Participants: Charles Sarr, Mark & Teeney Finley, Ted Wilson, Steve Dickman
Series Code: 17ASIC
Program Code: 17ASIC000014A
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00:20 Good afternoon and welcome
00:22 to the Sabbath afternoon program 00:24 at the 70th ASI. 00:27 We're delighted that you're here this afternoon. 00:30 This afternoon's program will be one in which 00:32 we're going to focus on the history of ASI 00:36 and lay movements throughout history 00:40 that have impacted the world and impacted 00:43 the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 00:45 We'll talk about where ASI has come from, 00:49 where we have been going in the future, 00:53 and where we are today. 00:55 So, Teeney, pray for us. 00:57 Shall we bow our heads in prayer? 01:02 Our wonderful, most loving, kind, heavenly Father, 01:07 we thank you first of all for who you are, 01:10 such a great, and awesome, loving, and unselfish God. 01:16 You've done so much for each of us 01:18 and we thank You for that. 01:20 We thank You for the way that You have loved us 01:24 and cared for us and guided us, and so we thank You 01:28 for everything that You have done. 01:31 And now, Father, I pray that You would bless this meeting 01:34 this afternoon and each participant, each one, 01:38 I pray You will give Your power and Holy Spirit to. 01:42 And, Father, we ask for Your presence here. 01:45 We know that the Holy Spirit has been here 01:48 and is here this afternoon but we pray again 01:52 for the outpouring of Your Spirit. 01:54 And so, Father, we will give You 01:57 the glory and the praise for everything 02:00 also that ASI has done. 02:04 We thank You for the ministries of ASI. 02:07 We know that it takes more than one ministry, 02:11 more than one person, it takes all of us 02:15 working together to really be unified to finish Your work. 02:20 And so we pray that You'd give us wisdom and power 02:25 in Your presence as we worship again 02:28 this afternoon with You. 02:29 So thank You, we praise You, we honor You, we love You, 02:33 and we look forward to that great day, 02:36 when You will come again in the clouds of heaven. 02:39 Keep us faithful to that end, 02:41 we pray in Jesus' precious name. 02:44 Amen. 02:48 This year is the 70th anniversary of ASI 02:54 and the 500th year celebrating the Reformation. 03:00 It was in 1517 that Martin Luther 03:05 nailed the Ninety-five Theses 03:08 on the castle church wall in Wittenberg. 03:11 What do those two events have in common? 03:15 What is ASI have in common with the Reformation? 03:20 There are many things that ASI has in common 03:23 but there is one that I'd like to focus on. 03:26 The truth that dawned on the minds of many 03:29 during the Reformation is found in 1 Peter 2. 03:36 Certainly, the Reformation focused on salvation 03:39 by grace justification. 03:42 Certainly it focused on the authority of the scripture 03:45 as above the authority of priests, 03:48 and prelates, and popes. 03:50 Certainly, it focused on faith. 03:53 But there was another aspect of the Reformation 03:56 that dawned upon the minds of men and women. 03:59 Another aspect that burst upon their consciousness 04:03 and we find that in 1 Peter 2:9. 04:09 The Bible says, "But you are a chosen generation, 04:13 a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 04:17 His own special people, that you may proclaim 04:22 the praises of Him who called you out of darkness 04:25 into this marvelous light." 04:27 The great truth of the Reformation 04:30 was that priests, and prelates, and popes 04:34 were not the custodians of the gospel. 04:37 But that God had blessed average men and women 04:42 with a knowledge of His grace, and the marvels of His love, 04:47 and that every Christian was to be a witness, 04:50 every Christian was to be a priest of God, 04:53 every Christian was to be ambassador for Christ. 04:57 Witnessing is not a spiritual gift, 05:01 witnessing is the calling of every Christian 05:05 whom God equips with spiritual gifts to witness. 05:10 God has blessed down through the generations 05:13 and centuries laypeople. 05:15 Matthew was a tax collector called by God 05:19 who chronicled the gospel. 05:22 Peter and John were fishermen called by God. 05:27 And think of Peter's great sermon 05:29 in Acts 2 where 3,000 were baptized 05:33 after that prophetic sermon showing that 05:35 Christ was the Messiah. 05:36 Peter was a layperson, Luke was a physician, 05:41 a layperson called by God who joined Paul. 05:45 Paul was the first ASI member. 05:49 Because when you look back, you remember in Acts 18:3 05:54 that the Apostle Paul was a tent maker in Corinth. 05:59 Why was Paul a tent maker in Corinth incidentally? 06:02 Why did he join Aquila and Priscilla there? 06:06 They were expelled from Rome 06:07 when the Jewish persecution came, 06:09 they were tent makers. 06:11 Why did they go to Corinth? 06:12 It was 51 AD, the Isthmian games 06:16 were coming in 52 AD. 06:19 They had no hotels to stay in. 06:21 So Paul, an entrepreneurial tent maker 06:24 began making tents for the thousands 06:27 that would come in the games 06:28 so he could make some money to support his ministry. 06:32 Paul was an ASI member, an entrepreneur, 06:36 and he lit the world with the gospel. 06:39 Thank God for ASI members who like William Carey, 06:43 you remember William Carey said, he said, 06:45 "I cobble shoes to pay expenses 06:47 but soul winning is my business." 06:50 The true spirit of ASI is one 06:54 who indeed is self-supporting to do mission for Christ. 07:00 Time went on, church and state united. 07:04 The Dark Ages came 07:07 and the church had a different philosophy, 07:09 its philosophy was this, laypeople are to simply pray. 07:15 They are to pray, and they are to obey. 07:18 But then, the light of the gospel broke through 07:22 in the middle ages. 07:23 And as it did, Martin Luther and other reformers 07:28 began to share the glorious truth 07:30 of the priesthood of the believers. 