What if we're
going to make the mission
00:00:04.97\00:00:07.14
of seeking and saving the lost,
00:00:07.17\00:00:09.40
the most important
thing in the church today,
00:00:09.44\00:00:12.44
then something is
going to have to change
00:00:12.47\00:00:16.64
because the way
we do things now,
00:00:16.68\00:00:19.25
seeking and saving the
lost is not the main priority.
00:00:19.28\00:00:24.02
We're gonna have
to change something
00:00:24.05\00:00:25.42
about the way we
structure things.
00:00:25.45\00:00:27.82
We're gonna have
to change something
00:00:27.86\00:00:29.19
about the way we do mission.
00:00:29.22\00:00:31.26
We're gonna
have to change things
00:00:31.29\00:00:32.66
even in our own individual lives
00:00:32.69\00:00:35.20
because if I say
that my church exists
00:00:35.23\00:00:38.33
solely to seek
and save the lost,
00:00:38.37\00:00:40.04
that's the highest priority.
00:00:40.07\00:00:42.04
That means that's
where I spend my time.
00:00:42.07\00:00:45.01
That's where I
spend my attention.
00:00:45.04\00:00:46.98
And that's where
I spend my money.
00:00:47.01\00:00:49.61
I can say it, but time,
attention, and money shows
00:00:49.64\00:00:54.32
whether I as an
individual or as a church
00:00:54.35\00:00:56.58
I'm really
living that in my life.
00:00:56.62\00:00:59.32
In fact to illustrate that,
00:00:59.35\00:01:00.92
let me ask you a
question in a practical way.
00:01:00.96\00:01:04.29
How many of you have ever served
00:01:04.33\00:01:06.13
on a church board
00:01:06.16\00:01:07.50
at any time in your
life at any particular,
00:01:07.53\00:01:09.83
could be this
one or other church
00:01:09.86\00:01:11.43
you used to be part of?
00:01:11.47\00:01:12.80
Can I see your hand?
00:01:12.83\00:01:14.17
I mean, if any
denomination for that matter,
00:01:14.20\00:01:16.07
how many people
actually been on a church board?
00:01:16.10\00:01:18.47
Okay, now I'm
gonna ask you something,
00:01:18.51\00:01:19.84
and don't answer it out loud.
00:01:19.87\00:01:21.34
You can just
kind of nod your head
00:01:21.38\00:01:22.71
one way or the
other, if you like.
00:01:22.74\00:01:25.05
Every church
board that I know of
00:01:25.08\00:01:27.98
has an agenda for each meeting.
00:01:28.02\00:01:29.78
Is that correct?
00:01:29.82\00:01:31.19
And on that
agenda, it has items,
00:01:31.22\00:01:33.82
which are the things
you're gonna talk about,
00:01:33.86\00:01:36.22
and hopefully
make a decision on.
00:01:36.26\00:01:38.76
If you think of all the agendas
00:01:38.79\00:01:40.66
that you have ever looked
at on a church board meeting
00:01:40.70\00:01:43.37
or any committee meeting,
00:01:43.40\00:01:45.57
if we answered honestly,
00:01:45.60\00:01:47.40
how many of those
items ever had anything to do
00:01:47.44\00:01:51.07
with seeking
and saving the lost?
00:01:51.11\00:01:53.71
How many of those items
00:01:53.74\00:01:55.08
ever had anything
to do with mission
00:01:55.11\00:01:57.98
and reaching people
who don't know Jesus?
00:01:58.01\00:02:01.05
And what percent of those items
00:02:01.08\00:02:03.69
were basically
inward focused on ourselves?
00:02:03.72\00:02:07.56
Things that
dealt with what happens
00:02:07.59\00:02:09.22
inside the four
walls of a church.
00:02:09.26\00:02:13.43
If we're brutally honest,
00:02:13.46\00:02:15.56
the vast majority of
the items in our agenda
00:02:15.60\00:02:18.67
have little to do with mission
00:02:18.70\00:02:21.00
and seeking and
saving lost people.
00:02:21.04\00:02:24.37
Now when I was a
pastor in Pennsylvania,
00:02:24.41\00:02:26.94
I was the church board
00:02:26.98\00:02:28.71
or the church board chairperson.
00:02:28.74\00:02:30.75
So I was in
charge of the agenda.
00:02:30.78\00:02:32.41
And so now when I
look back at that time,
00:02:32.45\00:02:34.45
and I realized
00:02:34.48\00:02:35.82
how many things I
allowed us to talk about
00:02:35.85\00:02:37.99
that had nothing to do
with reaching lost people,
00:02:38.02\00:02:41.42
I'm almost ashamed of myself.
00:02:41.46\00:02:43.79
I remember one
meeting in particular,
00:02:43.83\00:02:45.66
and I have a feeling
00:02:45.69\00:02:47.03
some of you can
probably relate to this.
00:02:47.06\00:02:49.26
Every church board meeting
00:02:49.30\00:02:50.87
usually you have a
couple of formalities.
00:02:50.90\00:02:53.30
You're supposed to do two
reports and what are they?
00:02:53.34\00:02:56.91
Oh, come on.
00:02:56.94\00:02:58.27
If you served on a church board?
00:02:58.31\00:02:59.64
What are they?
00:02:59.67\00:03:01.01
Clerk's Report and
the Treasurer's Report.
00:03:01.04\00:03:04.48
Those things are
meant to be, you know, five,
00:03:04.51\00:03:06.61
maybe ten minutes
long just to clarify
00:03:06.65\00:03:09.08
what's happened in
the previous meeting,
00:03:09.12\00:03:11.09
just so everybody knows
what's going on with finances.
00:03:11.12\00:03:14.39
Well, I remember
one church board,
00:03:14.42\00:03:16.73
we got to the
Treasurer's Report,
00:03:16.76\00:03:19.59
we spent the next
hour to hour and a half
00:03:19.63\00:03:24.40
on the Treasurer's Report.
00:03:24.43\00:03:26.63
I wanted to cry.
00:03:26.67\00:03:29.47
Now it wouldn't have been so bad
00:03:29.50\00:03:31.31
if we were talking about
00:03:31.34\00:03:32.67
how we can find
money to do evangelism
00:03:32.71\00:03:34.88
or to find some
kind of outreach ministry
00:03:34.91\00:03:37.45
to people who don't know Jesus,
00:03:37.48\00:03:39.08
then I wouldn't have minded
00:03:39.11\00:03:40.45
if that's what we
were talking about,
00:03:40.48\00:03:42.22
but you know what the
hour and a half discussion
00:03:42.25\00:03:44.02
was concerning.
00:03:44.05\00:03:46.15
Whether we should move the money
00:03:46.19\00:03:47.72
from one CD fund to another
00:03:47.76\00:03:50.76
and get half a
percent interest more
00:03:50.79\00:03:54.10
for an hour and a half,
00:03:54.13\00:03:57.13
a CD fund
00:03:57.17\00:03:58.50
that hadn't been
touched in years.
00:03:58.53\00:04:00.84
That was probably
going to sit there and burn
00:04:00.87\00:04:02.87
when Jesus comes anyway,
00:04:02.90\00:04:04.94
we spent 90
minutes talking about
00:04:04.97\00:04:07.38
whether to move it
from one CD to another.
00:04:07.41\00:04:11.35
When I drove home that day,
00:04:11.38\00:04:13.21
I just wanted to
pull out my hair.
00:04:13.25\00:04:15.28
And I asked myself
00:04:15.32\00:04:16.95
is this what
mission is supposed to be?
00:04:16.99\00:04:20.32
Is this the things we talk about
00:04:20.36\00:04:22.59
in our church board and
in our committee meetings?
00:04:22.62\00:04:26.09
And now that I look back,
00:04:26.13\00:04:28.30
it's as much my fault
00:04:28.33\00:04:29.73
because I should
have stopped that
00:04:29.76\00:04:31.60
after about 15 minutes.
00:04:31.63\00:04:34.14
How much of our
conversation has to do
00:04:34.17\00:04:37.41
with reaching lost people?
00:04:37.44\00:04:40.94
When I pastored in Pennsylvania,
00:04:40.98\00:04:43.04
the Pennsylvania Conference
asked us to do some things
00:04:43.08\00:04:46.08
with the
activities in our church.
00:04:46.11\00:04:48.18
They had done a
survey of their conference,
00:04:48.22\00:04:51.42
and they realized
00:04:51.45\00:04:52.79
that there were 153
areas in Pennsylvania,
00:04:52.82\00:04:55.79
153 cities
00:04:55.82\00:04:58.03
that had a
population of at least 50,000.
00:04:58.06\00:05:01.06
How many did I say?
00:05:01.10\00:05:02.76
Fifty thousand, no
Adventist presence,
00:05:02.80\00:05:05.93
153 areas, no
Adventist presence,
00:05:05.97\00:05:09.50
and the work had been
going on in that conference
00:05:09.54\00:05:11.64
for over 100 years.
00:05:11.67\00:05:13.51
And they realized
00:05:13.54\00:05:14.88
we got to do something different
00:05:14.91\00:05:16.24
'cause what we're
doing isn't working.
00:05:16.28\00:05:18.65
And so they asked us
to look at each church
00:05:18.68\00:05:21.05
and ask that church to
evaluate all of their activities
00:05:21.08\00:05:25.32
and all of our
outreach ministries
00:05:25.35\00:05:27.06
with these two questions.
00:05:27.09\00:05:29.02
How is this activity
00:05:29.06\00:05:30.53
about seeking
and saving the lost?
00:05:30.56\00:05:33.53
And how does this activity,
this ministry, this outreach,
00:05:33.56\00:05:37.47
how is it fulfilling
the gospel commission?
00:05:37.50\00:05:40.90
And if that activity
had very little to do
00:05:40.94\00:05:43.34
with reaching the lost,
00:05:43.37\00:05:44.91
if it had little to
do with our mission,
00:05:44.94\00:05:47.88
the opportunity
was either change it
00:05:47.91\00:05:50.75
or get rid of it
00:05:50.78\00:05:52.11
because it's not
fulfilling its purpose.
00:05:52.15\00:05:55.35
Try that sometime.
00:05:55.38\00:05:56.89
Go through all the
activities you have as a church
00:05:56.92\00:06:00.16
or even as an individual
00:06:00.19\00:06:01.52
and ask how much
of this has to do
00:06:01.56\00:06:04.26
with reaching lost people?
00:06:04.29\00:06:06.06
You might be
surprised at some things
00:06:06.09\00:06:08.26
that have to be changed
or maybe even reprioritize.
00:06:08.30\00:06:13.40
For example,
00:06:13.44\00:06:14.77
let's take a
social committee, okay?
00:06:14.80\00:06:17.87
What is the purpose
of a social committee?
00:06:17.91\00:06:19.81
Most churches have
a social committee.
00:06:19.84\00:06:22.31
If the purpose of
the social committee
00:06:22.34\00:06:24.48
is simply to create events
00:06:24.51\00:06:26.72
that church members can come to
00:06:26.75\00:06:29.22
and socialize with each other.
00:06:29.25\00:06:32.75
How much does that
actually have to do
00:06:32.79\00:06:34.29
with seeking
and saving the lost?
00:06:34.32\00:06:36.93
How much does that have to do
00:06:36.96\00:06:38.29
with actually fulfilling
the gospel commission?
00:06:38.33\00:06:40.90
And if our answer
00:06:40.93\00:06:42.26
is probably not
as much as it should,
00:06:42.30\00:06:45.17
then maybe we need to change
00:06:45.20\00:06:46.60
what the purpose of
the social committee is.
00:06:46.63\00:06:49.17
Now I'm not saying get
rid of a social committee,
00:06:49.20\00:06:51.04
I'm not saying that members
00:06:51.07\00:06:52.41
shouldn't
fellowship with each other
00:06:52.44\00:06:53.78
because Acts said
the early church did,
00:06:53.81\00:06:56.34
but they did more than that.
00:06:56.38\00:06:58.05
One of the social
committee created events
00:06:58.08\00:07:01.65
that were specifically targeted
00:07:01.68\00:07:03.92
to where members could
invite their friends to
00:07:03.95\00:07:07.96
something that
people out in the community
00:07:07.99\00:07:10.73
might be interested in
00:07:10.76\00:07:12.39
and so then you have
00:07:12.43\00:07:13.76
a social
committee creating things
00:07:13.80\00:07:15.26
that not only members can come
and fellowship with each other,
00:07:15.30\00:07:18.67
but it's a chance for us
00:07:18.70\00:07:20.20
to invite our friends and guests
00:07:20.24\00:07:22.10
to just to simply
build relationships.
