AnchorPoints · a 1965 photo of Elders Roger Holley, Robert Folkenberg, and Leighton Holly, Jr., and their wives (see Give & Take, Jan. 22). Roger came to our little church in Forest

March 26, 1998

AnchorPoints

Hannah MoreMy Review of January 22 will forever

be treasured—a strik-ing cover, an out-standing article aboutHannah More (“AWinter’s Tale”)—poignant, pitiful,accusing. If I had lived

in Battle Creek, and if this different-appearing person had been at my door,how would I have responded?

Commendation to author BillKnott for the vast research involved inthe preparation of this outstandingand pitiful story.

— A l t a R . R o b i n s o n

A P O P K A , F L O R I D A

My heart was touched again by thispoignant story of neglect and injustice. Iread some of the original documents andthe Ellen White materials years ago, butBill Knott’s retelling of it was excellent!

Can we learn the lesson of thisstory? Can we move toward a higherlevel of spiritual maturity in which werecognize compassion and social jus-tice as just as much a part of the holi-ness God seeks as are truth and right-eousness? If not, then Sister White’stestimony seems to be in vain.

— M o n t e S a h l i n

B U R T O N S V I L L E , M A R Y L A N D

The situation of Hannah More contin-ues to be replayed in many Adventistsituations—children are excluded atchurch schools and summer camps,

congregations divide themselves into“haves” and “have nots,” etc.Whatever the excuse, when is thebasic reason not selfishness?

We need to ask ourselves Do myhome and family bring God’s love intomy community or dangle it from a dis-tance? Do God’s gifts to me bless Himand my neighbors or merely enhancemy own résumé? We often guard thesanctity of our family circle—and turnChrist in the form of a stranger awayfrom it. As a visitor, He will never be athreat to our safety, privacy, or mar-riage. His Spirit will guide us, so let’snot let the manna that He has givenus become contemptible through ourown refusal to share it.

— E v e l y n C a r o

W H I T T I E R , C A L I F O R N I A

Just a month before reading this articleI had gotten a book about HannahMore from our church library. It washeartwrenching to read about thiswoman who gave her life for others,but had to go outside our church tofind emotional and physical support.We need to pay attention to ourchurch members and pray that Godwill show us whom to help and how.

My husband and I ride a motorcy-cle, and in the summertime we like tovisit Adventist churches outside ourregion. We dress in leathers for safetyand attend church in this attire. Eventhough we have gotten strange looks,there has never been a time weweren’t welcomed and invited to thechurch fellowship dinner. Maybe ourchurch is catching on that what one

wears has nothing to do with what isin the heart.

Thanks for the good article. I reallyam enjoying the Review.

— L a Ve l l a P i n k n e y

V I A E - M A I L

Praying for ChildrenStephen Chavez’s “Now I Get It” (Jan.22) was an answer to my prayers. Iconduct a study and prayer group con-sisting of 10 senior ladies. The mosturgent prayer requests are for children(most now married) and their families.In most cases the children attendedAdventist schools but no longerattend church. My heart aches forthese mothers, and I was praying forthe right words to relieve their feel-ings of guilt and to help bring comfortand peace of mind into their lives.

My digesting every paragraph ofthis article and furnishing a copy of itto those who don’t get the Review hasdone wonders in my ministry. We joinyou, Elder Chavez, in praying for ourchildren.

— L o n e t a P a u l y

K E E N E , T E X A S

Enough Evidence to ConvictI read David Ekkens’s “EnoughEvidence to Convict” (Jan. 22) withmixed feelings.

I too am glad that our college isstill recognized as a sectarian institu-tion. However, I am greatly dismayedthat one of our schools was actuallyapplying for state moneys. Why should

LETTERS

2 (418) A D V E N T I S T R E V I E W , M A R C H 2 6 , 1 9 9 8

the “teacher part of me” weep for “lostrevenue” that should never have beenrequested? Church schools that acceptgovernment funds soon learn theworld’s golden rule: He who hands outthe gold makes the rules.

If our schools are running accordingto God’s plan, He will provide theresources necessary to operate. If ourschools are losing their missionaryvision, no amount of governmentmoney will cure their spiritual life.

— C a r y D . C o r b i n

H A M B U R G , P E N N S Y LVA N I A

DepressionWords cannot express my thanks forPeter Mariner’s “The HopelessFeeling” (Jan. 22).

I am also dysthymic with majordepressive episodes and a disassocia-tive disorder. After seven years incounseling I have begun to understandwhat people like Peter go through.The phrase “Yea, though I walkthrough the valley of the shadow ofdeath” takes on new meaning. Howgood it was of our loving God to givePeter the bit of the Robert Frost poemwhen he needed it!

— J u d i t h M u r r a y

B R I S T O L , V E R M O N T

Blast From the PastHow neat to open the Review and seea 1965 photo of Elders Roger Holley,Robert Folkenberg, and LeightonHolly, Jr., and their wives (see Give &Take, Jan. 22).

Roger came to our little church inForest City, Iowa, shortly after hereturned from Japan during World WarII. I was a preteen at the time, and hewas the first minister to talk to meabout giving my heart to Jesus andbeing baptized. Later we moved to DesMoines, and his brother, Leighton, Sr.,baptized me.

How wonderful will be that greatreunion day when we can meet withour families and the ministers who

have been so instrumental in helpingus along the Christian walk!

— A r d y t h e H o v l a n d

A I E A , H AWA I I

Review DeliveryI have noticed some letters statingunhappiness with the delivery of theReview. Some have even contrastedthe delivery of the Review with that ofother national magazines, such as Timeand Newsweek. If I may, I would liketo shed some light on this subject.

Unlike other national magazines, theReview has only one printing press(Review and Herald in Hagerstown,Maryland), meaning all Reviews must bemailed from the same place. Time ofdelivery, then, depends on the distance asubscriber lives from the printing press.

Other national magazines have atleast two printing presses—one for theEast Coast and one for the WestCoast.

— R o n a l d J o h n

R U N N I N G S P R I N G S , C A L I F O R N I A

When we received our first Reviewupon moving into our new home insouthern Sudan, we were surprised athow current the issue was. Even withthe delays of our mail coming in amail pouch on a United Nationsflight, we usually receive our Reviewswithin four weeks of the publicationdate. It reaches our Nairobi ADRAoffice in just 14 days. By comparison,our union paper continues to arrivesix months after publication date. Weread about snow trips in the middleof summer.

Thanks to the subscription depart-ment for getting the Review mailedaround the globe. It is our main sourceof encouragement in a very difficultmission field.

— R a l p h S t a l e y

A D R A / S O U T H S U D A N

N A I R O B I , K E N Y A

COVER STORY

8 The Mission of Adventist Health CareServing the health needs of its con-stituents is just one of its challenges.B Y B . L Y N B E H R E N S

ARTICLES

12 The Great MedicalMissionaryWhy Adventists are involved inhealth care.B Y E L L E N W H I T E

14 Breathe In, Breathe OutCancer is not necessarily a deathsentence. It may be an invitationto a closer relationship with God.B Y J O H N A N D R E B E C C A G R I F F I N

22 Two Dozen Muffins and aSabbath PotluckOf serving and being served.B Y C Y N T H I A C O S T O N

24 Hope for StumblersBeginning again may be one ofChristianity’s greatest benefits.B Y S T E V E N P. V I T R A N O

31 HopeThe Christian’s antidote to despair.B Y A N N C U N N I N G H A M B U R K E

DEPARTMENTS

2 Letters

7 Give & Take

17 Clifford Goldstein

18 World News & Perspectives

27 Sandra Doran: Dialogues

28 Children’s Corner

29 Bulletin Board

30 Reflections

EDITORIALS

5 The Church and Politics

6 On the Mark

A D V E N T I S T R E V I E W , M A R C H 2 6 , 1 9 9 8 (419) 3

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“Behold, I come quickly . . .”

Our mission is to uplift Jesus Christ through stories ofHis matchless love, news of His present workings, helpfor knowing Him better, and hope in His soon return.

The Adventist Review (ISSN 0161-1119), published since1849, is the general paper of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch. It is published by the General Conference ofSeventh-day Adventists and is printed 40 times a year eachThursday except the first Thursday of each month by theReview and Herald® Publishing Association. Periodicalspostage paid at Hagerstown, MD 21740. Copyright © 1998,General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Publishing Board: Robert S. Folkenberg, chair; Phil Follett, vice-chair; Lowell Cooper; William G. Johnsson; A. C. McClure;Dorothy Watts; Ted N. C. Wilson; Martin Ytreberg; RobertNixon, legal advisor

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Scriptures credited to ICB are quoted from the InternationalChildren’s Bible, New Century Version, copyright © 1983,1986, 1988 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75039. Usedby permission. Texts credited to NIV are from the Holy Bible,New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984,International Bible Society. Used by permission of ZondervanBible Publishers. Texts credited to NKJV are from the NewKing James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 byThomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.Bible texts credited to RSV are from the Revised StandardVersion of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, by theDivision of Christian Education of the National Council ofthe Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.Vol. 175, No. 13

ROY ADAMS

The statement in a January 1997 USA Todayeditorial set me thinking. Written in the wake ofa political firestorm in the U.S. capital over alle-gations of misconducton the part of the presi-

dent, the piece zeroed in on chargesby the first lady that a right-wingpolitical conspiracy was out to gether husband.

Whether Mrs. Clinton’s chargeswere valid or not, the newspapersaid, “some Clinton nemeses havesucceeded only in sullying theirown reputations.” Jerry Falwell is one of them, it said.“The Virginia-based TV evangelist peddled 60,000 copiesof a ridiculous video linking Clinton to drug-running, mur-der, and treason. He persuaded the public only that thereis a lunatic fringe.” 1

Now, I’m as far as you can get from being an admirer of JerryFalwell. So it surprised me that I could have become as embar-rassed by the statement as I did. It seems to me that Christiansdamage the credibility of one another—even those not of theirparticular faith—when they allow themselves to get sucked in byirrational and harebrained speculations—whether on prophecy,history, or current events. Here an already cynical press catches aman of the cloth recklessly insinuating himself into partisan poli-tics, mouthing off on issues that have little or nothing to do withthe claims of the gospel.

That is why I’m always a little nervous when I hear thatthe Adventist Church in any country has somehow becomeidentified with one or another political party. I don’t thinkthe church as a corporate body should ever signal a politicalaffiliation or preference in partisan politics.

Now, as an individual Adventist I have that right—theright to make up my own mind on matters of public policy;the right to hold or espouse a particular political viewpoint.What I say when I contact my elected representatives orother leaders in government is my business and mine alone.

But when it comes to speaking officially for the church,all that freedom ends. We do not have the liberty, as individ-uals, to venture helter-skelter into the complex and precari-ous arena of politics, making statements on behalf of thechurch. The stakes are much too high for that. Ours is amulticultural, multiethnic, multinational body, with mem-

bers living in countries that span the entire political and ide-ological spectrum. No one should lightly presume to speakfor such a group in matters of politics.

At the same time, it seems obvious to me that we cannotcompletely stand clear of poli-

tics in the real world—either as indi-viduals or as a corporate body. In thecomplex interconnectedness of modernsociety, our influence counts one wayor the other—whether we vote or not,whether we’re vocal or quiescent,

whether we’re activist or passivist. In a sense, even Jesus couldnot fully remain aloof. We see this in the fact that His simple,apolitical message of the kingdom, coupled with His huge follow-ing, managed to throw the political leaders of the day into virtualpanic. In the end they nailed Him (pun intended) precisely on apolitical charge: “He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar,” theysaid, “and claims to be Christ, a king” (Luke 23:2, NIV).

