Pastors' Blog

By Pioneer Pastors

October 28, 2010
Too early to be thinking about Christmas?
By Dwight K. Nelson

Too early to be thinking about Christmas? Not if you were hoping to purchase the fastest and most expensive Porche ever built—the 911 GT2 RS. It just sold out less than two months after debuting. Price tag? $329,000. Merry Christmas and a big red bow tied on to the 131 Americans who bought it.

Never mind the recession. Reports show that luxury items are once again ringing the cash registers in the U.S. “Consumers are buying more luxury items but spending remains tight for everyday essentials such as food and dental care, a USA TODAY analysis finds, suggesting a growing divide between haves and have-nots. Purchases of TVs, jewelry, recreational vehicles and pet supplies are growing robustly, government data show. At the same time, spending on medical care, day care and education is down in the dumps” (http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-10-27-RW_consumer27_ST_N.htm).

The yawning gap between the haves and the have-nots in this nation is widening. And it does not bode well for our future. One in 8 Americans is now on food stamps. At some point within last year, 1.6 million men, women and children (including 170,000 families) “experienced homelessness”—a 7% jump from the previous year. Voice of America this week quoted Henry Freedman, director of the National Center for Law and Economic Justice. “Freedman says America's growing income gap could create a two-tiered society that loses its sense of community. ‘People struggling to get by, struggling to survive on the one hand, susceptible to demagoguery; and people on the other hand who put their resources to be separate from society, safe from society rather than participating fully in society,’ he said” (http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/US-Income-Disparity-Highest-Ever-105708773.html).

Did you catch that—“a two-tiered society that loses its sense of community”? The wealthy growing more isolated, the poor growing more resentful The Apostle James predicted just such an economically fractured society before the return of Christ: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! . . . Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.” And then to his impoverished readers, James appeals: “You must be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near” (James 5:1, 4, 5 NKJV; 7 NLT).

Will our politicians deliver us from this social fracture? Hardly. They have just spent a record-setting $2 billion campaigning for next week’s election. How then will economic disparity be confronted? I’m not a prophet—but I read the prophets. Watch the labor movement globally. What France has experienced these past two weeks (and Greece earlier)—pent up rage by the lower class—can happen here, too. A century ago this prediction was made: “The trade unions will be the cause of the most terrible violence that has ever been seen among human beings” (Letter 99, 1904).

What shall we do? Let the church of Christ rise up with the compassion of her Lord and reach out to the disenfranchised and economically marginalized. Benton Harbor is 12 miles away. Our fledgling Harbor of Hope congregation desperately needs volunteers. Call Pastor Walter (849-9089). It isn’t new Porches that our world is dying for want of. It is men and women possessed with Jesus’ passion and brave enough to attempt to make a difference. Before he returns. Until he returns.

October 21, 2010
“Savior Siblings” was the newspaper headline.
By Dwight K. Nelson

“Savior Siblings” was the newspaper headline. Molly Nash is sixteen years old now—and very much alive. But in 2000 the promise of any future at all was doubtful. Molly was born with a severe type of Fanconi anemia, “a blood disorder that almost always results in leukemia by the age of 10.” Her only hope a bone marrow transplant. And the optimal transplant donor needed to be a sibling with genetically identical tissue. But Molly was an only child. Until Dr. John Wagner—a bone marrow transplant expert at the University of Minnesota—suggested a brave, novel protocol. Would Molly’s parents be willing to undergo in-vitro (“test tube”) fertilization to create multiple embryos—with the hopes of finding one embryo without the genetic coding for Fanconi anemia?

After multiple rounds of in-vitro fertilization “and tens of thousands of dollars borrowed from Jack’s parents,” at last a genetically “perfect” embryo was formed. Nine months later little Adam was born into the Nash family—and six weeks after that, Molly received her transplant from the blood in her baby brother’s umbilical cord. Today ten years later she’s the picture of health—and seemingly unimpressed with her “irritating little brother” who became a “savior sibling” in order to save her life (SBTribune 10-20-10).

