most people do not find it necessary to budget--when the money

runs out, the party is over. But when you do that your money goes

to whatever comes up next. The whole point about budgeting is that

you make sure that the important things get cared for first. I
have known people who would buy twelve boxes of Valentine candy

before paying the rent and then be unable to pay it. They would

then go to family and friends and say, "If you don't help me out--

they'll throw me out on the street." And this pattern often

repeats itself month after month after month.

Discipline means putting things that really matter first. Do

you really want a roof over your head? You had better pay the rent
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first. Do you really want to eat? You better buy groceries before

you take that trip to Hawaii. So it is with spiritual things. The

main point of the Adventist life-style is to make sure that the

most important matters in life get the greatest attention. And

that involves discipline.

While we are on this subject let me make a point about

lifestyle witnessing. If we expect to reach secular people, the

Adventist life-style must be presented as a life-style of principle

rather than just precept. Secular people are not looking for a

list of rules with a dotted line on the bottom for their signature

of blind compliance. They want to understand the reason behind

lifestyle standards. "Why do you want me to do these things? Why

is it that you don't want people to wear jewelry?" If there is no

good reason for a standard, why have it? If there are sound

reasons, why are they not clearer to contemporary people?

Standards need to make sense to secular people. When we are

dealing with them, we will have the challenge of defending the

Adventist life-style as a viable principle. I think that on the

whole it can be defended, but perhaps on slightly different grounds

than we may have used in the past.

Secular people will point out to you, for example, that people

who drink socially tend to live three years longer than people who

don't, all other things being equal. Well that should not be a

surprise. Adventists are often known for being a little uptight.

And a drink now and then does relax you some. But that does not

impress me. Although often overlooked, Ellen White met such

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challenges on the basis of principle already in passages like 5T

354-361. She does not argue there that alcohol is to be avoided

because the Bible explicitly says so. She rather argues scientifi-

cally. For one thing, no one knows who the alcoholic is. Social

drinking, all other things being equal, may have a slight relaxant

effect on a person's life. But alcoholism has a devastating impact

on a person's life and on that of everyone who is close to them.

But suppose you are a skilled social drinker, gaining all

those supposed health benefits. Ellen White is still not im-

pressed. She says that if you are an elder in the church and you

are drinking socially, you influence others to take a positive

attitude toward alcohol. If those you influence become alcoholics,

who is responsible? An option some might consider would be to keep

one's social drinking secret from the church, but that introduces

an element of deception and inauthenticity to one's Christian walk.

To profess one thing and to live another is not a spiritually

healthy existence.

A further consideration in regard to alcohol is research that

indicates that every drink destroys some brain cells. I don't know
about you, but I cannot afford to lose any brain cells. A fourth

reason for avoiding alcohol is that alcohol tends to affect most

immediately the seat of the will. But if you want to keep faith in

a secular world, your will has to be charged up and ready to go

twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. I believe that when we

rightly understand the genius behind the Seventh-day Adventist

life-style, when we see it undergirded by common sense and based on

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reasonable principles, it can be sold to secular people. Secular

people are not going to buy into something because we said so; or

even at first because the Bible said so. They want to know, "Does

it make sense? Is this really the way I want to live?"

One thing that should be clear by now is that the same life

practices which maintain a Christian's faith in a secular world

provide the kind of spiritual setting into which secular people can

be attracted to come. We cannot ask them to give up what we have

not given up. Neither can we expect them to experience what we

ourselves have never experienced. Outreach to secular people

begins with outreach to the secular mindset in our churches and

above all in our own hearts.

To Share is to Keep

A devotional walk with God and its consequences in every day

life are two key factors in maintaining faith in a secular world.

There is at least one more. In order to keep our faith it is

necessary to share it. This is not only true for today, but has

always been a fact of spiritual life. In the Old Testament context

the key to bringing the power of God into the lives of His people

was to recite over and over the things that God had done for them

in their past history.

Consider the plight of King Jehoshaphat. According to 2 Chr

20 he was under attack by the armies of three whole nations. As we

would expect, he called his council together. But instead of

developing a military or diplomatic strategy, he led them in

prayer. Now how would you and I pray in that situation? Wouldn't
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we probably succumb to abject and pitiful pleading? Instead

Jehoshaphat said, "Lord, you brought us out of Egypt with a mighty

hand and an outstretched arm; you brought us through the wilder-

ness. And when we got to the promised land as You promised us,

there were hostile nations all around. You told us to leave them

alone, and now they're coming against us. You took care of us

then. You can do it again. Our eyes are upon You."

As Jehoshaphat was recounting the acts of God, instead of

pleading abjectly in a desperate situation, the power of the Exodus

experience was manifested again. Instead of a battle, the enemy

armies were taken care of by the choir. They sang a song and blew

them right out of town. The power of God that divided the Red Sea

and fed them in the wilderness returned to them in response to

Jehoshaphat's retelling of the Exodus. So there is something about

reciting what God has done for you in the past that brings the

power of God back into your life. And if you regularly experience

the power of God in your life, secularism can have no influence

over you.

Expression deepens impression. Talk faith and you will have

more faith. Ellen White expresses this idea forcefully in Ministry

of Healing pages 251-253:

It is a law of nature that our thoughts and feelings are

encouraged and strengthened as we give them utterance. While
words express thoughts, it is also true that thoughts follow
words. If we would give more expression to our faith, rejoice
more in the blessings that we know we have,--the great mercy
and love of God,--we should have more faith and greater joy.
No tongue can express, no finite mind can conceive, the
blessing that results from appreciating the goodness and love
of God.
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Can you remember a time when you shared your personal

testimony with a friend or even a stranger? You told of the

helplessness of your human condition, but you also shared the

excitement and joy that came with the discovery that if no one else

in the universe had sinned Christ would still have died for you

personally. Whenever the cross of Christ is uplifted the Holy

Spirit presses the claim of the cross home with power to whoever is

listening. And that same power spills back to the one who

testifies. Can you remember how the act of sharing your faith

confirmed your own faith? It was like campmeeting all over again.

I am rarely so confident and secure in my walk with God as I am

when I share what He has done for me with others. The power of

God's original working in my life is renewed in the retelling.

This can even be true of preaching. Many a preacher has entered

the pulpit discouraged and left it on fire! Share faith and you

will have more faith.

If these things are so why do we witness as little as we do?

One would expect that something as stimulating to faith as sharing

it would be a centerpiece on our schedules. But a major deterrent

to sharing faith in a secular world is that we sense that the way

we reach out to others outside our faith circle often oversteps the

boundaries of social propriety. When we think of witness, we think

of badgering people, and intruding into their lives. The golden

rule comes into effect here. "Do unto others as you would have

them do unto you." I have spoken to hundreds of Adventists whose

conscience bothers them concerning the way they attempt to share

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their faith. The end result is miserable. Many Adventists feel

guilty when they witness and guilty if they don't. That is no way

to live.

We can be freed to witness again when we find out that true

witness has two basic foundation principles that prevent us from

overstepping the boundaries of social propriety. The first

principle is that before you can get a person to listen to you, you

have to put them at ease. They need to be comfortable first. To

rail at somebody on a street corner may cause the opposite of what

we intend in a secular environment. Can you remember the last time

you were confronted by a person who repeatedly told you what to do

and put you down by highlighting their own superior understanding?

Did you feel at ease in that person's presence? Did you feel like

listening any further to what that person had to say? Did you want

to become like him or her? Putting people at ease means to avoid

the attitude of a superior. It is not necessary to put people down

or to nag them in order to share one's faith. Putting people at

ease means relating to them in such a way that they are comfortable

in one's presence. Putting people at ease means investing more

time in listening than in talking, at least at first. Jesus

certainly had that ability, for prostitutes and sinners loved to be

around him. Witnessing in this way can be very difficult for

Adventists in a secular world.

Putting people at ease may be a characteristic that is

inherited as much as it is learned. I know I find it a more

difficult task than some of my friends do. The good news is that
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we can all improve in the art of putting others at ease, and while

some will always be more successful at it than others, training in

interpersonal relationships is well worth the effort for any

Christian who wants to reach out to secular neighbors, friends, and

family.

The second principle of true witness is to live an attractive

Christ-centered style of life. Most secular people are looking for

something better and when they see a person who "has her act

together" they find it incredibly attractive. The funny thing is

that most people think that the TV stars have their act together.

Although we know better in our minds, the visual medium is a

powerful persuader. The stars smile and look permanently happy and

charming, but the reality is that most can't wait to run home and

shoot dope or commit suicide because they cannot face their real

selves. The attractiveness of television is a fantasy image in a

fantasy land.

Far more attractive than the painted-on smiles of the media is

a real person in real life who is making it work. People love to

be with others who have their act together. They like people who
listen to them and who don't put them down. Secular people are

open to personal involvement in their lives by loving and lovable

Christians who put people at ease and live Christ-like, attractive

Christian lives. I am not implying that we need a grit-your-teeth

kind of determination to be a Christ-like person. By nature we

tell others what to do, put them down, and live mean, selfish

lives. Christ-centered witnessing can only result from a life

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fully devoted to a living and active walk with God.

Putting people at ease and being an attractive person reminds

me of one of Ellen White's most humorous statements, found in MH

43-44. "Let not your un-Christlike character misrepresent Jesus.

Do not keep the little ones away from Him by your coldness and

harshness. Never give them cause to feel that heaven would not be

a pleasant place to them if you were there." That is the opposite

of true witnessing; coldness and harshness has a repelling

influence rather than an attractive one. I like to think that a

good test for the attractiveness of my Christian walk is how

children respond to me, both mine and others. Do children enjoy

being around me? Or do they tend to shy away fearfully? If you

put children at ease, you are probably putting their parents and

other adults at ease by the same approach.

Let me illustrate what I mean by boasting about a good friend

of mine, Roland Hegstad, the editor of Liberty magazine. The first

time Elder Hegstad came into my home and sat down in the living

room, I was astonished. Within three minutes all of my kids were

in his lap. That told me more about his Christian character than
all the articles and sermons I had appreciated through the years.

My children immediately sensed that here was a person they could

not only trust but who would be fun to be with. That's the way

Jesus was--the minute he walked into a room the kids were all

mobbing about. The disciples tried to chase them away, but Jesus

was having too much fun to permit that!

Speaking of the analogy between working with children and

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working with secular people, one of the interesting side benefits

of this study for me is a better understanding of how to help our

children maintain faith in a secular world. It might be helpful to

review briefly some of the most significant conclusions of the

Valuegenesis study. The study concluded that there are six

characteristics of homes and churches where young people tend to

remain in the faith. Three of these characteristics pertain to the

family. Families that have interesting family worships, where the

parents talk freely about their faith, and that engage the children

in helping or service projects in the community, have a far higher

rate of retention than families that don't have these three

characteristics.

When it comes to the role of the church in keeping young

people in the faith three characteristics also emerge. Churches

that retain youth have a youth program (Sabbath School and

otherwise) that the youth themselves consider interesting. The

youth also find such churches to offer a warm and accepting

environment. And, finally, those churches are most successful in

retaining youth if the youth feel that they have the freedom to
question the faith and the things that are going on in the church.

It is interesting that the same kinds of things that make our

churches hospitable to secular people will also make them hospita-

ble to our own young people.

Sharing our faith in the secular world is a major challenge.

We not only need to learn a whole new way of expressing our faith,

but we need to learn how to do so without crossing social barriers

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in ways that can end a relationship. The main point of this

chapter, however, is that sharing our faith is important not only

because secular people need Christ, but because we also need the

spiritual strength and affirmation that comes when we share our

faith. Fortunately, although communicating the gospel in a secular

world is a great challenge, it can be done. In the next section of

the book we will examine the dynamics of outreach to secular

people, and explore methods that Adventists are using successfully

in a number of places.
 PART THREE

SHARING FAITH IN A SECULAR WORLD

 CHAPTER EIGHT

THE BASIC NEEDS OF SECULAR PEOPLE

How can we share our faith in a secular world? How can we

communicate with secular people in an effective way? How do we get

past the many barriers that secular people erect in order to

protect themselves against the unwanted influence of religion? A

good place to start is to deal with secular people the same way

that Jesus dealt with people. And that is to meet them at the

point of felt need, that place in their life where they are

searching for something better than they have now.

Christ's method alone will give true success in reaching

the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired
their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to
their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them,
"Follow Me."
MH 143

What is most interesting in this quotation is the fact that

Jesus left the direct spiritual appeal to last in a series of five

steps. He spent time with people, "mingling" in conversation,

showing sympathy, meeting their needs, and winning their confidence

before He felt comfortable challenging them with His unique

mission. His method is still the best method. In this section of

the book we will try to put flesh on these suggestive hints by

exploring some proven ways to meet secular people at the point of

felt need and move them into an acknowledgement of their real need

for the gospel.

In this chapter we begin by examining the basic felt needs of

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secular people that come the closest to a direct spiritual interest

and thus provide excellent openings for spiritual input. We will

notice as we explore these felt needs, the extent to which

Adventism may attract or repel those who sense needs such as these.

(1) A Need for Commitment

Secular people in a high-tech world generally feel a need for

commitment to an issue or a person that is clearly greater than

themselves. Although secular people may lack a commitment to any

kind of organized religion, they nevertheless sense the need to

commit themselves to something that transcends the ordinary in

their existence. People cannot be satisfied with an endless round

of routine tasks. Meaning must come from outside the ordinary.

People may seek to meet that need by a commitment to the Los

Angeles Lakers, the Washington Redskins, or the good old USA in the

Gulf War. The fate of a sports team may seem rather trivial as the

center of one's life, but such attachments function as symbols

directed toward a far more significant need, the need to be

committed to something that is bigger than oneself. A far less

trivial substitute for faith than athletics or even political

concerns is the recent revival of interest in ecology. More and

more people are committing themselves to recycling and reducing

consumption so as not to overburden the environment. Protecting

our planet is certainly a major and worthy concern, but even there

I believe that people are searching for something bigger than

ecology.

Adventism is uniquely positioned to make a difference here.

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We can present the greatest Person and the greatest issues that

anyone could possibly commit themselves to. The environment of the

entire universe for all eternity is at stake in the work of the

gospel. This makes sharing our faith one of the most meaningful

tasks anyone could undertake. We can meet this need as we learn

how to communicate the difference that Jesus makes in real,

contemporary terms that touch base with life as it really is

experienced today. We can meet this need as we learn how to tie in

the issues of the Great Controversy to the kinds of issues that

most people are talking about on a day to day basis.

(2) Release from Guilt

While secular people may feel uncomfortable with the term

"guilt" in light of its Judeo-Christian associations, they will

recognize the need for release from the failure to live up to their

own expectations. Most persons, whether or not they know anything

about the Ten Commandments, have a sense that they are not living

up to what they expect from themselves, much less the standards

that might be held up to them from outside. In fact, when

Catholics drop out of church to pursue secular interests the thing

they often miss the most about the church is the sense of release

and forgiveness that came as a result of their participation in the

confessional. Even non-religious people need release from the

sense of failure--the failure to achieve their hopes, their dreams,

and their best intentions.

It is a fact of life that we inwardly expect of ourselves at

least as much as we expect of other people. If I point my finger

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at you and say "You shouldn't do that", what am I saying to myself?

"Well, if I can pontificate about it, it certainly isn't right for

me." And secular people often have a very strong sense of

obligation, a strong sense of where they want to be in life. The

failure to achieve that leaves a sense of brokenness that cries out

to be fixed. Many may deny that brokenness, or drown it in

alcohol, drugs, or promiscuity, but that brokenness can ultimately

be fixed only at the cross. As Adventists we need to ask the hard

question of whether we truly understand and appreciate the cross.

Until we do, we cannot meet this deep need, not only of secular

people, but of all human beings. As we ourselves become forgiven

people, we are enabled to minister forgiveness to others. On the

other hand, it is impossible for an unforgiven person to be truly

forgiving.

(3) Genuine Relationships

Secular people today have an urgent need for genuine

relationships. They long for real relationships with real people

who care enough to be honest as well as loyal. People today live

noisy and distracted lives. They are rushing here and there and

relationships tend to be increasingly superficial. A committed

Christian who is willing to enter into sensitive and authentic

relationship with a selected number of secular people will find

open arms waiting. As society becomes increasingly high-tech the

need for genuine relationships will increase. There will be a

corresponding need for the caring touch, not so much physical as

emotional and social.

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The church has a tremendous opportunity here to reach out to

struggling, hurting, secular people. Many have avoided church

because of the perception that church people are inauthentic and

superficial, and thus incapable of meeting their deep relational

needs. But as a high-tech society makes it more difficult to

maintain meaningful relationships, people are becoming open to a

wider variety of options in their search for genuine relationship.

Many people deeply regret the loss of the extended family,

where several generations along with cousins, aunts, and nephews

all live in the same community and come together on a regular

basis. These days brothers and sisters, parents and grandparents

are scattered all over the country, often all over the world.

North American life is increasingly transient, with people moving

wherever jobs or housing opportunities may take them. The church

has the potential for providing a sense of extended family for

those torn away from their own families of birth. A "welcome

wagon" ministry targeting new arrivals to a community, for example,

is one way to make contact with secular people, allowing them to

consider the role the church could play in their lives. A loving
Creator longs to use His people to reach out to a secular world

with a loving and a caring touch that the Holy Spirit can use to

activate the even deeper need for the kind of relationship that

only God can provide.

(4) Cosmic Philosophy

Although they may not always be conscious of the fact, secular

people have a need for a cosmic philosophy. Or to put it in

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contemporary terms, they sense a need for social and cosmic

interconnectedness. Human beings need to know that everything

somehow fits together, that they belong to a meaningful and ordered

universe. Adventists may not be conscious of this need because we

often take our awareness of cosmic issues in the universe for

granted. Just think what life would be like if you had no idea

where you came from, no idea how the world is going to end, no idea

what the universe beyond the telescope is like.

For Adventists the whole Great Controversy scheme is a great

organizing principle for one's personal concept of the universe and

one's place in that universe. The average person looks out at the

sky and has little or no idea what is going on out there. It is an

empty void. All that is known is what can be perceived on earth by

means of the five senses. What we call "eschatology," a cosmic

philosophy that brings the whole universe into the equation, is

foreign to most people. At appropriate times, this sense of place

in the larger scheme of things can be quite meaningful in a secular

context.

(5) Unorganized Religion

Thus far this examination of the basic needs of secular people

has proven to be quite encouraging for Adventist mission. Each of

the first four needs can be answered by means of the resources

found within our faith. In fact, as regards the first and fourth

needs, there is no Christian group that is better positioned to

make a difference in the secular world, provided we take the time

and trouble to learn how to communicate these insights in a

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relevant way. The fifth need of secular people, however, is far

more challenging to us. In harmony with the prevailing suspicion

of authority in general comes a corresponding suspicion directed

toward religious authority in particular. Secular people,

therefore, tend to be opposed to what they often call "organized"

religion. They fear coercion and the manipulation of their lives,

sensing, perhaps, that religious coercion is the most vexing of

assaults upon personal liberties. When secular people come to

faith, therefore, they prefer to be involved in religious contexts

where they are allowed considerable freedom and choice in the way

they think and live. They like to be "involved" in the process by

which they become converted.

We might as well be honest. Few Christian churches are more

tightly organized and controlled than the Seventh-day Adventist

Church. In my experience, structures and procedures that we often

take for granted prove to be quite troubling as former secular

people come in contact with them in a new-found Christian walk with

us. We encourage people to become educated, for example, but then

expect them to think only outside their involvement with the

organized church. Fresh and creative ideas are frequently met with

"We never did it that way before," or "Ellen White says," whether

she did in fact say it or not. It is not surprising that anti-

organization-type secular people are often open to the nonsense of

the New Age since New Age is, perhaps, the very epitome of

unorganized religion.

