BEWARE OF GENERALIZATIONS
This letter is in regard to Bonita Joyner Shields' editorial, "Sin Boldly" (Sept. 9, 2004). While I do not disagree with the premise of the piece, I would like to address two issues: How others view us, and how we view ourselves.

Many of us Adventists live in vacuums and believe that whatever is happening in our little corner of the world is true of the world church. For example, if people aren't living out their faith boldly in the circles you find yourself, then Adventists are "fearful". We know that is not true. Many of our sisters and brothers are thinking and stepping "outside the box" everyday as they lose jobs, relationships, and in some parts of the world their freedom, or worse, for what they believe. Perhaps it's happening more in some places than in others, but it is happening.

We need to be careful in how we view the world church and not confuse it with one or two congregations or conferences or unions, for that matter. While I do not propose sitting back and ignoring problems, I do believe we need to be careful in the way we address them so as not to cause discouragement and dissatisfaction. The church is a living, breathing body, and as such, will undergo changes--some good, some not so good. Let us not forget to embrace and even emphasize the good while we boldly address the parts that are not. One way is to remember our mission and then take a glance at how the world church is accomplishing that.

Next, we should make ourselves a committee of one to spread the gospel wherever we can. The bottom line is that Jesus Christ is the Captain of this ship, and it is going through to a gloriously successful end--no matter how the world views it; which brings me to how we are viewed by others.

I have had people tell me that I am not like most Adventists, because their prior experiences were less than positive. But that's like saying, "You're not like most Black people." What does that mean? While I understand both phrases to be forms of a compliment, I have to ask myself, Why does the other person feel that way, and do I want to perpetuate the feeling?

Did Ms. Shields ever think that perhaps the Adventists the woman encountered before were being bold about what they believed and that is what caused the conflict? We want to be identified as children of God and followers of Christ. Sometimes that offends people and causes conflict--regardless of whether you are an Adventist or a member of some other denomination. The conflict comes from a decision to follow Jesus rather than wearing a label.

Beverly C. Evans

MAJORING IN MINORS
I was delighted to find the article "The Mosquitoes Are Out," by my old friend, Tom Kohls (Sept. 2004). We were roommates for a time at a small medical-missionary school in northern Georgia in the mid 1970s.

I have watched this scenario repeated over and over. Not only have I witnessed it, I have been in the role of the annoying insect, maybe even an arachnid at times. Church board meetings were experiences of distressing conflict over minor issues. They only seemed important at the time. One of my favorite pastors said, "Make sure that while you are getting the job done, you get the man done." As this lesson sank in, I began to value board and committee meetings as opportunities to build relationships with my brothers and sisters, not tear them down. Jesus paid such a high price for us to have freedom of choice and a point of view: how could I not respect and even encourage a person's difference of opinion? While I may disagree with his or her choice, I will work for their right to have that choice.

The SEEDS seminars have had a great impact on me, and I am grateful to be part of the development of a cell-based church where we covenant to concentrate on the worship, praise, and enjoyment of God, and the love, acceptance, and support of fellow believers. The many meetings that were necessary to organize the church have been experiences that have led us to know and love each other more fully. All along the way we had to rely on God's help to avoid the "gnats" of minor issues and keep to the task of discerning what God was doing so that we could be involved in it.

Stan McGee
Bryant, Alabama

SPEAKING OF SPORTS
Bill Knott's insightful editorial, "The Age of Sport" (Sept. 2004), hits the cleat right on the head. And, like a good sport, he chooses not to condemn or denounce, but to sincerely question.

I, too, question the priorities of our church, which spends many millions of dollars every year on "evangelism," while our church schools are forced to compete with public school systems for students who can afford to pay tuition in hopes of subsidizing a few of the many who cannot. I question the priorities of our education system, which has priced itself financially out of reach for the vast majority, but is now offering not only boys', but girls' sports in an effort to mimic and compete with public schools' limitless choices.

I question the priorities of many of our families who, too busy for family meals or worship, make time to transport kids to practices and games, raise funds for uniforms, equipment, and athletic trophies, and support our kids in all manner of creative and time-consuming ways, pursuing the twin holy grails of "good sportsmanship" and "quality time."

I pray that we might all follow Knott's advice to "bend a knee--all the way to the parquet floor," in fact both knees. Remaining a part of, yet apart from, our culture has never been more necessary, and never been more difficult than it is today. Praying for our kids, our schools, and our church has never been more necessary. May we decide which good race we want our kids to run. May we use our time and financial resources in pursuit of the real goal: Eternity with our kids, and Jesus.

Chris Hausted
Lincoln, Nebraska


"The Age of Sport" brought up an issue. Now that baseball season is over (please, tell me it is), what could hold more fascination for my 11-year-old son and his dad than the opening game for the Patriots (defending champions for two of the last three Super Bowls)?

And so my exile to the bedroom resumes; I, becoming more spiritual reading the Bible and other encouraging books, while my husband and son become more savage.

The reason for my "conscientious objection," however, is not the savagery that the sport encourages. When God told Moses to make a sanctuary that He might dwell among them, He designed it so that there would be a compartment where the high priest would enter one day a year to cleanse the sanctuary from all the sins that had been going in there all year. And on that day there was to be no work, not even eating. That's the kind of interest that was to be manifested in what the high priest was doing on that day. Not one distraction would do.

Well, now that we are living in the time of which that day was a symbol, how much more interest should we Adventists have in what Christ is actually doing right now in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary? Maybe if we adults took more of an interest in the solemn work in which our great High Priest is engaged, some of it would rub off on our youth? Instead of swatting mosquitoes, as Tom Kohls put it in the same issue, we could be engaged in lifting up Christ, and all men and women, boys and girls could be drawn to Him.

