Pastors' Blog

By Pioneer Pastors

August 22, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

They grew up together in this small Maryland town, those two 19-year-old college coeds. Summer was their favorite season. And what’s not to like about a sultry night high atop the railroad bridge in Ellicott City? Which is where Elizabeth and Rose were dangling their feet this Monday around midnight—their last night before heading back to college. The view beneath the stars above that sleepy neighborhood is why the bridge has been a favorite destination for generations. The young women tweeted their friends. “Drinking on top of the Ellicott City sign.” “Looking down on old ec.” Photos attached to their tweets “showed their view from the bridge and their bare feet, one with painted blue toenails, dangling over the edge.” Another tweet, “Levitating.” Minutes later a CSX freight trained loaded to the brim with coal thundered down the tracks toward the bridge. Witnesses later described the squealing of brakes and the roar of a crash, as the train derailed, dumping its payload of coal onto the dark city street beneath the bridge. The two girls’ bodies were later found beneath the coal.  “Friends tweet before dying in Maryland train derailment” read the headline (South Bend Tribune 8-22-12). Is the story a metaphor of life anymore? Beyond the bitter pain and loss of two young friends and two devastated families, that terrible tragedy in Ellicott City remains a tale of how quickly, how in an instant life as we know it can change. Irreparably change. Forever. The ancient writer Paul in Holy Scripture scribbled a prophecy once of how the world—the one you and I live in and call “home”—will end. Read his prediction—even just once—and you, too, will sense how eerily similar to Ellicott City is this prophecy. A week from today we begin a mini-series that will examine this one-line prophetic prediction: “The Dark Night Rises” (that’s with an N, not a K). Because it is dark. The night is rising. And the end is thundering through the midnight toward us. But you don’t have to be found tweeting the night away oblivious to the impending. Join me right here next week—and with eyes wide open, we can face the rising night together. With Him.

August 15, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

While the roar of the Thirtieth Olympiad is still ringing in our ears, may I muse outside the box for a moment? Wouldn't it be nice if somebody could find a way to bring 10,500 of the world's athletically-inclined young to play together in these 26 sports and 39 disciplines without (and that's the key word) having to end up with so many who go home with no medal at all? But of course, just to be in the Olympic games is a huge accomplishment worthy of personal satisfaction and collective honor. But still, isn't it only human nature to categorize athletes in the "winners" or "losers" column? I'm thinking of Morgan Uceny—a hometown girl just a few miles south of us in Plymouth, Indiana. As David Woods of the Indianapolis Star put it: "This is the other side of Olympic glory. Half a lifetime of preparation [Morgan is 27], of dreaming, shattered in an instant." For years Morgan, Plymouth High School's #1 alumnus and a Cornell University graduate, has been training for this single race, the women's 1,500-meter sprint. Last Friday afternoon it seemed the whole town crowded in front of the school auditorium big screen to cheer their favorite young athlete. And Morgan ran in medal-winning time for 1,100 meters. Only 400 meters left to go. The crowd on both sides of the Atlantic roared. But then, according to the Tribune, "the back kick of a Russian runner struck the inside of Uceny's left knee," and she went down. Hard. In the final lap. The rest of the young women finished the race, while Morgan still down on her knees sobbed into the track. Her race unfinished, her Olympic hope dashed. Is there a medal for "almost"? "'I've never experienced such a heartbreaking moment,' she later said on her Facebook page....'As soon as it happened I knew it was over, and I couldn't control the emotions'" (South Bend Tribune 8-11-12). Who could? I doubt there's a way to eliminate winners and losers in any athletic game—it's what makes the game a game. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize [wins]? But then Paul offers a stunning word of hope for the "loser" in me: "But we do it to get a crown that will last forever" (2 Corinthians 9:24, 25 NIV). Timeout! Did you catch that "we"? Plural. Because in life's race to the Kingdom there is more than one winner. Many, many, many more! Nobody has to lose! The secret? "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" (Hebrews 12:1, 2). You're a new freshman on campus—fix your eyes on Jesus (we'll help you do that here at Pioneer every Sabbath)—and you'll finish the race. You're a longtime runner in this marathon of life—same secret—keep your eyes on Jesus— and you, too, will finish the race. No matter our disastrous spills, if we want Him, the only perfect Runner will race beside us until we cross the finish line, too. Thanks to Him, Morgan and you and I can go home a winner.