So as we face the complicated political labyrinth of ourtimes, our aim should not be that of absolute avoidance. Ratherour attitude should be to stay close to the gospel and to makesure that every public position or posture we adopt grows out ofthe moral imperatives implied in Scripture. I think we’re withinthe ambit of our mission when we speak on racism, for exam-ple—or on abortion, or on the international threat to humanhealth and safety posed by substances like tobacco, alcohol, anddrugs. We are called, I think, to bear witness on the broadissues of human freedom and dignity, issues that transcend theshallow confines of partisan politics and narrow nationalism.On this score, Ellen G. White’s burning outrage against slavery2

should be a model for us.My strong belief in religious freedom

leads me to respect the right of JerryFalwell and his ilk to advocate a politicalagenda. By the same token, however, Ithink they deserve the severest censurefor prostituting the gospel in the ser-vice of partisan politics. Religion andpolitics are not a good mix.

1 USA Today, Jan. 29, 1998, p. 14A.2 See Early Writings, pp. 275, 276.

The Church andPolitics

E D I T O R I A L

Society must notsee us as part of a

lunatic fringe.


CARLOS MEDLEY

This above all: to thine own self be true.1

The story reads like a fairy tale come true—thefodder you find in thosemotivational self-helpbooks.

Russell Conwell, aBoston lawyer, found a new calling asBaptist minister. He then took the pul-pit at the Grace Baptist Church inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, and laterbuilt the largest Protestant church build-ing of its time in the United States—theBaptist Temple.

In 1882 a young man asked Conwellto train him for Christian ministry. Thetwo agreed upon a date, but when the day came, seven menshowed up for the training. It didn’t take long before the minis-terial classes gained popularity, and Conwell recruited otherinstructors and contracted space for his rapidly growing school.2

That’s how Temple College began in 1884. From thosehumble beginnings the college grew and evolved into aworld-class research university with more than 30,000 stu-dents pursuing 230 undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduatedegree programs. Temple University students are enrolled in14 colleges and schools located on nine campuses, includinglocations in Rome and Tokyo.

The university has approximately 200,000 alumni,including a long list of artists, businesspersons, physicians,athletes, diplomats, celebrities—and this journalist.

As an alumnus I’m proud of my alma mater. However,mingled with joy is heartwrenching sadness. Temple’s story-book legacy, like that of other colleges, is a vivid picture ofwhat happens when a Christian organization strays from itsspiritual roots. It’s ironic that a student today can train formore than 200 degrees but cannot obtain the very trainingon which the school was founded—Christian ministry.

This fact became indelibly clear when university officialsannounced that the 106-year-old Baptist Temple, the most vis-ible symbol of the school’s Christian roots, will be demolished.

I believe that Temple’s history holds an obvious les-son for Adventists. Unless we make a conscious effort toguard our convictions and actions, we are in danger oflosing the very essence of our spiritual identity. We must

hold fast to our distinctive purpose and mission.In today’s turbulent times, when politicians vacillate with

the tide of public opinion, it’s imperative that Adventistsremain faithful to their character and calling. Consider the following:

Character. Christ calls us to “becomeblameless and harmless, children of Godwithout fault in the midst of a crookedand perverse generation, among whomyou shine as lights in the world” (Phil.2:15, NKJV).

It’s important that our Christianintegrity remains impeccable so that ourmessage can be received. Can we expectthe world to accept our message if ourlives bear little resemblance to God’s

truth and power?Calling. Ellen White, a pioneer of the Adventist Church,

urged fellow believers to cling to the old waymarks of truththat God gave to the remnant church. These distinctivetruths include the Sabbath, the Bible, the sanctuary message,and the state of the dead.

Today many church leaders believe the AdventistChurch needs to improve its public relations, especially withother denominations. I certainly believe we should acknowl-edge the ministry of sincere Christians. However, as weaffirm others, we must not forget the distinctive role thatGod has assigned the Adventist Church. We must neverforsake purity to win friends and influence people.

God calls His church to spread the gospel of Jesus Christthroughout the world. However, as we evangelize, we mustnot dilute the message in the name of relevancy, or disregardour biblical landmarks as being passé. If we fail to holdfast to God’s guideposts, all of our great works, ourinnovative strategies, and our prestigious institu-tions will have but a mere temporal value.Even if we gain the applause of our fel-low humans, to God our work will be oflittle eternal worth.

1 William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I,scene 3, line 78.

2 Joseph C. Carter, “TempleUniversity’s Founder Russell H. Conwell”(unpublished paper).

On the MarkE D I T O R I A L


GIVETAKE

&

ADVENTIST QUOTES

“Some Adventistshave predicted theSunday laws somuch, they havestopped going tochurch on Sabbath.”—Pastor Bobby McGhee, in a sermon cautioningbelievers against being more focused on the crisisthan the Christ

“As information doubles, knowledgehalves and wisdom quarters.”—Eugene Brewer, during a sermon promotingChristian education in Deltona, Florida

“ ‘A righteous man hateth lying.’Problems 13:5.”—7-year-old Jonathan Prest, in Anchorage, Alaska

ADVENTIST LIFE

Each Friday evening as my parentsprepared to go to choir practice, 3-year-old Alden would beg to gowith them. Finally one night heaccompanied them.

On the way home, however, he dis-solved into tears. “I didn’t get to seeany fire trucks!” he sobbed, misunder-standing “choir practice” for “fire practice.”—Lenna Lee Chase-Davidson, Owasso, Oklahoma

In Early Writings Ellen G. White describes a scene during her first vision: “We allentered the cloud together, and were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, whenJesus brought the crowns, and with His own right hand placed them on our heads.”

Upon hearing the account for the first time, my very young daughter asked,“Will there be bathrooms on the way?”—John M. Kentlein, Takoma Park, Maryland

As school secretary during a Week of Prayer at Glendale Adventist ElementarySchool, I had been asked to pick up Elder H.M.S. Richards, Sr., and bring him toone of the classrooms to give a worship talk. Because of age and poor eyesight,Elder Richards didn’t drive.

When I arrived at their modest home in Glendale, Elder Richards invited meto see his library, a building in his backyard that the Voice of Prophecy quartethad built for him as a birthday present. In it were rows and rows of bookshelvescontaining Bibles, commentaries, history books, and dictionaries. In my youthfulignorance I asked him what he read for fun, for diversion.

He said, “Sister, this is my fun. I would rather come out here and read for hoursin these great books than do anything else.”—Garnet Lawson, Falls City, Nebraska

SPEAKER FOR NET 2020? TheReview can’t print many kid pictures (so please don’tswamp us), but we couldn’tpass up this one of buddingevangelist Christopher MichaelDaggett, in Gardiner, Maine.Photo by Susan Hayford-Wallen.


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THREE POINTS, A POEM, AND A PRAYER

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C O V E R S T O R Y

that it be affordable, accessible, and of excellent quality.“Affordable” means controlling and reducing costs. Overallthe United States spending on health care increased from$250 billion in 1980 to just under $1 trillion in 1995.1

“Accessible” means guaranteeing health coverages to allAmericans. This includes serving those who are medicallyindigent and members of minority and poor populations.2

“Quality” means providing, for those individuals and popula-tions served, high-quality state-of-the-art medical care,thereby increasing the likelihood of excellent health out-comes and ensuring first-class customer service.3

In 1996 the Hastings Center in New York published aninternational report entitled “The Goals of Medicine . . .Setting New Priorities.” 4 Representatives of 14 countries,including the U.S., participated in the project. The reportdefined four goals:

1. The prevention of disease and injury, and the promo-tion and maintenance of health.

2. The relief of pain and suffering caused by maladies.3. The care and cure of those with a malady, and the care

of those who cannot be cured.4. The avoidance of premature death, and the pursuit of a

peaceful death.Adventist Health (the church’s health-care systems for

the western United States) has defined its goals in congru-ent terms: “Adventist Health is a family of caring people

BY B. LYN BEHRENS

The following article was adapted by the author from herkeynote address to a conference entitled “The Mission ofAdventist Health in the Twenty-first Century.” Although thearticle focuses on Adventist Health—the church’s health networkin the western U.S.—the remarks have interest and value for thechurch at large.—Editors.

ONE STORMY NIGHT FOUR YEARS AGO a United Airlines jet approached a runway atan airport in California. The valley was filledwith fog, necessitating an instrument landing.Just 100 feet off the ground, the aircraft broke

through the clouds, and the pilot was shocked to see thatthe plane was headed for a field 50 feet south of the east-west runway. He roared the engines and the plane shotupward, aborting the landing.

The problem? A slight malalignment of the instruments.Not enough to create a problem during the transcontinentalflight, but just enough to bring disaster during landing.

We stand at the threshold of a new century and a newmillennium. This past century has seen enormous advancesin health care. Life expectancy has been extended dramati-cally. Biomedical research and technological innovationshave advanced the diagnosis and treatment of disease.Prenatal interventions, genetic manipulations, transplanta-tion of various organs, and new treatment modalities areeveryday occurrences.

At the same time a storm has gathered around healthcare. Social, political, and economic winds are blowing atgale force. Thus it is important to check our navigationalinstruments and chart a course for mission fulfillment that isaccountable to individuals, the wider society, and our God.

Recipients and purchasers of health care are demanding


Challenges and opportunities in the twenty-first century

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reaching out to those in need. Wefollow Christ’s example of servant-hood as we promote physical, mental,and spiritual health and healing.Through creative partnerships, weenhance the quality of life of thecommunities we serve.” 5

Our service embraces the diver-sity of age (from infancy tosenior citizens), ethnicity and

race, religion, and social status. Theorienting magnet is “need.” Need, atfirst glance, is easy to define—forexample, trauma victims and acute ill-nesses. But we are also responsible forthe well-being of individuals and forthe population in general.

The shift from focusing on illnesscare to health care is a 100-year tradi-tion of SDA health care. Implementingit, however, continues to be a chal-lenge. There will need to be a reorien-tation not only of patients and the pop-ulation at large but also of providers,payors, and purchasers of health care.

Promoting Physical Health and Healing

Is progress being made in the pro-motion of health and the prevention of

disease? Yes and no. In 1984 a CarterConference was held in Atlanta,Georgia. Thought leaders from aroundAmerica, including professionals andreligious leaders, reflected on what wastermed “closing the gap.” Eight com-mon precursors of disease were identi-fied: tobacco, alcohol, overnutrition,injury, unintended pregnancy/infantmortality, firearms, hypertension, andviolence.6

In spite of advances in the scienceof medicine over the past decade,these preventable precursors of diseaseremain significant etiologies of mor-bidity and mortality in the Americanpopulation and for people around theworld. The top three causes of death inthe U.S. continue to be heart disease,with 739,000 deaths/year; cancer, with538,000 deaths/year; and strokes, with158,000 deaths/year. Each is to somedegree related to hypertension—atreatable illness.7

Further, 1997 data confirm thatsmoking is the most preventable causeof death. Worldwide, smoking causessome 3 million deaths every year,419,000 of them in the U.S.—almost20 percent of all deaths. Every packetof cigarettes costs the U.S. $3.90 in

smoking-related expenses. Tobacco useis estimated to drain the U.S. economyof more than $100 billion per year inhealth-care costs and lost productivity.These estimates do not factor in thediseases associated with environmentalsmoke, burn care from smoking-related fires, or the perinatal care oflow-birthweight infants born tomothers who smoke.8

Likewise, it is estimated that alco-hol costs the U.S. public $46 billion ayear in lost work and diseases relatedto it. While some progress has beenmade in decreasing alcohol-relatedvehicle deaths, 1995 data indicate thatone person dies every 13 minutes fromdrunk driving, and the costs for med-ical care after drunk-driving accidentsamount to $5.5 billion.9

