Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018102A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:10 - Hello and welcome to another 3ABN Today 01:12 program. Thank you for joining us as you do 01:14 each and every day. Thank you for your 01:16 love and your prayers and financial support 01:19 of 3ABN as we endeavor to take this great gospel 01:21 of the kingdom into all the world. And 01:24 my lovely co-host here, my wife Yvonne. 01:27 Yvonne, we're going to have a great program 01:28 today. - We are. We are. - One thing we've 01:31 already prayed about, right? - That's right. 01:33 So we know the Holy Spirit is going to be 01:35 with us and just work it. - And we have some 01:39 leaders of a great organization-I think 01:42 one of the greatest organizations on Earth, 01:44 actually. - I do, too. - Because it's all about, 01:46 "Go ye"; it's about sharing Jesus in the 01:49 marketplace. So, why don't we introduce our 01:51 folks this time? - Good, good! - You want to? 01:53 Elder Steve Dickman, how are you doing? 01:55 - Doing fine today. - Good. You're the 01:56 president of ASI. We're so glad that you're here, 02:00 but you're also president of another organization. 02:03 Is that Harbor Hills? - My day job- I tell 02:06 people my day job is that I run a school in 02:10 Tennessee, so we have a little self-supporting 02:12 school there in Tennessee and have about 70 or 02:15 80 students from all over the world that 02:18 come there and follow the model of education that 02:21 God gave us for helping to educate the whole 02:24 person. - Wonderful. Wonderful. And we'll 02:27 talk a little bit later how you became president- 02:29 ASI's an international organization, and you're 02:32 North American, I guess, or here. So, how that happened, 02:36 because that's a big step and it's a huge 02:39 organization to lead. And so, they don't 02:42 just pick people lightly from that. There's people 02:44 that they've watched and seen and know and 02:46 respect, so it's a great honor. I would 02:50 assume, that they've chosen you to lead 02:53 this organization though we're here in 02:56 North America, that does work in outreach around 02:58 the world. That's what I love about it. Then we 03:01 have Leasa Hodges. Leasa, thank you for being 03:04 here today. - Thank you! - You're the sister of 03:07 somebody that folk know on 3ABN. Should 03:11 we mention it or not? Hide it, maybe. Maybe 03:15 we should tell it, anyway. - Well, now 03:17 that you opened that can, Brian Hamilton 03:20 is my brother! He works in your... - Yeah, 03:25 financial department. And, of course, you're 03:29 greatly closely related to Garwin McNeilus. 03:33 - Yeah. He's my brother. - Yeah. She couldn't 03:37 hardly say it, but we helped her say it. 03:39 [laughter] - Well, one time, we were at ASI 03:41 convention, and you know the exhibit hall is huge. 03:44 So, he was with a bunch of people. I 03:47 came by, and he said, "Leasa, come here," and 03:49 he introduced me as his sister. Everybody 03:52 said, "Oh, yes, we're brothers and sisters 03:54 in Christ!" [laughter] And Garwin said, "No, 03:57 she really is my sister!" They looked at me 04:00 and they looked at him, and somebody said, 04:03 "Well, why did your parents adopt so late?" 04:06 I said, "'Cause they wanted to do it right 04:08 the second time around." [laughter] - Oh, that's 04:12 good. - But we love him. - Absolutely. 04:14 Garwin and Mary Lee... What a great team, 04:17 husband and wife,? and the work that 04:19 they do around the world, one-day churches, 04:21 and all of that really is just amazing, so... 04:24 - Yeah, through ASI, and... - That's right. 04:26 Marantha and so many ministries... 3ABN. 04:28 They've been a great support to us through 04:30 the years, also. And then we have brother... 04:34 Baptiste? Is that the way you say it, now? 04:36 I want to make sure. And what's your position 04:39 with ASI? - I'm the new ASI secretary treasurer 04:43 and departmental director for ASI for the North 04:46 American Division. It's a joy to be part of 04:49 such a dynamic team here with Steve and 04:52 Leasa and the whole ASI team. - Well, we're 04:55 glad you're here, brother Phillip. So, 04:56 it's our privilege to introduce these folk. 04:59 But right now, Yvonne, we're going to have some 05:00 special music. - We are! - And I look forward to 05:03 hearing this gentleman play the piano, this 05:06 brother. Incredible. Tell us who it is. 05:08 - Adrian Westney, Jr. - All right. 09:02 - Amen. Incredible job, and beautiful song. 09:05 "I'd Rather Have Jesus." - And so soothing. What 09:08 a soothing arrangement of the song. - Absolutely. 09:10 Well, today, if you're just joining us, we have 09:12 members of ASI, some of the leadership team here, 09:16 and Steve, Leasa, and Philip, we're so thankful 09:18 that y'all are here today. We want to 09:21 talk about, for our viewers, let's start 09:23 out, tell us a little bit about ASI, what 09:26 it stands for, and what the organization is all 09:28 about. Maybe give a little history. - So, 09:31 Danny, ASI started in 1947. What was happening 09:38 then was a very unique project was happening. 09:42 Madison College was in operation. Madison was 09:46 started in 1904 under the direction of Ellen 09:48 White and Percy Magan and E.A. Sutherland. 09:53 They went there to establish a work for 09:55 training laypeople to go out and do mission 09:58 work. Their focus, initially, was to do 10:01 this across the southern part of the United States. 10:04 Well, that began to happen rather quickly. 10:06 They were sending out people that began to 10:08 start schools and churches and businesses where 10:13 they would grow churches all across the southern 10:16 part of the United States. But it blossomed 10:17 from there, and pretty soon, they were sending 10:19 out missionaries all around the world. They 10:21 garner worldwide attention, Reader's 10:23 Digest magazine, and the New York Times 10:26 came there and wrote articles about what 10:28 they were doing, because it was a very unique 10:30 model of education where people were 10:33 taught to be self-sustaining. - Mhm. - Yeah. Eleanor 10:39 Rosevelt came there and visited the camps, so 10:42 they got a lot of worldwide attention 10:44 to what they were doing. - Sure. - It's a very 10:46 powerful school that was just producing a 10:48 lot of students that went from there and 10:51 really knew how to do things and start things 10:53 and were very productive in missions. The Seventh-Day 10:59 Adventist Church didn't own the institution. 