ASI 2012: It's Time... To Be About Our Father's Business

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ASI 2012 Seminar: Evangelism

Dave Fiedler

Gospel-Medical Evangelism: 1891-1900 and Today

Father, we thank you for the privilege we have of gathering together, like-minded believers, and of spending our time and our thought on the plans of your specification and on the means of reaching this world, this huge population.

Father, we pray that you would make us always more efficient and more knowledgeable in our work for you.

We pray these blessings will be furthered to some degree this day.

We're going to be looking at city mission work, aka medical missionary work, and put it into a historical focus.

I come at this from a basically an Adventist history point of view.

That's been my interest and the Lord has blessed over the years to put a lot of pieces of history, information, kind of dropped them into my lap.

And that's what has made this topic stand out as the best hope for Seventh-day Adventism.

You know, sometimes you can look at the task we've been given and say, this is not a prayer here.

None of us, myself included, really know enough yet about this topic.

I'm not standing here saying, oh, I got this all figured out.

I'm saying, hey, God has said, let's head this direction.

But I do want to help put it into some historical context.

Medical missionary work, and this work for the cities in particular, is more tied up with more topics of interest in Seventh-day Adventism than anything else that I know of.

Everything is tied very intricately to medical missionary work, Isaiah 58 type of thing.

We've got a whole presentation, which I'm not going to give now, but Righteousness by Faith, the Day of Atonement, 1888, Message to Laodicea, the Last Call to the Supper, What else can I think of?

The reason, do you know, anybody remember, Battle Creek had some fires 110 years ago, right?

The Sanatorium burned down in January and the Review and Herald burned, you know why?

Because they weren't doing Isaiah 58, that's what Spirit Prophecy tells us, okay?

Everything ties to that, and so I want to give you some context.

Very, very quickly, and I'm going to have to just assert a lot of things without all the full documentation.

I'll just put a plug in repeatedly along the way here.

Everything I'm talking about comes from well-documented sources.

They're all available on my website, which I'll put up on the screen at the end of the occasion here.

And you'll be able to go get all that at that time or whenever you want.

And I'm having some computer problems, but we'll get that going here.

John Harvey Kellogg was converted in 1888 at Minneapolis.

When he was converted, now he'd already been the medical director of the sanitarium for 12 years, okay?

It's not like he hadn't been going to church or hadn't been paying his tithe or whatever, but Ellen White says he was converted in 1888 at Minneapolis.

So much so, she says, that they could all see it.

You know, I mean, it's not like he stopped drinking alcohol, right?

And the answer to that is basically, at that time, Dr.

Kellogg developed an interest to help other people.

He had his strengths and his faults and his weaknesses, like everybody else in the world, but He became a very generous guy.

He had his strengths and his faults and his weaknesses, like everybody else in the world, but he became a very generous guy.

1 of the first things he did is he said, what about orphans?

We've got a lot of orphans in the Adventist church.

And for our population back then, we certainly had more then than we do now.

Of course, this is 100 years ago, life expectancy wasn't as high.

And so he said, what are we gonna do about orphans?

And he went to Ellen White and he said, why don't we start an orphanage?

Other denominations are doing a far better job of that kind of thing than we are.

That was 1 of his first steps of carrying out what previously had been known as the benevolent work.

You'll find Ellen White in early days of the, you know, from like 1855 onward, up until 1893 at least, she talks about the benevolent work.

She didn't use the expression medical missionary work.

But she talked about the benevolent work, she talked about the Christian help work.

I like that, it's a pretty straightforward title.

I can relate to things that make good sense to me.

Kellogg began pressing those issues to the forefront.

The sad thing about the orphanage is that with more than a year of fundraising through the church, we didn't have enough money to begin anything.

And at that time, a non-adventist came along and gave us $30, 000, which in those years was a lot of money, and built a fine orphanage.

That's a key point, is that we didn't do it.

That would have been in the spring of 1892.

Carolyn Haskell, now in relation to Stephen Haskell, gave $30, 000 and they started the orphanage.

And Kellogg was kind of on a roll right at that point.

He'd had a young lady from Chicago, non-adventist, who'd come to the sanatorium for treatment, stayed for a number of months, very much appreciated the nursing that she'd received there, and she went back home to Chicago to have an operation, which turned out to be unsuccessful, and she eventually died.

