News Briefs for May 20, 2021
News reports from the NAD, Ghana, Australia, Spectrum Magazine and the Adventist Virtual Global Campmeeting: From an NAD news story (edited for length): Youth and Young Adult Ministries of the North American Division (NAD) recently released a comprehensive, digital resource to educate youth on mental health, and offer encouragement and community for those seeking help. […]
Catholic Charity Funds Climate Change Camp Organized by Adventist Church and ADRA Germany
20 May 2021 | The Adventist denomination and the German branch of Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) have joined forces with Katholischen Fonds, a Roman Catholic charity in Germany, to create a sustainability-focused camp that will teach campers about climate change. Katholischen Fonds focuses on universal church and development-related educational and public relations work. […]
Netherlands: Adventist Pastor Reinder Bruinsma Honored With Royal Decoration
Reinder Bruinsma, former president of the Belgian-Luxembourg Conference was honored with a royal decoration in the Netherlands on April 28. There is a tradition in the country that on the king’s birthday, Dutch people who “have rendered special service to society” can be honored. Bruinsma was awarded the title “Knight of the Order of Orange […]
Is the Bible Unclear on LGBTQ Questions?
19 May 2021 | This week’s ATSS conversation will be based on this article by Alicia Johnston. Excerpt: When getting my degree [at the Adventist seminary], I spent as much time as I could in the Biblical Studies departments learning about how to understand the Bible. I got to know many of the people whose […]
Is It Hard to Understand the Bible on LGBTQ Questions?
by Alicia Johnston | 19 May 2021 | “The difference between you and me is that you think the Bible is hard to understand, and I think it’s easy.” This quote is from a dear friend from college. She was frustrated with me because of my theological explanations for why I affirm same-gender marriage and […]
The Causation of Salvation
by Richard W. Coffen | 18 May 2021 | Tuesday, November 9, 1965. It was nearly dusk as 10-year-old Johnny ambled toward home. At 5:30, he found a short stick, which he hurled at a nearby utility pole. It produced a metallic thud when it hit the pole. Instantaneously the light atop the pole went […]
Sharing Scripture — May 16-22, 2021
[symple_heading style=”” title=”Covenant Law” type=”h1″ font_size=”40″ text_align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”30″ color=”undefined” icon_left=”” icon_right=””] This is a tool for you to use if you lead a Sabbath School (SS) class or small group. It is keyed to the Bible texts used in the current week’s Adult SS lesson and includes a brief story from current news you […]
Aunty, why can’t millennials get ahead?
17 May 2021 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Why is it so hard for people in my generation to “make it”? So many of my friends (I’m around 40) work hard, and no matter what we do, we just can’t get ahead. My parents and friends from the baby-boomer generation sometimes sound as if they’re blaming […]
Heirloom Seeds Turned Into Cash for Pandemic Victims
Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, a Missouri-based business, has donated more than $430,000 to help bolster ADRA’s emergency COVID-fighting operations in India. The founder of the business, Jere Gettle, felt compelled to respond to the growing crisis by donating all the proceeds of a recent four-day sale to help ADRA supply life-saving oxygen generation systems to […]
Supererogation: Will Only Celibate Vegetarians Go to Heaven?
by Stephen Ferguson | 14 May 2021 | There is a dangerous idea held within most corners of Protestant Christianity today, from Seventh-day Adventists to Presbyterians. This idea, in my respectful view, is a major cause underpinning many of our culture-war debates. This dangerous idea is the misconception that God treats everyone and all behaviors […]