Participants: C.A. Murray (Host), Jim Gilley (Host), Dan Jackson
Series Code: NLLB
Program Code: NLLB011503
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00:13 Well, we do welcome you back and we--
00:17 you wanted to say something. 00:18 Yeah, I wanted to credit myself. 00:20 I think I said there was an earthquake 00:21 and I did mean tornado. 00:23 I bet the earth did quake though. 00:25 I'm sure the earth did move. Yeah. 00:27 It was really quite, quite something. 00:29 Given the ferocity of that event 00:32 it is a blessing of the Lord that that-- Oh, yes. 00:35 I'd say relatively few people died. 00:37 We're talking 100, less than 200 thus far but 00:40 just a massive, massive storm 00:42 that went through Joplin, Missouri. 00:44 Yes. Yeah. 00:46 Well, listen, our guest has arrived in the studio. 00:48 And we're going to invite him to come right on into the table. 00:52 And he was at Joplin last few days. 00:59 Thank you, Elder Jackson, good to see you. 01:01 And thanks for coming to Thompsonville 01:05 and join us and speaking out 01:08 to our television audience around the world tonight 01:11 and we appreciate your message very much. 01:13 Thank you. And-- 01:15 We've got to make a quick start. 01:16 We've got to get a mic on you 01:18 and he came in without a microphone. 01:20 And I know you didn't bring yours from across the way. 01:23 So let's--let's get a mic on you so we can hear you 01:26 'cause I know you've got a lot to say. 01:28 And so we need to hustle and do that. 01:30 This is live television. 01:31 Every now and again it doesn't go quite as it should have gone. 01:35 But we need to get a mic on you. We need to get a mic. 01:39 I was too quick on bringing him in. 01:41 but I thought sure that he would still have that mic on 01:45 but that's all right. 01:47 No, we got to get-- we got to get a mic on. 01:48 And they'll bring it on in. 01:49 But we're just so happy that Pastor Jackson can be with us. 01:55 He was elected at the last General Conference 02:00 and by the way it was at that time 02:02 that we came up with the Nightlight format. Yeah. 02:05 Where you and I would talk to individuals 02:10 who were sitting at table like this. 02:13 At General Conference we were up on a hill. Oh, yeah. 02:16 Overlooking the beautiful dome there, 02:21 Georgia Dome and also overlooking the city of Atlanta. 02:24 Yeah. You could see C.A. there in the background. 02:27 Yeah, that's where Nightlight was born. 02:28 That's where it was born. 02:30 And it was a warm summer night, every night nearly. 02:35 Warm summer afternoon, every afternoon. 02:38 But you know something? 02:40 We look back on those days as very precious days. 02:42 Yeah, we were talking about that just the other day. Yeah. 02:44 It was lot of fun. Yeah, it really was. 02:46 We got to--this is where we first interviewed Elder Jackson. 02:50 We talked to you there 02:51 and then we've talked to you at ASI. 02:57 And there may be another place or two 03:00 that where we've had opportunity to chat 03:03 but we've just have really appreciated 03:05 your availability and your openness, 03:08 and your willingness to come and to be with us. 03:11 It's good to be with you. 03:12 And I know there are a lot of questions. 03:15 We've just opened it up to our people to send us 03:18 email questions if they have any 03:20 for the North American division president. 03:23 And we also want to talk 03:26 very much about the media imperative. 03:30 Before we go to the media, 03:32 I think, we need to just get a little flavor 03:34 'cause you did just get back in from Joplin. 03:38 What did you see? What's the church doing? 03:40 What's going on, on the ground? 03:41 Give us a little flavor of what you experienced there in Joplin. 03:46 Well, you know, I experienced a lot of shock, 03:48 I will tell you that. 03:51 You know, the most amazing part of it is that 03:53 you enter into the city of Joplin 03:55 and everything seems good. 03:58 There are banks and drugstores and fast food outlets 04:02 and people driving around like it was normal. 04:05 And then you just move a little beyond 04:09 the entrance into the city and all of a sudden 04:13 you come to a line of demarcation. 04:16 That tornado cut a swath a half-a-mile wide 04:19 and six-miles long through that city. 04:22 And the devastation was absolutely-- 04:25 I've never seen anything like-- 04:26 and I've seen the devastation of the tsunami in Asia. 04:31 I've seen the devastation of Hurricane Katrina 04:35 in New Orleans but when I drove through the streets, 04:39 last night, of Joplin I was just horrified to be honest with you 04:43 that a force of nature could take solid buildings 04:48 and just reduce them to matchsticks. 04:51 We had the opportunity last night to spend some time 04:55 with a few of our members from Joplin. 04:57 One family there lost their home. 05:01 It was completely destroyed. 05:02 But you know a deaf niece 05:08 felt something was happening and took her little cousin 05:12 and took her into the bathtub of that home. 05:15 And those two little children 05:17 rode out that tornado in a bathtub and survived. 05:21 Praise God. Where they the only two at home or... 05:23 They were the only two at home. 05:25 The parents were out at the time. Yeah. 05:27 And they managed to survive. There's one toddler-- 05:31 But she sensed something was going on. 05:33 She sensed something was going to happen 05:34 and so she took her cousin and then went 05:36 and sat in the bathtub. 05:38 And, you know, the interesting thing is 05:40 that house was just demolished 05:42 but the walls in the ceiling over the bathroom stayed intact. 05:46 Praise God. So, you know-- 05:49 I mean, you wish you can tell that story 05:51 for the other 121 and the 700 who're still missing. Right. 05:55 But we went to Joplin last night and not for a photo-op, 06:00 not to do anything other than to pray with our members there, 06:05 to tell them that their church stands behind them 06:07 and that we're with them. 06:09 Also, there last evening was Sun Kwon, 06:13 the head of Adventist Community Services for North America. Yes. 06:17 And a team of six who are there on the ground prepared to work. 06:22 FEMA has appointed ACS as the coordinating agency 06:28 for all of the warehousing. Yes. 06:29 For everything that comes in, every donation. Right. 06:32 They will sort it out and they will distribute it. 06:34 So I'm glad that we can be there. 06:37 I'm glad that we have people who are willing to come 06:41 and assist in that project. Praise God. Wow. 06:43 Now as far as the church is concerned 06:45 have you lost any buildings? 06:46 Any particular reports of Adventist being involved? 06:50 Do we know anything about that? 06:51 We know that some-- 06:53 this family lost their home, completely gone. 06:57 Some others had minor damage. 06:59 The church itself had a few shingles blown off 07:02 and a little bit of glass broken 07:04 but really nothing structural, nothing substantive at all. 07:08 Well, that's a miracle. Yeah. 07:10 It really is. Yeah. 07:11 Yeah, well, so you've been there 07:14 and then you went some other places in Oklahoma 07:18 or you haven't been to those? 07:20 Not yet. Okay. 07:21 Not yet. All right. 07:23 Well, it's been a year almost. Yes. 07:27 Since you've been elected president. Right. 