00:07:22.14\00:07:25.54
So you see,
00:07:25.57\00:07:26.91
when you ask
those two questions,
00:07:26.94\00:07:28.44
you begin to identify things
00:07:28.48\00:07:30.31
that maybe you don't
need to totally get rid of it,
00:07:30.35\00:07:32.85
maybe we just need to change
00:07:32.88\00:07:35.28
or reprioritize the things
that they are targeted to.
00:07:35.32\00:07:39.12
If that makes
sense, can you say amen?
00:07:39.15\00:07:41.42
Those are hard questions to ask
00:07:41.46\00:07:43.36
of when you go
through these things,
00:07:43.39\00:07:45.79
but now we need to
ask another question.
00:07:45.83\00:07:49.03
If the New
Testament Church was focused
00:07:49.06\00:07:51.20
on its mission of
seeking and saving the lost,
00:07:51.23\00:07:54.60
if it's described
00:07:54.64\00:07:55.97
as turning the
world upside down,
00:07:56.00\00:07:57.84
not just from the Bible,
00:07:57.87\00:07:59.61
but even from the
non-Christian history books,
00:07:59.64\00:08:03.38
then what did
they practically do?
00:08:03.41\00:08:06.48
It's one thing to say
how they are described,
00:08:06.51\00:08:10.15
but what did they
actually do in ministry?
00:08:10.19\00:08:14.42
And what you're gonna find
00:08:14.46\00:08:16.46
is the New Testament
highlights two major things
00:08:16.49\00:08:20.16
that the early church did.
00:08:20.20\00:08:22.40
One was church planting,
00:08:22.43\00:08:25.73
kind of hear
somebody say, church planting.
00:08:25.77\00:08:28.90
Remember that early
New Testament Church
00:08:28.94\00:08:30.94
recognized,
00:08:30.97\00:08:32.34
they weren't just to build
00:08:32.37\00:08:33.81
one large
institution in Jerusalem.
00:08:33.84\00:08:37.01
The whole Book of
Acts describes them,
00:08:37.05\00:08:40.02
as the apostles and even others,
00:08:40.05\00:08:42.62
going to all the
towns and villages
00:08:42.65\00:08:45.42
that had no Christian presence,
00:08:45.45\00:08:48.02
had not heard the gospel message
00:08:48.06\00:08:50.16
and keep moving forward
from one town to the other.
00:08:50.19\00:08:54.06
That's how they grew so fast.
00:08:54.10\00:08:56.36
In fact, doing a survey
of just the Book of Acts,
00:08:56.40\00:08:59.73
let's just
noticed something here.
00:08:59.77\00:09:01.40
Now we're not gonna
look all these verses up,
00:09:01.44\00:09:03.64
but we're gonna
go down the list,
00:09:03.67\00:09:05.01
I would invite you
to write them down,
00:09:05.04\00:09:06.37
you can look them up later,
00:09:06.41\00:09:08.04
but in Acts Chapter 8, it says,
00:09:08.08\00:09:10.35
"The persecution
drove them from Jerusalem."
00:09:10.38\00:09:13.31
Now when you read Acts Chapter 8
00:09:13.35\00:09:15.08
that talks about the persecution
00:09:15.12\00:09:17.12
that was led by, guess who?
00:09:17.15\00:09:19.92
Who?
00:09:19.95\00:09:21.66
The Jews, but who was the
man who was at the head of it?
00:09:21.69\00:09:25.39
I hope you know 'cause
he was converted later.
00:09:25.43\00:09:27.90
Yes, Saul, you know, Stephen,
00:09:27.93\00:09:29.83
they stoned
Stephen and set him up.
00:09:29.86\00:09:32.00
Ellen White says
00:09:32.03\00:09:33.37
in the Book
Acts of the Apostles,
00:09:33.40\00:09:35.20
that God actually
allowed persecution
00:09:35.24\00:09:37.84
to break out against
the church in Jerusalem
00:09:37.87\00:09:41.04
because they were in
danger of staying in Jerusalem
00:09:41.08\00:09:45.25
because they were kind of happy
00:09:45.28\00:09:46.61
with their
social club atmosphere
00:09:46.65\00:09:48.95
and just building
a big church there.
00:09:48.98\00:09:51.25
God saw that danger.
00:09:51.29\00:09:53.56
And He said, "I'm going to allow
00:09:53.59\00:09:54.92
the fires of
persecution to break out."
00:09:54.96\00:09:57.43
And so when they did,
00:09:57.46\00:09:58.99
it forced the
church and the apostles
00:09:59.03\00:10:01.63
to flee from Jerusalem
00:10:01.66\00:10:03.37
and start going
00:10:03.40\00:10:04.73
to all the
unentered towns and villages
00:10:04.77\00:10:07.70
because right after that,
00:10:07.74\00:10:09.27
in verse 5 of Acts Chapter 8,
00:10:09.30\00:10:11.17
you see Philip going to Samaria,
00:10:11.21\00:10:13.74
in Acts Chapter 10
00:10:13.78\00:10:15.11
Peter's going to Caesarea.
00:10:15.14\00:10:17.28
In Acts 11,
00:10:17.31\00:10:18.65
Paul and Barnabas are
now going to Phoenicia
00:10:18.68\00:10:21.38
and Cyprus and Antioch.
00:10:21.42\00:10:24.32
You go to Acts 14,
00:10:24.35\00:10:25.89
now they're going to
Lystra, Derbe, and Iconium.
00:10:25.92\00:10:29.66
Chapter 16
00:10:29.69\00:10:31.03
now they're on their way
to Macedonia and Philippi.
00:10:31.06\00:10:34.53
You go to
Chapter 17 and 18 and 19.
00:10:34.56\00:10:38.47
Now they're in Thessalonica,
00:10:38.50\00:10:40.54
Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus,
00:10:40.57\00:10:45.01
and by the time you get
00:10:45.04\00:10:46.37
to one of the last chapters
of the book, Chapter 27.
00:10:46.41\00:10:49.44
Now Paul has gone to
the very seat of the Empire.
00:10:49.48\00:10:53.48
He has gone to Rome. Amen.
00:10:53.52\00:10:56.79
Do you see the
forward movement here?
00:10:56.82\00:10:59.62
One unentered area to another
planting a Christian church,
00:10:59.65\00:11:05.76
which were basically
groups in people's homes,
00:11:05.79\00:11:08.40
establishing believers
00:11:08.43\00:11:10.70
in all these towns and villages,
00:11:10.73\00:11:12.83
some large and some small.
00:11:12.87\00:11:16.07
In their mind,
there was no such thing
00:11:16.10\00:11:18.67
as just standing still,
00:11:18.71\00:11:20.71
but they were always
in a forward movement
00:11:20.74\00:11:23.71
'cause they understood
what their mission was.
00:11:23.75\00:11:27.38
That's why they turned the world
00:11:27.42\00:11:30.02
upside down.
00:11:30.05\00:11:31.72
If that is one
of the major things
00:11:31.75\00:11:33.59
that they did,
00:11:33.62\00:11:34.96
that should tell us
in the 21st century,
00:11:34.99\00:11:37.56
that the Adventist
Movement, you know,
00:11:37.59\00:11:40.03
the final remnant
movement of the end time
00:11:40.06\00:11:42.83
that we're gonna have to return
00:11:42.86\00:11:44.63
to a church
planting movement ourselves.
00:11:44.67\00:11:47.47
We're gonna have to
return to church planting mode,
00:11:47.50\00:11:50.81
where we're not just satisfied
having a big church here
00:11:50.84\00:11:54.18
or a medium church
here or a small church here,
00:11:54.21\00:11:57.41
but we have got to
target the unentered areas.
00:11:57.45\00:12:00.88
Let's just think
of our conference
00:12:00.92\00:12:02.38
Iowa, Missouri.
00:12:02.42\00:12:04.09
How many towns and villages
00:12:04.12\00:12:05.82
do you think there
are in our two states
00:12:05.85\00:12:08.66
that have no Adventist presence?
00:12:08.69\00:12:11.29
No building.
00:12:11.33\00:12:12.86
No small group.
00:12:12.89\00:12:14.76
No branch Sabbath School.
00:12:14.80\00:12:16.97
No outreach ministry,
00:12:17.00\00:12:18.47
maybe even not a
single Adventist lives
00:12:18.50\00:12:21.67
in some of those
towns and villages.
00:12:21.70\00:12:24.17
Should we let
them go simply because,
00:12:24.21\00:12:26.54
you know,
they're not a metro area
00:12:26.57\00:12:28.21
like St. Louis is where I live?
00:12:28.24\00:12:30.31
Should we just say,
00:12:30.35\00:12:31.68
"Well, do I have to
drive 30 miles or 45 miles
00:12:31.71\00:12:34.72
to where we are?"
00:12:34.75\00:12:36.25
Or should we take on
00:12:36.28\00:12:37.62
the attitude of the
New Testament church
00:12:37.65\00:12:39.35
and say somehow,
00:12:39.39\00:12:40.72
even if we never
get a building there,
00:12:40.76\00:12:42.62
we've got a plant
some kind of presence
00:12:42.66\00:12:45.43
or some kind of ministry
in those towns and villages.
00:12:45.46\00:12:48.56
Can you say amen?
00:12:48.60\00:12:49.93
We have to return
00:12:49.96\00:12:51.57
to being a
forward looking movement,
00:12:51.60\00:12:54.97
not simply being
satisfied just where we are.
00:12:55.00\00:12:59.41
Now someone may say,
"But how can we do this?
00:12:59.44\00:13:03.95
Why would we want a
bunch of small churches?"
00:13:03.98\00:13:07.78
I mean, we're
already a small church,
00:13:07.82\00:13:09.85
you know, most
Adventist Churches would be
00:13:09.88\00:13:11.55
within a small church range.
00:13:11.59\00:13:13.46
How can a small
church plant another?
00:13:13.49\00:13:15.62
Why don't we want a
bunch of small churches?
00:13:15.66\00:13:17.63
Should we make our church bigger
00:13:17.66\00:13:19.73
before we start
planting churches?
00:13:19.76\00:13:22.26
And while that may seem logical,
00:13:22.30\00:13:24.90
the biblical answer is no
00:13:24.93\00:13:27.94
because that's not
00:13:27.97\00:13:29.30
what the New
Testament Church did.
00:13:29.34\00:13:31.17
All those
churches that they planted
00:13:31.21\00:13:33.41
were house groups.
00:13:33.44\00:13:34.78
Now how big do you
think house groups are?
00:13:34.81\00:13:37.65
You think
there's like 200 people
00:13:37.68\00:13:39.18
fitting into a
first century house?
00:13:39.21\00:13:41.62
They're small house groups.
00:13:41.65\00:13:43.69
It was small churches
00:13:43.72\00:13:46.25
that turned the
world upside down
00:13:46.29\00:13:48.42
when you think about it.
00:13:48.46\00:13:49.99
If that's what the
New Testament Church did,
00:13:50.03\00:13:51.99
yeah, it defies logic,
00:13:52.03\00:13:54.03
but God says it's
the foolishness of man,
00:13:54.06\00:13:57.47
that he will sometimes confound,
00:13:57.50\00:13:59.30
he can confound the wise.
00:13:59.33\00:14:01.60
God says, "Don't wait
till your church is big."
00:14:01.64\00:14:04.37
How many areas
around Springfield?
00:14:04.41\00:14:06.41
I don't know the
population of Springfield.
00:14:06.44\00:14:08.64
How many areas
around Springfield
00:14:08.68\00:14:10.35
within 30 minutes
00:14:10.38\00:14:11.71
maybe have no
Adventist presence?
00:14:11.75\00:14:14.62
Are we content to say,
"Well, this is good enough?
00:14:14.65\00:14:17.85
Or do we need to have
some kind of ministry,
00:14:17.89\00:14:20.12
some kind of
outreach planted there?
00:14:20.16\00:14:23.02
Now this may shock you,
00:14:23.06\00:14:24.73
but did you know
00:14:24.76\00:14:26.09
small churches
are actually better
00:14:26.13\00:14:27.46
at winning people to Jesus?