07:32 Laypeople again rose to preach the gospel 07:35 and out of that Reformation as heirs of the Reformation, 07:39 the Adventist church group. 07:41 And those early Adventists often were laypeople. 07:44 William Miller not an ordained preacher 07:47 but called by God as a godly lay person, 07:51 rose to preach the gospel. 07:54 And think of, for example, 07:57 the Joseph Bates, a sea captain called of God. 08:02 God has been calling men and women 08:06 down through the ages who are laypeople, 08:09 touching them with the spirit of the gospel, 08:13 changing their lives. 08:14 Mission is part of the DNA of laypeople 08:19 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 08:22 Mission identifies who we are. 08:26 And mission was part of a lay movement 08:30 in our early history 08:31 and young people propelled by mission 08:34 went forward to preach the gospel, Charles. 08:36 That's right, Elder Finley. 08:38 Mission has been the very driving force 08:41 behind our church and we have found that 08:46 in the early portion of our church 08:49 it was very intentional, wasn't accidental, 08:51 is very intentional what our leaders did. 08:54 What do you mean by it was not accidental 08:58 but intentional? 09:00 They're very much infused their young people 09:02 with the sense of mission. 09:03 The fact that they were on earth for a purpose 09:07 and that purpose was to share Christ 09:09 and His soon coming with the world. 09:11 And that's the spirit of ASI. 09:12 That's exactly the spirit of ASI. 09:14 ASI has patterned after that very attitude, 09:17 and that attitude is probably best embodied 09:21 and exemplified in the person of E.A. Sutherland. 09:25 Who was E.A. Sutherland? 09:26 Why don't you tell us a little bit about that man 09:29 that was so fundamental, 09:31 so basic in the foundation of ASI. 09:33 It'll be my pleasure to do that, Mark, 09:35 thanks for letting me share. 09:37 E.A. Sutherland grew up in rural island 09:40 not far from the Minnesota border 09:41 and he learned hard work very early age. 09:45 You see, even when he was a very, very young man, 09:49 he and his sister herded cows for an entire summer, 09:52 for a total of 35 cents. 09:55 He managed to hang on to that 35 cents over the winter 09:59 and with his father's encouragement, 10:01 he invested that 35 cents and some onion sets. 10:05 And he tended those onions through the year, 10:08 sold them for a tidy profit at the end of the year, 10:11 and that was his first 10:14 if you would ASI business venture. 10:17 You see, 10:19 the year after he graduated from high school, 10:24 he took a job teaching in a nearby schoolhouse, 10:27 he rode his pony Mouse back and forth 10:29 throughout the winter. 10:31 And in addition to teaching many lessons, 10:33 he learned one lesson that was critically important 10:36 and that critically important lesson was that 10:38 God called him to reach young people 10:42 for Jesus through education. 10:45 He felt that he was poorly equipped however, 10:47 and he determined to go and get additional college training 10:51 to remedy that shortcoming. 10:52 Now his family, his father in particular, 10:55 did not agree with his college aspirations 10:58 and they offered him no support. 11:01 So Ed Sutherland sold his pony Mouse, 11:04 so that he would be able to make the trip 11:07 to Battle Creek. 11:09 He went there to live with a couple of aunts 11:11 and he wasn't immediately ready to enter college 11:14 and so he spent a year studying rhetoric and English 11:18 with Professor Goodloe Bell. 11:21 Professor Bell had some rather different ideas 11:23 about education. 11:25 For example, Professor Bell thought that 11:27 the Bible should be the foundation 11:30 of all the principles that we communicate. 11:34 He also felt that in addition to head learning 11:39 that we should be learning practical things, 11:42 and so he and Ed spent half of each day 11:46 out in physical labor. 11:49 Now in spite of his family's disapproval 11:50 of his pursuit of college, Ed determined that 11:52 he should go home and help his father on the farm 11:56 the first summer after he was in college. 11:58 His muscles were soft, the work was hard, 12:01 and his father was harder. 12:04 Against the protests of his mother 12:06 and the rest of the crew, his father put him 12:09 on the toughest job in the harvest. 12:10 It was called the straw monkey. 12:12 But Ed sang and prayed his way through that harvest season 12:15 without any complaint. 12:17 The next summer, Edward spent colporteuring. 12:20 He went to Minnesota and he stayed in the home 12:22 of Josephine Gotzian. 12:24 Josephine Gotzian put colporteurs up in her home 12:29 and some of the young men that had been there 12:31 didn't have a really good experience. 12:33 Ed determined that he was going to have 12:36 a better experience with his benefactors. 12:39 And so he went out of his way to take care of her home 12:42 and her carriage horse and he wouldn't know 12:45 what benefits this friendship would have in the future. 12:50 Now when Ed returned to Battle Creek, 12:52 it was for his junior year in 1888 12:54 and he met a new friend there. 12:56 The new arrival was Percy Magan. 12:59 Percy Magan arrived from Ireland 13:01 and he had been invited to live in the home 13:04 of the now widowed Ellen White. 13:07 Ed began spending more time with the boys, excuse me, 13:10 with Percy in the Ellen White's home. 13:13 Ellen White referred to Ed and Percy as "The Boys". 13:17 Ed and Percy referred to Ellen White 13:19 as "Mother White" it's in term of endearment 13:23 that they used throughout their lives. 13:25 And it was no accident that placed Ed Sutherland, 13:29 Percy Magan, and Ellen White together in 1888. 13:36 This as you recall is, 13:38 when there was a renewed emphasis in our church 13:41 on righteousness by faith. 13:43 What Mother White referred to as the third angel's message 13:47 in verity. 13:50 Though younger than Edward, Percy had a number of things 13:54 that he was going to teach him. 13:56 One of those things was the religious experience 13:59 that he enjoyed. 