I Feel Like I'm In a Time Warp

Yeah, I grew up in Adventism so I have heard all of the argumentation on various issues. Issues like Jewelry and makeup...Issues like going to the movies. What is interesting is that folks still like to argue over issues like that movies when so many folks not only attend movies, but the ones who don't simply bring it into their homes.

But that isn't my point. My point is that whenever these issues come up, we end up with an argument between two sides that I have heard before. No I have heard it many times. I know what the conservative is gonna say. He been saying the same thing since rap sessions when we were in high school. And I know what the so called liberal is gonna say. Ditto.

Worship Police

It seems that everybody wants to tell you how to worship. They are either telling you to sit down and shut up, or they are telling you that you are ungrateful to God if you don't stand up and shout.

What A Proper Burial For The Black Conferences Would Look Like

I think that the Black Conferences, regional conferences, or whatever you want to call them are on borrowed time. However, I do not like the rhetoric of those who are seeking to do away with these conferences. I think it demonstrates why they were created in the first place. So I decided to do a post on how the Black Conferences should end when they do.

1)The church should acknoweldge the debt they have to the Black confenreces.

Many churches split over race issues. The Seventh-day Adventist church did not. These separate conferences kept the church together. Don't come and tell me we are the only church with separate conferences. Other churches have separate deonominations. Look at the methodists. They ahve Black methodists and the premominately white United Methodists. The Baptists have a plethora of Black denominations largest being the NAtional Baptists and the predominately white Southern Baptists.

The Black conferences have played a part in keepign the denomination together, so we should thank them instead of vilifying them.

2) Growth of the Black Work

WE also should thank the confernces for the phenominal growth of the Black work. We can thank great evangelists and pastors of the past as well as the presesent. There has been an explosion of growth since the Black conferneces. It is true that the growth has slowed some, but this has been a success.

3) Black folks wanted to be treated with respect before they wanted black conferneces.

Black confernces were created because of whtie racism plain and simple. It was becuase Black folks would not be treated with respect in the dominant conferndces. Now I have been accused of racism for stating that simple fact, but call me what you will, truth is truth.

So the dominant church should apologize for why the thesse conferences had to be created. Just as Isreal repented of sins created earlier, the dominant church needs to apologize for its treatment in the past. They need to repent of its not allowing black people to worship in thier churches. Yes they called cops on Black people who wanted to worship in their churches. Yes it happened. And yes if we are to give the confernces a proper burial we need to acknowledge it.

4) They need to disolve all of the conferences and unify again under right principles.

It is simply not valid to disolve black confernces and keep the other confrences in the same area. IF you are going to disolve the confrence, you must disolve them both. And then unify. That is the only fair thing. Unless the Black conferences existence is illegitimate.

5)We cannot sidestep our responsibility by eliminating the confernce level.

Union of chruches or whatever you come up with, the church still must give the Black Conferences a proper burial or the ghosts of why they were even created will congtinue to haunt us.

6)Stop using the offensive and incorrect comparison to Apartheid

It is offensive to me as a Black man when you compare Black conferences (where white people can attend and have no repurcussions) to apartheid (where black people were legally placed in second class citizenship.) It is an incorrect comparison in that contrary to the 60s when the dominant churches kept black people out, today black people can attend the other churches and members of the other churches can attend black churches...

And the real issue is that the elmination of Black conferneces ain't gonna eliminate the Black churches anyway.

If we do away with the Black Conferences, let us please give it a proper burrial by acknowledging the debt that the church has to them. Let us asknoweldge the sin of white racism that made the creation of these confernces a necessity. Once this has happened, then

Responsibility of Membership

I had an interesting conversation with a member of one of our churches the other day. The member was dismayed at what he perceived as a small minority of the church though powerful, but stagnant lay leadership standing in the way of the progress of the church. These people should simply step asided and let the church progress.

