No. church is not on my to-do list. In August 2009 I stopped going to church after doing so since age 10. Indeed.
I had arrived at the annual family reunion meet-and-greet on Friday evening expecting to have an entire meal of salad. I discovered that the hostess who in previous years had decided such fare to be sufficient for vegetarian Adventists had prepared a well-rounded meal with tasty vegetable protein. I rejoiced and chewed with gusto.
Then on Saturday morning while passing through the lobby I was called to explain to new-to-me relatives that I wasn’t going to the family picnic wearing a suit and heels. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to tell those family saints that I am a Seventh-day Adventist going to Sabbath School and church, etc., etc., etc.
But although the mouth was surely mine, the words were clearly His: “I’m going to worship God.” Period. That explanation received affirmations wafting on an air of respect. So I added, “I look forward to chatting with you when I get back and change my clothes.” And I did.
So I don’t go to church any more in favor of going to worship the God whose love for me is apparent in His constant and creative handling of my challenges.
Early on Saturday mornings I still pass people engaged in their passions apparent by the crowded parking lots in the strip mall, the beauty shop, the bowling alley, and the yards of yard-sale merchandise. But now sail by them all on my way to worship God—at church for sure, but there is an entirely different ring to the experience and the explanation.
Paul talks about the difference between babes in Christ and the spiritually mature. I’ve finally gotten his message. So the change is more than vocabulary, embracing my attitude and my wardrobe. The spirit wrapped in “worship” overpowers any negatives I encounter within the building called church or any of the people therein who may rain on my parade. So church is not on my to-do list. I go to worship God with the spiritual grownups.
The audio clip (click on link above photo) is an on the street interview with a local conference member from another church. I did a survey during camp meeting, asking, ”Who is your Sabbath School superintendent?”
90% of the folks asked DID NOT KNOW WHO the superintendent was at their perspective church.
Here’s an audio of a member who did know, but listen to how he had to ponder about the answer. And he was one member from a church who actually could remember something about whom the present Sabbath School Superintendent is at his church.
What is going on [or is not going on/or needs to be going on] for a reason of why so many people at different churches when asked DO NOT KNOW or DO NOT REMEMBER who their Sabbath School Superintendent is? What is that saying about the Sabbath School experience at such a church? Of the Bible study there? etc?
A question for bloggers: How would you advise that local churches make their superintendents—and their Sabbath School—visible to members who do not participate in Sabbath School?
Notice from the Office of the Adult Bible Study Guide
The Web site www.CreationSabbath.net <http://www.creationsabbath.net/> was created to help with planning and to provide materials for churches to prepare for this event that honors God as our Creator.
Please visit the above link for sample sermons, informational articles, children’s stories, scripture passages, hymns and responsive readings as well as other resources and links.
Together we can create a sense of unity by promoting in a positive light our belief in God as Creator and make Oct. 24 a day when we publically worship God as our Creator and thank Him for giving us life and hope.
Please do whatever you can to promote and prepare for this Sabbath celebration of Creation.
Brothers
Sisters
Mark
James
John
commandment
Love
Revenge
Believers
Antichrists
God
Cain
Murder
Righteous
Life
Atone
Know
Born
Spirit
Abide
Confess
Word
Tongue
Children
Condemn
Confident
Plea
Faith
Attitude
Obedience
Naked
Peace
Body
Home
Commandments
Believe
Shut
Burden
Heart
Mind
Scribes
First
Soul
Strength
Community
Sacrifice
The July 2 lesson deals with connecting with people within and out of the church to make it better. The lesson also spoke about how our good intentions can sometimes ruin true fellowship. So one of the ways to connect with people on a genuine level is to relate things to them in our present age. The principles learned from stories like Noah (faith and standing up for what is right); Moses (trusting God to do great things through you); and David (faith and defending God) helps the unchurched by putting the principles within a present situation with which they are familiar.
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all heard most of the Old Testament Bible stories by now—at least from a primary Sabbath School level. Your Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Ten Commandments, David and Goliath, etc. But what about our non-Adventist friends who may not know these stories so well? How can we present these stories to them in a modern setting? Also, how can we present the stories in settings for our twenty-first century adults within the church who have never confronted the issues these stories address for adults?
Examples:
• Connect the account of David and Goliath to a small corporation trying to take down the giant.
• We’ve seen the tobacco industry’s creative commercials. What examples can you come up with?
24-HOUR SABBATH SCHOOL: The way that the 24-hour Sabbath School works is that when your Sabbath School team contacts missing members—missing from Sabbath School and church—they find that some people would be regular attendees at a Sabbath School held at sometime other than 9:30 a.m. Sabbath morning but within the 24 hours of the Sabbath, e.g.: (1) Friday night, (2) early Sabbath morning—around 8 a.m., (3) after lunch/dinner on Sabbath, or (4) before vespers on Sabbath. So the Sabbath School Council organizes any groups meeting at alternative times or locations, e.g. at homes (often Friday night groups of youth), in a community center, the church fellowship hall, etc. People in good and regular attendance at Sabbath School and church are chosen to be the class facilitators who are still under the leadership of the elected Sabbath School superintendent.
