Participants:
Series Code: TDYL
Program Code: TDYL210015B
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00:12 Welcome back to the second hour.
00:14 We are so glad to be here with you. 00:16 I'm Shelley Quinn. JD Quinn. 00:18 And our special guest tonight is pastoring... 00:22 And I want to say pastor, 00:23 he is actually the director of the Sabbath School 00:28 and Personal Ministries Department 00:30 of the Michigan Conference 00:32 of Seventh-day Adventist Churches. 00:34 Easier just to say pastor, 00:36 but he's on fire as you can tell, 00:38 and we are talking tonight about Sabbath School ALIVE! 00:44 All caps with an exclamation point after it. 00:48 And what Kameron is going to do in this hour, 00:51 we're taking your questions at 618, 00:54 you can text questions, 00:56 618-228-3975. 01:01 And hey, he's a pastor. 01:02 You can ask him any question you want to, 01:04 but we hope most of them come in on Sabbath School, 01:08 or you can email us 01:12 live@3abn.tv. 01:16 Kameron, we're so glad you're here with us today. 01:20 I understand that you grew up playing the piano, 01:22 play by ear and everything. 01:24 So we're going to slip this in real quick, 01:26 because we love music. 01:27 We're going to hear again from Kendol Bacchus, 01:31 and he's going to be playing "Shepherd of My Heart." 07:13 Well, I certainly, I enjoy that. 07:17 He's, you know, he's very gifted. 07:18 Yes, he is. 07:20 One thing that I think a lot of people 07:21 may have some misinformation and you can clear this up. 07:27 I think a lot of people think that 07:28 from a preliminary standpoint, 07:30 there's an order in church 07:33 and so our Sabbath School time is the first step. 07:38 It's just a preliminary position. 07:41 There you go, that phrase right there, 07:43 just a preliminary. 07:45 That kind of raises my hackles a little bit. 07:47 Let me tell why? 07:49 You hit a nerve, brother, and here's what I'm thinking 07:51 because Sabbath School 07:54 is not a preliminary service to church. 07:57 Preliminary typically means the unimportant stuff 08:00 that only leads up to the real thing, right? 08:03 And so we come to think of the Sabbath School 08:05 as like an optional, 08:07 it's like the parsley on the plate. 08:08 It's cute, it's nice, it's good for certain people, 08:10 but the real stuff comes in church, right? 08:12 And so we kind of get this idea 08:14 that Sabbath School isn't essential, 08:16 that Sabbath School is merely optional. 08:18 And that's exactly what we see 08:20 when we vote with our feet, you know, 08:22 typical Adventist congregation will have, 08:24 let's say a hundred members on the books. 08:26 Okay? 08:27 How many of those actually attend the worship service? 08:30 Probably about 50. Okay? 08:32 How many of those typically attend the Sabbath School? 08:36 Half again. Okay? 08:38 Then go down to prayer meeting. Let me attend that. 08:42 So then how big is your church? 08:43 See what I'm saying, but we keep pushing 08:46 all these other things 08:47 as optional little pieces of unessential, 08:50 things that some people do 08:52 or specialize when the reality is that 08:55 we get this concept that 08:56 the worship service is the only place 08:58 where we're all supposed to be there together, 09:01 but everyone is supposed to have a part 09:02 in the Sabbath School. 09:04 We should all be studying our Bibles throughout the week. 09:06 We should all be fellowshipping together. 09:07 We should all be doing outreach, 09:10 listening to testimonies 09:11 and having a testimony to give ourselves, right? 09:13 And that all happens in the Sabbath School. 09:15 And when you cut that out of the Christian life, 09:18 the fellowship and the small group dynamic 09:20 where there's accountability and interest in your own like. 09:22 One of the reasons people 09:24 either love or hate a large church 09:25 is because you can get lost in it. 09:27 You can be just another brick in the wall, you know, 09:28 but that doesn't happen in a small dynamic like that. 09:32 And that's precious, it's sweet. 09:33 And so there's fellowship and accountability. 09:36 There's deeper study. 09:37 And as iron sharpens iron that we talked about before 09:40 and there's opportunities to witness that 09:42 are unique to the Sabbath School. 09:44 Plus like for instance, 09:45 if I want to invite and I don't know 09:47 why we don't do this, 09:48 but nobody invites people to Sabbath School. 09:51 If you ask your friend, hey, 09:52 what time, if a friend asks you, 09:54 what time does your church start? 09:56 Nine times out of 10, 09:57 they're going to say 11 o'clock and not 9.30. 10:00 When every local church has a Sabbath School program, 10:02 but it never even dawned on Sabbath School people 10:04 to invite them, you know? 10:06 But the thing is, and I'm not saying 10:08 stop inviting people to church, 10:10 but I'm saying start inviting people 10:11 to Sabbath School 10:12 and they can stay for church, right? 10:14 That come be with our friend group 10:16 that we meet with and we study the Bible, 10:18 we hear exciting mission reports. 10:19 We pray for one another. 10:20 We have, we socialize outside of this, right? 10:23 It's a... Can I add one more thing? 10:26 We talk about church growth. 10:28 And oftentimes when we get into public evangelism, 10:30 we talk about, 10:32 are they ready to be baptized or not? 10:34 You're either a member of the church 10:35 or you're not a member of the church. 10:37 Friends, you can be a member of the Sabbath School 10:40 without being a member of the church. 10:42 Yes. You can be a regular attender. 10:44 And I know in the places 10:45 where Sabbath School is growing well, 10:47 it's not just because a lot of Adventists go, 10:50 it's because that's where they bring their friends 10:51 who aren't Adventist, 10:52 but they feel a sense of belonging 10:54 to this family dynamic 10:56 when they haven't had to make the commitment 10:58 that they may not be ready for yet, 10:59 or may not fully understand. 11:01 That's beautiful. 11:02 But you know what I'm saying, 11:03 It's a bridge into the body of Christ 11:06 through this less threatening, less intimidating, 11:09 smaller group fellowship dynamic, 11:11 where I can ask my questions 11:13 and I can see the Bible in a pace 11:16 that I can appreciate, not just listening to a sermon. 11:18 You see what I'm saying? 11:19 So it's designed to be an opportunity 11:23 for individuals to practice personal ministry 11:27 and bring people in. 11:29 Let's talk, let's get really practical 11:31 because somebody may be sitting at home 11:33 and saying, 11:34 well, they, my Sabbath School class is boring, 11:37 or we just got a great question. 11:40 We're going to get to this question that says, 11:42 in our local church, 11:43 whenever we're discussing Sabbath School lesson, 11:46 it often leads to theological debates. 11:49 What are your thoughts on this? 11:50 But before we get to that, 11:53 it's the opportunity, you know, 11:56 I don't think I've ever invited anybody 11:58 at Sabbath School, that's terrible. 12:01 The confession is good for the soul, right? 12:02 But hard on the reputation. 12:05 But you know, that small group dynamic 12:09 is something that would probably, 12:11 people would be more comfortable 12:13 rather than just hearing someone 12:15 when they're seeing the answers in the Bible themselves. 12:20 I think part of the problem is, 12:23 one, people don't study their lessons 12:25 before they come to sit, you know, 12:26 the Sabbath School, the adult study guide was, 12:33 is provided for every member. 