Spectrum Blog

Southern's School of Religion Hosts Own Panel on Homosexuality

Alexander Carpenter — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:26:28 -0700

On April 8, 2008, a group of students held a panel discussion on homosexuality with the support of the School of Social Work and Family Studies, History Department, and Campus Ministries. Eight days later. . .

On April 16, 2008 Southern Adventist University held a panel discussion entitled “Compassion and Clarity: Biblical Perspectives on Homosexuality.”

Southern religion student Darryl Bentley writes:

The panel was organized by the dean of the School of Religion (SOR) at the request of the Senior Vice President for Academic Administration, Dr. Robert Young.

I have included the body of an e-mail that Dr. Young sent out to all the faculty, staff and students at SAU.

“To all faculty, staff, and students of Southern Adventist University:

I’m writing to invite you to attend a panel discussion I’ve asked the School of Religion to provide as a continuing dialog on the topic of Biblical perspectives on homosexuality. You will note that this is not intended as a rebuttal, but as a continuation of the discussion launched last week {April 8, 2008}. The lead title “Compassion and Clarity” comes from the subtitle of a 1995, book by evangelical author Thomas Schmidt. Following the panel discussion, there will be an opportunity for those in attendance to ask panelists questions from the floor. I hope you will find time to attend. Students who attend will be given convocation credit.

Sincerely,

Robert Young

Senior Vice President for Academic Administration”

Many have asked the question as to whether or not this panel was a response to a panel that was held a week prior to “Compassion and Clarity” that was totally student led. It is my understanding--as well as Dr. Young’s expressly stated reason above--that the “Compassion and Clarity” panel was not a response or rebuttal to the previous panel but rather a continuation of the discussion that arose from the previous panel.

I have also read and heard about questions regarding why the SOR did not participate in the first panel discussion. It is my understanding that the students who organized the first panel brought their ideas and material to the SOR already organized and pre-packaged, so to speak. The SOR was not asked by the student-led panel to help organize the panel or contribute to the material that was to be presented. Therefore, the SOR did not want to sponsor an event in which they had no part of the planning and where they had no input regarding the material that was slated for presentation. I am not a faculty member in the SOR but I can certainly understand why they chose not to sponsor the first panel in light of those conditions.

It is my prayer that having the second panel discussion video footage posted will allow viewers to get a fuller picture of the events that have transpired around this most important topic that affects our church today. I pray that each one of us will make it our practice, just like Jesus, to love the sinner and hate the sin in every aspect of our Christian experience.

Report: Young Women and the Word - “Hearing Voices, Finding Your Own”

Trisha Famisaran — Sun, 11 May 2008 02:49:26 -0700

Crossposted from SDA Gender Justice.

More than 50 participants and over 125 guests met at Campus Hill Church in Loma Linda, California, on April 12, 2008, for the first annual Young Women and the Word Conference. The inaugural theme, “Hearing Voices: Finding Your Own,” was an invitation for speakers, panelists, and attendees to consider the question of young women and leadership across professional lines.

Young Women and the Word was inspired by the annual Women and the Word seminar started by Kit Watts. Rooted in empowering women and men through in-depth scriptural study to pursue issues of gender equality throughout all levels of God’s human family, the Young Women and the Word strives to engage the youth in this passion and dream. Speakers and participants showed commitment to empowering, connecting, exploring, and supporting a generation of young women and men across professional lines; with a hope that they become leaders whose voices and actions reflect faith in an inclusive and loving God, the Creator who affirms both Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female because we are all one in Christ Jesus. While the Women’s Resource Center’s most immediate connections are with women in ministry it also seeks to help individuals make a real and intentional difference in the wider world, whether they work in healthcare, education, social justice, politics, parenting, or business.

Four universities in the North American Division sponsored women theology majors to attend the conference—Alyssa Foll (Southern Adventist University), Portia Howard (Oakwood College), Amanda Whithers (Walla Walla College), and Jacqueline Sanchez (Columbia Union College).

Alyssa Foll opened the conference with a scripture study, “In the Cave: Between Anointing and Appointing,” which was a touching account of the time David spent in the cave of Adullam found in 1 Samuel 22. Pastor Marlene Ferreras offered the morning worship sermon, “Breaking the Rules,” which was an insightful exploration into the relationship between Judah and Tamar found in Genesis 38. The morning worship service included special music by Patty Cabrera, songs of praise by students from Loma Linda Academy and La Sierra University, and a responsive reading by students from Loma Linda Academy and Orangewood Adventist Academy. Kendra Haloviak opened the afternoon sessions with a message titled “The Voices at the Well,” a study of Jesus and the Samaritan woman found in John 4.

La Sierra University students performed The Cost, an original drama written and directed by Kassy Skoretz. This powerful story critiques the notion that progress necessitates leaving some groups behind and asks whether progress is good, in itself. The script was heavily inspired by liberation theology, which is a commitment to the visibility and voice of marginalized people and God’s “priority for the poor” demonstrated in the life and teachings of Jesus.

Yami Bazan moderated a leadership panel that included Kathy Proffitt, Carla Lidner Baum, Portia Howard, and Julie Schaepper. Breakout sessions were led by Carla Gober (Spiritual Wholeness, Jessica Trevithick (Art and Media in Ministry), Dilys Brooks (The Woman in the Mirror), Prudence Pollard (Leadership), and the Students for Social Justice Club from La Sierra University. The conference closed with an Agape Supper, which included a special liturgy written and led by Patty Cabrera.

