The Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports that Atlantic Union College (AUC) is talking with Loma Linda University (LLU) about the possibility of a partnership between the two Seventh-day Adventist-owned post-secondary educational institutions. In March AUC was been placed on probation (again) by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. AUC just emerged off of probation in 2005. Pray for the boards of AUC and LLU, and for the constituents of the Atlantic Union, which covers the Bermuda and the Northeastern United States from Maine south to New York.
Joshua Griffin, the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church in California, lists four job qualifications essential for youth pastors.
- Work well with adults.
- Value the vision of the church
- Be completely free of arrogance and pride (Pr. Griffin admits this one is impossible–we’re human and all fall down on this one–but his point is that the youth pastor needs to be humble.)
- Be a servant.
Link: 4 Skills Your Next Youth Pastor Has to Have from More Than Dodgeball blog
In most artwork I’ve seen depicting the Ten Commandments the commandments are divided up between the tablets, either 4 on one side, 6 on the other, or 5 and 5. However, some Jewish scholars believe that all ten of the commandments were inscribed on each tablet, noting that this was a covenant between the Lord and Israel.
I believe it’s more important to understand God’s requirement of us than quibble over the layout of the tablets, but this is an interesting observation about the relationship between the Lord and His people.
Link: What was Written on the Two Tablets? from Bar-Ilan University.
The Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator complex, began tests today. I’m no physicist, but, as I understand it, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) hopes to get protons going really fast, then set them loose so they will collide with each other. They hope to see what things looked like after the “Big Bang” — supposedly the beginning of the universe.
There are many who have predicted that this will be the end of the world, as miniature black holes grow, destroying the earth from within.
A man-made machine located beneath the Swiss-Franco border will not destroy the entire world. The end of the world as we know it will come when Jesus comes. And eventually the world will be completely destroyed and recreated when the Holy City comes down out of heaven.
I’m not sure what information will come from this 5 billion GBP experiment. I don’t believe they’ll really discover anything about the beginning of the universe. One news report I heard last night asked if this experiment was going to tell us about the origin of the earth, or if this was the end of the world.
Neither.
The Bible gives the answer to both questions — God created the world. God will destroy the world. God will re-create the world.
Links:
The Chesapeake Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has announced that A. Ramon Chow has been elected as the executive secretary and treasurer of Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) by the North American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD). Elder Chow has been the treasurer for the Chesapeake Conference since 1999.
The search for a new conference treasurer will begin next week.
I will miss Elder Chow’s leadership in the conference.
Text of the full press release is below:
SILVER SPRING, Maryland—The North American Division (NAD) elected A. Ramon Chow executive secretary and treasurer of Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) Friday. He replaces Ron Christman who recently accepted a call to serve as business manager at Forest Lake Academy in Apopka, Florida. Formed in 1947, the Adventist-Laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) is an organization of approximately 1,000 Seventh-day Adventist church members who work in the private sector in business and professional vocations. Their motto is Sharing Christ in the Marketplace and they are committed to supporting the global mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “I am humbled and honored that ASI board voted unanimously to recommend my name to the NAD,” says Chow. “ I look forward to my new responsibilities with high expectations since I know that along with a great multitude of motivated, energetic and Christ-led people, ASI, with the Lord’s help, will continue to be in the forefront of soul-winning.”
Elder Chow is the treasurer of the Chesapeake Conference, a position he has held since 1999. He holds a Master of Arts in Administration from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan and Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland. Chow first attended college at Colombia-Venezuela Union College (now Colombia Adventist University) in Medellin, Colombia, and began his career there as assistant treasurer. He has served in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, as well, before coming to the United States. Here in the U.S., Chow’s career continued at Columbia Union College, LaSierra University, Atlantic Union College, New England Memorial Hospital and Southern New England Conference. Chow came to Chesapeake Conference from the Texas Conference where he was treasurer for nine years. “Elder Chow has served Chesapeake with distinction,” says president Rob Vandeman. “His broad background in denominational service, his accumulate wisdom and his very capable management skills have helped us navigate through some difficult waters over the past nine years. He has been a joy to work with and will be greatly missed.”
Elder Chow’s wife Elizabeth, a registered nurse by training, works as an administrative assistant in the Adult Ministries department and will remain on the Chesapeake Conference staff.
The search process for a new treasurer will begin at the Executive Committee meeting next Tuesday. “It is paramount,” says Vandeman, “that the next treasurer exhibit similar strengths. Chesapeake’s track record of solid, steady and supportive financial management must continue. The challenges we face aren’t getting any easier.”# # #
Update: The Columbia Union Conference website now has the story: Chesapeake Conference Treasurer Moves to ASI
The Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is reporting that Fredrick Russell, currently the pastor of the Miracle Temple church in Baltimore, Maryland, has been elected as the next president of the the Allegheny West Conference.
