THE MORAL OF STORIES FROM REAL LIFE
I just wanted to express my appreciation for Kent Hansen's call to "keep it simple" ("Giants," May 29, 2003). He taught me the same principle in his course, "Legal Aspects of Education," when I was a doctoral student at Loma Linda University 20 years ago.

I am encouraged that Attorney Hansen continues to balance his career, family, and relationship to God around simple, not simplistic, faith.

John K. McGhee
Sabbath School & Personal Ministries Department
Northern Asia Pacific Division
Korea

In regard to "Tammy," we all have different abilities. And we shouldn't use the word "retarded." Some people have physical disabilities, some have mental disabilities. But we all have a purpose here.

Mary Workman

MIDDLE OF THE ROAD GRACE
In reference to Jonathan Gallagher's "Killing Grace" (May 22, 2003), we may do well to consider that in the context of His day Jesus was neither a liberal or a conservative.

He was, in fact, killed by a coalition of liberals and conservatives. The liberals (Sadducees) hated Him because He was so principled. The conservatives (Pharisees) hated Him because He was so kind. In the context of the challenges that face the church it is important that we don't appear to exonerate "liberalism."

I think it was Andrew Murray who wrote that if legalism has killed its thousands, antinomianism has killed its ten thousands. In the twenty-first century it is imperative that we don't allow ourselves to be thrown from one extreme to another. The time has come to find the middle of the road--the right road.

Richard O'Ffill
Orlando, Florida

PASTORS' PAY
After reading one pastor's plaintive letter ("On Remuneration," p. 2, May 8, 2003) and the remuneration report for church employees in North America (p. 19, May 15), I wonder if our ministers and committees are out of touch with members' incomes. When pastors earn more than most in their congregations, yet complain about it and vote themselves a raise, they risk demotivating donors.

The May 15 issue reported base remuneration for ordained ministers in 2003 to be $42,901. Cost of living adjustments increase this (e.g., to $53,932 in Washington, D.C.). If one accounts for benefits--including educational assistance for dependents and the tax break for "parsonage allowance"--the effective total compensation is considerably higher.

According to the U.S. census (www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p60-218.pdf), median earnings for male full-time workers in 2001 was $37,355. Median household income in 2001 was $42,228 ($41,771 in Washington, D.C.). Ninety percent of the top quintile of households lived in metropolitan areas; this top quintile earned at least $83,500, but 78 percent of these households had two income earners. By these measures, the income of ministers in North America is significantly higher than median individual earnings, and higher even than the median household income, even if the pastor's spouse doesn't earn income (whereas approximately 50 percent of median households had two income earners). If 78 percent of pastors' spouses earn income, the average metropolitan pastor's household income might well reach the top quintile of households.

Many Adventist congregations are blessed with doctors, lawyers, and other highly compensated professionals, thanks in part to our educational system. Perhaps this leads some pastors to make unrealistic lifestyle comparisons and live beyond their means.

Is it possible that the real issue isn't inadequate base pay, but that pastors are demotivated by a system that tolerates mediocrity and doesn't reward superior performance or higher education? Is it possible that pastors see money wasted in unnecessary layers of church bureaucracy or financial scandals and figure they'll never see resources in the field that would enable them to carry a reasonable workload and enjoy church growth rather than barely hanging on in multi-church districts?

I'm not sure why ministers complain about salaries, but I suspect that committees in the General Conference and North American Division have failed to address the root cause.

Robert Johnston
Lake Jackson, Texas

I am retired minister, having spent 20 years as teacher and principal. When I started teaching I was not permitted to buy a house and neither was I considered a "worker." So like S. Peter Campbell we too had to be budget-conscious every month. I concur whole heartedly with Pastor Campbell.

Stephen Yost

PUMPED ON PROPHECY
You provided some stimulating reading in the May 20 issue. Thank you. "Israel and Armageddon" stimulated me to go to my stacks and find a book of Steve Wohlberg's that I had put off reading. Good stuff; timely; well written. Got any more?

Merlin Nichols
Chetwynd, British Columbia

THE BIBLE ONLY?
In "A Peculiar People?" (May 15, 2003), Michael Peabody wrote that Adventists are "subjected to the Word of God alone." In Questions On Doctrine (Review and Herald, 1957) the editors proclaimed that "Seventh-day Adventists hold the Protestant position that the Bible and the Bible only is the sole rule of faith and practice for Christians" (p. 28), and they assiduously avoided referring to Ellen White as "authoritative" (chapter 9).