11:02 It was a called a supporting ministry or 11:04 a self-supporting ministry. - Mhm. - So, it was a 11:06 model of education that was not supported by 11:10 donations from the church, but found a 11:13 way to be self-sustaining. They had many industries 11:16 there on campus. They had a food factory and 11:18 lots of other things going on. As a result 11:20 of that, the church began to see- the 11:23 Seventh-Day Adventist Church began to see 11:25 we need a way to communicate with these people who 11:28 are out establishing the work of God around 11:31 the world, actually. And so, from that, the 11:35 idea to establish an organization that would 11:39 be the connecting link between laypeople doing 11:43 mission and church doing mission. It's all the 11:47 same mission; it's just the laypeople 11:50 doing mission without being paid by the 11:52 church as opposed to those who are officially 11:55 commissioned by the church and paid by the 11:57 church. - Yeah. - So, that's kind of the 12:00 essence of the idea. Initially, ASI was just 12:03 a group of supporting ministries. It was 12:07 schools and ministries that were maybe... 12:09 - Health. - Health or related to care for 12:13 children or some specialty aspect of just reaching 12:18 in the community and helping them. So, these 12:20 ministries would get together. And actually 12:23 as early as 1908, they began to meet together 12:25 on the campus of Madison. So, there was already 12:28 a nucleus of people meeting. But in 1947, 12:31 it became official. A secretary treasurer was 12:34 appointed to serve at the church level, which 12:37 is the position that Philip now holds. And 12:40 elder E.A. Sutherland was elected, who was 12:43 then the president of Madison, to serve as 12:45 the first president for ASI. And so, that's 12:48 kind of the history as to where it came from. 12:50 - And it started out as Adventist-laymen's 12:53 & Services Industry, and to shorten it, I 12:55 think ASI - Adventist Services & Industry. I'm 12:58 not sure all of that background... - Layman's 13:01 Services... - Laymen's Services Industries. 13:03 So, it kind of changed over the years, but 13:07 ASI, now, is known around the world, and 13:10 of course, it grew from here, as you 13:12 mentioned, not only through the rest of 13:14 America and North America, but now there's 13:16 literally- I guess there's memberships 13:18 around the world, right? - There's 13:20 chapters. - So, there are chapters now, and 13:21 elder Wilson has encouraged that each division should 13:25 start its own chapter of ASI. And so we have 13:29 acted kind of as their mentors, are encouraging 13:32 them in this way, and go there and usually 13:35 help them organize their chapter, and get it 13:38 going. But yes, we have chapters now in many 13:40 of the divisions around the world, and God is 13:42 blessing as the doors have been opened now, 13:46 so there's not just the ministries, but 13:48 it's the business and professional people, as 13:50 well. To think of what could be done for God's 13:56 work if we really could encourage all the 13:59 laypeople to get involved. - Absolutely. That's 14:02 part of the go ye into all the world. Didn't 14:04 just say, "Go to the pastors, go to teachers"; 14:08 it says, "Go ye," so I always tell everyone 14:10 in our church services how man- I ask them 14:12 how many ye's are here Every hand should go 14:14 up. We're all ye's. At least... Go ahead. - So, 14:18 are there multiple emphases here? Are we 14:21 looking at taking God into the marketplace, 14:24 how to do that? Like, are there multiple emphases 14:29 within ASI? - The tagline of ASI is sharing Christ 14:34 in the marketplace. What we hope to do is 14:38 actually encourage the laypeople to do that. 14:40 ASI is an organization; has a lot of things going 14:44 on, but we want to empower the lay business 14:47 and professional person to actually be actively 14:51 sharing Christ in their marketplace in whatever 14:54 way God directs them to do that. We'll 14:57 talk later about some of the ways that that comes 15:00 out. But to really- all of these things are 15:05 done in support of the work of the church; 15:09 not aside from the work of the church, but really 15:12 in support of the work of God's church. - Leasa, 15:16 you're the vice president of membership for the North 15:19 American Division. I'd like to find out a little 15:21 of your background. How did you first hear of 15:23 ASI and how long have you been involved? 15:26 - Well, the first time I heard of ASI, it was 15:28 when Denzel and Donna started going. It just 15:31 totally changed their life, and for years, 15:34 they were trying to get us to go. I kind 15:39 of had a misconception of what ASI was, 'cause 15:42 by that time, there was a lot of business 15:44 people involved and stuff, and I just thought 15:47 it was just a bunch of Adventist business 15:48 people getting together. I didn't know the history. 15:52 But one time, when we started the Youth for Jesus 15:55 program, Donna went there to take her 15:57 children and volunteer to cook. So, she was 16:01 supposed to cook for 10 kids; instead, she 16:04 was cooking for like, 40-50 people. So, she 16:07 called and she said, "I need help!" and I 16:10 love to cook. She said, "Come down here if 16:13 you get bored! Joe can go to Disney World." 