Welcome back to
the Liberty Insider.
00:00:06.09\00:00:08.10
Before the break
with guest Melissa Reid
00:00:08.13\00:00:10.08
we were, we were talk
about Liberty Magazine
00:00:10.11\00:00:12.18
which is a
favorite topic of mine
00:00:12.21\00:00:13.96
and I think of her's too.
00:00:13.99\00:00:15.91
But it comes up
naturally because right now
00:00:15.94\00:00:19.53
we're in the beginning
phase of Northern American wide
00:00:19.56\00:00:24.51
awareness campaign
more than awareness,
00:00:24.54\00:00:26.89
fundraising campaign to enable
the magazine for one more year.
00:00:26.92\00:00:30.40
Right, right. So we
put together a theme.
00:00:30.43\00:00:33.64
We come up with
the theme or a concept
00:00:33.67\00:00:35.23
for each campaign
and our 2014 campaign.
00:00:35.26\00:00:38.22
So religious liberty Sabbath
00:00:38.25\00:00:39.50
for in the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:00:39.53\00:00:40.87
is always the
fourth Sabbath in January.
00:00:40.90\00:00:43.46
So that will be
January 25 in 2014.
00:00:43.49\00:00:45.37
But our promotional
period is a quite a bit longer,
00:00:45.40\00:00:48.19
so at least first three
or four months of the year.
00:00:48.22\00:00:49.97
First three yes, yes.
00:00:50.00\00:00:51.76
Because we certainly
don't want limit a church
00:00:51.79\00:00:53.98
or congregation
to only promoting
00:00:54.01\00:00:57.31
liberty on that Sabbath.
00:00:57.34\00:00:58.43
A lot of times
there is event scheduled.
00:00:58.46\00:01:01.07
And also we want,
you know, we would,
00:01:01.10\00:01:04.63
would love for promotion
00:01:04.66\00:01:05.86
throughout that
campaign period as we call it.
00:01:05.89\00:01:08.06
So yes, our campaign season
00:01:08.09\00:01:09.30
we consider
January through March.
00:01:09.33\00:01:11.70
But so our theme that we
came up with 2014 is Trust
00:01:11.73\00:01:15.15
and Obey which is
one of my favorite songs.
00:01:15.18\00:01:18.25
And it highlights--
There is another way, right?
00:01:18.28\00:01:19.90
Absolutely
there is no other way.
00:01:19.93\00:01:22.93
So we highlight the
story of John Sproad.
00:01:22.96\00:01:26.55
Dr. John Sproad.
00:01:26.58\00:01:27.63
Exactly, yes. As he became.
00:01:27.66\00:01:29.32
As he became and we
actually profile him
00:01:29.35\00:01:33.77
and tell the story of
actually when he was young man
00:01:33.80\00:01:36.08
I believe as
when he was in college
00:01:36.11\00:01:39.07
he grew up in an agricultural
area of United States
00:01:39.10\00:01:42.61
and would come
home in the summers
00:01:42.64\00:01:45.04
in order to earn
money for tuition
00:01:45.07\00:01:46.52
for the following school year.
00:01:46.55\00:01:48.18
He would work in harvesting.
00:01:48.21\00:01:51.57
And one of the jobs
that he worked one summer
00:01:51.60\00:01:54.87
was in harvesting
peace and he was--
00:01:54.90\00:02:00.50
That was peace works.
00:02:00.53\00:02:02.58
Peace work yes,
yes. It's like farmer.
00:02:02.61\00:02:07.76
And his story was
very interesting to us
00:02:07.79\00:02:10.00
and I think really
caught your attention
00:02:10.03\00:02:12.30
because a lot of
times the stories
00:02:12.33\00:02:14.51
that we will
profile in the religious
00:02:14.54\00:02:18.56
liberty campaign
is how the Seventh-day
00:02:18.59\00:02:20.60
Adventist
Church is been able to.
00:02:20.63\00:02:21.94
To intervene in so much--
00:02:21.97\00:02:23.01
To intervene in
some way with someone
00:02:23.04\00:02:24.93
who's had Sabbath work
place accommodation issue
00:02:24.96\00:02:27.40
or something like that.