12:36 So that, and if you're not a member, 12:38 you can go to absg.adventist.org 12:42 and download a copy. 12:44 But it's provided so that you will have 12:47 a bite-size Bible study every day 12:50 during the week. 12:51 It's something that your Sabbath School lesson 12:54 is there to drive you into the Bible. 12:57 Now, sometimes some people at Sabbath School 13:01 practically are just reading the lesson. 13:04 Others maybe lose control to someone in the class 13:09 who wants to do all the talking and they haven't studied 13:13 or there's these theological debates, 13:15 let's get practical. 13:16 Let's unpack a few of them 13:18 because there was a lot of elements as an onion 13:19 we just talked about, 13:21 let's peel it back a little bit. 13:22 Okay. 13:23 I think the first one we talked about was theological debate. 13:26 Now debate is one thing. Discussion is fine. 13:30 Debate may not be where we want to go, right? 13:32 A point, counterpoint. 13:34 We're not here to like 13:35 arm wrestle in a spiritual sense 13:37 or something like that. 13:38 But we do want to have 13:40 lively understanding and dynamic, you know, 13:42 engagement by members of the Sabbath School 13:45 with their teacher. 13:47 But you also mentioned something being boring, right? 13:50 And I think that 13:52 somehow this urban legend has crept 13:53 into our collective thinking these days 13:56 and that the way to make a Sabbath School 13:58 more interesting because by the way, 14:02 let me share a statement with this. 14:03 Listen to this, Christian Service, page 211. 14:05 I want to be patently clear. 14:07 Our Sabbath School should be more interesting. 14:08 Yes. 14:09 So shall our worship services, 14:11 our evangelism meetings our prayers, everything. 14:12 She says this, Christian Service, page 211. 14:15 "Our meetings should be made intensely interesting. 14:19 They should be pervaded 14:21 with the very atmosphere of heaven. 14:22 Let there be no long dry speeches 14:25 and formal prayers merely for the sake 14:27 of occupying the time." 14:29 She goes on, "All should be ready 14:31 to act their part with promptness. 14:32 And when their duty is done, the meeting should be closed." 14:35 Right? So do a thing and then be done. 14:37 But there's a pacing of this 14:38 that needs to not just be formal 14:40 and just going through the motions 14:41 and to hollow ceremony, right? 14:43 She says, "Thus, the interest will be kept up to the last. 14:46 This is offering to God acceptable worship. 14:48 His service should be made interesting and attractive 14:50 and be allowed to degenerate into a dry form." 14:53 And that's the right objective to aim toward. 14:56 Now, how do you get there? 14:58 Sometimes people have said 15:00 in order to be more interesting, 15:02 we need to be more entertaining. 15:05 Well, that's not what we're talking about. 15:07 Okay? 15:08 Nor have an, especially in the study dynamic 15:12 of the Sabbath School, like the entertaining 15:14 might be a temptation in the corporate worship. 15:16 Yeah, let's get more things, 15:18 lights and sound into all this kind of stuff. 15:20 But in the study session, 15:21 how do you make a Sabbath School study group 15:23 more interesting. 15:24 Most people would say, 15:25 what you do is get out of this linear pew situation. 15:28 Let's get everybody sitting in a circle. 15:30 There's nothing wrong with circles. 15:32 Okay. I'm fine with circle. 15:33 But what typically that means is 15:35 I'm also not going to be the teacher anymore. 15:37 I'm just going to be the facilitator. 15:39 I'm just going to be the moderator 15:41 and whatever you guys, we want to get more engagement. 15:43 We want to get more contribution 15:45 and more voices, 15:46 you know, into the discussion, which has its place for sure. 15:50 But sometimes when the teacher aggregates 15:54 that role of teaching, 15:56 what you end up with is what the scripture 15:58 calls the sacrifice of fools. 16:01 Okay. 16:02 Now I'm going to, 16:03 anytime I've tried to learn this lesson, 16:05 anytime I say something controversial sounding, 16:07 I want to make sure that 16:08 I'm quoting inspiration and I'm just behind them. 16:11 Okay? 16:12 But if you go to Ecclesiastes Chapter 5, 16:15 I want to show you this passage here. 16:18 My good friend, my associate director 16:20 in the Sabbath School Personal Ministries Department, 16:21 Mark Howard. 16:23 Pastor Mark Howard pointed this passage out. 16:25 Yes, we worked together and we'll get back to that 16:27 because I want to talk about talking points in a minute. 16:28 But for right now, Ecclesiastes Chapter 5, 16:32 listen, carefully what's being described here 16:33 verse 1 says, "Walk prudently 16:36 when you go to the house of God." 16:38 Now let's time out. 16:39 We're going to demonstrate 16:41 a little Bible study right here. 16:42 Notice the context of this is not just 16:43 when you walk by the way 16:45 or when you go to work or whatever, 16:46 it's specifically about going to church, right? 16:48 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God 16:52 and draw near, that is draw near 16:54 to the house of God for what purpose? 16:56 To hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools. 17:01 So he's juxtaposing two things, you're either going to hear, 17:05 or you're going to give 17:06 what he calls the sacrifice of fool. 17:07 And he explains what that is. 17:09 For they do not know that they do evil, 17:11 and he explains what that is. 17:12 Verse 2, "Do not be rash with your mouth 17:15 and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God." 17:20 We would probably in our common parlance call that 17:22 shooting from the lip or being, having the gift of gab, right? 17:26 "For God is in heaven and you are on earth, 17:30 therefore let your words be," what? 17:32 "Few. 17:34 For a dream comes through much activity 17:36 and a fool's voice is known by his many words." 17:41 Now Sister Shelley, going back to your original question 17:43 about doctrinal debates 17:47 and discussions, disputes, okay? 17:49 I don't know if you've run into this phenomenon or not, 17:53 but you kind of alluded to it a minute ago. 17:56 People will oftentimes 18:00 not study their lesson, 18:04 yet have strong opinions 18:06 about anything that's discussed. 18:09 They'll say like, look, 18:10 I didn't studied the lesson this week, 18:11 but I have a very strong, like what are you doing. 18:14 Right, if you haven't studied the Word of God, 18:16 if you haven't looked up some, you know contexts, 18:19 and some cross-referencing, 18:20 haven't looked it up in the Spirit of Prophecy. 18:22 You haven't done your homework 18:23 and legwork to come to that idea, 18:25 you're just offering your uninformed opinion 18:29 when that it, by seems to fit 18:32 the definition of the sacrifice of fools. 18:35 So I think comment in the class is good. 18:39 Discussion is good, 18:41 but just my opinion versus your opinion, 18:42 debate and debate. 18:44 Well, what I think, and I think that, 18:45 I don't care what you think in a Jesus 18:47 loves you kind of way. 18:48 You know what I'm saying? 18:50 But I care what the Bible thinks. 18:51 When it comes to issues of doctrine and faith 18:54 and practice and righteous living, 18:56 whatnot, I want to know 18:57 what inspired Word has to say to me, right? 19:01 And so that's the goal of the Sabbath School 19:03 is to get us into the Word. 19:04 Now, there can be good dynamic. 