16:15 [laughter] 'Cause I had a son who was 13 at the 16:18 time, so I said, "Okay." So, I went and I was 16:22 just blown away by what was going on-not with 16:26 just the Youth for Jesus program, but then 16:28 I went to the convention. I didn't know there was 16:32 so much going on in the church that laypeople 16:36 were doing. So, I think I've only missed 16:42 one since the year 1999. And actually, I 16:47 was rebaptized. I had left the church for like, 16:52 20 some years, and I was converted at the 16:56 ASI. - Wow. Praise the Lord. - Youth for Jesus 16:58 and at the convention, I was rebaptized, so 17:01 ASI is really special to me. - That, you know, 17:05 for me, Leasa, as well, like when I go to ASI 17:08 and I see all of the ministries that are 17:11 doing things and making a difference, it's so 17:15 impressive. You go to the exhibits, and it's 17:18 just amazing to me. All the things that we at 17:22 3ABN- we have an exhibit there, as well-all of the 17:25 things that are going on around the world, it's 17:28 not just here in America; it's around the world. 17:30 - Well, you get so many ideas about what you can do 17:32 in your own business or your own ministry or 17:37 in the home just as a private person or in 17:42 your church, you learn a lot. - Yeah. - It 17:47 helps you catch a vision. Sometimes, we're 17:50 so involved in our own ministry. I'm sure there 17:54 at your school, you're so involved in what 17:56 you're doing, you kind of- it's good to look 17:59 around and say, "Wow. Lord," you know- sometimes, 18:02 you think, "Well, this is all on me," or whatever. 18:04 No, it's not. The Lord has 7,000 others going 18:08 who have bended their knees to Baal; but you 18:10 go to these ASI and you meet all these people 18:12 and these ministries, and you see- it encourages 18:15 you. You say, "You know what? God has a people, 18:18 and this is just part of them," 'cause, of 18:20 course, people like, even that don't attend 18:23 ASI, but those who come and you see the 18:25 ministries reaching millions of people, 18:28 and for those that think projects like 18:30 the one-day churches that are building these 18:32 churches in one day that literally make 18:35 home churches for people that may never 18:39 had one, and in many of the third world countries. 18:42 And to do that and ASI members getting together 18:46 and raising the money for this, sending the 18:49 churches ASI volunteers, traveling around, you 18:52 know, literally their time, their money, 18:54 going, paying their own way to work to 18:58 somewhere-and it's not necessarily vacation, 19:00 'cause you can end up in all kinds of places 19:02 that may not be Disney World, as you mentioned. 19:05 [laughter] So, to go there and be a part 19:08 of that, that gives you a vision. So, what I 19:11 think ASI does for many of us, it's our own 19:16 salvation. I say that because of this: when 19:20 we help others, it helps us to get our 19:23 mind off of ourselves. In other words, everything 19:27 around us, we're so busy, and what we 19:29 do is me, myself, and I. But when we begin 19:32 to serve others, that's why Jesus says, "Go 19:35 ye into all the world," I think, Steve, is so 19:37 that we can serve others and learn to love others 19:41 and not just- and we realize this world's not 19:43 about us; it's about those who can't help 19:47 themselves, taking the gospel into all the 19:49 world. So, ASI, the motto of sharing Jesus 19:52 in the marketplace could be anywhere in 19:55 the world. Philip, now, give us a little bit of 19:58 your background of ASI. - Well, you know, we 20:00 started- I was serving as a missionary in Kenya. 20:04 My wife and I were GC missionaries in the East 20:07 Central Africa Division, and I was the special 20:09 assistant to the president for the division. Each 20:13 division president was invited to ASI several 20:16 years ago by Ted Wilson. My division president,? 20:22 brought me along, and I was assigned to 20:24 be the ASI secretary treasurer for the East 20:28 Africa Division. And so because of- we actually 20:31 had Steve and Kyle. They came over and we 20:34 helped to launch ASI in Africa, in that part 20:37 of Africa. And so because of my work there, when 20:40 we returned from the mission field, it was just 20:42 a privilege to be able to come and serve here 20:45 in the North American Division with ASI. 20:48 Something that really excites me about ASI 20:51 right now is not only are we empowering our 20:53 lay businesspeople, our lay professional 20:55 people, but we have something called Young 20:58 Professionals. We're actually mentoring and 21:01 equipping our young professionals. At our 21:03 last ASI convention, we had over 200 young 21:06 professionals. We had a one-day focus, and 21:09 every year, if you come to ASI, you'll 21:12 find a special track for young professionals 21:14 where they can be empowered and they 21:16 can be equipped to serve and mentored 21:19 by other ASI professionals. So, ASI is not just 21:22 for older people; it's for everybody. You 21:25 can get involved, and you can make a difference 21:27 and engage in sharing Christ in the marketplace. 21:30 - Membership-wise, we go from young professionals 21:32 all the way to retired professionals. - Yes. 21:35 - So, you know if you're retired and you're looking 21:38 for something to do, come to ASI, join ASI, 21:42 and you can find all kinds of things that, 21:45 as a retired professional, you can do. - You know, 21:49 one of the things that I've heard coming out 21:52 kind of as a theme here is that God uses 21:55 a great diversity. He's not a God that just- 21:59 "There's one way." And when you go to ASI, 22:02 one of the things that's impressed me is God is 22:04 calling individuals to do things that I would 22:07 never believe He would call them to do. I have 22:10 a friend who owns a construction business. 