07:29 And what is, sort of, your plan 07:33 or where you're headed with the outreach of this division? 07:38 You know, I believed 07:40 that the North American Division has amazing potential. 07:44 God has gifted the church throughout Canada, 07:48 the United States and Bermuda with huge resources 07:53 that if they were properly utilized-- 07:56 and that is not to say that there haven't been great efforts 07:59 and that people haven't been doing great things. 08:01 Don't misunderstand me but, you know, 08:04 I believe Jesus is coming soon. 08:06 And I believe the time has come for us to begin 08:10 to remember the fact that we are stewards of God's goods. 08:14 Praise God. And stewards of God's assets, 08:17 his resources, both human and financial. 08:20 So what we have been doing through the last year 08:22 and what we continue to do 08:24 is we are developing a strategic plan called REACH. 08:28 Okay. Now the General Conference, of course, 08:31 has called for revival and reformation 08:33 and the North American Division is supportive of that, 08:36 fully supportive. 08:37 So we are looking at the word 'REACH,' however. 08:40 The 'R' in that--and we use the word REACH as an acronym. 08:45 And the 'R' in that word 08:47 for us stands for revival and transformation. Okay. 08:52 And we are talking about transformation 08:54 as we look at the other four letters, E-A-C-H. 08:57 We're talking about the transformation 09:00 of the North American Division. 09:01 The 'E' in that word stands for education for discipleship. 09:07 We are committed to doing all that we can for our primary, 09:12 secondary schools and our higher ed. 09:15 to ensure that we come back again to the idea or that 09:20 we intensify 'cause this is happening in many, many places. 09:23 We intensify the idea that Adventist Christian education 09:27 isn't just to give somebody a diploma 09:29 or that the education program that we have in our homes, 09:33 in our Sabbath schools is designed to help young people 09:36 become disciples of Jesus. 09:39 So that is the focus of education. 09:41 So that's the 'E.' R-E. 'A' is for alignment. 09:45 Alignment in the way we focus as-- 09:49 or as we look at our world evangelistically. 09:52 Alignment in our churches. 09:55 You know we have many different messages being preached today. 09:59 That's true. 10:01 And we're committed as a division 10:03 to encourage our congregations and our pastors 10:07 to intensify again their discovery in the word of God. 10:13 To see that those 28 fundamental beliefs that we uphold 10:17 and that we cherish as Adventist aren't something that-- 10:21 well, there is no option on them as I see it. 10:23 They're not up for negotiation. Right. Right. 10:26 And we want everybody to dust off their Bible, 10:29 to get back into the word of God and become aligned-- 10:34 With the purposes of God through the basis 10:37 that we follow--the basis that we find in God's word 10:40 and in the Spirit of Prophecy. 10:41 You know, we've felt that same call and we began 10:46 with our pillars of the Christian faith last year. 10:50 Did the first half, 10:52 about 14 or 13 or 14 of those last year. 10:56 And now this year we're doing 10:58 the rest of the 28 fundamental beliefs. Praise God. 11:01 Because we feel like, as you do, 11:03 that we must not get away from these. 11:08 These are truths that God has given us to give to the world. 11:12 Absolutely. Absolutely-- 11:14 And we want to continue to sound them 11:16 with the trumpet that it's sure. And-- 11:19 I couldn't agree more with you. 11:21 Now let me finish. All right. 11:22 The 'C,' you know, the R-E-A. Now we come to 'C'. 11:26 Community involvement, 11:28 Community Outreach and Evangelism. Yes. 11:30 You know, evangelism is the lifeblood of the church. Yeah. 11:34 And we've done some interesting things in the last year 11:37 and intend to do many, many more interesting things. 11:41 You know, this February 11:43 I had the privilege of being in Houston. Yes. 11:46 And that's some of your old stomping grounds. 11:47 Well, Texas, that's right. Texas. Mm-hmm. 11:50 You got to be a special person to be a Texan, C.A. 11:53 We don't have to be but it sure helps. 11:56 We--well, my wife and I arrived in Houston 11:59 on an evening when there was an ice storm in Houston. 12:03 Oh, yeah. Oh, yes. 12:04 And, you know, we-- I woke up in the morning 12:06 and I looked out at the road, at the freeway 12:08 which was right outside the window of our hotel 12:09 and I said, "It's very silent out there." 12:13 They had closed down all the roads. Quite sure. 12:15 We were supposed to start an evangelistic meeting 12:17 that Friday evening. Yes. 12:19 And, you know, that was a big thing to overcome 12:21 but then they phoned us at our hotel room and said, 12:24 "Well, you know, 12:26 we won't be able to start the meetings tonight." 12:28 Hmm. Wow. 12:29 Someone had gone behind the church 12:30 and cut six of the leading lines, 12:34 the electrical lines into the church, 12:36 and tried to steal the copper out of them. Oh, wow. 12:39 So we had to wait until Saturday night 12:41 till we started but-- Yeah. 12:43 You know, there were 130 evangelistic meetings 12:47 going on concurrently in the city of Houston. 12:51 You know what they're telling me now? 12:53 Is that so far 800 people have been baptized-- 12:56 Yeah, praise God-- In some of those meetings. 12:58 So we praise God. Amen. 12:59 So one of the things that we're dreaming about is that 13:02 we will find models like the Houston model 13:05 and transplant that into other cities-- 13:08 Throughout North America. Right. 13:10 You know, Jesus is coming and we have to have an urgency 13:13 for community outreach and evangelism. Amen. Yes. 13:16 And that community outreach can also include 13:19 many other facets of our work. 13:20 We have a great plan called "Step it Up." 13:25 I think I'm getting it wrong and probably our health director 13:28 will get after me but it's patterned after 13:31 the Let's Move Initiative that Michelle Obama 13:34 initiated in the United States. All right. 13:36 But our health director has taken that 13:38 and she has raised significant money. 13:39 And she is going to challenge 13:42 Adventist throughout North America 13:44 to get involved in health. All right. 13:46 And to walk and so we're going to step it up. Amen. 13:50 So community outreach, there are many facets to it. 13:53 But that is the 'C'. Yes. 13:56 The 'H' is another significant one. 13:59 And, you know, Jim, one of the things 14:03 that we're called upon in the last days of history 14:06 prior of Jesus return is that we be transparent as a church. 14:11 The 'H' stands for healthy administration and management. 14:17 We are committed to encouraging every one of our conferences, 14:23 our unions, even our local churches 14:26 to look at the way they are running the organization 14:30 they're responsible for. 14:32 It's important that we do that. Yes, it is. 14:35 You know, I'll be honest with you. 14:37 On June 28 I was elected 14:38 president of the North American Division. Okay. 14:41 And from that day till this, 14:43 I believe that God has asked me to be a steward of that office. 14:48 He didn't give it to me. I don't own the presidency. 