14:01 Little by little, Percy led Edward 14:04 into the same close walk with Jesus 14:08 that Percy had already enjoyed. 14:11 And the visits with Mother White 14:13 and the long talks with Percy brought Ed 14:15 into that same relationship and Ed and Percy were rooted 14:21 and grounded in Jesus Christ. 14:25 Through that winter, the boys also observed 14:28 Mother White closely. 14:30 They learned to value the marvelous gift 14:33 to the remnant that the gift of prophecy 14:36 bestowed by God on this gentlewoman was 14:39 and they came to the conviction that those revelations 14:42 were direct from God and they needed 14:45 to follow that guidance. 14:48 They did through the rest of their lives. 14:51 In addition to his studies, 14:54 Percy took a job in the college bakery. 14:57 He was soon the head baker and in his spare time 15:01 he went over to the machine shop 15:02 to learn how to use the tools that were found there. 15:06 Ed on the other hand in his spare time 15:10 played football and baseball. 15:12 And when Ed attempted to recruit Percy 15:14 for the baseball team Percy responded, 15:17 "I can't regard any activity as recreation suitable for me 15:21 unless it confers benefits on someone else." 15:25 Ed pondered his friend's position 15:29 and eventually came to believe the same as his friend. 15:34 Around this time Ed noticed also a certain young lady. 15:38 Her name was Sally Bralliar. She was from Ohio also. 15:42 She was talented, she was educated in languages, 15:44 she was artistic. 15:46 She had a sterling character, and they both wanted to teach, 15:50 and the faculty gave their permission 15:52 so that they could date 15:54 and at the end of the following summer 15:56 they were married. 15:57 Ed and Sally took a call to Minnesota. 16:00 Percy was asked to interrupt his studies 16:04 because the college had a desperate need 16:06 for a history teacher. 16:09 And then they connected at the end 16:10 of that next school year at a conference, 16:13 an educational conference is being held 16:15 in Harbor Springs, Michigan. 16:16 The Seventh-day Adventist Church educators 16:19 were getting together to finally consider 16:21 the counsels that Mother White had been sending on education. 16:27 While they were there, Ed suggested they go fishing. 16:30 Percy responded, "Vegetarian". 16:34 And before the day was over, 16:37 Ed and Sally were vegetarian as well. 16:39 Also while at Harbor Springs, Ed was asked to teach history 16:45 but this time at Battle Creek College. 16:48 Before he could even start teaching 16:50 they changed his subject on him. 16:52 They gave him Old Testament Bible 16:54 and he figured the best place to start Old Testament Bible 16:57 is in Genesis. 16:59 You know, you don't have to go too far in that book 17:01 and you start finding out what the original diet was. 17:03 And soon the students were asking 17:05 for a vegetarian option in the cafeteria. 17:09 It wasn't two years later 17:11 and Battle Creek was a vegetarian campus. 17:15 After only one year at Battle Creek, 17:18 Ed was asked to go and be the principal of a new college. 17:21 It's a place out in Washington state 17:24 called Walla Walla. 17:26 The president for the college lived in Michigan. 17:29 So for practical purposes, it was up to Ed 17:31 to get the school year started. 17:33 In his first five months, 17:35 he needed to attend camp meeting in Seattle, 17:37 create a curriculum for the college, 17:39 produce a catalogue, 17:41 find and hire qualified teachers, 17:43 recruit some students, 17:45 oversee the construction workers 17:47 so that the building got built. 17:50 And on December 7, 1892, 17:53 they opened school with 91 students, 10 teachers. 17:58 By the end of the school year enrollment was over 160. 18:01 Now by contrast I want you to understand, 18:04 the University of Washington had already been in operation 18:07 for 30 years 18:09 but only had 42 students. 18:15 Things were bit rough however. 18:17 The building wasn't finished when school opened. 18:19 Construction only progressed as funds were available. 18:22 Ed was insistent that they not be going into debt. 18:26 The only heat in the building was two stoves. 18:28 One was a potbelly stove in the chapel 18:31 and the other was a borrowed range in the kitchen 18:34 which it turned out did not work 18:37 when they first tried to fire it. 18:39 There was only one bathroom and one tub in each dormitory. 18:45 And the staff wrote to the General Conference 18:47 describing the situation and asking for help. 18:50 The reply that came back was a set of detailed instructions 18:54 on how you could take a bath in a basin of water. 18:59 The school promptly purchased basins for the dormitory. 19:05 Ed was very intentional about educating his staff. 19:08 He held staff retreats 19:09 where they would study the testimonies 19:11 that were coming from Mother White in Australia 19:14 where she was starting Avondale. 19:16 The testimonies were constant topic 19:18 of conversation on campus. 19:21 The fundamental question with every new letter of counsel was 19:25 what is this going to look like on our campus? 19:29 How will we implement this principle? 19:33 The second year, Ed was given the title of president 19:36 and there was also a new staff member that came. 19:39 Bessie DeGraw interrupted her studies at Battle Creek 19:42 very much like Percy had done 19:44 and traveled to Walla Walla to help out. 19:47 She proved to be a dynamo 19:50 and she wound up working with Ed Sutherland 19:54 for the rest of her life. 19:57 That winter Ed presented a report 19:59 of what was happening at Walla Walla 20:00 to the General Conference. 20:03 The conference also heard reports from Battle Creek, 20:05 which was struggling at the time 20:07 with a debt of about $90,000. 20:09 In today's currency 20:11 that would be about 2.6 million. 20:14 Clearly, God had been able to bless Ed's leadership 20:18 at Walla Walla, 20:19 and so the General Conference voted 20:21 to move that leadership to Battle Creek, 20:24 to the flagship educational institution. 