22:13 I was walking the exhibit hall isles one 22:18 day, and he said, "God has impressed me to 22:22 start a radio station in the jungles of 22:25 Nicaragua." And I said, like, "Really?" I mean, 22:30 this guy doesn't know anything about radio; 22:33 he's a construction guy. We have a radio 22:35 station on our campus, so I know enough to be 22:37 dangerous, and I made the statement, "Well, 22:40 let me know and I'll help you." From that, 22:44 there is a radio station today, ministering to 22:48 the people of Nicaragua in a very indigenous 22:51 language group there on the northern border 22:55 of Nicaragua with Honduras. That would 22:58 never have been there if an individual wasn't 23:00 listening to the promptings of the Holy 23:03 Spirit. What he could do even though he didn't 23:07 know he could do it, God was going to use 23:10 him to do something amazing there. - I'd 23:13 like to talk about some of the special 23:16 projects that ASI does that you all are familiar 23:20 with. To me, it's so important. I don't know 23:24 who comes up, and I'm sure it's administration, 23:27 but the vision of getting all these 23:29 people together and starting special projects, 23:33 and then maybe some testimonies of some 23:35 lives that have been changed because of 23:37 ASI. What are some of the special projects that 23:41 you know are close to you? - Well, one of our 23:44 special projects, which I'm really excited about, 23:47 is our ASI New Beginnings evangelistic series. 23:51 It's like evangelism in a box, 26 sermons 23:54 designed for a layperson, for, maybe, someone 23:57 that's not a pastor and not trained, and there's 24:00 a beautiful script, beautiful PowerPoint 24:02 presentations... This is available in literally 24:07 dozens of languages. - 34 languages. - Wow. - 34 24:10 languages around the world. You can download 24:12 it. There was a guy at our ASI convention 24:15 that I met, and he is a CEO of a big company. 24:21 He said, "I want to reach other CEOs with the good 24:23 news of the Adventist message." So he said, 24:26 "What if, instead of doing a traditional 24:28 evangelistic series, I use the ASI New 24:31 Beginnings, 26 sermons, but I did it in a 24:34 weekend?" So over a weekend, he invited 24:36 a whole bunch of CEOs to a nice retreat center 24:40 or a hotel, and he preached the entire 24:43 series of 26 sermons from Friday to Sunday, 24:46 and he's baptizing and winning other CEOs to 24:51 the Adventist Church and to the message of Jesus 24:53 that way. And so, it just shows the power 24:55 of ASI and the power of that project, the 24:59 New Beginnings evangelistic series which has gone 25:01 around the world. - Wow. - So in thinking about 25:05 just that project, hundreds of thousands 25:08 of laypeople have been trained around the world, 25:10 using that New Beginnings to... - Hundreds of 25:13 thousands... That's amazing. - Hundreds 25:14 of thousands. Leasa and her good friend 25:17 Barb Taylor have done I don't know how many 25:20 trainings-maybe you could just estimate-but 25:22 thousands of trainings for laypeople around 25:25 the world, empowering them- well... - Maybe 25:29 hundreds. - Hundreds of thousands of laypeople. 25:31 - Yes, yes. - Empowering them with the simple 25:34 tools that they can personally use to share 25:38 Christ and to see the light that comes on in 25:41 their eyes when they say, "I can do this." 25:44 "I'm empowered to do this." And to know- 25:48 I'm sure there've been hundreds and hundreds 25:51 of thousands of baptisms as a result of this 25:53 simple tool. Well, laypeople going out 25:55 and doing what they can do for God... I think 25:59 of one of the stories, and I think it's one 26:01 of the dense? hotels of- it was an Asian country. 26:04 They had done the training, and they 26:06 went back later. The lady was doing like, 26:09 studying with 30 or 40 people by herself 26:12 in Cambodia-by herself. This was like her work 26:15 now. She had a mission in life, and she was 26:18 empowered to do this. She was just on fire 26:20 to go out and share the gospel through- 26:23 this means with everybody she could come in contact 26:25 with. - Well, ASI Youth for Jesus, of course, 26:27 is very close to my heart. I've been 26:29 involved with that program since it 26:31 started, and you know, I think that the majority 26:36 of the Adventist young people don't know why 26:38 they are Seventh-Day Adventists. They're only 26:40 Adventist because their parents or their 26:42 grandparents were and they just grew up in it. 26:45 When people don't know why they believe what 26:49 they believe and they don't have any experience, 26:51 then it's easy for them to leave that faith or 26:55 that church. But Youth for Jesus, we decided- 26:58 it's the only ASI managed program. What we do is 27:04 we put young people- we give them an experience 27:07 to know why they are Seventh-Day Adventists 27:10 and the commission that we have as a church- 27:12 that it's not just for pastors or for older 27:15 people; it's for them. And when they have 27:19 a hands-on experience in winning souls, when 27:22 they see people throwing out their alcohol, 27:24 giving up cigarettes, when they see people get 27:28 baptized because they've done Bible studies with 27:32 them and they brought them to the meetings, 27:33 there's like nothing like that experience 27:36 for a young person to know that we have a 27:40 message that is Bible-based, that it 27:44 changes people's lives... And that experience 27:49 really changes their perspective on why 27:52 they're Seventh-Day Adventists. Just a real 27:54 short testimony. - Sure. - You know, a lot of 27:56 Youth for Jesus kids are bribed or forced 27:59 to come to the program, and we had such a 28:03 young man come. He had like, long, stringy, 28:07 greasy hair, and this was a few years ago 28:09 when they used to wear those pants down around 28:11 their knees. - Oh. - You know? It's just like, who 28:14 dressed you? [laughter] But anyway, he was 28:19 just grumpy all the time and he wouldn't talk 28:23 to anybody. Well, you know, like Youth for 28:25 Jesus kids are mostly kids that love Jesus 28:30 and they want to learn how to be a witness. 28:34 So, they surrounded him. I never talked 28:36 to him about his clothes except when he went 28:38 out on outreach, I told him the pants 28:40 had to fit. [laughter] But you know, about a 28:43 week to 10 days into the program, all of 28:46 a sudden, he started wearing clothes that 28:49 fit and he started washing his hair. One- 28:54 we always have testimony time, and kids are always 28:57 really eager to share testimonies. This guy 28:59 would just never do it. But one day, he came 29:02 up to the front and he said his Bible worker 29:04 made him do a Bible study the day before. 