Rundown of the Schedule:

9:30 am to 10:40 am - Sabbath School: “In the Cave: Between Anointing and Appointing” by Alyssa Foll (Theology Major, Southern Adventist University)

10:45 am to 12:30 pm - Church Service: “Breaking the Rules” by Marlene Ferreras (Youth Pastor, Campus Hill Church)

2:30 pm - Scripture Study: “The Voices at the Well” by Kendra Haloviak (Professor of New Testament, La Sierra University)

3:15 pm - Special Feature: “The Cost,” an original drama written by Kassy Skoretz (Undergraduate Student, La Sierra University)

4:15 pm - Special Feature: Leadership panel moderated by Yami Bazan, with audience participation, and featuring the following individuals:

Julie Schaepper (Director of Community-Academic Partners in Service at Loma Linda University)

Portia Howard (President of Sister Connection at Oakwood College)

Carla Lidner Baum (Director of the Dental Oncology Service at Loma Linda University)

Kathy Proffitt (Former United States Ambassador to the Republic of Malta and Former President and Chief Executive Officer of Call-America)

5:00 pm - Conversation Cafes:

Carla Gober (Spiritual Wholeness)

Dilys Brooks (The Woman in the Mirror)

Prudence Pollard (Leadership)

Jessica Trevithick (Arts/Media in Ministry)

Social Justice Club at La Sierra University (Social Justice)

6:00 pm - Agape Supper with Patty Cabrera

“Thanks for organizing this historic and inspiring day. I was truly blessed, as were many others I spoke to who also attended. We’d love this to be a ‘regular’! May God continue to use each of you in mighty ways.” - Cheryl Harvey Webster

“Thank you so much for making me feel welcome at the Young Women and the Word Conference. It was so nice to hear from other ladies in the ministry. I appreciate all the planning and work that went into the conference.” - Amanda Whithers
___
Adventist Gender Justice is edited by Trisha Famisaran.

Trisha Famisaran is currently enrolled in a Dual Degree program at Claremont Graduate University for an M.A. in Philosophy and a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Religion and Theology. She did undergraduate work in History and Political Science at La Sierra University in Riverside, California.

Report from the San Diego Adventist Forum Conference: Creation Care and Sustainability

Jared Wright — Fri, 09 May 2008 10:17:22 -0700

Jared Wright, La Sierra University M.Div student and creator of the Adventist Environmental Advocacy blog attended the recent San Diego Adventist Forum conference on Sustainability.
__

May 2-4, Pine Springs Ranch -- The San Diego chapter of the Association of Adventists convened to take part in a give and take weekend gathering focusing on the intersections between Adventism and the environment.

The retreat featured distinguished guests Robert Ford, Ph.D., Professor of International Sustainable Development and Social Policy at Loma Linda University's School of Science and Technology, and Lee F. Greer, Ph.D., Professor of Evolutionary Biology at La Sierra University. Alexander Carpenter, Blog Editor of Spectrum Magazine and graduate student at Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California shared thoughts from the leading edge of America's religious response to climate change during a Saturday afternoon session.

The conference offered three main presentations on Friday Evening and Saturday morning, followed by a panel discussion with Bob Ford, Lee Greer, Bonnie Dwyer (Editor of Spectrum Magazine), Alex Carpenter, Maxine Nicola (long time member of San Diego Forum and licensed nurse), and John Perumal, Ph.D. (Professor of Plant Ecology and Physiology at La Sierra University).

The report below highlights the content and materials of the presenters as well as snippets from the panel discussion, complete with photos. Because I was unable to attend the first meeting on Friday evening, that session is omitted.

Saturday Morning, Session 2
Presenter: Dr. Robert Ford
Topic: Philosophical, Historical, and Social Roots of the Sustainability Concept

One of Dr. Ford's current projects involves aiding in the establishment an Environmental Agency in Abu Dabi in the United Arab Emirates.

Dr. Ford discussed the precursors of the Sustainable Development (development + environmentalism = sustainable development).

An illuminating part of Ford's discussion took aim at human impact on the earth. Ford noted that in the last 10 years, scientists have detected more wobble in the Earth's rotation than could be accounted for in predictive computer models. The extra wobble has been attributed to the huge amounts of water stockaded behind dams throughout North America. Human impact includes the very motion of the Earth itself!

Human impact also includes accelerated soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and rapid extinction of species, and an undisputed correlation between climate change and increasing CO2 since the Industrial Revolution.

A noteworthy impact of climate change on poor, developing nations: Many varieties of rice grown in places like Southeast Asia are non-native, hybrid rices. Such hybrids show high sensitivity to rise in temperatures. Rice output could decrease as much as 80% with an increase in temperature as small as 2-3 degrees Fahrenheit!

Ford also noted the impending water crisis - already in the Middle East, water is more expensive than oil!

More on Dr. Ford's presentation available at the following link:
http://resweb.llu.edu/rford/docs/misc/Sustainability_1.pdf

Saturday Morning, Session 3
Presenter: Dr. Lee F. Greer
Topic: Evolving Thoughts and Options for the Future

Dr. Greer brought his background in Biology to bear on the issue of environmental concerns and sustainable options.

Greer pointed out several factors that have created the present ecological crises: an addiction to oil, carbon emissions that cause climate change (Greer was careful to note the controversy surrounding climate change is political in nature, not scientific - the science is not disputed among peer-reviewed researchers), the stress placed on life's support systems that cause mass extinction.

Greer raised a key question for the weekend: Where is the Church on all of these issues?
The answer he proposed is that the Church comes down on both sides - the Church is both perpetrator of environmental damage and an instrument of environmental healing, part of the problem as well as part of the solution.

Greer went on to propose 9 practices by which we all can positively impact the environment.