The situation is not hopeless, however. I sense a rising

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openness among SDA administrators to create more caring structures

and interactions in relation to the local church. In an appendix

to this book I will briefly share some ideas that may help reduce

the barriers that secular people perceive as they encounter our

organization. I have personally been able to blunt the negative

impact of our organizational structure on secular people by an

appeal to our church's history. After all we ourselves started out

as an anti-establishment church. We broke ranks with all the other

churches because they failed to follow the Bible, so our roots are

in the radical reformation.

Perhaps we can recapture some of the radical spirit of our

Adventist pioneers without losing all the positive benefits that

competent organization can provide. Such an argument will come

across lame, however, if you are not genuinely open to change

yourself. If a local church is comfortable only with the ways

they've done things in the past, secular people will not stay long

because that is exactly the kind of attitude they have been trying

to avoid in their previous indifference to religion. This is an

area that will require a great deal of sensitivity, both for

Adventists who are comfortable in the church and for those outside

that we might seek to attract. Helping former secular people

discover and utilize their spiritual gifts is one way to

demonstrate that their is plenty of room in God's house for

individuality and creativity.

Another area of some advantage to Adventism is the secular

attitude toward the Bible. A major barrier to reaching a secular

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person with the gospel is the mistaken ideas about the Bible that

they have picked up. If you can disabuse them of these false

ideas, they'll often be open to you. Many secular people think

that the Bible teaches such unpalatable ideas as everlasting

burning hell, child abuse, the subjugation of women and minorities,

and administration by absolute fiat (as in the Papacy). In the

past Adventists also left established churches because the

conventional religious wisdom didn't jibe with what we found in the

Bible. When secular people find out that the Bible isn't anything

like they have been told, they are often quite open to its

instruction.

(6) Life-style Direction

Secular people these days are earnestly seeking direction for

their lifestyles. The number one selling category of books today

is self-help; self-help for plumbing, self-help for home-repairs,

self-help for marriage, self-help for potty-training, etc. The big

concern of most young people today is that they do not know what to

do with their lives. The amazing openness of secular people to the

bizarre absurdities of the New Age Movement certainly indicates an

openness to help from any direction, provided it touches base

directly with felt needs, and speaks a language that is familiar

and meaningful.

Frankly, there is no faith anywhere that offers more direction

for people's lifestyle than does the Adventist faith. We offer

suggestions for almost every area of life. I suspect that we do

not always present it in a way that is effective or meaningful, but

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there is much there that would be of great interest in the secular

context. As was mentioned in the previous section, if we can learn

to think through and present lifestyle guidelines from a principled

and logical perspective rather than as rigid rules we have much

that will be attractive to the average person on the street. But

if we are not careful it is always possible to present these things

in a way that will cause the secular person to see all the red

flags of "organized religion" in our approach.

Conclusion

This brief look at some of the basic felt needs of secular

people indicates that Seventh-day Adventists have a marvelous

opportunity to make major inroads into the secular community. In

three of the six areas, we have a contribution to make that in some

ways exceeds that of any other Christian group. In spite of this

we have made little or no impact in the secular world. This book

is aimed at showing why this is so and offering suggestions to turn

the situation around.

It would seem that the best approach for SDAs who wish to
reach secular people, would be to aim at the felt needs in the area

of lifestyle, with particular emphasis on health, stress

management, personal finance, and time management. There is

already much material available on these matters. These materials

can be intelligently utilized by SDAs in two ways; as windows to

help us understand how to communicate with the secular world on

these subjects, and as sources of credible scientific support for

the things we hold dear. However, we have a unique niche in this

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area in that we can integrate the help that people receive in

specific areas into a comprehensive worldview (Great

Controversy/cosmic eschatology) that will provide unity and meaning

to every area of people's lives. This has been the strength of

Adventism in each previous generation. We have a unified message

with a unified worldview. If we can learn to express our

convictions in up-to-date language, we may be surprised at the kind

of people who will be anxious to become involved.

 CHAPTER EIGHT

CUTTING-EDGE PEOPLE

It clearly takes a special kind of person to reach out to

secular people in a meaningful way without crossing the barriers of

social propriety. What are the characteristics of such a person?

To recall the starting point of this book, I would like to return

to the concept of the "two-horizon" person. Every person has their

own intellectual and social horizon, a perspective that is unique

to them. The greatest need in our church is for two-horizon

people, people who are not only comfortable in a traditional

Adventist setting, but can also step out and be comfortable in the

secular world.

I know of no Seventh-day Adventist that fits that category

better than Clifton Davis, the television actor. He was completely

at home in the Adventist environment of Andrews University, whether

mingling with students and teachers at the seminary, with Adventist

administrators at the conference level, or in a local church. Yet

he is equally at home in the public setting. I have seen him

operate in a restaurant as it gradually dawns on the people around

us that it is really him. Soon they started coming over with

napkins and date books for autographs and a little conversation.

He was sensitive to where each person was coming from, and what

they expected from the encounter. It really inspired me to find

more ways of making a difference for Christ on airplanes, and in

routine business contacts.

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The two-horizon person is the person who can make people feel

at ease both in the church and in the world. Certainly any

Adventist pastor who wants to work with secular people while

pastoring a typical Adventist church will need a two-horizon

perspective in order to survive. An independent ministry, like a

community church, is a much easier proposition than pastoring an

established Seventh-day Adventist church. But if you are working

in a context in which secular people will be brought together with

traditional Adventist people, you will need a deep sensitivity to

both groups. You can not expect to railroad one group in order to

accomplish something with the other. Such an approach will simply

create a great deal of anger and heartache.

Identify with People

There are at least four qualities that equip a person to be

effective in reaching secular people. First of all is the ability

to identify with people, to sense where they are coming from.

People with this quality are able to get close to others in a

hurry, to intuitively put themselves in other people's shoes and

see the world through their eyes.

I had a good friend named Joe who was pastoring in the same

conference I was in. I always envied Joe's razor-sharp ability to

zero in on a person and identify what was going on deep inside. I

will never forget the time we were on the paint crew at the

conference camp. One Sunday a number of church members came up

from the city to help us out for a day. Around ten o'clock this
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fellow was dropped off at our work-site with the message, "He's

here to help out." Joe immediately says, "Hi. My name's Joe,"

etc. After a couple of minutes conversation Joe found out that the

young man had just come from Yugoslavia. "Oh," he says, "are you

here with your family?" "No, no. My sister's still back there."

Suddenly Joe turned to him, looked him directly in the eye and

said, "You're worried about your sister, aren't you?" Immediately

a tear came down the fellow's cheek. Joe continued, "Why don't we

pray about her right now?" We all dropped to our knees on the

dropcloth and prayed for this guy's sister. He hadn't been in the

room five minutes!

Adventists, mirroring the nineteenth-century heritage of the

American frontier, tend to be rugged individualists. This

individualism is reflected in the proliferation of private interest

groups at the fringes of Adventism today. The individualist

attitude radiates, "If people see things differently than we do

it's their problem." But spiritual outreach across cultural lines

requires great sensitivity to other people's ideas and feelings.

If you realize that you have difficulty identifying with

people, take it to the Lord. By the Spirit many Christians can

become specially "gifted" in order to enhance the spiritual power

of their ministry to others. But even those who do not feel

"gifted" can learn to identify with people more effectively with a

little training and practice. Make it a project to learn from

your mistakes. The neat thing about secular people is that they

are very forgiving of relational mistakes, if you are honest and

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genuine. Secular people do not appreciate the kind of person who

is "holier than thou". But if you make an honest mistake in

relating to a secular person just say, "I really blew that! I

don't know why I said that, etc." You will be amazed at how

forgiving they can be. They are usually quite willing to teach you

how to talk to them if you give them an honest effort.

Not all of us are as naturally gifted as Joe is, I certainly

am not. I have to struggle to put people at ease. But this is one

of the most important things that any of us can learn in this life.

It is worth making a top priority. As I have repeatedly pointed

out, secular ministry is not for everybody. But those who feel the

call of God to make a difference in the secular environment will

want to sharpen their ability to identify with people and

understand the inner drives that motivate their behavior.

Creative Witness

The second quality that sets two-horizon people apart is the

ability to offer a fresh and creative witness when the

circumstances demand it. A canned or pre-packaged approach is

limited in its impact to those who are interested in what that

particular kind of can contains. Examples of a canned approach

would be a set of Bible lessons that is given to everyone

regardless of background or interests, or an evangelistic series

that is identical in every community regardless of its ethnic or

social setting. With secular people it is necessary to "wing it"

a lot more than most of us are accustomed to. Fresh and creative

witness means to be able to say something that you have never said
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anywhere else before because the situation requires it. Obviously,

the only way we can do this is to be sensitive to the leading of

the Holy Spirit. The Spirit can impress you in particular

circumstances to offer the right word at the right time much as

Jesus did while He was here on earth.

I can remember an occasion where the Spirit helped me to "wing

it" in an effective way. There was a lady in my church who had

been an Adventist for a long time. She married a man who had no

background in Adventism whatsoever, and she did little to enlighten

him during the courtship period. She was in her 50s and he was

somewhat older. Sometime after the marriage she requested that I

visit and meet her husband. They lived in a lovely mountainous

area about 100 miles from my urban church. I thought, "Well, let

me make a nice day of it and refresh myself in the countryside as

I go up for the visit."

As I approached the area it was raining, foggy, and cloudy.

I reached their lakeside home, parked the car, and got out. There

on the lawn was one of these big yard umbrellas, and there was Joe,

the husband (no relation to Joe the pastor), with two of his
friends, drinking hard liquor in the rain. I thought to myself,

"Pastor, this is going to be one of those days!" The Adventist

wife was nowhere to be seen, so I went over and sat down at the

table. I introduced myself as the pastor of the wife's church,

etc. "Yes, we've been expecting you." Joe immediately picked up

the bottle of brandy that was on the table, handed it to me and

said, "Have a drink, pastor."

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This was the moment of truth for our relationship. To

mishandle this moment could put an end to any hope of reaching this

man. And I often blow such opportunities; I have a difficult time

handling people right. But on this occasion, I believe the Lord

put words in my mouth. Although I had never met the man, I took

the bottle of brandy, looked at it, and said, "Oh, that's good

brandy. But, I'm interested in something a little stronger right

now."

I had his full attention. He leaned forward and said,

"Something stronger than brandy?"

"Yeah," I said, "I'd like the strongest drink in the world."

He said, "What's that?"

I said, "It's a drink that is so strong, it'll float

battleships. I'd like a glass of water."

Joe was on the lawn, rolling around with laughter. He was

laughing so hard that it took about fifteen minutes to get him back

together again. We were friends from that moment on. A little

while later we had dinner together, along with his wife and the two

neighbors. When the dinner was over, I said, "You know, I need to
be going back but Joe, would you mind if I prayed for you before I

go?" Now I would not make such an offer in every circumstance, but

I felt impressed that this was the right thing to do on this

occasion. Joe said, "Sure." And I began to pray for him, for his

neighbors, and his family. In the middle of the prayer, I heard a

noise. It was a cross between panting and sniffling. I might as

well admit it, I peeked. And Joe was just sobbing and sobbing.
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When I finished the prayer, he continued sobbing for a half-hour.

No one had ever prayed for him. And shortly after that he began

coming to church in spite of the distance.

Let me be very honest with you, I don't have successes like

this all the time. In fact I might be shooting 20-30% at best.

But on that one occasion a fresh and creative witness reached a

person who had never been touched before. Fresh and creative? I

would never have dreamed that a joke about alcohol would be the way

into a person's heart. But if the Spirit is with you and your

heart is sensitive to people, you can often sense the right word at

the right time, even when you do not know the people very well.

I think that is the way Jesus would have handled it. He went

to many kinds of parties. And sinners were never embarrassed by

His presence. He had found a way to make them feel at home and, at

the same time, maintain those limits that were necessary to His own

spiritual experience. Fresh and creative witness means a

willingness when necessary to approach people and issues from an

entirely different angle than you have ever tried before.

Biblical Knowledge

A third quality that is absolutely essential in the person who

desires to witness effectively to secular people is to know the

Bible well. This is a tough one. It certainly does not happen

overnight. But a thorough knowledge of the content of the Bible is

critical. Secular people ask questions that you have never dreamed

of. They almost never ask the questions that are found in the

typical set of Bible lessons. When secular people see a bumper

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sticker that says "Jesus is the Answer", they respond, "What was

the question?" They are not asking Christian types of questions.

Most of our traditional Bible lesson sets were designed to

persuade people who already know Christ and are familiar with their

Bibles. Secular people find it difficult to relate to that kind of

Biblical knowledge. To know the Bible well is to be prepared so

that when the off-the-wall question comes, you can reorient your

Biblical knowledge in relation to the question and provide an

answer from Scripture that transcends anything you knew before.

That may seem an impossible task but you must not allow the

enormity of the task to slow you down. If you have no idea how to

answer just say, "That was a great question! Hey, do you mind if

I go home and think about it for awhile? A question as good as

that deserves a solid answer. Give me a little time and I'll get

back to you." As we noted earlier, secular people are a lot more

forgiving than we might have reason to expect. They do not expect

you to have all the answer at the tip of your fingers, in fact they

may become suspicious to the extent that you imply that you do!

My favorite style of evangelism is what I called "Open Forum."

Open forum style permits people to interrupt anytime to ask

questions or offer comments. It is not a great deal different than

the Donahue or Oprah Winfrey shows on television. Secular people

found the open forum style entertaining as well as challenging.

They would say, "This is better than television. I would come here

every night of the week." Apparently the give and take of

intellectual debate remains the object of tremendous interest. The

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challenge of open forum, of course, is that you never know what you

are going to face so you had better know your Bible and be

sensitive to the Spirit's guidance. I remember a Jewish lady who

would regularly blurt out, "I don't believe that!" I would

respond, "You don't believe it? Why not?" I would let her talk a

little bit, then I would say, "What do you think of this text

here?" It was amazing how this style built rapport with a fairly

secular audience. But in an open forum setting the lack of a

thorough knowledge of the Biblical material will often leave you

speechless.

Common Language

The fourth quality that characterizes Christians who

successfully interact with the secular environment is the use of

basic, everyday language in outreach efforts. There is a language

that is common to all who speak English, the kind of language used

in magazines like Newsweek or in the daily newspaper. These media

utilize a basic 8,000-10,000 words that communicate to virtually

everyone whether or not they can read or write. On the contrary we

Adventists often use our own "in-house" language which communicates

accurately only among us.

Just imagine a secular person visiting an Adventist church for

the first time. Up on the platform is a person doing a special

feature on Investment. What will the secular person be thinking?

"Hey, these people must be into stocks and bonds, I bet they're

loaded. Someone else then gets up and says, "You know, I'll never

forget the day I finally saw the light." Light? What light? A
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Bud Lite?

The reality is that most Adventists who are educated and who

work in white collar jobs know how to talk to secular people on a

day-to-day basis. The problem is that we tend to segregate that

language to the secular part of our lives and switch to a different

language whenever we want to express our spiritual needs and

concerns. Adventists should challenge each other to express

spiritual feelings in everyday language within the church so that

it will become second nature when we reach outside to others.

As a pastor in New York City, one of the intellectual capitals

of the secular world, I went out of my way to screen my sermons

with this in mind. I would ask myself at every step, "What sense

would this language make to somebody coming in off the street? How

can I make it as basic and clear as possible without giving up

content? I gradually learned that you can talk about complex

things without using complex language. It takes time to learn. I

remember with much regret the time a Lutheran couple came to my

church and I prepared a sermon on the law "just for them." I had

not made it to the ten minute mark of the sermon before I realized
that I had totally blown it, but I did not know what to do to

redeem the situation. They never came back. It has taken years

for me to learn the use common language, and then it took a few

more years to start overcoming the impact of Ph.D. studies on my

vocabulary. But the more we learn to use the language that all

people have in common, the wider the impact that we can make on a

diverse audience. Both the intellectual and the illiterate are

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included by the same message.

Conclusion

The four qualities described briefly above require both

involvement with the Holy Spirit and much effort and experience.

It is not necessary, however, to master all these areas before one

can begin reaching out to secular people. The good news is that

God enables those that He calls. If you feel called to develop an

outreach to secular people, I invite you to commit yourself before

God to get the training and experience that will make a difference

in the quality of your efforts. The very best training, however,

lies in the doing.

 CHAPTER NINE

THE PRACTICE OF ONE-TO-ONE OUTREACH

Creative Listening

The preceding chapter concludes by putting a finger on what

is, perhaps, the greatest Adventist shortcoming in dealing with

secular people, our failure to learn and use language and

terminology that is meaningful to their experience. How do you

learn their language? The same way children learn language, by

listening and talking. As we interact regularly with secular

people we will learn how to communicate effectively with them.

How does this work in practice? How do you actually get close

to a secular person? I know of no better way than what I like to

call "creative listening." I define creative listening as the art

of asking leading questions, questions that gently and kindly zero

in on what really matters in the other person's life. Creative

listening is hard for me--I tend to talk too much and I sometimes

talk myself right out of a conversation. The goal of creative

listening is to sensitively encourage a person to reveal those

things that are of greatest concern in their lives at that time.

My friend Joe rarely needed more than five questions before he

discovered the central area of need in a person's life. I must

confess that I wish I was equally gifted in this area.

Creative listening means learning to ask the right question at

the right time. We will quickly learn, however, that privacy is a

major quality of life issue with secular people. It is easy to

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overstep the bounds and embarrass yourself by pushing too hard or

too fast. Will this happen to you as you reach out to secular

people? Absolutely! You will often say the wrong thing and offend

people as you search to find what makes them tick. But failure is

probably the best way to learn anything. At Greenfield Village,

the attendant at Thomas Edison's laboratory told us that it took

3573 attempts to make the first usable light bulb. Along the way

someone asked Edison how he felt about his thousands of failed

attempts. He replied, "I now know that many ways not to make a

light bulb!" Failure is a marvelous path to learning! Certainly

the spread of the gospel is worthy of Edison's entrepreneurial

spirit.

But it is one thing to experiment on light bulbs and another

to experiment on people. Most people are naturally reluctant to

overstep the comfort zone of others. Fortunately, as was mentioned

earlier, secular people appreciate someone who's honest and open,

someone who says, "Oh, I think that was the wrong thing to say," or

"Sorry, I blew that one." As long as we do not wear our feelings

on our sleeve, communicating with secular people will be a great

adventure. In light of what the cross tells us concerning our

standing with God, we can learn to place the natural tensions of

everyday relationship in their proper perspective.

Someone once objected, however, "Didn't Jesus zero in right to

the point with the Rich Young Ruler? He didn't waste time with a

lot of fancy listening." That was often true in Jesus' experience.

The difference between Jesus and me, however, is that Jesus could
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read the heart, I can't yet. To the extent that I can learn to

read hearts, it will come as the result of a lengthy two-step

process. First, I must remove any barriers that may prevent His

Spirit from impressing me regarding others. Second, I need to

spend a lot of time in creative listening. The experience with

Joe's brandy is the exception, most strangers cannot be understood

without much listening.

Nothing in this book is intended to minimize the role of the

Spirit in outreach, but we must not forget the point of Chapter

One, God does not normally choose to bypass the human process of

learning. There is a massive role that is left for us to play in

co-operation with God. He has more than one purpose in this. For

one thing, as we go through the laborious process of learning how

to sense what is in the heart of people on the street, we will

learn lessons about ourselves that we could learn no other way. If

it were better in the ultimate scheme of things for angels to do

the work of outreach, they would gladly do it. But God takes the

risk of giving us the task, because it is as crucial to our well-

being as it is to those we minister to.