Two reflections on this news piece. #1—When something is truly worth it, you don’t quit trying. Jack and Lisa Nash, Molly’s parents, apparently thought so. So they invested multiple attempts at tens of thousands of dollars in order for their prayers to be answered. Shouldn’t we do the same? For 53 days now we’ve been asking God to revive our hearts and church and school, and to save our lost friends and family. Shall we quit now? Hardly! Jesus’ command to “ask for the Holy Spirit” (Luke 11:9, 13) literally means “to keep on asking.” And keep on we must! Beginning next week, the opening page of our worship bulletin-booklet will feature fresh ways we can keep on asking. After all, isn’t the promised answer worth it?

#2—Our Creator became our Savior Sibling. On this Creation Celebration Sabbath we remember that the Creator of this universe was born in a manger to become our Elder Brother. “ . . . in these last days [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. . . . For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that . . . he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 1:2; 2:17 NIV). No wonder our Creator is twice worthy of our worship—first he made us, and then he saved us. With our Savior our Sibling, is it any wonder we must never quit praying now?

October 14, 2010
The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners
By Dwight K. Nelson

The rescue of the 33 Chilean miners, trapped for 69 days a half a mile beneath the mountain, is a story for the ages, isn’t it? Can you imagine the ecstatic joy that exploded into the cold night air, as that bullet-shaped recovery capsule emerged from out of the ground, transporting the first of the entombed captives to freedom? Desperate hope had become reality. The captives were coming home!

Did you know that one of the miners is a Seventh-day Adventist? Pedro Navia, the chair of the International Language Studies department here at Andrews University, several weeks ago sent to me a scanned copy of a hand-written letter the trapped miner wrote to his pastor. According to Dr. Navia, the church in Chile sent this pastor to the mining disaster site to minister to the miners’ families. The pastor even sent small Bibles down the lifeline shaft for the miners to read every day. Here is the translated letter in its entirety:

Pastor Carlos Parra Diaz,
From down here, my greetings to you and your family. Thank you for praying for us, the 33 miners.
I want to tell you that here we are all calm and I know God, the Mighty God, has protected us since the first day that this happened. Here we pray at 12:00 noon every day since the collapse took place. Here I can see all beliefs and religions, but we are all brothers in Christ. It is hard for me to write… I feel something here inside of me and it is difficult to think… If God has preserved our lives it is just because He has prepared something special for us when we leave this place. Here, there is a lot of time to think and pray.
For you and your family: “Only Jesus gives us rest and our heavy load becomes something light and easy to carry. A scene full of hope opens in front of us where our sorrows become a consoling future”.

Good bye to you and to everyone in your family,

Jose Ricardo Ojeda
“Miner Heart”

I love that line, “A scene full of hope opens in front of us, where our sorrows become a consoling future.” For how could rescue of these entombed miners not be a foretaste of that explosive moment when He who is the Resurrection and the Life will call from their dusty beds of death his earth children one day soon? Listen to the jubilant exclamation of the second miner to be rescued. “I never doubted. I always knew God would rescue us,” Mario Sepulveda proclaimed. “‘I am so very happy,’ added the miner who was surrounded by family members holding his hands or touching him, as if to be sure he was really there. ‘I'm 40 years old and will live many years more now to honor those who helped’ in the rescue” (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chile-miner-rescues-20101014,0,1311890.story).

For nine days now, Lee Venden has been teaching us that our Forever Friend has already shattered the chains of guilt and fear that entomb us. “A scene of hope opens in front of us.” Knowing we have been loved to the depths of Calvary, we can walk with our Friend Jesus—revived, set free, to live the rest of our lives to honor the One “who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). And whether we live or whether we die, “a scene full of hope opens in front of us where our sorrows become a consoling future.” Amen.