1. Respect for the commons in life. This means an emphasis on what we share in common with other humanity. Greer suggested a need for a fundamental shift in perspective from ownership to stewardship (I am a caretaker rather than permanent owner).

2. Don't say "nothing can be done." This is taking a moral stance, Greer contended, and a morally reprehensible stance at that. He pointed out a tremendous rise in levels of lead present in the atmosphere from the Industrial Revolution to the 1990's. When the government banned leaded gasoline, the levels of lead fell almost below levels at the start of the Industrial Revolution. The same can be done in the case of climate change if action is taken right away.

3. Stand resolutely for peace - oppose war and violence. Rejecting tribalism and sectarianism, Greer notes that all humanity shares a common ancestry in the African diaspora, and therefore we share a common humanity.

4. Support alternative transportation. This includes cycling, walking, public transportation, hybrid vehicles. Greer advocates insistence that public officials be held to utilizing alternative transportation as well. Economic pressure can and should be applied toward that end.

5. Purchase local food, supporting local economies. This dramatically reduces the energy needed for long-range shipping of imported produce, etc. Furthermore, local produce is often less expensive and is fresher.

6. Support alternative power. Here, Greer cited two honors projects at La Sierra University which he supervises. La Sierra University is working on converting used cooking oil into biodiesel and another project focuses on installing solar panels on the La Sierra campus that will eventually supply the vast majority of the school's electricity.

7. Use alternative, sustainable housing. Greer provided examples of housing that is both environmentally sound and economically viable. These values need not be in conflict.

8. Support Reforestation. There is no such thing as sustainable use of old growth forests, according to Greer. Any cutting down of old growth forests does permanent damage to ecosystems and by extension, to the planet. Instead, replanting is needed. Greer also recommends planting trees that produce food as a sustainable way to get produce and make friends with the neighbors (you can't eat all those oranges yourself).

9. Theology must emphasize immanence of God. Christianity has often grappled with metaphysical dualism, a split between physical and spiritual realms. Making this distinction has devastating ecological consequences, Greer argues. If God is outside nature, nature is outside God. What we need to do is "detoxify" religion, according to Greer. Part of this is a focus on the immanence of God, not merely God's transcendence.

Other noteworthy tidbits from Dr. Greer's presentation - charts with numerous data sets that corroborate one another and validate (unequivocally) the link between anthropogenic CO2 and rising global temperatures.

The second portion of the San Deigo forum retreat on Global Sustainability and Creation Care (see part one below) provided opportunities for audience participation and Alex Carpenter's up-to-date information from the front lines of the Religious response to climate change.

San Diego Adventist Forum: Creation Care and Global Sustainability (Part 2)

Bonnie Dwyer, the Editor of Spectrum Magazine gave a few words of introduction to Carpenter (who really needs no introduction among the Adventist Forum crowd) followed by Alex's presentation on contemporary responses from religious communities to today's most pressing ecological challenges.

Carpenter highlighted his involvement with The Regeneration Project, an interfaith ministry devoted to deepening the connection between ecology and faith. Part of the Regeneration project is the Interfaith Power and Light campaign, which helps faith communities address local ecological concerns. Some upcoming projects include a congregation carbon calculator that will allow congregations to assess their impact on the environment, find ways to reduce their "footprint" and set congregational goals.

Here is a video of Alex's boss, the Rev. Sally Bingham who heads the Regeneration Project.

Sabbath Afternoon Session
Panelists: Dr. Robert Ford, Dr. Lee Greer, Bonnie Dwyer, Alexander Carpenter, Dr. John Perumal, Maxine Nicola
Topic: What does Sustainabilit for Me as an SDA Christian?

The panel discussion provided attendees an opportunity to sound off (which they did!), and for panelists to share their collective wisdom (they also did). The conversation was cordial, but there were raw moments as well, honest moments...

Here are a few quotable quotes from the conversation (moderated by Bob Ford):

Bonnie Dwyer: "...Grow your own food! Let's hear it for homegrown tomatoes!"

Alexander Carpenter: "We didn't leave the stone age because we ran out of stones."
(commenting on the use of coal)

Lee Greer: "A conscious consumer can do a lot!"
(commenting on ways individuals can act on behelf of the environment)

Bonnie: "We can be critical of the church, but the church is us."

Alexander: "We don't want to bring the proof text method to new issues."
(commenting on the risk of turning contemporary issues into a neo-fundamentalism)

Bob Ford commented on the quality of our waiting in relation to the expectaion of the second coming.

Bonnie Dwyer wants to see the Pathfinders club become an environmental group for a new generation of Adventists.

Alexander Carpenter suggests that we start thinking about our relationship with each other as a relationship with Jesus.

See more about what Adventists are going to connect their faith to ecological action here at Adventist Environmental Advocacy.

Adventist News Round Up: Liquid edition

Alexander Carpenter — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:30:29 -0700

The Press-Enterprise reports:

Mike Kendall, vice president of Turner Development Corp., has tried pitching his open restaurant space at Turner Riverwalk across from La Sierra University in Riverside 25 times before and invariably received the same response:

No hard liquor? No thank you.

A 1963 law that bars the sale of hard liquor within a one-mile radius of the Seventh-day Adventist-affiliated La Sierra University has proved to be a buzzkill for Kendall. It's challenged him to find a chain willing to forego the profits a bar brings. He's also had to defend his pursuit to the Riverside Planning Commission, which wants a quality restaurant.

A Chevrolet is used as a radio studio,
Adventists are Blue Zone dwellers,
Sanitarium turns 110,
Adventist Media Network's CEO is moving back to the USA,
77 young people are baptised at a PNG Uni,
Adventist young people are drinking more alcohol,
Most Christians do not understand the trinity,
A new Revelation seminar to be launched in the South Pacific.