19:06 There can be questions that can be offered, 19:08 but sometimes the other thing is the teachers, 19:10 again, abdicate that responsibility 19:12 to keep the discussion on focus. 19:15 And now we're just chasing theological rabbits. 19:18 You know, we're going down every little corner 19:19 and every little avenue and people leave saying, 19:22 I heard 1600 opinions, 19:24 and I'm not more edified than, 19:25 you know, there's a lot more heat than light 19:27 was produced by this, right? 19:29 Yeah. 19:30 And so I think that 19:31 we need to put the school back in Sabbath School. 19:33 Amen. 19:34 That it's not just a corporate round table opinion fest. 19:39 What it needs to be 19:41 is a guided dynamic interesting study 19:45 of the Word of God. 19:46 But that's the question, I mean, you just hit on, 19:49 it's the study of the Word of God. 19:50 We're not studying the Sabbath School, 19:54 what we call the quarterly... 19:55 The quarterly, now I remember, 19:57 yeah, you're paranoid, aren't you? 19:58 The Adult Bible Study Guide, 20:00 it's there to drive us into the Bible. 20:02 But so often people will go, 20:05 okay, now on Tuesday's list, oh, on Wednesday's list. 20:09 Yes. Well, let's... 20:11 I know, were you going to come to a question? 20:12 I'm sorry, I just started cutting you off 20:14 because I got a lot to say about it. 20:15 Go ahead. But just think about it. 20:18 This, the topic, for instance, 20:21 this quarter is the covenant, right? 20:24 And it's a beautiful study from Genesis 20:26 all the way to the end of the Bible 20:27 about God's relationship, His contractual, 20:30 His covenantal relationship with His people. 20:32 It's loaded with great material. 20:33 Okay? 20:35 Now, each week, the lesson study 20:38 is broken into seven increments, 20:41 each corresponding to a day of the week. 20:44 Do you think that the contributor to that lesson 20:46 when he was writing it out thought in seven day blocks? 20:50 Of course not. 20:52 He had like one overarching, 20:54 you know, theme for that week or a topic, 20:56 or had a couple of main points 20:58 he wanted to hit in that week, 20:59 but you have to divide it into seven, 21:01 because one of the purposes 21:03 of the study guide is to help people 21:05 get in the habit 21:06 of regularly daily studying their Bible. 21:09 But we have taken the seven day format 21:11 to think that 21:12 that's how we're supposed to teach it in the class. 21:14 That our job is to start 21:15 with Sabbath afternoon's illustration, 21:17 and then go to Sunday's point 21:18 and then go to Monday's point and then go to, 21:20 that there are seven equally important points 21:23 scattered evenly throughout the week. 21:26 And the point of the Sabbath School class 21:27 is to rehearse those for us. 21:29 No, it's not. 21:31 You were supposed to have 21:32 studied your Sabbath School lesson, 21:34 and the teacher would have done the same thing. 21:36 And through his study or her study, 21:38 or, and your study, you should be able to draw out 21:42 from the scriptures these important themes. 21:44 Now, we have a program, 21:46 I told you I was going to come back to this called 21:47 Talking Points. 21:48 Let me give a background about this. 21:50 So when the pandemic hit and our churches locked down 21:53 and everything shifted online very quickly. 21:57 Pastor Howard and I started 22:00 a weekly Sabbath School program where, hey, if you can't have 22:02 a Sabbath School at your local church, 22:04 we're going to have a Michigan option for you here. 22:06 Okay? 22:07 And we would actually do, 22:08 and we remodeled the mission program, 22:10 we'd have a global mission spotlight. 22:11 And then we'd interview 22:12 some conference director of some work 22:14 that's going on and, you know, 22:15 Pathfinders or literature or camp, 22:17 whatever the thing is. 22:18 And then we talk about 22:20 here's a personal ministry resource. 22:21 So we modeled 22:22 the little 20 minute mission program. 22:24 And then we go into the Bible study 22:25 and go through that week's lesson. 22:29 When churches began to reopen, 22:31 we got a lot of input from people being like, 22:33 whatever you do, 22:34 don't stop going over the lesson and people, 22:38 because what we would do is break it down into, 22:40 and now that the program has gotten rid of those, 22:42 because we're not trying to take 22:44 the place of Sabbath School, we're trying to be a support 22:46 to the local Sabbath School. 22:48 So every local Sabbath School is great. 22:50 I know I'm on 3ABN, but I don't think people 22:52 should be getting their church from 3ABN. 22:53 I don't think people should be getting their Sabbath School 22:55 from 3ABN or from us either, they should be 22:57 going to their local church as much as possible. 22:59 Now I understand we've got COVID restrictions. 23:01 People are different circumstances, 23:02 and we won't have all the qualifiers out there, 23:04 but ideally we would fellowship 23:06 with one another in the local church context. 23:09 Okay? So... 23:10 Let me just hit the pause button 23:12 for just a second. 23:13 That's why we air Sabbath School panel 23:16 on several different evenings. 23:18 There you go. 23:20 What we air Sabbath morning is just intended for people 23:25 who can't make it to church. 23:27 Exactly. 23:28 So again, praise the Lord for media ministries, 23:30 and I contribute to that as well. 23:32 So I want to be clear, 23:33 but the goal, at least from our department 23:35 isn't to take the place of, it's to be a support for. 23:38 And so we have a program now, 23:40 and you can find it, follow it on YouTube, 23:42 the Emanuel institute's YouTube page, 23:44 or go to michigansspm.org 23:47 That's our Michigan Conference Sabbath School 23:49 and Personal Ministries website. 23:51 And you can find the episodes of what we call Talking Points, 23:54 but it doesn't go through the Sabbath afternoon, 23:57 Sunday, Monday format. 23:59 And there's nothing wrong with those programs that do. 24:02 But what we draw out 24:03 is what are the three big takeaway points. 24:06 If I were going to be teaching this lesson this week, 24:09 and some Sabbath Schools 24:11 only have a few minutes to do it, 24:12 some have a full hour or more to do it, right? 24:14 But it's scalable, like, so I could take, 24:16 I could summarize these three points 24:18 in five minutes if I had to, 24:19 or we could spend the full hour on it. 24:21 But basically like Monday and Tuesday 24:23 seem to talk about this. 24:24 Or there was this point over here 24:26 for Tuesday and Thursday kind of brought this together, 24:28 but you're not a slave 24:29 to the seven day sequential format 24:33 because our goal isn't to plod through how many, 24:36 by the way, Sabbath School classes 24:38 you've been in 24:40 and all the discussions up front, 24:41 it goes on and on and on. 24:42 And the bell rings like, 24:44 well, we only get past Tuesday, you know? 24:46 And there was some good stuff in Thursday, right? 24:48 And so the teacher should have the role of saying, 24:51 what are the things I want to draw 24:52 out of this week's lesson 24:54 that if I have a lot of time or a little, 24:56 we're going to make sure to cover, 24:57 and that's where it's going to be quality. 24:58 And if you, and by the way if the teacher didn't hit 25:01 on your favorite point, so what? 25:04 It's okay, you studied it, 25:06 you got the blessing and you know what? 25:08 You could have a conversation with your friends and say, 25:10 hey, there was another thing in the Sabbath School lesson. 