00:02:27.43\00:02:28.46
And of course where, you know,
00:02:28.49\00:02:31.05
those are important
stories to highlight
00:02:31.08\00:02:32.52
and we, you know,
will continue to do so.
00:02:32.55\00:02:35.86
But the thing
about Dr. Sproad story
00:02:35.89\00:02:38.37
that was very interesting was
he was working the nightshift
00:02:38.40\00:02:44.24
I think its call the
swing shift during the summer.
00:02:44.27\00:02:48.83
And so that you know
and it was a very good job
00:02:48.86\00:02:53.04
there was limited
jobs in the small community
00:02:53.07\00:02:55.28
and it was a good one a
coveted one among the young man
00:02:55.31\00:02:59.03
that were there
in the community.
00:02:59.06\00:03:01.05
And so here came his
Friday shift or Saturday shift
00:03:01.08\00:03:05.77
and he was unable to
work because of his--
00:03:05.80\00:03:09.44
Throughout sunset Friday night
until sunset Saturday night.
00:03:09.47\00:03:12.32
Right. This is Sabbath
24 hours Sabbath period.
00:03:12.35\00:03:13.38
Exactly that is 24
hours Sabbath period.
00:03:13.41\00:03:17.48
And so when he showed backup
00:03:17.51\00:03:19.19
when he came back to
work on Saturday evening
00:03:19.22\00:03:21.78
a couple hours after Sunday
00:03:21.81\00:03:23.28
and he actually showed
up to work a few hours late.
00:03:23.31\00:03:26.32
The foreman says
"you don't have job here."
00:03:26.35\00:03:29.70
You know, and he said
"if you want you can wait."
00:03:29.73\00:03:36.53
You know all the
slots have been filled
00:03:36.56\00:03:38.19
as far as on the shift
and he says if you want.
00:03:38.22\00:03:40.31
They've been filled
because he'd opted out.
00:03:40.34\00:03:42.27
He had been there.
He lost his continuity.
00:03:42.30\00:03:44.05
Exactly, exactly.
00:03:44.08\00:03:46.97
And so the foreman
said "if you like even wait
00:03:47.00\00:03:49.64
till lunch break
and if somebody leave's
00:03:49.67\00:03:51.23
or something which was rare
then you can pickup your shift."
00:03:51.26\00:03:56.06
Well, that is
exactly what happened.
00:03:56.09\00:03:58.72
Every time, every week.
00:03:58.75\00:04:00.05
For the entirety of that
position for the entirety
00:04:00.08\00:04:03.80
of that summer every week
that exact situation happened.
00:04:03.83\00:04:07.07
And so because of his
faithfulness for keeping
00:04:07.10\00:04:09.78
the Sabbath the church
didn't need to get involved.
00:04:09.81\00:04:13.04
God did it.
00:04:13.07\00:04:14.10
God made, you know,
impressed this young man
00:04:14.13\00:04:17.12
and it was
interesting the conversations
00:04:17.15\00:04:19.32
that we had with he and his wife
Arlene were just so inspiring
00:04:19.35\00:04:22.94
because it really
affected who he became.
00:04:22.97\00:04:25.85
Well, and you and I were there
00:04:25.88\00:04:27.79
and I can see adorning
on him to a larger degree.
00:04:27.82\00:04:31.47
Yes.
00:04:31.50\00:04:32.57
Yes, my faithfulness here really
affected the rest of my live.
00:04:32.60\00:04:36.01
Yes. That set a pattern.
00:04:36.04\00:04:38.00
And I-- yeah, I saw that
when I first spoke to him.
00:04:38.03\00:04:40.19
But I didn't realize
till then that he hadn't quite
00:04:40.22\00:04:43.20
seen the cause in affect.
00:04:43.23\00:04:44.37
Yes.