Professor Julius Nam writes a beautiful obituary for Dr. Russel Standish:

My interactions with Russell leading up to and during last fall’s QOD Conference was wholly and blessedly positive. He wrote a paper that was vintage Russell—replete with sharp criticisms of what he considered to be troubling trends in Adventism, but enveloped with a deep passion for the church he loved. There was a point in the weeks leading up to the conference when those of us planning the conference felt that (as we did with several other participants) we needed to ask him to clarify certain portions of his paper and modulate the tone of his criticisms. We called him up and carefully asked if he would consider the editorial suggestions we wanted to make. His immediate response went something like this: “Well, we Australians like to press the issue and exaggerate the point we’re making, but after a vigorous debate, we can laugh about it and go home as brothers.” So we asked if he would kindly consider sensitive American souls and make some changes. He laughed and said basically, “Sure, let me know what changes you’d like me to make.” When he sent his next draft, he had incorporated every suggestion we had made without a single word of protest. He was every bit the gracious gentleman I first encountered ten years earlier.

During the conference, Russell provided for me a model of being deeply committed to his convictions while caring deeply even for those who might be considered his fierce theological opponents. I will always treasure the time I got to spend with him last October. I think I can safely say that whatever good the conference achieved is directly linked to Russell’s willing engagement with those on “the other side” of the spectrum.

The debate on Russell’s unique theological legacy will continue for years to come. But I don’t think there can be any debate on the kind of life he led—that of a singular hope and faith in Jesus. That was always clear to everyone who interacted with him. I have no doubt that he will stand in the midst of the saints on the day of the Lord’s return, praising him and rejoicing in the grand reunion of that day.

Sligo got press coverage for its National Day of Prayer service:

Sitting with her head bowed Thursday in the last pew at Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church, Savitha Jesudason listened to an organist play and prayed silently for her family, friends, and anyone hurting in the world, she said.

Adventist News Network profiles the new Director of Adventist Chaplaincy Services:

[Colonel Gary] Councell, 64, says he became a chaplain to provide the kind of support to soldiers his own father didn't have when he was drafted during World War II, two weeks after becoming an Adventist.

"Back then there were no Adventist chaplains to help our members who served. My own father had all kinds of problems, from Sabbath-keeping to diet to not wanting to carry weapons, and he had no one to assist him standing for his convictions," he says.

Now Councell oversees a department that endorses 350 Adventist chaplains in the U.S. and consults with ACM departments in many countries on keeping current the endorsements of the some 300 Adventist chaplains globally.

So instead of kicking back and enjoying mountaineering, bicycling, camping, reading, playing the trumpet and visiting Civil War Memorial battlefields, Councell says "a love for our people -- our church members" brings him into the office each day.

He also adds that he is motivated by "a sense of vision about the direction I want to take the department."

He says plans include recruiting more prison chaplains, appointing a full time coordinator for public campuses, establishing fully independent chaplaincy training programs in more regions of the world church and helping more seminary graduates realize that "chaplaincy is a viable expression of ministry just as vital as the pastor/evangelist."

Councell is especially passionate about the last point.

"With more seminary graduates than churches to minister in we have a lot of graduates who are not getting employed by the denomination," he says. "They need to understand that chaplains are called to ministry just as pastors are."

The message must be getting across because Councell says he gets more calls from ministers wanting to be chaplains than about any other issue.

Before coming to the Adventist church's world headquarters, the grandfather of five worked at the Pentagon as director of information, resource management, facilities and logistics in the office of the Chief of Chaplains. He previously served as the senior chaplain for all the military chaplains around the Pacific Rim.

Councell was also the second Adventist to earn the rank of colonel, an accomplishment that only eight out of 100 army chaplains ever make.

Still, he says it would be nice if more churches gave the chaplaincy a little more respect.

"We tend to look at end results only: numbers of people baptized. But chaplains plant seeds and then nurture them. We are building credibility for the church and making contacts with people who have never heard about Adventists," he says.

Florida Hospital faces some bad press in the Latino community:

As millions of emails by faithful Christians circulate around the world with links to the story about the weeping image of Jesus Christ at Florida Hospital’s Prayer Garden, a leading Latino consumer advocacy group offered an explanation today: “Jesus was weeping at the deplorable pricing and collection practices of Florida Hospital—a billion-dollar religious hospital operation run by millionaire executives that has little if anything to do with ‘the healing mission of Christ.’”

According to K.B. Forbes, Executive Director of the Consejo de Latinos Unidos, “Jesus is weeping at a so-called religious hospital system that pulled in over $1 billion in profits between 2003 and 2006, sits on $ 2.3 billion in cash and assets and yet refused to help a dying, uninsured child in his time of need. What compassionate organization would spend $25 million on collection fees in a three year period and yet refuse to help a young boy from getting the care he desperately needed?”

The story of Rodney Vega has been a battle cry for people who want organizations like Florida Hospital/Adventist Health System to be stripped of their not for-profit status and master trust indentures which allow them to issue bonds and pay no income, earnings, or property taxes.

Focus on Evangelism | The American Church in Crisis

Alexander Carpenter — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:03:36 -0700

On Thursday, May 1st the Evangelical Leaders Forum hosted David T. Olson, Director of the American Church Research Project and author of The American Church in Crisis. He spoke about ways to grow and multiply healthy churches that help people know Jesus and effectively fulfill his mission on earth.

Sponsors for this discussion included Bethel Seminary, Evangelical Covenant - NW Conference, Minnesota Baptist Conference, and Zondervan Publishers.