20:27 At the age of 32, Ed with Sally and Bessie 20:30 joined Percy back at Battle Creek. 20:33 Now Battle Creek was located on only seven acres 20:36 of property in the middle of the city, 20:39 and Ed and Percy desperately wanted to move the college 20:42 out into the country to be in compliance 20:45 with Mother White's counsels. 20:47 But her personal counsel to the boys 20:51 was, "Wait, the time is not yet right." 20:55 So they did. 20:56 They waited, but they weren't idle. 20:58 While they were waiting, 20:59 Percy started a debt relief organization. 21:02 Ed wrote a sizable book on educational history. 21:05 Ed and Percy went out and plowed up the tennis courts 21:09 and the baseball field to provide garden space. 21:14 There was a great deal of opposition 21:15 to the reforms among the students 21:17 but there was also a great deal of support 21:20 and a revival swept through the college. 21:24 Ed was getting letters from several churches 21:27 requesting teachers for children. 21:30 He went to the chapel meeting with the students. 21:34 With three letters of request and he asked 21:36 if there might be any students willing to interrupt 21:38 their studies to go and help these churches. 21:41 No one replied. 21:44 So the next day, he made the same inquiry 21:49 and first one and then two more young ladies stood up. 21:55 By Christmas, there were seven schools in operation 21:58 with students that volunteered to lead out. 22:02 By March, there were 13. 22:04 During the next year, 57 schools were organized. 22:07 By the fall of 1900 just two years later, 22:11 almost 150 church schools were in operation. 22:16 And in 1900, Mother White also unexpectedly 22:20 announced her return from Australia. 22:23 She determined that she wouldn't attend 22:25 the February 1901 General Conference Meeting. 22:27 In part because of things revealed to her about problems 22:30 that needed to be met very firmly here in America. 22:34 She addressed that conference on several subjects 22:36 and among them was the relocation of Battle Creek. 22:40 After her comments on that subject, 22:42 the General Conference Committee voted 22:44 to purchase rural property 22:47 so that they could move the college. 22:49 Now Ed, and Sally, and Percy, 22:50 they'd already been scouting up properties 22:52 and they knew just where they wanted to go. 22:55 The next year school started in a new location, 22:59 a place called Berrien Springs, Michigan, 23:01 and the new location called for a new name, 23:04 Emmanuel Missionary College. 23:08 Since there were only a few small buildings 23:10 on the new campus, classes that first year 23:13 were held in the recently vacated courthouse and jail. 23:19 Percy's wife gave her entire inheritance 23:22 to help start the construction on campus. 23:25 Progress on the campus was obvious and rapid 23:28 but opposition to educational reform was also strong. 23:34 Percy's wife Ida had always been rather frail. 23:37 And she took ill impart from the stress 23:39 over the criticism that her husband was receiving. 23:42 She died during the Union Conference Meetings 23:45 that May of 1904, 23:48 leaving Percy with two small children. 23:51 Percy and Ed had had enough. 23:56 They tendered their resignations 23:59 and they headed south. 24:01 Ed met Mother White 24:04 on Ed's and White's paddlewheel boat 24:05 called The Morning Star. 24:07 They started up river to pick up Percy 24:09 but they had mechanical problems 24:11 along the way. 24:12 Ed recognized the place, 24:14 it was Neely's Bend near Larkin Springs, 24:16 not far from Nashville. 24:18 Mother White wished to see a farm that was nearby. 24:21 Ed had already seen it, he was not interested 24:24 but he agreed to accompany Mother White. 24:27 The place looked worse than Ed had remembered. 24:30 Mother White seemed to enamored with it. 24:32 It looks like a place I've seen in vision 24:34 and Ed's heart sank. 24:38 No sooner had they picked up Percy 24:39 then Mother White called Ed and Percy to her cabin. 24:43 "Well, Brother Magan, I saw your farm today 24:45 and I walked all around it. 24:48 I am convinced God wants you 24:50 and Ed Sutherland to have that place. 24:52 It's the kind of place 24:53 that's been shown to me in vision. 24:55 What do you think of it?" 24:59 "I think of it as little as I can. 25:02 It's too big, it's all run down and we don't have the money." 25:08 "Well, I'm sorry. 25:10 Because it seems to me, the Lord intends you 25:12 to have that place." 25:14 And a few days later Ed and Percy 25:16 did return to the farm. 25:18 Ed shared with Percy, oh, I wish we had some honorable 25:23 and Christian way to get out of the whole thing 25:25 without showing a lack of faith in the testimonies. 25:28 They wrestled with their decision 25:30 for the rest of the day. 25:32 But before the day was out, Percy summed it up like this, 25:36 "Ed, we were in it and were in it voluntarily. 25:42 Mrs. White is with us, God is leading us, 25:46 and he will show us the way." 25:50 They shared their decision with Mother White 25:52 and she showed great pleasure. 25:55 She said, "I'll do anything I can to help you. 25:58 You tell your story to the people, 25:59 and they will help, and I will recommend your work. 26:03 And if you wish I'll come on your board." 26:08 Now that last statement bore great significance. 26:13 It was the only board that Ellen White ever served on. 26:16 And she served on it until the year before she died. 26:22 Right away, Ed went north to consult with his aunts Nell. 26:26 Nellie Druillard was known by most as Mother D. 26:29 She was a fiery redhead but more importantly, 26:31 she was a keen businesswoman. 26:34 They took the next train that they could back to Nashville. 26:37 A welcoming party met them at the train station 26:40 and then included Mother White. 26:42 When Ed and Mother D heard that the price had been raised 26:45 on the farm by another $1,000, Mother D said, 26:49 "Well, I'm glad we're not going to take it." 26:52 "Glad, glad" said Mother White, 26:55 "Do you think I'd let the devil beat me out of a place 26:58 for a $1,000? 