14:51 And I need to be faithful to God's call to ensure 14:56 that we are being honest with our people 14:58 and open with our people, that we are doing everything 15:01 we can to utilize the resources, the finances that God gives us. 15:06 Absolutely. For His cause 15:08 so that we can see God finish His work. 15:11 So that's the R-E-A-C-H. 15:13 'R' is for revival and transformation. 15:16 The E-A-C-H is for the transformation 15:20 of our members throughout North America and for me. 15:23 So that's one of the things that we have been up to 15:26 as we have planned and dreamed 15:28 not only about the present but about the future. 15:31 Elder, I wanted to just mind the 'H' just a little bit. 15:34 Because, of course, when we talk about transparency 15:36 folk always like to know where the money is going. Right. 15:38 But are you envisioning more than that as far as 15:42 how elections are done, what we do, 15:43 the kinds of decisions that we make, 15:45 the kinds of things we say? 15:46 Is it targeting finances per se or is it finances plus 15:50 a whole constellation of things? 15:52 It is targeting everything so that we develop 15:55 a culture of transparency within the church. 15:58 You know, this is a very heavy year 16:00 for the North American Division and for every division 16:02 around the world because following General Conference, 16:06 you know, we have General Conference last year 16:08 but this year all of our union conferences 16:10 have constituency meetings. 16:13 I want to tell you what I am telling 16:14 nominating committees as we sit together. 16:18 I tell them, "If you have come into this room 16:22 looking for a man 16:24 then you don't belong here. Get out." Aha. 16:27 "If you have come here to seek God's will 16:32 then you're in the right place because God knows 16:35 who needs to be an officer in this union. 16:39 God knows that already. 16:40 Your job and mine is to connect with the will of God 16:44 so that we can put the very most spiritual, 16:48 highly spiritual emphasis on the way we elect people." 16:51 Now you're positioned as North American Division president. 16:55 You would be the chairman 16:57 of each of those nominating committees. 16:59 That's correct. That's correct. 17:00 So that's a very important position. 17:02 You know, I tell people 17:04 I didn't come here to tell you who you need to elect. 17:07 The North American Division does not have an agenda. 17:09 We will not have agendas on who ought to be elected 17:13 and the membership of our church 17:16 as they commit their lives to God, 17:18 as we all commit our lives to God 17:20 have the opportunity to connect with God to-- 17:23 you know I-- this has been my message. 17:25 We are preparing for the final thrust 17:29 of God's work on planet earth before Jesus comes. 17:32 Praise God. We're preparing for that. 17:34 And so when we meet together in constituency meetings 17:37 we're attempting to position the church 17:38 for that final thrust. 17:40 So we don't want to mess around 17:42 and bring politics and nonsense into that. 17:46 Actually, currently there's a large number 17:50 of new union presidents. Yes. 17:53 Throughout the division. Is that correct? 17:55 Yes, yes, there are. 17:56 You know, I got to the place not so long ago, Brother Jim, 17:59 where I looked at all the union presidents 18:01 that were there and I said to myself, 18:04 "I've been here longer than any of them." Yes. 18:07 And it just felt like I was a kid--Yeah. 18:10 A few years ago. That I was the new guy. 18:12 Right. But there has been a transition. 18:14 There has. Yes, there has. 18:15 Now how many unions do we have in there? 18:17 We have 9 unions in the North American Divisions. 18:18 How many constituencies have you been at so far? 18:20 Four so far. We have five to go. 18:22 Five to go. Yeah. 18:23 If we can live through that 18:25 it will be quite an accomplishment. 18:26 Yes, it will. 18:28 And you have new presidents in the South Western Union. 18:30 South Western Union. Central--in Mid-America. 18:32 Mid-America, Tom Lemon. Uh-huh. 18:35 And relatively new at Pacific Union. Yes. 18:41 Relatively new. And North Pacific Union. 18:45 Max Torkelsen. And that's fairly new-- 18:47 That's fairly new. Yeah. 18:49 And the Lake Union. And Don Livesay. Yes, yes. 18:53 And so there are a number of relatively new presidents. 18:59 Yes. Yes. And-- 19:00 I never thought I'd look at myself as the old guy, Jim. 19:03 You know it's almost come to that. Yeah. 19:06 Sooner or later it does. Yes, it does. 19:09 And we've been talking about changes and challenges. 19:11 We want to talk about some things that have been 19:13 happening just recently but I want to ask you 19:14 one of those kind of introspective questions. 19:15 We toss that every now and again. 19:17 You've been at this job just about a year. 19:22 How has Don Jackson's-- Dan. 19:26 Dan Jackson's opinion, view of the church changed, 19:32 grown, expanded from being 19:36 president of the church in Canada 19:38 to being president of the North American Division? 19:41 Seeing what you've seen, experiencing what you have 19:44 experienced over these last 12 months 19:47 how has your vision of the church changed, 19:49 if indeed it has? How so? 19:53 Well, you know, I will tell you 19:54 that it was wonderful working in my homeland. 20:00 And I was very grateful to be there. 20:02 It was a great privilege. 20:04 And I tell people all the time, 20:06 you know, "I am a guest in the United States. 20:09 And I am grateful to the government of the United States 20:12 for letting me be here." 20:14 But, you know, one of the things I am finding out is that 20:18 everywhere we go we have wonderful people. 20:22 Praise God. You know, we have wonderful systems. 20:24 And it is true that we have some challenges. 20:28 And the challenges in the North American Division 20:31 never seem to be of the tiny variety 20:33 that you can just deal with. 20:34 Well, let's take care of this in the next two minutes. 20:37 You know? Yeah. 20:39 And on top of that we are frail human beings, right? 20:42 Yes. We recognize that. 20:43 Though God has asked us to lead, 20:45 again we are stewards of those offices 20:48 and yet many of the issues that we face-- 20:51 I want to tell you, brethren, we get on our knees. 20:55 And we acknowledge God to be sovereign Lord of all 20:58 and the only one capable of giving 21:02 or of imparting the wisdom that we need to carry out 21:06 the activities of the North American Division. 21:08 This job is too big for any of us, C.A. 21:12 I am not a big enough man 21:14 to take care of the spiritual needs 21:17 of the North American Division unless I find my ability 21:22 to lead in connection with God. 21:25 So, you know, it's true. 21:27 We have some challenges and they are great challenges. 21:30 But I want to tell you, 21:31 we have way more good things than bad. 21:34 We have some wonderful, wonderful people. 21:36 And I--and so how has my view changed? 21:39 While it certainly has expanded but as it's expanded 21:43 I've looked at this wonderful field 21:45 and I've said to myself, 21:47 "Man, if we could pull this all together by God's grace 21:50 through the Holy Spirit"-- Yes. 21:51 And empower these people 21:53 to get involved in a more intense way 21:56 with the work of the gospel, 21:58 you know, God is going to do 22:00 something great in this division. 