25:11 Let's talk about. Praise the Lord. 25:13 It's fodder for your own further study, 25:15 but the teachers should teach, the students should study. 25:19 There should be a dynamic engagement 25:22 of conversation back and forth, 25:24 but it should be focused on the topic at hand 25:27 and not head off into the wilderness of debate. 25:30 It seems like probably the personality of the teacher 25:34 probably would rule that. 25:37 By the way, pastor, 25:38 let me interject this real quick, Brother JD. 25:41 How many local churches 25:42 actually teach their Sabbath School teachers 25:44 how to do Sabbath School stuff? 25:46 Yeah. Almost none. 25:48 And the reason a lot of people do, 25:51 whether it's a Sabbath School format 25:53 or the style of teaching, 25:54 or the go into the lesson the way that it, 25:55 whatever it is, how did they come up with that? 25:58 Because they watched somebody else do it. 26:01 That's exactly. 26:02 You know, I used to, 26:03 we talk about training center churches a lot 26:05 in our department here because we want, you know, 26:08 church should be a school where you go and learn 26:11 how to be a missionary for Jesus, right? 26:13 And Mrs. White has this powerful quote. 26:15 She said, "Every church should be a training school 26:17 for Christian workers." 26:19 And I say amen. Amen. 26:21 And then it dawned on me. 26:23 You know, every church already is a training school, 26:27 whether we intend to or not, we teach people, 26:32 we model, we exemplify the unspoken cues 26:37 of what makes our church run 26:38 and what makes our Sabbath School operate, 26:41 how it goes, when it goes, 26:42 what time it goes, who does where, where you sit. 26:45 There's no lecture on it, but everybody learns it. 26:47 You know what I'm saying? 26:49 And the same thing happens with Sabbath School teaching, 26:51 and superintending, 26:52 and outreach or evangelism, 26:53 anything that we do in the local church, 26:55 we often just do it 26:57 because that's how the other person did it. 26:59 And they learned it from the person before. 27:00 So I think there's a lot of like, 27:02 we've created a mold, some of which is fine, 27:06 but a lot of it may be very good, 27:07 but it's done almost instinctively 27:11 instead of by conviction and by, 27:13 like I see the need for this 27:15 and we're going to do it this way. 27:16 And I would think that 27:18 that's one of the goals of Sabbath School ALIVE! 27:20 Yes, absolutely. Well, Sabbath School ALIVE! 27:22 Thank you for bringing that up 27:24 because you started A-L-I-V-E exclamation point. 27:26 And if you go to alive.adventist.org 27:31 that is the General Conferences Sabbath School ALIVE! 27:34 Program. 27:36 You can find all the resources for it there. 27:37 And this was, 27:38 this is not a Michigan conference thing. 27:40 We're just partnering 27:41 with the General Conference in this initiative. 27:43 But, and I've heard people talk about like, 27:45 ooh, that's a radical change. 27:46 I don't know if our church is ready for it. 27:48 Some people might get upset if we try. 27:50 So what is the format? 27:51 Okay, very simply, we're advocating, 27:55 encouraging people to have mission focus 28:00 with a Bible study foundation 28:02 in the format of small group fellowship. 28:05 Okay? Very simple. 28:06 That means how do you put mission back 28:09 as the focus of Sabbath School? 28:10 We have a mission program, a brief, not preliminary, 28:14 because it's not the unimportant stuff 28:16 on the side plate, 28:17 but it's essential, but it's succinct. 28:19 Okay? It gets right to the point. 28:21 Good morning, friends, here's our mission spotlight 28:23 and we're off, right? 28:25 Then you hit that 28:26 local conference or congregation. 28:28 Here's what our women's ministry 28:29 is doing right now. 28:30 Come up and give a report, right? 28:32 We hear a good testimony right in our own backyard. 28:34 Then by the way, before we close, 28:36 we need to have our own missionary movement. 28:37 Every one of us needs to be... 28:38 We want to encourage you 28:40 to distribute Great Controversy. 28:41 This is our sharing book this year, 28:42 and we're going to put as many in homes as we can, 28:44 but basically you can do that thing 28:46 in 15 minutes, right? 28:48 Just knock it out 28:49 and then move into your small groups. 28:52 Now, if every small group, by the way, 28:54 also had a mission project of their own, 28:55 they could spend just a couple of minutes 28:56 talking about that. 28:58 And then each Sabbath School group 28:59 could report in the mission program, right? 29:01 And it feeds like a funnel back and forth. 29:03 So have a mission program 29:05 integral to your Sabbath School. 29:07 Now I typically tend to see that 29:08 as the first thing you do off the bat, 29:10 but if people want to mix it up, 29:11 that's fine, but make sure that 29:13 mission is the focus of Sabbath School. 29:14 But the foundation, 29:15 the big block is always going to be 29:17 that Bible study and prayer, 29:19 that digging into the Word of God together, 29:21 and all done in the format of a small group, 29:24 dynamic, a fellowship. 29:25 And obviously this works 29:29 because our denomination is 150, 180 years old. 29:35 And it's always been mission driven. 29:37 Yes. It's always had Sabbath School. 29:41 So it might just take a little tweaking. 29:45 And honestly what we're not... 29:47 It's not some turning the tables 29:48 over radical upending of all things 29:51 you've ever known Sabbath School to be. 29:52 It's not that, it's simply realigning with 29:55 what we understand from the Bible 29:57 and the Spirit of Prophecy and from, you know, 29:59 just the practical results of Adventist history. 30:01 What we've seen work is if the Sabbath School 30:04 is focused on mission, standing on a solid foundation 30:08 of Bible study in a format that 30:10 people want to invite their friends to fellowship, 30:12 that is a winning combination. 30:15 And I believe the Lord will breathe life, 30:17 but a lot of Sabbath Schools 30:18 have jettisoned any plenary program, 30:21 any platform program at all, or if they have it, 30:23 it's just what we call superintendents' remarks. 30:25 And it's a chicken soup for the soul type of like 30:27 a little devotional reading that they came up with, 30:29 but it's a little, or they might have a specimen. 30:30 And it basically comes a tiny little miniature, 30:32 not as well done church service, right? 30:35 And there's like, 30:36 why do you even have this thing? 30:38 It's just a platform. 30:39 Well, if you've lost that mission focus, 30:41 then it just becomes, you know, 30:43 sounding gong or clanging cymbals sometime 30:45 and no wonder people. 30:47 So I understand the reason 30:48 why people wouldn't either get rid of the plenary program 30:52 or just do this one thing. 30:53 But what happens is it becomes very insular 30:57 and it's just a specialized study group for the people 31:02 who care enough to come to Sabbath School. 31:05 No, and... Go ahead. 31:07 I just was going to say, I think the problem is, 31:11 as you're talking, 31:12 it seems to me that people have lost 31:14 their spiritual passion for mission. 31:17 So all of a sudden it's sort of like, 31:20 that's the mission story. 31:22 Let's get into the Bible study where I'm going to benefit. 31:25 I think we've lost our spiritual commitment. 