00:14:27.50\00:14:28.83
Did you know that?
00:14:28.86\00:14:30.20
Oh, see, it can't be
00:14:30.23\00:14:31.57
they don't have
as many resources.
00:14:31.60\00:14:32.93
It's true.
00:14:32.97\00:14:34.30
They may not
have as many people.
00:14:34.34\00:14:35.67
They may not have as much money,
00:14:35.70\00:14:37.04
but neither
00:14:37.07\00:14:38.41
did the first
century Christian Church.
00:14:38.44\00:14:40.01
You think your budget is tough.
00:14:40.04\00:14:42.01
When you see the budget of
first century Christianity?
00:14:42.04\00:14:45.05
They didn't have money,
00:14:45.08\00:14:46.88
but, you know,
small churches win people
00:14:46.92\00:14:48.92
better than big
churches normally.
00:14:48.95\00:14:51.05
For example,
00:14:51.09\00:14:52.42
let's say you
have a church of 1,000
00:14:52.45\00:14:54.62
and they baptize
about let's say 10 per year.
00:14:54.66\00:14:58.16
That's a growth rate of 1%.
00:14:58.19\00:15:00.73
Now you may say, "Boy,
00:15:00.76\00:15:02.10
I'd love to have
10 per year or more."
00:15:02.13\00:15:04.77
But you take a church of 15.
00:15:04.80\00:15:07.04
And they're
baptizing one person a year.
00:15:07.07\00:15:09.60
And you may say,
"Well, that's not much.
00:15:09.64\00:15:12.37
That's still a
growth rate of 2%."
00:15:12.41\00:15:14.71
That is double
that of a big church.
00:15:14.74\00:15:17.35
should be baptizing a lot more
00:15:17.38\00:15:20.52
than 10 people per year,
00:15:20.55\00:15:22.82
but many times they're not.
00:15:22.85\00:15:24.89
You see, God has
gifted small churches
00:15:24.92\00:15:27.82
to be able to make a difference
00:15:27.86\00:15:30.03
because there was small churches
00:15:30.06\00:15:32.03
that impacted the
first century world
00:15:32.06\00:15:35.03
with Christianity.
00:15:35.06\00:15:36.77
So we have to
stop using that excuse
00:15:36.80\00:15:38.73
where our churches
aren't large enough.
00:15:38.77\00:15:41.74
Neither were the
first century church.
00:15:41.77\00:15:45.04
Well, let's go to
another important question.
00:15:45.07\00:15:47.48
We know church
planting is important.
00:15:47.51\00:15:49.94
In our division,
00:15:49.98\00:15:51.31
there's a movement
called church plant,
00:15:51.35\00:15:52.98
the 1000 movement.
00:15:53.01\00:15:54.38
They wanna plant 1000
churches in North America
00:15:54.42\00:15:56.75
in the next five
years, and I say,
00:15:56.79\00:15:58.52
"Amen. Praise the Lord."
00:15:58.55\00:15:59.95
And funding is
being provided for it.
00:15:59.99\00:16:02.26
So we're already
starting to make that turn,
00:16:02.29\00:16:05.66
but here's another question.
00:16:05.69\00:16:08.43
If the apostles were
out planting churches,
00:16:08.46\00:16:12.73
who took care of
the existing churches
00:16:12.77\00:16:14.47
that they planted?
00:16:14.50\00:16:16.84
If they would raise up a
church or a group of believers,
00:16:16.87\00:16:20.41
and then go on to
the next unentered town
00:16:20.44\00:16:22.64
and raise up another group,
00:16:22.68\00:16:25.05
who pastored and
took care of the church,
00:16:25.08\00:16:27.25
they just raised up.
00:16:27.28\00:16:28.88
Have you ever wondered that?
00:16:28.92\00:16:30.75
Because apparently,
from the Book of Acts,
00:16:30.79\00:16:33.39
the apostles didn't
just stay there forever
00:16:33.42\00:16:35.76
and say, "Well, you know what?
00:16:35.79\00:16:37.13
I'm gonna pastor this
church for a long-time,
00:16:37.16\00:16:39.33
and I'm going to
do its work for it."
00:16:39.36\00:16:41.06
That's not what they did.
00:16:41.10\00:16:42.90
It says they move on
to other unentered areas.
00:16:42.93\00:16:47.94
So the question would be,
00:16:47.97\00:16:49.70
who in the world took
care of those churches
00:16:49.74\00:16:53.61
and pastored them.
00:16:53.64\00:16:55.58
And here's where the
answer may be surprising,
00:16:55.61\00:16:58.81
challenging,
00:16:58.85\00:17:00.32
and maybe even
irritating to some.
00:17:00.35\00:17:03.79
The first century
church created and planted
00:17:03.82\00:17:07.66
lay-led churches.
00:17:07.69\00:17:11.13
There was no such
thing anywhere in the Bible
00:17:11.16\00:17:15.26
of a pastor being paid
00:17:15.30\00:17:18.53
to watch over a congregation
00:17:18.57\00:17:20.94
and lead it and
do its work for it.
00:17:20.97\00:17:24.41
If you doubt that,
00:17:24.44\00:17:25.81
I'm gonna issue
you that same challenge
00:17:25.84\00:17:27.84
that we tend to do to
others in a prophecy seminar,
00:17:27.88\00:17:30.98
you know, usually when
it comes to the Sabbath,
00:17:31.01\00:17:33.15
and people are
having a hard time,
00:17:33.18\00:17:35.05
"Oh, Sabbath and Sunday,
you know, what do I choose?
00:17:35.08\00:17:37.75
I thought Sunday
was the Sabbath."
00:17:37.79\00:17:39.32
What do we
usually tell them to do?
00:17:39.35\00:17:41.92
We say, "Go to the Bible.
00:17:41.96\00:17:44.49
Find one verse there
00:17:44.53\00:17:46.49
that says the Sabbath
was changed to Sunday."
00:17:46.53\00:17:49.30
And we feel pretty
confident about that
00:17:49.33\00:17:51.13
because we know
no such verse exists.
00:17:51.17\00:17:54.84
Well, let's flip it now.
00:17:54.87\00:17:57.51
I'm gonna
challenge us Adventists.
00:17:57.54\00:18:00.41
Find one verse in the Bible
00:18:00.44\00:18:03.04
that says a
pastor was paid to stay,
00:18:03.08\00:18:07.38
and pastor and shepherd
and take care of a church for.
00:18:07.42\00:18:11.75
Show one example,
where the apostles did that.
00:18:11.79\00:18:16.12
And you can search
from Matthew to Revelation
00:18:16.16\00:18:20.03
I doubt that you
will find even one.
00:18:20.06\00:18:24.00
You say how?
00:18:24.03\00:18:25.50
How in the world did they exist
00:18:25.53\00:18:26.87
that's so foreign
to what we do today?
00:18:26.90\00:18:29.47
Because the first century church
00:18:29.50\00:18:31.27
discovered the
power of lay ministry,
00:18:31.31\00:18:36.01
so then it was
crazy for us to stay here
00:18:36.04\00:18:39.21
and pastor this church
00:18:39.25\00:18:40.58
when there's so
many unentered areas,
00:18:40.62\00:18:42.68
we'll raise up lay
leaders in the form of elders,
00:18:42.72\00:18:47.96
and deacons, and others.
00:18:47.99\00:18:50.66
In fact, the first
place you see this, Acts 6:7,
00:18:50.69\00:18:54.13
I don't have this printed,
00:18:54.16\00:18:55.50
you're actually
gonna have to look
00:18:55.53\00:18:56.87
this one off.
00:18:56.90\00:18:58.23
Acts Chapter 6
is where I can find
00:18:58.27\00:19:00.34
the basic
beginning of lay ministry
00:19:00.37\00:19:02.97
in the early New
Testament Church.
00:19:03.00\00:19:05.44
And in Acts 6:1-7,
00:19:05.47\00:19:10.55
I wanna read this to you, okay?
00:19:10.58\00:19:12.68
Acts 6:1, the Bible says,
00:19:12.71\00:19:16.85
"Now in those days,
00:19:16.89\00:19:18.65
when the number of the disciples
00:19:18.69\00:19:20.16
was multiplying,
00:19:20.19\00:19:21.72
there arose a complaint
00:19:21.76\00:19:23.49
against the
Hebrews by the Hellenists,"
00:19:23.53\00:19:25.76
that's the Greeks,
00:19:25.79\00:19:27.13
"because their
widows were neglected
00:19:27.16\00:19:28.66
in the daily distribution.
00:19:28.70\00:19:30.63
Then the twelve apostles
00:19:30.67\00:19:33.07
summoned the
multitude of the disciples
00:19:33.10\00:19:35.10
and said,
00:19:35.14\00:19:36.47
'It is not desirable
00:19:36.50\00:19:37.97
that we should
leave the word of God
00:19:38.01\00:19:40.41
and that we should serve tables.
00:19:40.44\00:19:42.48
Therefore, brethren,
00:19:42.51\00:19:43.85
seek out from among you
seven men of good reputation,
00:19:43.88\00:19:47.78
full of the Holy
Spirit and wisdom,
00:19:47.82\00:19:50.05
whom we may
appoint over this business,
00:19:50.09\00:19:52.65
but we will give
ourselves continually to prayer
00:19:52.69\00:19:56.76
and to the
ministry of the word.'"
00:19:56.79\00:19:58.66
Now I wanna pause here.
00:19:58.69\00:20:00.70
First century
church in Jerusalem,
00:20:00.73\00:20:02.33
they had a ministry of
distributing to the widows.
00:20:02.36\00:20:05.90
And apparently
there was a argument
00:20:05.93\00:20:07.94
that broke out
that the Jewish widows
00:20:07.97\00:20:10.61
and the Greek widows,
00:20:10.64\00:20:11.97
the Jewish widows
were getting more.
00:20:12.01\00:20:14.18
And so when this dispute arose,
00:20:14.21\00:20:16.38
it says that the
apostles did not say,
00:20:16.41\00:20:18.81
you know what?
00:20:18.85\00:20:20.18
We're gonna have to
take care of this business
00:20:20.22\00:20:21.82
'cause something's going wrong.
00:20:21.85\00:20:23.55
They said, "No,
00:20:23.59\00:20:24.92
we can't take
ourselves away from prayer
00:20:24.95\00:20:27.69
and the ministry of the word
00:20:27.72\00:20:29.19
of moving Christianity forward."
00:20:29.22\00:20:32.23
So we're going to raise
up capable Christian leaders,
00:20:32.26\00:20:36.30
lay people, not
apostle, lay people,
00:20:36.33\00:20:40.07
and we're gonna put them
in charge of this ministry.
00:20:40.10\00:20:43.57
And here in Chapter 6,
00:20:43.61\00:20:45.64
this is eventually
what will become known
00:20:45.67\00:20:48.21
as deacons today,
00:20:48.24\00:20:50.85
not simply people
who collect an offering
00:20:50.88\00:20:53.21
once a week,
00:20:53.25\00:20:54.65
but people who are
actually in charge of ministry,
00:20:54.68\00:20:58.65
and then in verse 5, it says,
00:20:58.69\00:21:00.09
"Their saying
please the whole multitude.
00:21:00.12\00:21:02.36
And they chose Stephen,
and they chose six others."
00:21:02.39\00:21:05.36
These were the seven deacons.
00:21:05.39\00:21:07.13
And what was the response?
00:21:07.16\00:21:08.50
The result is verse 7.
00:21:08.53\00:21:10.43
"Then the Word
of God," did what?
00:21:10.47\00:21:13.77
"Spread,
00:21:13.80\00:21:15.14
and the number of disciples
00:21:15.17\00:21:16.60
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem,
00:21:16.64\00:21:19.41
and a great many of the priests
were obedient to the faith."
00:21:19.44\00:21:24.51
Those early apostles discovered
the power of the lay ministry.
00:21:24.55\00:21:28.92
And when they turned
that over to those seven men,
00:21:28.95\00:21:31.82
those deacons, it said,
00:21:31.85\00:21:33.66
the Word of God
spread rapidly and grew,
00:21:33.69\00:21:38.29
and then from here on
out, notice what you see.
00:21:38.33\00:21:41.70
Acts 14,
00:21:41.73\00:21:43.47
"Paul and Barnabas appointed
00:21:43.50\00:21:45.40
elders for them and each church
00:21:45.43\00:21:47.54
and, with prayer and fasting
committed them to the Lord,
00:21:47.57\00:21:50.71
in whom they put their trust."