June 21, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

This story takes the cake—the wedding cake! They met and fell in love at a rodeo, the barrel-racing bride and her bull-riding groom. And at their wedding last month on the plains of central Kansas, Candra in her white gown and Caleb in his cowboy hat and jeans were picture perfect. And so was the twenty minute outdoor wedding service replete with glorious music—almost.  Because some of the 250 guests sitting on folding chairs not only kept their eye on the nuptial couple, but also on their cell phone weather reports and the sky behind the couple. But then, when you live in Kansas (just ask Dorothy!), I suppose you get used to the weather’s unexpected twists. Literally.

Which is why if you look watch the wedding video of the newly-weds, Candra and Caleb Pence, you’ll see what everyone else saw—two EF-3 rated tornadoes in the distance twisting between 138 and 167 mph and sucking up the Kansas earth. Look at the video for yourself—it’s gone viral on YouTube—young lovers saying “I do” a twister bearing down on them! Only in Kansas. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myYAJGrMtP0)

What a paradigm of life on the planet these days—a rumbling storm twisting somewhere off in the distance, barreling our way, we think—and life goes on—and “I do’s” still get said—must be said, really. Because what better time for the human race to discover the profound compelling of God’s love than in the path of an approaching storm? What better time to respond to that relentless and self-crucifying love than in the face of what may yet be the “big one” that earth has been awaiting?

Having just returned from four camp meetings in three weeks, I’m grateful to testify that the preaching of Calvary’s love (on the Camp Meeting at Sea cruise and at Alaska, Upper Columbia and Michigan camp meetings) still moves human hearts to reciprocate with the “I do” of grateful love in return. The cross, even in (or especially in) the context of earth’s approaching storm, still has power to grip the mind and heal the life of those who meet the Savior there. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The “I do” of Calvary draws from us our own “I do,” does it not?

After all, love must be pledged, even in the face of the approaching storm. Or rather, especially in the face of the approaching storm. Which makes today’s celebration of the “I do” make sense, doesn’t it?

canadian pharmacy Tetracycline

May 24, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

If you’re not into bizarre this Memorial Day weekend, don’t read any further. News agencies this week reported that a glass vial of President Ronald Reagan’s blood (reportedly taken after his attempted assassination in 1981) was being offered for sale by a British online auction house. PFCAuctions.com has confirmed it is auctioning a vial containing what appears to be a specimen of dried blood, labeled with “Reagan’s name, his patient ID number, the date, and the name of the hospital’s chief thoracic surgeon” (South Bend Tribune 5-23-12).

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation in Simi Valley, California, issued the following statement: “‘If indeed this story is true, it’s a craven act and we will use every legal means to stop its sale or purchase’” (ibid). The owner of the glass vial purportedly received it from his mother, who had been connected with George Washington Hospital, where the President was rushed after John Hinckley Jr’s assassination attempt. The auction house reports that bidding is up to $11,000 for this sample of dried blood.

Beyond the flagrant invasion and violation of medical privacy that this sale represents (whether you’re a president or not)—how much is a drop of blood really worth?

Ask that question this weekend when the nation pauses to remember the supreme sacrifice that tens of thousands of American military personnel have paid in order to preserve our liberties, and the price of a drop of blood skyrockets, doesn’t it? But on this “official opening weekend of summer” how many of us will even pause to ponder the costly legacy of our freedom?

How much is a drop of blood really worth? Ask that in the shadow of Calvary, and every convicted and forgiven sinner will whisper of an infinite cost, an eternal price. “You were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb” (I Peter 1:19 Common English Bible). “Precious” indeed that blood, offered “without money, at no cost” (Isaiah 55:1).

Memorial Day. Because the blood that has set us free, keeps us free, “without money, at no cost,” the most precious commodity in the history of forever. Amen.

canadian pharmacy Erythromycin

May 18, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

Paging through my newspaper this week I spotted a familiar face—the late Johnny Carson, “The King of Late Night,” as the new Peter Jones PBS documentary coronates him. I read on: “He had everybody in stiches for 30 years, but offstage Johnny Carson was not the life of the party” (South Bend Tribune May 14, 2012 p B7).

