The following is the condensation of a devotional presented during the year-end meetings of the North American Division in Silver Spring, Maryland. We have left intact many of the elements of oral delivery.--Editors.

or our devotion this morning I direct your attention to Philippians 1:27: "But whatever happens to me, remember always to live as Christians should, so that, whether I ever see you again or not, I will keep on hearing good reports that you are standing side by side with one strong purpose-to tell the Good News" [TLB].

What are they saying about the church? They're talking about everything else-about the plight of the families whose loved ones were victims of the terrible tragedy on September 11, about the reaction of the Arabs and the Arab world to the Taliban, about a national identification card that U.S. citizens may need to use in order to maintain national security, about Michael Jordan's return to basketball, about anthrax and germ warfare, about the alarming rise in divorce. They're talking about all these things, but what are they saying about the church?

That, essentially, was Paul's question to the church at Philippi. He was concerned about what they (about what people) would be saying about the church.

Church Under Pressure
Philippi, located in central Macedonia and named after Philip of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great), was refounded as a Roman military colony; as such, it was under the Roman sphere of influence. The character and the ethos and the climate of Rome shaped, molded, and established the climate of Philippi. Its population was both Roman and Greek. But the opposition-and thus the suffering that, in part, occasioned this letter-was because of the Roman character of the city. Paul, endeared to this church as to no other, expresses no anxiety here that his Philippian friends might capitulate to false teachings, but that they stand firm under pressure.

But the decadence and the immorality and the filth of Rome had spread to Philippi. The prostitution, the homosexuality, and even the incest of Rome had fallen upon Philippi. The average Philippian, I suppose, like the average New Yorker or Washingtonian, was more concerned about being a part of the empire of Rome than of the kingdom of heaven.

Give Them Something to Talk About The Return, ACN's newest outreach resource, will premiere on Sabbath morning, February 23. Shawn Boonstra, copresenter of the series and speaker for It Is Written Canada, will introduce the satellite seminar during ACN's Adventist Worship Hour. Subsequent meetings will then be broadcast on six consecutive Wednesday evenings. Hundreds of churches throughout North America are expected to use The Return as one of their entry events, in preparation for the NET 2002 evangelistic event, In Light of Revelation, a full-message series beginning October 18. The Return consists of six half-hour satellite broadcasts that are to be followed by a study and discussion period led by local pastors. Study guide masters are available in both English and Spanish so pastors can make as many copies as needed for a particular site. The Return, a book coauthored by Henry Feyerabend and Shawn Boonstra, will accompany the guides. Feyerabend and Boonstra, speakers for It Is Written Canada, will team up to present The Return. Don Schneider, president of the North American Division, was one of the early supporters of satellite evangelism. "People get to know Jesus in lots of different ways," he says. "A Wednesday-night series like The Return is a great way to help people know about Jesus' second coming." The broadcasts, produced by Adventist Communication Network, will be seen live at 7:30-8:00 p.m. (ET), each Wednesday evening between February 27 and April 3. For more information, visit ACN's Web site, www.acnsat.org, or call 800-ACN-1119.

People found themselves obsessed with what had become the most popular question of the age, a philosophical question slipped in perhaps through the Greeks: What is truth? It came out of the belief that there were no absolutes. What is truth? What is goodness? What is evil? What is righteousness?

And in the midst of this cancerous, decaying, crumbling culture, God had a church in Philippi, borne on the backs of some God-fearing women. Because of a lack of church facilities in the city, they'd begun meeting down by the river for prayer on Sabbath morning. (It appears to me that women's ministry has been around for a long time!) The only link between Philippi and the kingdom of God was this little church.

And as Rome and Philippi were asking the question What is truth? this little ragtag Christian company dared to suggest that they had the answer! They dared to declare, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." [John 8:32, NKJV]. What is truth? Jesus Himself, they said, had answered that question when He said to Thomas in the fourteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" [verse 6]. And this little church dared to say, "We have the answer."

Paul's letter to them was predicated on the bond of affection they shared for one another. Theirs had been a partnership in the gospel from the very beginning. And that partnership had brought them to a point of mutual suffering. Imprisoned in Rome, Paul is in earnest to see them again. Listen to what he says: "I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ" [Phil. 1:8, NKJV]. He's concerned for his friends in Philippi and their ongoing relationship with Christ. In Romans, 2 Corinthians, and Galatians he's carrying on an argument with the church. But in Philippi he seeks only to exalt and to affirm and to give testimony.