22:01 Yeah. Right. You know, you ought to do this. 22:03 Crow just a little bit. 22:04 You know, over the past year I'm sure the Lord has put 22:06 something in your path, in your mind. 22:08 Something you've dealt with that really 22:10 sometimes you want to sit back and pop your suspenders and say, 22:12 "This is why I'm a Seventh-day Adventist," you know? 22:14 Give us one of those kind of experience. 22:16 Oh, man. You know, let me tell you one story. 22:21 And, you know, I have often said that it is our lay people, 22:26 working outside of the cameras and beyond the pulpits 22:31 and so on, who really are the heart and soul of the church. 22:35 Amen. Now we've got a brother in the city area 22:39 who lives outside the city of Chicago, 22:41 a gentleman by the name of Frank Torbert. 22:44 He's 88 years old. 22:46 Eight years ago he was driving his wife 22:51 to take her to a nursing home. 22:53 She was very, very ill, has some serious problems. 22:57 And the Lord said, "Now, Frank, 22:58 you take her home and take care of her yourself." 23:01 Now this brother has continued to do that all through the years 23:04 but let me tell you what else he's been doing. 23:07 Not only is he a loving and faithful husband. 23:11 But this man 20 years ago made a decision 23:14 that every week he would buy 23:18 10 boxes of Bible answers. 23:22 That man only leaves his house today for two reasons. 23:29 He phones the ABC and places his order for those books. 23:32 And then he goes, one time a month, 23:34 he goes and gets 10 boxes of Bible answers. 23:38 Now he's 88 years of age and he's on a pension. 23:42 But he spends $500 a month on Bible answers. Wow. 23:48 Now on Sabbath there's extra help 23:50 that comes in to help his wife. 23:54 And so on Sabbath he leaves the home 23:56 and goes right into the core of Chicago, 23:59 into the inner-city where there is trouble 24:03 and he hands out Bible answers. Bless his-- 24:06 In his little church about half of the people 24:09 who go there trace their introduction to Adventist 24:13 to some guy in the streets of Chicago 24:15 handing them a Bible answers. Praise God. 24:17 I want to tell you I praise God for those kind of stories. 24:20 Yes, indeed. Those are the real heroes of the faith. 24:22 Amen. Yes, they are. They are the real heroes. 24:24 And we can duplicate that picture over and over again. 24:27 There are people all across this division 24:30 who are doing exploits for God. 24:32 But they don't often get into the camera. 24:34 Yes. No. Into the light of the camera. 24:36 So that's one thing that makes me 24:40 delighted and happy to be a Seventh-day Adventist. 24:42 To know that I am a brother-- Yes. 24:44 To Frank Tolbert in Chicago-- A fellow like that. Amen. 24:46 Amen, Praise God. Great story, great story. 24:49 We will keep him in prayer. 24:50 What are some of the opportunities that you see 24:55 and would like to be able to--you know, 24:58 always money usually prevents us from some things 25:02 or a number of things but what are some of the opportunities 25:04 that you see for the church in North America? 25:08 You know, I will tell you what I think 25:09 are the greatest opportunities. 25:13 Our people are beginning to stir. 25:16 Our people are beginning to say, 25:20 "We want to be united in the gospel." Amen. 25:24 "And begin to finish the work." 25:26 You know, I had a very, very interesting conversation 25:30 not so long ago. 25:32 I was invited by the vice presidents for mission 25:36 of the Adventist Health Systems of all the hospitals. 25:40 And they asked me to come and talk with them. 25:44 First they said, "We just have 20 minutes to talk with you." 25:48 But when I sat in front of them I said, "You know, 25:51 I didn't come here with a speech and I don't have an agenda 25:54 but I think you do so let's talk." 25:56 You know, we spent two hours talking. 25:59 And the leaders of mission in our hospital systems 26:02 said to me, 26:03 "We want to be involved in the work of the church. 26:06 We want guidance and assistance from the church." 26:09 And we're finding that not only in our hospitals 26:13 but in our schools, in our churches. 26:15 So that's a huge opportunity. 26:18 You know, another opportunity that we have-- 26:20 we just spent a couple of days in Ontario, California-- 26:24 Oh, yes. Talking about media. 26:26 And, you know, we want to praise God. 26:29 And, C.A., you were there. You saw that scene of the--Yes. 26:33 We called all of the retired folks and the current folks 26:37 and the active folks involved in media 26:40 and anyway up on the platform. 26:41 And we've got a picture. Brother, if you can put it up. 26:44 It was so impressive for me 26:46 to stand with that group of leaders 26:49 who have served the Lord so well and so long 26:52 and so faithfully in media. 26:55 Just--you name the name going all the way back of those 26:58 that were there, C.D. Brooks was not there 27:00 but great men and women of God 27:03 who have been used by theLord over the years. 27:04 It was really quite humbling to stand on that dais. 27:06 Now we just really praised God for that. Yeah. 27:10 And we owe a huge debt of gratitude 27:12 to the leaders of our Media Ministries 27:16 whether that be the production of one program 27:18 or a studio or whatever it has been. 27:23 We really praise God for that. 27:24 And, you know, it really goes back 27:26 to Elder. H.M.S. Richards. Yes. 27:28 First one that was actually involved in Media Ministry. 27:32 And then Figuhr came along and then one by one-- 27:36 Yes. Those programs were headed. 27:38 George Vandeman moved in. 27:40 And then there successors have come along--Yeah. 27:43 And continued those ministries. 27:45 And then Danny Shelton in 1984 began this ministry. Right. 27:49 Which has over 25 years 27:52 and the impact that we just are amazed 27:56 by the impact around the world 27:57 that we get the feedback from 3ABN. 28:02 And, of course, we carry those programs. 28:05 "It is Written," "The Voice of Prophecy" and so forth. 28:08 So it is an amazing thing 28:11 that God has done in reaching out with media. 28:14 And I think we've only begun. I do too. 28:17 You know, I tell people all the time 28:21 the church is a miracle. Yes. 28:24 People tend to think that the way we're structured 28:26 organizationally that the guys in one level can-- 28:29 or what we call level. 28:32 I'd really like to call it ripple, you know, 28:33 because you throw the stone into the water and the ripples, 28:37 the waves go out but people tend to think well, 28:40 you know, at one level they can just crack the whip 28:42 and the next part of the ripple they just have to answer. 28:46 That's not true right down to the local church. 28:48 This church functions on the basis of cooperation. 28:53 And the guidance of the Holy Spirit. 28:54 So the church itself is a miracle. 28:56 I will say when you get to 100 people in the same room 28:59 and they don't rip each others face off, that's a miracle. 29:02 But you know the-- but the fact is 29:05 that the Media Ministries-- 29:09 and you've just mentioned it for 3ABN. 29:12 But you go back and look at the way 29:14 that God has blessed our Media Ministries. 