September 30, 2010
What’s not to like about a golden anniversary?
By Dwight K. Nelson

What’s not to like about a golden anniversary? Fifty years ago Emmanuel Missionary College became Andrews University, and this campus has never been the same! But what about a ruby anniversary? Did you know that forty years ago next week (which makes it a “ruby” commemoration, for those who keep track) there was a spiritual event on campus (it actually began off campus) that has left this university not quite the same ever since? Two weeks ago in my blog I reported on Beatrice Neall’s recital (“When God Came Down”) of what took place in the now hallowed fall of 1970 here at Andrews. An off-campus spiritual retreat attended by a hundred students, the igniting there of a collective fiery passion to be filled with the Spirit of Jesus, their return to campus after the weekend on fire for change, the Tuesday chapel that turned into an hours-long testimony service, the conversion of students and faculty, the spirit of grace and repentance and a fervor to witness for Christ that spread through the dormitories and cafeteria and classrooms, the subsequent contagion of Andrew’s revival at AUC and CUC and Oakwood and SMC—all of it began forty years ago October 8.

Was it genuine, for real? A few Wednesday evenings ago I was reading to our House of Prayer worshipers portions of Bea Neall’s history of that revival, and during our testimony time two hands shot up. Turns out that both of them were students at Andrews that fall, and both of them participated in that memorable Tuesday chapel spiritual outbreak. Yes it was genuine, and truly for real—as no doubt some of our alumni here for Homecoming this weekend could attest—the unforgettable 1970 Autumn at Andrews.

But quite frankly, I’m not one for spending a whole lot of time looking back, gratifying as the memories might be. Truth is we’re a new generation living in essentially a new era marked by socio-political-economic forces vaguely similar but radically different. Which is why we need for God to do “a new thing” (Isaiah 43:19) in our midst—a new revolution, a new revival and reformation. Is it too idealistic, too naïve to ask for such from God? Hardly!

A century ago the one who picked out this farmland to be Battle Creek College’s new site beside the St. Joseph River penned: “A revival of true godliness among us is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work. . . . A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer” (1SM 121, emphasis supplied).

Only in answer to prayer? Then wouldn’t it be right to invite alumni and students to band together in this shared “urgent” prayer? Of course, strategic plans and capital/faculty development and student recruitment are essential to a growing, thriving university community. But living on the edge as we are, it surely has occurred to more than a few of us that without fervent prayer for the unleashing of the Spirit of Christ deep within our collective heart and soul we are destined to live with the bar “raised low,” at a time when all of Heaven pleads for the bar to be raised higher and higher and higher still. “I have heard all about you, LORD, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us” (Habakkuk 3:2 NLT).

September 28, 2010
It’s a funny-named hometown.
By Dwight K. Nelson

It’s a funny-named hometown. But could it be we’re all from there—that little berg with its lonely water tower? Known for miles around, the water tower was fed by an aqueduct from hot springs a few miles away. Naturally, the water started out piping hot, but by the time it spilled into the water tower it was lukewarm. So it’s no surprise that when the risen Christ sends a communiqué to the church in that town of Laodecia, he seizes the city’s trademark lukewarm water to shape his appeal to all of us. “I wish you’d make up your mind—be hot for Me or be cold toward Me—but don’t give me this tepid, half-hearted lukewarm commitment stuff. It’s enough to gag you!” Or as he put it in Revelation 3,  “‘Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth’” (Revelation 3:16). Yuck!
But hold on! In this campus-wide season of 40 Days of Prayer, I was especially blessed by Dennis Smith’s reading this week for Day 22. Watch what he does. Linking Jesus’ invitation to the Christians in Laodecia—“‘Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends’” (v 20 NLT)—with I John 3:24’s observation—“And we know he [Christ] lives in us because the Holy Spirit lives in us”—Smith concludes that the divine solution for my and our lukewarm apathy is to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. “What will the baptism of the Holy Spirit do for a lukewarm Christian? The infilling of God’s Spirit will bring revival to the recipient, and revival is the only answer to Laodecia’s [lukewarm] problem. . . . Only by revival will the church come to a spiritual condition such that God can use her in a mighty way as a means of delivering men and women from the powers of darkness” (40 Days p 76, emphasis supplied).