00:21:50.74\00:21:52.97
What upon Barnabas do?
00:21:53.01\00:21:54.84
It was their
practice to appoint elders.
00:21:54.88\00:21:58.38
When they planted a
church or congregation
00:21:58.41\00:22:01.28
before they left,
00:22:01.32\00:22:02.98
they would train
people who could pastor
00:22:03.02\00:22:06.72
or who would
shepherd that particular group
00:22:06.76\00:22:09.92
they were known as elders.
00:22:09.96\00:22:12.03
So lay-led
churches were created,
00:22:12.06\00:22:14.50
this freed the
apostles to move on
00:22:14.53\00:22:17.43
to the next mission field.
00:22:17.47\00:22:19.33
Can you say amen?
00:22:19.37\00:22:20.84
Do you see what
their strategy was?
00:22:20.87\00:22:23.30
You see why they
turned the world upside down?
00:22:23.34\00:22:26.57
Again, you see in Titus 1,
00:22:26.61\00:22:28.61
Paul wrote,
00:22:28.64\00:22:29.98
"The reason I left
you in Crete," Titus,
00:22:30.01\00:22:32.78
"was that you
might straighten out
00:22:32.81\00:22:34.48
what was left unfinished
00:22:34.52\00:22:36.25
and appoint elders in every,"
00:22:36.28\00:22:38.72
not just every church, but now,
00:22:38.75\00:22:40.09
"every town as I directed you.
00:22:40.12\00:22:43.19
Since an overseer is
entrusted with God's work,
00:22:43.22\00:22:47.03
he must be blameless."
00:22:47.06\00:22:49.73
Now notice this one.
00:22:49.76\00:22:51.13
Apparently, Paul
wasn't able to finish
00:22:51.17\00:22:53.17
what he did in Crete.
00:22:53.20\00:22:54.77
And he told Titus,
00:22:54.80\00:22:56.20
I need you now to
appoint lay leaders
00:22:56.24\00:22:58.87
to these groups
that were raised up.
00:22:58.91\00:23:01.41
That was their strategy.
00:23:01.44\00:23:04.28
Paul didn't say Titus.
00:23:04.31\00:23:05.65
Hey, you know what, hold on.
00:23:05.68\00:23:07.22
I'll be back to be the
shepherd of these groups.
00:23:07.25\00:23:09.95
He didn't say that.
00:23:09.98\00:23:11.35
He said, "I want you
to raise up lay leaders."
00:23:11.39\00:23:14.56
Paul and the apostles
00:23:14.59\00:23:16.09
would not be taken
out of the mission field.
00:23:16.12\00:23:20.40
Now if we're honest,
00:23:20.43\00:23:22.40
is that different
from what we do today?
00:23:22.43\00:23:24.27
Yes or no?
00:23:24.30\00:23:25.73
It is. 1 Peter 5.
00:23:25.77\00:23:28.14
Even if Peter
did this, he wrote,
00:23:28.17\00:23:29.84
"To the elders among you,
I appeal as a fellow elder,
00:23:29.87\00:23:33.31
a witness of Christ's sufferings
00:23:33.34\00:23:35.54
and one who also will share
in the glory to be revealed.
00:23:35.58\00:23:38.95
Be shepherds of God's
flock that is under your care,
00:23:38.98\00:23:42.52
serving as overseers
not because you must,
00:23:42.55\00:23:45.75
but because you are willing."
00:23:45.79\00:23:48.66
Here's Peter saying,
00:23:48.69\00:23:50.03
"We've got to raise up
elders, they are overseers."
00:23:50.06\00:23:53.76
You ever wonder why
00:23:53.80\00:23:55.13
when it came to
every nominating committee,
00:23:55.16\00:23:56.73
you got to pick
elders and deacons
00:23:56.77\00:23:58.57
and everybody
turns to those verses
00:23:58.60\00:24:00.27
that describe what
are the qualifications?
00:24:00.30\00:24:03.41
Do you ever wonder
00:24:03.44\00:24:04.77
why are those standards so high?
00:24:04.81\00:24:07.14
Why do the standards
have to be high for someone
00:24:07.18\00:24:09.54
who's just going
to sit on the platform
00:24:09.58\00:24:11.08
and do a couple
of announcements?
00:24:11.11\00:24:13.65
Why their standard is so high
00:24:13.68\00:24:15.02
when someone's going to
collect an offering once a week?
00:24:15.05\00:24:18.02
Because that
wasn't the job description
00:24:18.05\00:24:19.65
of elders and deacons.
00:24:19.69\00:24:21.02
They were actually
the pastors of the church.
00:24:21.06\00:24:24.89
See what I do today
00:24:24.93\00:24:26.39
as even though
I'm an evangelist now,
00:24:26.43\00:24:28.06
what I do today as a pastor,
00:24:28.10\00:24:30.47
that's what the elders
of the first century did.
00:24:30.50\00:24:33.70
That's why those
standards were so high.
00:24:33.74\00:24:37.21
It wasn't 'cause
they were just looked at
00:24:37.24\00:24:38.94
as the assistant of the pastor.
00:24:38.97\00:24:40.98
They were the
pastors of the church.
00:24:41.01\00:24:45.21
I can see some of
your faces you're like,
00:24:45.25\00:24:47.25
"Okay, this is too much for me."
00:24:47.28\00:24:50.22
But it's the biblical
way that they did ministry,
00:24:50.25\00:24:53.76
elders were the overseers.
00:24:53.79\00:24:55.32
We need willing
lay leaders today,
00:24:55.36\00:24:57.99
paid clergy did
not pastor a church.
00:24:58.03\00:25:00.43
The people who
were paid with the tithe
00:25:00.46\00:25:02.76
were the ones who were
sent as itinerant evangelists
00:25:02.80\00:25:06.00
to raise up churches.
00:25:06.03\00:25:08.74
The pastors would say,
00:25:08.77\00:25:10.11
the apostles
like why in the world
00:25:10.14\00:25:12.11
would we come here
00:25:12.14\00:25:13.54
and pastor and
shepherd a church,
00:25:13.58\00:25:15.54
when there are already
capable lay people here?
00:25:15.58\00:25:18.61
To them that was a crazy idea.
00:25:18.65\00:25:21.68
And so the New Testament Church
00:25:21.72\00:25:23.15
believed in the
priesthood of all believers,
00:25:23.18\00:25:26.96
that God had gifted everyone
for some type of ministry
00:25:26.99\00:25:31.23
that everyone was
given a spiritual gift,
00:25:31.26\00:25:33.76
which is what we believe,
00:25:33.80\00:25:35.13
as an Adventist Church today.
00:25:35.16\00:25:36.97
That's why Peter
wrote in 1 Peter 2:9,
00:25:37.00\00:25:40.27
"But you are a chosen people,
00:25:40.30\00:25:42.70
a royal
priesthood, a holy nation,"
00:25:42.74\00:25:46.47
what do you call them?
00:25:46.51\00:25:48.01
"A royal, what?
00:25:48.04\00:25:49.94
"Priesthood."
00:25:49.98\00:25:51.48
Now in the Old Testament,
00:25:51.51\00:25:52.85
who did ministry
in the Old Testament?
00:25:52.88\00:25:55.45
Priests.
00:25:55.48\00:25:56.82
Priests were your mediator,
00:25:56.85\00:25:58.82
only priests went
into the sanctuary,
00:25:58.85\00:26:00.96
that's who you
brought your sacrifices to.
00:26:00.99\00:26:03.76
In the New Testament, God says,
00:26:03.79\00:26:05.36
"No, everybody's a priest.
00:26:05.39\00:26:08.16
Everybody can
go to God directly.
00:26:08.20\00:26:10.53
Everybody has been
called to do ministry."
00:26:10.57\00:26:13.84
That's what the New
Testament Church did.
00:26:13.87\00:26:16.57
So here's the two things
00:26:16.60\00:26:17.94
that we've learned this morning.
00:26:17.97\00:26:19.31
The two things that church did
00:26:19.34\00:26:20.98
that turned the
world upside down
00:26:21.01\00:26:22.81
is number one,
00:26:22.84\00:26:24.18
the clergy or the
apostles planted churches
00:26:24.21\00:26:26.72
in the unentered fields.
00:26:26.75\00:26:28.58
And when they did it,
they created lay-lead churches.
00:26:28.62\00:26:31.99
That was the strategy
00:26:32.02\00:26:33.86
that turned the
world upside down.
00:26:33.89\00:26:36.89
And so the question is,
00:26:36.93\00:26:38.53
why are we doing
it differently today?
00:26:38.56\00:26:44.67
Now you're probably
00:26:44.70\00:26:46.03
one of the most
biblical churches
00:26:46.07\00:26:47.40
in the Iowa Missouri Conference
00:26:47.44\00:26:49.37
because you're
closer to that model
00:26:49.40\00:26:50.87
than just about all the others.
00:26:50.91\00:26:52.64
And I realize that
00:26:52.67\00:26:54.01
some of you probably have
different opinions about that
00:26:54.04\00:26:56.08
because we have grown
up in the last 70 years
00:26:56.11\00:26:59.58
within North American Division
we have grown up thinking,
00:26:59.61\00:27:02.68
"Oh, every church has
to have a paid pastor."
00:27:02.72\00:27:07.26
But then you look
at the New Testament,
00:27:07.29\00:27:08.62
it's like, "Wow,
00:27:08.66\00:27:11.06
according to first
century Christianity,
00:27:11.09\00:27:12.73
it's the exact opposite."
00:27:12.76\00:27:16.26
Before we end this morning,
00:27:16.30\00:27:18.53
there's a question
we do have to answer.
00:27:18.57\00:27:21.24
You may wonder,
00:27:21.27\00:27:22.84
"Well, I see what
the New Testament says."
00:27:22.87\00:27:25.47
But obviously, it
didn't stay that way
00:27:25.51\00:27:27.38
throughout the Middle Ages.
00:27:27.41\00:27:29.18
Something happened
00:27:29.21\00:27:30.58
where the New Testament Church
lost its sense of mission,
00:27:30.61\00:27:34.05
where it was
seeking and saving the lost.
00:27:34.08\00:27:36.48
And in a brief summary,
00:27:36.52\00:27:37.85
I'm gonna show
you how it happened
00:27:37.89\00:27:39.65
because when you
understand how it happened,
00:27:39.69\00:27:42.42
it may become very,
very shocking to you.
00:27:42.46\00:27:46.76
"After the apostles' died,
00:27:46.80\00:27:48.86
apostasy crept into the church."
00:27:48.90\00:27:51.27
You know, Paul
wrote that when he left
00:27:51.30\00:27:52.80
ravenous wolves would come
00:27:52.83\00:27:54.54
and he knew false
teachings would come
00:27:54.57\00:27:56.07
into the church.
00:27:56.10\00:27:57.44
That's why basically
00:27:57.47\00:27:58.81
all the books of
the New Testament,
00:27:58.84\00:28:00.18
you know what
they basically are?
00:28:00.21\00:28:02.01
By the way, how many books
are there in the New Testament?
00:28:02.04\00:28:04.58
Little quiz here, 27.
00:28:04.61\00:28:06.92
Almost all of them
are basically letters
00:28:06.95\00:28:10.25
that were written
to Christian churches
00:28:10.29\00:28:12.49
that had been raised up
00:28:12.52\00:28:13.86
because false teachings
were already going there.
00:28:13.89\00:28:15.96
And Paul and
Peter and the others
00:28:15.99\00:28:17.33
had to deal with it.
00:28:17.36\00:28:18.73
Well, Peter and Paul
knew that when they died,
00:28:18.76\00:28:21.36
more false
teachings would come in,
00:28:21.40\00:28:23.97
but more than that,
00:28:24.00\00:28:26.40
false structures on mission
would come into the church.
00:28:26.43\00:28:31.14
He said, "What are
you talking about?"
00:28:31.17\00:28:33.17
In the second century,
00:28:33.21\00:28:34.94
a shift began to take place
00:28:34.98\00:28:37.68
where instead of the clergy
going to the unentered fields,
00:28:37.71\00:28:42.18
they began, Rome
began to take them
00:28:42.22\00:28:45.32
and settle them over churches
00:28:45.35\00:28:47.82
in things that
would be called parishes.