Dr. Russell has written in the Adventist Review that it is time for the Seventh-day Adventist Church to begin looking for ways to abolish the separate “white” and “black” conference structure that is in effect in most of North America. I shared some thoughts on his article, and he was gracious enough to comment.
I pray for him as he transitions from serving at Miracle Temple to serving the Allegheny West Conference.
The Allegheny West Conference serves the “regional” Seventh-day Adventist work in Ohio, West Virginia, and parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Links:
- Fredrick Russell Named President of Allegheny West Conference (Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists)
- The Obama Message by Fredrick A. Russell (Adventist Review)
- Time to Remove Racial Divisions conversation on this blog
- Allegheny West Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
A Cincinnati preacher has been convicted of aggravated menacing for allegedly waving a gun and cursing at a motorist who cut him off while he was on his way to church.
From the Ministry Best Practices blog, something to think about:
“All of us in the Coca-Cola family wake up each morning knowing that every single one of the world’s 5.6 Billion people will get thirsty that day…and we are the ones with the best opportunity to refresh them. Our task is simple: make Coca Cola and our other products available, affordable, and acceptable to them, quenching their thirst and providing them a perfect moment of relaxation. If we do this..if we make it impossible for these 5.6 Billion people to escape Coca Cola…then we assure our future success for many years to come. Doing anything else is not an option.”
Rober C. Goizueta, CEO and Chariman of the Board of Coca-Cola, report to stockholders in their 1993 annual report.
Now if a person can be that passionate about carmel colored sugar water, how much more passionate should we be about people hearing the gospel?
I have not been able to verify the quote — I can’t find a copy of the 1993 report to stockholders online — Coke only gives the last three years on their website. If you have access to the official Coca-Cola Company report from 1993, I would appreciate verification of the information.
Either way, it is still a good illustration of how dedicated we should be to sharing the Water of Life with a thirsty world!
The Daily Reporter-Herald of Loveland, Colorado, has an article on Eden Valley Institute.
In a memo posted on the North American Divsion of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) website, Pastor Don Schneider, NAD President and Chair of the Voice of Prophecy (VOP) Board of Trustees, has announced that Pastor Lonnie Melashanko will step down as speaker/director of the Voice of Prophecy on July 31, 2008. After serving at VOP for 17 years, Pastor Melashenko will become the Vice President of Spiritual Services and Missions for the Kettering Health Network in Ohio.
A Memo From the Desk of Don Schneider
President, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists
Chair, Voice of Prophecy Board of Trustees
June 18, 2008Re: Change in Leadership at the Voice of Prophecy
On Monday, June 16, Pastor Lonnie Melashenko officially notified the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists that he would be leaving the Voice of Prophecy as speaker/director on July 31. I am truly grateful for the 17 years of service that Pastor Melashenko provided and pray that the Lord will continue to use him in his new role as Vice President of Spiritual Services and Missions for the Kettering Health Network in Ohio.
Many people are aware of the dynamic ways the Holy Spirit has used Lonnie to “lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring.” During the transition I am committed to making sure that the ministry of God through the Voice of Prophecy will not be diminished. Pastor Melashenko will continue to be heard by thousands of people on the broadcasts. He has offered to represent the Voice of Prophecy at various speaking appointments already scheduled and for the evangelistic outreach in Hong Kong this fall. Lonnie has been an asset to the Voice of Prophecy, but like any successful outreach, the Voice of Prophecy is based on the guidance of the Holy Spirit to proclaim an everlasting gospel. We will need that continued guidance as we make decisions about how to proceed.
As we look to the future, I believe this is a time to consider how to make the “voice” of prophecy an even more vibrant call to follow the Word of God. In the last few years more has changed in the arena of electronic and broadcast media than we have seen for decades. The intrusive and powerful influence of the Internet continues to open new possibilities for outreach while at the same time flooding the world with images and information that can be far more insidious and evil than anything that radio or television ever broadcast. It seems that people’s souls are now under attack more than they ever have been before.
The Voice of Prophecy’s Bible School graduates thousands of people every year in North America and many more thousands in dozens of languages around the world. The coordinated network of churches around North America who respond to those enrolled in the Bible School is astounding. The new lessons for young people, Native Americans, and those in Chinese are enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone who takes seriously the call to go everywhere to reach someone with the love of Jesus. The light these efforts produce must not dim, it must grow brighter! I hope that you will agree.
Please know that I will keep you informed of developments. I appreciate so much those who given their energies and financial contributions to bring Jesus into the lives of so many through the Voice of Prophecy. With the guiding vision of H.M.S. Richards, Sr. still clearly in sight, I take the responsibility for continuing what he started very seriously and ask that you pray that the Lord will guide us as we move “forward in faith.”
I am just old enough to remember hearing HMS Richards, Sr., speaking on the Voice of Prophecy.
I am praying for VOP during this transition, and pray that the Lord will continue to work through Pastor Melashenko in his ministry at Kettering.