But on her deathbed, she extracted from her father a promise, she said, father, you have to put up the money to go get a Battle Creek nurse to come here to Chicago.

We need nurses like that helping people in Chicago.

And so the visiting nurses program was begun in 1891, also funded by a non-Adventist.

In the fall of 1891, and we'll go to the paper here at this point, notice the large first subheading there, the Christian help bands.

I'm just going to read a little bit here.

This kind of missionary work is probably the most basic and foundational of all.

We'll be looking at a more formalized variation, but before this approach ever came about, the Spirit of Prophecy had called for years for individuals to do this work on their own, okay?

And here's the little quote that comes from the Medical Missionary Magazine.

Says, a little meeting of sanitarium helpers presided over by Dr.

Kellogg met at 08:00 on the evening of November 15, 1892, to consider the question of Christian help work.

Kellogg spoke of the good such a band of workers could do in looking up those in the city who were not able to take care of themselves and providing as far as possible food, clothing, and such other things as they were in need of, and helping them in every way to a higher appreciation of life, and to know how to care for themselves and their children.

This was the beginning of the organized effort of the Christian help bands.

Now, this sounds like small potatoes, but it's not.

Carrying on here, I just wanna cover some of this paper.

This turn of events was Something new for the Adventists at Battle Creek, like most new ideas or programs, this 1 needed some explaining.

Wisely, it wasn't until the dust had settled and the work had taken on a bit of routine that both an announcement and an explanation of the program was provided for all to read.

The account above continues, says 9 individuals were chosen to make up the first band, a leader, appointed, a gospel worker, a missionary nurse, 3 young men chosen as burden bearers, and 3 young women as mother's helpers.

This original band worked on for some weeks, devoting from 1 to 6 or more hours each week to the work and calling on others to help them when they found more than they could do.

Others became anxious to aid and names enough were soon handed to the committee to make 4 new bands which were also set to work.

You know, just start running the math on this.

Karen Lewis

Bible Studies Made Easy

Dear Holy Father, thank you so much for being here with us.

And Lord, we know that it is your heart's desire that we just cooperate with you and your spirit and that which is a burden on your heart.

And so Lord, I pray right now that we would feel your presence in a very real way.

Lord, just take control of my thoughts, my mind.

I ask, dear Lord, that you would give me words to speak that come from your very throne.

And Lord, give us ears to hear and hearts that are open for that which you have for each 1 of us.

Now I did not have, oops, I did not have the privilege of being raised a Seventh-day Adventist.

I had the privilege, however, at the age of 22 to meet a very young Mark Finley.

In fact, I didn't even know what a Seventh-day Adventist was as late as 1979.

They were just trailblazing in an evangelism.

They had convinced the Illinois Conference President to put money into evangelism because, do you know, as late as 79, there was no real Adventist presence on the south side of Chicago.

And so When they came, they began doing pre-work, they were knocking on people's doors, they were doing evangelistic series.

And my boyfriend at that time, who's now my husband, he decided that This was something that he needed in his life.

And so it was not even 2 weeks when we started dating that he started dragging me to a Revelation seminar.

Now you have to understand, back then, do you remember James Jones?

You know that whole thing in Guyana, Africa?

Do you remember how it was like this cult and they were drinking Kool-Aid to kill themselves, right?

When I went to the library to look up Seventh-day Adventists, what do you think they said about Seventh-day Adventists?

I was scared to death going to these meetings, okay?

And so I went to these meetings and all I knew was that people were kept asking me to do something to join in something called a fellowship meal.

And my boyfriend wanted to go with me or wanted me to go so I kept so I went and I thought okay fine but if they give me something to drink, I am not drinking it.

Long and the short of it, well, I thought there was something weird with these people because they were so friendly.

Didn't know what was going on, But you know, there is something about when Mark preaches, you feel and sense the Holy Spirit, amen?

And when I as a Catholic learned the truth about Christ and the gospel and salvation, I knew that God was leading me to the Seventh-Davenish Church.

Now, I have to tell you, it took me 3 years kicking and screaming into this church, but I knew once I made a commitment that It was for life.

