We Are Sabbath, Part III: Cancer and the Sabbath

Guest post by Travis Claybrooks

A black guy, his Mexican wife, two niños, and a blaxican baby – that was us moving to Shelton, Nebraska. Needless to say, we were a bit concerned about the future of our “social” life, moving to the heartland of America. As it’s turned out, the good folks in Shelton are some of the best folks we’ve ever known.

About a week or two after we moved here, Karin, one of the pillars of the community came over to introduce herself. Karin is just about one of the most genuine and friendly people you’ll ever know. Over the past year or so she has proven to be a loyal friend – and I mean loyal!

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We Are Sabbath, Part II: An Event Worth Celebrating

Guest post by Travis Claybrooks

She...was...PERFECT! All 7lbs. 6oz. of little Abeni Michele Claybrooks – PERFECT! At about 12:25, on an early Sunday morning, October 2, 1994, Abeni let the world know that she had arrived. Boy, could she yell! It was a moment to celebrate – the birth of a baby. Our best of friends were crowded there in the hospital room. New grandparents were on the phone. There I was juggling conversations between both, lost in sheer ecstasy.

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Worshiping the Sabbath vs Worshiping on the Sabbath

Guest post by Travis Claybrooks

Recently, we celebrated my oldest daughter, Abeni's 15th birthday. She was born October 2, 1994 and I remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember all the details of the experience – the labor, the delivery, the incompetent nurses that didn't believe that she was-a comin' right now! I remember feeling real good as I tastied her with my kisses, touching her with my hands, hearing her extremely loud cry, smelling that newborn baby smell, and just seeing the miracle of something that, just a short while ago, was not.

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Relevance, Part 3

A couple of things have happened in the last few weeks that inspired me to begin this series on relevance.  This will be the concluding post - but you may find this theme throughout much of what I write (both in the past, and in the future).  When I preach, when I write, when I do just about anything, I ask myself, what is the point?  And this becomes the question I have to ask about God, His Word, and His Church - what is the point?

For me, I've found meaning in God.  The Bible was a little more challenging - but once I moved past the cultural distortions, I have found great relevance in those words.  I'm still wrestling with the Church though.  I'm wondering, what is it that people are trying to do there?

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Relevance, Part 1

Twenty-five years ago when I was wrestling with spirituality and religion, I struggled to find meaning.  After dabbling in various religions (e.g. Buddhism, Disco, Scientology, New Age, bowling leagues, and narcissism), I began to re-read the Bible.

My rationale for reading the Bible, wasn't in a search for truth, but rather to expand my rich literary background.  I considered myself well-read, and so, even though I was approaching this from an agnostic's skepticism, I thought it would be good to round out my knowledge.  Instead, I found God.

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Book Review: For the Sake of the Gospel

Des Ford is passionate about the gospel. So much so, that he has been prepared to sacrifice much for the sake of it. He has been vilified, defrocked, and now worships outside of Adventism — the denomination he loves and has tried to move forward in its thinking about a cherished doctrine that he believes obscures the gospel. Hundreds of others have also sacrificed jobs and friends for the sake of the gospel. Now, Des Ford, collaborating with his wife, Gillian, in their book For the Sake of the Gospel: Throw Out the Bathwater, but Keep the Baby tells the story of the theological controversy that decimated the Adventist denomination through the 70s and 80s and whose effects are still felt even to this day.

For Ford, the bathwater is the doctrine of the Investigative Judgment. The baby is the gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone. In a series of somewhat disjointed chapters, Ford pleads for the Adventist officials to come clean and confess the wrongs perpetrated on the members. As far as Ford is concerned, almost no scholar in the denomination believes in the Investigative Judgment anymore and it is time to jettison it completely.

In the first chapter, Des provides the transcript of a talk he gave in 1997 at the Sydney Chapter of the Association of Adventist Forums entitled My Vision for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His vision is

that the true church will arise and proclaim the true gospel to the whole world. It's an objective historical gospel, revealing the love of God in such a way as to break the hearts of rebels so that they might hate sin, learn the purity of Paradise, that sin is insanity, and that life commends what Christ commands. It's a church teaching these things that will lighten the world with the glory of the gospel, not one fixated by dates that don't compute. Seventh-day Adventism has an opportunity and a privilege to preach the Pauline gospel. (p. 7 - emphasis in original)

Moving on from this vision, Ford reviews 22 illicit assumptions that support the Investigative Judgment, the outdated year-day principle, the question of when forgiven sins are blotted out, the New Testament's view of the Day of Atonement, the real meaning of Revelation 14:6-7, the way the Investigative Judgment has been "reworked" since its establishment, a critique of the view that the United States appears in prophecy, and the real meaning of Daniel 8:14.