29:17 These things didn't just happen out of happenstance. 29:20 They didn't occur because somebody had a bright idea. 29:23 God inspired men and women-- Yes. 29:25 To reach out to their world in unique ways 29:28 and then he inspired our people to help them. Yes. 29:31 And, you know, of course, in these days 29:34 we're not always getting traction with our people 29:36 the way we might. Right. 29:37 And by God's grace we need to re-initiate that spirit of 29:43 we're living in the final days. 29:44 We have media and as you said 29:47 we're just beginning to see what God can do. 29:49 I believe that as we work 29:52 with every media ministry in North America 29:57 in a convergence of resources 30:00 where we work together to proclaim the gospel 30:02 great things will happen. Yeah. 30:04 Now at the media-- at the media summit 30:06 that we recently had, we really got 30:11 an introduction to social media. Yes, we did. 30:15 And in talking about social media, 30:18 please understand I'm not putting down 30:20 the traditional media that we have, 30:22 radio, television. Not at all. 30:24 But the fact of the matter is, that, you know, 30:28 the world that we're living in today is a changing world. 30:32 You know, that about 98% of young people today 30:37 are connected to social media. 30:39 That's the future. It is, without any question. 30:43 Now most of these-- and that doesn't mean 30:46 that while we move into that horizon 30:48 that we downplay the rest. 30:50 But that doesn't mean because we have the rest 30:52 that we don't move into the new horizon. 30:54 But you know, that there are somewhere 30:57 between 80% and 90% of these young people today 31:02 who are involved in social media 31:04 are never away from those appendages. Right. 31:08 You know, that cell phone that you have right there, 31:10 they're never away from their media instruments 31:15 for longer than a half hour a day. That's right. 31:17 You know, one father told me an interesting story 31:19 and it's a great story. 31:21 One father that told me this story, 31:22 he said, he was walking by-- he got in late from a trip. 31:25 He was walking by his daughter's bedroom 3 AM in the morning. 31:30 He heard the bling, bling, 31:32 and he saw his daughter reach over, 31:35 pickup her cell phone, look at it and go, "Hmm," 31:39 text a few words, put it down and go back to sleep. 31:42 She was talking to her friend from Ethiopia. 31:45 Wow! 3 o' clock in the morning. 31:47 She just reach over by and wrote... 31:50 Right. And away we go. 31:51 Yeah. Yeah. 31:52 It was--I felt that churches becoming 31:56 well aware of new media, as it is called, 32:00 and determining we are not going to-- 32:03 not only going to use it, but exploit it, 32:05 I use that in its most positive term, 32:07 exploit this media for the gospel. 32:09 You've got millions of young people 32:12 whose only media access is Twitter or Facebook 32:17 and we need to be there. 32:18 If they are there then we need to be there 32:20 with the gospel of Jesus Christ. 32:21 And it was a wonderful coming out, 32:23 dare I say, of the church. 32:25 All of the media people there, workshops, working together, 32:28 trying to see how can we use these things 32:31 for the propagation of the gospel. 32:32 I wanted to ask you, what was it that 32:34 drove the calling of this meeting, 32:37 because I know there's been a committee, 32:39 a steering committee, that's been meeting 32:40 and then you have some plans post meeting, 32:42 but what was going on that drove you to say, 32:45 hey, we need to sort of grab a hold of this thing 32:47 and really use it for the gospel? 32:48 Well, I think the word that I used earlier is the reason. 32:52 You know, we have all these resources. 32:54 It seems to me like we've got media centers everywhere, 32:57 all over North America we've got media centers. 33:00 We've got a couple in Canada. 33:01 We've got five or six down here. 33:03 And I said to myself, and we said administratively, 33:08 how can we capture the imagination 33:10 of all of our media, pull them together 33:14 and talk about how do we position our media 33:20 in the most effective way, 33:22 head over the Gospel of Jesus 33:23 in the final days of human history. 33:25 And that was the reason. 33:27 How can we get people together-- 33:29 you know, one of the things-- 33:30 you know, we talked about the "H" Healthy administration." 33:33 One of things that we are trying to do is to be transparent. 33:37 And in doing that, we are trying to broaden 33:40 the circle of counselors in every area. 33:43 So when we thought about media we said, 33:45 you know, we could sit over here 33:47 and Silver Spring behind our desks 33:48 and dream some dreams that would be 33:50 so irrelevant and foolish that nobody would listen. 33:53 So why don't we get the people who are involved in media 33:57 to talk to us about social media, 34:00 about radio and television, how we can best utilize it. 34:04 So those are the reasons why it started. 34:07 Jim, one of things that surprised me, 34:09 and it may have you too Elder, the power and the-- 34:14 I use this term, stay ability of radio. 34:18 We were given a presentation 34:20 that is saying basically of all of the major media 34:24 the one that has been most immune 34:26 to new media has been radio. 34:29 It has affected television some, 34:31 but according to the statistics we heard, 34:33 radio is just as present and as strong and as powerful 34:37 as ever and though we need to move into these new media, 34:41 we ought not leave radio 34:42 because radio is still a good way to spend your money 34:45 and it has very good impact in large cities and small. 34:48 Well, you look at each of us. 34:49 When we are in automobiles, we're listening to radio. Right. 34:52 And even between just the short drive that I have here, 34:56 I have 3ABN radio on or a news station 35:00 just in that short length of time. 35:03 So we've got then-- and 3ABN radio's been growing. 35:06 We have over 200 stations 35:08 and it is just growing leaps and bounds 35:12 and Jay Christian's doing such a fantastic job with radio. 35:16 And we have not forgotten radio here, 35:19 I want you to know that. Yeah. 35:21 Elder, you made a very powerful opening-- 35:24 really key note address and one of things 35:26 that you tapped again and again, 35:28 the button you--the button that you pushed again and again 35:32 was the idea and-- and I'll put it in my terms, 35:35 that we all need to sort of pull in the same direction. 35:37 That if we're going to do what Christ has called us to do 35:41 we need to all hitch our horses, as it were, 35:45 to the same wagon and pull together. 35:48 Church entities, supporting entities, 35:51 if we're gonna do this, everybody needs to-- 35:54 and that seems to be a hallmark of your presidency now, 35:58 that those things that we're going to do 36:00 we have to drop the territorial garb 36:04 and all pull in the same direction. 36:06 Talk to us just a little bit about that if you will. 36:09 Well, you know, I believe in the Bible. 