In Seventh-day Adventists Believe: 27 Fundamental Doctrines (Review and Herald,1988], in chapter one, "The Word of God," the words "sole" and "only" are conspicuously absent. In chapter 17, "The Gift of Prophecy," it states that Ellen White's writings are "authoritative." This doctrinal shift does nothing to diminish accusations that Seventh-day Adventists are cultic.

Michael Caplinger
High Ridge, Missouri

PROTECTING OUR ASSETS
As a former church treasurer, I was rather surprised that the denomination hasn't seen the necessity of bonding all church treasurers ("Church Frauds Trouble Leaders," Adventist Review web exclusive). I personally knew of one who absconded with all the local church's funds due to a personal family tragedy.

I was never tempted to take even a single penny from the treasury; they belonged to the Lord, and taking from it would have been a sin and a blot on the character of the church--not to mention the loss of trust by others in me.

Unfortunately, we are all subject to temptation, and when it comes to money, many, unfortunately, are not able to withstand temptation--even church treasurers.

We had one situation in the church where I was treasurer where funds should have gone directly into funds handled by me as treasurer. But money had a way of disappearing from the place where the funds were stored. I am certain that a church member stole the money, but no one ever came forward to admit it. How sad!

I heartily endorse bonding church treasurers of all our churches, large and small, whether a paid position or not. This needs to be promptly remedied by the corporate body.

Dick Arthur

FIGHTING BACK
I am deeply offended by the column "Christians at War" (Apr. 10, 2003). According to Angel Manuel Rodriguez, I am a bad Adventist and Christian because I am in the military without being drafted; and would take up arms against a threat if ordered to do so. (Thank God, I haven't; but I would.)

Members in the military need to be supported, not condemned for their choice. We fight to attain that ultimate peace the author talks about--for our nation and others. Would Rodriguez have us fight only when the United States is directly attacked (which it was on September 11) and let the rest of the world go downhill? Wasn't that the thinking of the Jews, that they should keep to themselves and not try to help others, which Jesus condemned in the parable of the Good Samaritan?

Regarding maintaining Adventist practices while in the military, Rodriguez seems to be ill-informed. As in any occupation, there are those who do not understand the desires of people of faith, Adventist or otherwise; but the military does what it can to accommodate us within reason. Yes, I have had to work on Sabbath, but those of other beliefs have also had to work on their holy days. When working on the Sabbath has been flexible, a simple explanation and an offer to work another time have been sufficient for me to gain some leeway. There is a rule in the military that a person cannot be given extra duty as punishment on their day of worship. I have even seen people receive an allowance to support special dietary needs when galley food has been found to be lacking.

We don't condemn pastors or doctors for working on the Sabbath; neither should we do so with the military. One can argue that pastors and doctors enjoy biblical precedence for working on the Sabbath. So does the military. Joshua led the Israelites against Jericho for seven consecutive days before the city fell. One of those days must have been the Sabbath. And even when the Israelites were enjoying a time of relative peace, the Israelites staffed watch towers on the city wall continuously, Sabbath or not.

The military provides protection and security on a national level, like the police and firefighters do on a local level. We would not watch our church burn down because it was after sundown Friday. If your house were broken into on Sabbath, would you insist the police only send a non-Adventist to investigate?

Articles like this seem to say military members aren't desirable for conversion unless they intend to defy the commitment they made to the government. When answering the Pharisees' question regarding the payment of taxes, Jesus recognized that we owe a duty to our government as well as to our God, as long as the first does not overrule the second. Adventists are welcome to believe that military service is contrary to this teaching, but they should not sit in judgment of those who believe differently.

During my time as an Adventist, I have gone to churches with large military populations, so that only once or twice have I felt my decision questioned in person. But several times, due to articles in our publications, I have wondered if congregations not located near a military base would be so welcoming. Thankfully, other religions are not so harsh to their military members. It is ironic that the military accepts me as an Adventist; but I question whether Adventists really accept me because I'm in the military.

Sara Ann Kreps

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR
As a lifelong Adventist, from a long line of Adventists, I'm delightfully shocked at the quality and content of the messages I see coming from the Adventist Review. They reflect the real world out here and support our growth and challenge to the status quo.

I'm amazed that I am actually hearing this level of thought, faith, and theological understanding from my own church. I have been out here on the fringes of the mainstream so long that it is heartening and startling to hear my own thoughts voiced in the church paper. It's also an interesting invitation to reinvest in the system.

Jan Wesselmann