Speaker

Dwight K. Nelson

Dwight Nelson served as lead pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church on the campus of Andrews University from 1983 to 2023. During his time at Pioneer he spoke on the “New Perceptions” telecast, taught at the theological seminary and has written books, including The Chosen. He and his wife, Karen, are blessed with two married children and 2 granddaughters.

Offering

Considering the Adventist Church's historical stance on the separation of Church and State, how do we respond to the increased attention and scrutiny brought on by the presidential candidacy of one of our prominent members? Where do we stand when it comes to the causes of our Evangelical nation? How can we best serve this nation that we love?
Saturday, November 07, 2015
Program: 
As We Begin
Be Not Afraid (from Elijah) • Felix Mendelssohn
Praise
Prayer
Don Dronen
"By the Word of Their Testimony" Baptism
Wayne Allen Smith with Rodlie Ortiz
Children's Story
Jesus Calls Us; O'er the Tumult • Emma Lou Diemer
Worship in Music
Be Thou Faithful Unto Death (from Paul) • Felix Mendelssohn
Sermon
“Mission Possible: What We Can Learn from Ben Carson, Evangelicals and America” • Dwight K. Nelson
Connect Cards, Tithes & Offerings
Hymn
America, the Beautiful
As We Depart
Allegro maestoso e vivace • Felix Mendelssohn

More In This Series

11/14/2015
The heartbreaking terrorist attacks in the streets of Paris only serve as a painful reminder that we live in a broken world. Our planet is filled with cities, and those cities are filled with hurting people who are in desperate need of a few inner city angels.
10/31/2015
Nearly 500 years ago, a young monk stood all alone before the the greatest assembly of powers, princes, and pontificates the world had ever seen. His courage would spark one of the greatest social revolutions in history. How can we tap into that same source of strength to start our own social revolution today?
10/24/2015
In a world where we are called to follow what is popular, Christ calls us to be "uncool." If we desire to follow Christ, we are called to deny self, and follow Him (Matthew 16:24).

“Mission Possible:

What We Can Learn from Ben Carson, Evangelicals and America”

www.pmchurch.tv

 

  • Ben Carson
    • North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (May, 2015): “As the 2016 United States election cycle begins, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is aware of the increased interest in the presidential candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Dr. Carson’s story is well known to most Adventists, and he is a well-respected physician. The Adventist Church has a longstanding position of not supporting or opposing any candidate for elected office. This position is based both on our historical position of separation of church and state and the applicable federal law relating to the church’s tax-exempt status. While individual church members are free to support or oppose any candidate for office as they see fit, it is crucial that the church as an institution remain neutral on all candidates for office. Care should be taken that the pulpit and all church property remain a neutral space when it comes to elections.” (http://spectrummagazine.org/article/2015/05/04/adventist-church-issues-statement-ben-carsons-candidacy)

 

  • Evangelicals
    • George Barna:  Evangelicals (1) have made a personal commitment to Christ (“born again”), (2) believe that by faith in Him they will be in heaven one day, (3) say their faith is very important in their life today, (4) believe they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians, (5) believe that Satan exists, (6) believe that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works, (7) believe that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth, (8) assert that the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches, and (9) describe God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. (https://www.barna.org/barna-update/faith-spirituality/648-is-evangelism-going-out-of-style#.Vjt4i7erTDc)
    • Proverbs 14:34 NLT—“Godliness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.”
      • Proverbs 16:12; 20:28
      • Daniel 2:21; 4:25, 27; 5:27; 6:25; 7:26,27; 10:13; 11:36,45

 

  • And Us
    • Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore: “People attacked [Roger] Williams as a radical, a ‘church-ruinating’ anarchist, for laying the ideological foundation for a society that takes religion seriously but constructs a state without reference to any religious claims.  Such a society is not secular, if by that we mean that religion plays no role in public life. Its politics, however, is godless, and so, in their official functions, are its politicians. Williams reached his conclusions about the urgent need to separate church and state, not because he did not care about the future of Christianity, but because he sometimes appeared to care about nothing else. Williams’s main concern was always the purity of the church.” (The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness 52)
    • “No one who cares about civil peace would deny that morality is important. . . . The dispute is rather between those who argue that the content of morality is itself a question for public debate and those who argue that morality is an issue already settled by the religious views of the purported majority. To the latter, if public officials don’t profess religion, if they don’t make a link between proper citizenship and churchgoing, if they don’t see to it that schoolchildren pray, then the country is on its way to hell.” (Ibid 64)
    • Great Controversy: “[The Pilgrims] patiently endured the privations of the wilderness, watering the tree of liberty with their tears, and with the sweat of their brow, till it took deep root in the land. The Bible was held as the foundation of faith, the source of wisdom, and the charter of liberty. The Bible was held as the foundation of faith, the source of wisdom, and the charter of liberty.” (296)
    • “[The Bible’s] principles were diligently taught in the home, in the school, and in the church, and its fruits were manifest in thrift, intelligence, purity, and temperance. . . . It was demonstrated that the principles of the Bible are the surest safeguards of national greatness. The feeble and isolated colonies grew to a confederation of powerful states, and the world marked with wonder the peace and prosperity of ‘a church without a pope, and a state without a king.’” (Ibid emphasis supplied)
    • Ellen White to A. T. Jones April 9, 1893: “Dear Brother, There is a subject which greatly troubles my mind. While I do not see the justice nor right in enforcing by law the bringing the Bible to be read in the public schools: yet there are some things which burden my mind in regard to our people making prominent their ideas on this point. These things I am sure will place us in a wrong light before the world.” “If such a law were to go into effect the Lord would overrule it for good, that an argument should be placed in the hands of those who keep the Sabbath, in their favor, to stand on the Bible foundation in reference to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. . . . My brother, this objecting to the passing of a law to bring the Bible into the schools will work against us . . . who are making so much of the Bible.” (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials 1164)
    • 1 Peter 3:13—“Who is going to harm you, if you are eager to do good?”