36:14 When the Apostle Peter describe the church he said, 36:20 you know, you're a royal priesthood, 36:23 you're a holy nation, a people called by God 36:27 and we love that passage and we use that passage, 36:30 but you know right before that second Peter 2:9 statement 36:34 there is a whole other statement 36:37 that talks about the household of faith, 36:39 about the fact that God is building his household 36:43 and Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. Praise God. 36:47 You know, if you were to build a brick house 36:52 and you put one brick over here and one brick over there 36:54 and one brick over there 36:56 you're not going to get much of a house, 36:57 you might a get a bunch of pillars 36:59 but you're not gonna get a house. 37:01 And how do you build a community of faith 37:05 unless people are joining together 37:07 and sensing that the greatest potential that we have. 37:12 And I'm not talking about unity based on 37:15 compromise and so on. Surely. 37:17 But listen, there are divergences of opinion. 37:21 There are some folks who start supporting ministries like 3ABN. 37:25 Then you have the strength of the Hope channel, 37:29 you've the legacy media ministries of the church. 37:34 They're all wonderful. 37:35 God is blessing them and everyone can say 37:39 "My, we've seen miracles" and that's great. 37:41 But I'll tell you what I believe. 37:43 We haven't seen the greatest miracles yet 37:46 because God is building a house 37:48 and every block and every brick-- 37:50 you know, I like to look at like a stone mason. 37:53 You know, a stone mason builds the stone wall. 37:55 I watched a man do that one time 37:58 and it was an absolute amazing thing me, 38:01 the straightness and level of the wall. 38:04 You know, he took some bricks and he chopped them this way 38:06 or rather stones and he cracked them 38:09 and broke them and shaped them and put them in the wall. 38:12 And, you know, God does that with individuals 38:14 and he does that with ministry. Yeah. 38:16 But, you know, none of us, none of us 38:18 is as strong as we might be 38:21 if we would unite in common cause 38:25 to finish God's work. Praise God. 38:27 And I have a belief 38:29 that there will be no reaffirmation than the church. 38:34 When people have silence, as people say 38:39 well I can't cooperate with him 38:40 because he does that or him because he does that. 38:43 I believe God calls and I believe 38:45 Ellen White talks about this. 38:47 We need to link arms together, layman and pastors, etcetera 38:53 and to link arms and walk to the kingdom together. 38:57 God wants to pour out his spirit on His church. Praise God. 39:00 He does. Praise God. Praise God. 39:01 And so that's what I believe and, 39:04 you know, when you asked the question 39:06 I just said I believe the Bible. 39:08 'Cause I believe that's Biblical. 39:09 Well, you can't argue with 39:11 an answer like--once you say I believe the Bible 39:13 you're going down the right street. Yeah. 39:15 Having spent two full days, 39:16 and these were long and intense days, as you will know. 39:20 We ate in the room and we worked through lunch, 39:22 they were working lunches, 39:24 how did you feel the message was received, 39:27 that vast group of media professionals 39:30 some of those guys because I've known for you, 39:31 we know them all, 39:33 did they buy in to what was being so do you think? 39:37 Well, you know, that was the beginning of the process. 39:39 Yes. We're not stopping the discussion on media. 39:43 It's going to go on. 39:46 I've said to the folks in my opening remarks, 39:48 you know, there is some folks who are saying, 39:52 we're hoping that you'll succeed 39:54 and there's other people who are watching us saying, 39:56 boy, we're waiting till you fail. 39:58 What I made the comment at that time, 40:01 you know, "we may fall down a few times 40:03 or may be a many times, 40:04 but by God's grace we're gonna get up 40:06 and continue to proceed until by His grace we succeed." 40:11 I thought most people were energized by it. 40:14 I think most people started to dreams some dreams. Oh, yes. 40:19 And, you know, where I would like to take this next? 40:22 To our college compasses. Amen. 40:24 To talk to our young people. 40:26 Because you know what I dream about? 40:27 You know, If I was a pastor, 40:29 I would wanna get our people that come together in the church 40:33 and sit down behind their laptops 40:36 and learn how to witness in cyberspace 40:39 for Jesus Christ. Amen. 40:40 I told one of the folks who was sitting behind me, 40:42 I said, if you went to your conference 40:45 and you got 50 people, just 50 people 40:48 who would give a half an hour every week to come to church 40:52 and you would trained them how do engage 40:54 in a conversation for Christ in cyberspace. Yes. 40:59 Can you imagine that would be 100 hours every month 41:04 that people that we don't know would be a contractor for Jesus. 41:08 We could have such a ground swell throughout this division, 41:11 everybody using their computer, going on facebook or twitter, 41:15 talking to people for Christ. 41:18 You know, you don't have to be a rocket scientist 41:20 to do that or theologian with Ph.D. in theology. Yeah. 41:24 So, I think some people started to catch that vision 41:28 and so it was an exciting time. 41:30 Yeah. Jim, let me begin to throw out statistics. 41:33 One person said-- an expert said, 41:35 every minute, every 60 seconds, 41:38 24 hours worth of content is uploaded to Youtube. 41:42 That's every minute, 24 hours worth a viewing 41:46 is uploaded of every minute of everyday, 41:48 every month, every year. 41:50 So you're talking about an arenathat is so vast, 41:54 that is so-- it cannot be ignore 41:57 by those of us who love Jesus. We have to be there. 41:58 You know, we do have individuals who have got this vision. 42:03 Are doing so-- Michael Shuler 42:05 down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. 42:08 Michael is working very hard 42:10 to come up with different ways of-- 42:13 through Youtube but they're different catch phrases 42:17 that he uses to Google. 42:19 In another words when they're Googling 42:21 it's different words and he's studying which words 42:24 are the ones that will get responses like that. 42:27 And he's getting a tremendous response. 42:30 I spent more than an hour on the phone with him recently 42:33 as he was sharing with me so many of the success 42:37 that there having with YouTube. 42:39 We have another young man if you remember 42:40 on the program here that we did an interview with 42:44 and he is getting thousands and thousands of hits on YouTube 42:49 and even 3ABN if you go on YouTube 42:52 there are dozens and dozens of 3ABN sites. 42:57 Many of them upload it by our viewers 43:01 and some by Michael Prewitt, 43:04 that's who's done so here. 43:06 So you see, Jim, there's still gonna be an opportunity 43:08 for your musical career on YouTube. 43:10 You could... I don't think so. 43:14 You know what my question is C.A., 43:16 what my challenge is as I think about this? 43:19 You know, as you mention, Jim. 43:22 H.M.S. Richards came along and saw the genius of radio 43:25 and how he could witness for Christ 43:28 and move the gospel ahead on radio. 43:32 William Fagal, George Vandeman 43:34 and all of those who have comes since. On and on. 43:36 Saw the potential. Right. 