27:00 It's cheap enough." 27:03 And she then turned to Mother D, 27:06 "Nell, you think that you're old enough to retire 27:11 but if you'll cast your lot in with these boys, 27:14 if you look after them, and guide them, 27:16 and support them in what the Lord wants them to do, 27:19 the Lord will renew your strength. 27:22 And you'll accomplish more in the future 27:24 than you have done in the past." 27:28 Mother D immediately provided the down payment. 27:33 The signatures for the property 27:34 were attained that day. 27:36 A feat about which Mother White later would tell the boys, 27:40 you will never know how many angels it took. 27:47 The owners didn't vacate the property immediately. 27:50 People had to stay wherever they could find. 27:52 The servants' quarters above the carriage house 27:55 were dubbed probation hall. 27:58 If you could endure its rigors, 28:00 you could handle anything Madison was going to give you. 28:04 Until the Fergusons left, 28:05 the downstairs household servants' quarters 28:09 held mules, and horses, and smoked hams, 28:12 and mice, and rats, and flies, and other vermin. 28:17 The place was cleaned up and overtime 28:20 all of the pioneers took their turns 28:21 living in the upstairs bedroom. 28:26 Incoming students frequently also spent time there. 28:30 The faculty voted themselves a stipend of $13 per month. 28:37 Ten years later, they would go on record to say 28:40 that they have been richly blessed 28:43 to still be getting $13 a month. 28:46 Even though that $13 had depreciated in value 28:50 by about 20%. 28:52 Following the pattern of what had been done in Michigan, 28:55 by 1909, Madison set out scores of students 28:59 into the south to propagate the education 29:02 and health outreach that had been begun on that campus. 29:04 It was decided to invite representatives 29:06 from each of what they called units to come to Madison 29:09 and share in the work that was going on there. 29:11 It was such a success that they resolved 29:14 to continue to do that practice. 29:16 By 1910, they'd survive the worst of it. 29:19 Ed and Percy went back to school 29:20 to get their medical degrees and then Percy was called 29:24 to the college of medical evangelists. 29:26 Ed said, "This is like tearing asunder 29:29 bone and morrow." 29:31 But as Percy was leaving, Lida Funk Scott 29:33 joined the Madison family. 29:36 For more of the stories of God's providence, 29:39 I would love to be able to share them now 29:40 but our time is running out and what you can do 29:44 is you can get the book Madison: God's Beautiful Farm. 29:48 For those of you who are here at the conference, 29:49 it's available in the exhibit hall, 29:52 at the ASI booth, or at the Madison, 29:54 or the EC booths. 29:56 And no one wants to be the bearer of bad news 29:58 but I'm afraid I have to just as an amateur historian 30:00 set the record straight. 30:03 While technically correct, 30:04 this is the 70th anniversary of ASI. 30:08 But since 1909, the units have been meeting every year 30:12 to encourage each other in service 30:14 and this marks the 119 gathering of ASI. 30:21 ASI was formally organized in '47, 30:26 and was expanded, and renamed to include the individual, 30:30 the operated ministries and businesses 30:33 and, Elder Finley, the units are still getting together 30:38 as is evidence right here by ASI. 30:41 Amen. Thank you so much. 30:44 You know, Elder Wilson, one of the things 30:46 that has deeply impressed me about ASI 30:51 is the sacrifice and the commitment 30:53 that ASI members have made, 30:56 as they've traveled the world to witness for Christ. 30:59 You know, a number of years ago, 31:01 I started one of our self-supporting campuses 31:04 and there were a number of broken down cars there. 31:07 So I was complaining a little bit to the administer, 31:09 I said, "What are all these broken down cars 31:10 in your campus?" 31:12 And he got this big smile and he said, 31:13 "We like it that way." 31:15 And I said, "What do you mean?" 31:16 He said, "When our students go out to the mission field, 31:19 they're going to need to learn how to repair broken down car." 31:22 That's right. Yeah. 31:23 And you know, it's that spirit of sacrifice and commitment 31:28 that has always impressed me. 31:29 When you think of the thousands and thousands of workers 31:32 that have gone out to the ends of the earth, 31:34 heaven's going to be a wonderful testimony 31:37 of that sacrifice. 31:38 That's absolutely right. 31:40 And self-supporting workers, 31:43 those who have in some way learned 31:45 how to supply their own means and the Lord has blessed, 31:49 they have been instrumental in bringing literally 31:52 thousands of people into this precious Advent message. 31:56 And it's amazing how ASI has spread all over the world, 32:00 just next month I'll be in ASI Europe 32:04 for their convention in Novi Sad in Serbia. 32:07 I mean, it's a movement that is absolutely heaven born. 32:12 You have a fascinating background with ASI, 32:17 particularly with Madison. 32:19 Would you like to share that with us? 32:21 It's a fascinating story and I'll try and do it 32:23 in the six minutes that I have. 32:26 If we can show the first slide, 32:30 I want to talk to you about William Henry Wilson 32:35 and Isabella Scott Wilson. 32:38 Now like many people in the United States, 32:40 their origins were in Ireland. 32:44 In fact they came from Donegal County. 32:47 They immigrated to the United States, 32:50 got married in North America, and found their way 32:54 ultimately out to the Northern California area. 33:00 William was not a Seventh-day Adventist 33:04 but Isabella, my great grandmother 33:07 and my great grandfather of course. 33:10 Isabella became an Adventist 33:12 and I want to tell you probably why. 33:15 She became very closely connected 33:18 and so did William 33:19 with a wealthy dairy farming couple, 33:25 Emeline 33:27 and Nathaniel Hurlbutt. 