31:30 It's... 31:33 We've become lukewarm in that area. 31:34 Yes. 31:36 Almost like the Bible anticipated 31:37 that problem and outlined it in scripture, right? 31:39 But we have to remember that the message of the church 31:42 that we love so dear 31:44 is one side or the other side of the coin, 31:46 which is the mission of the church, 31:48 which is to share it. 31:50 This concept that I am a Seventh-day Adventist 31:54 because I hold to these beliefs 31:55 and I study it for myself that I... 31:57 Well, praise the Lord that you are in the faith, 31:59 but there's somebody else who needs your voice to go 32:01 share with them, right? 32:03 And so we become the Dead Sea 32:04 when it all flows in, but it doesn't flow out. 32:07 And a lot of times that's Sabbath School 32:11 is seen as the study group for, 32:13 you know, the dedicated saints in the church who care in, 32:17 when it's not supposed to be merely that, 32:19 of course, it's supposed to be a Bible study, 32:21 but the purpose of the study is not just to know more 32:24 or double-check or debate for strife 32:26 and, you know, discussion. 32:28 It's to grow in my faith 32:31 as I share my faith with others. 32:33 Plus you're daily involved. 32:36 Yeah. I mean, if... 32:40 If you're studying your Adult Study Bible class. 32:42 That's exactly. 32:43 I mean, daily you're involved 32:45 maybe this is a weak area over here. 32:47 Maybe you don't have the best teacher 32:50 but you are daily involved studying yourself. 32:54 Yes. 32:55 And the good news that I'm being reminded, 32:59 it's good for you. 33:02 Good for Sabbath School ALIVE! 33:04 Okay? 33:05 Being that this is a good reminder. 33:08 Maybe I forgot 33:09 what it was to be mission minded. 33:12 Got a great question right here to me. 33:14 Let's looking at a mega church. 33:16 Okay. Mega churches. 33:19 And I'm sure there's still many mega churches out. 33:23 Okay? 33:24 But they get everybody in and every, 33:26 but yet they're losing members right and left. 33:29 Are they concentrating on the right things 33:31 or what would you think on this? 33:34 Well interestingly enough, there haven't been a lot of... 33:37 I mean, I'm not exactly sure 33:39 what the borders of a mega church would be, 33:41 if it's a couple of thousand members, 33:43 10,000, because nowhere 33:45 in the Seventh-day Adventist Church 33:46 that I'm aware of has one of those stadium churches 33:48 with 20, 30, 50,000 people. 33:51 But... 33:52 Let's look at a 20,000 member church 33:55 or 15,000 member church. 33:58 They're filling the church up. 33:59 Mega churches are kind of going out of vogue right now. 34:03 Okay? 34:04 And one of the reasons why, 34:06 and a lot of them, you know, I have some... 34:08 You know, have some interesting statistics 34:11 on this like, you know, 34:14 one of the most well-known was the Willow Creek 34:16 and that kind of, you know, 34:18 now there's hill song and fellowship 34:20 and community churches 34:21 and these kinds of things that are denominational, 34:23 but you wouldn't really know so much. 34:25 That's kind of a brand church, like this mega church branding. 34:28 And interestingly listen to this statement, 34:31 this is Bill Hybels, by the way, 34:33 the founder of the Willow Creek community church 34:36 in his book reveal, where are you? 34:38 It says this, much of the methodology... 34:42 Sorry, we made a mistake, okay he has this opening. 34:45 "We made a mistake, what we should have done 34:47 when people cross the line of faith 34:48 and become Christians, 34:50 we should have started telling people 34:51 and teaching people that they have to 34:53 take responsibility to become self-feeders. 34:56 We should have gotten people, we should have gotten people, 35:01 taught people how to read their Bible between services, 35:04 how to do the spiritual practice 35:05 as much more aggressively on their own. 35:07 Now we probably have 35:09 a lot of theological disagreements, 35:10 but in practical terms, 35:11 what he's saying is essentially that 35:13 they just tried to grow the church 35:15 without growing the people. 35:17 Yeah. 35:18 And, you know, the interesting thing is 35:20 I have heard in the past, 35:21 some people have actually sent somebody 35:26 from their church to go and check out, 35:29 how did they do all of this, you know? 35:31 And it's like, okay, have a coffee shop, 35:33 have a theme or have this. 35:35 And it didn't produce fruit. 35:38 It may have brought a leafy bush, 35:42 but it didn't produce. 35:43 Right. 35:44 And to be clear, that's not a pejorative term 35:46 from the outside, 35:47 looking in as a scolding reprimand. 35:48 This is from the inside, they're the one's saying, 35:50 you know what? 35:51 Again, we made a mistake. 35:53 We were looking at it like 35:54 we were just trying to draw a crowd 35:55 and get the numbers up 35:57 and to their credit that's what you want to do. 35:58 You see churches on the climb, let's see what we can grow. 36:01 But the real growth of the church 36:02 is not going to be quantitative. 36:04 It's going to be qualitative. 36:05 Right, we want to see people become more like Jesus. 36:08 And through their devotion to him 36:10 and His work, 36:12 the church will grow through their labors, right? 36:14 So we do want to see quantity growth in the church, 36:17 but we always want it to be based on 36:19 quality growth of the members. 36:21 So they have a spiritual maturity 36:24 that will draw others in. 36:25 During the first hour you mentioned something 36:27 about once learned, always learned, 36:29 the one who says, 36:30 well, I've heard this, you know, 36:33 I'm going to take something in this again, 36:35 confession is good for the soul and hard on the reputation. 36:41 We learn to teach, but we teach to learn. 36:48 Sometimes I will go through 36:51 and really get into a deep study 36:54 and you know what? 36:55 I can put together the best message 36:59 and maybe just teach it once. 37:02 And it'll be a year later 37:05 that I'm looking through something 37:07 and I find it and I'm going. 37:09 Oh, wow, that was good. 37:11 If we don't share 37:12 what you were saying about the Dead Sea. 37:15 If all we do is take in 37:17 and what God intended is, He said, 37:21 go and make it the great commission, 37:24 Matthew 28, He said, "Go make disciples, 37:27 teaching them to obey everything 37:31 that I've commanded." 37:32 So the way, you know, 37:34 when you're afraid of not knowing the answer, 37:38 I've watched this man grow so quickly 37:41 when we first came here 37:42 because he was sharing the Word with others 37:46 and it was like, 37:48 then it was cemented in his heart. 37:50 And I mean it was the same for me. 37:51 I think that's true for all of us. 37:53 Amen. 37:54 Can I give you a little piece of scripture for that? 37:56 Sure. 37:57 If you go to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 5, okay? 38:00 Now, oftentimes we kind of relegate Hebrews 38:03 as a theological book 38:04 about the high priestly ministry of Jesus, 38:06 which certainly is, but, friends, 38:08 don't forget the practical side of the Book of Hebrews. 38:11 Okay? Now I'll give you one example. 38:13 In Hebrews Chapter 5, 38:15 he's hitting some pretty deep themes 38:17 about the ministry of Jesus 38:19 and the heavenly sanctuary as the, 38:21 like a Melchizedek priesthood type, 38:23 it's deep stuff, right? 38:25 But look at how he kind of closes 38:26 that section, verse 11. 