It seems to me that these demographic indicators - postmodern, post-Christian, multi-ethnic, post-affluent - suggest that what worked in 1970, but not in 1920, won't work in 2010.

UPDATE III: ADRA Commits $235,000 to Burma Relief

Alexander Carpenter — Wed, 07 May 2008 14:36:09 -0700

DONATE TO ADRA's BURMA RELIEF FUND HERE.

UPDATE III:

Cyclone Nargis Devastates Myanmar: ADRA Expands Response

Silver Spring, Maryland—In a continued effort to assist the survivors of Cyclone Nargis, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has committed at least $235,000 in emergency funds for immediate disaster relief, and is providing food assistance and medical supplies to communities in the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta region in southern Myanmar.
In partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), ADRA has begun the distribution of 20 metric tons of rice to an estimated 20,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Laputta, a rice-trading town in the delta which has become a refuge for thousands of people who escaped low-lying villages after a devastating 12-foot storm surge swept away homes, destroying, in some instances, more than 95 per cent of buildings. ADRA’s food distribution activities are expected to increase in the following days, as more supplies become available.

ADRA International, through a partnership with World Emergency Response (WER), shipped 20 medicine packs containing medical supplies valued at approximately $129,000 to be used by a medical team already providing first aid assistance to residents of an isolated part of the delta. Each pack provides about 1,500 treatments from mixed medicines, antiseptics, and antibiotics. In a separate shipment donated by Heart to Heart International, ADRA has sent 150 lbs. of medical supplies, including broad-spectrum antibiotics, analgesics, vitamins, topical creams, oral rehydration salts, anti-amebic drugs, bandages, and disposable vinyl gloves.

ADRA’s emergency response is centered in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta region, which suffered the most damaged as a result of cyclone wind speeds reaching more than 120 mph. By some estimates, between 63,000 to 100,000 people have died or are missing, and more than 1.5 million people have been left homeless and millions more have been affected and left vulnerable to diseases.
Updates will be released as ADRA’s response efforts expand.
To send your contribution to ADRA’s emergency response effort, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give to the Myanmar Cyclone Fund at www.adra.org

UPDATE II:

h/t to Johnny.

ADRA UK releases:

ADRA Myanmar is one of the few international agencies on the ground, bringing immediate relief. ADRA emergency workers are evaluating the damage and responding to the most critical needs in affected areas. ADRA is working on a network-wide strategy to respond to this disaster, with funds already donated by a number of countries.

The people of Myanmar are in mourning and in desperate need. ADRA has committed itself to assist in the relief and rebuilding efforts.

ADRA has had a long-term presence in Myanmar, implementing development projects in the affected regions since 1993. The ADRA Myanmar office has already commenced relief activities with the provision of food, medical supplies and shelter.

The ADRA network was mobilised into action within hours of the cyclone hitting Myanmar. ADRA-UK director Bert Smit has been planning the international response with partner offices across Europe and the United States. Mark Castellino, ADRA-UK Programmes Director is preparing to leave for Myanmar immediately to assist with preparing proposals for the long term assistance needed to help the affected region to recover.

Due to the nature and location of the disaster ADRA-UK will not be sending containers filled with aid supplies to the region. The supplies that are needed are available locally and it is far more cost effective to send funds and then request the local ADRA office to purchase these items. This procedure will save money and, more importantly, will enable the victims to receive aid as quickly as possible.

UPDATE I:

CNN is reporting "The death toll from the cyclone that ravaged the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar may exceed 100,000, the senior U.S. diplomat in the military-ruled country said Wednesday."

These are personal photos from ADRA employees in Yangoon. As ADRA International releases more information on their response to cyclone Nargis, I'll update.

Hearly Mayr, Director of Public Awareness, ADRA International has written that ADRA will be releasing more information about how they will be deploying their resources in the affected region.

A billboard that had been blown over near the Shwedagon Pagoda

Corinna and Marcel Wagner (ADRA Myanmar Programs and Country Director)

State radio reported that more than 41,000 others were missing in the wake of Asia's deadliest storm since 1991.

(An apartment building that lost its roof)

With the death toll expected to mount and as many as 1 million possibly left homeless, the international community was poised to deliver aid to the military-ruled country, which normally keeps out most foreign officials and restricts their access inside the country.

Some aid agencies reported their assessment teams had reached areas of the largely isolated region but said getting in supplies and large numbers of aid workers would be difficult.

Joakim and a fallen tree

The ADRA office is on the 4th floor, this tree is blocking access in and out of the office.

ADRA would appreciate your support, click here.

Photo credit: Last two: Steve Tasker, all others: Quentin Cambell, International Program Coordinator for ADRA Australia.

Sects, Media, Religion: Thoughts on another post-Adventist cult

Alexander Carpenter — Wed, 07 May 2008 04:02:50 -0700

The Adventist blogosphere is buzzing with news about the Lord Our Righteousness cult.

On Stephen Eyer's Adventist Filmmaker site one of the cult members posted the following:

You folks might be interested in knowing about a former Seventh-Day Adventist minister named Wayne Bent, who has openly claimed that God told him that he is the second coming of Christ. In Dec. of 2007, the BBC broadcast a documentary that Firefly Productions made about him and his disciples, who refer to themselves as Strongcity. The National Geographic channel recently broadcast a re-production of the same documentary. Strongcity has responded with a documentary of their own. The day after their movie was posted on the internet, state authorities apprehended 3 minors from Strongcity.

Here's the cult's documentary:

Tangential asides: Notice that the aesthetic - font style, music, and hair - parallels some forms of Adventist media. Also, cool Metalica cover for the soundtrack.