A second purpose of God in allowing us to stumble on in our

attempts to reach people is that such listening is a marvelous may

to demonstrate Christ-like love. Notice the words of John Stott:

Dialogue is a token of genuine Christian love, because it

indicates our steadfast resolve to rid our minds of the
prejudices and caricatures which we may entertain about other
people; the struggle to listen through their ears and look
through their eyes so as to grasp what prevents them from
hearing the gospel and seeing Christ, to sympathize with them
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in all their doubts, fears and hangups.1

As any successfully married couple knows, love and listening are

two sides of the same coin.

Apparently even Bible writers like John did a great deal of

listening before writing down what God had shared with them. For

example, although God's word creates the world in the Old

Testament, nowhere is "The Word" ever described as a divine person.

Yet just such a figure was a prominent part of Greek philosophy.

In Platonic thought "The Word" was a divine person who created and

sustained the world, and now serves as the mediator between God and

humanity. So when John 1 talks about "the Word made flesh" it was

as if John was proclaiming to the Greeks, "This 'Word' whom you

worship I declare unto you, it is Jesus Christ!" John had learned,

under the guidance of the Spirit, how to present the gospel

effectively to the Greeks by careful attention to the way they

thought about God.

Students of Revelation, therefore, will be quite interested to

discover that Hekate, the most popular goddess of Asia Minor in the

first century, was described in language much like the Revelator's

description of Christ in Rev 1. She was called the first and the

last, the beginning and the end. She held the keys of heaven and

hell, and was able to reveal to people what went on in those

places. To the Greeks of Asia Minor, John offered a Jesus that met

their deepest longings in language that was meaningful to them.

1
Quoted in James F. Engel, Contemporary Christian
Communications: Its Theory and Practice (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 1979), p. 60.
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Even if we suppose that God was the source of the connections, it

reminds us that the gospel can only be heard when it comes in

context! As human beings we become familiar with people's context

by listening!

The Point of Contact

Creative listening, therefore, is the starting point for

outreach to a secular world. Whether you are seeking out

individuals or want to hold evangelistic meetings in an area, there

is no better way to begin the process than through listening. What

are we looking for as we are listening? We are trying to discover

the felt needs that open that person to input from others at that

point in his or her experience. What are the needs that motivate

that person's search for truth and self-betterment? Where is that

person hurting, what problems stimulate a desire for something

better?

There can be, of course, a difference between genuine needs

and felt needs. Every person has needs that they are not aware of,

the greatest of all human needs, of course, is to know Christ. But

most people are not aware of their need for Christ, and they would

deny their need for the Gospel. So the starting point must be to

aim at the felt needs. This approach is in harmony with a very

basic human characteristic. James Engel points out, in the book

Contemporary Christian Communication, that every human being has a

built-in barrier against persuasion. Human beings have a natural

aversion to changing their minds. And it is a good aversion. If

we didn't have it, we would all change religions every day. We

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would all believe the last thing we were told. There are people

who do not have a very strong barrier against persuasion, you have

met some no doubt. They jump from one idea to the next and never

quite settle on anything. They are known as credulous or easily

duped.

The average person, however, has a strong barrier against

persuasion. They do not lightly change their minds on any topic.

When somebody else comes along with an idea that is radically

different than what they believe, what happens? A psychological

brick wall goes up. And the more you pound against that wall, the

more it is reinforced. But there is a way around those "brick

walls," it is to approach people in the area of their felt needs.

A felt need is a point in that person's life where they are open to

instruction. Students of world mission call this felt need the

point of contact, that point in a person or a group's experience

where an aspect of the gospel intersects with conscious needs and

interests.

Let me illustrate. Not long ago, my biggest felt need was to

learn how you get babies that like a warm feeling in their pants to
do what they are supposed to do in the place in which they are

supposed to do it. That was a real felt need in my life for a

time. We tried all kinds of angles yet a particular child seemed

to prefer to do it his way. At that point I was wide open to

anyone with a suggestion I had not heard before, no matter how

crazy the suggestion sounded at first! All a person had to do was

say, "I had a kid just like that and here's what worked for us."
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I would be all ears. I gave that person my full and immediate

attention. And no matter how nutty the idea, my wife and I tried

it at least once, because we felt a huge need to resolve that

problem. We were definitely interested in fresh and creative ideas

on the subject.

If someone had come to me at that time (someone did) and

asserted, "The Beast of Revelation is Ronald Wilson Reagan who has

six letters in each of his three names," I would be quite resistant

to that. It made no sense to me in the light of what I know about

Revelation. And furthermore I had no interest in that person's

opinion. (So there!) But someone approaching at a point of felt

need gets a much more positive reaction. The barrier against

persuasion comes down immediately. Secular people are no

different. When you approach them at the point of their felt needs

they are wide open to instruction. They are searching for

information on that very point.

I am reminded of the blood pressure screening/food sharing van

ministry in New York City that most Adventists are now familiar

with. Back in the 1970s people coming onto a van to get their
blood pressure checked were invited on a registration sheet to

check if they were interested in studying the Bible. One out of 20

or 21 would do so. When people were asked in a soft-sell way if

they would like to receive Bible studies, the ratio jumped

immediately to one out of three! Some time after this the van team

noticed that even higher percentages of people seemed interested in

material on how to manage stress. Would Bible study guides on how

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to manage stress in one's life meet a felt need in New York City?

Standing on the corner of 47th Street and 6th Avenue is an

experience you will get nowhere else on earth. There are subways

rumbling under you, buses roaring beside you, planes overhead,

buildings seventy stories high by the dozen in all directions;

within a stone's throw from where you stand 50,000 people are

active and operating, seemingly shouldering past you all at once.

Within 50 miles are more than twenty million! The energy of Mid-

town Manhattan is incredible. But along with that adrenalin surge

comes stress. By the end of the day you are exhausted! To make it

worse, you go to bed and your mind is spinning all the more. You

are all keyed up. Stress is, therefore, the number one felt need

of people in New York City (and in many other parts of North

America these days as well!).

Bible lessons on how to manage stress were developed entitled

Power to Cope. The percentage of people accepting Bible Studies

skyrocketed as soon as the lessons were available. Now 85-87% were

accepting and continue to accept lessons; Jewish, Catholic, Muslim,

it did not seem to matter. People were told, "We have a free set
of Bible study guides on how to cope with stress, are you

interested?" They were just grabbing them, sometimes grabbing

extra ones for all their friends. One day on Wall Street there was

a major felt need. Perhaps it was one of those days with a major

downswing, but on that day 242 people came on the van in front of

the Stock Exchange and every single one accepted Bible studies.

242 out of 242. It must have been a very bad day on Wall Street.
 161

But that is what happens when you meet felt needs, the barrier

against persuasion is gone. And that is the key to opening up

secular people to the gospel, finding a felt need and speaking

directly to that felt need.

It is appropriate, in the light of Part Two of this book, to

mention that the leaders of the van ministry always insist that the

key to the successes of the program are due more than anything else

to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in response to prayer and the

prayer-filled lives of the people serving on the vans. Thus, the

two key points of this book are clearly illustrated by the van

ministry. Ministry to secular people will only succeed in an

atmosphere of God's presence and power, on the one hand, and of

sensitivity to people's needs on the other. Prayer without an

understanding of method will work wonders. But even more powerful

is a ministry that combines prayer with intelligent sensitivity to

how secular people can be best approached. Prayer is the constant

in the van ministry. But when prayer was combined with the

skillful personal invitation, and with lessons that met felt needs,

interest increased from one in twenty to 85% and more!

Frankly, however, the felt need principle makes a Christian's

life more complex because secular people are as diverse as

snowflakes. Talk to twenty secular people and you will discover

twenty different felt needs that you have never met in quite that

form before. Without a fresh and creative approach, the situation

may appear hopeless. But although the attempt will have its ups

and downs, it is a great adventure that will enrich the life of

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everyone who thrives on adventure.

Door to Door Listening

How does the felt need principle operate on a large scale?

How do you do this as a church? I would suggest what I call door

to door listening. We approach people door to door for a wide

variety of reasons. Why not door to door listening? A simple way

to accomplish this is to target a specific geographical area or a

particular socio-economic segment of the target area. Andrews

University can, if needed, provide demographic breakdowns according

to the zip codes in your area. (The address Institute of Church

Ministry is found in the bibliography at the end of this book.)

Create a short survey that attempts to discover what particular

felt needs are abundant in the target community. As early returns

from the survey come in, it is important to modify the survey

itself on the basis of the feed-back. As areas of interest emerge,

the local church or group can assess which of the felt needs they

are in a position to address.

A group of us once did this in the South Bronx. No doubt you

have heard about the South Bronx. It is a part of New York City

that looks a lot like Berlin in 1945. We were taking the survey on

a block that had garbage in the street, broken glass in the empty

lots, burnt-out buildings, and a few high-rises that were hanging

together by a thread. We went down that street taking surveys of

what the felt needs of that community were. The author of the

questionnaire developed an interesting set of questions including,

"Do you feel good about the condition of this block?" 100% of the
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people said "no." They did not feel good about the way the

neighborhood was. The next question was "If someone would take the

lead in cleaning up the block, would you help?" To my amazement

90% said "yes" in an area known for apathy.

Was that block begging for a doctrinal crusade? Or was the

ideal starting point a call for a person with a Christ-like heart

to move into that block and get involved? Such a person could

encourage the people to galvanize the resources there; to clean up

the empty lot, to plant flowers, to provide security, etc. It

could be done. Most people are afraid to take the lead. But if

someone took the lead people would follow. To meet a felt need

like this would create a great deal of interest in what else the

church has to offer. There are physical dangers in such a

response, of course, but that need not be a major barrier. God has

programmed some people in a way that they don't get excited about

tasks unless there is a measure of risk or adventure associated

with them. Regardless of the type of neighborhood, when you take

surveys door-to-door you are looking for fertile fields, looking

for people who are open to the kinds of things the church is able
to offer. And when felt needs emerge, the Spirit will move

believing hearts to take action!

Patience

Patience is necessary when working with secular people. To

move from a totally secular environment into a traditional

Adventist environment is not going to happen in two or three weeks.

In my experience it averages about two years. What we are talking

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about here is long-term commitment and this may be more appropriate

to elders than to pastors in some circumstances. The key people

who develop a relationship with a secular person need to be around

when he or she goes all the way with Christ.

I remember one couple that I baptized. I officiated at their

wedding and then baptized them a year later. On the day of their

baptism the members were shocked, they thought that they were

already members of the church. They had been out Ingathering, they

came to all the work-bees, they went to all the prayer meetings--

they were at everything. They were as active and involved in the

church as anyone could be. But it was two years before they were

comfortable in making a total commitment to Christ in the context

of the Adventist Church. They insisted, "We want to know what

we're getting into first. We plan to become Seventh-day Adventists

but we are going to become Seventh-day Adventists when we

understand all of what that means."

In dealing with secular people there will be rough times along

the way. One day the husband, who worked for IBM, came up to me

with an issue of Spectrum magazine. He asked, "Does this have

anything to do with Adventism?" In it were some articles about the

Davenport fiasco and similar problems in the church. My heart was

sinking fast! I just sat down with him and said, "Look, this

church is not perfect. Administrators make mistakes, churches make

mistakes, people and pastors make mistakes. If you're looking for

perfection, you're looking in the wrong place. You can't find it

on this planet. But there's one thing I like about being an

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Adventist with all of the shortcomings," I told him, "and that is

that we are encouraged to keep growing in our understanding of

truth, however long it takes. We are not content to settle down

with tradition." The husband's response was, "Yeah, that doesn't

bother me."

Now you may think I fudged just a little, but I do believe

what I said there in principle. I am a Seventh-day Adventist

because I believe that we as a people are open to clearer

expressions of truth. We are not as a people willing to settle

into the rut of tradition. Maybe you don't think we are really

open to change, or maybe you are satisfied with where things are.

I believe, however, that God has a lot more that He wants to reveal

to us. The path of truth is like a shining light getting brighter

and brighter until it reaches the ultimate goal. And we are not

there yet. If we refuse to grow in grace and in understanding we

may find ourselves left behind as God turns to others.

This was also the time known to some as the "Ford crisis." It

was a very traumatic time to be a pastor. When the youth caught

wind of some of these things, they demanded a meeting to learn what

was going on. I did the democratic thing and allowed them to set

the agenda and bring all their friends. In retrospect, that was

quite stupid. When meeting time came not only were all the fifteen

non-churched people that I was working with sitting in the front

row, but thirty Adventists that I had never seen before had come

from other churches. And a couple of conference officials had come

as well!
 166

The questions were not only specific, but came thick and fast

so that there was no time to work through the issues from a

Biblical perspective. I could only give a short answer and go on.

What was interesting to me is that not one of those secular people

was the least bit disturbed about the issues raised at that

meeting. They said, "It's neat the way people in your church are

so open and willing to discuss the problems. This is the kind of

place I want to be." What I did not have the heart to tell them

then was that the Conference President got twelve threatening phone

calls from the unknown Adventists in that meeting. They did not

know me, and had no context for understanding what I was saying,

they just did not like what was happening.

The conference president got the phone and said, "You had some

kind of meeting there Sabbath, didn't you?"

I said, "Yeah."

He said, "I got all kinds of phone calls, some people are

pretty upset."

"Yeah, I guess I had some people there that don't know me very

well. I guess airing some of those things was not particularly

thrilling to them."

The president responded, "I have always had confidence in you.

Let me suggest that you not have any more meetings like that."

My response was, "Don't worry. I have no plans to do

something like that ever again."

Let me share with you some things I learned from this

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experience. For one thing, there is a dark side to the open forum

style. It is not realistic to expect that things will always go

perfectly. It helps, however, to target your audience carefully

whenever possible. As we noticed in Part One, church growth and

reaching the unreached are two different processes. Meetings that

attract and interest secular people may be very distressing to some

of your own church people. That is simply a reality. I know that

when I speak to an Adventist audience I speak differently than when

I know I'm speaking to a secular audience. When an Adventist

wonders why I said something in an unfamiliar way I say, "Listen,

I'm talking to them, not you. But if you have any problems, just

ask me and I will be happy to share it with you in your language."

It certainly helps in such a situation if the Adventists in

the audience know you personally and have confidence in your

ministry. Another way to handle the problem is to limit the

audience by careful targeting. The meeting that got me in trouble

had a hybrid target that attracted a mixed audience. Since the two

audiences would each respond positively to a completely different

approach, it left me with the task of deciding which to offend, and

I decided that the church members would have to be the ones to

handle it if necessary. A certain amount of flak is unavoidable in

secular ministry, if Paul's experience is any guide!

Another lesson I have learned about open forum concerns

dealing with Adventist "hot potatoes." When you are discussing

Biblical "hot potatoes" it is best to take the Word and work things

through carefully with people who have questions. Stick to the

 168

Word and say only what is in the Word and neither right nor left

wing will trouble you much. Let the Word of God gradually

transform people's thinking. Elevate the discussion by using

Biblical language instead of buying into the language of the

debate. On hot issues such as the nature of Christ and the order

of salvation, people may use unbiblical concepts or even Biblical

terms in a way that they are not used in the Bible. Unless you

have time to lay out the full Biblical perspective, the best open

forum answer may be, "I have problems with both sides on that

issue, but each is trying to protect something that is true, so

learn wherever you can, but don't believe everything you hear or

see in print. When we have time, we can take a closer look at that

issue." At that time I might point out a Bible text that well

illustrates the Biblical tension between both sides of the

question, and then go back to my central topic.

The lesson from my unhappy meeting that is most pertinent to

our purpose is that secular people, rather than being turned off by

the fact that the church isn't perfect, are usually excited by the

fact that we are willing to openly acknowledge and discuss our

imperfections. They say, "At least you guys don't think that you

have all the answers." There was a time when Adventists thought

that the only effective way to do evangelism and witnessing was by

having absolute confidence in the rightness of one's convictions.

People would be swayed by the certitude of the one who was

presenting the gospel to them. And that is true for a lot of

people, including some secular people of the blue-collar variety.

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Many types of people are still looking for someone to tell them

exactly what they need to do. But that approach usually backfires

with more-educated secular types.

Mass media advertising has led to a situation where educated

secular people have difficulty believing anything that is offered

in the public square. Propaganda is not interested in truth, only

in persuasion. Thus in the secular environment, when an individual

makes a strong statement about the certainty of his or her belief

that statement is automatically suspect. Basic to reaching the

secular mind, therefore, is an attitude of honesty and openness to

discovery. Secular people are attracted to those who are willing

to admit that their understanding of truth is subject to limitation

and distortion. The open forum setting is actually much more

persuasive for them than an assertive lecture. Through listening

and dialoguing, we show respect for the viewpoint of others and

encourage a similar respect in return. Such an approach will

require patience, however, as secular people do not normally

experience rapid conversions to Christian faith.

Educated white-collar secular people are not usually looking

for the "true church." What they are delighted to find, however,

is a community that is fully devoted to an open, honest, and

continuing search for truth. Those who know God's Word will not

avoid giving that impression, for we know that we see through a

glass darkly (1 Cor 13:12), and that our knowledge of truth will

continue to grow until the end (Prov 4:18).

Conclusion
 170

This "how-to" chapter has been necessarily sketchy and

suggestive, outlining only basic principles. Many will want

specific ideas on how to approach secular people effectively.

Since the best book I have ever read on the subject, James Engel's

Contemporary Christian Communications, is now out of print, I share

some of the most helpful suggestions in that book in an appendix

chapter at the end of this book. Particularly useful is Engel's

chart on the Spiritual Decision Process. This chart helps the

creative listener to pinpoint the level of spiritual interest in

another person. Those interested in further "how to" ideas on

personal witnessing, therefore, are directed to the appendix.

 CHAPTER TEN

OUTREACH AS A CHURCH

The preceding chapter clearly shows that one cannot reach out

to secular people in a vacuum. At some point one needs to confront

the inevitable tension between the way the church does things and

the way that secular people respond. We have to struggle with the

question of how the Adventist horizon and the secular horizon can

come together without compromising the best qualities of either.

What can a local church or conference do to make a bigger impact in

the secular environment?

Education

First of all, we need to educate our own Adventist people in

a number of areas. We need to educate about the need for a strong

devotional life in a secular environment. The principles outlined

in Part Two of this book can provide a starting point for such

education. We also need to educate about the importance of the SDA

lifestyle. Rather than helping evangelism, lowering standards

hinders it. It is the "secularized" churches that are in decline.

When secular people look for a church, they often pick the most

demanding ones. So to be conservative in the area of lifestyle is

not a negative unless combined with a rigid and judgmental

attitude. A principled approach to lifestyle brings the divine

into practical, everyday existence.

We also need to educate about the problem of horizons, to help

171
our people understand that without a lot of listening and learning

we will not be effective in reaching secular neighbors, friends,

and family. In the process it is helpful to point out that the

Bible does not offer a single, rigid model for outreach and

evangelism. There are at least two great models of ministry, the

fortress and the salt. Since most human beings are uncomfortable

with change, it helps a great deal when we can see that opening

ourselves up to change in the area of outreach will bring us into

conformity with Scripture rather than the reverse.

Multiply Ministries

As part of the process of education, we need to encourage a

multiplicity of ministries. Secular people are as diverse as

snowflakes. They are not normally reached in large groups. Each

secular person tends to respond in a unique way. The only way,

therefore, to counter the pluralism of society is with the

pluralism of the Holy Spirit, an explosion of all kinds of outreach

ministries empowered by the Spirit. This will not come from

central planning but from the members discovering the unique roles

God has developed for each person. I am encouraged, therefore, by

the spiritual gifts movement in our church. People are becoming

interested in how the Holy Spirit has provided a unique mix of

abilities to every Christian. No two people are gifted in exactly

the same way. If secular people are as diverse as snowflakes, we

need a missionary force that is as diverse as snowflakes. This is

exactly what the Holy Spirit provides; every Christian discovering

the unique niche where they can serve best.

