June 2024 GN

From the Pastor’s Pen

Under Construction

When you think of the Apostle Paul, you probably think of him more as a theologian than a general contractor, but Paul understood the value of quality construction. He knew good foundations are essential, and so are quality building materials. 1 Corinthians 3 is best known for verse 16 which says, “Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?”

In 1 Corinthians 6:19, the Apostle Paul says something similar when he writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.” We know from the context in chapter 6 that Paul here is talking about a personal application of healthy living. He’s saying, take care of your body because it is the place that the Holy Spirit lives. But, 1 Corinthians 3:16 isn’t for individual application, but corporate. Paul is talking here about the body of Christ. Paul starts off the passage (1 Corinthians 3:1-8) with a farming metaphor. “I planted and Apollos watered.” He then abruptly shifts metaphors and gets to the foundation. He says, “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it” 1 Corinthians 3:9, 10.

Who does he say is building on this foundation? Paul says we all are. We all are builders even if we have never built a house, or a dog house, or a doll house. Regardless of your building experience, I have no doubt that we are all feverishly building something. Can I be transparent? Sometimes, in my feverish building, I don’t get a lot accomplished because I’m not using the right building materials. The building materials you use make all the difference. That’s what the plumber told us when our Alabama home’s walls began gushing hot water. The water lines the builder used in the construction of our house had a history of degrading and splitting over time. Too bad we didn’t know that when we bought the house and missed that class action lawsuit! Building materials matter. That’s why Paul tells us: “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done” (1 Corinthians 3:11-13).

When I was pastoring a three-church district in southwest Mississippi twenty-two years ago, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association came to our small town of Brookhaven to conduct a series of meetings in the high school football stadium. All the Christian churches were asked to participate by sending volunteers. These volunteers were trained to be prepared for the “call” when unbelievers would be asked to come forward. The entire focus of the event was for people to “get saved.” In a planning meeting with the other area pastors, I raised my hand and asked, “After the appeal, and folks accept Jesus, then what?” I was told, “That’s it. That’s our goal.” I wonder if we make the same mistake. That is, are we content with people accepting a checklist of Biblical truths?

Recently, I was researching material on discipleship and MOST of what I found concerned teaching people about a checklist of truths and how to teach them to teach others the checklist. Is it possible to know the checklist of doctrines (teachings of Scripture), while none of the doctrines impact our marriages, our relationships with our children, our daily life choices?

Don’t get me wrong. We want people who do not have a life changing relationship with Jesus to fall in love with Him, but that’s only part of the mission. The rest of our mission, and equally important, is to make disciples. Discipleship is not just teaching people to agree with us so they can repeat what they have learned. Disciple-making is about walking along side people in relationship with them as they, and we, are being transformed into the image of Christ.

Our mission is leading people to Christ (which includes the distinctive teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church) so that they can experience real heart change. The Church’s mission is not about filling churches. It’s about building them. The mission is not necessarily about constructing new church structures, although there is a time and place for that. The mission of the Church is building the Church with people who have experienced the power of the indwelling Christ.

Paul doesn’t say that if we do a shoddy job of building and take shortcuts in our construction that you and I are necessarily eternally lost. But, what he is saying is that what we have all been entrusted with, that is, precious people, may be lost.

The kingdom being built that Paul is talking about has to be people daily receiving transforming heart change by the presence of Christ. Christ has to be the foundation of everything and only our best quality of materials should be used.

We are all building something. I want to leave each of you with this. Are you building for now, or for eternity? Are you investing your time and efforts in things that will soon simply combust, or in things that will last for eternity, people you can present to Jesus whom you have walked beside as they grew in faith?

So, according to Paul, each one of us is called to build on Christ, who is our foundation, but that leaves us with the question: What are you building with?

“Everyone loves to eat; no one wants to do the dishes.”

It’s an old proverb that opens our discussion of the Potluck Ministry – a ministry that touches every member, every guest, every visitor, even the prisoners who join when they can, yet a ministry that frequently is not recognized for the essential work they do.

The leaders of the Potluck Teams and the pastor were interviewed for this article. The topics discussed are a direct result of their answers to a series of questions. All comments in quotation marks are directly from one or more of the leaders.

The work involved in providing a potluck experience each Sabbath includes: setting up and decorating tables, setting out food attractively on two or four food lines with a variety on all lines, preparing, cutting, providing spoons for all dishes, keeping the tables full of food, providing hand sanitizers, soap, and towels, setting up the drink station and/or tabled water pitchers, providing/refilling stacks of plates, utensils, and napkins, washing serving dishes, eating dishes and silverware, cleaning/putting away tables and chairs, and washing the towels and cleaning cloths.