Ford then surveys the politics around the denomination's understanding of the gospel including the way men who disagree with the church's official positions abandon conscience and follow orders to not saying anything about their views and who have to suffer cognitive dissonance.

Gillian Ford provides an interesting history on How a Seventh-day Adventist Scholar in Biblical Eschatology Found His Denomination's Prophetic Traditions Wanting and his rediscovery of the apotelesmatic principle.

There are articles on the Glacier View trial of Des Ford (rather than the examination of Ford's views — what Glacier View was supposed to be about). Appendices include "positive" presentations on the Sabbath and the Covenants for which the Fords hold traditional Adventist positions.

The above is a partial list of themes covered — hopefully giving a sense of what the book contains. By their own admission, the

'... book has been negative for obvious reasons. One cannot vote for dangerous errors which threaten the joy and well-being of the children of God. Neutrality in a religious crisis is the worst form of cowardice. (p. 195)

As I have indicated above, For the Sake of the Gospel is somewhat disjointed. Des Ford's aphoristic style is not always easy to read. But the flaws in the writing are more than made up for the following:

1. Des Ford has, obviously, been at the centre of the controversy surrounding the Investigative Judgment doctrine (although he is not the first). To hear from someone with firsthand knowledge and experience, including friendships with many of the key players in the history, provides an essential perspective.
2. Ford's passion for the gospel consistently shines through. In the end, Ford is not primarily concerned with controversy. He wants to see the gospel as the primary focus of our attention. In his view, dealing with the Investigative Judgment is essential because it obscures the gospel and robs Adventists of their true freedom in Christ and their assurance of salvation.
3. If it is by their fruits that we know the character of someone, then Ford is a genuine Christian man. The way he has consistently and graciously dealt with his adversaries and his refusal to engage in legal battles with his beloved denomination demonstrate the fruits of the Spirit in such a way that his credibility is enhanced.

For the Sake of the Gospel is an important book because it deals with important themes, written by an important "player", during an important part of Adventist history that we are still living. For the Sake of the Gospel, read this book.

Technorati Tags: Desmond Ford,Seventh-day Adventism,Investigative Judgment,Sabbath,Gospel

Israel, Adventism, and A New Wheel

By Julie Smith

There’s an interesting lesson to be learned from the history of Israel. Coming out of a culture of slavery and domination after 400 years in Egypt, they found themselves ignorant of the principles of living a life connected to their Creator.

Moses had his hands full when it came to teaching a large group of people how to have a relationship with a loving God based on the concept of an indwelling Spirit. They were accustomed to having an external locus of control—one in which they were told what to do rather than going within to consult with Spirit as to the best course of action.

How could it have been any other way? They were born into slavery and knew nothing else. By understanding this in all its implications we can begin to understand the reasons why God communicated with the children of Israel in the manner that God did. They needed direct, concise, imperative-command type instructions on what to do and what not to do. They also needed freedom from bondage—not only physical freedom but also spiritual freedom as well.

The introduction of the Sabbath principle, one that was not new but that was forgotten, was to remind them of the need for physical rest after years of non-stop labor. The health principles were introduced to give them freedom from disease after years of ignorance and being subjected to poverty and making do with whatever was available to them. Thus, you can see that God intended to introduce them to all of the principles of freedom available to them in their newfound emancipation that had been unavailable to them during slavery.

Sadly, over the course of their history they made these freedom guidelines into a new form of slavery and entrapment. By the time of Christ, the meaning behind the Sabbath and healthful living had been lost. They were thoroughly entrenched in another form of slavery—living life according to a set of man-made rules.

The Apostle Paul addresses this issue in the book of Colossians in chapter 2 where he addresses the intentions of God to have us live a transformed life. This is a life different from slavery where one is told everything to do and when to do it. It is a life of freedom from rules. The new guiding system is a Christ that lives within (see Col. 1). He closes the chapter with powerful words about living a life that is only guided by rules and not an in-dwelling Christ. “These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.” (Col. 2:23 NLT)

Hopefully, it is not too large a stretch for us to see where we might possibly have made the same error in Adventism today as the children of Israel did in the past. God offers us the idea of a Sabbath rest to release us from the tyranny of too much doing. God offers us suggestions on healthful living to release us from the pitfalls of disease. We have turned these into a substitute for an in-dwelling Christ.