172
 173

Service is filled with joy and excitement whenever it flows

not only from the gifts of the Spirit, but also from that unique

burden or passion that God gives each person for ministry. Every

person has a special passion for something. When a Christian

ministers in the area of his or her passion, both maximum

usefulness and personal fulfillment are attained. Many Adventists

that I know have a consuming passion for New York City. Other

people have a heavy burden for a particular ethnic group, or a

particular class of society such as the handicapped or the wealthy.

Others have a passion for the environment. I suppose it would be

safe to say that I have a passion for the unchurched, and for those

who have become disenchanted with conventional religion. If you

have a life's passion, it is within that life passion that your

ministry will be most effective.

My mom's passion is in the kitchen. She only recently found

out that that was also her ministry. My parents carried a lifetime

burden for a German-oriented church in a major city. For years

they tried to give Bible studies and build that church in

traditional ways, only to see it dwindle down to around twenty

members. Sometime in the last decade something happened in that

church. Among other things, my parents stopped trying to be what

they were not and concentrated on the gift of hospitality that God

had given them all along.

I came home from Andrews once, walked in the door and my Mom

said, "Oh, I'd like you to meet your new brother!" He was sitting

in the living room, bare to the waist with a gold chain around his
 174

neck and a big gold medallion on his chest. This was going to be

an interesting brother! I soon learned of his homosexual

orientation. He lived next door and he would just come over for

hours at a time and watch my mother do the housework. I don't know

what the psychological dynamic was, but he absolutely adored my Mom

as she opened her life to him.

I found out that my Mom had also developed a close

relationship with some Buddhist girls who were also homosexually

orientated. Buddhists! I thought to myself, what has happened to

my conservative Adventist parents? One Sabbath there were twenty-

five young people home for lunch, twelve were church members and

thirteen were not, all shared the table out in the yard on a summer

afternoon. Everyone felt at home. I began to suspect that my

folks had also found home, the place where they could be themselves

in service for God.

When my parents left that city a few years ago, there were

nearly a hundred young people in that church. Many of them made a

point to come over to me and say, "We're so sorry your parents are

leaving--they're the reason we're in this church." My folks deny

to this day that they had anything to do with that, but there are

powerful results when we reach out to people in the way that the

Holy Spirit designed us personally to do it. Many people are

gifted in the area of giving Bible studies. Although Bible studies

did not work well for my parents, I do have a gift for them, so the

gifts of the Spirit are not hereditary. We serve happiest and we

serve best when we serve in harmony with the gifts and passions
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that God has given each of us. If we are gifted in the area of

Bible studies, we will love it and be successful at it. People

will sense that we are making a difference. My parents discovered

their unique ministry late in life and when they did they began

reaching a class of people that you or I might never reach.

Nothing will "energize the laity" as much as discovering God's

unique plan for each person's life and outreach. No pastor can

reach the secular community by himself or herself. It takes an

army of people working under the empowerment of the Spirit. When

a church activates the energy of the Spirit, it is amazing the

different kinds of ministries that will emerge. When people serve

God where they don't fit, they go through life unfulfilled and with

little success in evangelism. But when you serve at the center of

your life's passion, life becomes the greatest thing on earth.

There is no substitute for knowing that you are where God wants you

to be and that you're doing what God wants you to do.

I speak here from personal experience. I genuinely believe

that I am currently placed where God wants me to be to do what He

wants me to do. I do not feel that I am doing the job as well as

I could, I have so much to learn and so much growing to do, but

various providences over the years make it clear that I should not

seek fulfillment elsewhere. And it is hard to top the feeling that

comes when you know that you are where God wants you to be and that

you're doing what God wants you to do.

A spirit-driven multiplicity of ministries is the perfect

compliment to the incredible diversity of the Information Age.

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Secular people are best reached one on one through personal

interaction; therefore, it is better to have a hundred ministers

than just one. If there are a hundred members in a church, there

can be a hundred ministers if the church catches this vision.

Workplace Evangelism

One reality of the current situation is the fact that we have

moved from the Industrial Age into the Age of Communication. This

change in the way people think, work and do business has serious

implications for our attempts to reach out to the secular world.

I believe that in coming years the best place for evangelism is

going to be the workplace. It is in the workplace that more

Seventh-day Adventists come in contact with secular people than

anywhere else. The workplace is the best place to reach secular

people. But many opportunities are lost because the outreach

possibilities of the workplace are either misused or go unnoticed.

We must not allow misguided or unethical attempts to evangelize the

workplace to steer us away from our best opportunity.

One of the best ways to reach secular people in the workplace

is through excellence in work performance. Noteworthy excellence

impresses secular people that a person has something special going

for him or her. This is related to the attractiveness that was

mentioned at the close of Part Two. Let me illustrate the powerful

impact of excellence on corporate attitudes with a story that

occurred in the School of Technology at Andrews University.

There is a firm in Chicago called AGS&R that is considered one

of the top two or three multi-image operations in the United

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States. The Andrews University media-tech department likes to take

students to see AGS&R's operation so as to better understand what

that kind of life is like. At one of these meetings a student

asked the company president a question, "I'm a Seventh-day

Adventist, and that means I don't work from Friday night to

Saturday night. If I wanted a job in your company, would that be

a problem?"

The President replied, "Yes, that would be a problem because

when projects are due around here, we have to work around the clock

and on weekends in order to meet deadlines. If you had that kind

of restriction, we wouldn't hire you."

Well that was a real deflator to these young people who were

soon to be seeking jobs in the marketplace. But they stuck with

their program anyway. Not long after that, Andrews paid fees to

enter a number of student multi-image projects at a festival in

Chicago. When the program came out the teacher discovered to his

dismay that all the presentations were scheduled on Sabbath. Since

many of these presentations had been shown on Sabbath at the

General Conference and in other church settings, the teacher spent

some time wrestling with his conscience, but came to the conclusion

that even though these presentations might be appropriate in a

Sabbath context, the audience was not going to be in a Sabbath

mood. Somehow he felt this was not the thing to do. So he went to

the head of that festival and said, "I'm sorry, we cannot allow

these things to be shown on Saturday, they have to be moved to

another time."
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The organizer of the festival said, "I'm sorry. The program's

made out and the way it is the way it is."

The teacher replied, "Well, if that's the case, give me the

programs. You can keep our money, but we won't be there."

"Oh, let's not be rash about this. Let me see what I can do."

When the time came, all of the Andrews programs were

rescheduled for Sunday and they won festival awards. When the

festival was over, the organizer came up to the teacher and said,

"I want you to know something, we understand why you took the stand

that you did. We really do understand your convictions."

What was he saying? He was saying, "There's something special

about you people, your work is the best. Evidently your

convictions must have something to do with that."

Not long after that a graduating Andrews student went down to

AGS&R and said, "I'm from Andrews University. I'm a Seventh-day

Adventist. I don't work from Friday night till Saturday night, and

I'd like a job here."

The personnel director looked him in the eye and said, "You're

hired."
The student said, "What do you mean I'm hired?"

The personnel director said, "You're hired."

The student repeated, "Why?"

"For a very simple reason. You guys are the best."

"Well what about the Saturday restriction?"

The personnel director responded, "We can't mess with that.

There's something about you people that's different--that provides

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a special excellence in your work. If we were to make you

compromise your convictions, you probably wouldn't be any good."

Now is that a witness? Is that being the salt of the earth?

I call that workplace evangelism. It may be different than

anything we have called evangelism before. But the workplace is

becoming the best place to make a difference for Christ in the

secular environment.

You would be amazed at the hundreds of Adventists that work in

the Federal Office Buildings in Washington, DC. Several have even

reached some of the highest levels. It is tragic that so many are

misunderstood in their own churches and do not receive the

encouragement and support that would enable them to salt this whole

country! A few years back, however, an idea was born that could

revolutionize the outreach of this church, making federal office

buildings centers of Adventist influence!

The first step was to find all the Adventists who worked in a

particular office building and encourage them to take one lunch a

week together. Now this could be frightening from an

administrative perspective. You might bring together six

Adventists from six different churches in three or four different

conferences. But these groups all had one thing in common. They

were all interested in the same area of the government's operation.

Their work often gave them more in common with each other than they

had with their neighbors or the members of their local church! By

getting together once a week for lunch, they could talk about what

it means to be an Adventist in the Department of Housing and Urban

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Development, for example. What contribution can the faith make to

the needs and concerns that energize the work in that department?

From time to time the groups invited Adventist speakers with

specialized expertise to address such concerns and opened the

meetings up to their workmates. "Hey, we're going to have this

lunch meeting to discuss this issue that's been troubling our

department." Since the government encourages and provides space

for such informal work-related get-togethers, the possibilities are

enormous.

If the work place is the best place for evangelism, then I

would suggest that we need Seventh-day Adventists everywhere in the

workplace. "Go ye into all the world" should not be limited to

specialized moments for outreach. Our occupations are part of the

world also. Christ longs to reach people in the workplace through

Adventist Christians who are fully devoted to Him. The

possibilities are especially large in media, education, journalism,

and the arts because these are the occupations that influence more

people than any other. Such opportunities offer enlarged spheres

of influence. I must repeat, however, that such outreach is not

for everybody. It should never be undertaken without a full

awareness of the dangers discussed in Part Two.

Clifton Davis was a very special student of ours at the

Seminary. It was clear that he had the capacity to make a major

impact in the secular world if he could find the right niche. I

was concerned that the pastorate might not be the place for his

unique gifts. There are many, many successful black evangelists in

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North America. Clifton would clearly have been successful as an

evangelist in the fortress and crusade model. There is nothing

wrong with that mode. It has a continuing role to play in our

outreach. But I had never met a person with Clifton's level of

ability to relate to the secular mind. So for three or four

months, I felt a burden from the Lord to challenge him to an

outreach more along the lines of the salt model. I had no specific

idea in mind, and I never quite got the opportunity to share it

with him.

Finally one day I saw him in the hall and said, "Clifton, I

need to see you in my office; there's something I need to talk to

you about."

He said, "That's interesting. There's something I want to

talk to you about." When he arrived at my office he said, "What

did you want to talk to me about?"

I said, "Well, you tell me first what you wanted to tell me."

He replied, "Well, I got a call last week from Hollywood.

They want to revive my old show and modify it a little bit to where

I become pastor of a local church and play that on the show."

I said, "Well, what about the Sabbath?"

"I told the producer that and he said, 'What's the Sabbath?'"

So I said, 'What do ya mean, what's the Sabbath; you ought to know,

you're Jewish; don't you remember, from Friday night sundown to

Saturday night sundown.' 'Oh,' he said, 'I had no idea you guys

were into that!'"

The producer said that because Clifton is an African-American,

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and he figured the Sabbath was only for Jews.

"Maybe some of us are keeping it because you don't," Clifton

told him. "In any case, I would want Sabbaths off."

The producer said, "Actors don't get that kind of stuff."

"If you want me on the show, I get Sabbath off."

"Well, I'll see what I can do."

He called Clifton back a day later and said, "You've got the

Sabbath."

Clifton then said, "One more thing, I want some control over

the script, I don't intend to do just anything someone might think

up."

The producer protested, "Actors never get control of the

script, that's unheard of."

"Then I'm not on the show."

"'Well, I'll see what I can do.'"

Clifton told me that he had been given significant control

over the script through a board of pastors who would examine each

script before it would be passed. Things were sounding quite

interesting.
I then said, "If you take that route, it would be kind of nice

for you to still have some kind of connection with the Adventist

pastorate."

"You're not going to believe this, Loma Linda Church just

called me up and said they'd like me to be half-time pastor and

half-time in Hollywood!"

I don't know how you relate to that, but to me it sounded too

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much like the hand of God when you put it all together. There have

been things on Clifton's show that bother me and other Adventists.

But the show was not designed to satisfy an Adventist audience.

What Clifton did needs to be understood in the light of the entire

setting of what this book is all about. I believe in zero-based

evangelism. That means that we try almost anything once and if it

doesn't work, try something else. I believe this attitude to be in

harmony with counsel that has guided us as a church for years:

Men are needed who pray to God for wisdom, and who, under
the guidance of God, can put new life into the old methods of
labor and can invent new plans and new methods of awakening
the interest of church members and reaching the men and women
of the world.
Ellen G. White MS 117, 1907 (quoted in Ev 105)

Means will be devised to reach hearts. Some of the

methods used in this work will be different from the methods
used in the work in the past; but let no one, because of this,
block the way by criticism.
RH, Sept 30, 1902

Clifton's presence in Hollywood has made a difference.

Hollywood is a unique people-group. You certainly don't reach

Hollywood people from the outside. The place is so insulated that

Hollywood actors tend to marry only other Hollywood actors or

actresses. The only way to reach these people is from inside. And

as I talked to Clifton, I became more and more convinced that God

had something special in mind here. Remembering how God used

Esther helps me to understand that God has bigger ideas and plans

than we do. Not only has Clifton been able share Christ with some

major public names, but I have noticed two changes in Hollywood

since his arrival. One, Christians are being portrayed in a more

positive light than used to be the case. In the past Christians

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only made it on television as Bible-thumping bigots or hypocrites

hiding secret vices. Today, Christians are occasionally portrayed

as normal people who struggle with significant issues in life.

Two, I've noticed more and more actors and athletes who are willing

to admit to a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what salt

ministry is all about. Influencing the larger society in behalf of

the kingdom of God.

But no secular outreach is more dangerous to spirituality than

Hollywood. So I warned Clifton along the lines of Part Two of this

book. "You must listen to me, Clifton. What you're doing is going

to be the most dangerous thing you've ever tried to do since you

became a Christian. You're going back into a setting in which you

were once an entirely different person. And frankly, the odds are

pretty strong that, without special safeguards, you're going to

lose your way."

I continued, "What you need is a person who knows you better

than you know yourself, who will watch you, and observe you, and

stay close to you. And you must be open and honest with this

friend. You need to make a contract with your friend that if the
day ever comes when he says, 'Clifton, you're losing it,' you'll

quit Hollywood on the spot and walk away. If you don't do this, I

can't advise you to go."

He said, "I know a person like that and I will do that."

The day may come when Clifton decides it was a mistake. If

you don't agree with what he is doing, I respect that and he

respects that. But instead of writing a hate-filled letter, let me

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suggest something more effective; pray for him, he needs our

encouragement and our prayers. And so it is with many others in

similar positions. If the workplace is becoming the best place for

evangelism, it will at times be necessary to take some risks.

Unless the "preacher" is daily energized by the disciplines of the

Spirit, he or she can drift until they become a "castaway," to use

Paul's language in 1 Cor 9. We need to spiritually hold up the

hands of those taking such risks for Christ. It is not for

everybody, but if God should bring you to a special place of

influence know that you are in that job for a specific purpose and

that you will have the opportunity to exalt God in a unique way.
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CHAPTER ELEVEN

OUTREACH THROUGH WORSHIP

One of the great "hot potatoes" in the Adventist Church today

is the subject of worship. That must not prevent us, however, from

noting the centrality of worship style to the impact that Adventism

makes or does not make in a secular world. I have already

suggested that the typical Adventist worship service tends to turn

off secular people. As secular people begin to come to an

Adventist Church, are there ways we can make them feel more at

home?

It is possible that the two models of ministry that can be

detected in Matt 5:13-16 should be expanded to a third. While the

first two models helpfully illustrate the two major ways that

individuals can involve themselves in gospel outreach, there is a

third way that involves the group as a whole. The fortress city of

Matt 5:14 is associated with the metaphor of a bright and shining

light that cannot be hidden. This suggests that the church as a

corporate whole, when it enjoys the fullness of the abundant life

and the mutual love that is available in Christ, exerts a powerful

attraction upon those who are outside. A truly Biblical community

will draw people in by its very existence.

While public evangelism often succeeds in increasing baptisms,

it does not always result in sustained church growth. One reason

for this is that the people didn't join a Saturday morning church.

They joined a church that meets five nights a week, uses lots of
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visual aids, and has exciting music by professionals or with taped

accompaniment. They are then expected to settle for once a week,

few visual aids if any, and a piano or organ played with a minimum

of enthusiasm. A little reflection indicates that the quality of

Sabbath worship is crucial to sustaining church growth, not just

among secular people, but in general.

Many SDA churches, therefore, are now finding that a relevant

and vibrant worship service has a powerful, word-of-mouth drawing

power upon the unchurched. Those who have fallen away from church

attendance because the worship service seemed boring, manipulative,

and out of touch with their lives, are often open to giving church

another chance when the worship service is interesting and speaks

powerfully to contemporary issues.

Part of this worship renewal includes a use of contemporary

language and harmonic idioms. While this has appeared threatening

to some, history teaches us that revivals of faith are usually

accompanied by revivals of Christian song-writing. The need for

fresh melodies, styles, and lyrics lies in the fact that faith must

touch base with real life if it is to become the everyday

experience that is needed to overcome secular drift. Contemporary

secular songs, though often presenting messages that are contrary

to the gospel, nevertheless express deeply the struggles of life in

today's world. When Christian music demonstrates an awareness of

those contemporary struggles it has a powerful influence in behalf

the gospel's solutions to those struggles. Thus, it is not

surprising that many of the great hymns utilized contemporary

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lyrics and melodies to bring Christianity home in a relevant way to

earlier eras. We must not be afraid to be as bold as the hymn-

writers of the past.

Before I continue, let me explain that I too once feared that

contemporary music might lead us in a dangerous direction. I have

now changed my mind. Let me explain how it happened. Some time

ago our home church face a lengthy period of time without a pastor.

As part of its worship plan the church invited the youth (ages 14-

22) to present a "youth worship service" on a monthly basis. This

included contemporary praise songs (no drums, very low key), a

dramatic sketch illustrating the theme of the sermon, and a sermon

that spoke directly to contemporary issues. A number of exciting

things happened almost overnight. The youth group for the first

time felt that it was a valued and accepted part of the church.

Young people got excited about the chance to contribute. Not only

did the youth group grow rapidly, but they brought parents and

friends, and soon attendance in our church more than doubled (no

parking available after 9:20 AM!).

What impressed me most, however, was what happened to my own

children. Up until then they had expressed the usual disinterest

in everything that happened in the church service with the

exception of the children's story. But during the youth services

their eyes and ears were entirely up front. I knew this not only

from the looks on their faces and the unused Magna-Doodles lying on

the pew, but from what happened the rest of the week. All week

long I could hear them singing the songs that they had heard and
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seen on the screen during the worship service. But even more

impressive is the fact that I often heard the three-year-old and

the four-year-old exchanging one-liners from the sermon in the

course of the week! Somehow the use of contemporary songs, and the

visual medium of the skit communicated to children too small to

dissimulate that the sermon was also relevant to them. Somehow, in

a subtle way I do not understand, my children perceived that

worship was worth their time and energy. Please keep in mind that

we do not even have a television set in our house so our children

are not "jaded" by hours of bleary-eyed saturation in the secular

world.

That was when I realized that none of us are fully insulated

from contemporary life. Though we may shun the television and

radio, we are influenced nevertheless. When you call a bank, a

store, or the credit-card company they put you on hold and guess

what comes over the phone! When you go to the grocery store or the

shopping mall to obtain items necessary for life what kind of music

comes over the PA system? It is impossible to live totally in a

world other than our own. When worship fails to speak to the world
we live in, it is easy to live a double life. One is the life that

we live when we are in church or associate with fellow Christians.

The other is the life we live as we work and play. Such a

compartmentalized life will neither save us from secular drift, nor

attract secular people to our faith.

