Life @ Montrose, Aug. 25, 2010

THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
I'm so grateful for some rest from last week with a few extra days off for family time. We all need some "down time" once in a while and this was a window of opportunity for our family to do just that.

On Sunday and Monday I had my annual board meeting with Adventist Heritage Ministry, a group that works to preserve Adventist heritage sites. Some important decisions were made that will help to only preserve the physical sites and to create more awareness about them, but I believe that the sole purpose for doing this is to provide opportunities for what I call "heritage evangelism"--nurturing faith in those who visit and create a desire to learn more about what Adventists believe. For example, at the Bates home (the site committee which I chair) we look for opportunity to share with visitors how the discovery of the seventh-day Sabbath by Bates is a beautiful truth that tells us about a loving, Creator-God who cares so much for us and wants us to spend time with Him.

I always find it interesting when I travel the people who I meet. No sooner had I sat down on the airplane on my way out then the lady next me wanted to talk. This time I was tired so I would have preferred, I have to confess, to be able to sleep, but it was clear she wanted to talk. When I told her I was a pastor we had a lengthy conversation about her own spiritual journey which resulted in me giving her a copy of "Steps to Christ" to both her as well as for the teenager from France who was traveling home on the other side of me, too. On my journey home I was charging up my laptop by the gate. The pilot walked up to me and asked if he could plug in his iPhone. I told him "sure" after which he asked me if I was an Adventist pastor. I told him "yes," and we discovered that his older brother was a classmate of mine at Southern Adventist University back in the late 90s. Once on the plane I got paged by the stewardess that the captain wanted to see me, and so he invited me to sit up in the cockpit with him and we were able to talk some more about his own spiritual journey. Although he was raised an Adventist, he left the church in his early 20s. It was quite a lengthy story, but he shared with me that he would like to come back to the Adventist Church (he is now attending a non-denominational church), but that he would like to find an Adventist congregation where he could worship safely and not be judged. When he found such a congregation he would come back to the Adventist church in a heartbeat. I believe that circumstances like these are providential appointments where God brings people into our lives.

A personal highlight for me was being able to cross over the board on Monday afternoon into Ontario, Canada, to visit Upper Canada Village--a site that I've wanted to see for many years now. Jim Nix, director of the White Estate, has told me this is the single best living history museum anywhere in the world. We had a good visit, got ideas for Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, Michigan, and learned so much more about what it was like to live in the 19th-century. A personal favorite was going to an exhibit that featured how to make cheese back then. I can better understand why Ellen White cautioned against eating the substance at a time when there was very poor sanitation. It all makes so much more sense when you understand the historical context.

Last but not least, we're launching our new fall sermon series starting this past Sabbath entitled "Sacred Rhythms"--aspects of the Christian life. We began with the Sabbath and I'm looking forward to this week's message on "Bible Study" because I will be sharing some practical tips on how to make your reading of Scripture more meaningful in your Christian walk with the Lord.