00:28:47.86\00:28:52.13
You know what's another
word for parishes, districts,
00:28:52.16\00:28:56.87
and mission die
00:28:56.90\00:28:59.43
because now they went
00:28:59.47\00:29:00.80
from planting
churches in unentered areas
00:29:00.84\00:29:03.30
to being the primary
caregivers and babysitters
00:29:03.34\00:29:07.41
of congregations
and lay ministry die.
00:29:07.44\00:29:12.38
"By the council of Nicea in 325,
00:29:12.41\00:29:15.38
the clergy started gaining
greater power and authority."
00:29:15.42\00:29:19.52
You ever seen the Middle Ages,
00:29:19.55\00:29:20.96
who was all the focus
on in the Middle Ages?
00:29:20.99\00:29:24.03
The clergy, the
priest forgave sins,
00:29:24.06\00:29:27.56
the priests
provided the sacraments,
00:29:27.60\00:29:30.20
the priest was the
one who led the mass,
00:29:30.23\00:29:32.70
the priest was the
one who taught the people,
00:29:32.73\00:29:35.90
lay people were
supposed to just go to the mass,
00:29:35.94\00:29:39.51
receive sacraments, and
give money to the church.
00:29:39.54\00:29:43.48
All the focus
was on the priests.
00:29:43.51\00:29:45.51
That's why they
didn't want the Bible
00:29:45.55\00:29:46.95
going out to the people.
00:29:46.98\00:29:48.92
So here's what you see,
clergy are the educated ones,
00:29:48.95\00:29:51.59
only clergy can preach,
only clergy performed ministry,
00:29:51.62\00:29:55.26
only clergy do sacraments,
00:29:55.29\00:29:57.06
they were called priests
00:29:57.09\00:29:58.43
and they were
placed over parishes.
00:29:58.46\00:30:02.40
And you know who did that?
00:30:02.43\00:30:04.13
You know who was
instrumental in doing that?
00:30:04.17\00:30:07.30
Rome.
00:30:07.34\00:30:08.80
The very power
00:30:08.84\00:30:10.64
that we as
prophetic interpreters
00:30:10.67\00:30:12.97
call the beast.
00:30:13.01\00:30:15.64
Not only did false
doctrines come from Rome,
00:30:15.68\00:30:18.78
but Rome was responsible
00:30:18.81\00:30:20.22
for the early Christian
church losing its mission,
00:30:20.25\00:30:24.15
and then what happened?
00:30:24.19\00:30:25.62
"Constantine's
was converted in 321."
00:30:25.65\00:30:27.86
You know, he was the
emperor of the Roman Empire.
00:30:27.89\00:30:30.49
They ruled, you know,
00:30:30.53\00:30:31.86
a good part of the
world at that time.
00:30:31.89\00:30:34.03
When Constantine
converted to Christianity,
00:30:34.06\00:30:36.50
we would think that's great.
00:30:36.53\00:30:38.37
We're no longer
being persecuted.
00:30:38.40\00:30:40.77
Christianity is
not illegal anymore.
00:30:40.80\00:30:42.60
We've become the state religion,
00:30:42.64\00:30:44.47
we are accepted.
00:30:44.51\00:30:46.88
It was the worst
thing that ever happened
00:30:46.91\00:30:49.14
because not only
did Constantine bring
00:30:49.18\00:30:50.81
pagan teachings and
here's what happened.
00:30:50.85\00:30:53.21
When the emperor
becomes a Christian,
00:30:53.25\00:30:54.62
guess what everybody
else does in the empire.
00:30:54.65\00:30:57.19
You wanna become a Christian.
00:30:57.22\00:30:58.55
They wanna get in
good with the emperor.
00:30:58.59\00:31:00.02
So now it
becomes a state religion.
00:31:00.06\00:31:02.82
The whole Roman
Empire is now Christian.
00:31:02.86\00:31:05.36
So guess what?
00:31:05.39\00:31:07.03
There's no more
mission field in their eyes
00:31:07.06\00:31:09.83
'cause
everybody's a Christian now.
00:31:09.86\00:31:12.20
So take the clergy now
00:31:12.23\00:31:14.34
who don't need to
plant any more churches.
00:31:14.37\00:31:16.71
And we will place them
now in parishes or districts,
00:31:16.74\00:31:20.08
and they will be
the primary caregivers
00:31:20.11\00:31:22.08
and all the
focus will be on them
00:31:22.11\00:31:24.25
and the lay ministry
doesn't need to do anything.
00:31:24.28\00:31:29.42
That sounds like
Christianity today.
00:31:29.45\00:31:32.95
So I'm gonna ask
you a hard question.
00:31:32.99\00:31:35.66
Today in the 21st
century, who are we follow?
00:31:35.69\00:31:39.43
Rome strategy
of settled parishes
00:31:39.46\00:31:43.37
or the New Testament Church
creating lay-lead churches?
00:31:43.40\00:31:47.97
See as Adventists
we say to other people,
00:31:48.00\00:31:49.80
and they learn about
Sunday and the Sabbath
00:31:49.84\00:31:51.31
and all these other things.
00:31:51.34\00:31:52.67
We say, "Hey,
don't follow the beast."
00:31:52.71\00:31:55.41
But when I as an Adventist
say, "No, I want my own pastor.
00:31:55.44\00:31:58.91
No, I don't like
this lay-led thing."
00:31:58.95\00:32:01.08
If I know that comes from Rome,
00:32:01.12\00:32:04.32
am I following the beast?
00:32:04.35\00:32:07.06
As much as someone
00:32:07.09\00:32:09.06
who chooses to ignore
the Sabbath over Sunday.
00:32:09.09\00:32:13.86
When I learned
where it came from,
00:32:13.90\00:32:16.30
to me that was shocking.
00:32:16.33\00:32:19.00
And what eventually changed it
was the Protestant Reformation.
00:32:19.03\00:32:23.51
And I wanna
basically end with this
00:32:23.54\00:32:25.37
'cause we'll move into
part two in the afternoon.
00:32:25.41\00:32:28.61
It was Luther, who said,
00:32:28.64\00:32:31.35
he didn't believe
00:32:31.38\00:32:32.88
that the priest had
power to forgive sins.
00:32:32.91\00:32:35.78
He said go directly to God.
00:32:35.82\00:32:37.25
He didn't believe the
priest was the only one
00:32:37.29\00:32:38.95
who could understand the Bible.
00:32:38.99\00:32:40.76
He didn't believe the
priest was the only one
00:32:40.79\00:32:42.52
who could do the
sacraments and do ministry,
00:32:42.56\00:32:44.86
he began to turn
towards lay people to say
00:32:44.89\00:32:47.60
anyone can go to God,
anyone can read the Bible,
00:32:47.63\00:32:50.57
anybody can share
the gospel with others.
00:32:50.60\00:32:53.10
That's why they hated him.
00:32:53.13\00:32:55.04
Now the reformation
didn't totally change
00:32:55.07\00:32:57.01
the role of the clergy.
00:32:57.04\00:32:58.47
They didn't send them out
to be church planters again
00:32:58.51\00:33:00.94
like they did before,
but it started the process.
00:33:00.98\00:33:03.71
And it wasn't until the 1800s
00:33:03.75\00:33:05.81
when Revelation predicted
00:33:05.85\00:33:07.32
one more final remnant movement,
00:33:07.35\00:33:10.25
which will be
the Advent Movement.
00:33:10.29\00:33:11.85
That would be the movement
00:33:11.89\00:33:13.25
that would send clergy
to plant churches again,
00:33:13.29\00:33:16.19
create lay-led congregations,
00:33:16.22\00:33:18.16
and would fully restore
00:33:18.19\00:33:19.83
the priesthood of all believers.
00:33:19.86\00:33:22.83
And so this
afternoon, I wanna show you
00:33:22.86\00:33:24.70
how the early
Adventist Church began?
00:33:24.73\00:33:27.94
What did they do in ministry?
00:33:27.97\00:33:31.41
And what
happened to change things
00:33:31.44\00:33:32.81
'cause something changed
00:33:32.84\00:33:34.18
because we're not doing today
00:33:34.21\00:33:35.54
what the early Adventist
Church did in the 1800s.
00:33:35.58\00:33:38.18
So we're going
to do the same thing
00:33:38.21\00:33:39.55
we did this morning,
00:33:39.58\00:33:40.92
except our focus is gonna
be the early Adventist Church.
00:33:40.95\00:33:45.15
What I wanna
leave you with is this.
00:33:45.19\00:33:48.42
In your heart, you may dream,
00:33:48.46\00:33:50.69
I wanna church
that's centered on mission
00:33:50.73\00:33:53.66
that is seeking
and saving the lost.
00:33:53.70\00:33:56.03
And the truth is
00:33:56.06\00:33:57.40
we could all look at
our local churches and say,
00:33:57.43\00:33:59.10
"Oh, I see a problem
here. I see a problem here."
00:33:59.13\00:34:02.57
But, friends, the truth is,
we need a revival of mission.
00:34:02.60\00:34:06.71
And before revival of
mission can happen in a church,
00:34:06.74\00:34:10.15
it's got to happen
in individual heart.
00:34:10.18\00:34:13.75
Are you ready to say Lord Jesus,
00:34:13.78\00:34:16.08
create a revival
of mission in me?
00:34:16.12\00:34:19.55
Ellen White wrote long ago,
00:34:19.59\00:34:21.96
those who would be overcomers
00:34:21.99\00:34:23.69
must be drawn out of themselves.
00:34:23.73\00:34:25.36
And the...
00:34:25.39\00:34:26.73
Oh, notice, the only thing
00:34:26.76\00:34:28.36
which will
accomplish this great work,
00:34:28.40\00:34:30.63
and it's got
nothing to do with diet
00:34:30.67\00:34:32.63
or any of our other pet peeves.
00:34:32.67\00:34:34.14
She said,
00:34:34.17\00:34:35.50
"The only thing to
accomplish that work
00:34:35.54\00:34:38.31
is to become
intensely interested
00:34:38.34\00:34:41.24
in the salvation of others."
00:34:41.28\00:34:43.68
Today, it is your
part to say, Lord Jesus,
00:34:43.71\00:34:46.31
I am asking you to help me
become intensely interested
00:34:46.35\00:34:50.99
in the salvation of others.
00:34:51.02\00:34:52.92
This morning we
learned what it was
00:34:57.69\00:34:59.26
that the early New Testament did
00:34:59.29\00:35:01.33
that actually change the
world and turned it upside down.
00:35:01.36\00:35:05.70
And one of the
things that we learned
00:35:05.73\00:35:07.37
is they understood
what their mission was.
00:35:07.40\00:35:10.31
They did not exist
simply to be some social club
00:35:10.34\00:35:13.88
and build some
great big institution
00:35:13.91\00:35:16.08
inside of Jerusalem,
00:35:16.11\00:35:17.81
but they actually went
and the two things they did
00:35:17.85\00:35:20.62
is the clergy or the apostles
00:35:20.65\00:35:22.32
were sent to the unentered areas
00:35:22.35\00:35:24.52
to all these towns and
villages to plant churches.
00:35:24.55\00:35:27.72
So they were
always moving forward.
00:35:27.76\00:35:29.92
And the churches they
planted were lay-led churches,
00:35:29.96\00:35:34.00
they raised up
elders and deacons,
00:35:34.03\00:35:36.20
they took care of
that local house church,
00:35:36.23\00:35:38.73
they evangelized
their own territory
00:35:38.77\00:35:41.47
while the
apostles went to new areas.
00:35:41.50\00:35:44.31
And that is how the
first century church made
00:35:44.34\00:35:46.84
such a difference in the
world in which they live,
00:35:46.88\00:35:50.71
but then we also saw
that during the Middle Ages,
00:35:50.75\00:35:53.31
that emphasis,
00:35:53.35\00:35:54.68
that focus on mission stopped
00:35:54.72\00:35:57.19
because when a religious system
00:35:57.22\00:35:59.35
came out of the Roman Empire,
00:35:59.39\00:36:01.76
it would be a
system that would then kill
00:36:01.79\00:36:04.19
the idea of mission.
00:36:04.23\00:36:05.69
And since the whole Roman Empire
00:36:05.73\00:36:07.10
became Christian,
00:36:07.13\00:36:08.46
it was no longer
necessary to send clergies
00:36:08.50\00:36:10.87
to unentered towns
because they were none left.