Some time after the "youth experience" in our church I visited

a major city in a third world country. In that city were two

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pastors, one who pastored a "celebration" church, and the other who

pastored an "anti-celebration" church. It was hoped that a joint

worship service of the churches might help to build relationships

and understanding. I stayed at the home of the "anti-celebration"

pastor. An interesting thing happened at sundown on Friday. The

television and the VCR were turned on and throughout the Sabbath

hours contemporary Christian music videos from Adventist groups

played in endless cycle. Much of the music was of a "racier"

variety than that used at the "celebration" church in town. I was

stunned. I said to the conference official who had brought me to

that city, "This man opposes using this kind of music at the eleven

o'clock hour, but enjoys it the rest of the week. Do you realize

what this does? It means that worship is the one hour of the week

that is totally cut off from the rest of his experience. The

Sabbath morning worship service is almost guaranteed not to speak

to what matters most in his day to day life." I say this not to be

critical of a very godly pastor, but to illustrate how easily

worship becomes isolated from our everyday experience, an

obligation to be performed, instead of being the driving force

behind our outreach for God.

I have learned one more thing from my church's short-lived

experiment with contemporary Christianity. The youth services are

now a thing of the past in our little church. The attendance has

dropped back to previous levels. The youth have settled back into

their isolation. My children no longer pay attention to the

worship service. Things are back to normal! I have learned that,

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as a group, change is a very wrenching experience for church

people, even when the results are dramatic. We must not forget

that many people do appreciate a more traditional worship style.

Many of the great hymns of the church still speak powerfully.

There is nothing inherently wrong with the traditional service. If

it is working well where you are, don't throw it out! Not only do

many people prefer the traditional style, but maintaining it is has

become a matter of conscience for them. It is a terrible thing to

force a people to go against their conscience.

I have, therefore, concluded from my own experience, and those

of others I have worked with, that it is usually unwise to attempt

to make large changes in the worship style of a local church, even

though change may be a positive thing for many. Too many souls are

troubled, too many hearts are broken. This world has enough tears

already! And it hardly seems fair to take a church that has

functioned in one place for decades and "tear it away" from those

who have given their lives to it. I plead that those who have a

passion for reaching the secular mind have compassion on those who

do not. The fortress-model is not a sin, it is just a different

model of ministry! Coercion and force are tools of Satan, even

when exerted in a "good cause." It is a terrible thing to be

forced to go against one's conscience.

If worship style is to be a central component of outreach to

a secular world, it may be better to start a fresh congregation

dedicated to outreach on a contemporary basis. Those who prefer a

more traditional style can continue to go where that style remains

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in force. Just as individuals have unique gifts that can be

applied to God's work, so churches may also be gifted to carry out

tasks that other churches could not accomplish. I must, therefore,

plead with those who prefer the traditional idiom, not to burden

the lives of those who bravely strive to raise up new churches with

bitter and endless criticism. I realize that such "praise

churches" will gain some of the best and brightest from other

Adventist churches and thus cannot go unnoticed. But this will be

a wondrous opportunity to speak the most difficult, yet greatest

words ever spoken by a sinner, "He must increase, and I must

decrease." (John 3:30) There is room in our church for more than

one model of worship, just as there is room for more than one model

of ministry.

In many geographical areas of this country, however, there are

hardly enough Adventists in a community to keep one church afloat,

much less two. In such circumstances it makes little sense to

orient an entire church, kicking and screaming, into targeting

exclusively the classes of people that are most difficult to reach,

especially when such targeting involves spiritual risk. The best

that one could hope for from the worship service in such a setting

is that the service would at least not be hostile to a secular

seeker. The goal would be to design a church service that can, on

the one hand, meet the needs of traditional Adventists, while, at

the same time, providing a more "user-friendly" environment for

secular people. In the following I offer six suggestions that

could be introduced into any Seventh-day Adventist Church without

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a board action. None of these suggestions compromise the basics

that are vital to the spiritual health of more traditional people

in Adventist congregations, yet, if followed, these suggestions

would make the worship service more inviting and attractive to

secular people.

First of all, it helps a great deal to utilize everyday

language, the kind of language that is understood on the street, in

all parts of the worship service rather than the in-house lingo of

Adventism. We mentioned this already in the chapter entitled

"Cutting Edge People." The use of common, everyday language is

important for at least two reasons. One reason was mentioned in

Part One. There we noticed that God has always gone out of His way

to communicate with human beings in their contemporary culture and

idiom. While everyday language may at times seem a limited tool

for expressing the realities of the spiritual realm, it makes up

for any limitations in the power with which it can unify the

spiritual realm with everyday life. A second reason to use common

language is that it expresses caring. When we go out of our way to

communicate with people in a way that meets them where they are, it
communicates that we care enough to understand where they are

coming from. They matter to us. When people know that they matter

to other humans it makes it easier for them to believe that they

matter also to God.

To avoid Adventist jargon will not kill anybody. No one will

leave the church if we stop using words like "investment" and

"light" in our unique way. This is not a major sacrifice for

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someone who is accustomed to more traditional style of worship. It

lets people from a variety of backgrounds know that they are

welcome. They don't need to learn a new language as an initiation.

Where hymns, Scripture readings, or other worship aids are in the

obscure language of the past, a short, well-prepared introduction

can help people relate to the original setting of the language and,

thus, meaningfully engage with the sentiments expressed. The

bottom line here is to do all we can to make sure that everything

we do in the worship service is readily understandable to the

secular person who may wander in or be invited by a member.

A second change that will make a major difference in how

"user-friendly" a church is to secular people is to make sure that

whatever happens on Sabbath morning has high "take-home value," in

other words, is usable on Monday morning. How many Seventh-day

Adventist sermons are worth a dime on the street? How often do our

sermons have any impact on the way we really live? Are we just

spending excess time? I tremble to think that if a thousand people

attend a church service and nothing significant happens for an

hour, you've wasted half a work-year of life. Preaching needs to

have high take-home value. People need to be hearing something

that they can apply on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings.

And you can do that without compromising the faith one iota.

Ministers should not preach sermon after sermon on

doctrinal subjects alone. Practical godliness should find a
place in every discourse.
RH, April 23, 1908

In laboring in a new field, do not think it your duty to

say at once to the people, We are Seventh-day Adventists; we
believe that the seventh day is the Sabbath; we believe in the
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non-immortality of the soul. This would often erect a

formidable barrier between you and those you wish to reach.
Speak to them, as you have opportunity, upon points of
doctrine on which you can agree. Dwell on the necessity of
practical godliness. Give them evidence that you are a
Christian, desiring peace, and that you love their souls. Let
them see that you are conscientious. Thus you will gain their
confidence; and there will be time enough for doctrines. Let
the heart be won, the soil prepared, and then sow the seed,
presenting in love the truth as it is in Jesus.
GW 119,120

While Ellen White probably had geography in mind when she

wrote this counsel, the secular environment certainly qualifies as

a "new field" for us at this time. Few people have heard of us,

few know what we believe. For such individuals, a demonstration of

practical, living Christianity will be an attractive force that

will invite them to inquire further into godliness. I have found

that when I teach people how to live I offend no one but develop

all kinds of interest in the study of the Scriptures and the

overcoming of sin in the life. This counsel should be so obvious

that one wonders why practical godliness does not ring from every

Adventist pulpit every Sabbath. The answer may lie in a chilling

statement that lays open the grounds why my own preaching has often

been ineffective:
It is a sad fact that the reason why many dwell so much
on theory and so little on practical godliness is that Christ
is not abiding in their hearts. They do not have a living
connection with God.
4T 395,396

We will become effective in presenting how a Christian copes

with Monday morning when we ourselves have wrestled honestly with

the issues people face at home, in the neighborhood, and on the

job. When we ourselves know how to walk with God every day of the
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week, we will be able to learn how to teach others to do the same.

The churches that are making the greatest impact in the secular

world today are emphasizing practical Christianity. (Other

important Ellen White statements on practical godliness are: GW

158,159; 3T 237; 5T 158, 539)

A third area that makes a big difference with secular people

is a concern for excellence, for quality in everything that we do

as a church. Too often Adventist churches look shabby in the

extreme. The choice of participants and the content of the worship

service is clearly an afterthought. The sermon and special music

seem thrown together at the last minute. Some Adventists may

tolerate shabbiness, but secular people consider shabbiness to be

an insult both to their intelligence and to their sense of

stewardship of time.

I think we can learn a great deal on this point from the

Disney Corporation. A major reason that the Disney Corporation is

successful is because it insists on excellence in every detail of

its parks. You will never see a garbage dumpster around the corner

of a building in a Disney park. They do not want a single thing to

detract from the visitor's experience. There is excellence in the

music, excellence in the decor, excellence in every detail. The

same is generally true of television. While the content may be

contrary to the gospel, it is usually served up with supreme care.

Hours of work go into every minute. This is particularly true in

the case of commercials. Multiplied hours and huge amounts of

dollars are spent to make a single minute as productive as possible

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in its impact on the viewer.

Although we demand quality in the products we buy, the motels

we stay in or the programming we may enjoy, we somehow expect a

secular person to enjoy a half-hearted sermon and a thoroughly

butchered song. But instead of enjoyment that person will report

to his or her friends on Monday morning, "You should have seen the

sorry excuse for a church service I saw this weekend. There was a

singer there who must have had her throat removed in an operation,

it was so bad. And the pastor had no idea what he was talking

about, he was unbelievable."

"Oh, what church was that?"

All it takes is one report like that and you have destroyed

the church's credibility with not only one, but five or six, maybe

ten. Is excellence that difficult? Is the worship service so

unimportant that it doesn't matter? Isn't worshiping God worth the

very best that we can offer, whether we're preaching, singing, or

praying? We have come to a place in earth's history where we need

to be the best that we can be for God. Less than the best isn't

good enough anymore. In saying this I must confess that as a

pastor I had much too flippant an attitude toward the parts of the

worship service that I didn't "star" in personally. The music, the

Scripture, prayer, and even the announcements are worthy of careful

planning and skilled execution.

Having said this, I would like to qualify it just a bit so as

not to discourage the many small churches that may seem devoid of

world-class talent. On the subject of excellence, it may be

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helpful to make some distinction between mistakes of enthusiasm and

mistakes of carelessness. What I am talking here about are

mistakes of carelessness and neglect. Just as secular people are

forgiving about social mistakes if one is genuine and open, they

can also tell the difference between sincere effort and

carelessness, or between enthusiasm and phoniness.

One of the best ways to enhance excellence in any operation is

to evaluate and critique on a regular basis. As threatening as

evaluation may be, if we are serious about excellence, we need to

constantly get feedback regarding the quality of our efforts for

God. The ministries and services of a church should constantly be

measured in relation to the Word of God and the needs of the people

being served. No one should consider themselves exempt, not even

the pastor. I learn much more from people who disagree with me,

because they will often tell me to my face things that my friends

may not have the courage to express. The evaluation process is

always painful, but results in more effective ministry.

Even the best of sermons can be improved upon. Quite recently

I preached a sermon at a large church in an institutional setting

that seemed to have a significant impact on a lot of people. Small

clusters of people gathered spontaneously all over the campus that

afternoon to discuss the implications of the sermon for their

lives. I felt good that God had used me to make a difference. But

in the receiving line a man came up to me with disappointment

written all over his face. He had difficulty believing that a

detail in my sermon was factual as I had inferred. That "lie" had

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ruined the whole sermon for him.

I slipped immediately into a defensive mode. I indicated that

I could give names and dates and places to verify every detail. He

just shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I just can't believe it

happened that way, I'm sorry." He left unreconciled. The story I

had told was in fact true. I felt justifiably angry that my

integrity had been challenged by a stranger. Upon reflection,

however, I realized that ministers are not exempt from the

temptation to exaggerate and embellish stories from time to time.

Like my challenger, I, too, find that the practice of exaggeration

can detract from an otherwise excellent message. I realized in

retrospect that although the story I had told was factually

accurate, it was stranger than fiction. And if even one person

(and for every one who confronts a dozen may keep silence) lost the

blessing of the sermon because they questioned that detail, the

sermon would be better off without it. It was not, in any case,

crucial to my main point. I hope that I can meet this man again

someday and thank him for making me a better preacher.

A fourth area that can make a difference is directly related

to the reality of the media. Worship needs to be more visual and

attention-grabbing than before. What do people do with those

little radar guns that turn all the channels on the TV? It drives

me nuts. They sit there--click, watch for five seconds; click, on

to the next channel; click, on to the next channel, ranging

through. What are they doing? Looking for something worth

spending time on. How long do they take to decide? Five or ten
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seconds per channel at the most.

Preacher, if you have never thought about this before, fasten

your seat-belt. The kind of people we are talking about here, many

of whom sit in your pews, have decided after ten seconds whether

the sermon is worth listening to because they have been trained to

make those kind of decisions. Thus, the very first sentence

becomes "do or die." Speakers these days must grab people right at

the start and then keep them listening throughout. People's

attention cannot be taken for granted anymore. To grab attention

is in harmony with the example of Christ who had a fascinating way

of asking those little rhetorical questions like, "Which of these

two sons really obeyed his father?" In that society, a story and

a question like that turned the temple court into an E. F. Hutton

seminar. Today, we may only have five or ten seconds to make a

case for people to listen to the sermon.

Music, if it is done well, can enhance the attention quotient

of a worship service. Equally effective is the use of visual aids

to communication, such as drama. While the word "drama" may

frighten some Adventists we make powerful use of drama in nearly

every Adventist church on Sabbath morning. We call it the

children's story. And guess who gets the most out of the

children's story? The two-year-olds usually ignore it. The

children's story is there for the adults! They would be upset if

you didn't have one.

You can't fool me. I start dramatizing a Bible story for the

kids, and then peek out of the corner of my eye. All the adults
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are leaning forward with their eyes as big as saucers, they don't

want to miss anything. So I really lay it on thick; I lay down, I

snore, stand on my head (well almost!), all kinds of things. But

if the kids love it, the adults love it even more. Some of these

same adults would be upset if we had a "drama" or showed a video.

Then I get into the pulpit and watch the same adults settling down

for their snooze! Case closed. Drama brings spiritual lessons

home with contemporary power the way few things can.

If the people in your church are dead-set against drama,

utilize the children's story instead. Co-ordinate it with the

sermon, the hymns, and the Scripture reading; make the whole

service one of a piece. Let the children's story set the tone for

the sermon. Let it raise a question or a problem. By the time the

pastor gets up to speak, people are already thinking, "Well, how

are we going to solve this problem?" Let the children's story be

longer and the sermon a little shorter, but build the two together

and the whole service will have more zip.

We are all accustomed to drama in one form or another, so the

word itself should not turn us off. In this day and age, where
people have grown up with television, we certainly accomplish

little if we put them to sleep. The small changes recommended here

need not offend those of a more traditional bent. It certainly

does not help to go into a church with a heavy hand and say, "We're

going to start introducing drama into this church." You will have

a fight on your hands. Just make the children's story more

creative and more integrated with the whole and you'll accomplish
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the same results without the fuss.

The fifth matter that is critical to worship renewal is strong

spiritual tone. Truth is not enough to keep people in church

today. Most backsliders still believe the truth. My wife's

mother, for example, spent twenty-five years out of the church.

But she could argue any Baptist under the table over the Sabbath!

Truth is not enough to keep people anymore, it must be combined

with spiritual life. People need to experience a living God. When

secular people decide to come to church it is because they sense

that the living God is present there. Secular people are drawn to

churches where the people know God and know how to teach others to

know God.

There is nothing un-Adventist about spirituality; there is

nothing heretical about prayer and Bible study. Right now in our

church of about a hundred members there are three prayer groups

meeting every week. There is increasing interest in our

denomination in family devotions, prayer, and spiritual life in the

church. The concepts discussed in Part Two of this book are one

way to approach the issue of spirituality in the church.

When secular people start seeking faith, they are looking for

evidence that God is real and that other people experience Him. A

church made up of people who know God and who know how to teach

others how to know Him, will draw secular people in as with a

magnet. Everything that is done, whether it is the sermon, the

special music, or the prayer needs to be driven by the spiritual

vitality of those who participate. Secular people are not easily

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fooled. If the spiritual life of the church is phony, it will fool

no one, certainly not its own youth.

This brings us to the sixth area of potential improvement in

Adventist worship, and probably the most important one. People

today are crying out for examples of genuine, authentic

Christianity; or to use street terms, being real. Not long ago I

was sitting at dinner with a number of leading thinkers in the

Adventist Church. At one point in the conversation, they turned to

me and said, "Jon, what do you think is the greatest need of the

Adventist Church right now?" Almost without thinking I responded,

"To stop living a lie!" Well that stopped the discussion right in

its tracks, but the more I thought about my casual reply, the more

compelling it became. So often in Adventist churches, people are

just going through the motions, playing church. Why do you go to

church? Do you go to church because your mother did? Or because

you want your children to get a religious education? Or do you go

because . . . just because you go? Is church-going just a game we

play? "Well, that's out of the way, now we can have fun the rest

of the week." Secular people seem to have a sixth sense about who
is genuine and who is not. They can smell phony Christians a mile

away.

What does it mean to be genuine and authentic? Authenticity

is when the inside is in harmony with the outside. Living a lie is

where the inside and the outside are two different things. It was

reported to me that at a meeting of Christian leaders the

discussion became so hot that they began shouting back and forth
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and some swear words were used. A couple of ministers even

threatened each other physically. Suddenly at seven-thirty that

evening a knock came on the door and someone entered and said,

"Don't you know what time it is? The people are here for the

prayer meeting." The fellow who had been right at the center of

the fight walked out in front of the assembly and said, "Isn't it

good when brethren to dwell together in unity? Isn't it good to be

together with the people of God tonight?" If I had been there it

would have made me ill. Why did he do it? Was it to protect his

image as a Christian leader? The reality is that the phony is

usually the last person to know that everyone knows he or she is a

phony.

What would be true Christian genuineness in that situation?

To act as if nothing had happened would be to live a lie. Should

the leader have come out swearing instead? No, that would not be

Christian. I would hope that between the office and the pulpit he

might have gotten the realization that something was dreadfully

wrong. It would be genuine to come up before the people and say,

"You know, we've just had a meeting backstage. And frankly, some
of us didn't behave much like Christ. I'm really not worthy to

stand up here and run this meeting. But I know that in Christ

there is a way to be forgiven and a way to change. First of all,

I need to apologize to these brethren over here. And second of

all, we need to kneel down so that YOU can pray for US because we

need it desperately." That would be genuine. And secular people

would find that kind of religion much more attractive than one that
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is always sicky, sweetly smiling when it's not really for real.

I remember a student who enjoyed expressing his irritation at

"them," the administrators of the Adventist Church. Right and

wrong seem so much easier to determine when you are not at the

center of decision-making processes. Since he was a fun-loving,

unorthodox type of guy, he certainly did not fit the typical "mold"

of Adventist administration. Nevertheless, because of his

considerable administrative and people skills, I warned him that he

was in real danger of becoming one of "them" some day. So it was

with some amusement and no little excitement that I greeted the

news sometime later that he had indeed become one of "them." Would

he maintain the carefree and independent spirit so natural to his

personality, or would he try to fit into the mold?

Some years later we were assigned to the same church

committee. At break time I moved across the room to greet him with

a high five and a, "Hey, man, how's it going?" He stood up regally

in his three-piece suit, put out his hand formally and said in a

measured voice, "Hello, Jon, so nice to see you again." He had

become one of "them!" He was now playing the role of his new
position, a role so unlike his previous demeanor. I found myself

quite disheartened by the encounter. Christianity must be more

than just an image that we project. (To tell the other half of the

story, I am glad to report that he has since relaxed into his new

duties and become much more human again!)

The essence of Christian authenticity is to "be what you are."