With so much work to provide a potluck experience, one wonders why people volunteer to lead a potluck team. “My children love going to potluck to see their friends. Besides it’s hard to sit and not be helping with the work that’s to be done. I miss church sometimes to help in the kitchen, but I want the newer members to get to hear the sermon, so I help in the kitchen.” “After the pandemic there were no potluck groups at all and no fellowship. Potluck is a great evangelism opportunity— a way for the new members to make a connection with the current church members.” “Actually, we came to Arden from a small church plant where potluck happened every week and the fellowship was wonderful. On our first Sabbath here at Arden, when we came to potluck, multiple people came to our table and welcomed us and talked with us. And we knew we were in the right place.”

Some teams have sufficient help from their team members and some teams wish more of their team could consistently come on their team’s Sabbath.

“We need more food and more help from the church members. We don’t ever have enough green salads. And we can always use better, solid, hearty, healthy entrées and soups—and vegetables.” “We usually have 100-120 people at potluck. If the team had to bring enough food to feed everyone, we would each have to bring 8-10 dishes.” “When we announce large groups are coming, we have lots of food. But on regular Sabbaths, we sometimes struggle to have enough food.”

“Everyone can bring something.” “When you bring a salad, mix it up yourself. When you bring desserts or entrée roast, cut it in pieces yourself. When you bring chips, put them in a bowl from the kitchen yourself. Help us.” “Many hands make light work. We get burned out when we are working by ourselves. Please join us, help us, and bring more food.”

“We believe potluck is a ministry. The sermon is where knowledge and theology happen. Potluck is where fellowship happens.” “Bonding and fellowship is the heart of the church— especially for the young people, the singles, and those who can’t get out on other days. For some, this is the only Adventist fellowship they experience all week.”

“A number of new members and visitors said that potluck was one of the reasons they came and stayed at Arden. The potluck at the river was awesome, especially for people into sports and outdoor activities. Then the Dominican Republic mission trip just sealed it.”

The team leaders enjoy the fellowship as much as everyone else. But on the Sabbath they are working; they watch over the food tables to make sure the hot food is hot and the cold food is cold. They anticipate the need for hand washing. They keep the plates and silverware restocked. They are concerned for safety, especially that sharp knives are kept out of the reach of small children. “We want people to relax and enjoy themselves. We don’t want them to think they are being pushed away from the table by our cleaning. We want potluck ministry to be about fellowship.” “We want people to look for people they don’t know and eat with them.”

Three potluck teams serve our needs at Arden, the Zinke team on 2nd Sabbath, the Fritz/Hagan team on 3rd Sabbath, and the Betchley team on 4th Sabbath. The Hansen team serves a smaller clientele on the 1st Sabbath, specifically the visitors, the singles, the homeless who might come, and the prisoners who can’t go anywhere else.

Pastor Eric added, “My dream is that the Arden members would surround themselves with people they don’t know—and get to know them. Very few people join a church by learning facts. They might learn them, but they leave. They make a connection; they build a warm relationship; they stay. They may not be ready to hear facts. But if they have a relationship, the walls against the truth are softened and gradually fall away.”

Juneteenthand EarlyAdventist Activists

Tby Chris Small

he date was June 19, 1865—two and a half years after Abraham Lincoln’s Proclamation of Emancipation went into effect, four months after the Thirteenth Amendment passed in Congress (not ratified until December), and two months after the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Smaller Confederate armies surrendered one by one to Union forces through June 1865 when the Army of the Trans-Mississippi, the final major Confederate command, conceded the end of the Civil War.

For several years, slaveholders had been moving their slaves to Texas, avoiding the Union Army and the Emancipation Proclamation, an influx of over 150,000 enslaved people. Now, the Union military with Major General Gordon Granger, newly appointed commander of the Department of Texas, arrived. Almost immediately, in Galveston, General Granger issued General Order No. 3, “informing” residents of Texas that the state would now comply with Lincoln’s Proclamation, that “all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rightsandrightsofpropertybetweenformermastersandslaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor.”

This order affected some 250,000 slaves in Texas, although it took several months—or even years—for some to be free. Nevertheless, June 19th was an important milestone in the abolition of slavery, growing stronger with annual celebrations, finally becoming a Texas state holiday in 1980, and a U.S. national holiday in 2021.

Today, Seventh-day Adventists can celebrate Juneteenth remembering that part of Jesus’ stated mission (Isaiah 61:1-3) wasto“preachgoodnewstothepoor...healthebrokenhearted . . . proclaim liberty to the captives . . . comfort all who mourn.” Our own world church mission statement today includes Christlike servanthood.