Pastor Trevan Osborn ponders:

I’ve often wondered what draws people to these cultic groups which unite around a leader who claims to be messianic. It just seems so strange to me but clearly there are a lot of groups out there that attract quite a following. Unfortunately, there have been several that have sprung from the Adventist church, most notably David Koresh and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas.

While we're not the only the only ones who have sects, this does raise some questions. Significantly, the emerging media landscape adds a twist as these cult members, like the FLDS, Lord Our Righteousness is using online tools to get their own message out. See http://strongcity.info

A Young Heart Inside a Cult writes:

My name is Liberty. I am 24 years old, and I am one of the seven virgins who was anointed by Father to carry out His purposes in pouring out the seven last plagues upon the earth. I would like to share with you the story of my own personal experience here in the land, and then how my heavenly Father chose me to be one of the seven messengers. . .

From National Geographic:

This is playing again on Wednesday, May 7 at 7:00 PM.

A week ago, ABC News reports that:

Three teenagers were removed [by state officials] from a New Mexico doomsday cult compound after allegations of sexual abuse surfaced. The teens — two girls and a boy — were removed Wednesday after allegations of inappropriate contact between minors and the church leader, Michael Travesser.

I have to say that I find these former Seventh-day-Adventist-now-cultist stories often overdrawn, in part because of the religion and sex fervor that surrounds them. The cult narrative (apocalypse, sex, messiah) is in part a creation of the post-60s media hype in which parents were scared that little Suzie would follow Charles Manson.

At a social level, many groups have cult-like traits and all cults are actual communities.

One of my favorite discussions of this phenomenon is Don DeLillo's Mao II (1991), in which he writes: "The future belongs to crowds."

Talking about his book, DeLillo said in the Times: "I didn't know it at the time, but these two pictures would represent the polar extremes of Mao II, the arch individualist and the mass mind, from the mind of the terrorist to the mind of the mass organization. In both cases, it's the death of the individual that has to be accomplished before their aims can be realized (emphasis supplied)."

Almost every major religion starts by a charismatic person and every religion's emphasis on rejecting the natural world and evil culture has led some members to extremes of belief and behavior.

St. Anthony and the Desert fathers? Tell me that they weren't a little crazy, yet they provided a strong witness against the corporate compromises of the Constantinian Church. This tradition laid the foundation for the Catholic orders which include most markers of cult behavior. In my graduate work, I study and party with Dominicans, Jesuits, Franciscans (Minor, Conv, and Cap). Men in robes, subsuming their individual wills to their provincials, "abstaining" (sometimes) from mainstream apatites, the line between order and cult can sometime appear thin. But I mention that similarity only because I'm around it. Little rural (and sometimes urban) Main Street-esque Adventist churches can be as stiflingly and some evangelical megachurches, with their super-charismatic pastors, emotionally-driven worship hours and emphasis on small social networks tap into the structures of meaning that create cults. Expanding on these issues, Monte Sahlin addresses three key questions.

I'm no expert, but the destructive traits of cults come less from Adventism than from larger social mores like familial bonds, lack of hermeneutical self-awareness and the tension between individualism and community.

However, it should be clear after watching about six minutes of the Strong City doc that it does raise some serious questions about how Christians mix European history and the book of Revelation. That Adventism has had a few messiahs pass in then out of our pews should drive even more awareness of contingency and humility into our use of scripture. The next time someone argues that Revelation pointed to 538 or 1798 they did need to think how they would prove it to Michael here.

From the Branch Davidians to the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints to Lord Our Righteousness, it appears that, if nothing else, there is a lesson in the stories of the members. While exploitative sex and religion is wrong, often the conclusions and solutions of "the world" fails to actually provide the deeper meaning that these social networks create.

Furthermore, it seems that the wrong approach is for larger social groups to use their power to break up these sects. This clash of ideologies fits right into their apocalyptic teleology. Instead of pitting group vs. group, we should employ the real opposite force: individuality. By creating private meaning - self-fashioning - one sees the contingency of contexts and breaks the calm spell of extreme religio-group think. After all, beyond sex and media scrutiny, a real cross that humanity bares is negotiating human desire and power every day. "Not my will, but thine be done" may be one of the most dangerous phrases a human can utter.

What Peter Drucker Can Teach Us About the Church

Rich Hannon — Wed, 07 May 2008 01:38:36 -0700

Peter Drucker (1909-2005) was a world-renowned management consultant, university professor and author of 39 books. Perhaps his most significant work was the book titled Management: Tasks, Responsibilities and Practices (1973). Many years back, when I was studying management – out of a mixture of personal interest and professional desperation (I’d just inherited a software development group to lead) – I read this book.

Now most books we read are, I think, somewhat like ‘intellectual food’ in that we assimilate the ideas and they break down and become internalized with little conscious differentiation after a time. But several key ideas from Drucker have retained their identity for me – they have been that meaningful and useful. And since, for some strange reason, I tend to try and apply everything I’m learning to a church context, they seemed insightful there also. In this essay I would like to explore one of these ideas.

Drucker writes:

“The one basic difference between a service institution and a business is the way the service institution is paid.

Businesses (other than monopolies) are paid for satisfying the customer. They are paid only when they produce what customers want and what they are willing to exchange purchasing power for. Satisfaction of the customers is, therefore, the basis for assuring performance and results in a business.

Service institutions, by contrast, are typically paid out of a budget allocation. This means that they are not paid for what taxpayer and customer mean by results and performance. Their revenues flow from a general revenue stream that depends not on what they are doing but on some sort of tax.”