00:04:44.40\00:04:45.48
So he actually-- their
family committed themselves
00:04:45.51\00:04:48.99
to mission work, a
life of service to others
00:04:49.02\00:04:55.84
and that, the way that
God intervened in his life,
00:04:55.87\00:05:01.03
you know, on
behalf of this teenager
00:05:01.06\00:05:03.63
who honestly wasn't
expecting that in anyway.
00:05:03.66\00:05:06.42
He wasn't looking for it anyway.
00:05:06.45\00:05:09.31
Really, really stuck
with him and shaped who he was
00:05:09.34\00:05:12.75
and he wanted to remain faithful
to someone who looked at.
00:05:12.78\00:05:15.80
You know, to his Creator
00:05:15.83\00:05:17.05
who looked out
from him in that manner.
00:05:17.08\00:05:18.37
All right, good summary
00:05:18.40\00:05:19.51
because you know
I've been convinced
00:05:19.54\00:05:21.52
from the beginning
that religious liberty
00:05:21.55\00:05:23.12
is not just a structural
add on to Christian faith.
00:05:23.15\00:05:27.25
Yeah. It's integral to it.
00:05:27.28\00:05:28.59
Absolutely.
00:05:28.62\00:05:29.65
And he showed through
his life that he-- Well,
00:05:29.68\00:05:32.05
what Jesus says you know,
"He that is faithful in that
00:05:32.08\00:05:35.54
which is least is
faithful in the most."
00:05:35.57\00:05:37.99
Yeah.
00:05:38.02\00:05:39.23
It seemed the
small thing doing them
00:05:39.26\00:05:40.67
but he was establishing his
creditability his integrity.
00:05:40.70\00:05:45.22
Yes. That
shaped his future life.
00:05:45.25\00:05:47.88
Right.
00:05:47.91\00:05:48.94
A successful career
in as a medical doctor,
00:05:48.97\00:05:52.45
a missionary doctor in Korea
and then now in semiretirement
00:05:52.48\00:05:57.36
well, I think
he's technically retire
00:05:57.39\00:05:58.67
but he started
his semiretirement.
00:05:58.70\00:06:00.49
He and his wife going to Laos
00:06:00.52\00:06:01.95
and Cambodia and
countries like that.
00:06:01.98\00:06:03.56
Right. Its
pattern it's integral.
00:06:03.59\00:06:05.25
It's become who they are.
00:06:05.28\00:06:06.31
Because they're concerned
about other people living
00:06:06.34\00:06:08.58
their faith to the fullest
in even difficult situations.
00:06:08.61\00:06:10.52
Absolutely and I
remember him sharing with us
00:06:10.55\00:06:13.21
that when he first
started out in the summer
00:06:13.24\00:06:16.02
he was only taking off
00:06:16.05\00:06:17.53
"Friday night and Sabbath"
because he was suppose to.
00:06:17.56\00:06:20.80
He was a minor child, he was,
00:06:20.83\00:06:22.65
you know, living
under his parent's roof.
00:06:22.68\00:06:24.71
He didn't have that
conviction for the Sabbath hours
00:06:24.74\00:06:27.80
that he absolutely
developed then over the summer
00:06:27.83\00:06:31.05
once he saw God intervening
and it was illustrative to him
00:06:31.08\00:06:35.15
of just how
important it was to his Creator
00:06:35.18\00:06:39.34
for that time to be
spend in that manner so.
00:06:39.37\00:06:41.14
I think the-- I think
00:06:41.17\00:06:43.30
it's the incredible story to me.
00:06:43.33\00:06:45.12
Absolutely and I think
00:06:45.15\00:06:46.77
within their
own Adventist church
00:06:46.80\00:06:49.25
there will be a
special role for the story
00:06:49.28\00:06:51.14
because currently
there is a special emphasis
00:06:51.17\00:06:54.00
starting from top legislator,
00:06:54.03\00:06:55.85
top administrator not legislator
00:06:55.88\00:06:58.70
for evangelism and renew,
00:06:58.73\00:07:02.67
revival, renewal and so on.
00:07:02.70\00:07:04.88
And I am hoping that
this will sort to click
00:07:04.91\00:07:08.25
rather than yes he
is a legal thing we do.