38:28 Speaking of the Jesus as a high priest 38:30 and the order of Melchizedek, he says verse 11, 38:33 "Of whom we have much to say 38:35 and hard to explain 38:36 since you have become dull of hearing." 38:40 Now, that's a pretty scathing rebuke, 38:43 but what does he mean? 38:44 Well, keep reading, verse 12, 38:45 "For though, by this time you ought to be teachers. 38:50 You need someone to teach you again, 38:52 the first principles of the Oracles of God. 38:54 And you have come to need milk and not solid food. 38:57 So in his teaching to whoever these Hebrews were, 38:59 he was saying, we've reached a ceiling here 39:01 and it's not because there's not more to say, 39:03 it's because you can't handle it. 39:05 You can't hear it. You can't, you've maxed out. 39:08 Keep reading, "For everyone," verse 13, 39:11 "who partakes only of milk, 39:12 is unskilled in the word of righteousness 39:14 for he is a babe, 39:15 but solid food belongs to those who are full age." 39:17 And here's what he means. 39:19 He says that is, 39:20 "Those who by reason of use have their senses exercise 39:25 to discern both good and evil." 39:26 He said, the problem we're having here 39:28 is we're giving good information, 39:31 good, solid theological doctrine. 39:33 But we can only go so far in your growth 39:34 because you're not putting to use 39:36 what you've already got. 39:38 And that was one of the challenges 39:40 that I had to have a message called 39:41 how to listen to a sermon, but people don't know 39:43 how to listen to spiritual counsel. 39:45 They don't know how to listen to a sermon. 39:46 So for instance, 39:48 if you were in the supermarket one day 39:50 and you had your non-Adventist, 39:52 your evangelical dyed in the wool, you know, 39:55 turn a burn Baptist friend, right? 39:57 Tenderhearted love one another. 39:58 We have different theologies, right? 40:01 And they said, you know what? 40:02 Our Sunday school teacher 40:04 is going to be out of town this week. 40:05 And I know you guys 40:07 think a little bit different than us 40:08 on this particular topic. 40:09 Would you be willing to come? So we're good friends. 40:11 So would you come to my Sunday school 40:14 and teach us what you understand the Bible 40:16 does teach about hell. 40:19 You'd say, and you know, 40:21 it's about a warning, you can't say no. 40:23 So you say like, "Ah-ah, oh, sure. 40:25 This Sunday, right?" Yeah. 40:27 And this is Friday afternoon. Right? 40:29 And you're shaking in your boots, 40:31 but you got this divine appointment, right? 40:33 Go three aisles down. 40:34 You run into your own pastor and you say, pastor, 40:37 I got to tell you, I got this opportunity. 40:40 I don't know what I'm going to say 40:41 and the pastor says, look, calm down the Lord's in it. 40:44 Tomorrow morning you know what I'm preaching on? 40:47 The good news about hell. 40:50 Time out. 40:52 How are you going to listen to tomorrow sermon? 40:53 With a whole. A whole different attitude. 40:57 Ears perked up. That's right. 40:58 Because now you have an appointment 41:00 on the other side of it. 41:01 You're going to be accountable 41:03 for what you heard in the Word of God. 41:04 So you're not, that Sabbath, 41:06 I don't know why you came church before, 41:07 but you've got a mission that Sabbath, right? 41:10 And you're not going to sit in the back. 41:11 You're not going to be distracted. 41:12 Not going to come in late. 41:14 You're not going to get caught up in this and that 41:15 and be looking on your phone. 41:16 No, you're going to sit down front, take notes, 41:18 have your Bible open and you honestly 41:20 don't even care if the speaker's interesting. 41:23 Because you're not there for style, 41:24 you're there for substance. 41:26 I need content. I need meat. 41:27 Because I'm about to feed some people 41:29 and I want to make sure. 41:30 And we have to, and Paul was running into this 41:32 in this day saying, look, there's depth here. 41:36 It's not just the trite story of Jesus. 41:37 You've heard a little pieces and parts. 41:39 There's a richness of His heavenly ministry, 41:41 he's trying to convey here, 41:42 but we've reached a ceiling with you guys 41:44 because you're not putting to use 41:46 what you've already got. 41:48 And so we are having to go back over and back over. 41:51 Friends, I see this in Sabbath School all the time. 41:53 We keep going over the same things 41:54 over and over and people don't seem to grow. 41:57 And I don't think 41:58 it's because they've run out of material. 42:01 I think it's a lot of it has to do with the fact that 42:03 we're not putting into practice either 42:05 on our own life reforms or in our witnessing to others, 42:08 the things that we've been blessed with. 42:10 And so it just kind of finds the ceiling and that's it. 42:14 We need, you know, we're running out 42:17 That's good. Great. 42:19 All right. 42:21 So where can people get resources 42:25 to teach those who are going to teach 42:28 the Sabbath School? 42:29 That is a great one. Okay. 42:31 Now I'll be, to be clear that there's at least two websites 42:35 that I want to talk to you about. 42:36 Okay? 42:38 The first one was we already met, 42:39 we've mentioned both 42:40 and let's put them together in this. 42:42 The General Conferences Sabbath School resource page 42:45 for the ALIVE! 42:47 Initiative is the alive.adventist.org 42:52 alive.adventist.org 42:58 That's exactly right. 42:59 That website is going to talk about 43:01 those three main features of Sabbath School, 43:04 the Bible study and prayer, the mission focus 43:07 and the format of small group dynamic fellowship. 43:09 Okay? 43:10 And they're going to give you some suggestions. 43:12 Explain that, wait, pause. 43:13 We've said that, 43:14 we've used that term several times 43:16 that the small group dynamic fellowship, 43:19 explain to people 43:22 why that is biblical and why, 43:24 what you're saying when you use that term. 43:27 Let's go back to Acts Chapter 2. 43:28 Okay? 43:30 On the day of Pentecost, 43:31 in fact, I should say after the day of Pentecost, 43:32 you know, the day of Pentecost, 43:34 Peter preaches a powerful sermon, right? 43:36 And he's, by the way, preaching present truth. 43:39 He was not just preaching that Jesus was born 43:41 or that he just lived a good life 43:43 or even that He died on the cross. 43:45 He talked about His resurrection, 43:46 His ascension to heaven 43:47 and Him sitting at the right hand of God. 43:49 I mean, there's powerful stuff. 43:51 Bible prophecy, present truth. 43:53 Peter was an Adventist anyway, 43:55 But he gets there and he, 43:57 and after they gladly received his word 44:00 in verse 41, 3,000 were baptized and notice, 44:03 it says by the way, added to them, 44:05 not just added to Jesus in a nebulous vague way, 44:07 but added to the church, right? 44:10 What happens after that? 44:12 Verse 46, "So continuing," 44:14 what's the word in your Bible say next? 44:15 Steadfastly. 44:17 "Steadfastly," 44:18 I have the New King James Version 44:20 that says daily. 44:21 That means ongoing, regularly. 44:22 Verse 46. 44:24 "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple." 44:27 Now... 44:28 What verse because I'm on Chapter 2. 44:30 Acts 2:46. 44:32 Yeah, mine says daily too. Okay. 44:34 I was like, I don't know that version, 44:35 but I'm going to go with the one I got. 44:36 Okay. So continuing daily, time out. 44:38 What does daily mean? It means... 44:42 Every day. Every day, right? 44:43 Or at least throughout the week on days, 44:46 it does not just say they continued weekly. 