In the 21st century, how can we continue the struggle for equity?Howcanweliftupourbrothersandsisters?Howcanwe helptransformsociety—atleast“ourneckofthewoods”—inaid to every child of God who mourns or suffers from personal or systemic evil, injustice, sin, and hardship? Perhaps we can find inspiration in Adventist pioneers and friends who were firm abolitionists leading up to the Civil War or promoters of equal rights in the difficult years following reconstruction. Let’s take a brief look at just a few of them:

JoshuaV.Himes

Joshua Himes was known for being the unofficial chief

organizer and promoter of the Millerite movement between 1840 and 1844, creatingSignsoftheTimes,organizinglarge meetings of believers, and spreading the Word throughout the United States. However,hewasalreadyknownasaradical reformer, promoting temperance, nonviolence, women’s rights, and the immediate abolition of slavery. Himes was an early and strong supporter of William Lloyd Garrison. Though Himes was disappointed when Jesus did not return in 1843 or 1844 (fulfilling his radical hopes for equality and peace), he continued to speak and work for these causes, especially the end of slavery.

Joseph&PrudenceBates

Joseph Bates, a champion of the Sabbathandoneofthemajorfounders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was a strong anti-slavery activist. Initiallyattractedtore-colonizationof Blacks to Africa, Bates was convinced by Joshua Himes in 1835 of its moral complications and became a Garrisonian abolitionist, seeking an immediateendtoslavery.InAprilofthesameyear,Bateshelped organize a 40-member anti-slavery society in the neighboring towns of Fairhaven/New Bedford, Massachusetts. The following year,hehelpedstartananti-slaverysocietyforthewholecounty, being a faithful member of the state anti-slavery society. Prudence Bates, Joseph’s wife, was just as zealous, co-founding the Fairhaven Ladies Anti-Slavery Society. Though well respected, their radical abolitionist activities, as well as their support of women’s rights, sometimes drew anger and threats from certain neighbors. In 1836, Joseph Bates, Joshua Himes, and 19 Christian Connexion (sic) leaders spoke out at the Massachusetts Christian Conference on Slavery, saying that the Bible could not be used to defend the practiceofslaveryandrejectingthe“MythofHam.”Throughout the1830sandearly1840s,BatesspokeoutagainstMassachusetts laws that forbade intermarriage, denied suffrage, or caused segregation (in schools, cemeteries, train cars, or dinner tables). By 1843, a measure of success resulted in some railroad companies stopping their racial segregation practices and Massachusetts repealing its interracial marriage ban.

FrederickDouglass

The famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass did not actually take this name until his twenties. Previously, he had been a slave, changing hands or “rented out” numerous times. He faced abuse under several “masters” and learned to read in secret. In 1838, when Douglass was about 20 years old, he escaped to freedom, married his sweetheart Anna, a

freeborn black woman, and shortly thereafter settled in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Here he became involved with Garrisonian abolitionism and the anti-slavery societies, most likely meeting and working in some context with Joseph Bates, as well as other Millerites like Joshua Himes, Charles Fitch, and John Lewis.

In the 1850s Douglass moved to Rochester, New York, his workplace being “just across the bridge” from James and Ellen White’s Review & Herald office. Decades later, his oldest child, daughter Rosetta, converted to the Seventh-day Adventist faith about five years before Douglass’ death. Rosetta remained an active member of the First Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington, DC, until her death in 1906.

SojournerTruth

Another famous reformer, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and evangelist was Sojourner Truth. Born as a slave named Isabella,shesufferedhardshipandabusebeforegainingfreedom around 1827. One of her five young children had been illegally sold into slavery in the South. Friendly Quakers helpedhergotocourtandreclaimthe boy, becoming the first black woman to win a lawsuit in the United States. Sinceherownchildhood,Isabellahad visions; then, in 1853, she began to travelandpreachinobediencetoGod’s call. She took the name Sojourner Truth: “Sojourner because I was to travel up and down the land showing people their sins and being a sign to them, and Truth because I was to declare the truth unto the people.”

Before the Civil War, Sojourner Truth settled in Battle Creek, Michigan, where the Seventh-day Adventist Church was forming.AstrongoraltraditionsuggeststhatTruthwasbaptized intotheAdventistChurchbyUriahSmith,but,unfortunately,all records from that time were consumed by fire.

JohnByington

John Byington was the first president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists when it formed in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War. Over the previous three decades, Byingtonandhisfamilyhadbeenveryactive in the anti-slavery movement. In the 1840’s, he was part of the Liberty Party, which worked to end the interstate slave trade and keep the West from slavery, to bring about universal suffrage (seeking voting rights for both blacks and women), and to keep a separation between church and state. While living in St. Lawrence County, New York, Byington was an Underground Railroad agent who concealed escaping slaves in several “hidey holes” which he built for that purpose.

EdsonWhite

In his mid-40s, Edson White, the older of James and Ellen White’s two surviving sons, was having a crisis of faith. In May 1893, he told his mother in a letter, “I have no religious inclinations nowintheleast... I am not a Christian yet. .. .”But God was working on Edson White’s heart, and before the end of

the summer he told her, “I have surrendered fully and completely. . . .” He explained that in giving his life and future to God, he now had peace and joy. But how to serve?