00:07:08.28\00:07:11.52
This is
integrated with spirituality
00:07:11.55\00:07:13.64
in the Christian walk
and increasing dedication
00:07:13.67\00:07:16.36
to higher purpose
that will produce a revival
00:07:16.39\00:07:19.90
I think if it's
seemed for what it is.
00:07:19.93\00:07:22.04
Oh, I certainly hope so.
00:07:22.07\00:07:24.02
Yeah, it was just an
incredible conversation
00:07:24.05\00:07:26.68
to have with these individuals.
00:07:26.71\00:07:28.06
It's certainly
strengthened my resolve
00:07:28.09\00:07:30.45
and my faith and my commitment.
00:07:30.48\00:07:32.34
And I just, I am
excited for the rest
00:07:32.37\00:07:34.83
of our church members to be able
to share that story as well.
00:07:34.86\00:07:36.79
And we hope that
they're excited enough to say
00:07:36.82\00:07:40.61
"here's some more money
let's get this story out
00:07:40.64\00:07:42.59
to many more people."
00:07:42.62\00:07:43.81
And again to the
viewers its Liberty Magazine
00:07:43.84\00:07:48.37
which began by
the Adventist church
00:07:48.40\00:07:49.79
we still have a proprietary
senses as far as funding it
00:07:49.82\00:07:53.14
but why not other people.
00:07:53.17\00:07:55.35
Any viewer can join with us.
00:07:55.38\00:07:57.74
There's people with means
00:07:57.77\00:07:58.80
and you don't
need to lot of means.
00:07:58.83\00:07:59.96
You know, one
subscription what is now $6.
00:07:59.99\00:08:04.61
I was shocked the
other day at the airport
00:08:04.64\00:08:06.64
I want to get an ice
cream and I don't think
00:08:06.67\00:08:08.16
there was anything less
than $6 a little tiny cone.
00:08:08.19\00:08:11.09
And I remember at one point
I was looking for an ice cream
00:08:11.12\00:08:13.82
and I noticed there
hundred and something calories.
00:08:13.85\00:08:16.24
I am thinking that
sounds very healthy
00:08:16.27\00:08:17.72
but that must mean that
it's incredibly small serving.
00:08:17.75\00:08:21.29
And people don't
think anything of that. Yes.
00:08:21.32\00:08:22.83
But for $5 or $6 you
can send this all the year
00:08:22.86\00:08:26.57
to a legislator or lawyer
the 300,000 lawyers in the US.
00:08:26.60\00:08:29.60
Yeah.
00:08:29.63\00:08:30.66
We're not covering
most of them. Right.
00:08:30.69\00:08:32.78
These people need
Liberty Magazine. Absolutely.
00:08:32.81\00:08:35.22
And yes, they all
discover a little bit
00:08:35.25\00:08:37.28
of that Seventh-day Adventism
but primarily they will discover
00:08:37.31\00:08:40.39
about this broad
wonderful uplifting principal
00:08:40.42\00:08:43.05
of individual
freedom of the integrity
00:08:43.08\00:08:46.07
of someone standing
for what they believe in.
00:08:46.10\00:08:50.67
And I can't guarantee
that what they believe in
00:08:50.70\00:08:53.67
as long as they're
under conscience conviction
00:08:53.70\00:08:56.22
I think that's a good
thing in the United States
00:08:56.25\00:08:59.03
in any part of the world.
00:08:59.06\00:09:00.17
Absolutely, now, definitely
00:09:00.20\00:09:02.08
we certainly do encourage you
00:09:02.11\00:09:03.56
please to visit our
website libertymagazine.org.
00:09:03.59\00:09:06.92
And if you don't see
religious freedom highlighted
00:09:06.95\00:09:10.02
at your local church
whether it's Adventist
00:09:10.05\00:09:11.59
or non-Adventist
take the initiative
00:09:11.62\00:09:13.90
and be the
individual to make you know--
00:09:13.93\00:09:16.06
Any if your local
church of any denomination
00:09:16.09\00:09:18.76
needs help, contact us.