Promoting Mental Health and Healing

A dense moral fog has settled overthe landscape of our world. The pre-vailing themes of the entertainmentindustry are immorality and violence.The history of this century is perma-nently stained with the record ofepisodes of genocide—the Jews in theHolocaust, even Christians killing


Christians in Rwanda.Mental health issues include emo-

tional and psychological issues such asdespair, depression, and various psy-choses, as well as the social and rela-tional issues of marital dysfunction,divorce, and violence, includingdomestic violence and abuse:

■ More than 50 percent of U.S.children spend part of their life in asingle-parent home. Almost 50 per-cent, by the age of 16, will have seentheir parents divorce and remarry.Thus they will have the task of notonly adjusting to the loss of the usualbiological parent, but also adjusting toa further marriage and to complexfamily relationships.10

■ The U.S. ranks first amongindustrialized nations in violent deathrates. Homicide and suicide claimmore than 50,000 lives each year, withan additional 2.2 million personsinjured by violent assaults.11

■ Youth are increasingly both theperpetrators and the victims of vio-lence. Suicide and homicide affect allage ranges, including children andadolescents. Between 1980 and 1992,in youth aged 10 to 14 years, suicideincreased by 80 percent for Whitemales, by 225 percent for Whitefemales, and by 300 percent for Blackmales. In 1994 the incidence of mor-tality from firearms per 100,000 popu-lation in White youth aged 15 to 24years was 9.6 for suicide and 8.7 forhomicide; in Black youth, 8.6 for sui-cide and 79.8 for homicide.12

■ In the U.S. in 1992, 702 wivesdied at the hands of their husbands.Domestic violence is the leading causeof injury in women aged 15-45. Onaverage, women experienced morethan 1 million violent victimizationsat the hands of an intimate in oneyear. The same rate of domestic vio-lence and abuse occurs in homosexualrelationships. One woman is batteredin the U.S. every 30 seconds. This is aglobal problem; for example, in Russiain one year 14,500 women were killedby their husbands or boyfriends.

■ Abuse and neglect are also prob-lems for children. Five children in theU.S. die every day from abuse. For

children younger than five, more die atthe hands of their parents and care-givers than from any other cause. In1994 almost 1.2 million cases of childabuse and neglect were reported,including physical, sexual, and emo-tional abuse.13

Mental health also relates to theintellectual development of persons,enabling them to achieve their cogni-tive potential. Education, or the lackof it, is a significant contributor to theeconomic status of a person.

In 1996 the average incomes of menand women with a college education inthe U.S. were two to three times thatof those with only a high school educa-tion. There was also a significant differ-ence in the average incomes of menand women at all levels of education,with women receiving up to 50 percentless income than men for the samelevel of education. This fact has socialimplications. Specifically, the majorityof single families are headed by women;therefore, more children are liable toexperience poverty.14

Data from 1994 reported theobserved poverty rate of children. Inthe U.S., one of the most economicallyadvantaged countries in the world, 21.8 percent of children were living inpoverty. Most severely affected wereHispanic (41.5 percent) and Blackchildren (43.8 percent). Those children living in female-headed single-parent families had a five to sixtimes greater poverty rate than children living with both parents.15

Promoting Spiritual Health andHealing

The important relationship betweenthe spiritual and the physical dimen-

sion is now recognized by health-careproviders, academia, and the widerpublic.

Harvard University recently spon-sored a conference on the relationshipof religion and medicine attended bymore than 1,000 professionals. TheNational Institute for Health CareResearch reported that nearly onethird of the 126 U.S. medical schoolsoffer a course or program in spiritualityand healing that encourages the stu-dents to adopt a more humanistic viewof medicine.16

The report of the InternationalProject of the Hastings Center notedthat “suffering, particularly when con-nected with a chronic or terminal con-dition, can raise for patients questionsabout the meaning of life itself, of goodand evil, of personal fate and destiny—questions commonly thought of as spiri-tual or philosophical, not medical innature. . . . Medicine . . . can offer noanswers to such questions . . . yet ashuman beings, physicians and nurseswill be looked to for some kind ofresponse.” 17

For more than 130 years our churchhas recognized and responded to thisinvitation. Christ came as the greatHealer and Master Teacher. Heattended to the physical, mental, and spiritual dimensions of those Heserved. “The Saviour made each workof healing an occasion for implantingdivine principles in the mind and soul.This was the purpose of His work. Heimparted earthly blessings, that Hemight incline the hearts of men toreceive the gospel of His grace.” 18

Further, when Christ sent both the12 apostles and the 70 disciples ontheir first missionary journey, Heinstructed them to heal the sick andshare the good news of His kingdom(Luke 9; 10). “The same ministry iscommitted to the Christian physician[health provider]. He is to unite withChrist in relieving both the physicaland spiritual needs . . .” 19

Care of the spiritual as well as thephysical and mental dimensions iswhole-person care. Whole-personcare transforms health care intohealth-care ministry.

Whole-personcare transformshealth-care into

ministry.


Continuing the MissionL. Kaiser has stated that the top

priority of the twenty-first century isthe redesign of the health-care systemto “design out sickness.” 20 A coursemust be steered between “economiccommodity and social mission.” 21

The U.S. health-care system is inthe process of being reengineered.California is on the leading edge andrapidly experiencing enormouschanges through the formation ofmultihospital systems, the mergers ofphysical practices into megagroups, thedevelopment of integrated deliverysystems, the conversion of not-for-profit entities into for-profit corpora-tions, and the realignment of variousrelationships.22 These and other oppor-tunities and challenges create uncer-tainties in predicting the future.

A cascade of “provider partnerships”already exists to serve patients and thepopulations from which they aredrawn. These include professionals(physicians and other health-careworkers) and various facilities (acute-care hospitals, ambulatory centers, andskilled-nursing facilities). Further, thereare purchasers of care (employers,coalitions, and government agencies),the health-care brokers, and the payers(HMOs, government programs, andinsurance carriers).

The challenges are so large that inthe coming decades new and differentrelationships must be explored.

Synergy can occur in less formalpartnerships when a wider variety ofpersons and entities become orientedtoward the health and well-being oftheir fellow citizens. Churches,schools, health-care providers, andvarious agencies, such as housing,transportation, and law enforcement,have informally partnered with citi-zens in communities to effect verynecessary positive change. Such cre-ative partnering must continue andshould be expanded.

In order to fulfill the mission ofAdventist health care in the twenty-first century, we need to adhere to fourguiding principles:

1. We must identify and preserve thecore of our mission, while stimulating

progress23 in a changing world.2. We must co-vision and co-create

with our formal and informal partners,fueling the passion of people for themission.

3. We must achieve the appropriatebalance between autonomy of individ-uals and entities, and their integrationinto our delivery networks.

4. We must remember: no mission,no margin; but also: no margin, nomission.

Leadership must embrace and man-age change, align incentives anddesired outcomes, build from a founda-

tion of values/virtues—especially thoseexemplified in Christ’s life—and nur-ture the personal wholeness of self andothers.

The late Henri Nouwen wrote, “Ileave you with the image of the leader,with outstretched hands, who choosesa life of downward mobility. It is theimage of the praying leader, the vul-nerable leader, and the trusting leader.May that image fill your hearts withhope, courage, and confidence as youanticipate the next century.” 24

Adventist health care has the priv-ilege and responsibility to continueChrist’s healing and teaching min-istry, bringing healing, health, andwholeness to individuals, families,and communities.

Our challenge as health-care leaders is to identify how we canaccomplish this calling in spite of andbecause of limited resources and inthe midst of the tornado of changethat engulfs U.S. health care. ■

1 E. Ginzberg and M. Ostow, “ManagedCare—A Look Back and a Look Ahead,” NewEngland Journal of Medicine 336, No. 14 (1997):1028-1030.

2 J. P. Kassirer, “Is Managed Care Here toStay?” New England Journal of Medicine 336, No. 14 (1997): 1013, 1014.

3 E. Moy, E. Valente, R. J. Levin, and P. F.Griner, “Academic Medical Centers and theCare of Underserved Populations,” AcademicMedicine 12 (1996): 1370-1377.

4 “The Goals of Medicine . . . Setting NewPriorities,” Hastings Center report, supplement(November-December 1996).

5 “Our Mission in the Next Century,”Adventist Health (1997), p. 1.

6 Robert W. Ambler and H. Bruce Dull, eds.,Closing the Gap. The Burden of Unnecessary Illness(New York: Oxford University Press, 1987).

7 Monthly Vital Statistics Report 45, No. 3,Supplement 2, Table 16 (1995).

8 American Cancer Society, “Tobacco Use,”Cancer Facts and Figures (1997); U.S.Department of Health and Human ServicesPublic Health Service, Healthy People 2000(midcourse review and 1995 revisions) (Jonesand Bartlett, Publishers, 1996).

9 Healthy People 2000. 10 Eugene M. Lewit, “The Future of

Children,” Health Care Reform 3, No. 2 (1993).11 Healthy People 2000. 12 Ibid.; U.S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical

Abstract of the United States: 1996 (Washington,D.C.: U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1996), Tables140, 141; Monthly Vital Statistics Report 45, No. 3(5), Table 17 (1994).

13 Statistical Abstract of the United States:1996, Table 347.

14 Talking Points on College Cost and Price(National Association of Independent Collegesand Universities, 1996).

15 Lewit, Statistical Abstract of the UnitedStates: 1996, Table 733.

16 “Blurring the Boundaries BetweenReligion and Science,” The Chronicle of HigherEducation, Mar. 7, 1997.

17 “The Goals of Medicine.”18 Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing,

p. 20.19 Ibid., p. 36.20 “Sickness and Sacrifice,” Hospitals and

Health Networks, Mar. 20, 1997.21 California Health Care 1997 to 2005: A

Millennium View of the Future. Transitions,Transactions, and Transformations (CHA, 1997).

22 Ginzberg and Ostow; David Blumenthal,“Quality in Health Care—What Is It?” NewEngland Journal of Medicine 335, No. 12 (1996):891-893.

23 James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Builtto Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,chapter 4.

24 Henri J. M. Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus.Reflections on Christian Leadership (New York:Crossroad Pub. Co., 1989), p. 73.

Dr. B. Lyn Behrens is presi-dent of Loma LindaUniversity.

No mission, no margin; but

also: no margin,no mission.

Miss

BY ELLEN WHITE

IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST THERE WERE NOsanitariums in the Holy Land. But wherever the GreatPhysician went, He carried with Him the healing effi-cacy that was a cure for every disease, spiritual andphysical. This He imparted to those who were under

the afflicting power of the enemy. In every city, every town,every village through which He passed, with the solicitudeof a loving father He laid His hands upon the afflicted ones,making them whole, and speaking words of tenderest sym-pathy and compassion. How precious to them were Hiswords! From Him flowed a stream of healing power, whichmade the sick whole. He healed men and women withunhesitating willingness and with hearty joyfulness; for Hewas glad to be able to restore suffering ones to health.

The Mighty Healer worked so incessantly, so intensely—and often without food—that some of His friends feared Hecould not much longer endure the constant strain. His brothers heard of this, and also of the charge brought by thePharisees that He cast out devils through the power of Satan.They felt keenly the reproach that came upon them throughtheir relation to Jesus. They decided that He must be per-suaded or constrained to cease His manner of labor, and theyinduced Mary to unite with them, thinking that through Hislove for her they might prevail upon Him to be more prudent.

Jesus was teaching the people when His disciples broughtthe message that His mother and His brothers were without,and desired to see Him. He knew what was in their hearts,and “he answered and said unto him that told him, Who ismy mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretchedforth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold mymother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will ofmy Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, andsister, and mother.”

The enmity kindled in the human heart against the gospel


was keenly felt by the Son of God, and it was most painful toHim in His home; for His own heart was full of kindness andlove, and He appreciated tender regard in the family relation.But with their short measuring line His brothers could notfathom the mission that He came to fulfill, and thereforecould not sympathize with Him in His trials.