God now laid on White’s heart a great desire to help African Americans living along the Mississippi River. Through hard work, the support of friends, and miracles, White was able to build and launch a steamboat—The Morning Star.Over the years Edson White, along with his wife Emma, and other courageous volunteers (occasionally the work being quite dangerous) through the ministry of theMorning Starand the Southern Missionary Society(whichWhiteorganized),starteddozensofschoolswith many hundreds of students, the Dixie Health Food Company, the Herald Publishing Company, the Nashville Colored Sanitarium, and many, many churches whose members were blessings in their communities, some becoming important African-American leaders in the Adventist Church.

AnnaKnight

Anna Knight’s mother, Georgeanne, was black and her father, Newton Knight (who along with his county neighbors seceded from Confederate Mississippi, creating the Free State of Jones), was white. Anna Knight learned to read and became acquainted with Adventism through a church magazine. She followed her convictions and attended Adventist schools in Tennessee, Ohio, and Michigan.

Returning home after college where she trained to be a missionary nurse, Knight, in 1898, started a school for children who were still denied the opportunity for an education, even rebuilding when it burned down and standing off moonshiners who hated her work and temperance teachings. Later, in 1901, Knight became the first black female missionary from America to India, where she served for over six years.

Back in the U.S., Knight started a sanitarium and YWCA for African Americans in Atlanta. She worked for years for the Southeastern and Southern Unions in many capacities, including the Educational, Missionary Volunteers, and Home Missionary departments. She retired at Oakwood College and years later, before her death at the age of 98, was serving as the president of the National Colored Teachers’ Association. Knight influenced generations of Adventist leaders. Her records state she’d conducted over 9.000 meetings, made over 11,000 missionary visits, written nearly 49,000 letters, and traveled the equivalent of 23 trips around the world.

AndUs...

“Christians will manifest the self-sacrificing spirit of Christ in their work. . . . They will do this heartily, not by halves. They will not . . . manifest respect of persons. They will not, cannot, live in luxuryandself-indulgencewhiletherearesufferingonesaround them. They cannot by their practice sanction any phase of oppressionorinjusticetotheleastchildofhumanity.Theyareto be like Christ. . . .” — Ellen White, The Southern Work, p, 17.

LIFESTYLE FOCUS

CommonSenseandtheNew WeightLoss

by Max Hammonds, MD, MPH, MHA

Oneofthemostdifficultproblemstodealwithinthepractice of medicine — is weight loss. The management of this medical problem ranges from those who are grossly obese (BMI over 35+; 250+ pounds) to those who are putting on extra pounds as they approach age 45 to those who want to lose a few pounds to get back into their formal wear for the big gala.

Thiswide-rangingproblemisfurthercomplicatedbythenot-sosubconscious bias against overweight people as friends or employees—to the adamant social movement demanding unqualified acceptance of obesity as “normal” and of no medical consequence.

Enter the newest medical effort to manage obesity — the type-II diabetes medicines, semaglutide and its cousins in various forms. Originally intended to treat type-II diabetes, these medicines were recently approved for weight-loss therapy. Why? Semaglutide suppresses appetite and decreases blood sugar levels resulting in an average weight loss of 6% in three months to 15% of body weight over a 15-month treatment period. This kind of weight loss engenders multiple improvements in health: improvement in sleep apnea, lowering blood pressure, decreases in fatty liver disease, decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, decreased risk of stroke, besides improvement in type-II diabetes and all its risks—all of whicharetobeexpectedwiththesesignificantweightlossnumbers.

So, what’s not to like in semaglutide? Like all medicines, semaglutide has significant side-effects which must be managed by appropriate medical providers. Because the medicine mimics naturally occurring protein chains that regulate bowel functions, most side-effects are bowel problems which are usually controlled with other medications or by regulating the dosage of the drug. Other more serious side-effects—pancreatitis, acute kidney injury, worsening depression or suicidal ideation—require cessation of the medication.

But the greater problems are the unrealistic expectations—even by medical professionals—of safe and effective weight loss without lifestyle change. There are no magic pills that can correct a life of high calorie eating and low levels of activity. Yes, the medicine will suppress the appetite, resulting in weight loss. But when the

medicine is discontinued, the old lifestyle patterns will return along withregainingalltheweightlost.Nothingwaslearned;nothingwill change.

Every effective weight loss program must include, with the medicine, retraining the habit patterns and addressing the psychosocial problems that led to overeating, creating the obesity problem initially. The complaint is that these medicines, to be permanently effective, must be continued for a lifetime. True— unless these habit patterns are retrained, and a new lifestyle related to food and exercise are learned. At that point the medicines can be gradually discontinued, and the new lifestyle can take over the maintenance of the new weight and renewed wellness.

