Diversity = Unity by David Achata

Last weekend we had some Christian friends over who belong to another denomination. As we were talking, the issue came up of differing doctrinal views. One friend asked me what the Adventist position was on hell. With a great philosophical argument, I presented the position of hell as annihilation (vs. eternal burning). Then she asked me a question—“What texts could you use to support that biblically?”

Uhhh….

I stuttered through some texts with their contexts. I threw out some Greek and Hebrew words and their meanings. But the truth is…I was caught off guard.

As we ate dinner together, I admitted freely that it had been a long time since someone had challenged me about my view on hell. Then it hit me. The reason I’ve not been challenged is because most people I'm around either view it the same as me or don't care.

When our friends left that night, I got out my books and my bible, and I went right to work. It was great! I refreshed myself on the reasons why I believe what I believe, and I went to bed that night feeling good, yet still slightly disturbed.

Aside from the Authority of Christ and the Supremacy of the Word, some people think having differing Theological views is dangerous. They might argue that it creates an atmosphere of disunity. I would argue, however, that unity couldn’t be real without diversity. If everyone looks/acts/believes the same, then unity isn’t unity—it’s uniformity. Genuine unity comes from bringing together differing viewpoints/people/personalities and not dividing. In short, unity becomes more beautiful as diversity increases and people still stay together. (Rev. 7:9)

In Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17, He prayed “that they would be one as we are one.” Surprisingly enough, He said this unity would cause the world to know that “you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (vs. 23)

Is this wonderful or scary? What do you think? Is this what our church should be striving for?

David Achata

Allways Trust in god by Taylor Monday

Literal interpretation:

Allways Trust in god. And he

will love you. Trust in god

and he will live in your hart.

Trust in god and you will

go to hevin forever noboty

will get sick or hrut he will rise

evreboty form the ded.

It will take a week to get there

Italics added by verbal direction of the author; she ran out of space.

Taylor Monday is seven years old and will begin 2^nd grade in the Fall.

The Joy of Coloring Outside the Lines by Andy McDonald

In my denomination, every five years delegates from around the world attend and do business at what is called the General Conference Session of Seventh-day Adventists. The most recent one just ended a week ago in Atlanta. Events, votes, and sermons at the session created an uneasiness in me. It seems like leadership, and many of the members attending the meetings in Atlanta, are interested in turning Christianity, and especially the Seventh-day Adventist branch of Christianity, into a boxed-in way of thinking and living where all “true believers” see eye-to-eye on everything, and those who don’t should find some other group where they can be accepted. This thinking is scary to me.

Reflecting on this reminded me of a story told by Mike Yaconnelli. He asked some friends to have their two-year-old daughter color him a picture. When she presented him her work it was horrible. She’d only used the red crayon. It was just some color marks all across the page with no reference or attempt to work within the lines of the picture. He lied and told her it was wonderful. Why? Because the grace of a child knows it is okay to color outside the lines.

I want to be part of the Christian movement where people color outside the lines – to be part of the kingdom that Jesus talked about when he said his yoke was easy and his burden light. I believe a faith worth protecting is one that lifts up the believer and is like wind in the sails.

Christianity (and I hope Seventh-day Adventism, too) is not about learning how to live within the lines, to color within the lines, but simply about the joy of coloring. And like a good dad presented with a picture colored outside the lines, our Father finds joy in our presentation and our use of color and the fact that we wanted him to have our picture. Christianity is about the joy of coloring because our God is Love, Light, and Grace.

Maybe in five years at the next session we’ll get to hear about some of this!

Andy McDonald

Faith by Choice by Tami Cinquemani

Today we celebrate the 4^th of July – a memorial of the day our country officially declared its independence. We gather together with family and friends, barbecue, and blow things up. We happily look forward to this event every year because freedom is something worth celebrating. We celebrate a country founded on the belief that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” We celebrate Freedom.

Freedom. Nelson Mandela once said, “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” I sometimes wonder how fragile that freedom might be and if we truly understand how easily it could slip away.

I see signs of it in our world – people justifying the mistreatment of others because of ignorance and fear. The willingness to ignore the rights of someone if it makes us feel safer.

Sadly, I have even seen glimpses of it in our denomination in the last week. Church policies dictating what types of Bible study or worship styles are “acceptable”. Coffee shops asked to close their doors during the recent General Conference Session. Could it be because of fear that a participant might have the choice of a caffeinated beverage?

2 Corinthians 3:17 states, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” I wonder – Is it possible to experience the full spectrum of faith without freedom? When raising our two children, my husband and I knew there would come a day when our children needed to discover their own faith. That discovery demanded the freedom to possibly make choices that were not the same as ours. We took that chance without hesitation.

Our founders understood that the United States’ only hope of being a vibrant country of freedom was based on the possibility of free choice for all people. I hope and pray that our church leaders understand that the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s only hope of being a healthy, vibrant beacon of Christ’s love, mercy and grace is based on a membership of people who have freely chosen how they will live out their faith.

Tami Cinquemani