Some of those whom Christ healed He charged to tell noman. He knew that the more the Pharisees and Sadduceesand rulers heard of His miracles, the more they would try tohedge up His way. But notwithstanding His precautions, “somuch the more went there a fame abroad of him: and greatmultitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him oftheir infirmities.” Again and again He was followed by thepriests, who expressed their violent sentiments against Him inorder to stir up the enmity of the people. But when He couldno longer safely remain in one place, He went to another.

In doing medical missionary work we shall meet the sameopposition that Christ met. He declares: “Ye shall be hated ofall men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the endshall be saved. But when they persecute you in this city, fleeye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not havegone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.”

The life of Christ and His ministry to the afflicted areinseparably connected. From the light that has beengiven me, I know that an intimate relationship should

ever exist between the medical missionary work and thegospel ministry. They are bound together in sacred union asone work, and are never to be divorced. The principles ofheaven are to be adopted and practiced by those who claim towalk in the Saviour’s footsteps. By His example He has shownus that medical missionary work is not to take the place of thepreaching of the gospel, but is to be bound up with it. Christgave a perfect representation of true godliness by combining

The Great Medical

dical


the work of a physician and a minister, ministering to theneeds of both body and soul, healing physical disease, andthen speaking words that brought peace to the troubled heart.

Christ has empowered His church to do the same workthat He did during His ministry. Today He is the same com-passionate physician that He was while on this earth. Weshould let the afflicted understand that in Him there is heal-ing balm for every disease, restoring power for every infirmity.His disciples in this time are to pray for the sick as verily asHis disciples of old prayed. And recoveries will follow; for“the prayer of faith shall save the sick.” We need the HolySpirit’s power, the calm assurance of faith that can claimGod’s promises.

We should ever remember that the efficiency of themedical missionary work is in pointing sin-sick men andwomen to the Man of Calvary, who taketh away the sin ofthe world. By beholding Him they will be changed intoHis likeness. Our object in establishing sanitariums is toencourage the sick and suffering to look to Jesus and live.Let the workers in our medical institutions keep Christ,the Great Physician, constantly before those to whom dis-ease of body and soul has brought discouragement. Pointthem to the One who can heal both physical and spiritualdiseases. Tell them of the One who is touched with thefeeling of their infirmities. Encourage them to place them-selves in the care of Him who gave His life to make it pos-sible for them to have life eternal. Keep their minds fixed

upon the One altogether lovely, the Chiefest among tenthousand. Talk of His love; tell of His power to save.

The Lord desires every worker to do his best. Those whohave not had special training in one of our medical institu-tions may think that they can do very little; but, my dearfellow workers, remember that in the parable of the talents,Christ did not represent all the servants as receiving thesame number. To one servant was given five talents; toanother, two; and to still another, one. If you have but onetalent, use it wisely, increasing it by putting it out to theexchangers. Some cannot do as much as others, but every-one is to do all he can to roll back the wave of disease anddistress that is sweeping over our world. Come up to thehelp of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mightypowers of darkness. God desires every one of His children tohave intelligence and knowledge, so that with unmistakableclearness and power His glory shall be revealed in our world.

This article first appeared 94 years ago in the June 9, 1904, edition of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald (now theAdventist Review).

Ellen White was one of the pioneers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Adventists believe that sheexercised the biblical gift of prophecy through morethan 70 years of public ministry and service.

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NMissionary

Breathe In, Breathe OutWhy is it that we neglect life’s simple pleasures until

we face the possibility of losing them all?

BY JOHN AND REBECCA GRIFFIN

IT STARTED WITH A CREAM PUFF. AFTER I threw up about an hour later, I reasoned that I hadfood poisoning. I went back to report it to the hospitalcafeteria, where I had eaten. Signing my name at thebottom of the page that said I had food poisoning, I

walked away feeling that I had done my civic duty.But a week later I threw up again.

It’s Probably NothingBeginning to notice a trend, I swung in to see my friend Dr.

Colip. We sat and talked about my symptoms, then he said,“We’re really not going to understand this until I take a lookdown there. Have you had breakfast?” I hadn’t, so he sprayedanesthetic on the back of my throat, preparatory to conducting agastroscopy. “It’s really not that bad then,” he said as he sprayed.We both agreed that this was something we could do, but mystomach disagreed violently. There’s something truly unforget-table about having a tube about the width of your little fingerinserted into your esophagus. The camera mounted on the endof the tube failed to reveal any problems in my stomach.

“There’s nothing really to worry about,” he assured me.“But I’d recommend that within the next six months or so youget some lab work done.” As I left Dr. Colip’s office, I feltsomewhat shaken, but relieved that he had given me a cleanbill of health.

Walking into the sunshine, I thought, This is great. I don’thave anything to worry about. However, that night, when I gotup to go to the bathroom, I noticed that my urine was a verydark brown. Dark-brown urine is a bad thing. And as I lay inbed for the next couple hours wondering why it was that way,I mentally ran through several possible diagnoses.

I couldn’t stop thinking about the possibilities, so I got out

L I F E S T Y L E


of bed, went to my office, and did a urinalysis. I discoveredbile in my urine. Pancreatic cancer was the first thing thatcame to my mind. I’ve diagnosed a lot of people with pancre-atic cancer after discovering bile in their urine.

An hour later my office nurse arrived, and I had her drawsome of my blood and send it to the lab. I gave Dr. Colip acall and said, “Chuck, I’ve got bile in my urine.” There was along pause.

“Well,” he said, “it could be a gallstone stuck in the gall-bladder.” I was skeptical.

During the noon hour I had an ultrasound done on mypancreas. The technician said, “Well, the good news is youdon’t have a gallstone stuck in your gallbladder.”

“What does the pancreas look like?” I wanted to know.“It’s a little hazy in that area,” she said.We scheduled a CT scan for that afternoon. I canceled the

rest of my appointments for the day and headed to the hospi-tal. Have you ever walked into a room where there’s a largegroup of people and all of a sudden everything falls silent? Iwalked over to where all the doctors were standing aroundlooking at X-rays. They were my X-rays. And there, in plainview, was a big round tumor in my pancreas, about the size ofa lemon. It was obstructing the ducts coming out of the liverand was pressing into the vena cava. I’m dead, I thought.

A Friend in NeedAs I walked back to my office, I thought, What a difference

a few hours can make. I called my attorney, Lloyd Summers. “Ineed a will and a whole bunch of other documents drawn up.Can you have it for me by tomorrow?”

“I think I can,” he said.I called Larry Dodds, president of Adventist Health.


“Larry, I don’t think I’m going to makeit. I think I’m dying. I’ve got an officehere and a practice; I’m going to needsome help.”

Larry said, “I’m going to help you.”I called Jerry Schoepflin, my associ-

ate rheumatologist. “Jerry, I have a lotof patients I’m not going to be able tohelp for the next year, probably never.Would you help me out?” He said hewould cover for me and help get thepatients distributed.

I called Jerry Erwin, who is in thebusiness my wife is in. “Can you helpus?” I asked. “My wife is just startingthis business, and I’m not sure whatwe’re going to do.”

He said, “I’ll help you out.”I spent the rest of the after-

noon just thinking. When youhave a few hours or a few daysto live, it’s amazing what youthink about, what you canplan. Sometimes I think itwould be better if we died first,then lived. Maybe our plans andthinking would be more focused.

I went to see Dr. Wes Rippey,and we sat down and talked. Thefirst thing he said was “We aren’tgoing to talk statistics.” Studiesshow that about 10 to 15 percent ofthe people who have the surgery weplanned—called a Whipple proce-dure—die on the table. The reallybad news is that at the end of twoyears only two or three out of every100 patients will still be alive. Insteadof talking statistics, we developed atreatment plan together. I was to gointo surgery on Sunday morning.

I’ve taken care of a lot of patientswith pancreatic cancer, and none ofthem lived more than a few weeks. SoI went home that evening wonder-ing, What am I going to do?

We called our children the nextday. I spent Thursday night just basi-cally crying and praying.

On Friday I went down and signeddocuments, piles of documents, untilabout 1:00 in the afternoon.

Friday night was special. We metwith our children, all four of them, twofrom college and two from high school.We had a very long talk that evening.

There’s a lot of things you don’t talk tokids about. Stuff like what you hadplanned for their futures. I had wantedto walk my daughter down the aisle ather wedding. There were other things:where the life insurance policy is kept,what should be done with the house,with the businesses.

Late Friday eveningthere was a

knock on thedoor. It wasPastor BillBossert. He

sat me down and said, “John, have youthought about anointing?”

Well, I’ve talked about these thingstheoretically for years. I’ve always beena strong believer in prayer, but I feltthat God knows everything—what’s inthe future, what’s in the past, what ourneeds are now, what our needs are goingto be—so why do I need to ask?

And yet several places in the Bible itsays “Ask.” Then in another place Hesays, in effect, “I would have given youmore if you would have asked for more.”Now I was in a position where I wantedmore. I decided at that moment that wewere going to have an anointing.

I’ll never forget what I had for break-fast the next morning. We had Cheeriosin the cupboard, but I wasn’t in aCheerios type of mood. The kids likeLucky Charms; maybe there’s somemerit there, who knows? I chose Life. Iate two bowlfuls.

Out of ControlThat Sabbath was especially

significant. It was the quarterlyCommunion service. My chil-dren were all there, and we hada great time of sharing.

That afternoon my friendsLarry Dodds, Jerry Schoepflin,

Jerry Erwin, and their wives,along with my wife, Sylvia, and

my family, met in the church.Pastor Bossert had asked me to

bring a text. Psalm 23 came tomind, especially the verse that says“Though I walk through the valleyof the shadow of death, I will fearno evil” (verse 4, NKJV). I hadheard people talk about it, but itdidn’t seem to fit me. I was scaredsick. I was in a panic. He asked,“What text would you like toremember?” The one I remem-

bered and is etched on my brain isJohn 10:10: “I have come,” said Jesus,“that they may have life, and that theymay have it more abundantly” (NKJV).

That was my text. Abundant life iswhat I wanted.

We knelt and prayed andcried, and I was anointed withoil. When I left the church

that day, I felt a sense of relief that Ihad done what I could.

At 7:00 Sunday morning I went intosurgery. Wes Rippey and his father, Dr.William Rippey, were the surgeons.They operated for seven hours, takingout part of my pancreas, jejunum, andstomach. They also removed mypylorus, duodenum, gallbladder, andpart of the vagus nerve. Then they

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reconnected what was left.I don’t remember much after that.

My family says that I was awake, but Idon’t remember. The thing I do remem-ber is waking up in intensive care, look-ing out the window, and watching thesun rise. I knew I must be alive, and Iwas grateful for that.

The next few days I was very con-fused. I was in and out of conscious-ness, and I had tubes everywhere.After several days they decided totake out the urinary catheter. Thenurse said one little thing just aftershe removed the catheter and justbefore she left the room: “Of course, ifyou can’t void, we’ll have to put thisthing back in seven or eight hours.”Immediately I resolved, I don’t wantthat thing back in.

Eight or nine hours later nothing wasworking as I had planned. I decided todo something drastic. I climbed out ofbed with my slippers, gown, bandages,and housecoat and grabbed the twostands with four pumps and bottleshanging above me, and I went into thebathroom and turned on the shower. Iwas trying to emulate a waterfall, if youget the picture. I left the shower with asense of triumph.

While I was in the hospital peoplesent me letters saying they were prayingfor me. It blew my mind. Grade schoolkids and fellow church members sent mecards. One of my patients, a Lutheran,told me she put me on a prayer line, andher whole church was praying for myrecovery. I had Mormons, Catholics, allkinds of people, praying for me. It wasincredible. It still humbles me when Ithink about the compassion and con-cern they had for me.