I kept reading: “Carson was shy and often anti-social. . . .[His] reserve probably stemmed from his unyielding mother, Jones surmises. ‘I think it all traces back to his relationship with his mother, Ruth Carson, who for his entire life, he tried to get her approval and her love. And she withheld it, no matter what.’” I kept reading: “‘When he premiered on Oct. 1, 1962, hosting “The Tonight Show,” an interviewer asked Mrs. Carson what she thought. She said, “Well, I really liked Jack Paar [Carson’s popular late night predecessor]. Johnny’s not as controversial.”’” Peter Jones then recalls another interview: “‘And then there was a cover story in Time magazine in 1965 that began with the reporter sitting with Mr. and Mrs. Carson watching a monologue [of their son]. It finishes. She gets up and says, “That wasn’t funny” and walked into the kitchen”’” (ibid).

I put the newspaper down and mused to myself. How quick I am, how quick we are to render snap judgments about others, famous or unknown. After all, it seems fairly obvious to me that he (or she) suffers from a moral lack or a personality quirk or a character flaw. Sigh. But then, of course, not everyone can be as well-developed and well-nigh perfect as me (and you, too, of course). Sigh again.

But that’s just it—I wonder if in fact we all are what we are today because of what or whom we grew up with. I’m no psychoanalyst (for which you can be thankful). And I’m not on a campaign to blame our parents for our own faults and failures. But I do wonder if perhaps we’re too hasty to pre-judge (the root of “prejudice”) another and cluck our tongues in self-righteous criticism, when if we knew what he or she grew up in or lived with (or lives with), we’d be a whole lot slower to render judgment at all.

Turns out our own humanity is very much a conglomerated jumble of genetic biases, environmental influences, and tangled relationships, isn’t it? And whether we think about it or not, our parents (or our memories of them) really do have a marked effect upon our lives, don’t they? After all these years? Apparently.

I tore the article out and said a prayer for Johnny Carson, though he is dead. Because how many others are there who are still desperately trying to please an “unpleasable” parent? How many carry the burden (perhaps even unknown to them) of proving themselves worthy to a mother or a father? If only they, we (you and I) could experience the depth of another Parent’s unconditional love and acceptance of us. “‘I will be a father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty’” (II Corinthians 6:18 Common English Bible). We have a Father who is already “well-pleased” with us. “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15 NIV). We have a Mother who will never reject us or forget us.

For some it is too late to heal the scars with a long-gone parent. But for all of us there is Someone who knows the secrets of our souls, and who loved us through those painful secrets—never seen by us, but always there beside us. Only in Eternity, I suppose, will we know the depth of God’s tender compassion and relentless love. It will dawn on us when we spot the Johnny Carson’s of this life in heaven’s great innumerable throng. And we will know it for sure when we find ourselves inside that very same multitude!