We need that revival! It’s the only cure for our church and campus. No wonder a century ago these words were written: “A revival of true godliness among us [piping hot commitment to God] is the greatest and most urgent of all our needs. To seek this should be our first work” (1SM 121, emphasis supplied). For that very reason on September 1 we began 40 Days of Prayer at Andrews and Pioneer—earnestly asking God to pour out his Spirit upon us individually as well as institutionally. Won’t you join us? We’ve handed out 2,000 40 Days books, because there are many, many of the young and the not so young who are convicted that our deepest need around here is for the outpouring of the Spirit of Christ among us. So today at the foot of the cross, let us plead:
Baptize us anew with power from on high,
With love, O refresh us! Dear Savior, draw nigh.
We humbly beseech Thee, Lord Jesus, we pray,
With love and the Spirit baptize us today.
—W. A. Ogden

September 15, 2010
What if God repeated himself every forty years?
By Dwight K. Nelson

What if God repeated himself every forty years? Then this university campus would be poised on the brink of a mighty spiritual revival! Last week Martin Kim, one of our graduate students, passed along a fascinating story by Beatrice Neal entitled “When God Came Down” (published in the Fall, 2004, edition of Adventists Affirm). In this article Neal, a religion professor at Union College at the time, has carefully pieced together an historical examination of the revival that spread across numerous Christian college campuses in 1970. It began at Asbury Methodist College (Wilmore, Kentucky) in February, 1970. A small group of students had been praying for revival on that campus. Unexpectedly at a 10 a.m. chapel service, a spirit of confession and repentance swept over the gathered student body. “A long line of students came forward to pray and give their testimonies. With tears they acknowledged cheating, theft, prejudice, and jealousy. Some went to individuals in the congregation to ask forgiveness and make restitution. Old enmities were melted with the fervent love of God.” The service continued on into the afternoon leaving the cafeteria empty. “Classes were suspended for the rest of the day.” Prayer and Bible study groups sprang up around the college. College students went to the seminary chapel and testified to the seminarians of their experience. Soon “all classes were officially canceled for the rest of the week,” as seminarians joined undergraduates in “getting right with God and seeking His will.”

The revival spread from Asbury to campuses across the nation. And that fall, 1970, Andrews University was a recipient of God’s reviving power. It began at a Campus Ministry retreat at nearby Camp Michiana October 8-11. Three guest preachers were invited—E. L Minchin, “a beloved youth revivalist;” Mike Stevenson, General Conference Youth Leader; and H. M. S. Richards, Jr, Voice of Prophecy speaker. From early morning to late at night around the camp fire students gathered, asking God “‘to open them up, clean them out, and fill them with His Holy Spirit.’” After a communion service and “a prolonged testimony meeting,” the campus chaplain, Gordon Paxton, and the students with the guest preachers discussed how to share the peace they had found and “‘slosh it over the campus.’” ‘

In 1970 Andrews University was experiencing the “student rebellion” and “wide-scale drug use” that had swept across U.S. campuses. The Student Movement reported “polarization among faculty and student groups.” It was that reality that the “afire for God” retreat students returned to that October Sunday. On Tuesday Chaplain Paxton felt impressed to turn the chapel service over to the students from the retreat who “filled the platform and witnessed to what God had done for them. Then they invited others to come forward.” And with that “a spontaneous testimony service” broke out that continued there at chapel through the lunch hour. At 1:30 150 students were still lined up at the microphone to testify! “Many accepted Christ on the spot.” And when chapel finally disbanded, students moved across campus sharing their testimonies. Some called home, asking their parents’ forgiveness. “They sang praise songs in the cafeteria line and stood up and testified during meals.” The following Sabbath “90% of the Pioneer Memorial Church congregation stood” as Mike Stevenson invited them to surrender their lives to God. Normally the Andrews bookstore sold 300 Bibles annually. In five weeks time 1300 Bibles were ordered. “Thousands more were to follow. ‘What’s going on at Andrews?’ the publishers wanted to know.” A few weeks later God used Morris Venden’s Week of Prayer to fan the flames.