Solitary RefinementAfter a month in the hospital I still

couldn’t keep any food down. My doc-tors figured that I could vomit at homeas well as in the hospital, so they dis-charged me. When I finally came home,I still had tubes and pumps that had tobe plugged in. I couldn’t leave the house.I had an incredible opportunity to thinkabout why God saved me. My tumorturned out to be benign, and I wasn’tgoing to die. But why? Why was my life

spared? I struggle with that issue still. AsI recovered my strength, I couldn’t seepatients or do a lot of things, but I couldcommune with God.

I wish that each of you could have that experience (without the

vomiting). It was like one longSabbath. The Sabbath isn’t just aday—one 24-hour period out of seven.The Sabbath is a refuge in time, anopportunity to communicate withGod, to know Him better. It’s what weneed: time to stop and think, a spiritual“resort” in time. I preach that to mypatients now. We need to talk moreabout the Sabbath.

I have a patient whose job requiresher to work six days a week. On the sev-enth day she has to clean house, takecare of her personal finances, take thekids to the basketball game, and enter-tain. There are lots of important activi-ties, and developing relationships withyour family is one of them.

But we need to spend time develop-ing a relationship with God. That’s

what the Sabbath is for. It’s like breath-ing in. In our bodies the respiratory system is vital. I’ve seen professionalpeople—pastors included—crash andburn spiritually because they don’t takeenough time to develop that mostimportant relationship with God,breathing in His Spirit on the Sabbath.

After six weeks I stopped vomiting,and in two months the last tube wasremoved. I stand in awe to this day whenI think that God picked me for healing. Iam not well known in Boring, my home-town. I’m just one of 250 million peoplein the United States, and one of about 6billion people on earth, and the galaxywe live in is one of billions of galaxiesthat God watches over and cares for withease. Yet He took time to touch my bodyand my soul and bring healing.

How can I be anything but grateful?The compassion He has shown me—Idon’t know what to say, except thatthere’s one thing I can do. And that isto pass His love on to others.

God didn’t charge me for His mercy;there was no contract; I didn’t agree toanything. He gave this to me as a freegift. I can still do what I want. He gaveme this gift no strings attached.

So how can I pass along God’smercy? The same way I received it—freely. I’m not the only one who’s hadthis kind of healing. I know some whohave had illnesses as severe or worsethan mine, and God has healed them.Some of the illnesses are from bones,joints, and organs that aren’t workingright. But sometimes there are emo-tional illnesses. There are people whohave taken a beating from depression,abuse, schizophrenia, alcoholic addic-tions, and many other things.

Friends, we have something to offer.The breathing in is the Sabbath, but thebreathing out is compassion and love. ■

John Griffin is aninternist who practicesmedicine in Boring,Oregon. Rebecca Griffinis a junior at WallaWalla College, studyingjournalism and publicrelations in the Department ofCommunications.

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More than a century ago Ellen White—following her interpretation of John’s apocalypse—warned that Protestants andCatholics in America would put aside theirhistorical animosities and

unite to promote a common religious andpolitical agenda.

However impossible that prediction mighthave seemed back then (after all, in the 1800sCatholics and Protestants were killing eachother in the streets), today the question is nolonger if the two groups will “unite,” but when.Over the past few years there’s been a remark-able reconciliation of sorts between evangeli-cals and Catholics in the United States, achange in attitude that would have beendeemed improbable a decade (much less a century) ago.

Take, for instance, “The Gift of Salvation,” signed byProtestant and Catholic leaders last December. Though not theresult of an officially sponsored dialogue (like the Lutheran-Catholic “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification,”signed last year), the document is nonetheless indicative of thischange in attitude between Catholics and Protestants.

How could Catholics have signed their names to a paperthat says “that justification is not earned by any good worksor merits on our own. It is entirely God’s gift, conferredthrough the Father’s sheer graciousness, out of the love thatHe bears for His Son, who suffered on our behalf and rosefrom the dead for our justification”? Or that “in justification,God, on the basis of Christ’s righteousness alone, declares usto be no longer His rebellious enemies but His forgivenfriends, and by virtue of His declaration it is so”?

Easily, because the document also says that there are dif-ferences between evangelicals and Catholics that “requirefurther and urgent exploration.” Among these are: “themeaning of baptismal regeneration, the Eucharist, and sacra-mental grace . . . diverse understandings of merit, reward,purgatory, and indulgences; Marian devotion and the assis-tance of the saints in this life”—things that by their verynature conflict with the truth the document purports to uphold.

If grace is by faith alone, why do we need not only asacrament for it, but a church organization to administerthat sacrament? And how can indulgences be harmonizedwith Pauline justification? And how does one square the

claim that Catholics and evangelicals believe the samegospel with this recent statement by Edward CardinalCassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for PromotingChristian Unity: “It is through Christ’s Catholic Church

alone . . . that the fullness of the means ofsalvation can be obtained”?

Through “Christ’s Catholic Churchalone”? We thought it was by faith alone.

Christianity Today, whose editors by andlarge seem positive to the document,acknowledged the criticism: “According tothis argument, the evangelical public mightbe wrongly led to believe the CatholicChurch has conformed to a Reformationalposition on justification when, in fact, theonly ones who have changed are the handful

of people who sign these documents.”What these Protestants don’t realize, or refuse to admit, is

that as long as its basic structure rests on the doctrine that onlythrough it, the Roman Church, can the merits of Christ becontinually applied to the sinner, Rome will never be able toaccept biblical justification.

Why are these Protestants, despite fervent denials, willingto compromise the most basic tenet of their faith in order toachieve “unity” with Rome? The answer is simple: though inthe past few years a common political agenda has broughtthese two groups together, they still have to deal with almost500 years of religiously based animosity. However much signers of “The Gift of Salvation” and its predecessor,“Evangelicals and Catholics Together,” claim that religion iswhat unites Catholics and Protestants, the truth is the oppo-site: religion is what divides them. “The Gift of Salvation” is,really, an attempt to get the problem of religion out of theway so they can pursue a common political agenda.

You don’t need to be a prophet to know how far these Protestants will compromise truth in order toachieve their political dreams. We have one who hasalready told us.

Clifford Goldstein is editor of Liberty, a magazineof religious freedom.

Justification by Faith Alone (and Then Some)

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Did you know that theAdventist Church’s satel-lite system, AdventistCommunicationNetwork (ACN), is one

of the largest and best-run networks inNorth America? During the past fouryears these 1,500 downlink sites havebecome very valuable for our internaluse for training, outreach, evangelism,and news.

Recently ACN discovered an addedvalue when a well-known community-based organization, the NationalCouncil of Negro Women (NCNW),led by Dorothy I. Height, requested touse the ACN satellite network touplink a program to mark their forty-eighth annual convention.

The nonprofit, Washington, D.C.-based women’s organization, foundedby Mary McLeod Bethune in 1935 andcurrently comprising 250 chaptersacross the United States, wanted touplink a special program to its mem-bers via satellite.

“We agreed to accommodate theNCNW because of the fine work theydo in the community, especially forwomen and families,” says KermitNetteburg, ACN general manager.“These kinds of outreach contacts willbe valuable to the church in untoldways in the future.”

The program, uplinked live fromthe General Conference on December7, was downlinked at 100 Adventistsites across the United States. Underthe theme “Come to the Table,” MayaAngelou, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis,Susan Taylor, Dorothy Height, andother renowned participants celebratedthe contributions brought to communi-ties by past and current female leaders.

They also addressed some of the prob-lems still facing America’s communitiesand offered solutions.

“We’re honored that the NationalCouncil ofNegroWomenturned to us,”said PaulaWebber, newsproducer forACN’s newsand missionshow FirstWednesday.

“We appreciate the hospitality of theAdventist churches that accommodatedNCNW members. From the feedbackwe’re getting, hundreds of communityleaders who had not visited anAdventist church before got a verygood impression.”

As a result of the joint project,Gerri Davis, a donor records managerfor NCNW and a member of theEmmanuel-Brinklow AdventistChurch in Maryland, received a num-ber of inquiries about the church.

“It was awesome that this venturebecame a ministry for me personallyand for the staff at our world head-quarters,” she says. “After their luncheon and visit to our cafeteria, mycoworkers, program volunteers, andexecutives from other corporations whoworked with us on the project becameinterested in our diet and menus. Thenour Christian interaction had a pro-found effect, causing them to want toknow more about our beliefs.”

Upon realizing the positive effectsthis program had on her colleagues,Davis concluded, “You never know whatserves as a ministry in reaching others.”

W O R L D N E W S & P E R S P E C T I V E S

Black Leaders “Come to the Table”at Adventist World Headquarters


B Y C E L E S T E R YA N , A C N M A R K E T I N G A N D C O M M U N I C AT I O N C O O R D I N AT O R

Dorothy Height

Celebration Health CenterLaunches Creative MissionB Y C A R L O S M E D L E Y, A D V E N T I S T R E V I E W N E W S E D I T O R

From the opening fanfare to theclosing fireworks, officials fromFlorida Hospital trumpeted the

rewards of a healthy lifestyle as theyunveiled the new Celebration HealthCenter near Orlando on November 23.

More than 100 persons, includinglocal government officials, churchadministrators, business leaders, andwell-wishers, attended the ceremony.Located in the heart of Celebration,Florida, the new innovative

megahousing project organized by theWalt Disney Company, CelebrationHealth Center is a unique hospitaland lifestyle facility. The public wasinvited to tour the facility and takepart in several interactive displays.

The 265,000-square-foot complexmixes old-fashioned customs andfuturistic concepts. CelebrationHealth Center brings together anunusual blend of services, includingwomen’s medicine, rehabilitation and


ACS Assists Florida Tornado Victims

Adventist Community Services (ACS) and theAdventist Development and Relief Agency

(ADRA)/North America mobilized response teams in four Florida counties in the aftermath of severalkiller tornadoes that left at least 38 dead and hundreds homeless.

With the help of volunteers and Florida Pathfinderclubs, ACS operated several mobile kitchen units to feeddisaster survivors and rescue workers in the WinterGarden and Kissimmee areas near Orlando. Florida SouthHospital provided the food.

Youth Emergency Service (YES) Corps volunteersfrom Forest Lake Academy in Apopka also helped tostaff one of the Kissimmee centers. YES Corps is madeup of young adults and older teens who are trained fordisaster assistance and who get involved in communityaction projects.

Relief centers for families in need of supplies arebeing established throughout central Florida. MarkBuhler, an ACS volunteer from the Orlando area, iscoordinating the search for relief center sites whereACS will operate the distribution of needed suppliesand donated items.

Ira Harrell, Southeastern Conference ACS director,

organized volunteers to help staff the distributioncenters.

ACS also operated collection centers for donatedgoods at several locations throughout central Florida,including the Forest Lake and Winter Springs Seventh-day Adventist churches.

A reception center for trucks with donated goodsopened at the Osceola County Fairgrounds nearKissimmee. This is a multiagency warehouse that theOsceola County Emergency Management Agency(EMA) asked ACS to manage under its agreementwith the state of Florida and the state EMA donations plan.

Groups or individuals interested in sending goods,relief supplies, or cash donations to central Florida cancall the ACS hot line at (800) 381-7171. Items neededfor distribution include blankets, bottled water, groceryitems, toiletries, and pet food. Clothing is not neededat this time.

ACS works under national agreements with theFederal Emergency Management Administration(FEMA) and the American Red Cross. It is also amember of the National Voluntary OrganizationsActive in Disaster (NVOAD), the umbrella organiza-tion for disaster response organizations in the UnitedStates. Working under the auspices of ADRA, ACSdistributes and manages the donation of goods inNorth America.