He had to write to them because he wanted to encourage them in their suffering, and he needed to tell them that they were God's defense. "The world doesn't believe you," he said, "and they're going to be watching you. They want to fan your faults and your failures so they can say that our God is not the answer. They're going to watch you when you walk around dark corners. They're going to be watching where you drive your chariots late at night. They're going to be watching where you go and what you do and what you say. And if you let the church down, you're going to let Jesus down. And if you let Jesus down, you're going to let the kingdom down."

"So I want you"-Paul is talking to his church-"I want you to stand strong! I may come to see you and I may not come to see you, but if I don't come to see you, I'm going to be listening. I'm going to be listening to hear what they have to say about the church."

There are people in Washington-no, Philippi-who want to believe that there is an answer in the land, and they're going to be watching you. They're going to be talking. They-lonely they; rejected they; oppressed they; some politicians like Zacchaeus they; some prostitutes like Rahab and Mary of Magdala they, standing on lonely, desolate corners in Philippi-they're going to be watching you. They-tried and tested, falling and failing and depressed and discouraged, addicted and rejected, blind and forsaken and castaway-they are going to be watching you. And I'm going to be listening to what they are saying about God's church.

Don't Let Them
"Now, church, for heaven's sake, don't let them say you have no courage!" That's what Paul is saying to them. "Don't let them say that you have no courage in the face of strife!" On September 11, when the Twin Towers fell, the economic towers of the world were attacked. And some believers' faith went on holiday. Some church leaders wondered about the equilibrium of the church. That's why Edwina [Edwina Humphrey, who sang special music] needed to remind us, "He's got the whole world in His hands."

Wall Street does not support this church. This church has nothing to do with what happens on Wall Street. Don't let them say . . . that you have no courage in the face of strife. Don't let them say . . . that sin put you out of business. Don't let them say . . . that you hired a bunch of apologists to stand in your pulpits, and instead of speaking truth to the powers that be, you've crossed over and decided to play it safe and to be politically correct-why, if scientists can't support the Bible story of Creation, why should we expose ourselves to ridicule?

Don't let them say that you have given up on your prophet. How are you going to let some faithless scholar talk you out of your faith? Don't let them say that the church has no guts. I know you are opposed by a crooked and depraved generation.

Don't let them say that you are afraid of conflict. Don't let them say that you preach a gospel that keeps the peace at all cost. Don't let 'em say that. Don't let them say that the church has no courage in the face of conflict. Don't let them say that we're more concerned for margin than for mission. Don't let 'em say that.

Don't let them say that we have no strategic plan. When the U.S. government came under attack, its leadership went into a huddle and came out with a plan. The church of God is under attack. Can't we find some Camp David? some upper room? Must it be agenda as usual? Don't let them say that.

Don't let them say that we're more concerned for image building and window dressing than revival and reformation. Don't let them say that. Beware! The people are in pain. If they're lonely, then comfort them, even when it's not popular. If you've got a church that considers itself sophisticated and elite, you make the waters troubled and go out into the highways and byways and get some poor, blind, naked, broken, widowed, orphaned, and bring them into the church. You preach "Whosoever will, let 'em come." Don't let them say that the church has given up because the work is too hard.

In Orlando, in Nashville, in Dallas, in Detroit, in St. Louis, in Denver, in Los Angeles, in Silver Spring, and throughout North America-don't let them say that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't know how to suffer. That we're just fair-weather soldiers.

You've got to remind them that we were born out of suffering. You must let them know that we grow fat in suffering. Let them know that we suffer with Jesus because we're gonna be raised with Him. Let them know that if we die with Jesus, that we will live with Him! Let them know we're not afraid to suffer.

Don't let them say that there is no unity in the body. There were two sisters in Philippi, Euodia and Syntyche, who had been arguing in the Philippian church, and they were tearing the church up! I don't know how long they had been arguing; but issues, if unchecked, if left unresolved, can lead to division. These two sisters had some issues. My brothers and sisters, we can't ignore people's issues just because you don't think they're important.

If you do, it can lead to division-which is why Paul felt compelled to speak to it and sent Timothy to look into it. He had to set up a little taskforce to help them resolve it: Sisters, you've got to get that thing together! The whole city of Philippi is watching you. Don't let them say there's no unity in the household of faith. Don't let them say that about the church.

So what if you're from the country and I'm from the city? So what if you shout on your right foot and I shout on my left? So what if you cry when you get happy and I clap my hands? So what if you like gospel music and I like anthems? So what if you play a pipe organ and I play a Hammond or a guitar? So what if you like the King James Version and I like the New King James or the NIV? None of that makes any difference! It's Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.