This does not mean that if you feel like the Devil you should also
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act like the Devil. Any secular person can be authentic in that

way. Christian authenticity is more challenging. "Be what you

are" brings a Christian face to face with the reality that what we

are and what we ought to be are two different things. But for the

authentic Christian there is only one possible course of action, if

what you are isn't pretty, you need to go to the Lord, confess

where you are and invite His involvement in your life to transform

you into a "who you are in Christ." To serve Him as effectively as

possible means diet; it means devotional life; it means learning to

remold some of our attitudes and personality traits; not in order

to be saved, but for Christ's sake, and for the sake of lost

people.

The matter lies very close to home for me. When I started out

in ministry I used to get a splitting headache every Sabbath. It

was very frustrating because on the very day that I needed to be at

my best for God, I was feeling my worst. A couple of years later

it finally dawned on me (some people are slow learners) that the

reason for the Sabbath headaches was that I was trying to be

someone I was not in front of the people. I was playing a role.

I was being what I thought people wanted me to be rather than what

I truly ought to be in Christ. God helped me finally to understand

that He wanted me to be myself for him, not Billy Graham, or H. M.

S. Richards, or Roland Hegstad. Just be Jon Paulien for Christ.

What a relief! What a blessing! I know from sharing this with

Adventists around the world that the reality of "Sabbath headaches"

is more widespread than I would like to think.

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The most effective path to true authenticity is to cultivate

genuineness each day in a devotional encounter with God. Christ

can help you to see yourself as others see you. In Christ it is

possible to learn how to be yourself. Certainly you cannot be

transparent with people if you are not transparent with God. Have

you ever lied to God in prayer? "Dear Lord, I love You so much";

when really, in the back of your mind you are thinking, "Boy, I'd

like to punch You right in the Nose." Yet God prefers that we tell

it like it is in prayer. Jesus certainly did. "Why have you

forsaken me?" If Jesus could be honest with God, it cannot be a

sin for us! The Lord wants to hear our deepest needs, our deepest

feelings, yes--even our anger. Anything but trying to fool him

with sweet-talking words that mean nothing.

Do you know why confession and repentance are essential to

salvation? Because confession and repentance are simply

acknowledging the truth about oneself. Not to confess and not to

repent is to live a lie before the world. It is to be more

concerned with one's image than with reality. Do you remember that

Jesus said something about dirty cups with a shiny exterior? We

are all dirty cups. But there is one thing uglier than a dirty cup

and that is a dirty cup that goes around telling everyone how clean

it is. In the light of the cross the only authentic existence is

to live in continual and transparent repentance.

But what if you don't feel repentant? What if, like me, you

were gifted with the temperament that knows and uses all the words

in every language except the two that express, "I'm sorry?" People
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like me need help in order to discover the truth about ourselves.

What I am about to share with you, therefore, derives from the

deepest and most vulnerable facets of my personality.

I have learned as a biblical scholar how easy it is to make

the Bible say whatever you want it to say. One's interpretation

often arises out of the need to protect one's personal failings and

shortcomings from coming to the light of Scripture and the Spirit's

gentle persuasion. Our interpretation of Scripture can be made to

serve as a wall of denial to protect us from having to acknowledge

our sins and weaknesses to God and to others. I have learned that

when I sit down to "exegete" Scripture, it must be with the prayer,

"Lord, I want the truth, no matter what the cost." We are often

willing to learn the truth as long as it doesn't cost us anything.

But knowing and living the truth can cost you your job, your

friends, your family, everything that matters most to you. It can

mean carrying a cross for the rest of your days. So don't pray

such a prayer if you don't mean it. I guarantee you, however, that

God delights to answer the prayer, "I want the truth, no matter

what the cost." He delights to give you the truth. But along with
the truth there is a price to pay.

The first time I prayed this prayer was about twelve years

ago. I lay face down, in frustration pounding a wooden floor with

my fist. The man who had ministered Christ to me now told me in

persuasive and logical sincerity that if I truly loved Jesus, I

would also need to leave the church I loved. Some of you will not

be able to understand why that challenge was so difficult for me at

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the time. Others of you went through the same experience that I

did. After much struggle, I opened myself to God and prayed,

"Lord, give me the truth, no matter what the cost."

The answer God placed in my mind was crystal clear, although

I heard no audible voice. "I understand what you are going

through. Remember this, the disciples of Jesus never left Judaism.

Luther never left the Catholic Church. Ellen White never left the

Methodist Church. All were thrown out. It is My purpose that you

should stay in the Adventist Church until you are thrown out. But

I have a condition for you. From now on you must not act and speak

to protect your job or your social standing. You must tell the

truth exactly as you see it without fear or favor. Don't be

obnoxious or rebellious or give them some human reason to throw you

out, let it be on the basis that you told the truth, and the truth

only. If they throw you out as a result, so be it, that will be My

signal to you that I have something better for you."

This message was clearly for me personally. If the Lord gave

you a different message at that time, I have no problem with that.

To be honest, however, at the time I passed through this

experience, I did not think that the Adventist Church could handle

the truth. I did not expect to last long. To my great surprise my

path from that moment on has only been in the direction of greater

and greater influence within the church. In spite of what many say

these days, my experience has been that the Adventist Church is

filled from top to bottom with people who are eager for truth and

authenticity. This is as true at the General Conference level as

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at any other. Although many consider me to now be in a position

where I have to "cover my tracks" in order to defend the church, I

have seen no reason to deviate from the counsel the Lord gave me

twelve years ago, and I have no intention of doing so, as this book

will testify. I may be wrong, but I am telling it as I see it,

whatever the cost.

Truth-telling has not been an easy experience for me. I find

myself sabotaged at times at the most inward levels of my being.

Natural defense mechanisms threaten my very best intentions.

Recently, for example, I tried to analyze why a particular preacher

had such a powerful effect on me. It dawned on me after a while

that nearly every illustration in his sermons came from personal

experience, and that almost all of those illustrations were of his

failures and not of his successes. I then compared with my own

preaching. I realized that I featured only my successes and not my

failures. I was smitten to the core of my being. Another's

confession was my road to confession. The truly authentic

Christian will be slow to boast and quick to forgive, because such

a person will see their own depravity clearly.

As we reach out to the secular people in our communities, we

will discover that one of the best ways to find the point of

contact in another person is through our own confession of need.

People are reluctant to make themselves vulnerable to others. But

if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable with them (at the

appropriate time and in an appropriate way) they may feel

comfortable to share their deepest needs and concerns with us.

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I have learned, therefore, that I must take my prayer for

truth to a deeper level yet. I need more than just biblical truth

in order to be effective for God, I need the truth about myself.

I need to discover when my subconscious defense mechanisms are

defeating my very best intentions. The perilous prayer that opens

the depths goes something like this, "Lord, I open myself to your

inspection (see Heb 4:12,13). See me as I truly am. Teach me the

truth about myself, no matter what the cost. Help me to see myself

as You see me." This prayer is a frightening but marvelous opening

to the journaling experience. When we open ourselves to God's

inspection, He will gently and kindly lead us to things we could

never discover any other way. And He will not open to us more than

we can handle (see John 16:12) at the time we pray.

The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will
appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and
your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast
to his perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan's
delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence
of the Spirit of God is arousing you.
No deep-seated love for Jesus can dwell in the heart that
does not realize its own sinfulness. The soul that is
transformed by the grace of Christ will admire his divine
character; but if we do not see our own moral deformity, it is
unmistakable evidence that we have not had a view of the
beauty and excellence of Christ.
SC 64-65

There is yet a deeper level to Christian authenticity. Many

of us are so steeped in denial of sin and weakness that we deceive

ourselves even in our innermost prayer life. To such people

personal journals can become self-serving accounts of our wisdom

and the folly of those around us. There is no substitute,

therefore, for the checks and balances that come into our life when
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we become willing to hear the truth about how others see us.

Authentic Christians can usually point to specific people who

understand and love them, yet are willing to tell the truth about

the quality of their behavior. Accountability to others can

enhance our accountability to God.

Such accountability can take various forms. There are three

Adventist Christian men in three different parts of the world who

play this role in my life. I know that I can call or visit any of

them any time. I know that they will tell me to my face whatever

I need to hear. They have played a major role in any successes I

may have had in God's cause. Others find a small group such as Al-

Anon provides the context where they can take off the mask, be

real, and get the kind of feedback they need. In ideal situations,

even a Sabbath School class can function to provide accountability.

For those who have few friends and no group to turn to, the only

possibility for true accountability may be a personal counseling

situation (which should no longer be thought of as a negative

option for any Christian). Get feedback wherever you can, but get

it!
There are souls perplexed with doubt, burdened with
infirmities, weak in faith, and unable to grasp the Unseen;
but a friend whom they can see, coming to them in Christ's
stead, can be a connecting link to fasten their trembling
faith upon Christ.
DA 297

Please allow a momentary digression. I do fear in regard to

authenticity, that some Adventists may take it as a license to dump

on others whatever gossip and negative suspicions they may collect

in the course of church life. Some personality types love to "tell

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it like it is" in the most brutal ways. To all such, I commend the

gentleness of Jesus who said, "I have many things to tell you, but

you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12) Jesus cares enough about

our feelings to wait for the right moment before sharing something

that may be hard to bear. And the next verse (John 16:13) makes

clear that the Spirit can often communicate what human beings

cannot. Authenticity does not require us to tell the whole truth

in any or every circumstance. It does require us not to live a

lie.

In conclusion, as I come in contact with ex-SDAs, the number

one excuse for not returning to church is, "They all claim to be so

holy, yet they do this and this and this." Now such excuses may at

times be exaggerated, but if there is one thing above all others

that will draw secular people into a church it is the sense that

people who are living real lives with real struggles and real

failures are, in Christ, growing in grace and in love for one

another as failing but forgiven people. Nothing gives me more

courage in faith than to realize that my fellow brothers and

sisters struggle with the same things I do and that I can face my
problems together with others who care about me. The greatest need

of Adventism in the 90s is to make an end of living a lie.

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CHAPTER TWELVE

HOW TWO MODELS CAN CO-EXIST

What can you do if your local church has no burden for secular

people and there is no possibility of an alternative church

setting? If attempts to educate the local leadership as to how

secular people respond and think have failed, the solution is to

form a "subculture" within the church, or to put it another way, to

open a door into that church for secular people. If the worship

service is not "user-friendly" to secular people, they need to be

introduced into another type of church setting first.

This insight first came to me as I was addressing this subject

at a conference campmeeting. The conference president became quite

excited over the kind of people who were attending the seminar. In

particular he mentioned a non-Christian husband who had been

resisting the church's attentions for years. But when his wife

told him about the seminar on meeting the secular mindset, he

eagerly attended. The president had been working with the man for
years and was thrilled to see him showing some interest. The next

day that husband and his wife came to see me with another couple.

He said, "I need to talk to you. I appreciate what you have been

saying, but I have a problem. I believe in everything your church

teaches, but I can't stand the church itself. What do I do?" By

church he meant the local church. As he spoke to me the other

three nodded their heads approvingly.

I run into this all the time. I said, "Well, it seems as if

 215

you have at least three people here that understand you. Are there

others?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess there might be ten to twelve others that

I can relate to pretty good. But, the church as a whole--I just

can't stand it."

"What you need to do is form a sub-culture."

"A what-culture?"

There are churches where the corporate personality is such

that it cannot work effectively with secular people. In such cases

those who carry a burden for lost secular people need to form a

subculture in the church. What is a sub-culture? It is a setting

in which a particular class of people who belong to the church or

are interested in the church, but don't quite fit socially or

politically can get the spiritual uplift that they need. A half-

way house, if you wish. A subculture aimed at the secular mindset

would intentionally avoid the minor irritation that drive secular

people away from churches. Such a subculture can take many forms.

It could be a Sabbath School class, a prayer group, a home Bible

study group, or even a social club. So I told these two couples,

"What you need is a sub-culture, a place where you can have your

needs met. If the church service is not meeting your needs,

instead of agitating and dividing the church, find a time and a

place every week where you get together and feed your souls from

Scripture." Ideally, of course, the pastor would be consulted and

involved to a degree in each subculture so that unnecessary

misunderstandings would not develop.

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When I was pastoring in New York City, I had five or six sub-

cultural groups in my church. The motivating principle for a group

might be family life, or raising children; in one case we had a

group looking into UFOs. Other focused groups at one time or

another included a men's class in how to understand and treat

women, personal finances, gifts of the Spirit, and various books of

the Bible. But the main purpose of these sub-cultures was getting

people who had common interests together so that their spiritual

and social needs could be met in a way that was rarely possible in

the setting of the whole body. In my church the makeup of these

subcultures tended to be half members and half secular people. And

the members who attended these groups were usually the fringe

people who had never been fully at home in the larger church. They

ate up these sub-cultures with joy. Some tried to attend them all!

And they rejoiced at bonds they were developing with otherwise

unchurched people.

By means of these sub-cultures, we were able to provide a door

to the church for people who wouldn't have felt at home in the

church otherwise. Sometimes these secular people would come for

two or three years and indicate no further interest in the church.

I waited because I knew that visiting too soon could be a problem

for them. Then all of a sudden they would sidle up to me and say,

"By the way, how do you join this church, anyway?" That was my

signal that the testing truth had been passed. What is the testing

truth for secular people? Whether or not there is a God and

whether or not it matters. Adventists often think of the Sabbath,

 217

the state of the dead, and tithing as testing truths for people.

But secular people are rarely worried about such things. The great

testing truth for them is whether there is a God and whether God

matters in their lives. When secular people become convinced that

they have met God in your church, they are wide open. I usually

responded to their request about joining the church with, "Got some

time Tuesday night? I'll drop by and talk to you about it." I

brought the baptismal vows, read them through and offered to study

any areas in which they were unclear or unprepared to make a

commitment.

Every church needs to have a door through which secular people

can enter and find their unique needs met. That door could be a

special kind of worship service once a month or a quarter. It

could be a second service at another time, like Sunday morning or

Wednesday or Friday evening. It could take the form of small-group

seminars or discussions. But every church that does not have the

sole mission of outreach to the unchurched needs to provide ways in

which secular people can be integrated and grown into Adventist

ways of thinking and doing, a half-way house. Ultimately, of

course, they should be encouraged to attend the Sabbath-morning

worship service whether or not it feeds them, because the body

needs to gets together and worship on a regular basis. You need to

be there because you are part of the body. But the subculture may

always remain the place that the primary spiritual needs are met.

Does allowing for a variety of spiritual life and expression

in a church lead to social and doctrinal chaos? It need not.

 218

Although there is only one Gospel, it can and must be expressed in

a variety of ways. Have you ever wondered why there are four

different gospels in the New Testament when there was only one

Jesus? I believe there is a very simple reason for it--the Lord

Himself realized that there was no one presentation of the Gospel

that would meet all minds and all needs. It takes a variety of

approaches to reach everyone. No single approach will ever be

sufficient.

Madison Avenue is well aware of this. Did you know that

Colgate, Close-up, and Ultra-Brite toothpastes are all made up with

essentially the same ingredients? But they are not marketed the

same way. Colgate emphasizes MFP--maximum fluoride protection.

Who is interested in that? The "health-nuts", people who are

concerned about the health of their teeth, they delight in a

toothpaste that will keep them out of the dentist's chair. Close-

Up and Ultra-Brite have the same amount of fluoride, but the people

who buy them are not interested in fluoride. Close-Up is marketed

to people who like to get "close up," romantic types who are

concerned about their breath. So Close-Up emphasizes the breath-

freshening qualities of the toothpaste. Colgate has those too.

But the people who buy Colgate are less interested in getting close

up than they are in the health of their teeth. Ultra-Brite is for

the vain types who are concerned about their appearance and like to

have bright and shiny teeth. Madison Avenue has discovered that

the people who buy Colgate would never dream of buying Close-Up.

And the people who buy Ultra-Brite have no interest in the others.
 219

The three toothpastes are identical. But each one is marketed to

a different class of people.

I think we should learn something from that. There is only

one Gospel. There is only one Jesus Christ. But there are many

different types of people and Christ relates to each type in their

own place and in their own time. Our greatest need may be to learn

how to take this one Gospel that we all believe in and present it

to unique people in a way that meets their felt needs. Adventists

with a passion for secular and unchurched people need to get

together with others who share their passion and begin to

brainstorm a little bit. "What can we do differently in our

church? What are the groups in our community that we are not

reaching? Are we truly open as a church to new directions, or

would a subculture be the way to start? This book has been

intended, not as a specific agenda for every situation, but as a

large overview of the existing situation, with suggestions in broad

strokes regarding things that can make a difference in a local

church. The specifics of implementation will need to be worked out

on a church by church basis.

 220

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

AND NOW, SOME GOOD NEWS

I must close with some good news about the role of the church

in a secular world. There are a number of trends that suggest that

better days for outreach to secular people are arriving. There is

a growing backlash against secularism in the world today. People

seem less concerned with appearances and the trappings of success

than with self-fulfillment. Many are giving up raises and

promotions for a simpler life with more time for human

relationships.

There was a time when sociologists felt that secularization

was an unstoppable process that would continue until all religion

in the world was forever banished from human consciousness. That

is now understood to have been naive. Secularization seems to be

a self-limiting phenomenon. Whenever it reaches a certain point an

inevitable backlash against it sets in. It is clear, not only in

the former Soviet Bloc but also in First World areas like Western
Europe and North America, that secular people have an increasing

interest in the supernatural, and in the development of the

spiritual side of human life.

The search for a supernatural experience has taken some

bizarre turns with the New Age and the influx of Eastern religions,

but faith is an increasingly acceptable stance with secular people.

Although the secular search for faith continues to exhibit barriers

toward established Christianity, faith-talk in a proper social

 221

context is more welcome than it used to be. (See Newsweek, Dec.

17, 1990; pp. 50-56 for a most interesting article on baby boomers

and the church.) The explosive growth of strange cults illustrates

the incredible power associated with meeting people's felt needs.

How much better would it be if meeting felt needs led to an

appreciation of the true gospel!

According to surveys, half of the unchurched in America would

be open to the "right kind" of invitation to attend church, and 75%

would be willing to send their children. It seems that few people

are unchurched by choice. The biggest reason why people "dropped

out" is that they moved and "never got around to" finding a church

in their new neighborhood.

Even more interesting is the fact that the majority of

Americans brought up in irreligious homes are now members of some

church. And half of unchurched people admit that they think about

their need to go to church at least once a week. These facts

indicate that the unchurched are not nearly as hardened as is

generally assumed, but can be reached in caring ways that are

sensitive to the hurts and the irritations that have been

experienced in their relation with churches and churched people.

Even small steps in the direction of making churches more user-

friendly to secular people may be amply rewarded. It appears that

a high-tech society where artificial voices tell you to press whole

series of buttons before you can contact a human being has created

an intense hunger for social and spiritual relationship.

Another sign that things are moving in a positive direction is

 222

that, while many mainline denominations decline, evangelical

churches that are not excessively hidebound by traditional ways of

doing things are growing rapidly in all sectors of society. (See

User-Friendly Churches, by George Barna, which is listed in the

Bibliography.) A stunning example of this is the Willow Creek

Community Church near Chicago. The church was started by a young

pastor named Bill Hybels who was driven by an experience he had had

as a teenager in high school. His best friend was a totally

secular person. One day the secular friend's girlfriend left him

and he was devastated. In agony he came to Bill and said, "Bill,

I want to go to church with you." He was suddenly open to church

because of this tragedy in his life.

So Bill took him to church, a Dutch Reformed Church. Dutch

Reformed churches were molded from the very same kind of culture

that most Adventists churches were, straight-laced, quiet as a

mouse, traditional, everything taking place formally and in order.

That is not wrong in itself, but it certainly does not normally

appeal to secular people. The two were not in church for five

minutes before Hybels sensed that he had made a big mistake. For
the first time he saw the church service through the eyes of

someone who was hurting and searching for God. And there was

nothing there for his friend. For three weeks after that the

friend avoided him. Finally the young Hybels cornered him and

asked, "Look, what's going on? Why are you avoiding me?"

