Leaderboard

Thank You for the advice Pastor Matthews. I will be more mindful of that. Blessings!

Stinsonmarri: Often your comments are confusing, and not clearly stated. You should be a bit kinder to people who do not understand what you have written.

Gustave, My answer will pertain only to the issue of female pastors in the SDA denomination and it may not be a complete answer. * There was a time when females were paid less than males for the same work. That issue was settled by the Merikaye Silver case against the Pacific Press in the 1970s. It is if interest that in testimony given at that trial, Neal Wilson (GC President) the Father of Ted Wilson (Present GC President), in a sworn statement compared his power to that of the Pope. * Just about every aspect of this issue is subject to dispute in the SDA Chruch. Therefore, just about every statement that I make that follows will have people who think that my statement is wrong. * Generally the disagreements center in focus on theological issues and what the Bible teaches. In addition some focus on whether or not females should be pastors, and others focus on whether or not women should be ordained when they become pastors, as males are ordained. NOTE: The official position is that female pastors should be Commissioned, not Ordained. * Ted Wilson probably (?) believes that women should not be pastors. However, regardless of that, he has focused his attempts to discipline denominational leaders who ordain women. * It is commonly believed that the SDA denomination has officially voted to allow women to be ordained as Local Elders, but has prohibited their ordination a clergy. Ted Wilson may (?) believe that neither is allowed. * I, along with others believe that the SDA Unions (Not the General Conference) have the authority to decide who should be ordained as clergy. It is on that basis that today females are being ordained to serve as SDA Clergy. Ted Wilson and others disagree with this position. * The Northern California Conference (where I live), as does other Conferences, ordains women to be SDA clergy and is supported by the Pacific Union and the North American Division. I agree with this. * Internationally in some places women are ordained, in other cases they are Commissioned. It should also be noted that in some places males are Commissioned and that is another issue which I am not addressing. * According to official policy people who are Commissioned have some limitations in authority that those who are ordained do not have. * However, in some places people who are Commissioned are given the same authority as that held be people who are ordained. Gustave, if the above seems complex, remember that I have been brief and I have not addressed every issue. In addition if it seems to lack logic, I have not addressed that issue. I make no claim to logic as to what the Chruch sometimes does.

July 2021 Signs of the Times Email Newsletter The Signs of the Times newsletter is a collection of stories and quotes from past issues of Signs and These Times. *************************** Kenneth examined the melons on display in the market and snorted, “None of these are bad enough”. Then his eyes lighted up. He had caught sight of a pile of overripe melons the grocer was obviously planning to throw away. Eagerly he pawed through them and soon found one that was truly rotten. “This should be moldy enough”. He grinned as he picked it up. He carried it to the counter and got out his purse. Two women shoppers saw him, and one whispered to the other, “That’s what you can expect when a man shops. I wouldn’t serve stuff like that to my dog." Kenneth wasn’t the least bit disturbed by her remark. He had plans for that melon the woman had never dreamed of. The storekeeper almost refused to let him buy it. “The thing’s rotten”, he said, “and your wife will blame me for letting you take it home”. Kenneth only smiled again. What was the use of explaining? No one would understand. Leaving the store with the precious cantaloupe, he hurried to the Department of Agriculture building where he knew his purchase would be appreciated. You see, Kenneth was helping with some very important experiments. Several years before this, in 1939, Sir Alexander Fleming had discovered that moldy bread produces a chemical called penicillin, which is very helpful in treating disease. But in all the thirteen years since that time, only enough penicillin had been produced to treat a handful of patients. A sing dose might cost as much as twenty-five dollars. Yet there were hundreds of thousands of people who could be helped by the medicine – if only it could be produced cheaply. Since penicillin had first been found in moldy bread, it was quite reasonable to look for it in some other moldy food. So when Kenneth’s moldy melon was received at the laboratory, the mold was quickly scraped off and placed in a test tube. A few days later the scientists were able to make their tests, and that moldy melon proved to be just the thing they were looking for. Working with it – and there was a lot of work involved – they were soon producing enough penicillin for everyone. In a few years the price came down from twenty-five dollars a dose to just a few cents. Millions of sick people have been helped. A moldy melon! The grocer saw in it only junk. Kenneth saw in it a million miracles. What about yourself? Do you feel you aren’t worth as much as other people, that have to be content with some mediocre goal in life? Remember the melon. If a moldy melon with a man’s help could work a million miracles, think what you can do with God’s help! Jesus said, I will make a person “more precious than fine gold”. Isaiah 13:12. That means you!