Facilitators for Sabbath School classes held at alternative times and locations are chosen by the Sabbath School Council and approved by the church board in order to guard again the infiltration of Davidians (Shepherd’s Rods) and others trying to get their own group going apart from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For the same reason, in addition to the fact that the Holy Spirit chooses the lesson topics, these alternative Sabbath Schools use the materials prepared by the General Conference for adults—the ADULT BIBLE STUDY GUIDE and the MISSIONS quarterlies and DVDs. These classes also keep class records and turn in offerings. GET MEMBERS INTO DAILY STUDY. Give them a purpose to engage in the process. Introduce your members (ages 17-seniors) to the CLAIM Field Game game as a fun way to keep members studying the Sabbath School lesson daily—deeply—and witnessing daily by connecting the news and the lesson principles.
Playing Option: Members in the area can meet in Hagerstown, Maryland, with a group from various churches in the Hagerstown area who have been playing for a number of months. Bring your members to play as Scholars and Athletes at a local church on either Saturday night right after a shared vespers or on Sabbath morning around 9 or 10 a.m. You can bring a whole team or players to participate in mixed teams (members from various churches). Allow 2.5 hours for a training game and 1.5 hours for aregular game. Players would come with a general knowledge of the game by watching/reading the PowerPoint at leadmagazine.org and, when possible, by playing at least one game together.
My daily prayer is, Lord, help me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. So as an adult division superintendent, I jumped at the chance to attend the Sabbath School Summit held at the General Conference on April 24, 25, 2009. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that God would lead me and show me how to be of better service for Him.
The objective of the Summit was brainstorming the four goals of Sabbath School for creative implementation in the local church setting. It was an exciting program, and after listening to dynamic speakers and engaging in the brainstorming sessions, I left with a lot of ideas and methods to implement in my own church:
Prayer.Chris Blake shared this idea as part of his presentation about how his class at Union College reinvented their Sabbath School”: Go beyond just asking God to be with us to actually asking a member to share their particular burden and then asking another member to pray for that person and their need. Pass around a card for members to sign to give to the person prayed for. We need to find ways to reach out to others and this method was very good.
The following ideas were shared by participants in the brainstorming session: Class Directory. Include the name of each member, telephone numbers and email addresses. When a member is missing, due to whatever reason, designate someone to contact that person to let him or her know they were missed. This is a good way to keep in touch with fellow members. Visitors. Make people feel welcome and wanted, especially visitors, was another method. Acknowledge them at the beginning of the Sabbath School program. This is usually less intimidating than in a church setting. Outreach. Provide a cooking school. What better way to reach out to the community than through our health message. There may be people wanting to make lifestyle changes, but they often don’t know how to go about it. This is an excellent way to introduce people to healthier eating while sharing our message. Who knows, this could be the first step in leading them to Christ. Mission project. Probably most households have several Bibles lying around. What a great way for a class to take part in a mission project. It’s easy and doesn’t require any money, and you’re providing much needed Bibles to many who are thirsting for the Word of God. There were many methods shared at the Summit. What I have shared are just a few of the ideas that I really liked and want to implement in my church. Whatever I do, I pray that I will bring into my service God’s loving ministry.
May God take each of us to higher levels of fulfillment of the great gospel commission through our Sabbath school ministry.
For about a month now, LEAD has been promoting their new CLAIM Field game at the Review and Herald. The results have been very sucessful for the two teams in training.
Volunteer participants stay after work to prepare to set an example for other workers in a March 16 exhibition game. However, the purpose doesn’t stop there. The CLAIM game also helps these paricipants to further increase their witnessing skills as they are encouraged and rewarded by speaking up and giving clear, well-thought answers.
The CLAIM game veils a simple set of directions that are easy to understand. Just remembering usually takes Scholars by surprise and when an Athlete’s ballon refuses to break, the results are wildly entertaining! If you haven’t already downloaded a copy of the instructions, take a peek. With the help of the Lord, this game will soon be spreading across the North American Division and beyond!
The Year of Evangelism is a 2009 Initiative of the North American Division
The Year of Evangelism is upon us and this year our church has created several creative ways for members to get involved and witness to their friends, neighbors, coworkers and community.
Likewise LEAD magazine has developed the Sabbath school growth awards to help encourage you to share the gospel through the use of Sabbath school.
To get your church involved simply click on the Sabbath School Growth Awards link below and download the PDF, fill it out and fax it back to us.
This is an awesome opportunity to get your Sabbath school involved in witnessing to the community!