But the revival wasn’t contained on this campus. “Succeeding issues of the Student Movement were full of accounts of student evangelism” in churches throughout Michiana, and to campuses at Mt Vernon Academy (Ohio), Oakwood College (Alabama), Atlantic Union College (Massachusetts), and Columbia Union College (Maryland). Neal’s article chronicles the phenomenal spread of Andrews University students’ witness for Christ up and down the eastern seaboard. Soon General Conference president, Robert Pierson, responded to the student revival in an editorial in the Review and Herald: “May the Holy Spirit revive us all—on campus and off campus!”

When I finished Beatrice Neal’s eleven-page report, I had two reactions. The first was fervent praise to God for such a remarkably divine outpouring of the Spirit upon this campus that I love. I am certain that forty years later we still benefit from the afterglow of that mighty revival. My second reaction was a prayer, Habakkuk’s prayer. For could there be a more timely prayer to be praying—even as we now are immersed in our 40 Days of Prayer on this same campus forty years later? I earnestly invite you to join me in praying this prayer every day until God repeats himself in our midst and we, too, are set ablaze for Christ: “I have heard all about you, LORD, and I am filled with awe by the amazing things you have done. In this time of our deep need, begin again to help us, as you did in years gone by. Show us your power to save us” (Habakkuk 3:2 NLT).

September 11, 2010
Love Your Enemies
By Dwight K. Nelson

“Minister to burn Quran.” The media have been tracking this story about terry Jones, evangelical pastor of the fifty-member Dove World Outreach Center (Gainesville, Florida), who is threatening to burn copies of the Quran this Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Protests from the White house, the State Department and General David Petraeus (Commander of US forces in Afghanistan) notwithstanding, Jones appears to be determined to proceed with the public burning—though he indicated this week to the Associated Press that he “still praying” about his decision. An interfaith coalition of Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish and Muslim leaders has condemned the plan as “a violation of American values and the Bible” (SBTribune 9-8-10).

It’s sad, isn’t it?  No matter how deeply held our convictions about our personal or collective Christian faith, how would the public destruction of the holy book of Islam (one of the world’s three monotheistic religions, along with Christianity and Judaism) possibly advance our own faith in any circle, let alone among Muslims? Did Jesus call for the burning of the Roman Empire’s pagan “holy book” scrolls as an object lesson of his teachings’ superiority? Hardly. Instead he taught his followers, “‘Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you’” (Matthew 5:44).

Did you catch that? “Pray” for those you wish to win to Christ. For that reason our new 40 days of Prayer season here on campus and in this congregation is focused, not only on seeking a greater infilling of the Spirit of Jesus for ourselves, but also on praying for those who need to know the Savior—five people you know who, if Christ were to return tonight, wouldn’t be ready—five men, women, young adults, teenagers, children (your list may quickly grow beyond five) whose salvation you are earnestly seeking. What’s the strategy? Pray. For in that daily season of praying your heart and mine will be prompted by the Spirit with creative ways we can reach out to those we pray for—an email, a phone call, a visit, an I’ve-been-thinking-of- you-and-praying-for-you card, a favorite recipe, a helping hand—the list is endless. But it all must begin with prayer, “For this is the only method by which you can reach hearts. It is not your work, but the work of Christ who is by your side, that impresses hearts” (quoted in 40 Days: Prayers and Devotions to Prepare for the Second Coming p 9).