—By Spencer Maxwell, Signs of the Times, June 1975 Quote: “The opportunity of a lifetime must be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.”— By C. E. Newlin, The Youth’s Instructor, March 3, 1908. *************************** Don't miss the August 2021 issue of Signs of the Times: To order Signs, call: 1-800-765-6955 or ONLINE. *************************** There is an old story that when young Prince Zernire succeeded his father on the throne of Persia he summoned a convocation of all the learned men of his kingdom, and addressed them thus: "My revered teacher had impressed upon me that kings would be less liable to error if they were acquainted with the history of the past. Write me a history of the world, and make certain that it is complete." After the lapse of twenty years, the learned men reappeared before the king, followed by a caravan composed of twelve camels, each bearing five hundred volumes. The secretary of the society made a short speech, and presented the six thousand volumes. The king, whose time was fully occupied with the affairs of the state, expressed his gratitude for the trouble taken, but added: "I am now middle-aged, and even if I live to be old I shall not have time to read such a long history. Abridge it!" After laboring twenty years longer, the learned men returned, followed by three camels bearing one thousand five hundred volumes, and said: "Here is our new work; we believe that nothing essential is omitted." "That may be; but I am an old man now. Abridge still further, and with all possible speed!" After the lapse of only ten years, they reappeared, followed by a young elephant, bearing only five hundred volumes. "This time we have been exceedingly brief." "Not yet sufficiently so," replied the aged king. "My life is almost over. Condense it much more!" But this fourth laborious attempt at abridgment was unsuccessful, so far as the king was concerned; for after five more years had passed, when the secretary returned alone, walking with crutches and leading a small ass, whose load was one large book, the king was dying, and could not read it. In contrast to all this, read the brief words spoken by Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean king, in his explanation of that great image.—By John L. Shuler, The Watchman Magazine, May 1930. Quote: “A wise man profits by his own experience. A wiser man profits just as much by the experience of others.”—Unknown, These Times, November, 1965. *************************** NEW from Pacific Press—Kidnapped in Angola by Victoria Duarte. Victoria passion for mission outweighed any fear. As a young nursing graduate, she had accepted a call to the Bongo Adventist Mission, landing her in the middle of the Angolan civil war. The pounding on the door in the middle of the night was the beginning of an ordeal that would test her mental and physical endurance. Held captive and forcibly marched by the UNITA militia, Victoria and the other mission staff clung to their faith, finding strength and hope in the promises of God. CLICK HERE to read first chapter of the book online. Order ONLINE or from your local Adventist Book Center--1-800-765-6955. Available as an eBook in both Kindle and Nook formats. CLICK HERE for eBooks. *************************** You may have heard the story of the man who was constantly worrying. His friends became concerned; they feared he would go to an early grave because of this. They began worrying about his worrying! But one day a friend met him on the street and noticed a completely different expression on his face. He was calm and peaceful. And his friend asked, “What happened? You look so different!” He said, “I finally found a solution to my worrying.” “Wonderful! What is it?” He said, “I’ve hired someone to do my worrying for me.” His friend said, “I never heard of such a thing. How much do you pay him?” “Four hundred dollars a month.” “Four hundred dollars a month!” The friend exclaimed. “Why, that’s impossible! How will you ever be able to pay him?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “That’s the first thing he has to worry about.”—From To Know God, a 5-Day Plan, by Morris Venden. Quote: “Praise is the first step on the stairway of prayer.”—Unknown, These Times, November 1970. *************************** Place this in your church bulletin or newsletter: Help your friends understand the headlines by sending them a subscription to Signs of the Times®. Signs presents the full gospel message and the result is changed lives! Order from your Adventist Book Center. To order call: 1-800-765-6955 or online at: https://adventistbookcenter.com/signs-of-the-times-magazine.html *************************** During the Civil War a young man was hurrying out of a hospital room in Washington, D. C., when he collided with President Lincoln, whom he did not recognize. Angrily he said, "Can't you keep out of the way of a young gentleman?" Smiling, Lincoln replied, "Young man, what's wrong with you on the inside?" There is where all the difficulty is; the disease is internal rather than external. If the heart is right, the words and actions will be right. Righteousness is first of all right-being, which always produces right-doing. Conduct is the fruit of character. Selfishness is an internal condition and needs an inside adjustment, divinely ministered. It is "Christ in you the hope of glory."