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sports medicine, diagnostic imaging,outpatient surgery, multispecialityphysicians’ offices, a fitness center,and a restaurant, all in one place.Although physicians at the centerwill treat disease, their focus is onwellness, treating the whole person,and putting people in command oftheir own health.

Because of the AdventistChurch’s 100-year-old track recordin delivering health care, FloridaHospital was invited to developthis state-of-the-art health compo-nent for the town of Celebration.

Des Cummings, executive vicepresident for Florida Hospital,says the hospital’s mission is the

creation of health. The cen-ter’s philosophy is based onthe eight principles ofhealth (nutrition, exercise,rest, water, sunlight, tem-perance, trust in God, andair) found in Ellen White’sMinistry of Healing.

These principles were updatedand embodied in the hospital’swatchword of creation, whichincludes choice, rest, environment,activity, trust, interpersonal relation-ships, outlook, and nutrition.

Celebration Health Center

also serves as the testing ground forfive model communities across NorthAmerica in which quality of life issuesare being studied. Celebration is one ofthese communities. The HealthcareForum, a worldwide association ofhealth-care executives and systems, isdirecting the research.

GRAND FINALE: The grand opening ceremonies endedwith ticker tape, balloons, doves, and fireworks.

STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPLEX: Celebration HealthCenter provides a unique combination of treatment and wellness services.


Adventists to Observe Fiftieth Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Seventh-day Adventists around the world will com-memorate the fiftieth anniversary of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights by declaring December 11,1998, as a special day for worldwide prayer and grateful-ness for religious freedom and human rights.

The church is joining the world community in recog-nizing the importance of restating the values enshrined inthis United Nations document, particularly the declara-tion’s Article 18, which defends religious freedom andpromotes the respect of human dignity.

According to a spokesperson at the GeneralConference Public Affairs and Religious LibertyDepartment, the commemoration by Adventists willinclude special convocations in local churches and com-munities, with a celebration on December 12 to under-score the importance of human rights, and religious free-dom in particular.—Adventist News Network.

Andrews University Sells the Last Campus Business

Following a trend in the past 30 years (during whichmany Adventist schools have closed or sold their busi-nesses), officials at Andrews University in BerrienSprings, Michigan, recently closed a chapter in the

school’s history with the sale of the Apple ValleySupermarket, the last commercial business on campus.Andrews owned the market for 22 years.

The new owners, David and Kevin Benfield, ofRedlands, California and Hinsdale, Illinois, respectively,will continue to run the store and its five satellite loca-tions. The university retains ownership of the land andbuildings.

Proceeds from the sale will retire Apple Valley’s debtand go into an operating endowment for the mainte-nance of campus buildings, says Ed Wines, university vicepresident for finance.

President of India Commends Adventists

In a meeting with Southern Asia Division presidentRonald D. Watts, Indian president K. R. Narayanancommended the Seventh-day Adventist Church for thecontributions the church is making to the country.

Narayanan spoke of the Ottapalam Adventist Hospitalin Kerala, since his first election to parliament had beenfrom that district. He also expressed his appreciation forthe contribution of the Adventist Development andRelief Agency in drilling boreholes to help provide a supply of drinking water. In his conversation with Watts,the Indian president spoke of his personal philosophy ofintegrity and honesty in public life.

“I was delighted to have the opportunity to meet with

N E W S B R E A K


It’s just another competition,” Sondra Van Ert, of theU.S. Olympic ski team, wrote in a recent U.S. News andWorld Report article. “I try hard to downplay that this is

the Olympics.” She said that she was trying to stay focused,to keep calm and adjust to Japanese ways(such as getting used to the elevator say-ing “Sorry you had to wait,” and the skilift that says “Please move ahead”).

That wasn’t easy, for all during the Olympics she wore aparka that identified her as a U.S.A. 1998 Olympic teammember in bold gold embroidery. According to the U.S.News report, she was a gold medal favorite in the snow-boarding giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Nagano.

Even though she knew there were going to be “a zillionreporters out there” she reminded herself, “Just look at theracecourse, look at what I’ve got to do, don’t worry aboutanything else.” Then, when things became really over-whelming, she tried not to get hung up on a lot of details

and dilemmas. It was then she remembered “Don’t sweatthe small stuff.”

Those are familiar words. Anyone who has ever con-ducted or attended an Adventist-sponsored stress seminar

remembers the leader urging the impor-tance of releasing tensions by repeating,“Don’t sweat the small stuff. All stuff issmall stuff.”

Sondra’s counsel “Just look at the racecourse” is goodtoo. Paul admonished the Galatians as though they werecompeting in the Olympics. “You were running a good race.Who cut in on you . . . ?” * (small stuff).

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished the race, I havekept the faith,” † Paul later proclaimed. A lot of focus. Notmuch small stuff. A better Olympics. At the end, a crown.

* Gal. 5:7, NIV.† 2 Tim. 4:7, NIV.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

NEWS COMMENTARY

B Y M Y R N A T E T Z , M A N A G I N G E D I T O R O F T H E A D V E N T I S T R E V I E W

One in Four Baptist Teens Considers Suicide A survey of Southern Baptist teens shows that while 93

percent pray daily and weekly, about 25 percent have con-sidered committing suicide.

“It’s shocking to know that some of the same kids whothink about killing themselves may pray either daily orweekly,” said Clyde Hall, manager of the Baptist SundaySchool Board’s youth discipleship section.

The survey also showed that 75 percent of those teenshave trouble controlling their tempers and almost halfcheat on tests. But according to the results, 83 percent donot take drugs and 78 percent don’t drink, reportedBaptist Press, the news service of the Southern BaptistConvention.

The survey of 2,501 youth was taken at 1997 summeryouth conferences. Ninety-five percent of the respon-dents claimed to be Christians; 55 percent were girls,and 45 percent were boys. The survey found that 25percent of high school students, compared to 18 percentof junior high students, said they had contemplated suicide.—Religion News Service.

A friendly one-upsmanship amused readers of the AdventReview and Sabbath Herald (now the Adventist Review) in 1934as several elderly readers vied for the honor of having read themagazine for the most years.

Apparent “winner” was C. F. Stevens, who wrote in a covernote that he had been a faithful reader of the Review for 84years. It would have been hard to outdistance him: he was achild of 9 and living in Paris, Maine, when the first edition ofthe Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald was published inthe nearby Andrews home in November 1850. He hadreceived the Review continuously throughout his long life, andwrote that “I prize it above any of the many periodicals towhich I have access.”

“Our good church paper should be read and valued by all whowish to be reliably informed regarding the history and presentprogress of our work in all the world,” Stevens concluded.

The Adventist Review is fast approaching its sesquicentennialyear (1999-2000), and is again looking for longtime readers.How long have you been reading the Adventist Review, andwhat has it meant to you? Send your stories to:

Bill Knott, Adventist Review, 12501 Old Columbia Pike,Silver Spring, MD 20904. CompuServe: 104474,550


Religion in the News 64 Years Ago . . . Let Him Who Boasts

Mr. Narayanan,”said Watts. “Asleader of theworld’s largestdemocracy, with950 million peo-ple, he has a veryintense schedule.I was pleased tobe able to prayfor him and forhis responsibilityin leading thepeople of Indiainto the twenty-first century.”

Watts wasaccompanied to the December 8 meeting by J. JohnWycliffe (above right), who works at the GeneralConference. Wycliffe, a member of the Southern AsiaDivision executive committee, comes from Kerala and ispersonally acquainted with the president.—AdventistNews Network.

News Notes

✔ Cuba Report Airs April 1. The Adventist Com-munication Network, the church’s satellite system in

North America, will uplink a 30-minutevideo report on the church’s growth inCuba. The report will air at 7:30 p.m.Eastern time. Call (800) ACN-1119 forsatellite and channel information.

✔ Edward Motschiedler, Ohio Con-ference president, was recently elected secretary of the Columbia Union Con-ference. Motschiedler replaces Harold Lee,who became union president.

✔ James Dok, associate pastor of theAdventist church in Long Beach, California, recentlybecame the first Cambodian minister ordained in theNorth American Division.

CompuServe Users. You can access the AdventistReview online each week within 48 hours of presstime.The Review is available free in the Adventists OnlineForum (section B, GO SDAOLB). To join the forum, call1-800-260-7171.

What’s Upcoming?

Mar. 22-28 Youth Week of PrayerMar. 28 Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for the

Southern Asia DivisionApr. 4 Missionary magazine emphasisApr. 11 Youth spiritual commitment

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NEW FRIENDS: Indian president K. R.Narayanan (center) believes the AdventistChurch in India, led by Ronald Watts (left), ismaking a valuable contribution to the country.

EdwardMotschiedler

Two Dozen Muffins and a Sabbath Potluck

There is no such thing as an insignificant gift.

BY CYNTHIA PATTERSON COSTON

IT WAS 7:00 ON A FRIDAY MORNING. MY

boys ate breakfast while I prepared their lunches.

The phone rang. It was John, our church school

board chair. He sounded tense. “Hi, Cynthia.

Can I talk to your husband?” My husband came

to the phone. John quickly broke the news: “Bruce, the

church school is on fire.”

Bruce, vice chair of the church school board, canceled allhis morning appointments and took off in a flurry to seewhat he could do to help. A meeting of the school boardand the teachers was scheduled for midmorning to makedecisions about the challenges that loomed ahead.

My boys and I were left seated in the kitchen, feelingshocked and empty. We too wanted to leave in a flurryand do something to help. But what could two little boys,ages 6 and 7, and their mother do at a fire scene that fire-fighters, builders, and men with pickup trucks could notdo better?

As I started to process the news about the school, Irealized that Bruce had left the house so quickly that hehad missed breakfast. I surmised that most of the boardmembers and teachers had also left home without thinking

S T O R Y


to eat. “I’ve thought of something we can do to help,” Isaid to my boys.

We quickly baked two dozen muffins and placed them ina basket. Hopping into the van, we showed up with break-fast just as the teachers and school board were beginningtheir meeting at the church. Few of the people at the firescene had eaten, so our small contribution of muffins andjuice was much appreciated. Indeed, there was somethingthat two little boys and their mama could do to help.

What Goes AroundIt was 15 months later, at 3:30 on a Sabbath morning.

Our family was in Washington, D.C., visiting my brotherand anticipating a family wedding over the weekend. Thephone rang. It was Susan, the assistant manager at our vet-erinary hospital at home. She sounded tense. “Can I speakto Dr. Coston?” she asked. “Dr. C., your house is on fire.”

We canceled all our weekend appointments and took offfor home in a flurry to see what was left and what needed tobe done. We all felt shocked and empty on the drive fromWashington, D.C. What are two boys, ages 7 and 8, andtheir mother and father going to do when they have just losteverything they own?

When we arrived at our house, the fire was out. Therewere already about 25 people standing around who wantedto do something to help. But what could they do with ourburned clothes, singed teddy bears, and water-damaged fur-niture that builders and insurance people could not do bet-ter? It seemed that there really was not much anyone could


do to lessen our loss—the horror wastoo fresh, the devastation too large.

But those 25 family members,friends, and neighbors worked tire-lessly, hauling our possessions out ofthe house, loading them on pickuptrucks, and filling a storage unit wehad hurriedly rented. Their help wasmuch appreciated.

As we worked at our burned-outhouse that Sabbath morning, ourchurch friends learned of our loss duringthe announcement time of the worshipservice. Pastor Rick informed the con-gregation that the fellowship dinnerwould go on as planned, but that thelocation had been changed. The dinnerwould be held on our front lawn.