cheap Alavert

May 9, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

That’s what a new Danish study has concluded. Actually, it’s 6.2 years for men and 5.8 years for women—the number of years a jogger will live longer than a non-jogger. Six years! I have a friend who has sworn off jogging. He quips, “If you want pain in the morning, just get out of bed and stick your fingers in your eyes—that should do it!” But the Copenhagen Heart Study that began back in 1976 just last week announced these startling findings. Peter Schnohr, chief cardiologist with this study, said in a news release from the European Society of Cardiology:  “The results of our research allow us to definitively answer the question of whether jogging is good for your health. We can say with certainty that regular jogging increases longevity. The good news is that you don't actually need to do that much to reap the benefits” (http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/hsn/joggers-live-longer-study-says). Three cheers for all of us who have been plodding away early morning after early morning! But it isn’t my point in this blog to gloat at all. Rather on this weekend that Andrews University is hosting Health and Fitness Symposium 2012, my point is simply that extending your life six years turns out to be a rather simple and uncomplicated proposition. The report notes that “jogging at a slow pace for one to two and a half hours weekly provided the most significant benefits.” Why that’s only 30 minutes a day three to five days a week. That isn’t too high a price for an extra six years of life, is it? And look at the health payoff: “The study's authors noted there are several health benefits of jogging that contribute to increased life expectancy, including improvements in: oxygen uptake; insulin sensitivity; lipid profiles (raising ‘good; HDL cholesterol and lowering triglycerides); heart function; bone density; immune function; psychological function. The improved psychological well-being may be due to the fact that people have more social interactions when they're out jogging, explained Schnohr. The researchers added that jogging also helps lower blood pressure, reduce platelet aggregation and prevent obesity” (ibid). All of that plus six more years—what a payoff! Is there a verse in the Bible that commands jogging? No, but there’s one that surely commends it: “Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength—they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). As it turns out, that’s the motto of our Pioneer Running/Walking Club that Christine Wallace launched several years ago. Today we all proudly wear our T-shirts with motto and logo emblazoned on them. And today we bid farewell to Christine and Ryan (two top-flight runners and one tri-athlete [Christine]) and their daughters, Faith and Grace, as they head north to Canada for medical and law school. Speaking of health and fitness, they have blessed our congregation and campus in multiple ways through their contagious advocacy of healthy living. So if you’ve been sitting on the couch and wondering if it’s really worth a simple exercise program, now you know—it’s worth an extra six years of life. So get on up. And go on out. A springtime world of fresh air is waiting for you. And as I’ve discovered in my early morning jogs, Jesus is so big on it He’ll jog along right beside you. And that’s one benefit not even the Copenhagen study can top!

May 3, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

Would you like to know what a baby born on your Graduation Day can look forward to on this planet? TIME magazine ran this fascinating list of statistics under the headline “Hello, My Name Is Sophia: I’m an American baby born in 2012, and I already know a few things about myself”: ·        I am one of 4 million babies who will be born in the U.S. in 2012 (China will be home to 16 million new babies this year) ·        I can expect to live 81.3 years—until 2093 (American boys born in 2012 have a life expectancy of 76.2 years—5 years less than girls) (An Indian girl born today can expect to live to 66) ·        My parents can expect to spend about $150,000 on my in-state tuition at a public U.S. college or $500,000 for four years at a private college (before financial aid, loans and scholarships) (But if I’d been born in Germany, my university education would probably be free) ·        If I finish college, I can expect to get married at about age 30 (I’ll get married a few years earlier—at age 26—if I don’t earn a college degree) (A Brazilian girl born in 2012 has a 25% chance of marrying before age 18) ·        By age 40, I’ll be making $95,733 a year; by the 2070s I’ll have earned $4,033,688 after working for 40 years (An Indian baby born in 2012 can expect lifetime earnings of $494,241) ·        There’s a 60% chance that I’ll live in the suburbs; 28% that I’ll live in a city (90% of Brazilian babies born in 2012 will live in an urban area) ·        I’ve got a 23% chance that my marriage will end in divorce—and a 41% chance I’ll never marry at all Welcome to the “brave, new world” that is already yours! And congratulations for your successful wrap on this first long chapter of your life. Your best days are straight ahead! Because there’s one more statistic for you—one you can bank on for your future: 100% of Andrews University’s graduates this spring will have the unprecedented opportunity to probe the farthest reaches of human knowledge in the furthest corners of a still expanding universe, beyond the confines of a season or a school year or even a lifetime. One hundred percent of this graduating class is being offered cart blanche a paradise for the intellect—unlimited exploration of an infinite variety of mens corpus spiritus (the Andrews University Latin motto) pursuits. And you may have it all with this single proviso—that you avail yourself of this offer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). Simply because when you embrace Christ as your personal Savior, you align yourself not only with your Creator and the closest, truest Friend you will know—you also join your life to the Being ancient Scripture called “Wisdom” (see Proverbs 8), the everlasting Teacher of infinite science and art and philosophy and truth. So wherever the road leads after Graduation Day, I am praying it will lead you to a lifetime pursuit of this same Jesus who raised up both this university and you for such a time as this. In the words of Oswald Chambers, “And the road is the way He went.” So follow Him. Godspeed. Till we meet again. At the end of the road. Which, of course, is just the beginning.