 

 

 

When you seek common good,

you share common ground.

 

 

Mission and Strategy Statements Town Hall Meetings
Pioneer Youth Chapel

The Elders have finished! After many months of prayerful and concerted work, the draft of Pioneer's potential new mission and strategy statements are ready for your review.  

Please join us at any of the identical Town Hall/Q & A sessions listed below to hear Pastor Shane and our elders present the drafts for your feedback.  Our goal is to take your input, modify the drafts as needed, sent them back to the church board for final review, and begin implementation in the Fall.  

Please join us for any of these important and impactful meetings that will help guide Pioneer's witness for years to come!

May 13, Tuesday, 7:00-9:00 PM

May 18, Sunday, 9:00-11:00 AM

May 22, Thursday, 7:00-9:00 PM (Zoom only)

The Tent

Join us for a special Evangelistic Series presented by the Jr. High Students of Ruth Murdoch Elementary School. We hope you can join us in big white tent near Griggs Hall at 7pm starting Friday May 9 through May 18. There will be no meeting on Tuesday. Come and be inspired as our students share messages of hope, love, and the good news of Jesus. Your presence will encourage them, and more importantly, you can help bring someone closer to Christ. Bring a friend or family member and experience God's message together!

Holding Onto Jesus

Sunday, May 25, 3-5 PM Pioneer Youth Chapel What do we do when our life is shaken by illness, a great loss, or some other devastation? How do we find God when it feels like He isn’t there? Women of all ages are invited to hear Emily Gibbs share her testimony, and explore ways that we can have resilience in the midst of difficult experiences. Register by texting TRIALS to 269-281-2345. Questions? Email women@pmchurch.org.

AdventistGiving Online (AGO) Contributors

 Your faithfulness is very much appreciated.  To ensure that your donations are properly credited to your account, when contributing through Adventist Giving, please log in under your name, instead of contributing as a "Guest."

Adventist Seniors of Michiana Meeting May 18.

Seniors 55 and up are invited to the Adventist Seniors of Michiana program to be held in the PMC Commons May 18. Bring a dish and enjoy the potluck starting at 1 PM followed by a program featuring Ken Denslow, recently retired Lake Union Conference President. His topic will be Project Amigo and Other Missions. For any questions call Cheryl Doss at 269-277-0767

Offering for May 10, 2025

Disaster & Famine Relief

This Sabbath, our church joins many others in collecting a special offering to support ongoing disaster relief efforts. Funds collected today support both Adventist humanitarian organizations, Adventist Community Services and Adventist Development and Relief Agency. Each serves in different geographical areas. Adventist Community Services responds to disasters of all kinds across the North American Division which includes the United States, Canada, Bermuda, Guam, and Micronesia. As we approach Christ’s return, the Bible tells us that crisis events will increase. Emergency Management records have tracked disasters for over 50 years and confirm tornadoes are touching down with greater impact, hurricanes are moving at greater speeds, and violent killings in the form of mass shootings increase with alarming frequency. Adventist Community Services stands ready to serve those affected by these and other tragedies. Some services provided are:

  • open collection centers to receive and sort donations, sending them to areas of greatest need,
  • provide emotional and spiritual care to the distraught,
  • and deliver essential supplies to areas hardest hit by a disaster.

1 John 3:18 tells us to love with action and in truth. Today, we ask that you give liberally, and we thank you for joining the team who extends the hand of mercy to people in crisis. Together we are serving communities in Christ’s name. 

North American Division Stewardship Ministries

Love on the Move

 Would you like to make a difference in our community? God's Hands 4 Kids has ways you can do that. GH4K loves the "True religion way to love the least of these" James 1:27. The Foster Parent Appreciation Dinner is being held on May 16 in a church in our community. We are working with the Berrien County Department of Health and Human Services to put this on.  We are looking for childcare help. Also seeking gift baskets, gifts or gift cards. For more information contact Carol Jordan at Godshands4kids@gmail.com There is a presentation this Friday evening from Unaccompanied Refugee Minors. Ask for more info if interested.

Music Camp at Pioneer!

The Institute of Young Musicians for Christ is excited to be having a music camp at Pioneer Memorial Church! At our music camps young people ages 6-17 are offered an immersive, week-long musical experience. Our quality musical training—combined with fun, friends, and faith-building encounters— provides a truly incredible opportunity. The camp offers tracks for children 6-12 with or without musical experience and a track for teenagers with significant musical experience. To learn more and register, visit iymcsda.org/michigan. We hope to see you there!

Lamson Hall Upgrades with Maranatha

From May 11–June 8, 2025, Maranatha Volunteers International will be working at Andrews University to update the Lamson Hall residential rooms and suite bathrooms. Please consider volunteering and letting your family and friends know of this opportunity. All individuals (including local) should sign up at the Maranatha website: https://maranatha.org/volunteer-opportunities/.