Comes AroundBy 1:00 that afternoon there were

200 members from our church family onour front yard, complete with foldingtables, lawn chairs, blankets, flowers,and enough food to feed everyone. Ofcourse, few of us at the fire scene had

eaten, and the large contribution offood was much appreciated. The neigh-bors on our cozy cul-de-sac had a greattime sampling all the vegetarian dishes.They never once complained that ourquiet little street was completely cloggedwith cars, vans, and pickup trucks; orthat groups of running, jumping chil-dren blurred the property lines aroundour home as they played with our sons.

Indeed, there was something that achurch family could do to help after all.Their warm casseroles, chilled gelatinsalads, and loving hands helped us findthe courage to get through that long day.

And AroundA long time ago Jesus blessed a lit-

tle basket that contained only fiveloaves and two fish, and the resultingmeal fed more than 5,000 people. Justas surely as God performed a miracleover that little basket, so He per-formed the same miracle over my littlebasket filled with 24 muffins. Fifteenmonths later those two dozen muffins

turned into a meal that served morethan 200 people on our front yard.

What do you do when you seesomeone in crisis? There’s probablynot much you can do that someoneelse couldn’t do better. But you couldmake 24 muffins for a board meetingor a cottage cheese loaf for animpromptu front yard potluck. Andsomeday, in 15 months or less (ormore), you could be the recipient of amiracle that blesses your small contri-bution so completely that you cannotcontain the whole of it.

“Cast your bread upon the waters,for after many days you will find itagain. Give portions to seven, yes toeight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land”(Eccl. 11:1, 2). ■

Cynthia Patterson Costonlives in Woodstock, Virginia,with her husband, Bruce,and their two sons, Jace andTucker.

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BY STEVEN P. VITRANO
JACK STANDS BESIDE THE OPEN GRAVE. THE love of his life has been taken from him. They were filledwith such joy when it was learned that Betty was to have ababy. But it was not to be. Complications voided the birth,and after too many days of suffering and agony Betty’s heart

stopped beating. Jack, of course, is devastated. And standingbeside the grave, he wonders how he can bear the loss.

We’ve been there, haven’t we? We know the agony, don’t we?But knowing that Betty belonged to Christ made a world of differ-ence. Jack’s heart is comforted—and so are ours—by the assurancethat salvation from death will come with Christ’s return, when“death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54).*

When we speak of salvation, why is it we focus almost exclusively on the cross and say so little, if anything, about theResurrection? We rejoice in the justification and reconciliation thatare ours because of Calvary, but have we forgotten that without theResurrection there is no salvation? “If Christ has not been raised,your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those alsowho have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (verses 17, 18).Because of this, Jack does not weep as those who have no hope. Heand Betty will live and love again. In the face of hopelessness thereis hope because Christ lives.

But why is our salvation so dependent upon Christ’s resur-rection? Because His resurrection makes our resurrectionpossible: “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all

be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits,then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (verses 22, 23).For Paul, Christ’s return was a blessed hope, a salvation yet tocome that he anticipated with great urgency: “For salvation is

D E V O T I O N A L


nearer to us now thanwhen we first believed; the

night is far gone, the day is athand” (Rom. 13:11, 12).

But there is more. Christ’sresurrection is just as critical for our

salvation now as it will be in the future. In writing to theCorinthians who have been “called to be saints,” Paul says, “Forthe word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but tous who are being saved [present tense, continuous action] it isthe power of God” (1 Cor. 1:2, 18). And in writing to thosewho have been “sanctified by the Spirit for obedience to JesusChrist” (1 Peter 1:2), Peter says: “Like newborn babes, long forthe pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation”(1 Peter 2:2).

“Being saved,” “grow up to salvation”—the ideas are equiva-lent to Paul’s desire in Ephesians 4:13-15, that “we all attain tothe unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulnessof Christ. . . . Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to growup in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

This too is gospel. It is the good news that we can be savedand are being saved from behavior that is not like Christ sothat we may grow up to maturity in Christ.

But it is scary. We recoil from it. Especially when we readJames 1:2-4: “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet var-ious trials, for you know that the testing of your faith producessteadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that youmay be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” We recoilbecause we are constantly reminded of how we fail to be like

HopHope for StumblersSometimes it’s downright tough to keep going.

ope


Christ, how we fail to be perfect and com-plete, how we fail to be holy.

Nor does Satan let us forget our failures. Iwill never forget Debbie. She sat across thedesk from me with her hands upraised anddespair written on her face. “I give up. I cannever get it right. I try so hard, and all I everhear is, ‘You must do more.’ I can’t do more. Iwalk around in a cloud of guilt all the time. Ifyou can’t help me, it’s all over.”

We, all know Debbie, don’t we? We’vemet her, and she is us. How can we find assur-ance? Is it by throwing out God’s require-

ments? By hitting out atthe law? Not at all.

The secret,rather, is to look

to Jesus.In Romans 5:10

Paul tells us: “For ifwhile we were enemies

we were reconciled to Godby the death of his Son, much

more, now that we are reconciled,shall we be saved by his life.” Reconciled by

Christ’s death, saved by His life. No livingChrist, no salvation. But we have nothing tofear: the tomb is empty. He lives! And it is theliving Christ who gives us the confidence thatwe need. This is the truth so beautifully por-trayed in the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 1:3 tells us that after the cross,“when he had made purification for our sins,he sat down at the right hand of the Majestyon high.” And why is that important? Becauseof what He is doing there. “Now the point inwhat we are saying is this: we have such a highpriest, one who is seated at the right hand ofthe throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minis-ter in the sanctuary and the true tent which isset up not by man but by the Lord” (Heb. 8:1,2). Wonderful! Not only is Christ at the righthand of God; He is there to minister in ourbehalf as our high priest.

But how He ministers as our high priest islove’s answer to our desperate need: “Sincetherefore the children share in flesh andblood, he himself likewise partook of thesame nature, that through death he mightdestroy him who has the power of death, thatis, the devil.” “For because he himself has suf-fered and been tempted, he is able to helpthose who are tempted” (Heb. 2:14, 18).

And now notice what that means in termsof assurance: “Since then we have a great highpriest who has passed through the heavens, IL

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Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast ourconfession. For we have not a high priestwho is unable to sympathize with ourweakness, but one who in every respecthas been tempted as we are, yet withoutsin. Let us then with confidence draw nearto the throne of grace, that we mayreceive mercy and find grace to help intime of need” (Heb. 4:14-16).

Notice how the atonement and thepriestly ministry of Christ are broughttogether in the passage. For salvation,come to the cross. For salvation, come tothe throne of grace. The doctrine of thesanctuary should not only emphasizejudgment in the fulfillment of prophecy,but forgiveness and mercy and grace andconfidence and assurance. We need thatassurance. Our young people need it.Debbie needed it. We all make mistakes.At times we all fail to do what we knowwe should do, or not do what we knowwe should. We live in a world in whichlawlessness, corruption, and perversionmust astonish even the devil, but wemust not despair. Christ is alive, seatedat the right hand of the Father. Andbecause He lives we can experience con-tinuing victory in Christ as we await thesecond advent of our Lord.

To become like Christ is not“automatic” for those who“have been saved.” “For we are

not contending against flesh andblood, but against the principalities,against the powers, against the worldrulers of this present darkness, againstthe spiritual hosts of wickedness in theheavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Whenwe meet various trials and our faith istested, we must make choices, and thechoices we make determine whetheror not we overcome. But when wechoose to yield to Christ and Heempowers us, we become “more thanconquerors” (Rom. 8:37). Yet evenwhen we fail, we have a throne ofgrace to which we can flee “that wemay receive mercy and find grace tohelp in time of need.”

Christ is our advocate, and we shouldnever doubt that God will forgive. Jesussaid that the divine rule of forgiveness is“seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:22). Wemay lose some battles, but in Him we are

going to win the war! The tomb is empty.“If we confess our sins, he is faithful andjust, and will forgive our sins, and cleanseus from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

Could good news be better thanthis? ■

* All Scripture quotations in this article arefrom the Revised Standard Version.

Steven P. Vitrano is a profes-sor emeritus of preaching,worship, and evangelism atthe Seventh-day AdventistTheological Seminary atAndrews University in Berrien Springs,Michigan.


SANDRA DORAN

In her book Autobiography of a Face,* Lucy Grealy discussesher experience as a child growing up with a physical disfig-urement that adults and children reacted to by gaping,pointing, and making cruelremarks. The discovery of cancer

in her jaw in elementary school led toradiation treatments that caused burning sores inside her mouth,chemotherapy that left her bedriddenand nauseous for more than two years,and dozens of surgeries. Surprisingly, itis not the physical pain she recallsmost, but the emotional:

“I spent five years of my life beingtreated for cancer, but since then I’vespent 15 years being treated for nothing other than looking different from everyone else. It was the pain from that, fromfeeling ugly, that I always viewed as the great tragedy of my life.The fact that I had cancer seemed minor in comparison.”

Lucy was haunted by what she referred to as her own ugliness.As a result she felt unlovable, isolated, and alone. She could notimagine herself ever being attractive to another human being. Incollege she wore genderless baggy clothes. “For me, dressing as ifI didn’t care was an attempt not to care, to show the world I wasn’t concerned with what it thought of my face. In my care-fully orchestrated shabbiness, I was hoping to beat the world tothe finish line by showing that I already knew I was ugly.”

Physically unappealing people. How do we treat them?Researcher Lois Hoffman, in a study involving the reactions ofteachers and other caregivers to children, found that unattrac-tive children are treated more negatively than children whosephysical appearance is more appealing.

Even parents, she found, tend to favor their offspring whoare prettier, more handsome, more attractive, than a brotheror a sister.

Within a social context, unwritten laws abound. This person isacceptable. This person is not. Every Sabbath school class, churchschool, and congregation has its members who are easier to lovethan others. Often as a group we read our cues from one another,responding favorably to those we have decided are worthy.

Without previous warning I recently asked 35 college stu-dents to try to give me the name of a child who was the butt ofjokes in their elementary school. I wanted to know if theycould remember someone who was universally accepted as the

outcast, the scapegoat, the one whom all had tacitly agreed totorture mentally and emotionally. My students’ faces immedi-ately told me that they did not have to pause for long. One by

one they responded, giving the singlename that they had not forgotten inmore than 10 years. Lewis Robbins.Sally Steitz. Joe Adams. Others hadnames that were less kind. Space Boy.Skinny. Beach Ball. Only two couldnot produce a name.

Our natural response to the unappeal-ing is rejection, disgust, hatred. AsChristians, our challenge is to movebeyond surface judgments, to love theunlovely, befriend the friendless. While

we don’t often dwell on the thought, Scripture tells us that JesusChrist Himself was not physically appealing. “He had no beauty ormajesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that weshould desire him” (Isa. 53:2). I wonder, How would we haveresponded to Him had we traversed this earth with the Son ofGod, who had taken on the lowliest of flesh?

My hope is that I will never lose the ability to see beyond thetrappings that house a human soul, that I will pause to discoverthe imprint of the divine in each person who crosses my path,that physical boundaries will not limit my vision.

Looking back, I too remember the class scapegoat in publicschool, 30 years after the fact. “Reject” faced the fourth-gradegirls, lined up against the wall in the Stanton School gymnasi-um, and, at the teacher’s mandate, sought to find his square-dancing partner. Stopping at each giggling girl vigorously shak-ing her head no, he bowed, reddened, and stammered, “Willyou have this dance with me?” Fourteenth in line, I prayed thata classmate before me would have the courage to respect hisdignity as a human being and take the proffered hand. But inthe end I held my breath, nodded my head, and do-si-doedwith the one I could not bear to turn away.

* New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 1994.

Sandra Doran, Ed.D., is an educational consultant,author, and speaker. She teaches at Providence Collegein Rhode Island.

Discerning the Divine Imprint

S A N D R A D O R A N : D I A L O G U E S

Our naturalresponse to theunappealing is

rejection.