The second complaint concerning the long-term use of these medicines is that rapid weight loss is usually 25% bone and muscle weight loss. This is compounded by the fact that being obese requires stronger bones and muscles to move such a large weight from place to place. Lowering weight decreases the stresses that strengthen bones and muscles. The obvious answer is to offset the loss of weight with increased activity: stretching and balance training, weight training, and cardiovascular exercise—to continue the good stresses that strengthen bones and muscles. All successful weightlossprogramsincludethesemodalities—withorwithoutthe medicines.

The third complaint is the fear of nutritional deficiency from lower calorie intake. Again, the obvious answer is dietary, nutritional counseling and training. Calorie dense foods—foods thatcontainlotsofcaloriesperportionsize—usuallycontainhighly refined carbohydrates, extra sugar, lots of fats and very little nutrients, like vitamins, minerals, and especially fiber. Healthy foods of whole, unrefined grains, legumes, vegetables (without the sauces), fresh fruits (without the sugary syrups) are all high in nutrients and much lower in calories. Even with smaller portion sizes, there is absolutely no reason to assume that eating fewer calories will result in poor nutrition.

And finally, the concern about protein deficiency. Food intake of whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and fruits with nuts and seeds supplementing them provides adequate protein intake for normalsized, normally active adults. Protein requirements are greatly exaggerated even among the professional dietary and weight-loss community. If little or no muscle loss is experienced due to increased physical activity, then no increased protein is required above that which is normally needed: 45 grams a day for males and 35 grams a day for females.

Using common sense and scientifically proven methods of a complete rehabilitation program—activity and dietary counseling— to offset changes due to weight loss can lead to a successful correction in the weight without the necessity of continuing these weight loss medications for a lifetime. No magic pills. Just good common sense.

Max Hammonds is a retired anesthesiologist, writer, health lecturer, musician, and sailor, and writes from his home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

byChrisSmall

28 Fundamentals: “God,theFather”

by Max Hammonds

The dinner dishes were done and Albert Broot (aka Pawpaw to his grandson, Mark) retreated to the family room to await the evening news. Mark followed him. “Pawpaw, do you remember the conversation we had a few days ago?”

Pawpaw continued to his big armchair but did not speak.

“Pawpaw, you’re not listening.”

“Yes, I remember, Mark” Pawpaw responded. “You said you would think about who God is.”

“I’ve thought about it, Pawpaw.” Mark stopped in the doorway, silent for the moment.

Pawpaw glanced over his shoulder. “And?”

Mark remained in the doorway. “And I’m struggling—with God’s wrath. That’s not loving, is it?” The words were not spoken as a question.

Pawpaw turned and reached for his Bible. “Mark, may I share something with you?”Pawpawturnedinhischair,looking directly at Mark. “May I?”

“Sure. Pawpaw.” But Mark didn’t move. Pawpawreturnedtohissittingposition. “When I was much younger, I struggled with these same questions.” Pawpaw opened his Study Bible. “‘God is love’ and ‘God is wrathful’ didn’t make sense to me, either. For years.” Pawpaw turned a few pages.“Ifyouhavethetime,Mark,Iwould like to share what I learned from God’s Word.”

Mark crossed the room and stood behind Pawpaw’s chair, his position whenever Pawpaw was teaching from his Bible, looking over Pawpaw’s shoulder.

“This isn’t the actual order in which I learned these things. But it’s a summary of what I think I understand—as of today, anyway.” Pawpaw’s steady right index fingerwasonIsaiah55:8.“Iknowthatyou know these basic premises, so I’ll quickly summarize them. #1: We know God is

different from us. We can’t assume that even our language describes His thoughts and actions accurately.” Pawpaw quickly turned to Romans 11:33. “#2: We aren’t capable of understanding all the ways of God.”Pawpawflippedtothenexttext.“#3: 1 John 4:8: God is Love, the motive for all Histhoughtsandacts.#4:Jeremiah24:7— God wants to be with us and wants us to be with Him in a forever Grace-Faith relationship. Like in geometry, these were mybasicgivens.Everythinghadtofitwith these knowns.” Pawpaw paused. “Do you follow me so far?

“So far, Pawpaw,” Mark responded quietly.

“I learned from Jesus: ‘Pray in this way: Our Father, who is in heaven.’ Jesus wanted me to think of God as my Father. So, I asked myself: ‘What do fathers do?’ What did your father do, Mark, before he was killed?”

Mark closed his eyes and thought for a moment. “Before my dad fell from the bridgewherehewasworking,hetookcare of us. Mom says, provided for us.”

“Yep. That’s where I started, too,” Pawpaw said. “God provides for us, looks after us, cares for us in more ways than we probably even understand.”

Pawpaw turned to 2 Timothy 3:16. “And I learned that, like a father, God disciplines us, meaning, by His Scriptures and His Holy Spirit, God teaches us, guidesus,correctsus.Andlikeafather,He comforts us when we mess up. He never leaves us or forsakes us.”