43:39 Here's my question. Where is she? 43:42 Where is he, the H.M.S. Richards of social media? Yeah. 43:48 Where are those people? Where are those people? 43:51 They're all over. They are. Yeah. Yeah. 43:53 And what we need to do as a church 43:55 is that we need to find them. 43:57 Yes. Yeah. 43:58 And then get them to cross-pollinate their ideas 44:01 like your friend was doing with you. Yeah. 44:02 Because, you know, Ellen White saw. 44:05 I mean, this is exciting right? Yeah. 44:07 Streams of light encircling the globe. 44:09 Yes. Yes. Right, right. 44:11 You know, you think-- that story I told you. 44:14 Here's a young woman in her bed at 3 o' clock in the morning 44:16 talking to somebody in Ethiopia. Yes. 44:20 You know, think about that. 44:21 All over the world, Seventh-day Adventist Christians 44:25 using their computers to talk to people they've never seen 44:29 and they may never see them until to get to the kingdom 44:32 and the person say it was you that emailed me. Right. 44:35 That was you that Twittered me or Facebooked me, right? 44:37 Yeah. Yeah It was you. 44:39 And, you know, that just is energizing, isn't it? It is. 44:43 This past year, when they did study, 44:45 they found for the first time 44:47 that the number of television sets in homes declined, 44:51 by quite a large number actually if you get the actual stats. 44:57 Meaning that more and more people 44:59 even are watching television on their computers. Oh, yes. 45:03 And they get-- they're able to reach out, 45:07 you can watch 3ABN, you can watch 3ABN Latino, 45:10 you can watch our proclaim, you can watch our Dare to Dream, 45:15 our sunbeam channel, and Russian. 45:18 You can watch all of these on the internet 45:20 as well as watching on by television. 45:25 And yet this is something that I believe 45:32 will enable us to really, actually finish the work. 45:37 You know, we talk about finishing the work. Right. 45:40 And for individuals to go into homes, 45:43 it's wonderful, it's fantastic, 45:46 but from media you can get in there 24/7. 45:49 You can get in there in the middle of the night. 45:51 If that's when somebody wants to look and watch 45:54 and you can get behind those locked gates through media. 45:59 And it's the way I believe that the Lord is going to proclaim 46:03 this gospel all around the world. Amen. 46:04 My sister's case and point, 46:06 she lives in an apartment complex, 46:07 will not allow a satellite dish. 46:09 You know, is one of the-- won't allow that. 46:11 Cannot get a sun cable. 46:12 She's strictly computer and she watches 3ABN 46:14 on computer all the time. 46:16 So it is an arena that we need to be in. 46:18 Elder, before our time gets away from us, 46:19 I know there's a number of things 46:22 that you are wrestling with from your position. 46:25 I said wrestling with, challenges, 46:27 you know, the Lord give this opportunity and challenges, 46:29 what are some of the things, some of the directions 46:31 that the NAD is gonna to be moving in 46:33 in the next little bit that you have 46:35 the privilege of watching us go in that direction? 46:40 I need to understand that question a little more, C.A. 46:43 You need to get more specific. 46:44 Some of the initiatives that you're gonna to be fostering 46:47 from a division standpoint, some of the directions 46:49 that you'd like to see the division go into. 46:51 Well, you know, we are going to cooperate 46:54 with the general conference in a number of projects 46:57 that they initiate the great controversy project. Oh, yes. 47:02 You know, I heard our general conference 47:03 president say just couple a weeks ago, 47:05 that their target, the target of the general conference 47:08 is for 50 million, great controversy 47:10 is to be distributed around the world. 47:13 And yet one division, the South American division 47:15 has made a gold of 38 million. 47:19 Wow. That's amazing. 47:21 You know, and you know, we need to-- 47:24 we need to praise God and be thankful for 3ABN 47:28 because I know you folks have been very much involved 47:31 in the distribution of the great controversy. 47:32 Well, Jack Henderson, a retired literature minister 47:38 from Florida, called me one day 47:40 and he had this dream. 47:41 And I said, well come on, 47:43 we'll do a program and talk about it 47:45 and so many people responded to Jacks appeal. 47:49 And it has just taken off. 47:51 And it's been a beautiful thing and very inspiring thing. 47:57 Jack and also one of the other gentleman 48:01 came down from the review, not long ago, 48:04 and visited with this about the success of it 48:08 and how many thousand and thousand 48:10 of these have gone out already. 48:12 Do you know how many have gone out already? 48:14 I do not know the total. 48:16 They've already done 1.6 million. Wow. 48:19 And while we were at the review in Harold Constituency 48:22 about a week ago. Yes. 48:24 They had just brought in another 35 tons of paper 48:28 to do another 400,000 copies. 48:30 Wow. Praise the Lord. 48:32 So that by the within the next few months 48:34 they will have already been two million copies 48:37 of great controversy distributed in the United State of America. 48:40 Well, Howard Scoggins was with the with Jack 48:43 the last time they came down and he was telling us, 48:46 we said, we think you ought to get ready to print 48:48 2 million because more because-- 48:50 Well, and they've done that. That's what they have. 48:52 They've done 2 million. Praise the Lord. 48:54 And you know, we were talking about 48:57 another kind of distribution of the book 48:59 and this is one of them-- 49:00 we are taking the general conference initiative 49:04 and were saying, hey, we're gonna make this 49:06 a North America the vision initiative. 49:07 We're gonna do some of what South America's 49:10 doing where also taking-- 49:12 gonna look at the young people's addition and present that. Yeah. 49:19 Another thing we've been thinking about 49:20 and we have just got to put our toe into the water of it, 49:25 but we want an app. Yes. 49:28 A telephone app. Absolutely. 49:31 And we'd like to see 10 million people. Yeah. 49:34 Taking that app. Take it down on their I thing. 49:36 Take it on their I pad or I phone. 49:38 Take it down their reader. 49:39 Great. Right. 49:41 And we're also talking about wouldn't it be great 49:43 if we could get a group of well known Adventists 49:49 to read about 13 chapters of great controversy 49:51 and have a talking book. 49:53 That would be available on a website and on the app. 49:56 So that's one of the things that were doing. 49:58 Great, now how are the great controversy being distributed? 50:01 Those at are going out, how are they being distributed? 50:04 Yeah, I think that they are just going out 50:06 as people are inspired to get them. 50:08 We have not given real organization to that. 50:10 Well, Jack has a program for mailing them? Right. 50:14 And they are being mail. Yeah. Well, most are being mail. 50:15 For so much they are doing like a zip code 50:18 at a time and so forth. Right. 50:19 People are taking and mailing them out. Right. 50:22 And that's worked. It really has. 50:24 Yes, yes, it has. 50:26 Well, listen, there are so many different opportunities today. 50:31 You talked about that Houston model. Right. 