Hartland Spring Convocation 2025: Stand Firm

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Hartland Institute of Health and Education

Armando Lopez

Norbert Restrepo

Eric Walsh

And again, the theme of our program over the last couple of days is Stand Firm, Fate, Politics, and Last Day Events.

And so the focus so far, we've been looking at that particular theme through the book of Daniel, obviously Revelation, and some additional scriptures that Dr.

Walsh introduced us as he unpacked that notion of last-day events.

The passages from scripture that he shared with us and his discussions from his sermons are all free game for questions, right?

Now, particularly to Daniel and Revelation, takes us into what we call a spiritual and a visual battlefield.

We know that the dragon is waging war against the people of God and the 2 beasts that rise to influence and dominate the world, 1 through political power and the other through deception and control.

These images might feel distant or mysterious, but they speak directly to some of the biggest issues that we face today.

1, how fate interacts with political systems.

2, how power can be used or misused, and 3, how followers of Christ are called to remain steadfast or remain faithful in the face of pressure, compromise, or even persecution.

Our panelists are here to help us explore these themes from a variety of personalities, perspective rather.

This won't be a lecture, but a conversation.

And that conversation will be driven by the questions that you ask of our panelists.

Whether you are curious about the meaning of the Mark of the Beast, wondering if or should you engage politically as a believer, or just trying to make sense of end time prophecy, and the book of Daniel and Revelation, in today's world, we want to hear from you.

So let me introduce our panelists who will field your questions.

Erich Walsh has served 2 United States presidents, George W.

Bush and Barack Obama, as an advisor on HIV and AIDS.

He has served at several churches as an associate pastor.

Walsh is now a practicing physician and healthcare administrator.

He travels the globe speaking on many subjects.

His wife Jacqueline is his partner in ministry and best friend.

Armando Lopez was trained for the gospel ministry, holding a bachelor's degree in pastoral evangelism from Heartland College and an MA in pastoral Ministry from Andrews University.

Deeply committed to Heartland's vision with over a decade of teaching experience, he brings biblical depth and practical relevance to the classroom.

He currently serves as chair of the religion department and pastors the Abacus Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Pastor Norbert Restrepo has served as missionary, lay pastor, and educator for more than 30 years.

He has served as president of Heartland College since 2011.

He is married to Yvonne, and they have 2 daughters.

Norbert and his wife Yvonne had the privilege of founding and leading Los Delicios Missionary Institute in Colombia from 1996 to 2011.

Norbert has a passion to equip you to serve as professional missionaries.

Andrew Smith, and I am the chair of the education program here at Hartland College.

And so I will take my seat and read the questions that you have sent to us.

Should the children of God be in the country at this point in time?

I think the simple answer to that is for those who God is calling to the country, they should be in the country.

And there are some who really get the calling to move to the country.

If as long as God allows the means to do it, then they should do it.

I've seen people who have done, moved into the country ill-prepared or under false pretenses and it hasn't worked out very well for them.

So there are some people who are in, you know, have friends who live in places like Queens and Los Angeles who are doing a mighty work for God there and God is gonna have to call them out at some point as well, but they may, it may be that for a few more years they're going to be in the city doing the work they're doing.

The real question each of us has to ask is, is it now for me to go into the country?

And if the Holy Spirit is saying that it is, then yes, make the arrangements and move to the country.

It shouldn't be something that you do out of fear, like, oh, this is happening, let me get out of here, because you're going to make some mistakes.

And that actually, something like that happened during Ellen White's time in Battle Creek.

And she counseled people to pray, think things through, plan it so that you do things decently and in order and you save yourself making some mistakes.

I remember when the Pope was coming here to DC, there was some people that decided now is time to leave and go out to the country, but they did it out of fear that something was gonna happen right now in the moment.

And so they just sold everything and then nothing happened.

And you know, you can make some mistakes and have some regrets if you move from fear and not something that you're praying and asking God for his leading and counsel and you're planning things out.

I would just like to add that it has been God's ideal for his people to live in the country from the Garden of Eden and I just want to emphasize that.

We find a lot of counsel in the Bible and in the spirit of prophecy even more specific.

I'll just read 1 quote from the Adventist home, page 141.

Fathers and mothers who possess a piece of land and a comfortable home are kings and queens.

So that's the ideal, and we don't wanna give the impression that we want to minimize the ideal, because the ideal is the ideal.

Now having said that, each 1 of us has to ask the Lord, where does he want us to be to serve him?

And when we think of country living, we should not think of it just simply in terms of my convenience.

It should be in terms of the life calling that God has for you.

We have been called to serve and to ministry, all of us.

Then where you're located, those circumstances will go around your life calling, not the other way around.

So I just wanted to emphasize those 2 things.

The General Conference says the conference is the church, and if you are not in a conference church you are not part of God's remnant church.

LNG White says something different in manuscript release volume 17 and there's a page 814.

Because the general conference says the conference is the church and if you're not in a conference church you're not part of God's remnant church.

Okay, I prefer to be the last 1, but this time, you guys have to be the first 1 to make comments.

We have to understand that the word church is a very broad term in a certain way.

And when we read in scriptures, the church, even in the spirit of prophecy, the church, you have to understand the context of it.

But let's take it from the perspective God's church is his people.

Now, in a more specific sense, God prophetically called a denomination into existence and entrusted them with a specific message after 1844.

That gift of prophecy was manifested in LNG.

It was organized as a denomination and further messages were given to it.

And the fact that God's church is not the conference per se, but at the same time, God's church does not exclude the conference.

And the reason is because the conference is simply a governance structure.

It is not perfect, but it is part of God's church.

And I read from Last Day Events, page 46.

As our numbers increased, it was evident that without some form of organization, there would be a great confusion and the work would not be carried forward successfully.

To provide for the support of the ministry, for carrying the work in new fields, for protecting both the churches and the ministry from our worthy members, for holding church property, for the publication of the truth through the press, and for many other objects, organization was indispensable.

Light was given by His Spirit that there must be order and thorough discipline in the church, that organization was essential.

System and order are manifest in all the works of God throughout the universe.

Order is the law of heaven, and it should be the law of God's people on the earth." That's page 46 of last day events, Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, page 26.

Now, when some church members or many church members see the mistakes, because we are human beings, even the best parents, if you ask their children, they will admit that their parents have made mistakes even in the best homes and not everyone has the best home so there will be mistakes made by church leadership at the local level at the conference level at the union level at the division level and at the general conference level that will always be the case there will be mistakes not only will there be mistakes there will also be apostasy and heresy at different levels.

When we see those issues that are saddening, how should we respond to them?

So it's just a matter of people get resented because of the mistakes they see, and they take a response.

Their response to the problem is another problem.

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