And so when I joined the church, can you believe, you guys see me now, I'm very outgoing, but back then when I was baptized in 1982, it's been 30 years, yes I can't believe it, I'll tell you I was too nervous to give my testimony.

As a Catholic, you're not used to adult baptisms.

It almost feels like you're in church wearing your jammies in a bathtub with a bunch of strangers.

And so Mark kept asking me to get baptized and I was a little nervous and then finally he said, well if Mark goes in the tub with you, will you get baptized?

Do you want to see a very young Mark Finley?

In fact, can you turn off some of these lights because we're going to be doing this PowerPoint anyway.

Can someone turn those lights off over there, Barbara?

And so I actually was too nervous to give my own testimony.

My boyfriend, who unfortunately my husband is not here, his back went out, and so he couldn't accompany me over here, but anyway, he actually gave my testimony.

3 months later, we were married in the Hinsdale, oh that's much better, we were married in the Hinsdale Seventh Heavenist Church.

And so it was beautiful, We had a beautiful wedding.

And I want to tell you, if someone would have told me years ago that you would be doing Bible work, I would say, you are out of your mind.

But you know, Jesus can be very bossy sometimes.

And when He gives you the marching orders, I want to tell you, you listen.

I want to bring you to a quote, and you're all familiar with it, Matthew 11, 28 and 30, we've all heard it before.

Come to me, Jesus says, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you what?

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

How many of you feel that that's a precious promise?

I thought when I read this that Jesus was gonna come alongside me and that he was going to help with my burdens.

When he tells you to yoke together with him, I had it backwards.

He says, no, it's not about your field being plowed.

And I realized until just recently that when he is trying to put, when he is trying to yoke up with me, I am trying to tear away because I'm concentrating on my life and my burdens and my projects.

And I am missing the peace and the rest that he wants to give me because I had no idea that when I allow myself to be caught up, swallowed up in his will, in his work, that's when the real peace and the joy comes.

And let me ask you, brothers and sisters, What is his burden?

The burden, his burden on his heart is souls.

He has been waiting at the altar, those flowers have been long wilted for our church.

What he has taught me through the years on how to do this work is completely different than you're going to hear on any other evangelistic seminar.

I, when I sensed that he was leading me to this work, I got on my face before him and I said, God, I don't know how to do this work.

Please, you show me how I'm supposed to do this work and I want to tell you, you're going to hear miracle stories this afternoon.

He showed me how he wants his work to be done and I want to tell you it is a joy, it is super easy, it is practical, it is wonderful.

So would you like to hear the secrets this afternoon?

What drew such an emotional response from the people?

In Luke 24, 32, his disciples said, we're not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us.

He was referring to, this is the Emmaus road experience.

Remember, Jesus had died, been crucified, and had risen again, and his 2 disciples were on the road to Emmaus, and we didn't know, and they didn't know, well we don't know what he looked like, they were kept from recognizing him, but what we do know is that he went up to them and says, what are you talking about?

Vicki Griffin

Hope & Health in a Postmodern World: Evangelism in an Era of Meaninglessness

How many of you have heard of AudioVerse.org?

You can plug your little headphones into your telephone when you're walking and listen to a sermon, and it takes 3 miles to listen to 1 sermon if you're walking briskly.

My name is Vicki Griffin and I'm the Health Ministries Director of the Michigan Conference and it is an absolute thrill and joy to see you all here today.

All right, let's bow our heads and have a prayer.

Father in heaven, thank you for this time that we can spend together.

How grateful we are for the loud clarion call of the everlasting gospel with all of its particulars.

Lord, this is a vivifying, encouraging, and hopeful truth, And I just pray that you would come and be our teacher today and implant your spirit and help us to understand our mission according to your plan.

Well, as we begin today, I just want to open up with a thought from the Word of God.

1 of the stories that I love in the Bible, and I'm sure that you do, it's a favorite of mine, and I'm sure that you are well familiar with it.

We're not gonna turn to it today because we have a lot of information to go through.

And we've heard many sermons about this, all the amazing points, how Jesus purposely delayed, and there was enormous grief in this home at the death of Lazarus, and all that was going on.

And I want to fast forward us toward the end of that story.

When Jesus arrived at the tomb, he was about to perform the greatest, most public miracle of his ministry.