I think this is an interesting question that comes up often. A few thoughts immediately came to mind. First, all leadership is considered backward and not effective by someone. I know I have been considered that by some. Perhaps I was. At any rate, when you are voted to leadership of the church, you are expected to act in ways that you think are in the best interests of the church. If you vote someone as an Elder, don't get mad if they run the church in a way that you don't think is best. Simply vote them out when the time comes.

Here the member seemed to be upset with the church elected officials doing what they think is right. Yet, it seems that the church wants to keep them in becuase they keep electing them. If these people are truly in the minority, then why doesn't the majority just vote them out?

Well, perhaps it is becuase the majority does not wish to speak. Maybe they just want to enjoy the benefits of a Sabbath morning entertainment session rather than taking ownership in the church they attend. Whatever the case, most of our churches are run by a vocal 10% of the church simply becuase they are the only ones that show up at the business meetings.

That elder who we assume is backward is doing what he thinks is right. Don't get mad at him, he is working and buidling up the church to the best of his ability. He or she is not getting paid for that effort that is invested in the church. And as one who has been a local elder, he or she is not getting the respect that you think he or she is. At any rate, don't get mad at the elder, get mad at the 90% of the church who think that church is something that you just show up for. Get mad at the 90% who do nothing and don't want to do anything. Get mad at the 90% who think it is too much to show up for a once a month business meeting.

In short, vote the elder out and put in effective leadership. But the elder is only a symptom of the larger problem. When you build a church based on those who only wish to consume religious entertainment, then you will be disapointed trying to turn those "consumers" into "producers" of anything. In many cases, they will simply move on to the next "young powerful preacher" who has a better "show" on Sabbath morning.

How Do Adventist Book Centers Make Money?

[caption id="attachment_2635" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Image by Moe"][/caption]OK...I gotta admit that I don't have any inside information on how profitable they are. But it really seems like they have some hard times. Let me tell you what I mean...

Used to be back in the day the Adventist staple (vegetarian meat substitutes) were only obtained from the Adventist Book Center (ABC). But if you want to get some Vege-meat, guess what, head on over to Kroger or Wal-Mart Supercenter and purchase all kinds of meat substitutes. Even if you hooked on the Adventist brands you can find them there as well. And often for cheaper prices in that the big supermarkets can purchase many more than your local small ABC. And lets not forget that you can even go to Burger King and get a Vegetarian burger (see picture). Even if you want the "Adventist brands" you can get those at your local supermarket for a cheaper price than our ABCs can give.

Well what about buying some books. Surprise..Surprise...Head into your average ABC and it looks like a regular Christian bookstore...They have Max Lucado, T.D. Jakes, and John McArthur. While it is true that you can also get Clifford Goldstein and Herbert Douglass and of course there is a large section of Ellen Gould White (EGW) books, my point is that a good amount of the books that are in that store are available elsewhere.

At the end of the day, I wonder how many "Adventist" books they are selling? I wonder how many books they sell besides EGW. Really I wonder how many of her books they sell. I mean how many times can you buy Acts of the Apostles. No wonder they keep changing the cover of EGW books and creating paraphrases and the like of her books. But to be honest, this is a problem for all book sellers. But it has got to hit small specialty publishers like our Adventist publishers hard. I mean, how many books on such subjects as the Sanctuary, EGW apologetics, and state of the dead can you sell when the only people purchasing are a small segment of the church? And then they have to compete with many smaller publishers who have sprung up in the last few years. I understand why in many cases the book that they are pushing at this year's camp-meeting for 20 dollars will 20 dollars will be in the closeout bin for 3 dollars in a couple of years.

Of course there is the whole Sabbath School lesson game where they sell the lessons through the ABCs. That probably makes some money, but I do wonder if they can stay afloat with that alone. Especially in light of the fact that a growing number of sabbath schools at least in the US are using different materials.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate on ABCs. I loved them, but I gotta admit, I only go in them every once in a while now. And often just to pick up a case of that Veggie Meat. I can't help but think that this Adventist social activity of going to an ABC will soon be a thing of the past. I'll probably miss it, but I will just get my reading materials online and my vege meat at the Grocery Store...