- pp. 134-135 from the 1977 abridged and revised version of Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices

I hope you are already seeing the connection. When Drucker says ‘service institution’ he is thinking about organizations like state universities (significantly funded by the legislature), organizations within a business (e.g. Human Resources or Information Technology), and yes, also churches. When he says ‘some sort of tax’ it truly is tax dollars for schools, police departments, etc. But for churches it would be tithes and offerings. And ‘customers’ in a church context would be members and possibly potential converts.

Drucker continues:

“The typical service institution … also has monopoly powers. The intended beneficiary has no choice. Most service institutions have power beyond what the most monopolistic business enjoys. …

Efficiency and cost control, however much they are preached, are not really virtues in the budget-based institution. The importance of a budget-based institution is measured essentially by the size of its budget and the size of its staff. To achieve results with a smaller budget or a smaller staff is, therefore, not performance. It might actually endanger the institution.
…
It becomes dangerous to raise the question as to what the business of the institution should be. The question is always controversial. The controversy is likely to alienate support and is therefore shunned by the budget-based institution.
…
Finally, being budget-based makes it even more difficult to abandon the wrong things, the old, the obsolete. As a result, service institutions are even more encrusted than businesses with the barnacles of unproductive efforts. No institution likes to abandon anything it does. Business is no exception. An institution paid for its performance and results stands, however, under a performance test. The unproductive, the obsolete, is sooner or later killed off by the customers. In a budget-based institution, no such discipline is enforced. On the contrary, what a service institution does is always virtuous and likely to be considered in the public interest.” (pp. 135-139)

Before proceeding, let me attend to some qualifications and possible initial reactions.

First, I will not try to substantiate Drucker’s assessment, quoted above, nor the idea that a church/denomination is a valid example of a service organization. For this I refer you to the book itself where, in my view, he fairly and adequately supports these positions. Rather, I wish to examine the implications these ideas might have for Adventism.

Second, there is the frequent reaction that the church is not a business – it is God’s people/kingdom on earth. It is a spiritual organization and should not be compared to or evaluated like a business or any human endeavor. Here I would affirm the premise but deny the conclusion. Yes, the church is not a business, but it is also not simply ‘not a business’! You cannot think either/or here without committing the False Dilemma fallacy. A church/denomination is an organization with goals and methods, resources coming in, internal states, and results coming out. And these facets of church certainly can be examined in themselves. As an analogy, you would not consider studying physiology to be invalid just because humans are certainly much more than the sum total of their bodies.

All right. Drucker’s point is that for a service organization (exemplified by a church) productivity problems are inherent in the system due to the significant de-coupling between resources-in and results-out. That is, it is not per se due to competence issues, byzantine politics, etc.

Aristotle makes a distinction that is helpful here. He segregates essential from accidental properties. Essential properties collectively describe the very nature of what is being defined. For humans, perhaps the ability to reflect is an essential property. But accidental properties, while descriptive of particular things, are not essential to the form. Having red hair or being bi-lingual would be accidental properties.

Consider then, the property of competence. It is frequently alleged that the church has productivity problems because it is managed by ministers who might have no formal training for their roles. No doubt there is some truth to this criticism, although it seems to me often overstated. But this is not an essential property, so replacing every church administrator with a world-class manager would still not address Ducker’s point, which concerns structure.

He writes:

“There are three common explanations for the lack of performance in service institutions: their managers aren’t businesslike; the people are not as good as they should be; results are intangible and incapable of definition or measurement. All three are invalid and are pure alibi. The basic problem of the service institution is that it is paid for promises rather than for performance. It is paid out of a budget rather than for … results.” (p. 141)

To help see this, consider a ‘typical’ business. If it sells a well defined product – say canned soup – and the soup doesn’t taste good to the customer, they will not buy it and the business will feel an immediate economic effect. Revenue will fall and the business will either fold or hastily revise the product. But churches have a far different inherent structure. And, please note, they should have. With a church the revenue – tithes and offerings (but we could also extend this to volunteer labor) – provides resources to the organization with a varying but generally weak correlation to performance. Major motivation for tithes and offerings includes: response to Divine authority, gratitude toward God, etc. Giving driven by such reasons would not likely tailspin immediately, if at all, should the organization become dysfunctional (although over time revenue could decrease, perhaps exemplified by tithe diversion).

Now there is no basic structural solution to this problem. Churches aren’t going to move to some tightly coupled fee-for-service model. No turnstiles at the sanctuary door or cash registers at a potluck checkout counter. Drucker’s assessment is not intended to suggest a church try to morph into something it cannot be. The value of his analysis begins with a call for recognizing inherent weakness which, if better understood, could produce vigilance to guard against abuse or neglect of performance, stemming from this structural problem.

To put some ‘flesh’ on to these abstractions, consider an example which would likely be familiar to older Adventists. The Conference and/or Union used to make the circuit of churches providing Sabbath School workshops. Paid church personnel would expend time and incur travel costs. ‘Free’ materials were given to local members who attended. Now was this a good use of resources? People certainly showed up (although pastors were known to beat the bushes), helpful information was transmitted, etc. The workshops went on year after year. Eventually Union and Conference cutbacks diminished or eliminated them (although perhaps there are places where they continue). But I am unaware of any significant analysis – at least in the Pacific Union, where I live – to determine their effectiveness. Back in the ‘80s I was a member of the Pacific Union Conference Committee and was assigned to the budget subcommittee. During one review meeting the Sabbath School director was detailing his request, including a substantial expenditure for printed seminar materials. So I asked him whether this spending could be demonstrably justified as a good use of resources. He was nonplussed, and replied (referring to the materials) ‘well, they keep flying off the shelves’. Now, of course, my question really was unanswerable unless there had been some system-wide evaluation of effectiveness. And I regret asking it. Not because it was invalid, but because the whole idea of a market test was completely off his radar and I only embarrassed him without facilitating anything positive. Such issues cannot be properly attended to except at the highest, strategic, levels of an organization.