—By Taylor G. Bunch, These Times, July 1951. Quote: “A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops.”—By Henry Adams, These Times, November 1965. *************************** Summer is a great time to share! Find just the right sharing book for any situation or occasion. Go to www.SDASharingBooks.com for the largest selection of Adventist sharing books anywhere. *************************** Once upon a time there was a youth who lived in a small and wretched hut. It was more like a dungeon than a house; for this one contracted room had but a mud floor, a dingy ceiling, begrimed walls, bare of all ornament; and the few straggling rays of light that entered the miserable abode only served to reveal more clearly its poverty. The furniture was scant, consisting of but a broken stool and a rickety table; while the cupboard had in it but a few moldy crusts. Everything about the hut was most forlorn; yet it was the best he had, and he knew not how to secure any better. One day there came a messenger to him in haste, to say that a great king was traveling that way, with a brilliant retinue of attendants, and desired to visit him, indeed, to take up his abode with him. " He asks," said the messenger, " that you will receive him into your home, and also the grand company that are traveling with him." We can picture the consternation of the youth in receiving such word as this. What shall he do? His poor hut is not fit for a king; and he has neither accommodation nor food for the royal company. Shall he offer the king the broken stool to sit upon? Shall he place before him his moldy crusts? Shall he ever let him come into a place so mean and forbidding. In his perplexity, he resolved to make an effort to improve his hut. He began to scrub the mud floor; but the water only added to the trouble by making the earth soft and adhesive. He thought to scrape the walls; but this attempt ended in making holes in them, which rendered them all the more unsightly. Neither could he renew nor mend the broken furniture, nor increase the contents or quality of his larder. Ashamed to receive the royal guests into such poor quarters, there was, he thought, only one thing for him to do—to bolt the door against the king's coming, and hide in a corner of his hut. He had but time to do this before he heard the sound of approaching footsteps; and soon there came a knock at the door. He lay quietly, hoping that his visitor would think that no one was within. But there was another knock, louder than before, and a clear, strong voice said, "Open to the king!" Seeing that it was useless to hide away, the youth made answer, "I cannot open, for I have not a fit place for a king." The voice replied, "I do not ask for fitness, only for entrance. Unbolt the door and let me in." "But I have no food to set before thee." "I do not ask for food; only for willingness to receive me. Food in abundance I am bringing." "But my hut is poor, and dark, and wretched." “Full well I know it; and I come to make it large, and light, and beautiful." "But I am unworthy to have thee come under my roof." "I come not to seek worthiness, but to do thee good—to make thee rich and blessed." "But my clothes are but filthy rags." "I bring thee a beautiful robe, fit for the son of a king." "But, but — " "Oh, say not ' but ' to the offer of love. Make no objections. Open the door to the king." With a trembling hand, at last the poor lad drew back the bolt and let the door fly open, and the glorious king came in. Not one word of upbraiding did he speak because the room was so unworthy; but, wonderful to tell, a startling change took place. The ceiling grew grand and high; the broken walls gave way for marble columns; the floor became inlaid with richest mosaics; the hut expanded into a noble palace; while the golden light, streaming in, revealed a table spread with a sumptuous banquet, where was every kind of healthful and inviting food. Narrowness, darkness, and poverty were gone; and breadth, light, purity, and riches abounded; and the youth, clothed in princely garments, sat down to feast with the king, while attendants, whose names spoke of Pardon, Peace, Joy, and Righteousness, girdled themselves to serve him. It was the King of kings seeking a lost child. The hut is the dark and sinful heart. To it the King comes, not asking for feeling or preparation or worthiness, but simply to be admitted; He brings with Him all that the heart can wish. The sinner needs but to receive Him; for it is written, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." (John 1:12).—The Herald of Mercy, The Youth’s Instructor, November 15, 1927. Quote: "Small minds have room for large prejudices."—Unknown, The Youth’s Instructor, December 6, 1927. *************************** Compiled by Dale Galusha. Please pass this newsletter on to others.