This will happen. Our Adventist conscience demands nothing less. Thank you for bringing this issue of worldly greatness to our consciousness (and conscience) so that we can settle once and for all why it is self-contradictory for an Adventist to seek for it.

Kristin McGuire
Limington, Maine

Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, and blessings upon the head of Bill Knott from whom I quote: "The assumption that professional sports . . . are compatible with the goals of a remnant people waiting for the coming of a Savior, must now be questioned, and with greatest urgency."

Christians take a major step toward faith in professional sports by accepting that we all compete and cannot help doing so. Perhaps we are not sufficiently aware that before sin and the devil no competition existed. Nor will it continue once God has rid the world of evil. Meanwhile, our Christian sanction of Satan's spirit, present as well in Little League rivalries as in Olympic spectaculars, grants legitimacy to so many kinds of fighting, over pucks and political positions, whether secular or otherwise.

God give us Christians who fantasize about a day when foresight and the guidance of the Spirit will be entirely liberated from personal expectation and calculation, when heaven's unexpected yet welcome intervention will protect us from conclusions so obvious that we know there is no need to pray about them. Give us such Christians, and bring us that day!

Lael Caesar
Berrien Springs, Michigan

IMPRESSED BY THEIR DRESS
I was inspired by the cover story, "Food to Eat That You Know Not of" (Aug. 26, 2004). What a beautiful way to show God's love by the sacrificial work of Henry Livergood and his co-workers remodeling and rebuilding the campus at Gran Sabana school in a remote area of Venezuela. I wish I could have joined this very worthwhile venture.

I was impressed with the picture of the workers taken at the end of the project, with the caption: "Tired and Happy." One would expect them in their work clothes, but they were still "giving their best to the Master" by posing in their best clothes.

May God bless these people of example and the school that was blessed by their work.

Velma Beavon
Dayton, Montana

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND THE SABBATH
I read with interest the articles by some of the leaders of the General Conference Religious Liberty Department (Christmas on Capitol Hill, Dec. 2003). My sympathies go out to the people involved. The Lord knows how many jobs I have lost or had to turn down because of the Sabbath. I know the hurt and panic, the rejection and, of course, the loss of income. To this day, I don't know how we survived. Twice we had to apply for temporary welfare just to pay the rent and have something to eat. This world is not at all sympathetic to the keeping of the Sabbath, especially the seventh day one.

If I could offer any encouragement, I would. But I can't. The situation will become worse, not better. Businesses now run on the idea that they must operate at full capacity six and even seven days a week. An employee who doesn't go along with this policy is not tolerated. Top management puts pressure on the immediate supervisor to maintain operational status. The supervisor, in turn, pressures the employee to produce at the maximum level possible.

An illustration: An employee has accepted the Sabbath and approaches management about taking off time to keep it. To comply, management must reschedule the whole department, which may or may not be possible under the labor contract. Management has no apparent reason to fire the employee. So the supervisor is instructed to start harassing the employee, hoping he or she will quit. Management knows there are contracts and laws with legal precedent regarding this. It also wants to operate its business with as few problems as possible; to management the business comes first. It looks for an excuse to rid itself of the problem employee. If this is a large firm, the situation will be turned over to the personnel director with the directive to find an excuse to fire the employee.

Let's say the employee decides to go to court and religious liberty people come to help. Let's say they win. Now management is forced to accommodate. Does this make management have any love for the employee? Now the employee is in for big trouble. Management will leave no stone unturned to rid itself of that employee. Constant harassment is one of the power tools used. Then head games come into play. Sooner or later the employee will break and leave. Management will rejoice. The personnel director will be instructed to review company policies and to carefully screen all applicants who might require time off for religious purposes and to not employ them.

What can be done to avoid this situation?

1. Unless you are one of those super-gifted who can and do get specialized education, you will have to work for yourself. To do so it is fast becoming mandatory to get at least two years training in business administration. This can be gotten at a community college or business school. Even night schools offer these subjects; they are available most everywhere. Trade schools are everywhere. Beware of mail-order schools. You need some kind of letter or certificate indicating that you took the training and that the school has state accreditation. If possible, get with a fellow believer and get some experience with the stated purpose that after a period of time you will go somewhere else to go into business for yourself. Be up front about this.

2. Going into a business for yourself is and will become more and more important. You have to gain control of your time; it is time that God requires of you. There are all kinds of opportunities out there. One that has opened lately is auto mechanics. The older generation of mechanics is handicapped owing unfamiliarity with computers. The time required learning to operate the computer takes longer to learn than the basic nuts and bolts. Add to this, in two years or less they change the computer, and you start over again. Another occupation in high demand is cleaning houses. This takes learning from one who does this, and then going on your own.

3. Get out of the big cities. There are thousands of little towns where property can be bought or rented. These places need services. You can make a good living in such areas as electrical repair, plumbing, painting, auto repair, cabinet making, or carpentry, etc. If you do a good job and charge reasonable rates you can make it and be in high demand. You will also be in control of your time.

Stick to towns that have populations of around six to eight thousand. It seems that Ellen White, more than 100 years ago, told people to get out of the big cities. There are those who, with their mouths put great store in what Mrs. White had to say, then pack into big cities and around Adventist schools. A word of caution: small towns are no less hostile to Sabbath keepers than big cities. Those who choose not to honor God will not tolerate you working for them, so work for yourself.

Another caution: do not go to a small town that has only one or two major industries. These "company towns" exist only for the benefit of big industries. Those industries make it a point to check out all who come to town to see if you will come when called. If you don't, they will see to it that you leave.

The future of the Sabbath keeper has nothing but trouble. Satan will make sure you either conform or suffer big time. Those who own their own business will not have it so hard and will be the last to be shut down. By gaining control of your time, you will have time for Jesus.

Arthur L. Watrous
Tonasket, Washington