“Hebrews13:5.Anothermemoryverse, Pawpaw.” Mark suddenly took a deep breath. “What is it, Mark? What else do you remember?”

“My father loved me—loved all of us— my mom, my little brother Matthew, and me.”

“How do you know?” Pawpaw had turned in his chair to meet Mark’s eyes.

“The house fire.” Mark returned Pawpaw’s intensity. “He ran back into the house several times to save us. He spent three months in hospital getting skin grafts. He loved us.” Mark was almost in tears.

“Do you think he cared passionately for you?” Pawpaw watched Mark nod his head slowly, but with purpose.

Pawpaw returned to his Bible, quickly finding the worn pages of Revelation 14. “Revelation 14:8 and 10 uses the same word to describe the “wrath” of Babylon and of God. The word—in Greek, thumos – means passion, not anger. Babylon is passionate enough to kill others to get her way. God is passionate enough to die for others to get His way.”

Pawpaw turned to Genesis 18. “God was passionate enough about the lives of Hispeopletosaveallonthebroadplain— if ten righteous could be found in the city. Godwasalsopassionateenoughaboutthe spiritual wellbeing of His people to pluck them out of that city to avoid the annihilation that resulted from that city’s dangerously unrepentant wickedness.”

“God doesn’t do extreme emotional anger. God does do love with extreme passion—tosaveHispeopleandtoprotect His people.” Pawpaw looked up at Mark. “What do you think?”

“I need to pray about this some more.” Mark quietly left the room. Pawpaw watched him go, folding his hands on his Bible.

Adventist World Aviation

provided by Arizona McCord

It’s said that while there is certainly mission work to be done overseas, there is plenty to be done here in North America, right in our backyard. Friends, the whole world is our backyard!

Wherewemakeourselvesavailabletoserveinthatgiantbackyard is the deciding factor. While Adventist World Aviation does indeed fly over foreign soil, we also fly over closer, home grown soil here in the USA.

The amazing work God orchestrates for us to do at Adventist World Aviation (AWA) is heart-warming to all who are involved— inspiringandtransforming!DoyouallrememberMelanie?Perhaps you’rereadingthisforthefirsttimeanddon’tknowwhoMelanieis. She’s an extraordinary woman of faith who had been battling an incorrectly diagnosed form of cancer. It was killing her. Her only option was a high-risk surgery that would yield one of two outcomes: either she would die on the table or never walk again. AWA has stayed in contact with Melanie after flying her the first time, and when we received the call with news of how risky this surgery was, we doubled down on our prayers and even called for a team of prayer warriors at church. She was taken to Johns Hopkins; we placed her in God’s hands and waited.

that the little boy wouldn’t give up or give out. He used to have a tube in his nose for feeding, but eventually, we got to see him with no tube. He even began to look a little healthier. God answers prayers to extraordinary degrees. Though Walter still had a ways to go after his ordeal, he has, in fact, improved, even if in small increments. That is worthy of our joy!

One of the last flights of 2020 that was quite memorable was for a widowed husband and father, Mr. Butch. His wife had died from complications of COVID-19 and his daughter, Kris,needed to relocatehimfromGeorgiatoherplaceinDurham,NorthCarolina. PastorRiccametotherescuewiththeofferofanAngelwingsflight, and Butch was brought up to live with his daughter. Once he was settled in, the joy and adventures were just beginning. Kris and Butch began doing Bible studies with Pastor Ric and his assistant. They fell in love with the Word of God like never before, and before long, both Butch and Kris found themselves standing in the baptistry at the Wilson First Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Wilson,NorthCarolina.Angelssangastheyweresubmergedinthe baptismalpoolandbegantheircommittedwalkwithJesus.Nottoo long after this, however, Butch fell ill and was in and out of the hospital.Thedoctorsfoundabrainbleedandothertroublesthathe wouldnotrecoverfrom.Butchfellasleep in Jesus May 19, 2021, in the VA hospital in Durham, NC. Though our hearts were saddened by this, what a beautiful beginning to eternity. He fell asleep in Jesus, and to him, it will be only a moment before he will see his Lord and Savior that glorious resurrection morn!

Kris has that bright hope and is in awe of God over how Butch’s passing has been allowed to open the door for witnessing to her other family members. Presently, Kris and her daughter have nightly family worship over Facetime with Pastor Ric’s assistant’s family as the ministry continues with family unity.

This is the impact your prayers and donations have on those we serve.Youkeepusflyingandkeepusbringinghopeintothelivesof many precious souls. Thank you for your support and for being a part of this journey with us.

Then, the second call came into our prayerful waiting room of faith: Melanie had made it through the grueling 18-hour surgery andwaswigglinghertoes!Shewasaliveandabletomove!Shewent through about 3 weeks' worth of rehab during the stay with her friend near Johns Hopkins, but when we went to pick her up, she was walking with a walker, no more cancer, and ready to see her family she’d been separated from for a month. What a blessed time to see her reunited with her family once she was back home in South Carolina!