So what might a church do to mitigate the serious consequences of this revenue/results disconnect? The first step, of course, is to recognize the problem. This is where Drucker starts to teach. Remediation then begins with a hard-nosed assessment of methodology. There is no easy or non-threatening way to do this. Well-intentioned activity by committed and often talented people is clearly evident. So how does the church determine if and when change is needed? With an uncompetitive soup product the customers would simply stop buying. But for Sabbath School workshops the ‘customers’ (at least for many years) just kept on attending.

Drucker writes:

“effectiveness in the service institution is achievable – though by no means easy. … the service institution managers can do unpopular and highly controversial things if only they face up to the risk-taking decision as to what the business of the institution is, will be, and should be.” (p. 141-142)

He then notes several examples (e.g. Bell Telephone) where, for a time, internal discipline overcame this structural problem. But there is no magic bullet.

“service institutions … need more than programmes, promises, good intentions and hard work, all underwritten by a budget. Wherever possible, they need a system and structure that directs them toward performance. [they] also need the discipline of planned obsolescence and planned abandonment of their policies.” (p. 149)

But to do this we must speak of the dreaded ‘M Word’ – measurement. This is deeply problematic in a church context. Here the concern is with souls, not soup. And the church has had an unfortunate tendency to oversimplify what it does measure, with its emphasis on baptisms sometimes to the exclusion of any other metric. Further, many clearly valuable church activities seem almost unquantifiable and it is also especially difficult to find common measures whereby very different options might be compared.

Perhaps some of these reasons are why there is so frequently such a visceral, negative reaction to measurement within the church-at-large. But nobody said it would be easy. Still, results must be evaluated and scarce resources applied where they can best further the church’s mission or we will drift, be ineffective and consequently be collectively frustrated. Good stewardship demands our best thinking and effort here. And, at least Peter Drucker would argue, it can be done.

Rich Hannon is a software engineer who lives in Salt Lake City. His reading interests focus on philosophy and medieval history.

This I Believe: Strangers Bring Us Closer to God

Alexander Carpenter — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:05:45 -0700

One of my favorite prophetic Christians here in the Bay Area is the journalist, Sara Miles. Her book, Take This Bread, tells about her communion induced conversion to Christianity - to me it opened up new ideas about how God does evangelism these days.

Yesterday, she was on NPR's This I Believe:

(You can listen to her here.)

Until recently, I thought being a Christian was all about belief. I didn't know any Christians, but I considered them people who believed in the virgin birth, for example, the way I believed in photosynthesis or germs.

But then, in an experience I still can't logically explain, I walked into a church and a stranger handed me a chunk of bread. Suddenly, I knew that it was made out of real flour and water and yeast — yet I also knew that God, named Jesus, was alive and in my mouth.

That first communion knocked me upside-down. Faith turned out not to be abstract at all, but material and physical. I'd thought Christianity meant angels and trinities and being good. Instead, I discovered a religion rooted in the most ordinary yet subversive practice: a dinner table where everyone is welcome, where the despised and outcasts are honored.

I came to believe that God is revealed not only in bread and wine during church services, but whenever we share food with others — particularly strangers. I came to believe that the fruits of creation are for everyone, without exception — not something to be doled out to insiders or the "deserving."

So, over the objections of some of my fellow parishioners, I started a food pantry right in the church sanctuary, giving away literally tons of oranges and potatoes and Cheerios around the very same altar where I'd eaten the body of Christ. We gave food to anyone who showed up. I met thieves, child abusers, millionaires, day laborers, politicians, schizophrenics, gangsters, bishops — all blown into my life through the restless power of a call to feed people.

At the pantry, serving over 500 strangers a week, I confronted the same issues that had kept me from religion in the first place. Like church, the food pantry asked me to leave certainty behind, tangled me up with people I didn't particularly want to know and scared me with its demand for more faith than I was ready to give.

Because my new vocation didn't turn out to be as simple as going to church on Sundays and declaring myself "saved." I had to trudge in the rain through housing projects, sit on the curb wiping the runny nose of a psychotic man, take the firing pin out of a battered woman's Magnum and then stick the gun in a cookie tin in the trunk of my car. I had to struggle with my atheist family, my doubting friends, and the prejudices and traditions of my newfound church.

But I learned that hunger can lead to more life — that by sharing real food, I'd find communion with the most unlikely people; that by eating a piece of bread, I'd experience myself as part of one body. This I believe: that by opening ourselves to strangers, we will taste God.

"Sara is founder of The Food Pantry at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. A former restaurant cook, Miles is a journalist who writes about military affairs, politics and culture."

Pew Forum Video | Religion and Progressive Politics in 2008

Alexander Carpenter — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:02:55 -0700

"The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life invited Laura Olson, author of the forthcoming book with the working title, Generals Without an Army: The Protestant Left in American Politics; Jennifer Butler, author of Born Again: The Christian Right Globalized; and Chris Korzen, Executive Director of Catholics United, to discuss the issue."

"A variety of religious voices have been prominent in the 2008 presidential campaign to date, and to the surprise of many observers, these voices include religious activists with liberal and progressive perspectives. They describe a growing movement focused on justice and the common good. Where did this movement come from, and how might it influence this year's election?"

Participants:

Laura Olson, Political Science professor, Clemson University
Jennifer Butler, Executive Director, Faith in Public Life
Chris Korzen, Executive Director, Catholics United

Moderator:

John Green, Senior Fellow in Religion and American Politics, Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life