33:33 They were visited in 1908 by Ellen White, 33:37 that's the Hurlbutts who were quite wealthy. 33:40 They were visited in 1908 by Ellen White, Willy White, 33:46 EA Sutherland, Sarah McEntifer, 33:49 the secretary of Ellen White and another individual. 33:52 And they were urged to move from California to Georgia 33:57 and to start a self-supporting institution. 34:01 This burned in the hearts of the Hurlbutts 34:05 and they enlisted the help of, 34:10 certainly, my great grandparents 34:12 but my great grandparent's children, 34:15 they had four sons. 34:17 The Hurlbutts were very instrumental 34:20 in the Wilson family and in fact they were... 34:24 Mrs. Hurlbutt was called Grandma Hurlbutt. 34:29 They eventually moved to Georgia. 34:33 Interestingly, the very place that they moved 34:35 was in Reeves, Georgia. 34:38 Reeves has now become basically Calhoun, Georgia. 34:42 The property that the Hurlbutts started 34:47 their special farm, Hurlbutt Farm Institute 34:52 was patterned after Madison 34:54 as were many of those institutions 34:57 in the south of the United States. 35:00 My oldest great uncle 35:05 who was the senior brother of my grandfather, 35:09 Nathaniel Carter Wilson. 35:11 In fact, Nathaniel Carter Wilson, 35:13 the first NC, my father, my grandfather, and I, 35:16 all have these initials but different names. 35:19 Nathaniel Carter was named for Nathaniel Hurlbutt 35:24 and Emeline Carter Hurlbutt. 35:27 And these people had a profound influence 35:31 and certainly an interest was generated 35:34 in a great way in our family. 35:36 Now the picture you just saw 35:37 if we can go back to that picture 35:40 is my grandfather Nathaniel Carter Wilson, 35:44 who with his new bride Hannah, my grandmother 35:50 went on their wedding night 35:54 on a train to Reeves, Georgia 35:58 to join his older brother in the work. 36:02 In reality, he had... 36:05 He was following up on what my older, 36:07 what his older brother had done 36:09 because his older brother died of tuberculosis. 36:12 And so there they were working 36:14 in the self-supporting institution in Reeves, Georgia 36:17 for probably about 10 months or so. 36:20 Family matters called them back to Lodi, California 36:23 where my great grandmother was living 36:26 and from there in 1922, 36:31 the two of them went to Madison College 36:36 along with my father and with my aunt. 36:43 And there they spent about three years 36:45 at Madison College. 36:47 My grandfather was the Bible teacher, 36:51 he was the church pastor, and he was ordained 36:54 as a gospel minister at Madison College. 36:58 They left for Africa after that, 37:01 and then on to India, and to a great extent, 37:05 Madison put its huge imprint on the Wilson family. 37:11 If we go now and jump a few years, 37:14 when they came back from mission service at that point, 37:17 because they went back again, if we can show the next slide. 37:22 This is a picture of my grandfather 37:24 when he was approximately at the time 37:27 when he became president of the North American division. 37:31 In fact, my father has served in that capacity, 37:34 my grandfather has served in that capacity. 37:36 And at that time he was elected in 1946. 37:41 In 1947, or just before that I should say he was elected 37:47 also as the board chair of Madison College 37:50 so he came full circle. 37:53 He was then the chair of that particular institution 37:58 that was 180 patients, strong 500 students, 38:04 food factory, farm, etcetera, etcetera. 38:07 The next year, in 1947, March 4 to 5 38:12 in Cincinnati, Ohio, 38:13 50 representatives and leaders 38:16 from self-supporting institutions gathered 38:19 and they forged greater ties to work together. 38:24 Out of that 25 institutions formed the first association 38:29 of self-supporting institutions 38:32 under the leadership of my grandfather 38:35 who had been so influenced by Madison College. 38:40 My grandfather has quoted a saying, 38:42 "It is a great day in the history of the church, 38:46 the association of Seventh-day Adventist 38:49 self-supporting institutions." 38:51 And two years later, in 1949, 38:56 as I have it in Grand Rapids, Michigan, 38:59 Dr. E.A. Sutherland was elected president of ASI 39:03 and Dr. J. Wayne McFarland who many of us know 39:06 as the co-founder of the Five-Day Plan 39:07 to Stop Smoking was elected as the secretary. 39:12 ASI's history is rooted in Madison College 39:16 and in so much of the outgrowth of that incredible institution. 39:21 And of course, in 1979, 39:24 it was renamed Adventist Layman's Services 39:27 and Industries expanding its activity. 39:30 I'd like to show you the next picture 39:32 and it's a picture of my grandparents 39:35 in their later years. 39:37 My grandfather was the president 39:39 of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference in the early '60's 39:44 and just the change of that decade and in 1959 39:49 while he was president of that conference 39:52 they had a session at a camp meeting 39:53 that empowered the conference to work out details 39:57 for the purchase of the Hurlbutt farm 40:01 from the Laymen's Foundation. 40:04 And that later became 40:05 the Georgia-Cumberland Adventist Academy. 40:09 And so my grandfather was so involved in so much of this 40:14 that was all founded in Madison. 40:18 You know, Elder Wilson, 40:19 as we look back at our backgrounds, 40:21 these early experiences shape our lives. 40:25 They help to shape who we are in ministry, 40:28 they help to shape us in 40:30 who we are in Christ and in witness. 40:33 In a sentence or two, 40:34 how did this background shape your life? 40:38 Madison College, the connections, 40:41 my great uncles working there, 40:43 another wonderful person within our family Billy Wilson, 40:47 some of you may know him. 40:49 These individuals have helped to create in my life 40:55 a very profound understanding 40:57 as to what ASI and Madison College can do. 41:01 I'll show you the next picture of my parents 41:05 and many of you will remember my parents. 