44:50 How many things, how many times 44:51 do we assume that 44:53 everything that church does is weekly? 44:56 When the reality is we need a faith community, 45:00 that's midweek, that calls and checks on each other, 45:03 that studies together, that prays together, 45:05 that encourages one another. 45:06 That studies regularly daily, right? 45:10 So the life of the church 45:11 wasn't just a weekly round of services they went through. 45:14 It says they continue daily with one accord, where? 45:17 In the temple, so they would come to church 45:19 and it was the center of their life, 45:20 their faith was, right? 45:22 And breaking bread from house to house. 45:25 So notice again, there's the nod to the intimacy 45:28 and the closeness of that dynamic, right? 45:30 Which by the way, if you want a biblical basis 45:32 for small groups, 45:33 you can go way back in the Old Testament. 45:35 I can't tell you how many times 45:37 some church growth expert has gotten up and said, 45:39 "I've got this grand new idea. 45:40 It's called small groups." Right? 45:43 Well, friends, you know, 45:44 this goes all the way back to Moses 45:46 leading the children of Israel. 45:47 And the Lord says, you know, 45:48 why are they all standing before you delegate, 45:50 you know, break them down into groups of 45:52 thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, right? 45:55 Why would we have leader? 45:56 So that you can, if you miss a week 46:00 in a 200 member church, 46:02 a lot of times people don't even notice, 46:03 but you miss a group... 46:05 If you have eight people around a table 46:07 and you're gone once they know, 46:10 and that it's not like a judging, 46:11 where were, they're concerned. 46:13 You're probably going to get a phone call 46:15 or a text message or an email 46:16 or a card or some sort of like, "Hey, we missed you," 46:19 or when you do come back, hey, praise the Lord. 46:20 We're worrying about you. Are you okay? 46:22 Did you get the COVID or, 46:23 you know, what's wrong with you? 46:24 And there's a sweetness to that fellowship 46:27 that's necessary in the Christian life, right? 46:30 And that's what you see in the Bible. 46:31 Again, in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, 46:34 breaking bread from house to house, 46:35 they ate their food with gladness 46:37 and simplicity of heart, 46:38 praising God and having favor with all the people. 46:41 And what was the result? The Lord added. 46:42 The Lord added to the church how often? 46:44 Daily, those who were being saved. 46:48 So through there, and it didn't say, 46:50 oh, because Peter just kept preaching 46:51 that Pentecost sermon every day. 46:53 He didn't stand up and make, 46:54 well, maybe he did, we don't know. 46:55 But clearly the implication of these passages is that 46:58 the members themselves were so in love with the Lord, 47:02 they were so committed to His Word. 47:04 And they were so tied together in bonds of fellowship, 47:08 that it was a winsome witness to the world 47:10 that you've got something I want 47:12 and they would share their faith. 47:14 They would do it in this, then that dynamic 47:16 where you would notice if you weren't there. 47:19 Friends, I think 47:20 that's what Sabbath School should be. 47:22 That we need to put the good stuff back 47:24 in Sabbath School, 47:25 make it a wonderful, rich, vibrant, 47:27 dynamic experience 47:28 where we can grow in our faith, 47:30 where we can hear inspiring mission stories, 47:32 where we can build each other up. 47:36 And if you miss Sabbath School, you missed something. 47:39 But let's talk about, because you know, 47:41 people are sitting here, 47:42 we're talking about, say a 300 member church. 47:45 And if we're starting with Sabbath School, 47:47 we're not talking about all 300 people 47:51 being in the same class, 47:53 because most churches will have five or six different classes. 47:57 You can go to a study where maybe the personality 48:02 of the class fixtures, 48:04 but one thing is, I've seen people 48:07 come in to church as visitors 48:11 and they arrive early 48:12 because they've seen something on the sign. 48:15 And then the Sabbath School superintendent says, okay, 48:18 we're going to divide into our classes 48:20 and go to Sabbath School now. 48:22 And there they sit, like, where do I go? 48:25 Let's talk about what can we do if we start inviting people? 48:31 Yes, we have to start thinking like a visitor. 48:34 A lot of times we don't expect 48:37 any non-Adventist to ever come to Sabbath School. 48:40 So we're having inside baseball, you know, 48:43 isolated jargon and, nomenclature, you know, 48:46 abbreviations for stuff. 48:47 People don't know what, you know, 48:49 and we just kind of rattled it off. 48:51 And we assume everybody knows, for instance, 48:54 things that we're comfortable with, 48:55 we don't think we have to teach over and over. 48:56 I remember we're coming to the Michigan Conference. 48:58 Everybody knows where camp meeting is held. 49:01 Well, I didn't know where camp meeting was held. 49:02 And so we looked everywhere 49:04 for the address of where camp meeting was 49:05 and it was kind of a known thing, right? 49:07 And, we do that sometimes with church. 49:09 We don't know how our churches look, 49:12 how our churches feel, how our churches smell, 49:15 how our churches are to someone who isn't us. 49:20 But when we walk in, we talk about, 49:22 now it's time to divide 49:23 into our Sabbath School divisions. 49:25 What does that mean? Right. 49:26 We should explain things. 49:28 We should make it simple formatted 49:29 and clearly instructed on the off chance 49:33 that somebody 49:34 who's not one of us comes in, right? 49:36 And that create a welcoming visitor 49:38 friendly environment to be clear that 49:40 does not mean water down the doctrine 49:42 or ramp up the entertainment. 49:43 It means to make it 49:45 intensely interesting by clarity, 49:48 succinct, clear, a transition, say, all right, 49:51 now we're going to hear a mission story 49:53 from around the world. 49:54 Boom. They know what that means. 49:55 And now it's time to get into our study classes 49:57 to go over this week's lesson. 49:59 It's a wonderful topic this week. 50:01 And now there's a group that meets here. 50:02 There's a group there. 50:04 And if we have any visitors, 50:05 we'd like to invite you to any one of those or, 50:06 you know, make, give them 50:08 clear instructions of what to say. 50:10 And it's very helpful. 50:11 So we should think 50:12 like a visitor in all of the things 50:14 we do as a church more than we do. 50:16 Now, let's bring in personal ministries. 50:19 We've got people they're coming 50:20 to Sabbath School and everything. 50:22 How do you bring 50:23 in the personal ministries into this 50:24 or what should we do? 50:26 And you've kind of covered it, 50:28 but be a little bit more specific? 50:29 Okay. 50:31 I believe that again, going back to that 50:32 missionary mindset that it concludes with, 50:36 we haven't done a mission program. 50:37 And if we've given an appeal 50:39 for everyone to be a missionary, 50:40 so we should be training them in practical 50:43 and I mean just short little three, 50:44 five minute blurbs, 50:46 like here's a tool you can use this week. 50:48 I would challenge you to go out and distribute this, 50:50 or start a conversation like this. 50:52 Or if you're looking to give a Bible study 50:54 with someone and you don't know 50:56 how to do it, what are some ways 50:57 you can go find a Bible study this week 50:59 and give that kind of practical instruction 51:01 in the Sabbath School, 51:03 so that mission stories aren't just what happens 51:05 over there or what we do corporately, 51:07 but that every individual can have an opportunity 51:09 to be a missionary for Jesus, right? 