The friend said, "You know, I've always been friends with you

and I always thought you were a pretty cool guy. But, I have to be
 223

honest with you. What you guys do in church is just not normal."

He had been so stunned by the church experience he no longer knew

if Bill was normal enough to be his friend. And Hybels vowed that

one day he would start a church where people like his friend would

be comfortable, where they would not be so turned off by the

peripherals that they could not find Christ.

A few years later, he and a group of youth went to the most

affluent suburb of Chicago and started knocking on doors saying,

"Do you go to church?"

"Yes, I do."

"Thank you very much. Keep it up. Good-bye."

Next door, "Do you go to church?"

"No, I don't."

"Why not?" They noted all the reasons people stay away from

church. Then they asked, "What kind of church would make you

willing to try again?"

Together they designed a church that avoids the little

irritations that unnecessarily turn off secular people. With

little signals such as architecture, drama, and choice of music,

they tell seekers that they understand the struggles of

contemporary life, and that the gospel to be preached can make all

the difference in the 1990s. Contrary to what most Adventists

would expect, Willow Creek offers no soft religion. In order to be

accepted as a member, you must attend faithfully for a year, become

involved in a small group and have a clearly identifiable ministry!

This is no easy way to join a church! You have to be making a

 224

difference for Christ in your world before you can become a member

of that church. And the standard is high; the elders of the church

spend more time dealing with adultery than any other issue. Yet

the average weekend attendance is more than 15,000. And the

offerings total more than $200,000 a week. They baptize a thousand

people a year, 65% of them from unchurched, secular backgrounds.

The best-known part of the "Willow Creek strategy" is what

they call a "Seeker Service." It is a worship service specially

designed just for secular people. It is attractive and

contemporary so that secular people do not feel that they must

enter a time warp in order to become a Christian. The little

offensive things that needlessly turn people away are eliminated so

that they can be challenged by the centrality of the gospel rather

than by peripherals that they would perceive as meaningless without

a prior acceptance of the Gospel.

But the secret of Willow Creek success is not so much the

strategy as the sense of God's presence one experiences there. You

find yourself in the midst of a people for whom God is a living and

powerful God. Adventists know how to talk about God, and talk
about the Bible, but when a secular person decides to join a

church, they don't just want another secular, intellectual-type of

philosophy, they join because they have experienced the presence of

a living God there. To grasp the strategy of this book without the

spiritual component would be to fail entirely. On the other hand,

spiritual expressions that were entirely adequate in the nineteenth

century will move few people today because they often fail to speak
 225

to the felt needs of today's generation. A genuine walk with God

combined with a strategy that is sensitive to the world in which we

live has the potential to make a mighty impact on this planet.

It is not my purpose in this book to extol Willow Creek as the

model for Christianity or for Adventism at the turn of the

millennium. The pastors of Willow Creek themselves warn that such

single-mindedness would be a mistake. For one thing, we live in a

diverse world where few strategies target more than a very narrow

audience. For all its success with secular people, Willow Creek is

making as little inroad into the African-American community as the

Adventist church is currently making in the Caucasian-American

community. A person attending services at Willow Creek will also

learn relatively little about doctrine or Bible prophecy. This

means that Adventists cannot limit themselves to Willow Creek's

approach. Nevertheless, Willow Creek's success demonstrates that

the basic thesis of this book will work. A church that combines

practical spirituality with a sensitivity to the secular mind can

reach secular people in large numbers. Secular ministry does work.

We are living at the turn of the ages. This is not so because

an arbitrary number (2000 AD) is coming up. Rather it is so

because society is going through changes more wrenching than any

that have been seen for hundreds of years. We are moving from the

Industrial Age into the Information Age, sometimes called the

Communication Age or the Computer Age. History tells us that in

times of wrenching change people feel lost and nothing works right.

Events and the growth of knowledge accelerate with frightening

 226

speed. Time seems to rush by out of control. People are adrift in

a maelstrom of change. But history also tells us that societies

like this can be uniquely open to a word from the Lord. Rather

than drifting with the tide, let us be bold and seize the day!
 APPENDIX A

THE SPIRITUAL DECISION PROCESS CHART

 Since James F. Engel's book, Contemporary Christian Communi-

cations, has been out of print for some time, this Appendix

summarizes information related to Engel's major contribution, the

Spiritual Decision Process Chart. The chart enables the Chris-

tian witness to determine a person's spiritual location on a

scale that runs from a total lack of the knowledge of God to

fully devoted service to Christ (see chart on next page). The

goal of the Christian working with secular people is to help them

move down the chart to a decision for Christ.

The stimulus to make spiritual progress originates with need

activation (becoming aware of a felt need), for people do not

change unless that change is seen to benefit them in some tangi-

ble way. The activation of a need leads to a search for informa-

tion, which can result in a change of beliefs, which normally

leads to a change of attitudes, which leads to a change in

behavior. At this point a person is close to a decision which,

when taken, leads to spiritual growth.

Decisions for Christ usually involve a lifetime process with

many influences. Such decisions do not normally take place

without some prior understanding of the gospel and its relevance

for life. Thus patience is necessary in working with secular

people who do not have such a prior understanding.

2
 3

=================================================================
The Complete Spiritual Decision Process Model Showing
the Stages of Spiritual Growth
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
GOD'S COMMUNICATOR'S HUMAN
ROLE ROLE RESPONSE
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))0))))0)))))))))))))))))))))))))
General * -8 * Awareness of
Revelation * * Supreme Being
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))3))))3)))))))))))))))))))))))))
Conviction Proclamation * -7 * Some Knowledge
* * * * of Gospel
* * * *
* * * -6 * Knowledge of
* * * * Fundamentals of Gospel
* * * *
* * * -5 * Grasp of Personal
* * * * Implications of Gospel
* * * *
* * * -4 * Positive Attitude
* * * * Toward Act of Becoming
* * * * a Christian
* * * *
* Call for * -3 * Problem Recognition
* Decision * * and Intention to Act
* * * *
* * * -2 * Decision to Act
* * * *
* * * -1 * Repentance
* * * * and Faith in Christ
))))2)))))))))))))))2))))))))3))))3)))))))))))))))))))))))))
REGENERATION * * NEW CREATURE
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))3))))3)))))))))))))))))))))))))
Sanctification Follow Up * +1 * Post Decision
* * * * Evaluation
* * * *
* * * +2 * Incorporation
* * * * Into Church
* * * *
* Cultivation * +3 * Conceptual and
* * * * Behavioral Growth
* * * * .Communion With God
* * * . * .Stewardship
* * * * .Internal Reproduction
* * * . * .External Reproduction
* * * *
* * * . *
* * * *
* * Eternity
=================================================================
 4

People are open to an evangelistic approach when they have

enough knowledge of the gospel to perceive that it is relevant to

their basic needs. Since surveys indicate that the majority of

Americans have only a moderate amount of knowledge of the gospel

(-7), knowledge-building is where most Christian communication

must begin. The role of the Christian witness for people at

levels -7 and -6, therefore, is to build awareness of the basic

tenets of the gospel. At these levels a call for decision is

inappropriate.

The upper part of the chart has at least two other implica-

tions for evangelism. For one thing, since there is little in

the way of literature or packaged approaches for people in levels

-8 to -6, most Christians are totally unprepared to cope with the

majority of people they meet. Secondly, evangelistic "success"

must not be evaluated only in terms of decisions. Many will

never see large numbers of decisions because they are dealing

with people who are at the upper levels of the chart. Evangelism

should be considered successful if people move down the chart,

whether or not a decision has yet been made.

People with a positive attitude toward the gospel (-4) are

the people who are nearing approachability for decision. They

are ready for the call at the level of problem recognition (-3),

which means perceiving a difference between one's own life and

the ideal life defined by Scripture.

Need Activation
 5

People generally will not change unless they feel the need to

change. Thus, the first step in helping people to progress in

the spiritual decision process is the activation of need. Anyone

can be reached, provided they are reached at the level of one of

their felt needs.

=================================================================
The Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

[5]
Self-
Actualization
[4] +))))))))))))
[3] Esteem *
Belongingness +))))))))-
and Love *
[2] +)))))))))))))))-
Safety *
[1] +))))))))-
Physical *
)))))))))))))-
=================================================================

Operating on the basis of Maslow's hierarchy, Engel articu-

lates three basic types of needs; survival needs (1 and 2); needs

related to acceptance by and involvement with others (3 and 4);

and needs centering around individual competency and self-expres-

sion (5).
In much of the world life is dominated by physical hardships.

In such situations people are profoundly unhappy; life is a bleak

and frustrating experience. The first obligation of the church

in such areas is to remedy underlying conditions (Lk 4:18,19),

and where that is impossible, to emphasize the rewards of the

next life.

The awareness of need is often precipitated by a catastrophic

event in a person's life. Such an event can lead to a crumbling

 6

of the defense mechanisms that mask a person's awareness of need.

The following chart helps one to assess the level of catastrophic

stress that a person is experiencing. A score of several hundred

points within a given year is not unusual and points to an almost

devastating level of stress.

=================================================================
The Effect of Change on Social Readjustment
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
LIFE EVENT MEAN VALUE
))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
1. Death of a spouse 100
2. Divorce 73
3. Marital separation from mate 65
4. Detention in jail or other institution 63
5. Death of a close family member 63
6. Major personal injury or illness 53
7. Marriage 50
8. Being fired at work 47
9. Marital reconciliation with mate 45
10. Retirement from work 45
11. Major change in the behavior of family member 44
12. Pregnancy 40
13. Sexual difficulties 39
14. Gaining a new family member (e.g., through birth,
adoption, oldster moving in, marriage, etc.) 39
15. Major business readjustment (e.g., merger,
reorganization, bankruptcy, etc.) 39
16. Major change in financial state (e.g., a lot worse
off or a lot better off than usual) 38
17. Death of a close friend 37
18. Changing to a different line of work 36
19. Major change in the number of arguments with spouse
(e.g., either a lot more or a lot less than usual
regarding child rearing, personal habits, etc.)35
20. Taking on a mortgage greater than $10,000
(e.g., purchasing a home, business, etc.) 31
21. Foreclosure on a mortgage or loan 30
22. Major change in responsibilities at work (e.g.,
promotion, demotion, lateral transfer) 29
23. Son or daughter leaving home
(e.g., marriage, college) 29
24. In-law troubles 29
25. Outstanding personal achievement 28
26. Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home 26
27. Beginning or ceasing formal schooling 26
28. Major change in living conditions (e.g., building new
home, remodeling, deterioration of home or
 7

neighborhood) 25
29. Revision of personal habits (dress, manners, etc.) 24
30. Troubles with the boss 23
31. Major change in working hours or conditions 20
32. Change in residence 20
33. Changing to a new school 20
34. Major change in usual type and/or amount of
recreation 19
35. Major change in church activities (e.g., lot more
or less than usual) 19
36. Major change in social activities (e.g., clubs,
movies, dances) 18
37. Taking on a mortgage or loan less than $10,000
(car, TV) 17
38. Major change in sleeping habits (e.g., a lot more
or less than usual, or change in part of day
when asleep) 16
39. Major change in number of family get-togethers
(more or less) 15
40. Major change in eating habits (more or less,
or different) 15
41. Vacation 13
42. Christmas 12
43. Minor violations of the law (e.g., traffic tickets,
jaywalking, disturbing the peace, etc.) 11
=================================================================
 8

Various stages in the life cycle are also times when people

are open to change. Engel offers a generalized overview of the

typical North American life cycle below.

=================================================================
Stages in the "Passage" Through the Life Cycle

1. Pulling Up Roots. 18-22. A transition from

parent's beliefs to the establishment of new
strictly personal beliefs. Often characterized
by an identity crisis.

2. Building the Dream. 22-30. "Forming the dream" and

working one's aspirations through occupational
and marital choices. Much importance placed on
"doing what we should."

3. Living Out the Dream. 30-35. Putting down roots,

living out one's aspirations and making them be-
come a reality.

4. Midlife Transition. 35-45. Reassessment of the

dream and the values which have been internal-
ized. A final casting aside of inappropriate
role models. Equilibrium will be restored either
through a renewal or a resignation to the reali-
ties of life.

5. Middle Adulthood. 45-59. Reduced personal striving

and more emphasis on living consistently with a
clarified code of values placing more importance
on personal relationships and individual fulfill-
ment.

6. Late Adult Transition. 60-65 and beyond. Diminished

active occupational life and eventual retirement.
Retirement can either lead to renewal or resigna-
tion.

=================================================================

Stages 2 and 5 tend to be the most resistant to change, while

Stages 1 and 4 are the most open to change. Special needs in

stage 4 are strengthening marriage, teaching values to children,

and finding satisfaction on the job.

 9

Information Search

When people discover unmet needs in their lives they begin

what Engel calls the search process. They actively seek informa-

tion that will help them to meet those needs. The search process

will cover as many sources as are available to the individual,

including the electronic media, books, magazines, the advice of

friends and, if the need is pressing, even strangers. The

greatest opportunity to reach secular people comes in providing

needed information at the right time. An appropriate use of

magazine ads, radio spots, and creative self-help books, there-

fore, can arouse interest in people whose search for information

has been activated by a felt need.

Tract distribution, on the other hand, is largely a waste of

time and money, according to Engel, unless the tracts are specif-

ically aimed at a felt need of the person receiving the tract.

Even then, a tract is most likely to be read when it was received

from a trusted personal friend rather than from a stranger on the

street or in a passing car. Christian television must also be

combined with face-to-face witness in order to be evangelisti-

cally effective.

Formation and Change of Beliefs and Attitudes

At the point of information search it becomes possible for a

person's attitudes and beliefs to progress in the spiritual

decision process toward a decision for Christ.

 10

=================================================================

Beliefs, Attitudes, Intentions, and the

Spiritual Decision Process

* -8 * Awareness of )
* * Supreme Being )
* * )
* -7 * Some Knowledge of Gospel } KNOWLEDGE
* * ) *
* -6 * Knowledge of Fundamentals ) *
* * of Gospel ) *
* * *
* -5 * Grasp of Personal *
* * Implications of Gospel BELIEF
* * *
* -4 * Positive Attitude *
* * Toward Act of Becoming a Christian ATTITUDE
* * *
* -3 * Problem Recognition and *
* * Intention to Act INTENTION
* * *
* -2 * Decision to Act *
* * DECISION
* -1 * Repentance and Faith
* * in Christ
* *
* *
NEW CREATURE
=================================================================

Belief, according to Engel, is something a person holds to be

true with respect to a given subject matter or action. Attitude

is a positive or negative evaluation about a given action that is

usually consistent with a person's beliefs. Intention relates to

the subjective probability that beliefs and attitudes will be

acted on.

The probability that a person will change his or her beliefs

is directly proportional to the credibility of the sender. This

credibility is determined less by words than by the character of

 11

the sender's life. Generally people change in very small amounts

at a given time.

Decision

While psychology is helpful at many points in the decision

process, conversion is a divine work. The Christian's part in

the secular person's decision process is gentle, friendly encour-

agement. Persuasion is up to God alone (2 Tim 2:24-26). While

not all Christians are evangelists, all are to be witnesses (1

Pet. 3:15).

Spiritual Growth

Growth to Christian spiritual maturity is stimulated by

failure. So a teaching and training program to develop Christian

maturity should also begin at the point of felt needs. Rapidly-

growing churches are characterized by a need-centered ministry.

Surveys and visitation can be used to find out what doctrinal,

felt needs, and behavioral issues are affecting a congregation at

a particular time. Preaching, to be effective today, must be

based on accurate feedback.

Conclusion

This brief summary of Engel's book barely begins to suggest

the valuable insights available in it if a reader can find a copy

in a good library or used bookstore. The basic points summarized

here supplement the material in chapters nine and ten. Further

information on the practical "how-tos" of secular ministry is

available in the bibliography (Appendix C).

 APPENDIX B

ADVENTIST ADMINISTRATION IN A SECULAR WORLD

The Information Age

Society is now passing through a social revolution equal in

magnitude to the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago. Prior to

the 18th Century the typical person was employed in agriculture.

But thanks to industrial advances, today less than 3% of Ameri-

cans produce far more food than we can eat. But the industrial

age now seems to be fading out as well.1 Less than 10% of Ameri-

cans are needed to manufacture all the goods sold in the United

States.2 Virtually all newly created jobs are in the area of

services, particularly the creation, processing, and distribution

of information.3 The new wealth of society is not money, or raw

materials, but information.4 And thanks to space exploration and

research, the information explosion will continue to multiply

exponentially over the next 5-10 years.5 In a society where

information is wealth the university plays a central role as the

place where knowledge is codified and tested.6

1
Alvin Toffler, The Third Wave (New York: William Morrow,
1980), p. 26.
2
Ibid., p. 197.
3
John Naisbitt, Megatrends (New York: Warner Books, 1982),
p. 14.
4
Ibid., p. 15.
5
Ibid., p. 12.
6
Bell, p. 198.

Characteristics of the three ages:

Pre-Industrial Industrial Post-Industrial

13
 14

This information revolution is resulting in a trend toward a

world economy or globalization.7 A car can now be put together

from parts manufactured on nearly every continent. With informa-

tion now universally and instantly available thanks to satellite

technology, all nations have an equal crack at the "capital" of

the new age.8

The speed with which change comes in the Information Age

forces institutions into a future orientation.9 Success is only

possible through the anticipation of trends and the appropriate

long-range planning.10 Information is now more crucial to suc-

cess than money (witness such firms as Intel, Xerox, and Apple

Computer).

Since individuals may be consciously living in different

ages, society is under great stress at this time.11 The Indus-

trial Age called for authoritarian administration. The ideal

workers were those who didn't think for themselves but were like

interchangeable parts, offering a minimum of conflict and dis-

Resource Raw materials Energy Information

Mode Extractive Fabrication Processing
Technology Labor-intensive Capital-intensive Knowledge-Intensive
Design Game vs. Nature Game vs. fabricated Game between persons
nature
7
Naisbitt, p. 76.
8
Ibid., p. 55.
9
Ibid., p. 18.
10
Ibid., p. 79.

11
Toffler, p. 33.
 15

agreement, working on rigid time-schedules in massive, central-

ized institutions. But none of these strategies seems to be

working anymore. The information society, on the other hand,

calls for decentralized control and puts a premium on employee

initiative, creativity, diversity, knowledge, education, and the

ability to work with people.12

The fundamental assumption of industrial society was individ-

ualism.13 This resulted in the self-fulfillment movement of the

70s.14 But it seems that wherever the new technologies are

introduced there is a reaction toward a humanization of that

technology (As an example, note how the super high-tech, coldly

impersonal efficiency of modern hospitals has been accompanied by

the use of hospices and birthing centers, and the return of the

family doctor.).15 There is an increasing hunger for personal

relationships and group interaction.16

The Information Age has also brought in a strong trend toward

decentralization. The best ideas seem to be moving up from the

bottom rather than down from the top.17 People want to be part

of the decision-making process regarding things that affect their

12
Ibid., pp. 402, 403, 261-281; Bell, 146-148 of 198.
13
Bell, p. 16.
14
Christopher Lasch, The Culture of Narcissism (New York:
W. W. Norton, 1978), pessim; also of Yankelovitch, pp. 4, 5.
15
Naisbitt, p. 39.
16
Yankelovitch, p. 251.
17
Naisbitt, p. 97.
 16

lives. We are seeing, therefore, a trend from representative

democracy to participatory democracy.18

Another trend is an increasing reaction to information

overload. There is a desire to sift and order information even

if one must go outside of his own discipline to find the key.19

Interdisciplinary thinking rises from the need to see things as a

unified whole.20 Thus arise such trends as the wholistic health

movement.