00:36:10.90\00:36:13.70
And so they took the clergy,
00:36:13.74\00:36:15.60
put them into
parishes over churches,
00:36:15.64\00:36:19.21
where they became
the primary caregivers
00:36:19.24\00:36:22.14
and babysitters
of that congregation
00:36:22.18\00:36:24.58
and lay ministry die.
00:36:24.61\00:36:27.42
And it stayed that
way for over 1000 years
00:36:27.45\00:36:30.19
of the Middle Ages,
00:36:30.22\00:36:31.55
until the 1800s came
00:36:31.59\00:36:33.59
and Revelation's final
end time movement began
00:36:33.62\00:36:37.59
that we would know
as the Advent movement.
00:36:37.63\00:36:40.30
And so this afternoon,
00:36:40.33\00:36:42.00
we're going to look at
00:36:42.03\00:36:43.37
how the early
Adventist Church began?
00:36:43.40\00:36:46.13
What was their sense
and focus of mission?
00:36:46.17\00:36:49.40
How did they operate?
00:36:49.44\00:36:50.77
What was their structure like,
00:36:50.81\00:36:52.87
and how is it that
this small group of people
00:36:52.91\00:36:55.84
made up of folks
00:36:55.88\00:36:57.21
from all
different denominations?
00:36:57.25\00:36:58.85
How in the world could they grow
00:36:58.88\00:37:00.98
in less than 200 years
00:37:01.02\00:37:03.05
faster than other denominations
00:37:03.08\00:37:04.89
that had been around
for even thousands of years
00:37:04.92\00:37:07.69
from the latter
part of the Middle Ages?
00:37:07.72\00:37:09.86
Because the Advent Movement
did something different.
00:37:09.89\00:37:13.80
It was meant to be a lay-driven,
00:37:13.83\00:37:16.53
non-pastor dependent movement.
00:37:16.56\00:37:18.93
And they pretty much functioned
and structured their church
00:37:18.97\00:37:22.90
almost exactly the same way
00:37:22.94\00:37:25.11
that the early New
Testament Church did.
00:37:25.14\00:37:28.01
Clergy, the few
Adventist ministers
00:37:28.04\00:37:30.05
that there were
in the beginning,
00:37:30.08\00:37:31.71
they were sent
to unentered areas
00:37:31.75\00:37:33.55
to raise up churches,
00:37:33.58\00:37:35.15
and the churches
that were raised up
00:37:35.18\00:37:36.95
basically became lay-led.
00:37:36.99\00:37:39.62
And this happened
for three basic reasons
00:37:39.65\00:37:41.79
that you can see in the screen.
00:37:41.82\00:37:43.53
One, was the
early Adventist Church,
00:37:43.56\00:37:45.86
they understood
why they existed.
00:37:45.89\00:37:49.00
They knew that
they were not just to be
00:37:49.03\00:37:51.53
another denomination
among hundreds of others.
00:37:51.57\00:37:55.10
They recognize
00:37:55.14\00:37:56.47
they were the
last end time movement.
00:37:56.50\00:37:58.47
They recognize that Jesus said
00:37:58.51\00:38:00.08
to take the
gospel to all the world,
00:38:00.11\00:38:02.44
and they realize
that in Revelation 14,
00:38:02.48\00:38:05.28
when it came to the
three angels' message,
00:38:05.31\00:38:07.32
it was the go to every nation,
tribe, tongue, and people
00:38:07.35\00:38:11.85
and they understood
00:38:11.89\00:38:13.49
they were to be
constantly moving forward
00:38:13.52\00:38:16.12
'cause this is going
to be the final movement
00:38:16.16\00:38:18.63
for the gospel on
the face of the earth.
00:38:18.66\00:38:21.43
The second reason
00:38:21.46\00:38:22.80
was the guidance of Ellen White.
00:38:22.83\00:38:24.90
You know, when this
group of Advent people
00:38:24.93\00:38:27.64
began functioning
00:38:27.67\00:38:29.00
and wondered how
can we take this message
00:38:29.04\00:38:31.04
to the world,
00:38:31.07\00:38:32.41
God blessed them
with the gift of prophecy
00:38:32.44\00:38:34.58
through Ellen White.
00:38:34.61\00:38:35.94
And we're gonna
find out this afternoon
00:38:35.98\00:38:38.48
is she said a lot of
somewhat surprising things
00:38:38.51\00:38:42.55
of how the church,
00:38:42.58\00:38:44.05
early church was
supposed to function.
00:38:44.09\00:38:46.65
Some things we've heard before,
00:38:46.69\00:38:48.52
and maybe some things
that we've never heard
00:38:48.56\00:38:50.83
that might actually challenge us
00:38:50.86\00:38:52.76
because she was a great advocate
00:38:52.79\00:38:55.06
of church planting and
having lay-led churches.
00:38:55.10\00:38:58.97
And a third and final reason
00:38:59.00\00:39:00.44
which may be new to some of
us was their roots in Methodism.
00:39:00.47\00:39:05.14
Many of the early
Adventist pioneers
00:39:05.17\00:39:07.74
came from a
Methodist background.
00:39:07.78\00:39:10.31
And one of the things
that the Methodists did
00:39:10.35\00:39:12.61
through John Wesley
00:39:12.65\00:39:14.15
is they had what was
called class meetings,
00:39:14.18\00:39:17.45
which was basically
small groups in people's homes.
00:39:17.49\00:39:20.49
That's one of the
things Wesley had done.
00:39:20.52\00:39:23.12
And so what happened
00:39:23.16\00:39:24.49
is people who became Christians,
00:39:24.53\00:39:25.86
or were thinking of it,
00:39:25.89\00:39:27.23
they would meet
in people's homes.
00:39:27.26\00:39:29.03
And in these class meetings,
00:39:29.06\00:39:30.57
they would learn
what it meant to grow
00:39:30.60\00:39:32.27
as a Christian and in
their spiritual journey.
00:39:32.30\00:39:35.40
And all of those class
meetings were led by lay people.
00:39:35.44\00:39:39.91
So when many of them
join the Advent movement,
00:39:39.94\00:39:42.78
the idea of Lay
ministry was something
00:39:42.81\00:39:45.05
that was already
ingrained within their psyche.
00:39:45.08\00:39:48.78
And so those are
three of the reasons
00:39:48.82\00:39:50.19
the Adventist Church did
what they did in the beginning.
00:39:50.22\00:39:53.82
Now what I wanna do
is I'm gonna read to you
00:39:53.86\00:39:56.39
a quote that describes
00:39:56.42\00:39:58.63
what the early
Adventist Church did
00:39:58.66\00:40:00.90
for the first 60 to 70
years of its existence,
00:40:00.93\00:40:04.17
just notice how their
ministry is described.
00:40:04.20\00:40:06.67
It says,
00:40:06.70\00:40:08.64
"For the first 60-70
years of its existence
00:40:08.67\00:40:12.57
the Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:40:12.61\00:40:14.14
had an itinerant clergy."
00:40:14.18\00:40:16.24
You know, you know
what itinerant means?
00:40:16.28\00:40:18.51
They didn't stay in one place.
00:40:18.55\00:40:20.28
They kept going from one
city and town to another.
00:40:20.32\00:40:24.45
It goes on to say,
00:40:24.49\00:40:25.82
"Their main function
was to raise up churches
00:40:25.85\00:40:29.42
and give oversight to
many local congregations,
00:40:29.46\00:40:33.53
who primarily
cared for themselves.
00:40:33.56\00:40:36.13
There were no," what?
00:40:36.16\00:40:39.07
"Settled pastors
00:40:39.10\00:40:40.60
who were the chief care
givers for the local church.
00:40:40.64\00:40:43.57
In this sense the
structure was very similar
00:40:43.61\00:40:47.11
to that of the
first century church."
00:40:47.14\00:40:50.45
And that comes
from a book called
00:40:50.48\00:40:52.08
"Recovering an
Adventist Approach
00:40:52.11\00:40:53.88
to the Life and
Mission of the Local Church."
00:40:53.92\00:40:56.95
I want us to
notice a few things there,
00:40:56.99\00:40:58.95
it specifically
says that the pastors,
00:40:58.99\00:41:01.02
the few ministers
00:41:01.06\00:41:02.39
there were in the
beginning of the movement
00:41:02.42\00:41:04.53
'cause in the beginning
there weren't that many.
00:41:04.56\00:41:06.53
They were itinerant evangelists.
00:41:06.56\00:41:08.80
They were sent
to unentered areas
00:41:08.83\00:41:10.67
to raise up new
groups of believers,
00:41:10.70\00:41:13.10
while churches
basically functioned
00:41:13.13\00:41:15.44
being lay-led.
00:41:15.47\00:41:17.11
And so very purposely,
00:41:17.14\00:41:19.37
the early Adventist
Church follow the pattern
00:41:19.41\00:41:22.54
that we learned this morning
00:41:22.58\00:41:24.25
from the early
New Testament Church.
00:41:24.28\00:41:26.51
That was not by accident.
00:41:26.55\00:41:28.52
That was not by chance.
00:41:28.55\00:41:30.42
They did that on purpose
00:41:30.45\00:41:32.25
because isn't if
the remnant movement,
00:41:32.29\00:41:34.89
supposed to be
like the original.
00:41:34.92\00:41:37.33
Can you say amen?
00:41:37.36\00:41:38.76
And so they took
mission very, very seriously.
00:41:38.79\00:41:41.66
They knew
00:41:41.70\00:41:43.03
they were not just
another denomination,
00:41:43.06\00:41:47.04
that it was actually very rare
00:41:47.07\00:41:49.30
that a pastor
would come and preach
00:41:49.34\00:41:51.21
to a local congregation
in the first 60-70 years
00:41:51.24\00:41:55.04
because all the
pastor's time was spent
00:41:55.08\00:41:57.28
planting churches
and in evangelism.
00:41:57.31\00:42:00.48
Now they might see a
pastor, maybe once a quarter,
00:42:00.52\00:42:04.92
you can imagine that.
00:42:04.95\00:42:06.29
A pastor once a quarter.
00:42:06.32\00:42:08.46
You say what,
00:42:08.49\00:42:09.82
how did they function like that?
00:42:09.86\00:42:11.19
What did they do
for a church service?
00:42:11.23\00:42:14.36
They had what Ellen White called
00:42:14.40\00:42:16.90
the social meeting.
00:42:16.93\00:42:18.27
Now how many of you are familiar
00:42:18.30\00:42:19.63
with the term social meaning?
00:42:19.67\00:42:21.97
Get some Ellen White wrote about
00:42:22.00\00:42:23.41
even over 100 years ago,
00:42:23.44\00:42:25.41
what would happen is
the early Adventist Church,
00:42:25.44\00:42:28.18
they would have a Sabbath school
00:42:28.21\00:42:29.61
just like we have today,
00:42:29.64\00:42:31.55
but when there was no minister
00:42:31.58\00:42:33.08
who had preached a sermon,
00:42:33.11\00:42:34.45
which was on most Sabbaths,
00:42:34.48\00:42:36.12
what they would do
00:42:36.15\00:42:37.49
is they would
basically have a social meeting,
00:42:37.52\00:42:39.75
which was like a testimony time,
00:42:39.79\00:42:41.79
and that's where people
would just stand up and share
00:42:41.82\00:42:44.93
how they were
growing in the Lord
00:42:44.96\00:42:46.56
or share their trials.
00:42:46.59\00:42:48.16
And people would
pray with them together.
00:42:48.20\00:42:50.63
They would share
what they were learning
00:42:50.67\00:42:52.13
their Christian journey,
00:42:52.17\00:42:53.80
and it was a time just
for fellowship and bonding
00:42:53.84\00:42:56.94
because the early
church did not sense
00:42:56.97\00:42:59.24
that they had to have a
sermon every single week,
00:42:59.27\00:43:03.61
people simply
shared their testimonies.
00:43:03.65\00:43:06.82
And Ellen White speaks a lot
00:43:06.85\00:43:08.22
about how the Holy Spirit moved
within those social meetings.
00:43:08.25\00:43:13.36
In fact, the most,
00:43:13.39\00:43:14.72
you know, when the most time was
00:43:14.76\00:43:16.19
that Adventist
believers would actually hear
00:43:16.22\00:43:18.16
an Adventist
minister, guess where it was?
00:43:18.19\00:43:21.66
You're right. It
was at camp meeting.
