The question comes from anguish, concern, and foreboding. I hear it from earnest Adventists who love their church but feel it is losing its distinctiveness, its vigor and power.
I share many of their concerns. We will address some of them in this issue.
But hand-wringing is not the only order of the day. Though the Lord commends those "that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done" among God's people (Ezek 9:4-6), we may be assured that God has seen it all beforehand, and even foretold that problems would come upon the church.
These problems will not prevent His final victory. They will wreak some real havoc in the meantime. Yet God's people will go through. Their numbers will be smaller, at least for a time. Many who started on the road to the kingdom will not continue to the end. But many others will take their places, and God will have a faithful people, saved for eternity.
What is the order of the day, then? We must not ignore the problems; we must identify them, try to find solutions, and work to help bring the church up to the ideal that God has for it. But as we do so, let us never be discouraged. What God has foretold, He has made provision for. The struggles of His people will intensify as we near the close of time, but these things indicate that His coming is not far off!
After foretelling trouble among His people and in the world, Jesus said, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). Look up! The view is always encouraging in that direction!
In This Issue
Our theme this time is "The Future of Adventism."
We asked Samuele Bacchiocchi to share with us his analysis of the condition of the church, particularly in North America. Almost every weekend he is conducting a seminar somewhere, and such wide exposure to the Adventist population has given him a grasp of the concerns and issues affecting the church. He offers helpful suggestions for dealing with the problems the church faces.
Among the problems is a decline in evangelistic outreach. While some critics have been claiming that holding evangelistic meetings no longer works in the prosperous first-world countries, Mark Finley has been demonstrating that the right approach still yields thrilling results. His article, "The Future of Adventist Evangelism," is based on a talk he gave at the ministerial presession of the 1990 General Conference in Indianapolis.
Many church leaders are concerned about the decline in giving to missions. Some of our members seem to feel that there's not much need for missions any more. In "The Future of Adventist Missions," Winston Clark takes a fresh look at missions and presents some startling, challenging facts and ideas. Elder Clark knows of what he speaks, having spent thirty-five years in the Far East in pastoral-evangelistic and administrative work, the last ten of them as president of the Far Eastern Division. Then from 1985 until his retirement in 1990 he served as administrative assistant to the General Conference president. We are glad he could share some of his experience and perceptions with us.
C. Raymond Holmes wonders about "The Future of Adventist Bible Interpretation," in light of efforts to bring ordination of women into the church. Other denominations provide instructive illustrations of where the new directions in Bible interpretation would take us. It is a sobering prospect, but we still have time to decide for solidly Adventist methods of Bible interpretation. Dr. Holmes is preparing a book on this topic.
On a related theme, Melissa Wallace addresses "The Future of the Adventist Mother at Home." Feminism, economics and societal pressures all seem to conspire to induce women to abandon the home, but the Bible calls for a home-centered outlook. What does following the Bible mean today?
Dean Kelley graciously agreed to let us reprint his 1982 Ministry article, "How Adventism Can Stop Growing," which we have condensed slightly. His article takes a sociological approach to the question of why churches grow. While sociology cannot supplant theology if one is building for eternity, the article effectively challenges us to resist the efforts of those who would like to make the Adventist church like the other churches around us.
To round out the issue, C. Mervyn Maxwell reminds us in "Adventism's Turbulent But Triumphant Future" that the Advent movement is destined for triumph; Mrs. E. G. White gets the final word with "The Challenge of the Future," presenting both the struggles and the victory that are before us.
We trust that this issue will be a blessing to you, and we pray that together, all ADVENTISTS may AFFIRM the message and the mission to which God has called us.