50:34 Which I think Dwain Mickey had. 50:36 Glenn Mckey, was the, you know, 50:39 he was the kind of the sort buster 50:42 or the he was the one that was getting 50:45 as all in the corral and pushing us down the road, 50:47 but the neat thing about that was that 50:50 he was training people. Yes. 50:53 And, you know, we have some amazing stories 50:56 that have emerged out of that. 50:57 Out of that series of meeting, 50:59 it was wonderful because here you had 51:01 a group of lay people and pastors, 51:03 congregations buying in, working together. 51:07 One of things we dreaming about 51:09 in the North American division, is that we can find 51:11 a model of ministry that we can-- 51:14 as I said cross-pollinate so that we can enter 51:19 into cities like New York-- by the way 51:22 we have a major series coming in New York, 51:24 just a four days series with Frank Gonzalez and LaVoz. 51:29 That is our major project, Voice of Prophecy and LaVoz 51:32 are actually joining together to do that one. 51:36 They have already well over 200 small groups 51:38 working to bring people to that event. 51:42 But we would like to see that carried out 51:44 what we didn't Houston carried out 51:47 on an even more dramatic basis 51:49 in the city of Las Vegas right now. 51:51 We know, we have got Babylon Rising. Oh, yes. 51:54 Speaker-director, John Bradshaw's emailed me 51:58 last night and said, we don't-- 52:00 we're just amazed at wonderful stories 52:02 that we have 2000 people attending. Yes. Yes. 52:05 I was watching a little of that a little bit earlier, 52:07 they are actually breaking out into applause 52:10 in the middle of his message. 52:11 There seems to be a hunger and thirst in that city. 52:14 And he has touching a chord there. 52:16 In a very, very powerful way. 52:17 Well, I was just glad that he was finishing 52:19 when I was starting because I didn't want the competition. 52:22 There would only be the three people watching me 52:24 and ten thousand watching him. 52:26 Well, I tell you that one of things that John found 52:30 when he went there is that we have 52:32 a large viewing audience in Las Vegas. 52:35 Our low power station there is very strong. 52:40 So many people in that area don't have cable, 52:43 don't have direct TV or dish 52:46 or any of the other satellite television., 52:49 they simply have rabbit ears 52:50 and we have a low power station there. 52:53 And they're baptizing people as resulted 52:54 that every year in Las Vegas. 52:56 Every year around a 100 people 52:57 throughout those churches that are there. 53:00 I think mountain view said they do 30 or 40, 53:03 paradise may be about the same 53:06 and Pastor Rock's church about very close 53:09 to the same number of people. Amen. 53:11 People every single year that they're baptizing there. 53:14 And we want to see that multiple. 53:16 We're gonna do a conversion to that channel, 53:20 and so it will have four channels. 53:22 We'll be able to go out in Latino, in English, 53:25 and our Dare to Dream and also Proclaim. Amen. 53:30 So we'll be constantly preaching the message 53:32 there in the Las Vegas area. 53:35 You know, one of the great things 53:37 about the Las Vegas event is that 53:40 we have the convergence of many ministries in that city. 53:44 ASI ministries, we've got It Is Written, 53:48 Faith For Today. Right. 53:49 All involved, and there are others, 53:51 forgive me if I'm leaving something out, 53:53 but again, there's another model. Right. 53:56 And we want to look at those models 53:58 and transplant them to different area is in North America. 54:01 Yeah, Elder, I want to give you just a word of encouragement, 54:04 we've got a caller, e-mailer. 54:07 "I really like what's your talking about 54:09 doing the internet and cyberspace and witnessing. 54:11 We're living in an age where it's not going to do 54:15 a lot of good going door-to-door and also dangerous. 54:19 I think this is really exciting." 54:20 Well, they have sort of touched a chord, it is dangerous. 54:22 There was a time when you could go out, 54:24 when we were children, late at night in gather 54:26 you could knock on doors, 54:28 in some places it's really dangerous to do that. 54:30 In other places you simply can't get to the door. Yes. 54:32 Because there's some big doorman 54:35 who's not gonna let you in. Right. 54:36 But the cyberspace gets behind all doors and into-- 54:40 or and when we heard that there are young people 54:43 today who are never more than 30 minutes from this thing. 54:47 That says that's an arena that we have to get in on. 54:49 You know, I mean you raise another very good issue, 54:53 I mean, in your comment, it's true. 54:55 It's very difficult to go door to door 54:58 and yet we don't want to ever overlook 55:00 what we've talked about. 55:01 What we've talked about the great controversy project. 55:04 And the media of print, or the print media, 55:08 by God's grace that is one of the things 55:10 that we have been talking very actively about 55:12 in the North American division. 55:14 How can we once again encourage our people 55:18 to become involved in a ministry, 55:21 a literature ministry, were they are giving out 55:24 tracks and pamphlets and so on. 55:26 We've not move beyond that print stage, 55:28 we've not. Right true. 55:29 And you know, if you read the book "Great Controversy" 55:31 and we've been talking about it, 55:32 Ellen White in one of the final chapters makes the comment, 55:35 "I saw the people of God with their faces 55:37 lighted up and shining, 55:38 going from door-to-door." In that idea. 55:42 So well, I think it is impossible in some areas 55:45 and we need to pull them all together. 55:49 That's right. Yes. 55:50 Even public meetings and we should never 55:53 diminish them because these are places 55:55 where people can make decisions. Right. 55:58 They watch on television and they are educated 56:02 or they watch through the internet 56:04 but they need to go and be with our people 56:07 and hear the message and accept the message and receive it 56:12 and the inspiration of the moment. Right. 56:15 It's just amazing what a difference that can make. 56:18 Well, our time is just really getting away. 56:21 It does slip away very, very fast. 56:24 We do not often have 56:25 the division president with us. No, we don't. 56:28 Two times in a 12 month periods 56:29 that we are very humbled and grateful 56:32 that you started by the cornfield, 56:34 as they say, of Southern Illinois. 56:35 Well, you know, there may be another motive to it. 56:37 If I lose my job maybe you'll hire me here. 56:39 Yeah. We promise you that that's true. 56:45 But I just want each one of you 56:48 there have been watching tonight 56:49 to know that we want to continue 56:52 uniting together with God's church 56:57 and moving forward with this message 56:59 because we believe that Jesus Christ is coming again. 57:02 He's coming soon. Amen. 57:03 And we wanna proclaim that message 57:06 with clarity all around the world. 57:09 Thank you, for supporting, for standing by 57:12 because it is with your gifts only 57:14 that we are able to continue this ministry 57:17 and may God continue to bless you 57:19 and may you keep on, keeping on with Jesus Christ 57:23 our Lord, our God, our savior, our creator. God bless you. |
Revised 2014-12-17