Adventist Laymen’s Service and Industries, more commonly known as ASI, held its annual convention over the weekend of August 2-5, 2017. Held at the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston, Texas, the plenary sessions, seminars, and booths all centered around the convention’s theme: Called. Chosen. Committed. The convention included insp
It's Sabbath evening (August 4) in Valencia and there is an atmosphere of celebration. Seven young people have decided to publicly commit their lives to God and were baptized. The entire program was filled with supportive shouts and cheerful clapping. The praise and worship team led the congregation using a balanced mix of hymns and contempo
The second full day (third overall, including the first evening) I faced a real struggle at AYC2017. For those of us lacking a regular intense workout, AYC2017’s full schedule, including an early morning exercise routine, gave my leg muscles some painful aches. A reminder to keep our whole being in service! What my condition meant, however, contrib
Sunny Valencia, in Spain, in August. A perfect location to begin friendships for a lifetime, and hopefully begin a life changing journey for Jesus. This is what the organizers of the European Adventist Youth Congress 2017 (AYC2017) are hoping for this week. In an environment both literally and metaphorically warm, the offer was impossible to turn d
Are we Guilty of Capricious Compassion? Ever been on a short-term mission trip overseas? Richard Stearns sees this as "capricious compassion” and argues for longterm focus to ensure true transformation. For your church’s next mission-trip, ask if there are coordinated and sustained efforts to ensure longterm changes in the community you are about t
Introduction In 2001 when I arrived at the General Conference to begin representing the world church to the U.S. Government, I knew two things: First, religious freedom is a tremendous blessing given by God, and it is the unique responsibility of Adventists to defend it publicly. In so doing, we don’t only preserve a fundamental human right, we are
Martin Luther: A Hero of Liberty and Freedom of Speech Championed by Martin Luther, October 31, 2017 will mark the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. In recognition of his many contributions, Peter Stanford of The Guardian highlights two major areas—human liberty and freedom of speech. He writes, "For Luther championed conscience
My Utmost for His Highest 80 Years Later 80 years after its landing on the US soil, My Utmost for His Highest remains a classic read among Christians. Macy Halford’s experience with Oswald Chambers’ work gives a rich historical background and contemporary application. Read more here. When Deciding on a church, Americans look for the Two items Ac
On Monday, February 27, 2017, at Andrews University, Dr. Randall W. Younker, professor of Archaeology at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, presented a lecture on the topic of “Archaeology, Women and the Early Church.” Below is a summary of Younker's findings, which he plans to publish later in a series of articles. Initially inspired
At Rochester, New York, December 25, 1865, I was shown many things concerning the people of God in connection with His work for these last days. I saw that many professed Sabbathkeepers will come short of everlasting life. They fail to take warning from the course pursued by the children of Israel and fall into some of their evil ways. If they cont