00:43:21.70\00:43:23.33
It wasn't in the local churches
00:43:23.37\00:43:25.27
because even camp
meetings in the early church
00:43:25.30\00:43:28.37
were totally different.
00:43:28.40\00:43:29.87
Today when we do camp meeting,
00:43:29.90\00:43:31.57
probably 90% of the
people who are there are what?
00:43:31.61\00:43:35.84
They're Adventists,
probably more than 90%.
00:43:35.88\00:43:38.71
Back in the
early Adventist Church,
00:43:38.75\00:43:40.85
it was just the opposite
00:43:40.88\00:43:42.35
camp meeting was
actually meant to be
00:43:42.38\00:43:44.69
an evangelistic endeavor.
00:43:44.72\00:43:46.72
During the day,
00:43:46.76\00:43:48.19
the messages were
for the Advent believers.
00:43:48.22\00:43:51.03
In the evenings
and on the weekends,
00:43:51.06\00:43:53.53
there were actually
evangelistic messages
00:43:53.56\00:43:55.96
for the community
00:43:56.00\00:43:57.33
that people were supposed
to bring individuals too.
00:43:57.37\00:44:00.20
So even camp meeting
function in a mission-centered
00:44:00.24\00:44:04.57
an evangelistic
way 60-70 years ago.
00:44:04.61\00:44:09.01
In fact, when you do
some research in 1903,
00:44:09.04\00:44:13.25
there was what's called
the California Conference.
00:44:13.28\00:44:16.02
Now today,
California is broke up
00:44:16.05\00:44:18.62
into four different conferences,
00:44:18.65\00:44:20.02
but back then there
were all one conference.
00:44:20.06\00:44:22.69
And so in the
California Conference
00:44:22.72\00:44:24.66
in 1903,
00:44:24.69\00:44:26.59
when they received a request
from a group of believers
00:44:26.63\00:44:29.56
to send them a minister,
this is what, what happened.
00:44:29.60\00:44:33.64
Instead of
sending them a minister,
00:44:33.67\00:44:35.60
if they've learned
that there was an area
00:44:35.64\00:44:37.34
where there was already
00:44:37.37\00:44:38.71
a significant
number of Advent believers,
00:44:38.74\00:44:41.21
they would not
send a pastor there.
00:44:41.24\00:44:43.98
They believe that the
Advent believers there
00:44:44.01\00:44:46.88
were capable of
handling their own church
00:44:46.92\00:44:50.05
and being able to work
00:44:50.09\00:44:51.52
in a mission-minded
way in their locality.
00:44:51.55\00:44:54.39
They would send pastors to areas
00:44:54.42\00:44:56.89
where there were
no Advent believers.
00:44:56.93\00:45:00.00
Now today, it's
just the opposite.
00:45:00.03\00:45:03.16
We would send a
pastor to a place,
00:45:03.20\00:45:04.70
a new place
00:45:04.73\00:45:06.07
where there's
already Advent believers.
00:45:06.10\00:45:07.64
And we would say,
00:45:07.67\00:45:09.00
"Oh, we can't
send them somewhere
00:45:09.04\00:45:10.37
where there's no
one to work with."
00:45:10.41\00:45:12.67
But the early Adventist Church
saw in a completely different,
00:45:12.71\00:45:16.41
and a completely opposite way.
00:45:16.44\00:45:18.95
What would happen
00:45:18.98\00:45:20.65
if we started looking at things
00:45:20.68\00:45:22.35
in that manner
00:45:22.38\00:45:23.72
when there's a place
00:45:23.75\00:45:25.09
where there's already believers?
00:45:25.12\00:45:26.45
Yes, give them some training.
00:45:26.49\00:45:27.82
Yes, give them
some encouragement
00:45:27.86\00:45:29.26
have someone they can
talk to when necessary
00:45:29.29\00:45:31.99
to help with certain issues,
00:45:32.03\00:45:33.63
but for the most part,
00:45:33.66\00:45:35.00
clergy are sent to
the unentered areas
00:45:35.03\00:45:37.37
that have no Adventist presence.
00:45:37.40\00:45:40.64
That's how it
functioned in the early years.
00:45:40.67\00:45:43.97
Do you see a
difference thus far?
00:45:44.01\00:45:46.11
I would hope so.
00:45:46.14\00:45:47.54
In fact, James White,
00:45:47.58\00:45:49.48
at one of the Advent conferences
00:45:49.51\00:45:51.61
when he was asked to describe
00:45:51.65\00:45:53.75
how the early
Adventist Church did ministry,
00:45:53.78\00:45:56.75
notice the statement he made
00:45:56.79\00:45:58.85
in the Review
and Herald from 1859,
00:45:58.89\00:46:01.92
now this is more
than 150 years ago.
00:46:01.96\00:46:04.43
This is what he said, quote,
00:46:04.46\00:46:07.23
"We have no settled
pastors over our churches,
00:46:07.26\00:46:11.57
but our ministers
are all missionaries,
00:46:11.60\00:46:14.34
as were the early
ministers of Jesus Christ."
00:46:14.37\00:46:18.07
Now when he
says early ministers,
00:46:18.11\00:46:19.91
he's talking about the apostles
00:46:19.94\00:46:21.94
of the early
New Testament Church
00:46:21.98\00:46:23.61
in the first century,
00:46:23.65\00:46:25.11
but he said, "They
must be sustained,"
00:46:25.15\00:46:27.05
meaning the ministers,
00:46:27.08\00:46:28.42
"and God has made it
00:46:28.45\00:46:29.78
the duty of the
church to support them,
00:46:29.82\00:46:32.09
as they go on
their mission of love."
00:46:32.12\00:46:36.02
James White said 150 years ago,
00:46:36.06\00:46:38.66
we don't have settled
pastors over our churches.
00:46:38.69\00:46:41.63
Our ministers are missionaries
going to the unentered areas,
00:46:41.66\00:46:45.10
just like the early
ministers of Jesus Christ,
00:46:45.13\00:46:48.24
just like those early apostles,
00:46:48.27\00:46:51.07
and they taught
churches to be lay-led
00:46:51.11\00:46:54.18
so they can move
on to the next town,
00:46:54.21\00:46:56.71
and so Adventism not
only through James White,
00:46:56.75\00:46:59.78
but through the early pioneers,
00:46:59.81\00:47:01.92
they specifically
followed the approach
00:47:01.95\00:47:04.12
of the early New
Testament Church.
00:47:04.15\00:47:06.59
And see what struck me is
00:47:06.62\00:47:08.82
tithe was not used to pay clergy
00:47:08.86\00:47:13.36
to babysit churches.
00:47:13.40\00:47:15.36
Tithe was used to
send people to the areas
00:47:15.40\00:47:19.63
that have no Advent believers.
00:47:19.67\00:47:22.84
Today, we do the opposite.
00:47:22.87\00:47:24.51
You know, we have
certain formulas that say,
00:47:24.54\00:47:26.34
"Well, a church needs
to have so much in tithe,
00:47:26.37\00:47:28.81
and then they can get a
minister to themselves."
00:47:28.84\00:47:31.08
But early Adventist Churches
00:47:31.11\00:47:32.75
never looked at it in the sense,
00:47:32.78\00:47:34.58
"Boy, we got to give more tithe
00:47:34.62\00:47:36.18
so we can get a
pastor for ourselves."
00:47:36.22\00:47:38.49
They return tithe
00:47:38.52\00:47:40.72
not because of
what they could get
00:47:40.76\00:47:42.66
out of it,
00:47:42.69\00:47:44.03
but because they wanted
to see the Advent message
00:47:44.06\00:47:46.59
go to the unentered areas.
00:47:46.63\00:47:48.50
They supported people
they would probably never see
00:47:48.53\00:47:51.83
or maybe see
perhaps once a quarter,
00:47:51.87\00:47:55.14
and what is the
attitude of some churches today?
00:47:55.17\00:47:57.87
Well, if I
don't have a minister,
00:47:57.91\00:47:59.41
I'm not gonna return my tithe.
00:47:59.44\00:48:01.68
And what we're really saying is,
00:48:01.71\00:48:03.55
I'll return tithe if I
get something out of it,
00:48:03.58\00:48:07.15
but I'm not gonna return tithe
00:48:07.18\00:48:09.12
if it means supporting people
00:48:09.15\00:48:10.62
that I'm never
gonna see in my life.
00:48:10.65\00:48:13.52
See, the whole mindset
was completely different
00:48:13.56\00:48:16.52
in that early Adventist Church.
00:48:16.56\00:48:18.36
That's why they
grew like wildfire
00:48:18.39\00:48:21.16
more than all these
other denominations.
00:48:21.20\00:48:23.73
Now I don't say that
in pride and arrogance,
00:48:23.77\00:48:26.20
but there was a
very distinct difference
00:48:26.23\00:48:28.50
in the way the
Adventist Church did ministry
00:48:28.54\00:48:31.37
as compared to the
rest of the Christian world.
00:48:31.41\00:48:34.41
And actually, the
secular world noticed this
00:48:34.44\00:48:37.98
because one of the
premier evangelists
00:48:38.01\00:48:39.98
back in 1886,
00:48:40.02\00:48:41.58
was a man named GB Starr,
he was an Adventist evangelist,
00:48:41.62\00:48:46.25
and he was asked to
do a newspaper interview
00:48:46.29\00:48:49.76
because the world was noticing
00:48:49.79\00:48:51.96
how this Advent
movement grew in 40 years, okay?
00:48:51.99\00:48:56.06
The Advent movement started,
00:48:56.10\00:48:57.57
you know, somewhere
around the 1830s, 1840s
00:48:57.60\00:49:00.47
so by 1886,
00:49:00.50\00:49:02.20
they're noticing
00:49:02.24\00:49:03.57
how fast this
small group of people
00:49:03.61\00:49:06.14
is growing
00:49:06.17\00:49:07.51
and how this
message is spreading.
00:49:07.54\00:49:09.44
And so when a
newspaper interview
00:49:09.48\00:49:11.81
was done with Elder Starr,
00:49:11.85\00:49:13.95
this was how he answered
the reporter's questions.
00:49:13.98\00:49:17.55
The reporter said,
00:49:17.59\00:49:19.62
"By what means
have you carried forward
00:49:19.65\00:49:21.92
your work so rapidly?"
00:49:21.96\00:49:24.19
And then Elder Starr said,
"Well, in the first place, "
00:49:24.23\00:49:28.23
replied the Elder,
00:49:28.26\00:49:29.66
"we have no settled pastors."
00:49:29.70\00:49:33.10
Are you noticing that
theme over and over again,
00:49:33.13\00:49:35.77
in these quotes?
00:49:35.80\00:49:37.14
"Our churches are taught
to take care of themselves,
00:49:37.17\00:49:40.28
while nearly
all of our ministers
00:49:40.31\00:49:42.34
work as evangelists in,"
00:49:42.38\00:49:44.61
what kind of fields?
00:49:44.65\00:49:46.11
"New fields."
00:49:46.15\00:49:47.48
Remember the
California Conference,
00:49:47.52\00:49:49.32
they wouldn't send
a pastor to a place
00:49:49.35\00:49:51.09
where they're already believers.
00:49:51.12\00:49:52.45
Why?
00:49:52.49\00:49:53.82
Because they functioned
as evangelists in new fields.
00:49:53.86\00:49:56.96
And so as the secular newspaper
is noticing this in 1886,
00:49:56.99\00:50:01.56
Elder Starr is telling them,
this is what we do different.
00:50:01.60\00:50:05.03
We don't send pastors
to look over churches,
00:50:05.07\00:50:08.00
like other denominations do.
00:50:08.04\00:50:09.94
We teach, we
raise up lay-leaders,
00:50:09.97\00:50:11.94
we teach them how to be lay-led
00:50:11.97\00:50:14.24
to take hold of the
mission in their territory.
00:50:14.28\00:50:17.58
And we send the few
clergy that we do have
00:50:17.61\00:50:20.88
into the unentered areas,
00:50:20.92\00:50:23.35
totally different
00:50:23.39\00:50:24.72
from the rest of
the Christian world,
00:50:24.75\00:50:26.45
but totally in sync
00:50:26.49\00:50:28.39
with what the
first century church
00:50:28.42\00:50:29.82
did 2000 years ago.