Let's Bring the Question Home
What are they saying about the church? Well, that may be the wrong question. Maybe that question is too far away. What do "they" know anyhow? They're not in here. "Brethren, who do men say I am?" "Some say that You're John the Baptist." "Some other brothers down on the corner in Jerusalem say that You are Elias." "Well, I was out on the Sea of Galilee, and I heard some fisherman say You were Jeremias."

"Well, brethren, none of that really counts. They don't know Me. They weren't there when I opened up a supermarket with two fish and five barley loaves. They weren't there when I made a drugstore from the hem of My garment. They weren't there when I told Lazarus to get up out of the grave. But you've been walking with Me and talking with Me. You've seen Me heal the sick and raise the dead and cast out the devils."

So let's bring the question home: Who do you say I am? And what do you say about the church? You wonder why your children don't want to come? But what have you been saying about the church? When the stewardship director spoke about "10 + 10," your son was just a little boy, but he heard what you mumbled under your breath. What do you have to say about the church? Your daughter heard you when you were speaking so cordially to the woman at the church, and then she listened in when you talked about her all the way home. Talked about her like a bad person. Talked about her like a dog. What do you have to say about the church?

What I Have to Say
Well, I say this about it: It gave me my life, and so I decided to give it my life.

But you say to me, Preacher, you're looking through rose-colored glasses. You don't know my church! You don't know my conference! You don't know my union! You don't know the preachers that I have to work with! You don't know the laymembers in my field! You don't know my members! You don't know what I've been going through!

Oh, yes, I do. But my Bible tells me that there was a wise man who found a treasure in a field. And the Word said that he sold everything. But he didn't buy the treasure-he bought the field! Now, in that field there were some rocks and some wild trees. I don't know where these wild plants come from. I have some that grow in my yard, and I get out there and I work hard and pull them and snap them off, and I look up and they're back. The field in the parable had wild trees and weeds and some old dried-up bushes and some dirt and trash. But the wise person bought the whole field, because there was a treasure in that field.

I know the church is not all it ought to be. There's some trash in it. Because I'm in it! [laughter] And there's some mess in it. Because you're in it! [laughter] But I declare unto you that there's a treasure in this field, and His name is Jesus. And I made up my mind that I would take the field with all of the trash and all of the mess and all of the shortcomings and all of the backbiting and the undercutting and the politics and the trials and the heartache and the headache, because the treasure in the field makes the trash and the mess all worthwhile.

What do I have to say about the church? Glad you asked. I was hoping you wanted to know. Do you ever think about it? The church 1-1 not your brick and mortar, not your institutions and your businesses. I'm talking about the gathering of the community. What do you have to say about the church?

Well, for me-not for you, but for me-the church is my everything. I get happy when I think about the church.

"I love Thy church, O Lord, The house of Thine abode, The church our blest Redeemer saved With His own precious blood. "I love Thy church, O Lord, Her walls before Thee stand, Dear as the apple of Thine eye And graven upon Thine hand. "For her my tears shall fall, For her my prayers ascend. To her my all and toils be given 'Til toils and cares shall end."

I get passionate about things I believe in.

You see, the church is my restaurant. "Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more." The church is my hospital. It heals my hurt and soothes my wounded spirit. The church is my psychiatrist. I don't have to pay to go to some counselor. I can come to Jesus! Great Counselor, mighty God! I can go and sit down on a pew-go in feeling down and leave filled with joy. I started to say the church is my dance hall [laughter], but you wouldn't understand that. But when I get down, start feeling a little low, I can come into God's house and I can get a praise on! You don't know what I'm talking about. [laughter] The church is my flower shop. The rose of Sharon and the lily of the valley. The church is my bridge. It takes me over some troubled times. The church is my rock in a weary land, cooling shade on the desert sand. The church is the joy of my salvation. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. It's the old ship of Zion-yes, it is! I declare it is. Maybe it's an airport, for I heard someone say it has landed many a thousand. It has landed many a thousand.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel. That's what Paul said. Did you think I was talking to the Philippians? I wasn't. I believe that that's what he's saying to you and me. Conduct yourselves-Alvin, conduct yourself-in a manner worthy of the gospel you preach. And then, whether I come to see you or not, I will keep on hearing the good reports that you're standing side by side with one strong purpose. Pull Quote: Don't let them say that we're more concerned for image building and window dressing than revival and reformation.

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Alvin M. Kibble is a vice president of the North American Division, with headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.