The ninth anniversary of September 11 will come and go. But, what must not come and go is Jesus’ Spirit of interceding prayer. Pray, pray, pray. For surely through his praying children, the Creator of us all can invade every land and every religion with the shining truth about Himself. And that’s one fiery passion we can all share.

September 6, 2010
Is there another earth in the universe?
By Dwight K. Nelson

Is there another earth in the universe? Last Tuesday at an international conference in France, scientists reported the discovery of a star or sun—HD 10180—one hundred light years or 587 trillion miles away (not exactly our next door neighbor, to be sure). But what was fascinating was their announcement that this sun is orbited by at least seven planets—most of which are 13 to 25 times the mass of our home planet Earth. However, one of those planets is only 1.4 times our size—making it the smallest planet ever spotted outside our own solar system. “The really nice thing about finding systems like this is that it shows that there are many more out there,” observes Alan Boss of the Carnegie Institution for Science (SBTribune 8-25-40). In fact astronomers now believe there is growing evidence that our universe is “full of planets”—and that a number of them could be similar to our own. Very interesting.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it, whether any of those planets are “peopled” by intelligent (OK, OK—but you know what I mean) beings like us? Could it be that if there were a Hubble-like telescope powerful enough to take close-up aerial photographs of one such planet, we would see communities of habitations spread around that terrestrial ball? Could inhabited planets be scattered through hundreds or even millions of galaxies?

The Bible is strangely silent about such a possibility. The Book of Job describes the “sons of God” (“heavenly beings” NRSV) gathering before God in council and at the creation of Earth (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). Would such intelligent beings include more than the angels who inhabit God’s home kingdom? Scripture doesn’t say. But would it be that unusual for the Creator of the universe, depicted in the Bible as a parental God of relentless love, to have created numerous orders of intelligent life throughout his vast domain? Hardly.

What is apparently unique and unusual for God’s earth children is that we are the only planet to join the satanic rebellion against the Throne. Thus we are the only order of intelligent life the two gift-weapons for the duration of the cosmic war that now engulfs this planet: the gift of prayer (our 24/7 ability to be in instantaneous personal communication with God) and the gift of prophecy (God’s periodic communication with his earth children through divinely-selected men or women entrusted with direct messages from him to us). Two vital gifts critical for God’s earth children to master.

Not because he is 587 trillion miles away. But because we can hear the tread of an approaching God “even at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). For that reason we embark on twin journeys this season: a journey into prayer (“40 Days of Prayer”)—and a journey into the gift of prophecy (our new pulpit series, “The Gift”). And in all candor, I am praying earnestly that you’ll join me in both journeys. Never mind the other planets. It’s our home planet God must save. And we must help him. Which is why he needs you right now.

August 28, 2010
Claustrophobia
By Dwight K. Nelson

If you’re claustrophobic, don’t read on. I’ll be the first to admit that the very thought of being trapped with 32 other men in a tiny 600 square foot chamber a half a mile underground . . . in pitch darkness inside the bowels of a collapsed mine . . . for seventeen days and nights . . . without any con- tact with the outside (above) world . . . is the stuff of nightmares! And yet when that small rescue drill bit bore 2200 feet down through the Chilean rock to where the 33 miners were trapped and opened up a six inch wide shaft to the men, the ecstatic cries of loved ones above and below ground could be heard around the world!

Piece by piece the trapped miners’ story has emerged up that life-giving shaft. When the gold and silver mine tunnel wall collapsed above them on august 5, the 33 miners scrambled to a rescue chamber carved long ago into the mine shaft. There under the leadership of 54 year old shift foreman, Luis Urzua, the men organized themselves around the desperate hope that rescue would one day come. Available food was quickly rationed: two spoonfuls of tuna, a bite of crackers, a morsel of peaches and a sip of milk for each miner—every other day (thus stretching their two-day emergency supply to 17 days)! usage of their helmet lamps, their only source of portable light, was conserved. A nearby backhoe enabled them to break through to a small water reservoir. And they waited. Seventeen long days and nights (continuous nights, really) until they were found. Oxygen is now being pumped into the mine, an intercom system has been established, letters and love notes have been exchanged with family members—but the miners have not yet been told that a rescue shaft wide enough to hoist them the half mile to the surface may take until Christmas to drill. NASA experts are offering advice as to how to preserve emotional and mental health in such cramped quarters for so long a wait (as in the International Space Station).