00:50:29.86\00:50:32.86
In fact, Seventh-day Baptists
00:50:32.89\00:50:35.83
were amazed at the growth
of Seventh-day Adventists.
00:50:35.86\00:50:39.17
Now Seventh-day Baptists
and Seventh-day Adventists,
00:50:39.20\00:50:42.77
their movements
basically came into being
00:50:42.80\00:50:44.97
around the same time,
00:50:45.01\00:50:46.84
but Seventh-day
Adventists far outnumbered
00:50:46.88\00:50:49.64
Seventh-day Baptists.
00:50:49.68\00:50:51.21
And Seventh-day
Baptists wanted to know why?
00:50:51.25\00:50:53.88
Because they both
share the idea of the truth
00:50:53.92\00:50:56.75
of the seventh-day Sabbath.
00:50:56.79\00:50:58.15
So why would one
group of Sabbath keepers
00:50:58.19\00:51:00.76
be growing so much faster
00:51:00.79\00:51:02.82
than another group
of Sabbath keepers.
00:51:02.86\00:51:05.43
And so when they
interviewed Adventists
00:51:05.46\00:51:07.96
this is what
Seventh-day Baptists wrote
00:51:08.00\00:51:10.70
in their own paper
about Seventh-day Adventists.
00:51:10.73\00:51:13.84
Quote, this was from 1909.
00:51:13.87\00:51:16.60
They wrote,
00:51:16.64\00:51:17.97
"All Seventh-day
Adventist clergymen are," what?
00:51:18.01\00:51:21.91
"Missionaries
00:51:21.94\00:51:23.28
not located pastors
00:51:23.31\00:51:25.08
and they are busy
preaching and teaching
00:51:25.11\00:51:27.68
and organizing
churches the world over."
00:51:27.72\00:51:31.69
So not only is the secular world
00:51:31.72\00:51:33.76
noticing this,
00:51:33.79\00:51:35.12
other
denominations are realizing,
00:51:35.16\00:51:37.26
"Wow, this Advent
movement is growing so fast
00:51:37.29\00:51:40.26
because they are doing
something radically different
00:51:40.30\00:51:43.63
from the rest of
the Christian world."
00:51:43.67\00:51:46.30
Now it wasn't
radically different
00:51:46.33\00:51:48.04
in the sense that
00:51:48.07\00:51:49.40
that's what the
first century church did,
00:51:49.44\00:51:51.84
but remember the Middle Ages,
00:51:51.87\00:51:53.27
all that was lost sight of
00:51:53.31\00:51:55.38
and Rome took their priests
and made them over parishes
00:51:55.41\00:51:59.45
and that's the Protestantism did
00:51:59.48\00:52:01.32
even after the Reformation,
00:52:01.35\00:52:03.45
pastors were put into districts.
00:52:03.49\00:52:06.86
And the Advent
movement, as far as I know,
00:52:06.89\00:52:09.46
was one of the
first major movements
00:52:09.49\00:52:11.46
who rejected that
00:52:11.49\00:52:12.83
and went back to
the New Testament model
00:52:12.86\00:52:15.80
of the first century.
00:52:15.83\00:52:17.27
That's why you read how
they turned their world,
00:52:17.30\00:52:20.34
basically, upside down.
00:52:20.37\00:52:23.04
Now you may wonder
00:52:23.07\00:52:24.41
will did Ellen White have
anything to say about this
00:52:24.44\00:52:27.51
because this was during the time
00:52:27.54\00:52:28.88
when she was alive.
00:52:28.91\00:52:30.25
God gave her many
visions and dreams
00:52:30.28\00:52:32.31
about the direction
00:52:32.35\00:52:33.68
that this Advent
movement should go.
00:52:33.72\00:52:35.75
And so you'll find
00:52:35.78\00:52:37.12
she said a lot of
straightforward statements,
00:52:37.15\00:52:40.76
some of them
very bold statements
00:52:40.79\00:52:42.76
about church
planting, and lay-led churches.
00:52:42.79\00:52:46.13
I wanna share a
few of them with you.
00:52:46.16\00:52:48.90
She wrote,
00:52:48.93\00:52:50.67
"My heart has been
filled with sadness
00:52:50.70\00:52:53.44
as I've looked over the field
and seen the barren places."
00:52:53.47\00:52:57.64
That mean places with
no Adventist presence.
00:52:57.67\00:53:00.74
"What does this mean?
00:53:00.78\00:53:02.31
Who are standing
00:53:02.34\00:53:03.68
as
representatives of Jesus Christ?
00:53:03.71\00:53:05.98
Who feels a burden for the souls
00:53:06.01\00:53:08.22
who cannot receive the truth
till it is brought to them."
00:53:08.25\00:53:11.82
And then she says,
00:53:11.85\00:53:13.19
"Our ministers are
hovering over the churches,
00:53:13.22\00:53:16.42
as though the angel of
mercy was not making effort
00:53:16.46\00:53:19.73
to save souls.
00:53:19.76\00:53:21.26
God holds these ministers
00:53:21.30\00:53:22.96
responsible for the souls
of those who are in darkness."
00:53:23.00\00:53:26.33
And then she writes,
00:53:26.37\00:53:27.70
and she's really
talking to ministers now.
00:53:27.74\00:53:29.70
So this is
really directed at me.
00:53:29.74\00:53:32.47
"He does not call
you to go into fields
00:53:32.51\00:53:35.28
that need no physician.
00:53:35.31\00:53:37.51
Establish your
churches with the understanding
00:53:37.55\00:53:40.55
that they need not expect
the minister to wait upon them
00:53:40.58\00:53:44.25
and to be
continually feeding them.
00:53:44.29\00:53:46.96
They have the truth,
they know what truth is.
00:53:46.99\00:53:50.39
They should have
root in themselves.
00:53:50.43\00:53:52.83
These should strike down deeply,
00:53:52.86\00:53:55.70
that they may reach up
higher and still higher.
00:53:55.73\00:53:58.47
They must be rooted
and grounded in the faith."
00:53:58.50\00:54:02.00
Wow!
00:54:02.04\00:54:03.37
That's 1901 she wrote that.
00:54:03.41\00:54:06.11
And so she was
actually concerned
00:54:06.14\00:54:08.21
that there was so much energy
00:54:08.24\00:54:10.21
on churches,
00:54:10.25\00:54:11.58
people that
already know the truth,
00:54:11.61\00:54:13.42
while the barren
fields are being neglected.
00:54:13.45\00:54:16.65
See around 1901
00:54:16.69\00:54:18.29
what was happening is
00:54:18.32\00:54:20.12
now some of the
churches were starting to demand
00:54:20.16\00:54:22.46
that they wanted to
have their own minister.
00:54:22.49\00:54:25.39
They were starting to look
out into the Christian world.
00:54:25.43\00:54:27.56
And even though
they were growing,
00:54:27.60\00:54:29.26
they were starting to see wow,
00:54:29.30\00:54:31.03
you know, these
other popular groups,
00:54:31.07\00:54:33.13
these other
popular denominations,
00:54:33.17\00:54:35.37
they have their
own settled minister,
00:54:35.40\00:54:37.61
well, we wanna be more like them
00:54:37.64\00:54:39.41
because then people
will be more accepting of us.
00:54:39.44\00:54:42.18
And so when there was this call
to be like the other churches,
00:54:42.21\00:54:46.01
and still in the early 1900s,
00:54:46.05\00:54:48.35
Ellen White started
writing against that
00:54:48.38\00:54:51.22
because she knew the
minute we took the clergy
00:54:51.25\00:54:54.06
out from being
evangelists in unentered areas,
00:54:54.09\00:54:56.79
and settle them over churches.
00:54:56.83\00:54:58.49
She knew that the mission focus
00:54:58.53\00:55:00.96
of the Advent
movement would die.
00:55:01.00\00:55:03.43
She knew that by
the Spirit of Prophecy.
00:55:03.47\00:55:05.97
In fact, she felt
so strongly about that
00:55:06.00\00:55:08.74
she puts it this way.
00:55:08.77\00:55:10.21
She said,
00:55:10.24\00:55:12.11
"There should not be a call
00:55:12.14\00:55:13.98
to have settled
pastors over our churches,
00:55:14.01\00:55:17.11
but let the
life-giving power of the truth
00:55:17.15\00:55:19.95
impress its
individual members to act,
00:55:19.98\00:55:22.98
to carrying on an
efficient missionary work
00:55:23.02\00:55:25.79
in that locality.
00:55:25.82\00:55:27.49
As the hand of God,
00:55:27.52\00:55:29.49
the church is to be
educated and trained
00:55:29.52\00:55:32.19
to do effective work.
00:55:32.23\00:55:33.86
Its members are to
be the Lord's devoted,
00:55:33.90\00:55:36.80
Christian workers.
00:55:36.83\00:55:38.17
The church is too one-sided."
00:55:38.20\00:55:41.64
That's pretty
straightforward, isn't it?
00:55:41.67\00:55:43.64
I mean, she comes right out,
00:55:43.67\00:55:45.31
and she's answering this call
00:55:45.34\00:55:47.08
about we need to have pastors
00:55:47.11\00:55:48.81
in districts
like other churches,
00:55:48.84\00:55:50.58
she said there
should not be a call
00:55:50.61\00:55:53.15
to have settled
pastors over churches
00:55:53.18\00:55:56.18
because she recognized
00:55:56.22\00:55:57.92
that when that happens
not only will mission die,
00:55:57.95\00:56:01.96
but the
spirituality of those churches
00:56:01.99\00:56:04.49
will also die
00:56:04.53\00:56:06.43
because what would
happen if as a parent,
00:56:06.46\00:56:09.46
you did every single
thing for your child,
00:56:09.50\00:56:12.63
and you never let
them learn anything,
00:56:12.67\00:56:15.90
you never let
them learn how to walk,
00:56:15.94\00:56:17.97
or how to feed themselves,
or go to the bathroom,
00:56:18.01\00:56:21.48
or to make
decisions about themselves
00:56:21.51\00:56:23.45
and you just
totally hovered over them.
00:56:23.48\00:56:25.51
And you never taught them
to do anything on their own.
00:56:25.55\00:56:28.42
What would happen to
them when they became adults?
00:56:28.45\00:56:31.79
Well, mentally they
would never become adults,
00:56:31.82\00:56:34.29
they would almost become,
00:56:34.32\00:56:35.69
you know,
lifelong perpetual infants.
00:56:35.72\00:56:38.69
And God knew the same
is true for the church.
00:56:38.73\00:56:41.86
And that's why He
spoke through Ellen White,
00:56:41.90\00:56:43.87
"There should not be a
call to have settled pastors."
00:56:43.90\00:56:46.84
He knew what would
happen to the idea of mission.
00:56:46.87\00:56:51.74
You see how
visionary Ellen White was,
00:56:51.77\00:56:54.14
always pointing to
the lay-led churches
00:56:54.18\00:56:57.11
telling them we
cannot be like other churches
00:56:57.15\00:57:00.68
because Christ's coming
00:57:00.72\00:57:02.05
is not 2000 years down the road,
00:57:02.08\00:57:04.55
this is the final movement,
00:57:04.59\00:57:06.79
we have to do things different.
00:57:06.82\00:57:09.62
And she didn't make any
bones about saying that.
00:57:09.66\00:57:13.33
In fact, she made a quote
00:57:13.36\00:57:16.00
as to what ministers
should do if they are in an area
00:57:16.03\00:57:19.13
where there are
Advent believers?
00:57:19.17\00:57:20.90
This is what she
said they should do.
00:57:20.94\00:57:23.61
She wrote, "Let
the minister devote
00:57:23.64\00:57:25.54
more of his time to
educating than to preaching.
00:57:25.57\00:57:29.68
Let him teach the people
00:57:29.71\00:57:31.18
how to give others the knowledge
00:57:31.21\00:57:33.21
they have received.
00:57:33.25\00:57:34.85
In laboring
00:57:34.88\00:57:36.22
where there are
already some in the faith,
00:57:36.25\00:57:38.72
the minister
should at first seek
00:57:38.75\00:57:41.29
not so much to
convert unbelievers,"
00:57:41.32\00:57:43.96
imagine that,
00:57:43.99\00:57:45.33
"as to train church members
for acceptable co-operation."
00:57:45.36\00:57:50.13
Hi. This is David Klinedinst.
00:57:50.17\00:57:52.97
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00:57:53.00\00:57:56.20
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