29:08 He said the person that he was giving the Bible 29:11 study to was so amazed at what he was hearing. 29:15 So, he shared that testimony. One day, 29:19 he got his hair cut, he washed it, he looked 29:23 good... His mother came to the ASI convention 29:28 like a month later, and she didn't even 29:31 recognize her son. She went right by him, 29:34 and he said, "Mom!" She turned around and 29:37 she was like, "Andy!" And she started crying, 29:41 then she told us that she had bribed him he 29:44 was going to go to college. She had bribed 29:46 him that he could have a car if he made it 29:49 through the program. He asked her not to 29:53 buy him a car to save that money and he went 29:56 as a student missionary after one year of 29:58 college. So, you know, when we can give kids 30:03 an experience on the message that we have 30:07 to share and they see that message working, 30:10 it really changes their lives. - It's amazing 30:14 to me how when we do something for someone 30:20 else, it waters our own spirits. And so 30:23 our faith is strengthened as a result of helping 30:26 people. One of the things that I found 30:30 about ASI is that, again, there are so many 30:35 difference projects and experiences. There's 30:39 something for everybody. It transcends age, it 30:42 transcends culture- there's something for 30:45 everybody. So, I just think it's such a 30:48 worthwhile program. - It is. And I've been able 30:52 to see. My first ASI was 1985, as you know; 30:55 you were there as a young... - We were 30:57 there together. - Yep. - In Montana. I remember 31:01 it was kind of cold. - Oh, yeah. - In August. 31:03 - Since we were 7,000 feet in the mountains or 31:07 something-big sky Montana. But the growth 31:11 has been amazing of the ASI meeting. I 31:16 think there may have been 150-200 people 31:18 or something like that. And now, of course, 31:20 there's thousands and thousands. But what 31:22 I've seen is what it does for people. Let's 31:25 take- you mentioned Donna and Denzel 31:28 McNeilus. Their kids- because they're 31:31 raised in ASI, so while they started- they 31:35 have the youth departments, I would 31:38 call them. But I remember- it's been 31:41 a number of years ago when they were teenagers, 31:44 Donna and Denzel's kids, and they said, 31:46 "What do you want to do for Christmas?" You 31:50 know what they did for Christmas? They said, 31:52 "Well, let's go to do evangelism in"-I think 31:55 it's Cambodia, you mentioned. "Let's go"- 31:58 now, these are teenage kids that could've gone 32:00 to Disney World, as we mentioned; they could've 32:02 gone skiing, they could've gone anywhere 32:04 they wanted to go, but they said, "Well, 32:07 let's go do evangelism." And they're like, 18, 32:10 19 years old. I'm sure you remember that. 32:12 - I think they were a lot younger. Maybe younger! And so 32:14 they actually would go to these countries, and 32:17 the kids would do evangelism. Now, 32:19 where did that come from? It came from 32:21 the training from not only the parents, but 32:23 ASI was such a huge part in that Youth for 32:27 Jesus. They'd get the kids to get a big bus 32:29 and go paint people's houses, go pass out 32:33 literature, go work every city they go to. They 32:36 take the young people and they would go out, 32:38 and the whole town, literally- be like 32:42 the disciples turning the city upside down. 32:44 The youth will draw attention for the whole 32:48 city to say, "What's going on?" You know? 32:51 The convention center, whether it's here, 32:53 and I guess this next year, Louisville. So, 32:56 it's been incredible. I've seen the Houghtons 32:58 and their kids, Dan- you know, the Houghtons 33:01 and their families, to be able to- young 33:03 people all being involved, and now members of 33:06 so many families I could name that the 33:09 youth that I believe ASI had such an impact on 33:13 their lives, because, again, it's missionary 33:15 work, it's volunteering work, and a lot of the 33:18 kids, as you said, weren't that interested; 33:20 but once they got involved, it's been 33:23 life-changing. So- - I think that's a lesson, 33:25 Danny, for a lot of parents. So, if you 33:27 want your children to change and to become 33:30 more spiritual, get them involved in an organization 33:33 like ASI, because that's how they can become 33:38 more active in spreading the gospel. And when 33:41 you do that, you'll grow. You can't help 33:44 but grow. - ASI's especially dear to us, 33:47 because it was a springboard for 3ABN. 33:52 I started telling the story in November 1984, 33:55 ? said, that the Lord impressed me to build 33:57 a television station to reach the world. 33:59 - What were you doing before that? - I'm a 34:00 carpenter, a contractor. My brother and I were 34:02 carpenters for about 15 years, and so now 34:05 I'm in my 30s, and I'm impressed to build 34:08 a tele- but I don't know anything about 34:10 television, had no background in television; 34:12 my daughter and I sing on different TV 34:14 stations, but everywhere we would go to these 34:17 other- and whether they were Baptist or 34:19 Pentecostal, they had television networks, and 34:22 I would say, "Where is Seventh-Day Adventists 34:24 in the media?" And one night, I was complaining 34:27 to the Lord about it, saying, "You know, the 34:29 church oughta do this and the church oughta 34:31 do that," and then I was impressed to want 34:33 you to build a television station that will reach 34:35 the world with an undiluted three angels' 34:37 messages, one that would counteract the 34:39 counterfeit. I knew that wasn't me, 'cause 34:42 I had no idea what that meant-the undiluted 34:45 three angels' messages I've been learning all 34:47 these years. But it was at that point that 34:50 I began to tell people what the Lord- my 34:53 daughter and I- my wife Kay had been killed in 34:55 an automobile accident, so my young daughter, 34:57 Melody and I, we were traveling on weekends, 35:00 and we'd sing in churches. So, we were invited to 35:05 go to ASI, and I never heard of ASI. Marvin 35:10 and Rosella McColpin, they were here from 35:13 Tennessee, and they said, "You need to go 35:14 to ASI." I said, "Well, I don't"- I'm like 35:18 the disciples. I didn't know whether there'd 35:20 be any Holy Spirit. I didn't know whether 35:22 there'd be any ASI. I had no idea. They 35:26 said, "Well, it's big sky Montana. You should 35:28 go." So I said, "Well..." We had no money to 35:31 get to there to fly there. We're just 35:33 starting in ministry. We were building a 35:35 building, and a man named Dale McBride 35:38 from Southern California, some of you may 35:40 remember, and Dale was a member for years. 