41:07 They were tremendously 41:10 influenced also by ASI and Madison College. 41:15 This heritage will live in the hearts of people 41:20 and in the mission outreach until Jesus comes. 41:24 You know, just as you have been somewhat influenced 41:28 as by ASI self-supporting institutions, 41:33 early in my ministry 41:34 had a great influence in that area. 41:35 In fact, I'm not the only one with a story, Mark, 41:37 because you have been 41:39 so influenced by this connection 41:42 with especially Wildwood, tell us what's happened? 41:47 Well, in the late 1960's I was a minister of intern. 41:51 I had been in ministry for two years 41:54 and I met Elder W.D. Frazee 41:56 who was the president of Wildwood at the time. 42:00 My wife was teaching 42:02 elementary school in Hartford, Connecticut. 42:04 I was a young minister of intern in Hartford. 42:07 And Elder Frazee came to have a series of meetings 42:11 on the sanctuary, 42:13 the lamb of God in the sanctuary, 42:14 the lamb who dies, the priest who lives, 42:18 Jesus' ministry in the sanctuary. 42:21 And I remember we were going through that series 42:25 and I was deeply impressed 42:27 by the spirituality of his meetings. 42:30 Elder Frazee was not a preacher 42:33 that was bombastic or fascinating. 42:36 When he got up to speak, 42:39 you sense that the Spirit of God 42:42 was speaking through him. 42:43 I had never been in meetings before that I walked in 42:47 and I sensed 42:48 that the lives of people were being changed. 42:50 People were being touched by the Spirit. 42:52 And as a young preacher 42:54 I was really impressed by that. 42:55 I thought to myself, 42:57 "I don't want my message to simply entertain people. 43:00 I don't want to be a fascinating preacher. 43:02 I want the Spirit of God to come down. 43:04 I want some heart to be touched, 43:05 some life to be changed 43:07 somebody be moved upon by the spirit. 43:10 And I remember it was in February 43:12 and the snow was coming and I said to Elder Frazee 43:17 and to our senior Pastor O.J. Mills, 43:19 I don't know if we should have the meeting tonight 43:20 because every report is 43:22 that it's going to snow and snow and snow. 43:25 And that godly man simply said, "My brother, let us pray. 43:30 God is the God of the weather." 43:32 And you know there are some things 43:34 that are indelibly etched 43:35 on the consciousness of your mind forever. 43:39 And Elder Frazee and Elder Mills 43:40 and I got down and he prayed, and he prayed a simple prayer. 43:43 "Dear Lord, 43:45 you know those people and they need to hear 43:46 this message tonight. 43:48 And I pray you put your hand over this city." 43:52 It's snowed that night all around us 43:55 and it did not snow in Hartford, Connecticut. 43:58 All around us the roads were icy 44:01 and I said to myself, "Here is a man that knows God." 44:05 And I remembered what Dwight L. Moody said 44:07 and he said, 44:08 "The world is yet to see what God will do in, 44:12 and through, and by, and for, 44:14 and with the man that is consecrated to Him. 44:17 I want to be that man." 44:20 A number of months later, 44:21 Elder Frazee gave me an invitation 44:23 to become his associate. 44:25 And he said to me, "If you come to Wildwood, 44:27 I can offer you nothing. 44:29 I can't offer you a salary because we don't have one. 44:32 I can't offer you housing because I don't know 44:34 where you're going to live at this point, 44:35 we'll have something when you come. 44:37 I can't offer you prestige 44:39 but what I can offer you is myself. 44:41 I will share with you everything I know in ministry. 44:45 So I came to Wildwood as a young preacher, 44:47 I watched him make an appeal, and I learned how to make them. 44:51 I watched him with testimony meetings 44:53 and I saw the power of God change people's lives 44:55 that I learned out of testimony meetings. 44:57 I watched him 44:59 as he prayed with people after the meetings, 45:01 and it was indelibly written upon my mind. 45:04 One day, it was October 22nd and Elder Frazee said to me, 45:09 "We often preach together." 45:11 He said, "Mark, you preach 45:12 the first 20 minutes of the sermon 45:14 and whenever you finish I'll get up 45:16 and I'll take up where you left off 45:18 and I'll preach the rest of the sermon 45:20 and so he would preach 20 minutes, 45:23 I mean, I would preach 20 minutes 45:24 and he would preach 20 minutes. 45:26 We'd choose the topic together 45:27 so he said Mark I want you to preach. 45:28 It's October 22, I want you to preach on the sanctuary. 45:32 You preach on the fact that of the 70 weeks. 45:36 You nailed down the fact of 27 AD, 31 AD, 45:40 Christ's Crucifixion, 45:41 you deal with the Sixty-Nine Weeks, 45:43 and so forth. 45:44 Now I was a young preacher and I thought about that, 45:47 and thought about that, he said, 45:48 "After you preach on the sanctuary 45:51 and you show that after 1844, 45:54 Jesus went into the most holy place." 45:55 Then I will get up and say what is Jesus doing now 45:58 and I'll explain His ministry up there. 46:00 Well, the more I thought about it 46:01 the more I thought, 46:03 "I only got 20 minutes to do 46:04 that I'm going to get confused." 46:06 So I went to Elder Frazee, said, 46:07 "Elder Frazee, I don't think I could do this." 46:09 You know, that old preacher 46:11 at the time respected this young preacher. 46:13 He said, "Mark, 46:14 if you're uncomfortable with it, 46:15 this what I want you to do. 46:17 I went to him on a Friday morning, 46:18 we're supposed to preach Friday night. 46:21 He said, "This what I want you to do. 46:23 I want you to take your Bible 46:25 and you go out today under the tree 46:27 and you pray all day and let God give you a message. 46:30 I'm going to do the same thing 46:32 and you meet me tonight at 6:30 here. 46:34 Our meeting starts at seven, we'll compare our notes. 