Little Walter, the young boy (22 months at the time), who had stage 4 neuroblastoma cancer was flown in the Fall of 2020. While he has been through trial and fire since then, we have prayed and watched in all his many treatments of various kinds afterward—

Adventist World Aviation was founded to meet the demands of isolated frontier missionaries in desparate need of air support. The mission flights support isolated communites in a variety of ways: medical evacuations, medical outreach, dental outreach, lifestyle and health programs, and Christian ministries which include church planting and Bible studies.

To support this world church mission activity, contact Adventist World Aviation at:

4421 Airport Drive NW Wilson, NC 27896 (919) 938-2920

info@flyaway.org

KW03 – Wilson Industrial Air Center Airport a member of ASI

Arizona’s Story

by Arizona McCord

DidyouknowIwasnotbornaMcCord?

This is the story of how I was adopted. I was born on December 29, 2008, at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC. I was a premature baby, which means I was delivered two months earlier than I was supposed to be born. When my foster parents, the McCords, first met me, they felt so happy. They were absolutely in awe. But let's back up a bit.

Before they met me, my adoptive mom and dad prayed that God would give them a sign that they were supposed to be foster parents. One day, before my mom went to Ingles to go grocery shopping, she prayed this prayer one more time, "Dear God, I want to do something good, something important." She sensed God saying that it was time to become a foster parent. "Lord, I can't tell if that's you talking to me or not. I've been praying for so long about this. I want to do what You want. Ok, God, I'm getting ready to go into Ingles . . . tell me if You want us to be foster parents while I'm in the store."

The first person she saw when she went in was the grandmother of one of Audrey's friends. The little friend had a package of cookies that she excitedly showed my mom. Her grandma whispered to my mom, " We just had those cookies at an F-O-S-T-E-R (she spelled the word out) party the week before." It turned out that her granddaughter was a foster child, and my mom never knew. Well, after hearing that, my mom knew then that God wanted her and my dad to become foster parents. They decided to get signed up and take the classes and before too long they were certified and ready to help a child.

feed me. Then, every day after that, my mom came to do kangaroo care, where you hold your baby to your bare chest, so your baby has direct skin-to-skin contact with you. The rule was that a baby had to weigh 5 lbs. before it was allowed to go home. The hospital decided I could go home a little sooner than that when they saw how well I would be cared for.

I lived with my new foster family for about 3 1/2 months before my birth parents were able to take me back on a trial basis. The McCords came to visit me a couple of times during that period. In October of that year, a friend from Arden church called my mom and said she had seen on the news that my birth parents had left the state with me. That was against the rules of their trial custody period. But they didn't care and took me all the way out to Cheyenne, Wyoming!

Soon, DSS knew something was wrong, so they tracked me down in Wyoming and sent a Social Worker to come and get me. By this time, the McCords had another foster child in their home plus, mom was pregnant with Alaina. Still, when they learned I would be coming back into the foster system, they contacted DSS and requested to have me back.

But they waited for 7 months and still didn't have a foster child. Then, one day, my mom was talking to a social worker at Department of Social Services and heard that they might have a baby girl for them, but it wasn't definite. My mom and dad waited and prayed. And they waited some more. One day, when Audrey and my mom came home, there was a message on the machine. (This was back in the old days when people didn't have smartphones and still used answering machines.) It was from the social worker! She said, "Could you take Arizona?" That night, my mom, dad, and sister traveled to Mission Hospital to meet me for the first time. I was in the NICU because I was premature.

After the NNP (Neonatal Nurse Practitioner) showed my mom and dad how to care for me, my mom, dad, and Audrey all got to

Then, my dad came and met the social worker and me at the airport around 9 pm after our flight back to Asheville from Wyoming. He took me home; Mom gave me a bottle and rocked me, and I went happily to bed as if nothing crazy had just happened. I have been a McCord since that night, even though the adoption wasn't official until April 8, 2011. Now every year I celebrate my birthday on Dec. 29 and my adoption day on April 8!

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Arden Adventist

FAMILY FOCUS

by Jean Davey

OurfamilyfocusthismonthfeaturesnewmemberWhitneyWard. WhitneyjoinedtheArdenSeventhdayAdventistchurchinFebruary.

Whitney was born in Summerville, South Carolina. At the age of two, she and her family moved ten miles away to Ridgeville, South Carolina. Whitney was raised Adventist and attended the Summerville SDA Church.

Whitney graduated from Pinewood Preparatory School, a private school she attended from first grade. She worked in sales for over 20 years, and later administration and accounting. For six years she volunteered with Dorchester Paws SPCA, also in Summerville. She took animals to the vet, administered medications, and helped manage their care while at Pet Smart waiting to be adopted. She was also a board member with this organization for two years.