35:43 And so he called and someone gave him my 35:46 name and he said, "Why don't you go to ASI? 35:49 I hear the story that you're going to build 35:51 this television station to reach the world. 35:53 Why don't you go to ASI?" And I said, "Well, 35:56 I'll think about it and pray about it, 35:58 but we're not..." I didn't want to say 36:01 we don't have any money to go; but I said, "Well, 36:04 if the Lord provides, we'll go." And he said, 36:06 "Okay. Well, you should go. People need to 36:10 hear what you're doing." So, I hung up the phone, 36:13 I got out and knelt beside my bed, started 36:16 praying, and "Lord, if you want me to go to 36:19 ASI"- the phone rang, and it was Dale McBride 36:22 again. He said, "I don't know what I'm 36:24 thinking about. If you go, I'll pay your way, 36:25 and I'll pay all your expenses; but I want 36:29 you just to go out there." So, I went to 36:31 ASI, was happy to go, met a number of people, 36:34 Ellsworth McKee, May Chung, for starters, 36:37 people that love the Lord. I'm going to call 36:41 it "invest" in the ministries around the 36:44 world. And so, I was privileged to meet them, 36:47 met Dan Houghton; it was his first ASI. He 36:50 and Karen, they were doing the audio, making 36:53 tapes of- they were young folk in their 36:56 late 20s, I think, from Wisconsin or so, and they 37:00 were there. So, I was there, and Kay Kuzma 37:02 was there, and so people kept saying, "Why don't 37:05 you tell your story?" I didn't know anybody, 37:08 so it worked out that I said, "Well, if the 37:11 Lord wants me to speak, He'll work it out." Friday, 37:14 that Friday was a free day. In the afternoon, 37:17 everyone was going to go on ski lifts. But 37:19 instead, it rained; it was raining hard. So, 37:22 Phil Winsted, who was president, and Henry 37:24 Martin, I think-one of the vice presidents- 37:27 called me out of a meeting. I didn't know 37:29 them. They said, "Can we impose on you to 37:33 tell your story? We have all these people 37:35 here, and we don't know what to do with 37:36 them." So, I told the story for the first 37:38 time of 3ABN of what we were doing, and ASI 37:42 caught the vision. That was the springboard 37:44 that literally, where 3ABN is today, literally 37:47 every continent around the world and millions, 37:51 and potentially, billion or two people can watch 37:54 (I have to give credit to the Lord). But through 37:56 the members of that small little group, 37:59 Steve, of ASI members of just a couple hundred 38:02 people, and then we've been able, once we went 38:05 on the air, we started televising ASI around 38:08 the world. And now, thousands of people 38:10 have joined from watching and saying, "Wow, that 38:14 looks like a great organization." So, 38:16 this is something that we can talk to you from 38:19 our heart. This crosses denominational barriers. 38:22 When you see the work that it's doing, the 38:25 outreach. And what ASI does, they get together 38:29 and they have offerings. And so, people- sometimes, 38:32 I've seen the offerings in the millions of one 38:34 Sabbath that's divided among all these ministries 38:38 that help these ministries go around the world go 38:42 back and give them something to work with 38:44 to build the schools, to build the hospitals, 38:47 to do the one-day churches, to teach 38:49 people about Jesus, to start farms-you know?- 38:53 in Africa, teaching people how to fish 38:56 rather than giving them the fishes, they say. 38:58 So, ASI doing this is a worldwide organization 39:02 that I believe that is responsible for hundreds 39:07 of thousands, and ye, maybe millions of people 39:09 are hearing about Jesus Christ that never would 39:12 have. So, I'm encouraging all of our viewers, 39:15 you're watching, we'll put an address up in 39:16 a little bit. But if you would like to support 39:18 it, it's a tax-deductible gift; and if you want 39:21 to support the work of God going around 39:24 the world, maybe you're not able to go, yourself, 39:27 maybe because you're confined to wherever 39:30 or you're old or your health is bad. But you 39:33 can say, "You know, I not only can pray for 39:36 this organization, but I can help financially, 39:38 because the money that's given"- people 39:40 are volunteering; you're not being paid. This 39:43 money that's coming in is going out to 39:46 help those who can't help themselves and to 39:50 serve the Lord. I mean, it's an incredible 39:52 organization, and I want to thank you all 39:55 for being here and for what you do in the work 39:57 that you put in. Leasa. - Well, you're talking 40:00 about the undiluted three angels' message. 