46:37 We won't preach on 2,300 days but you go pray all day, 46:39 I'll pray all day, we'll come back." 46:41 So I go out and pray all day. 46:43 But halfway through the day, 46:44 I look at Philippians 2 and I say, 46:46 "I'm going to preach on Philippians 2." 46:48 Came back to Elder Frazee... 46:53 It was about 6:30 at night and I look at him and I say, 46:57 "Elder, I want to preach on Philippians 2, 47:00 the Humility of Christ." 47:03 He said, "Go over your sermon notes." 47:05 I went over my sermon notes. 47:06 He sat there like this, "Praise God. 47:09 Praise God. Praise God." 47:11 He handed me a sermon notes, 47:12 we hadn't talked all day 47:14 and he had developed a sermon ending, 47:17 starting where my sermon ended on Philippians 2. 47:21 Amen. 47:22 We knelt and prayed together 47:24 and that night the Spirit of God came down. 47:27 Incidentally, if you want to hear 47:29 that sermon it's called There's Room at the Top, 47:31 and I think you can get it from Wildwood recordings today. 47:34 I preach the first 20 minutes, he preaches the second. 47:37 Elder Wilson, what impressed me 47:39 early in my ministry in my time at Wildwood 47:42 was that I needed to be a Man of God. 47:44 I could not waste people's time in preaching 47:47 and in associating with Elder Frazee, 47:49 listening to him 47:51 make strong appeals for Christ changed my life. 47:53 Amen. 47:55 And you know what really marks 47:57 the incredible aspect of the imprint 48:02 from self-supporting institutions 48:04 and Madison College is sacrifice. 48:06 Sacrifice for Jesus and that same sacrifice 48:10 is going to be manifested at the very end of time. 48:13 It is and there are many other stories as well 48:17 that are so similar to your story 48:20 and to my story, Elder Wilson. 48:22 I think Charles has some other stories for us. 48:27 There are several stories 48:28 that I think would be help for our ASI family. 48:31 We only have time for a few, 48:32 and the first I want to share with you is about Elmer Brink. 48:36 Now when the team began to assemble 48:39 on the old Ferguson farm, 48:41 the program was far from being a large 48:44 and well-oiled program. 48:46 In addition to a few students, 48:47 they're only a few dedicated faces 48:49 and one of which I cannot even show you 48:51 and that one mostly unknown 48:54 but critically important is Elmer Brink. 48:58 You see everyone had their task to do on the place, 49:01 to get it up and running. 49:02 Mother D ran the skillet and the broom. 49:05 Percy ran the farm. 49:07 Ed ran the butter churn. 49:09 Bessie took the butter into town 49:11 and sold it to get a little bit of cash. 49:13 But if it wasn't for Elmer taking care of the cows 49:18 that produced the milk, that made the butter, 49:22 that produced the cash, 49:24 they may not have made it through that first year. 49:28 And what we know of now is Madison 49:31 may never have come to be. 49:32 Elmer represents a multitude of dedicated skilled workers 49:38 that each sacrificially ply 49:40 their gifts and their talents that God is given 49:42 in whatever place of ministry God has placed them. 49:46 Undeterred by challenges that might arise, 49:48 they faithfully do day by day 49:51 the things that bring success to ministry. 49:54 Usually allowing others to step into the spotlight. 49:59 They're content to know 50:00 that they've been faithful in their place 50:03 and that God has led them. 50:06 This likely describes the majority of ASI. 50:11 Whether an individual or an institutional ministry. 50:15 And you might remember 50:16 that Ed Sutherland met Josephine Gotzian, 50:19 when he was in her home canvassing. 50:20 Well, after spending some time in California 50:23 helping Ellen White 50:24 to get the medical work off the ground there, 50:26 including helping to fund the original purchase 50:29 with the Paradise Valley Sanitarium. 50:32 She made donations 50:33 to the college of medical evangelists 50:35 and then she moved east to Tennessee. 50:38 Her home was made there at Madison 50:41 and her house also housed the first sanitarium patients. 50:46 She provided the means for the construction 50:47 of some of the campus buildings 50:50 and lived there at Madison until her death. 50:54 Nellie Druillard was a keen businesswoman. 50:56 And she did look after the boys. 51:00 She did not only dedicate the rest of her life 51:03 to the development of this God inspired school, 51:05 but she committed her personal financial resources 51:08 to the down payment 51:09 and to the infrastructure of the place. 51:12 Lida Funk Scott 51:14 that we only briefly mentioned earlier was an heiress 51:17 to the Funk and Wagnall's Encyclopedia fortune. 51:20 After spending some time at Battle Creek, 51:22 she thought she would go south to see the school 51:24 that she heard about down there. 51:26 And she liked what she saw at Madison 51:28 and decided to stay. 51:30 Though a wealthy woman, 51:32 she adopted the very simple lifestyle at Madison. 51:35 She poured her inheritance 51:37 into the development of ministries 51:38 like Madison and Loma Linda. 51:41 And her personal outreach was to encouraging the units 51:45 that were springing up from Madison 51:47 by just lending her presence, and her advice, and her means. 51:52 In 1927, 51:54 she invested her resources to establish 51:56 the Layman Foundation to carry on that mission 52:00 and the Layman Foundation in turn launched 52:04 the EA Sutherland Education Association. 52:08 It started in 2002, excuse me, 52:11 and it continues much of that work 52:13 of encouragement and support 52:15 of the lay operated educational units. 52:19 Now if you were to try and measure it 52:21 in today's currency, 52:23 each one of these ladies 52:25 contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars 52:29 toward the establishment of Seventh-day Adventist 52:32 denominational and lay operated ministries. 52:37 And I believe these ladies represent those here in ASI 52:42 who contribute or manage the resources 52:45 that God has provided 52:46 and that are critically necessary 52:48 to establish and to move ministry forward. |
Revised 2022-08-10