April 25, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

In the bottom drawer of my desk is an old cassette tape (now you know how old it is!), with these words scribbled on its label, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Turns out it’s a 1988 a cappella recording of composer-singer Bobby McFerrin, singing and whistling the jingle: “Here’s a little song I wrote, you might want to sing it note for note—Don’t worry, be happy. . . . In every life we have some trouble, but when you worry you make it double—Don’t worry, be happy. . . . When you worry, your face will frown, and that will bring everybody down—Don’t worry, be happy!” But what’s astounding is that this nursery rhyme bit of feel-good quick-fix philosophy stole the ear of the nation that year, skyrocketing to the top of the charts, selling 18 million copies, and garnering four Grammy awards! (You can listen to McFerrin singing and whistling his own lyrics—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cVWrIQl7fU.) But is “Don’t worry, be happy” nothing more than a catchy tune and rhyme? Not according to research published just last week. Julia Boehm of the Harvard School of Public Health has reviewed scores of studies examining the effect of a positive outlook in life on heart health. Prior to these studies, most research was focused on showing how stress is associated with “negative psychological traits” that can “lead to damage of arteries and the heart itself.” But after reviewing dozens of more recent studies focusing on the effect of positive thinking on personal health, Julia Boehm says it’s time to change strategies. “Optimism in particular seems key, as a number of studies found the most optimistic people had half the risk of a first heart attack when compared to the least optimistic. . . . Boehm found that people with a better sense of well-being tend to have healthier blood pressure, cholesterol and weight, and are more likely to exercise, eat healthier, get enough sleep and avoid smoking” (South Bend Tribune 4-18-12, emphasis supplied).  However, she cautions that these conclusions will need to be teased out in order to ascertain whether an optimistic spirit leads people to pursue a healthy lifestyle or “whether living healthier helps you feel more positive.” But either way, it turns out “Don’t worry, be happy” may be more truth than poetry (or jingle). How did that wise King Solomon once put it? “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV). And as the research now shows, how we think not only affects our emotional or mental heart—it also impacts the health of our physical heart as well, that blessed ticker that is keeping us alive. So what do you say we keep that beating heart healthy to the max by choosing an optimistic spirit over a negative one. Rather than be the person who’s always complaining that the glass is half empty, let’s be the one who’s excited because it’s half full! “Courage, hope, faith, sympathy, love, promote health and prolong life. A contented mind, a cheerful spirit, is health to the body and strength to the soul. ‘A merry [rejoicing] heart doeth good like a medicine.’ Proverbs 17:22” (Ministry of Healing 241). Sounds an awful lot like “Don’t worry, be happy,” doesn’t it?

April 25, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

Earth Day is this Monday, April 22. Want a practical way to make an ecological difference on this planet? Let me borrow a page from my 2012 devotional book The Chosen (April 26 reading) and share it here in the Fourth Watch blog:

Paul Hawkens in his “green” book, Blessed Unrest, tells of an old rabbinical teaching that if we hear that the world is ending and the Messiah is coming, we must first plant a tree and then go and determine if the story is true or not. For Seventh-day Adventists, who champion God’s creation memorial and who celebrate the return of the Creator, planting a tree isn’t such a bad idea, is it?

For millennia now our creation has suffered deeply under the effects of our very human rebellion. “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now” (Romans 8:19, 22). Can you imagine the latent longing within the natural world for the promised deliverance? But until then, how shall we live, we Sabbath-keepers of the Creator’s flame?

We could begin by eating green—that’s right, vegetarianism would diminish the number of animals raised and killed for consumption, and thus reduce the one-fifth of earth’s greenhouse gases livestock produce! We can turn off the lights in the rooms we exit. We could inflate our tires and save 2 billion gallons of gas a year, some say. We could shorten our showers by two minutes, saving twelve gallons of water. We could recycle. We could save a few trees by skipping the receipts at ATMs and gas pumps, saving by one estimate 3 billion feet of paper. We could use our own thermos bottles and quit drinking bottled water, since a one liter bottle requires 5 liters of water to cool the plastic, thus resulting in six liters of water for each bottle! Lists of “green” or environmentally friendly ways to live (like these from Ashleigh Burtnett that appeared in the Student Movement here at the university) are all over the web, and you can make your own.

