If You Can, You Must Do...The Church Needs You

Ellen White makes an interesting statement on page 85 of the book Counsels to Writers and Editors. In it she says: "It is the duty of all who can write, especially those who minister in holy things, to exercise their talents in this direction."

Here Sister White encourages all to write if God has given you that talent. we have come to a point where we need an all hands on deck mentality. We cannot wait for an assignment from our oveworked pastor or conference official. We cannot wait until someone gives us a test to inform us of our abilities. We cannot wait until someone in church office resigns or retires opening the door for us. No we are to find what we can do, and do it with all of our might and strength.

Today, we are in an era where the power of the author has been magnified. If you can write you can reach literally millions very quickly. Ellen White spoke about our publications going out like the leaves of autumn, but I wonder if she would even be surprised at the power that the web has given to all of us.

But more than the writer. There are other talents in the church that we have not given to the Master. There are computer professionals who have some time while the church's web presense languishes. There are teachers who could be holding GED programs or the like. There are health instructors who could be focusing on the "right arm of the message." There are pleasant people who could be giving much needed ministries of encouragement. There are people with Biblical knowledge who could be giving Bible studies and readings. If you want to see an explosion...just think what would happen if those of us who have been given talents had the audacity to use them for the mission of Christ in the world. It would literally "turn the world upside down."

The church needs you. If you are waiting for an assignment, then Jesus gave it to you when he said "Go ye therefore and teach all nations..." "Ye" means me and it means you. If you need an ordination, then you got that at baptism. If you need a position, then you got that cause you been called an ambassador of God.

In short, if you can...Go head on and Do....The Body of Christ needs it...And we need it right now!

Was Ellen White a Plagiarist?

You have read all of the sites that attack her.

But was she really a plagiarist? In this short ebook, David Conklin attempts to answer the critics and explode the myths about her writings.

Conklin uses a new different methodology to evaluate the charges of plagiarism in Sister White's writings.

Many attempt to accuse Ellen White of plagiarism by only comparing similarities between her writings and the writings she allegedly copied.

However what happens if you do not just look at similarities, but also look at differences?

When you only look at similarities and do not consider differences, according to Conklin, you can overestimate the possibility of  plagiarism.

In this ebook, Conklin has used an approach that emphasizes not just similarities, but also differences.

Download this ebook for free at the following link.

[wpfilebase tag=file id=1]

Benefits of Reading Ellen White?

John Nix of the Ellen White Estate gives some interesting findings about the lifestyle blessings of regular study of Ellen White. While I have no idea of the methodology of the survey, the statistics are very intresting. for example of those members who read Ellen White daily 85% stated that they had a strong relationship with Jesus Christ while 59% of those who do not read her stated this. 82% of those who read Ellen White regularly also have daily Bible study while only 47% of those who do not read her had daily study.

What does this mean? Well, there are benefits to reading Ellen White regularly. It also might suggest that in practice a lack of Ellen White reading usually manifests itself in lack of Bible reading among Adventists...And vice versa...It also might illustrate that it is not "reading" Ellen White that necessarily contributes to the legalism that so many people think is rampant in the church at the present time.

The Disappearing Prophet

One Sabbath school teacher stated that: "We use Ellen G. White too much almost deifying her!" One might also hear: Or "Adventists must overcome their legalism!" I think it interesting that we accept these assumptions without critically looking at them. Such sentiments are often never challenged.

Some assume that one could go into your average Adventist church and get talked about for bringing cheese or meat to the pot-luck. It is assumed that you can go to your average Adventist church and hear people quote Ellen White more than the Bible. It is assumed that the average Adventist church consists of people with a notepad seeking to write down all the things that you have done wrong. But are these assumptions true?

Pot Lucks and Cheese

I find such statements interesting for a couple of reasons...First, I find that the seeker sensitive services do not necessarily end up with a more "loving" expereince. See my post on another blog. But also, I have attended many potlucks and have often seen cheese in them. Sometimes I see meat...But I have never seen anyone castigated for bringing cheese or meat. I have even seen a church related function have unclean meat in it....(but it was something that the pastor was not aware of and attempted to correct) I will acknowledge that my experiences are limited to my own case, I have not visited every church etc...But I can't help but wonder what if the assumed problem is really not the problem?

Legalism or Lawlessness?

What if our basic assumptions are wrong? What if lawlessness is at least as big a problem as legalism in the church today? What if it is not that we use Ellen White too much, but hardly at all? What if instead of "worshipping her" as we are charged with we ignore her?

I doubt you will go to many churches tomorrow and hear Ellen White quoted more than the Bible. In fact you might hear Billy Graham or Martin Luther quoted more than Ellen White. I think it interesting that some think that Ellen White is deified in the church while at the same time we hear her less. Is the prophet disappearing or have I just attended the few churches that seem to downplay her?

What do you think?