And yet it was surrounded by work from his disciples.

He did not say at that juncture, as he stood before that great rock, he did not say, is there an Arnold Schwarzenegger in the crowd?

Or is there an engineer with a lever to move that rock?

So it was up to the disciples, just normal flesh and blood human beings like you and me to get together as a team and move the stone to prepare the way for Jesus to work his greatest miracle.

Lazarus comes out of the grave, he's been resurrected, but he's completely bound in what?

Grave clothes, he's wrapped in grave clothes.

Now, if Jesus can raise the dead, certainly he can remove the remnants of death off of this man, but he does not do so.

He again turns to his disciples, and they participate in this work of liberating this man.

He looks at them and he says, take away the grave clothes.

And when we come to Jesus Christ, when someone joins us as part of our family, it is our sacred commission to help each other to remove the remnants of death through hope and through encouragement.

And so, what if Jesus had just left Lazarus wrapped in those clothes or worked a miracle?

But the lesson to you and I is that God loves teamwork.

The Bible says that 1 will chase a thousand And 2 will put 10, 000 to flight.

We want everything to go perfect and it doesn't.

Our flaws bubble up to the surface, and yet it is, there are principles of team building that are essential to success in this work, and that's what we're gonna talk about some today.

My husband used to say, the reason that they call it organized crime is because it's organized.

And God's people, we need to get organized.

Just because we have come to Christ, given our hearts to Him, and have beautiful materials that are Spirit-filled, doctrinally sound, Christ-like, and good with health information doesn't mean that the angels are gonna run out and pack our building full of people if we're not prepared.

The Bible says, enlarge the borders of your tent.

You dig the ditches, the Lord says, and I'll fill them with water.

So we're going to take a journey today on how to activate and innervate your church to win souls for Jesus Christ.

It says in Judges chapter 20 that the Benjamites were able to, with left-handed sling work, they were able to get to the mark with their weapon within a hair's breadth.

And sometimes I think we get within a hair's breadth of having the success that we know that we should have.

I've had for years the opportunity of working with pastors in many different conferences.

I travel a lot and am able to work with churches and church organizations and pastors.

And 1 of the most frequent complaints I hear from pastors regarding the health work, there are several things, but 1 of them is, is that we pour time and people and resources and planning into doing events, and they never result in baptisms.

We just have this endless series of things happening and we pour money, scarce resources, and it doesn't bring souls into the baptismal tank.

And we're going to take a look at some principles here today.

We're taking a look at health evangelism in a postmodern society.

I learned in a very quick way what postmodernism is.

I never had studied it or went to any theological seminar, did any great research to understand postmodernism, but I had a real live experience with it.

I went into a store to buy some feed, and I was just so filled with this love of the lifestyle, the biblical lifestyle message that God has given.

I was not raised a Seventh-day Adventist.

I was beaten up as a kid a lot, a runaway.

I started running away from home when I was 5 and got into all kinds of trouble.

And so when the Lord found me years later at the age of 19 and I came into the church, it was actually several years after that that I finally found the Lord, my husband and I.

But I remember going into the feed store just so ready to witness.

And I asked the man that was selling me the feed, I said, how would you like to live 14 years longer?

How would you like to add 14 years to your life?" And he looked at me, had a big plug of tobacco in his mouth, he had pigs in the backyard, and he said, lady, that sounds like hell to me.

And that was my first lesson in postmodernism.

So let's just take a quick look and see how do we reach this postmodern society?

From modern to postmodern, we're not going to go into all of that.

We have so much to cover today, but postmodernism basically tells us, and it happened after the advent of the nuclear bomb, there was this idea that rational man could solve problems, elevate humanity, but then after the bomb dropped on Hiroshima and all of these inventions don't seem to improve us, we've slipped into a postmodern era.

The philosophy of postmodernism is that knowledge does not improve man.

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Series

ASI 2012 Seminar: Evangelism

Bible Studies Made Easy

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Parts

Gospel-Medical Evangelism: 1891-1900 and Today

1h 9m

Bible Studies Made Easy

1h 22m

Hope & Health in a Postmodern World: Evangelism in an Era of Meaninglessness

1h 11m

Witnessing in the Marketplace - Without Burning Bridges

1h 22m

Sound Doctrine