40:02 See, we have a three angels' project. Yeah. 40:06 I want you to talk- 'cause I think that's 40:08 one of the neatest new things that ASI is 40:11 doing. It's really, really wonderful. - So, 40:15 a couple of ASI members got together, and they 40:18 were talking about this idea of the three 40:21 angels' message and how much of the world 40:25 today has a misunderstanding about that-and even 40:29 within the Seventh-Day Adventist Church who 40:31 proclaims itself to be the holder of that 40:34 treasure, as it were, to go and proclaim these 40:39 messages of the three angels of Revelation chapter 40:41 14 around the world that, maybe, we've 40:44 lost some of that fervor. And so, these individuals 40:47 got together, said, "Let's do something to 40:49 help change that tide. Let's put together"- 40:53 and they put together some posters. They 40:56 said, "We're going to print these up, and 40:58 we're going to distribute them to every single 41:01 Seventh-Day Adventist school across the United 41:04 States of America where they can hang them in 41:06 the classrooms, where the young people that 41:08 we're training can look and see this is what 41:12 the three angels' messages are and this 41:14 is how we can understand that. They went beyond 41:17 that, though - beyond just hanging a picture 41:19 in the classroom. They developed some curriculum 41:21 that the teachers could use to help instruct in 41:25 what the three angels' messages were all 41:27 about. But they even went beyond that and 41:30 they offered some grant money to schools who would 41:32 do projects related to what they learned when 41:35 they studied this curriculum. So, to 41:37 take it from the theory- seeing the picture, 41:40 understanding the message-in the theory 41:43 of it, to the practical application of it and 41:45 saying, "We're actually going to do something 41:47 now with this. We're going to go out; we're 41:49 going to share this message in some way 41:51 with someone." And so, it's another example 41:54 of what happens when business and professional 41:57 people get together. They have ideas, they have 42:00 passion, they have energy. And Danny, 42:03 just think what might happen if every single- 42:09 and we'll just confine ourselves to who we 42:11 are: the church; the Seventh-Day Adventist 42:12 Church. What if every single Seventh-Day 42:16 Adventist business and professional person said, 42:21 "I'm in 100%. I am going to get together with 42:27 other people who have that same mindset, 42:30 and we're going to set all of our other interests 42:33 aside, and we're going to focus on making sure 42:37 this gospel goes to the entire world," I 42:40 believe that this job could be accomplished 42:43 very quickly. There's a statement in Spirit of 42:46 Prophecy that says, "Not until the people 42:51 comprising the lay membership of the church," and this 42:53 is, kind of, my rendition of it. "Not until they 42:57 join hands with the ministers and administrators 43:00 of the church will this work be finished." And 43:04 so, the reason that I'm passionate about ASI 43:08 and believe that this organization can help 43:12 to change that where the laypeople and the 43:17 church are coming together in such a 43:19 way that the work is going to spread like 43:22 wildfire. You know, we saw the fires in 43:24 California recently and 60-70 mile-an-hour 43:28 winds, and you couldn't get out of the way 43:30 fast enough. I believe we're coming to a time 43:33 in Earth's history when that's the way 43:35 God's work is going to move forward. It's 43:38 going to move forward with such speed that 43:40 we can't imagine it right now; but to actually 43:43 spread this news around the world, I believe 43:46 the laypeople have the key to that. - Yeah. 43:48 Absolutely. You know, the technology's in 43:51 place. This program, for instance, is going 22,300 43:55 miles to space at the speed of light-186,200 44:00 miles per second-on nine different satellites 44:02 that encompass planet Earth, but it's more 44:05 than technology that's needed; it's you. It's 44:08 you and those folk that are joining, 44:11 members of ASI, because technology- anybody can, 44:16 in other words, non-Christian... There's 44:19 all kinds of secular networks that's now 44:21 sending signals around the world, but what 44:23 makes the difference is you! It's each and 44:26 every one of us. What are we going to do to 44:28 do our part to take this gospel of the kingdom 44:31 into all the world? So, we can get it there 44:34 with the speed of light, but we need commitment 44:36 from, as you said, each and every Adventist, 44:39 each and every business that we join hands 44:42 together, because the devil is in the business of 44:45 division. And so, what ASI does is bring people 44:49 together. It brings unity. So instead of us 44:52 each doing our own thing, as we say, or 44:56 as the Bible talks about the members of the church, 44:59 ASI brings us together. "Wow, Steve, you can do 45:03 this. We'll- well, I think I could help in- 45:05 well, you know what, Leasa, Philip, we can 45:07 do"- and all of a sudden, these ideas like the 45:10 three angels going out, like Rusty McKee, taking 45:13 a walk there in Collegedale- said, meeting young people, 45:17 knowing they were from the college and saying, 45:20 "Tell me about the three angels' messages," 45:23 and finding out a lot of the students didn't 45:26 even know. Then his talk to Dan Houghton, 45:28 and then to Dan, and then to you and to the 45:32 leadership. And all of a sudden, look what's 45:33 happening that the young people will 45:36 understand what's important about the 45:37 three angels' messages; it's an end-times message 45:40 for an end-times people. So, no matter 45:43 who you are, what denomination, if you're 45:44 a Christian and you want to know what's 45:46 happening, you understand the three angels' messages, 45:50 and it's going to give you peace in the midst 45:53 of the storm to know there's a Savior and 45:55 that He loves us and He's coming back and 45:57 He's gonna- we'll know what the devil is doing. 46:00 He's out to steal, kill, and to destroy; 46:02 but Jesus says, "I'm come to give you life 46:04 and give it more abundantly." And so, 46:06 the three angels' messages, Christ is the center 46:08 of that. And so, for ASI to catch that through 46:13 ASI members and business- people, and then to 46:17 join hands together to make sure every school... 