51:11 And so we should give the resources, the inspiration, 51:14 we should give the encouragement 51:15 and the practical guidance 51:17 for how people can be a missionary. 51:18 So that's the one we can do it corporately. 51:20 Now I will say coming back to your point. 51:22 If you had a 300 member church, 51:24 I'd be delighted if all 300 people 51:25 did come to Sabbath School, number one, 51:27 and for at least a few minutes would at least 51:30 watch the same mission program and talk. 51:32 But then when we divide up into our groups, 51:34 that's where the smaller format dynamic comes in. 51:37 And that's where 51:38 the Bible study really, you know, 51:39 starts firing on all pistons. 51:41 So I would make sure that 51:43 the mission always points down 51:46 like a funnel to here am I, send me, giving them practical, 51:51 encouraging counsel that 51:52 they can put to use for the Lord. 51:54 Also in those small groups, 51:56 each of those should have a mission project of its own. 51:59 Hopefully not just something overseas that 52:03 they can fund, 52:04 but something right in their neighborhood that 52:06 they can hands-on participate with 52:08 or they can contribute to in some way in their own field. 52:11 So when it's their turn up on the mission spotlight, 52:14 they've got something to say 52:16 of activity that's happening within the church family. 52:19 And so I think there's a lot of ways that 52:21 the Sabbath School teacher, 52:22 the Sabbath School superintendent, 52:24 the Sabbath School leadership team 52:25 can intentionally move Sabbath School 52:29 towards a mission focus that 52:31 it was supposed to have all along, 52:32 but has grown dormant and far too many instances. 52:35 Okay. Let's... 52:36 We only have a few minutes left. 52:38 What I'd like you to address 52:40 if you will is the structure 52:45 of the management of Sabbath School. 52:48 The people who are responsible for and what can they do. 52:52 Okay. 52:53 First of all, thank you for bringing that up. 52:56 The Sabbath School leadership team 52:59 is often neglected in the local church. 53:02 Okay. 53:03 The nominating committee will say, all right, 53:04 we got a superintendent or two. 53:06 We got these teachers too, and that's about it. 53:08 And they never meet again, but there should be, 53:10 if you're going to be, for instance, 53:13 training your teachers how to be more effective, 53:15 looking for mission projects to encourage people, to do, 53:18 making sure you've got a good dynamic program going, 53:20 you should have a reason to meet, 53:22 to plan some things. 53:23 And there should be 53:25 a delegation of responsibilities. 53:26 You should have a superintendent, 53:28 but they don't have to do everything. 53:29 They need a secretary to do some of the, you know, 53:31 you've got Sabbath School offerings to keep up 53:33 with in Sabbath School attendance records. 53:35 And it's all kinds of Sabbath School paperworky stuff 53:37 that we want to keep track of. 53:38 There should be a secretary. 53:40 You should have an outreach coordinator 53:41 if you can, you know? 53:43 Come up with ideas to help us along 53:44 and make sure 53:45 there's a personal ministries' leaders, 53:47 to make sure we got the resources we need. 53:48 And you start looking at Sabbath School 53:49 as really the living heartbeat of the church 53:53 that the lay members can all be a part of. 53:56 And that vitality has so often languished, 54:01 I think because we've lost the mission focused. 54:04 The superintendent is isolated, 54:06 the poor brother or sister 54:08 is probably the only one doing it. 54:09 And they don't know exactly what to do 54:10 and then the teacher. 54:12 And so it kind of devolves into a wrote form 54:15 that just gets repeated as a hollow ceremony. 54:18 Not that there's not a blessing in that too. 54:20 I want to be clear. 54:21 I'm not trying to throw 54:22 all Sabbath Schools under the bus. 54:24 A lot of people are doing the best 54:25 they can with the ideas they have. 54:26 But the goal of Sabbath School is to be 54:29 a living dynamic organism, 54:31 truly the body of Christ to do His work. 54:35 So while we want edification 54:36 through a good Bible study, 54:37 we need those other elements 54:39 of practical instruction 54:40 so that we can be more robust and complete the mission. 54:43 And I think part of what we all need to do 54:47 and just touch on this is we need to pray 54:51 for a change of heart. 54:52 I mean, we need much prayer about this. 54:54 Absolutely, I mean, in practical terms, 54:58 stop treating Sabbath School, 54:59 like a preliminary, show up to everything 55:03 that happens in your local church. 55:05 Invite people like 55:08 put the good stuff in Sabbath School 55:10 and expect people to be there. 55:12 And if you missed it, you missed something, right? 55:14 Make little business cards for your Sabbath School group 55:16 and get the word out, right? 55:17 Promote it, read counsels on Sabbath School work. 55:20 There's a compilation of all the stufflike this. 55:22 Mrs. White said about the Sabbath School work 55:24 and it'll blow your mind about, 55:25 oh, it's supposed to be I didn't know that. 55:27 And we can do all of those resourcing 55:31 and training and equipping, but what you brought in 55:34 praying for the leading of the Holy Spirit 55:37 to make this thing get off the ground. 55:39 We talk about even in the Sabbath School ALIVE! 55:41 Like it sounds almost formulaic. 55:43 If you have a mission program, you go through these things 55:45 and out on the other end 55:46 you're going to have a living active Sabbath school. 55:48 Friends, we're going to do our best 55:50 from a human perspective, 55:51 but it's only going to flourish as the Lord blesses. 55:54 And so we want this to be recognized 55:56 as a cooperative labor 55:58 between dedicated church members 55:59 and the Holy Spirit who's going to bring 56:01 about the revival we so desperately need. 56:03 Okay. 56:04 Fifteen seconds, repeat the website. 56:07 Two websites, alive.adventist.org 56:11 That's the General Conference Sabbath School initiative page 56:14 and michigansspm.org 56:19 for the resources that in our department 56:20 and the Michigan conference 56:22 we are doing to help make Sabbath Schools alive, 56:24 like Talking Points 56:26 and the Emanuel Institute training things 56:27 and all this things 56:29 you can find@michigansspm.org. 56:33 Kameron... 56:34 They're very fortunate to have you in that position. 56:36 We're just having fun. Amen. 56:38 We want to thank you so much for being here tonight. 56:42 And you know, I don't know about you, 56:44 but my heart's been stirred. 56:46 I realized there's even a few things 56:47 I need to pray about to increase my passion, 56:51 but we pray we're going to make it 56:54 a commitment right now. 56:56 We're going to start praying for Sabbath School for you too. 56:59 And our prayer is that the grace of our Lord 57:01 and Savior Jesus Christ, the love of the Father 57:03 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 57:05 is with you always. 57:07 God bless. |
Revised 2021-10-21