Thirty-three trapped survivors, whose hopes are pinned on a rescue from above—sounds like a reprise of the human story, doesn’t it? Trapped down the mine shaft of this planet, an entire race of survivors waiting out earth’s long dark night for deliverance. And yet, truth be known, most of the entrapped are either only vaguely aware of being trapped at all or have long ago given up any hope of any rescue at all.

It is for them—and for all of us, really—that on September 1 this campus begins a very special 40 days of Prayer rescue initiative. Our tools are simple: a Bible, a printed forty-day collection of Scripture promises, and a prayer card with the names of five lost (entrapped) people that we know. the only oth- er necessity is yours and my commitment every day for forty days to join with a prayer partner in reading a page from the 40 Days: Prayers and Devotions to Prepare for the Second Coming collection of promises and interceding before god on behalf of five people (each of us knows) who need Jesus. Every day. For forty days. Beginning September 1. And when the forty days are over, revival preacher Lee Venden will begin a nine evening revival series here at Pioneer for the campus and community. Forty days of prayer, nine nights of preaching— we believe the Spirit can transform it and us into a mighty rescue effort for Christ. And given the times, can you think of a more critical time for us to join heaven in attempting the rescue of those who are trapped in the dark? What if nobody had gone looking for the 33 Chilean miners?

August 20, 2010
“Freshmen: What’s a wristwatch?”
By Dwight K. Nelson

“Freshmen: What’s a wristwatch?” That headline to a report about Beloit College’s annual “mindset list” caught my eye this week. For thirteen years now two officials at this small private school of 1400 students in Wisconsin have compiled a list of reminders for teachers that the incoming freshmen class is from another time and space than its elders. For example, few of the Class of 2014 have ever worn a wristwatch (can you believe that?). And most of them don’t know how to write in cursive (some of us fall miserably short, as well). For them email is too slow (try texting instead), the only phones they’ve known have no cords, and the computers they played on as kids are now museum pieces! Jack Kevorkian, Dan Quayle, Rodney King—who are they? Russian missile strikes in the U.S.? All this class knows is that Russia and the U.S. are partners today in outer space.

This last week Andrews University welcomed the largest freshmen class in its fifty year history to this campus and this congregation. And while they’re all away today on their freshmen retreat, I wanted to take a moment and remind us all what they’ve left behind.

For worship Monday morning our church was filled with these freshmen and their parents. As I mingled with them after the dedication service (in which our university president addressed the young worshipers in a poignant and personal appeal to them), I couldn’t help but notice the teary eyes of mothers and fathers who were preparing to leave their “babies” behind. It’s never an easy step for parents or child. (It certainly wasn’t for me when I left home for boarding school at the age of 14—never really returning again except for vacations along the academic highway to young adulthood.)

But the closure to that warm, living-at-home chapter doesn’t have to mean an end to a warm home-like family environment for our university students—because today we’re launching a new caring initiative in the Pioneer Family, focused on the young adults God has sent to us at Andrews. We’re inviting you to join us in signing up as adoptive home-away-from-home families. If you’d be willing to throw open the doors to your heart and your home two to three times a semester to provide a home-cooked meal and some warm fellowship to two or three or four Andrews students, I hope you’ll join Karen and me in signing up as a host family. For more details listen to “Entertaining Angels: More Water in the Soup, an Extra Plate at the Table” here at our website. And don’t worry about the language this new generation speaks—with Jesus you already know the language of the heart. And you don’t even need a wrist watch to speak it.