00:09:18.79\00:09:20.81
Absolutely, exactly.
00:09:20.84\00:09:21.87
We not have unlimited
resources but I am sure
00:09:21.90\00:09:24.67
we have some
considerable ability to line up
00:09:24.70\00:09:27.16
somebody in that area to
go and present this topic
00:09:27.19\00:09:30.78
and inform people about
Liberty Magazine itself.
00:09:30.81\00:09:33.29
Right, and again as we mentioned
00:09:33.32\00:09:34.84
before we make all of
our promotional materials
00:09:34.87\00:09:36.96
for this campaign available
on our website for download.
00:09:36.99\00:09:39.97
We want to make it
as easy as possible
00:09:40.00\00:09:42.62
to highlight
liberty in your community.
00:09:42.65\00:09:43.86
Very good.
00:09:43.89\00:09:45.00
It's an annual event
00:09:45.03\00:09:46.16
and it's one that's
really important to us
00:09:46.19\00:09:47.84
so I certainly do advocate
00:09:47.87\00:09:51.49
that you all take
advantage of this opportunity.
00:09:51.52\00:09:53.57
It really is an opportunity
to highlight religious freedom
00:09:53.60\00:09:56.55
both in your
church and your community.
00:09:56.58\00:09:59.96
And so let us know, you know,
here's what we'd like to do
00:09:59.99\00:10:03.62
and we'll try to facilitate
that make that happen.
00:10:03.65\00:10:06.21
So 2014
campaign, Trust and Obey.
00:10:06.24\00:10:12.37
When I lived in Idaho,
I remember often driving
00:10:12.40\00:10:15.65
past a certain establishment
with blacked out windows
00:10:15.68\00:10:19.69
and it was called Daniel's den.
00:10:19.72\00:10:22.45
And I've often
wondered, you know,
00:10:22.48\00:10:23.94
what a person of
faith would do in there.
00:10:23.97\00:10:26.70
Let's be honest
what would a faith--
00:10:26.73\00:10:28.41
person of faith go in there for.
00:10:28.44\00:10:31.46
When we were thinking
00:10:31.49\00:10:33.40
and when we think about
Daniel and his companions
00:10:33.43\00:10:35.71
you know they wouldn't
have naturally go on to Babylon.
00:10:35.74\00:10:38.74
They were thrust
into an environment
00:10:38.77\00:10:40.84
that forced to
examine their faith.
00:10:40.87\00:10:44.18
That's the dynamic
we need to keep in mind.
00:10:44.21\00:10:46.88
And John Sproad our example
00:10:46.91\00:10:49.35
for our Liberty campaign
this year exemplifies that.
00:10:49.38\00:10:52.30
He was not thinking
about standing for his faith
00:10:52.33\00:10:55.69
but someone with a
firm faith like his placed
00:10:55.72\00:10:59.45
in an environment
that put him to the test
00:10:59.48\00:11:01.58
where his school
money, his tuition money
00:11:01.61\00:11:03.71
that he desperately needed
00:11:03.74\00:11:05.60
was threatened by
his Sabbath attitude.
00:11:05.63\00:11:09.51
He didn't hesitate for a moment.
00:11:09.54\00:11:11.73
He gave up his job once a week
00:11:11.76\00:11:14.17
and once a week God
gave it back to him.
00:11:14.20\00:11:17.23
And I think of religious liberty
00:11:17.26\00:11:18.67
I can't think of a
better example then that fact
00:11:18.70\00:11:21.57
that if we have integrity
if we have faith in God
00:11:21.60\00:11:24.84
He will honor it so often
00:11:24.87\00:11:28.53
and every time He honors
it we need to be reaffirmed
00:11:28.56\00:11:32.07
in our commitment to
God religious liberty
00:11:32.10\00:11:34.90
and our love for our fellowman.
00:11:34.93\00:11:36.81
For Liberty Insider
this is Lincoln Steed.
00:11:36.84\00:11:40.42