46:20 I mean, these are just some of the 46:22 things, and we could talk for hours, and 46:25 you all could talk for hours, but we have 46:26 about 6 or 7 minutes and there may be some 46:29 things I know we want to talk a little bit, 46:31 Leasa, how people can become members; but 46:34 anything else that y'all want to share here, 46:35 we've got several more minutes. - Leasa, why 46:38 don't we talk just a little bit about the 46:40 membership category so people have an understanding 46:43 of that. - Yeah. So, there's a couple of- 46:48 anybody can be a member as long as they don't 46:51 get paid by a church entity. So like, if 46:56 you get paid by the church as a pastor or if you 47:01 work at an Adventist hospital... Anybody 47:04 that's in the yearbook. The church defines a 47:08 church employee as those that are included 47:11 in the yearbook. And so, we love them, we want 47:15 them to come to the convention, but they 47:17 can't be members-unless they're affiliated with 47:20 a supporting ministry or with a project 47:24 that's ASI membership- eligible. - So, the purpose 47:30 of the organization, ASI, is to engage the 47:33 laypeople with the church. And so, the 47:36 membership is comprised of the laypeople. We're 47:39 then joining hands with the church. So, 47:42 there are- if you own a business, you're 47:44 eligible for membership. If you are a professional 47:50 where you give people marching orders, you're 47:52 kind of like a boss, there's a category 47:55 for executive professional membership. If you're 47:58 professional, maybe just practicing as a 48:01 lawyer in another firm but don't own the 48:03 firm and you're not really in charge of 48:05 other people, there's an associate category. 48:09 Then, there are categories for the 48:12 ministries such as 501C3 ministries where they 48:17 can belong to ASI; therefore, all of their 48:19 employees or volunteers are also members of ASI 48:23 through their participation with that ministry. 48:26 And then we have the new one that Philip 48:28 mentioned, the young professional category, 48:30 which is addressing the need to engage young 48:35 people in the church. You know, I think a lot 48:38 of our young people leave because they're 48:40 just not engaged. So, we're looking to find 48:43 that right balance where we bring them in and 48:47 we help them to see what they can do, and 48:52 then to actually engage in doing that. And I 48:53 believe if they will do that, it will 48:55 change their life, first of all. And 48:57 secondly, they won't leave because they're 49:00 going to be involved. - And membership has 49:02 a fee, but for a young professional, it's 49:05 very, very reasonable. It's $25 a year. That's 49:09 a pizza. [laughter] They could give up 49:12 one pizza to join an organization like this. 49:16 And one thing that I really like about our convention 49:20 is that we spend a lot more resources on the 49:23 youth program, the children's program, at the convention. 49:26 They are top-notch. I mean, it's like, better 49:29 than going to the best camp meeting. We spend 49:32 a lot of resources on children's programs, so 49:35 the young families, young professionals, 49:37 bring them. My nieces, my son-my nieces and 49:43 nephews that have gone to ASI for years, all 49:46 their lifelong friends are their ASI friends. 49:50 And so, it's a really good organization to 49:54 bring your children to expose them to it, like 49:57 Yvonne said: when they get exposed to how they 50:01 are the church of today, not tomorrow. Then, 50:06 they have a passion for ministry for witnessing. 50:11 - Steve, GYC came from there. Tell us a little 50:15 bit, one of you. - So, there was a group of 50:17 young people who got together and said, "We 50:19 want to do something for ourselves," and they 50:22 came to ASI and said, "Would you be willing 50:24 to assist us?" So, ASI kind of mothered 50:27 the organization for a while and assisted 50:30 them in getting up and on their feet. 50:32 Powerful organization, now-thousands of young 50:34 people coming each December-January 50:37 time frame, they get together, they pray, 50:39 they empower each other to go out with a stronger 50:42 passion and desire to see God's work finished. 50:46 So, it's another child, you might say, of ASI. 50:50 - Yeah. And when you reach 35 at GYC, you 50:55 have to pay old person's tax. [laughter] So, 50:59 it's a good thing when they have young families 51:02 from GYC. They can graduate to ASI. Still 51:06 can be involved with GYC, but they can graduate 51:09 to ASI and be involved. - Okay, great. Philip, in one 51:13 minute or less, why don't you look into the 51:15 camera and tell folk why they should join 51:17 ASI? - You're not just coming to church 51:19 to sit on the pew and have a good show on 51:22 Sabbath morning; God is calling each one of 51:24 us to get involved. So, ask Him, "How can I get 51:28 involved? How can I make a difference? 51:29 How can I use my gifts and talents in service 51:32 for the Master?" So, ASI is all about sharing 51:36 Christ in the marketplace and engaging in serving 51:39 Him. One of the things that just happened was 51:42 we just went to Brazil with Denzel and with 51:46 Barbara Taylor, and we had 800 video projectors 51:51 that we gave away, we trained 800 laypeople 51:54 on how to use the New Beginnings evangelistic 51:57 series, and we gave them 800 video projectors 52:00 with just the flash drive, and they're now 52:02 equipped to go and preach the gospel 52:05 around the world. We have the picture roll 52:07 project which is an amazing project which 52:10 you'll hear more about, I think, in another 52:11 program. But we have picture rolls, which you 52:14 can use in Africa, in parts of the world 52:17 where they don't have media, they don't have 52:19 power, they don't have PowerPoint, you 52:22 can preach the gospel with just picture rolls. 52:25 - I'm sold; how about you? [laughter] - Me too! - So, 52:28 what we want to do is we want to put up an 52:30 address if you would like to learn more about 52:32 ASI, how you can become a member. Maybe you 52:35 want to support it financially. You can do 52:37 so at the following address. 52:41 Adventist-laymen's Services & Industries, 52:43 or ASI, is involved with numerous projects. If 52:47 you would like to support any of these projects 52:49 or become an ASI member yourself, please visit 52:52 their website, ASIministries.org That's ASIministries.org 52:58 You may also call them at (443) 391-7235. 53:04 That's (443) 391-7235; or write to them at 53:11 ASI 9705 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, Maryland 53:16 21046. |
Revised 2019-01-29