She said she is totally a “low country girl” having lived in and loved Summerville for so many years. But she felt God leading her to move to Pickens, South Carolina in March of 2019. She applied for jobs at AdventHealth here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Once she left her interview, she realized how close she was to Fletcher Park Inn and decided to stop by. When they met her and saw her resume, she was invited to stay for over 3 hours with then director, Linda McIntyre. She was offered a position less than 2 weeks later and has worked for Fletcher Park Inn for almost five years. She became the Marketing Director in September of 2021.

Whitney is married to Arden church member, Tim Bell. She and Tim met through a motorcycle ministry in which he was involved. She was invited to one of their Bible study classes. Later, they began doing Bible studies together as Tim wanted to learn more about Seventh-day Adventists. She felt it was all in God's hands and in His time. Tim was baptized at the Summerville Community SDA Church in 2019. They were married on May 21, 2023 at the horse farm home of a friend. She said “we had a few friends, 18 horses and 3 chickens in attendance, and our most special guest, our Heavenly Father. I am thankful that God brought us together and praise Him for continuing to guide us on this journey homeward.”Whitney has a daughter, Paige, from a previous marriage. She is 32 years old and lives in Charleston, SC.

Whitney’s passion has always been animals and especially horses. She began riding at the age of two and had her first horse when she was six years old. She began training horses for other people at the age of twelve. She participated in equine rescue and rehabilitation for more than twenty years. She loves writing, journaling, reading, cooking, and crocheting. She has traveled to Quebec, Canada, and Alaska. She enjoyed Denali National Park and seeing moose, caribou, Dall sheep and grizzly bears.

While Whitney was a member of the Summerville SDA church, she served as a deaconess, greeter, and in women’s ministry. She was active in a group called “Serenity” which helped women who were going through domestic violence, grief, and divorce.

After moving to the Western North Carolina area, she joined the Hendersonville SDA church. She visited Arden with Tim and recently moved her membership here. She enjoys the Sabbath School Down Under class and has made good friends with Charlene Ingulfsen and others. She also had met Mike Hagan through his work with Fletcher Park Inn.

We were so happy Whitney Ward was part of the Arden church family! We say “were” because, at the time of publication, both Whitney and Tim had accepted a position at the Holbrook Indian School in Arizona and were already there! She and her husband, Tim Bell, will be missed at Arden.

Jean Davey is retired from the University of South Carolina, where she worked as a computer programmer in the Payroll, Budget and Human Resources Departments. Jean writes from her home in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Arden Seventh-Day Adventist Church Is a Safe Place to Grow.

Our Purpose is, by God’s Grace, to reflect His character in our community, to demonstrate a quality of life that will attract all to be reconciled to Jesus Christ, and to encourage people to become His loving, maturing disciples.

Grace Notes Editorial Staff:

Max Hammonds ...............................................Editor

Chris Small Columnist

Jean Davey Columnist

Max Hammonds ..................Reporter & Columnist

Pen Braister-Sturgis Reporter

Sara McCord Reporter

Dan Reynolds Reporter

Special Graphics Jacque Hammonds

Jim & Carolyn Sullenberger ................ Proofreaders

Gailon Morisette Proofreader/Mail Mgmt.

Shirley Wallstrom Circulation Manager Comments, suggestions and praises are always welcome. Please email or contact the church office.

Services each Saturday morning: Sabbath School Bible Study, 9:30 a.m. Worship Service, 10:45 a.m.

Location: 35 Airport Road, Arden, NC 28704 Located on Highway 280, (Airport Road), 1.5 miles east of I-26 exit 40, and a quarter mile west of Highway 25.

Church Office: Office Manager: Whitney Barron Telephone: (828) 684-6700

Email: office@ardenadventist.org Website: www.ardenadventist.org

Office Hours: Mon.-Thurs.,10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Arden Adventist Pastoral Staff:

Senior Pastor: Eric Bates, D. Min. Email: ebates@carolinasda.org

Associate/Youth Pastor: Rich Maskelony, M .Div. Email: rmaskelony@carolinasda.org

Grace Notes is published monthly by the Arden Seventh-day Adventist Church. Subscription is free by calling or emailing the office. †If you have questions about what Adventists believe? Would you like to become a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church? Would you like to study the Bible? You are invited to attend a Pastor’s Bible Study Class. Please call for location and time. All are always welcome.

† Disclaimer—The contents of Grace Notes, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained in this magazine of the Arden Seventh-day Adventist Church are for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a qualified healthcare provider, who is knowledgeable and experienced in the use of specific medical or Lifestyle Medicine interventions, or about questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice, or delay in seeking it, because of information published in this magazine. Neither Grace Notes nor the Arden Seventh-day Adventist Church recommend or endorse any specific tests, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned in published articles. Reliance on any information provided is solely at your own risk. If you may have a medical emergency, call your healthcare provider or 911 immediately.