The point? As Creator-worshiping, Sabbath-keeping, nature-preserving friends of Jesus, shouldn’t we be at the forefront of ecological conservation and environmental care and protection? Truth be known, God himself planted a tree once upon a time to save this creation. “To the death of Christ we owe even this earthly life. The bread [our farmland] we eat is the purchase of His broken body. The water [our rivers, streams] we drink is bought by His spilled blood. . . . The cross of Calvary is stamped on every loaf. It is reflected in every water spring” (DA 660). Given the infinite cost of planting that tree, we must join him in saving his creation. Don’t you agree?

Pilocarpine 5 ml

April 11, 2012
By Dwight K. Nelson

That was the theme of the Youth in Mission (YIM) Congress that I had the privilege of preaching and teaching at in Mannheim, Germany, this past Thursday through Sunday. Over 1,200 young adults from across Germany and Europe gathered to meet and sleep and eat in a large public school (closed for the Easter holiday) to celebrate their common bond in Christ and His mission for this third millennial world. While everything was in German—and I mean everything—I was delighted with how bilingual (tri- and quad-lingual as well) the German young are. And I  was personally blessed with a top-flight young German pastor-evangelist translator, Kris Lenart, who is church-planting in Austria. We did the arithmetic together and calculated that we preached (five sermons) and taught (four workshops) for a total of 13 hours side by side! It was a non-stop and packed weekend from stem to stern. But I came home joyfully exhausted—and here’s why. As I tweeted from the Congress (@DwightKNelson): “These German young adults are energetic plus & committed to the hilt. They speak 2-4 languages, love Christ and want to win the world 2 him.” As I have found the world over, there are thousands of young adults in the Seventh-day Adventist church who are eager to build a base within their culture to reach their generation for Jesus. My driver, Daniel Riek, a young mid-management team leader in Volkswagen-Audi, radiated a thought-through enthusiasm for the mission of our community of faith there in Germany. Kingdom optimism-plus is what the young at YIM exuded. The YIM leaders, Marc and Wendy Englemann (both Andrews grad’s—I had Marc in a preaching class a few years ago), raised up this youth movement six years ago and have never looked back. And the growth and reach of YIM is evidence enough that the Holy Spirit is the wind in their sails. But what really set my own soul to singing was the response of the young adults to the appeals. We preached the “Primetime” series of teachings from the book of Acts (archived at www.pmchurch.tv).  The leadership asked for a series of altar calls—and I am praising God with the statistics they shared with me Sunday night. Over 140 of those young made the decision to follow Christ in baptism.  And two hundred and some (the exact number—which they passed along just before I went up for our final sermon—escapes me) decided to give a year of their lives in volunteer service/mission for God. What an answer to so many prayers! But one story in particular touched me. We gave three altar calls—Sabbath morning, Saturday night and again on Sunday night. Watching us on live-streaming was a young adult who was unable to attend the Congress this year. After the Saturday night appeal (through a decision card, followed up with an altar call), this viewer (who, for obvious reasons, I am choosing to keep anonymous) wrote an email to the YIM website. The email is in German, but at the bottom of my copy is the English translation: “I want to greet all YIM attendees, preachers and the YIM team. My name is _________. [It] means yearning . . . like the yearning I feel for God. I want to let you know that I was deeply touched by tonight’s presentation. Until now I have not decided to become baptized, but tonight I was one of the many people that came forward [in this case via live-streaming]. The sentence ‘no matter what your parents think of your decision’ really spoke to my heart. This was the reason why I hesitated to take this important step in my life. But tonight Jesus called me.” Who is the young writer? “I’m a Moslem and my parents will not accept this decision of mine. Please remember me in your prayers.” Praise God—a young Moslem in Germany in front of a computer screen heard the call of Christ and made the decision to follow Him in baptism. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit! The Congress theme, “Know the Time,” is simply a reminder to me that in this pivotal hour of history there is a generation of young eager to stand up and be counted for Jesus. High-techy, culturally savvy, and spiritually passionate—they are eager to mobilize for the Kingdom. For that reason Andrews University, Pioneer Memorial Church and the Adventist church the world over must be the user-friendly launching pad for this generation that empowered by the Spirit can do what we have never been able to do before.