What impact should these trends have on those responsible for

the shape of Adventist administration in the 90s and beyond?

What kinds of changes might help the church to accomplish its

mission more effectively?

Education

If the clearing-house of ideas in the Information Age is the

university, the SDA Church's strong emphasis on higher education

has the potential to keep the Chruch at the cutting edge of

societal change. In fact, in many developing countries the

Church has the opportunity to take the educational lead. In such

countries Adventist education may be approaching its finest hour.

In North America, however, there is need for increasing interac-

tion between educators and administrators in the Church so that

18
Ibid., p. 159.
19
Ibid., p. 189.
20
Toffler, p. 319.
maximum advantage can be taken of the Church's achievements in

higher education.

Global economy

The trend toward a world economy underlines the need to

increase the transfer of leadership and ideas both ways. What

other church has as great an opportunity to be the first truly

"world church" as the Seventh-day Adventist Church? However, our

eighty-year-old administrative structure seems increasingly out

of step with the trends toward decentralization and participatory

democracy. There is need for more encouragement of local initia-

tive, more interchange of ideas from bottom to top and less

hierarchical direction in the Information Age.

As globalization increases, there is a countertrend toward

cultural assertiveness; people want to touch base with their

roots. As a church we have the Biblical mandate to affirm, on

the one hand, the unity of all peoples in Christ, while at the

same time affirming that the gospel is best offered to the world

by a diverse, cosmopolitan people with representatives that are

at home in any culture.

Future orientation

Long-term strategies tend to increase short term costs, and

are usually, therefore, avoided by government, business, and also

churches. The key to success in the Information Age, however,

seems to be the ability to anticipate where the "market" will be

17
in ten years and position oneself to take advantage of it.

George Barna's book Frog in the Kettle (listed in the Bibliogra-

phy) attempts to anticipate where the church needs to be ten

years from now.

It might be well for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to set

up an ongoing, future-oriented "think tank" to help it to respond

ahead of time to trends instead of being dragged from one crisis

to another. Such a department should have at least one individ-

ual employed full-time (trained in both theology and sociology)

in researching trends and advising the department on appropriate

planning.

Small Groups

The societal trend toward interpersonal, small-group struc-

tures and self-help efforts is encouraging since the Adventist

Church is stocked with a wealth of good programs. Health pro-

grams, Bible Seminars, and Sabbath School discussion groups can

be a great way to meet the need for fellowship while training

people to think right. But the trend in society from institu-

tional help to self-help indicates that such programs will

succeed only with massive lay involvement. Thus motivating and

training the laity for secular witnessing is crucial.

Networking

The failure of authoritarian structures to govern society

effectively has caused people to set up networks; informal means

18
for passing on information, ideas, and resources. The difficulty

people have in making sense of an overload of information means

that isolated administrators always make bad decisions. Only a

wide variety of input and critique can enable any administrator

to make wise and fair decisions. More and more people, there-

fore, are reaching outside the usual channels for the information

and help they seek. The most helpful exchanges often take place

with individuals outside our own area of expertise.

The committee system of the Adventist Church has potential to

foster the interdisiciplinary interchange so critical to sound

decision-making in the Information Age but the fact that the

system often does not work indicates a need for reform. Ways

need to be found so that our leading thinkers can interact more.

(The Daniel and Revelation Committee seems to be a good example

of this.)

One reason the networking system of committees isn't working

well may be that the structures of Adventist administration have

become too rigid. The purpose of administrative structure is to

foster efficiency of operation. When structures become barriers

to efficiency, they no longer serve their intended purpose. As

conduits of finance and political clout, administrative struc-

tures can become barriers between people who need to interact

with each other in order to fulfill the Great Commission.

Let me illustrate. In large cities Adventists from as many

as twelve different churches associated with three or four

conferences may live in a ten block area. They are all driving

19
here and there to go to church because they like a preacher or a

particular style of worship or Sabbath school, or because friends

and/or relatives attend there. Church attendance in the big city

is rarely related to a burden for a particular neighborhood.

Thus, church evangelistic programs that center on the neighbor-

hood of the church (where few members may live anymore) may not

attract the members' interest. Their evangelistic burden is the

place where they live and their personal network of acquaintances

(including workmates), friends, and family.

If we can find ways to bridge some of the artificial church

and conference barriers, we could organize people from different

churches and conferences to work together and develop a burden

for a particular neighborhood. Evangelism in the Information Age

will be increasingly neighborhood and workplace oriented, with

less focus on a church building as the unifying location for

outreach unless the very worship service itself becomes a drawing

card to the wider community.

Efficiency

Since the economic boom times seem to be gone for a while

(and perhaps permanently), there is need for greater administra-

tive efficiency. But "third wave" methods and technology may

provide just such efficiency. And if secularization is truly

self-limiting, the best days for the church may be just ahead!

Spiritual Tone

20
 The fact that the church is no longer at the center of

society's focus in a secular age can be a hidden blessing.21 The

church has lost most of its former societal responsibilities--

education, care of the sick and elderly, social control, and

political influence. Thus, it has been thrown back to its

religious task, and it must, therefore, justify its existence in

spiritual terms alone.22 The church must depend more and more on

its inward recesses of faith.

The church, in an anti-institutional age, must move more to

the servant role and away from the authority role. Secular

people have not rejected the true faith as much as the institu-

tional trappings that have come with it.23 To reach such people,

ministers must be fellow-pilgrims. The authoritarian approach is

no longer acceptable.24

The upshot of all this is that we seem to have come full

circle, back to the situation of the church in society in the

first century. If so, then the answer to secularization is a

return to the spirit of the early church as it appears in Acts 2-

4. This could be summarized as (1) "devotion to the apostle's

teaching," (2) "fellowship," (3) prayer, (4) the sacraments, and

(5) economic commitment.25 The return to small groups, Bible

21
Lausanne No. 8, p. 19.
22
Faber, p. 9.
23
Wiencke, p. 114.
24
Faber, p. 20.
25
Lausanne No. 8, pp. 20-22.

21
seminars, and help for people who are struggling, physically and

spiritually, are all part of the package.

Personnel management

A real tragedy is that when secular types of ministries are

developed, they often prove to be temporary because the pastor

who follows in the same church is not sensitive to the unique

dynamic that has developed in that church. The new pastor may be

unable to appreciate the exciting diversity that the Spirit

brings. He or she may confront creative people as "heretics" who

need to be moved out of office or even out of the church. I have

heard new Adventist Christians who were once excited to be part

of a growing and dynamic community say, with tears in their eyes,

"We still love the Lord and we still love the church, but we

don't know how much longer we can stand this." One reason the

explosive growth of churches like Willow Creek rarely happens in

the Adventist Church is the lack of the continuity of vision that

secular ministry requires.

Several administrative concepts may need to be implemented

before secular ministry in the Adventist Church can produce the

kind of results that have occured in other setting such as Willow

Creek Community Church.

1) Longer terms for secular pastors

2) Careful mating of churches and pastors

3) Churches developing a clear and ongoing sense of mission

22
For one thing, developing a secular ministry requires patience

and time. But, if a person has a mission in a particular commu-

nity that he be dealt with a bit differently than the average

church. So, there's risks in this--I'll be very up-front on

that. Yet, what did the lady say? "It must be done." And it will

be done. And I have to believe that it will be done in God's

good time and--uh--I'd like to believe that northern California

will be at the forefront. And sooner rather than later.

So, that's a real problem. And I guess the best we can hope to

do if we're in a transcient-type situation--and as pastors we

are. If you're elders, it's different. You can make that church

your mission for life, you know. But, as a pastor, knowing

you're going to move on, you're going to have to be conscious of

that and realize that you have to build into these people dura-

bility. And it's not an easy task. But that they would learn to

be self-sufficient Spritiually, in case, in the long run things

don't work out, you see. And that's where I'll have some things

to share on that.

But, that's a real burden of mine and I wonder if at some

point we shouldn't have a network of secular pastors. In other

words, a network of Adventist pastors who have learned how to--to

blend the two. How to enable a traditional church to be comfort-

able in accepting these people and have these people be comfort-

able joining a traditional church. I think that is a special

talent and it may be that not every pastor can do that. And it

would be helpful to conference presidents if they knew that they

23
had a talent bank to draw from when a church like that needed a

pastor so that they can continue that ministry.

(7) From Representative to Participatory Democracy. More

and more, people whose lives are affected by decisions want to be

part of the process of arriving at those decisions. if they are

to support them with any enthusiasm. Note the rise of initia-

tives and referenda. This trend can also be seen in consumerism,

and in greater worker participation in decision-making.

(10) From Either-Or to Multiple -Option. Family styles,

opportunities for women, work schedules, the arts, religion,

specialty foods, Cable TV, ethnic diversity are all part of a

multiple-option society.

While there is religious revival it is not helping the

mainline denominations (except Southern Baptist). It is the

strictest and most demanding denominations that are growing

fastest.

24
 APPENDIX C

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Following is a list of books and journal articles that have
been exceptionally helpful to the writer of this book in wres-
tling with the issue of secularization and its impact on
Adventist faith and practice. The list is definitely not com-
plete (I have examined nearly a thousand items related to the
subject), nor is it necessarily up to date on the latest edi-
tions. But many people have asked for a list of the sources that
helped me to sharpen my ideas. The best sources that I am
presently aware of are listed here.

Books

Barna, George. The Frog in the Kettle. Ventura, CA: Regal Books,
1990.

This book is somewhat like a Christian Megatrends (see

below). Barna seeks to outline the kind of church that will
make a difference in the society of the year 2000. The book
will aid those who wish to be prepared ahead of time for the
massive changes the Information Age continues to bring about.

________. User-Friendly Churches. Ventura, CA: Regal Books,

1991.

In the spirit of A Search for Excellence Barna examines

ten rapidly growing churches and compares them with a similar
number of declining churches. He notes that all growing
churches have certain things in common that declining churches
do not and vice versa. A very provocative book for people
interested in the local church.

Brinsmead, Robert D. This is Life. Fallbrook, CA: Verdict Publi

cations, 1978.

Although Brinsmead has, in the last decade, taken numer-

ous positions in direct opposition to SDA beliefs, this little
book from an earlier period of his life articulates a superb
way of sharing the gospel with the non-religious mind.

26
 27

Campolo, Anthony. A Reasonable Faith: Responding to Secularism.

Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983.

Immensely entertaining, as always, Campolo provides a

superb, non-technical analysis of the secular mentality. The
book provides an excellent starting point for understanding
the way a secular person thinks. Campolo's theological
approaches to secular people are at times somewhat question-
able from an Adventist perspective.

Coon, Glenn A. Path to the Heart. Washington, DC: Review and

Herald, 1958.

The book is quaint and at times almost irritatingly

childlike in its simplicity. Nevertheless it pounds home as
no other book does the Christ-like way to approach individuals
with the message of the gospel. My favorite "witnessing
book." Particularly helpful for reaching out spiritually to
family and friends.

Engel, James F. Contemporary Christian Communications: Its

Theory and Practice. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1979.

See Appendix A.

Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to

Spiritual Growth. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1978.

Outstanding summary of the classic spiritual disciplines,

such as meditation, prayer, fasting, solitude and confession.

Gilder, George. Microcosm: The Quantum Revolution in Economics

and Technology. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989.
A fascinating look at the revolutionary impact of comput
erization, quantum mechanics, and the resulting Information
Age on everything we hold dear today. As the student of
Carver Mead, the "prophet" of the computer age, Gilder is well
qualified to suggest where society is going from here.
Although the book is not easy to read if one is not "into"
computers, the concepts in this book will challenge every
thoughtful Adventist, particularly church administrators.
 28

Gilkey, Langdon Brown. Naming the Whirlwind. Indianapolis:

Bobbs-Merrill, 1969.

This book contains the classic statement outlining the

major characteristics of the secular world-view. Although
published nearly twenty years ago this book is still a major
starting point for any theological discussion of secularism.

Griffin, Emory A. The Mind Changers: the Art of Christian

Persuasion. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1976.

A humorous and insightful survey of various methods of

persuasion, including many pointed cartoons. Deals with some
of the same concerns as Engel.

Hunter, James Davison. American Evangelicalism: Conservative

Religion and the Quandary of Modernity. New Brunswick, NJ:
Rutgers University Press, 1983.

A research work of major importance to Adventists in

America today. The author shows that, even though evangeli-
cals fight against it, secularism affects everything that they
do.

Hybels, Bill. Too Busy Not to Pray: Slowing Down to Be with God.
Downer's Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988.

My favorite book on the devotional life. Contains very

helpful guidelines for prayer and journaling. The author is
the pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church. The illus-
tration about the Buddhist neighbor in Chapter Two of this
book is largely based on an illustration in one of Hybels'
sermons.

________. Honest to God? Becoming an Authentic Christian.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1990.

First-rate book on the issue of Christian genuineness and

authenticity. The book challenges the reader to do whatever
it takes to live Christian faith in direct contact with
reality. Many conscious and unconscious ways that Christians
use to live in denial of reality are exposed. Must reading
for secular ministry!
 29

Institute of Church Ministry. Andrews University. Berrien

Springs, MI 49104-1500.

The place to write for information on demographic studies

of the zip code areas relevant to a local church. An excel-
lent starting point for secular ministry.

Lausanne Occasional Papers No. 2. The Willowbank Report: Gospel

and Culture. P.O. Box 1100, Wheaton, IL 60187: Lausanne
Committee for World Evangelization, 1980.

Though brief, an excellent discussion of the interaction

between the gospel and human cultures around the world.

Lausanne Occasional Papers No. 8. Christian Witness to

Secularized People. P.O. Box 1100, Wheaton, IL 60187: Lau-
sanne Committee for World Evangelization, 1980. 31 pp.

Perhaps the best summary, from an evangelical perspec-

tive, of the problems secularization creates for Christian
faith and mission, this booklet also suggests some excellent
methods for solving those problems. Short and to the point!
The voted product of a group study.

Lewis, C. S. Mere Christianity. Macmillan Paperbacks Edition.

NY: The Macmillan Co., 1960.

Lewis is, perhaps, the most famous convert from atheism

to Christianity in this century. His books wrestle powerfully
with the kinds of issues that come up when Christians witness
to secular people. Mere Christianity covers the essentials of
basic Christianity in terms a secular person can appreciate.

Naisbitt, John. Megatrends. New York: Warner Books, 1982.

Although it has now been updated in a questionable way,

the original Megatrends still provides a most insightful
analysis (with a wealth of fascinating illustrations) of ten
major trends that continue to shape American society today.

Princeton Religion Research Center. The Unchurched American. PO

Box 389, Princeton, NJ 08542.

Presents the results of Gallup research concerning the

unchurched and offers suggestions for reaching them.
 30

Rasi, Humberto M., and Guy, Fritz, eds. Meeting the Secular
Mind: Some Adventist Perspectives. Berrien Springs, MI:
Andrews University Press, 1985.

The starting point for any Seventh-day Adventist who is

interested in the problem of secularization or in methods
designed to reach people of a secular mind-set.

Sahlin, Monte, Friendship Evangelism Seminar. Concerned

Communications, 1989.

An excellent how-to seminar on how to present an effec-

tive verbal witness in secular situations, whether on the job
or in everyday conversation. Provides the kind of detailed
insight that could not be included in a book like this one.

Toffler, Alvin. The Third Wave. New York: William Morrow & Co,
1980.

A sequel to Toffler's popular book Future Shock, The

Third Wave describes the present development from the Indus-
trial Age to the Information Age. As always, Toffler is
interesting reading.

Yankelovich, Daniel. New Rules: Searching for Self-fulfillment

in a World Turned Upside Down. New York: Random House, 1981.

Another well-known pollster charts a trend away from the

permissive society of the 60s and 70s toward an ethic of
commitment, commitment to deeper personal relationships and to
spiritual and philosophical ideals. A very challenging book.
 31

Journal Articles and Essays

Albrecht, Stan L., and Heaton, Tim B. "Secularization, Higher

Education, and Religiosity." Review of Religious Research 26
(1984):43-58.

It is generally assumed that there is a negative rela-

tionship between education and religion. The most educated
are the least religious and vice versa. This article, how-
ever, indicates that education has not necessarily had a
secularizing effect upon Mormons. If sustainable this conclu-
sion has encouraging implications for Adventist education.

Battaglia, Anthony. "Expanding the Concept of Religion: the Case

of Robert N. Bellah." Encounter 45 (1984):171-180.

A summary analysis of Bellah's sociological work. Bellah

argues that all people are religious in the sense that they
find ways to come to terms with the mysteries of human exis-
tence. An "unbeliever" is simply someone who accepts the
literalness of each day as the sole reality. It is Bellah's
hope that Christianity can adapt to the change in modern
consciousness in a way that will continue to provide motiva-
tion, meaning and transformation for most of its adherents in
years to come.

Bibby, Reginald W., and Brinkerhoff, Merlin B. "Circulation of

the Saints Revisited: A Longitudinal Look at Conservative
Church Growth." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion
22 (1983):253-262.

Results of a survey in Canada indicate that while conser-

vative churches are definitely growing in numbers, they are
not reaching the more secular elements of society in any
significant numbers.

Brooks, James A., ed. "Secularism." Southwestern Journal of

Theology 26:2 (Spring, 1984):5-86.

A collection of five essays by different authors offering

a Baptist perspective on the impact of secularization on
education, the media and American politics. The final essay
offers some suggestions toward a Christian response to secu-
larism.
 32

Cunningham, Richard B. "Christianity and Contemporary Humanism."

Review and Expositor 81 (1984):273-289.

Distinguishes "humanism" in general from "secular human-

ism" in particular and articulates how Christianity should
relate to the two.

Faber, Heije. "The Ministry in a Changing Society." Perkins

Journal 34 (Fall, 1980):1-27.

A superb overview of the impact secularization has had on

individuals, families, churches, and religion in general. Of
particular interest is the final section which discusses the
impact recent developments have had on ministers and their
ministry.

Geering, Lloyd. "Secularization and Religion." In Religious

Studies in the Pacific, pp. 215-223. Edited by J. Hinchcliff.
Auckland, NZ: Colloquium Publishers, l978. (BL 2600.R45)

Geering sees the secularization of our age as a remark-

able parallel to the developments in religion in the centuries
just preceding the NT era. If this is correct, secularization
may prove to be a divinely-ordained means of preparing the
world for Christ's return.

Hay, David, and Morisy, Ann. "Secular Society, Religious

Meanings: a Contemporary Paradox." Review of Religious Re-
search 26 (1985):213-227.

A survey of religious attitudes in England. Provides

useful analogies to the North American situation.

Lovelace, R. "Future Shock and Christian Hope." Christianity

Today (Aug 5, 1983):12-16.

Brief discussion of the move from the Industrial Age into

the Information Age with some religious implications.

Miller, Donald E. "Some Reflections on Secularization." Religion

in Life 48 (1979):492-501.

The author argues that religion is not dying, it is only

taking different forms today. People still need a commitment
to something greater than themselves, release from guilt, and
meaningful fellowship with other human beings. Religions that
meet those needs will continue to flourish in a secular age.
 33

Stark, Rodney, and Bainbridge, William Sims. "Secularization,

Revival and Cult Formation." The Annual Review of the Social
Sciences of Religion 4 (1980):85-119.

The authors argue that predictions of the triumph of

secularization have mistaken conventional religious organiza-
tions for religion in general. Secularization is a self-
limiting process that produces revival (sects) in the short
run and innovation (cults) over the longer run. Sects are
efforts by the churched to remain churched, cults are efforts
by the unchurched to become churched.

________. "Secularization and Cult Formation in the Jazz Age."

Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 20 (1981):360-
373. (BL 60.A56)

The authors offer further evidence (see previous article)

that secularization is a self-limiting phenomenon.