Paul’s words are still good counsel for us today. All of the pious self-denial in the world is not a substitute for a relinquishing of our cherished ego and submitting to the Spirit’s power and control over our lives. There is absolutely no place in the Christian walk for our petty arguments over doctrine and some of the other detours we have taken over the past several years.

The invitation of Christ still calls out to us today, “Look, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will hear my voice, I will come in and eat with them.” Christ’s promise is one of restoration, rest, healing, and personal instruction. It is the in-dwelling Christ that allows us to enter into His rest. “Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

It is the in-dwelling Christ that allows us to become a light to the world. It is the in-dwelling Christ that insures that we will be the embodiment of the commands to love God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves. If we want to “re-invent the Adventist wheel” this might be a good place to start.

God Publishes Datebook: Eden Located In Australia

Our dogmatic assertion that the seventh-day Sabbath observance is the mark of the “remnant church” is not biblical or Christian. Paul makes that clear. In addition, this idea is silly. We live on a round world, our church recognizes the International Date Line, and the sundown to sundown “Sabbath hours” have been officially abandoned in countries and populations in the Far Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

I personally believe that the Sabbath is not an arbitrary test of obedience. Paul’s words (Romans 14:5) proclaim that Christians are free to honor God in different and very personal ways. It is this “mindful honoring” that is the essence of Sabbath keeping. As Paul intimates, the Sabbath is a state of mind, not a test of Christian discipleship.

NOTE: Cartoon by Richard Guindon from his book, "Together Again".

OFF

by Nathan Brown

It is remarkable how small things can make a big difference. One of the things I appreciate about working at Signs Publishing Company—the Adventist church’s publishing house in Australia—is driving past the building on Friday evening and seeing the gates locked. It might be only a small thing but it is a visible symbol that we live and work by a different set of priorities.

And perhaps it is such a powerful symbol because it is so out of step with our society. We are increasingly pushed toward 24/7 work, communications and connectivity—and, at the same time as we begrudge such demands made on us, we expect it from others. And then there is the ceaseless chatter of media and news, the wash of information that sweeps over our consciousness.

In a recently published survey, researchers asked how many hours each day were spent on activities ranging from sleeping, working and spending time with friends to time spent online, talking on the mobile phone and listening to music. In Australia, respondents’ answers added up to an average of 37.5 hours a day (Lia Timson, “Home Alone,” Livewire). That means we are filling each day with a day-and-a-half of content. And that’s measuring only what we are doing, without factoring in what we feel we should be doing, what we know is most important and what we wish we could fit into our days.

No wonder so many of us are over-stimulated, stressed and tired. Even if not physically tired, our minds are stretched to capacity. While we may think it possible to fit so much activity in an average day by working on a variety of tasks at once while listening or watching various forms of media and communicating with our assorted gadgets, our heads still need space to catch-up, process, organise and rest.

That’s why we need places that shut their gates—and why I so appreciate working at such a place. That’s also why we need to make spaces in our lives when we turn off the gadgets and appliances, when we disconnect and choose not to feel guilty about it, when we are not defined merely by a job description, title or “to do” list, when we are determinedly not available, not working and not consuming.

And that’s why we need Sabbath. Sabbath is the space God creates for us to shut the gates and turn off the noise.

“The old, wise Sabbath says, Stop now. As the sun touches the horizon take the hand off the plough, put down the phone, let the pen rest on the paper, turn off the computer, leave the mop in the bucket and the car in the drive. There is no room for negotiation, no time to be seduced by the urgency of our responsibilities. We stop because there are forces larger than we that take care of the universe, and while our efforts are important, necessary and useful, they are not (nor are we) indispensable. . . . [S]o we are invited—nay, commanded—to relax and enjoy our relative unimportance, our humble place at a table in a very large world. The deep wisdom embedded in creation will take care of things for a while” (Wayne Muller, Sabbath)

At Signs—as with other church institutions—for at least one day, all the deadlines are unimportant and, belying business wisdom, the demands of customers and relationships with suppliers take second place. Yes, the business might operate more cost-effectively if we chose to work seven days per week. But this reflects our alternative priorities—a business that counts more than the bottom line and is not solely governed by supposed business imperatives.

And the alternative is one of rest and joy:

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day” (Isaiah 58:13, NLT)

Rather than an imposition on our already busy lives, Sabbath means we don’t have to be busy for at least one day each week—and that reordering of our priorities, our realisation of a larger view of life and the delight of God, will spill over into how we live and work the other days of our week.

So, beginning with Sabbath, let’s celebrate, seek first and find rest in the kingdom-life of God.