There are some animalsthat are very selfish. Takehyenas, for instance.Many of them get theirfood by stealing it from

other animals. Spotted hyenas willsteal food that a leopard or cheetahhas caught—they’ll even try to stealfood from a group of lions!

There are some ants that are evenmore selfish. Slave-maker ants keepblack ants as slaves. The slave-makerants will raid a nest of black ants andsteal their eggs. When these eggs hatchin the slave-maker ants’ nest, theythink they are in their own nest, andthey go right to work. They dig newtunnels and bring back food and evenfeed the food to the slave-makers.

There are other animals that havelearned to cooperate. There are somekinds of birds that like to sit on certainbig animals, like buffaloes, or rhinocer-oses. The big animals like to have thebirds there because the birds pick offticks and flies that are pestering them.Everyone is happy—the birds getyummy stuff to eat, and the big animalsaren’t bothered by insect pests.

Some fish do this too. The big fishkeep very still while the little fish givethem a cleaning. The little fish will evenswim inside the open mouths of the bigfish to clean there—and the big fish don’teat them. They need each other.

We have a saying about coopera-tion: “You scratch my back; I’ll scratchyours.” It means that if you help me,I’ll help you. Usually when two peoplecooperate, both of them win. It isimportant to learn how to do this.

But Jesus wants us to do more. Hewants us to go beyond cooperation.Once He told His followers, “If some-

one forces you to go one mile, gowith him two miles” (Matthew5:41, NIV).

Jesus was saying that whenyou have a job to do, don’t justdo the bare minimum in agrouchy way. Do your best.Do it with a smile. Do itgraciously.

We have asaying aboutthis too. Wecall it “going

I’ll Scratch YourBackROSY TETZ


the second mile.” It comes from Jesus’idea. Sometimes we need to cooperateeven if the other person won’t cooper-ate. We need to be willing to helpeven if there’s nothing in it for us. Weneed to be willing to scratch someone

else’s back even ifthey won’t

scratchours.

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At RestBUTHERUS, Benjamin G.—b. Jan.

13, 1905, Nekoma, Kans.; d. Nov. 18,1997, New Berlin, Wis. He served in theeducational field for 43 years. He servedas principal for various academies acrossthe United States, as president of WestIndies College in Jamaica, and as educa-tional secretary for the MichiganConference. After retiring, he was assis-tant nursing home administrator forBethel Manor, Evansville, Indiana. He issurvived by his wife, Elsie; one son,Duane; one brother, Dan; two sisters,Viola Bartel and Evelyn Avey; two grand-children; and four great-grandchildren.

ESCANDON, Jorge—b. July 30, 1908,Utica, Colombia; d. Dec. 16, 1997, SantaClara, Calif. He served in the publishing,temperance, and public relations depart-ments in 13 countries of the Inter-American Division. He is survived by hiswife, Luisa; two daughters, Perla andMarlene; two brothers, Rafael andAntonio; three sisters, Sara, Judith, andRosa; and two grandsons.

FINNEY, Rodney E., Jr.—b. Apr.18, 1904, Montour, Iowa; d. Nov. 29,1997, St. Helena, Calif. He served inColorado, Montana, Washington, BritishColumbia, Tennessee, Wisconsin,Singapore, and California. He was con-ference president in British Columbiaand Wisconsin, and a missionary inSingapore from 1969 to 1977. He wasalso a former editor of These Times.

KOELMOSGEN, Virginia—b. Jan. 11,1904, Olathe, Kans.; d. Jan. 11, 1997, DeerPark, Calif. She served as a secretary in theSouthern California, Rocky Mountain, andCentral California conferences; the PacificPress Publishing Association; and theGeneral Conference Insurance Depart-ment’s West Coast office.

LEE, Milton—b. 1915, Shanghai,China; d. Dec. 4, 1997, St. Helena, Calif.,in an auto accident. He served in China,

Taiwan, and Hong Kong as an evangelistand radio speaker for more than 50 years.He is survived by his wife, Helen; one son,Fred; one daughter, Sylvia Fillman; andtwo grandchildren.

MOREL, Grace—b. June 4, 1901,Kankakee, Ill.; d. Aug. 19, 1997, Angwin,Calif. She served for 50 years as an Englishteacher in academy and at Pacific UnionCollege. She cataloged numerous academylibraries, as well as the personal library ofH.M.S. Richards, Sr.

REID, Kathleen Ruth—b. Mar. 19,1915, Watford, England; d. July 24, 1997,Fletcher, N.C. She served with her hus-band in eastern Africa for 32 years. Shelater taught school in New York for sevenyears. She authored a book for African par-ents and was active in women’s ministrywhile in Africa. She is survived by her hus-band, F. G. Reid; one son, John Reid; fourdaughters, Nancy Torontali, JeannetteHayes, Dorothy Becker, and MargaretLynes; one brother, A. C. Hayton; one sis-ter, Mary Knight; nine grandchildren; andtwo great-grandchildren.

RESSALAM, Kunnathukal Samuel—b.Feb. 7, 1919, Trivandrum, Kerala, India; d.Nov. 7, 1997, Takoma Park, Md. He servedas a teacher in India for 37 years. In 1976 heretired from his position as principal of theSDA High School in Bangalore and joinedfamily members in the United States. He issurvived by his wife, Leelamma; six chil-dren, Raju, Lyla (Molly) Mammen, LeenaMaccado, Arlen (Joy), Laurel Jesudas, andLilac Thomas Kunjoo; 15 grandchildren;and one great-grandchild.

SCHNEIDER, V. O.—age 80; d. Dec.4, 1997, Keene, Tex. He served as a litera-ture evangelist in Michigan and Wisconsin,and as pastor in Arkansas, Texas, andMinnesota. He served as departmentaldirector in North Dakota and Oklahoma,where he built the Summit RidgeRetirement Center. He is survived by oneson, Don; and one daughter, DianeKetchum.

STRICKLAND, Carl Leon II—b.June 30, 1920, Canaan, Maine; d. July 18,1997, Bangor, Maine. He served for 35years as an educator, pastor, naturalist, andartist in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Maine, NewYork, Texas, Nebraska, New Hampshire,and Pennsylvania. After retirement heserved nine years as an associate pastor inMassachusetts. He is survived by his wife of54 years, Beverly; two sons, Carl III andMark; three daughters, Bettina Rowe,Jayne Davidson, and Lois Pervier; onebrother, Blin; and seven grandchildren.

TELLER, Nancy—b. Jan. 25, 1934,

Bethlehem, Penn.; d. Oct. 26, 1997,Jamestown, N.Dak. She served with herhusband in the pastorate and as a mother.She is survived by her husband, Stanley;one son, Peter; one daughter, NannetteWright; and six grandchildren.

WELCH, Donald Wilton—b. Oct. 30,1927, Hastings, Nebr.; d. Oct. 7, 1997,Durham, N.C. He served as president ofFlorida Hospital (Hialeah and Orlando),Huguley Memorial Center in Texas, andTakoma Adventist Hospital in Greeneville,Tennessee. He was also a former presidentof Adventist Health System/Sunbelt. He issurvived by his wife, Jean; two sons, Donand Randy; two daughters, Lisa Gano andKim Bath; one brother, Wally; and twograndchildren.

WERNER, Philipp J.—b. Apr. 10,1910, Germany; d. Nov. 24, 1997,Williamsport, Md. He served as a mission-ary in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, andZaire for 35 years, and in Peru for fiveyears. He also served in Zaire andMartinique for three years on SOS missionservice. He is survived by his wife, Luise;one daughter, Ingrid Brandt; one son, John;and four grandchildren.


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BY MARY L. MAXSON

“Be imitators of God, . . . as dearly loved children and live alife of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us asa fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1, NIV).

Iarrived at the hospital Wednesdayevening, signing in—as is the pro-cedure for volunteer chaplains. Iglanced over my shoulder andcaught a glimpse of a middle-aged

man with wet cheeks, struggling to stiflea cry. When I heard this gut-wrenchingwail I dropped everything and dashedover to the grief-stricken man.Simultaneously a woman who wasapproaching the front door rushed overto console him. Joining them, I listenedintently—between the sobs—as Joe*

poured out his story. “I’m alone!” he gasped. “I’m alone! I can’t stand it. What

am I going to do?”The physician had just reported to Joe that his mother’s kid-

neys were shutting down. The liver was malfunctioning. Joerealized she had little time to live, because he had observed hercopper-toned skin and knew this was a sign of death.

Recalling the scene, he continued describing how hismother had whispered, “I love you. You know that? AndGod loves you too. Do you know that?”

“It was these words of acceptance,” Joe said, weeping,“that I couldn’t stand any longer. I can’t comprehend howsomeone can love me that much. She’s the only one that Ihave. Everyone else has gone.”

Between breaths he shared his life’s story. The consolingnurse and I listened intently to this heartrending life commen-tary. He was an unwanted child. He never knew his father. Hisnatural mother hated him and had no desire to keep him. Hersister Sue (his aunt), whom he called his mother, took himinto her home. Raised him. Loved him. Accepted him.

Two years before, Sue’s husband, Bill, had died, leavingJoe as caretaker. “I owe it all to her,” Joe muttered. “Icouldn’t pay her back for the years she took care of me

and loved me. She always accepted me—just as I am.”His only close friends had died of AIDS. There was no

one to comfort him. When he had admitted his gay lifestyle,

the rest of his family (his cousins) disowned him. Only“Mother Sue” didn’t reject him. He couldn’t imagine lifewithout her.

As I listened to Joe’s story, I couldn’t believe what I washearing. “Could it be?” I reflected.“Could it be that Mother Sue is the onlyJesus he would ever see?”

The nurse and I encircled him with ourarms, forming a circle. As we hugged him,he laid his head on my shoulder. As weheld each other in the hospital lobby, Iasked him if he would mind if I prayed.“Oh, thank you so very much” was hisimmediate response. “I’d love for you topray. I can’t remember the last time whensomeone wanted to pray with me.”

Only God knows what I prayed—nodoubt I asked for God’s love, mercy, and grace to surroundthis despondent man. As he departed, I promised to visitMother Sue that evening.

Approaching Sue’s hospital bed in CCU, I sharedwith her my moments with Joe. “You know,” shesaid, “I remember when Joe was baptized. He loved

the Lord so much.” She continued, “Joe has been such a helpto me since Bill has gone.” She reminisced for a long while.

Gazing and smiling at me, she quietly uttered, “You arethe most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life.”(Laughingly I told her I would come see her every day!)“The Lord must have sent you. You seem to glow.” Did shesee a reflection? If so, whose reflection was it?

Could it be that Jesus sent me for Sue?Jesus admonishes us, “Mimic Me. Imitate Me. Reflect

Me. Show the world who I am and what I look like.”Could it be that the nurse, Mother Sue, and I will be the

only Jesus Joe will ever know? ■

* All names have been changed.

Mary Maxson is an editorial secretary for theAdventist Review. She is also a volunteer/chap-lain’s associate for a hospital in the Maryland area.

Reflect MeR E F L E C T I O N S


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Hope


ANN CUNNINGHAM BURKE

And they shall leavebehind weakness anddying, likegraveclothesfolded in thetomb. Even we(which arealive) shall know atwinkling when we

change!

lift!—

whole, above thebroken.

Then He shallprepare atable before us,where isno enemy; leadus where lies noshadowed valley,but green and floweredforever. Wherebrighter thanseven suns,He is the light.

HopeP O E M

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Ann Burke is a poet and freelance writer living in Yucaipa, California.

Adventist Health Ministry

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Documents

AnchorPoints · a 1965 photo of Elders Roger Holley, Robert Folkenberg, and Leighton Holly, Jr., and their wives (see Give & Take, Jan. 22). Roger came to our little church in Forest