My family and I recently had the privilege of spending some time touring around Boston following a speaking appointment. Not being a city person, I had but mild anticipation. The primary goals were to expose my boys to some American history, and to have a couple relaxing days with friends. Both of those missions were accomplished.

But God, as He so often does, surprised me with an unexpected blessing and message.

That blessing and message? Freedom! 

As we drove and walked from place to place, I was repeatedly confronted with this most basic longing of the soul––American, or otherwise. The famous Boston walk is called The Freedom Trail. From Lexington and Battle Road, to North Bridge and the site of Paul Revere’s capture, the whole land is steeped in the grand quest for freedom.

God made us free to be free.

The human soul longs to be free, and in this sense American history is everyone’s history. That freedom is a universal and fundamental longing is easily demonstrated. One need only grab another human being suddenly and firmly …
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It is no secret to those who know me that I regard New Zealand as “the best country on earth.” I’ve been there four years in a row, and have no plans or desire to stop my annual visits. My most recent visit, which I’ve just returned from, was a wonderful blessing, as it afforded me many opportunities for ministry and fellowship.

Christchurch is New Zealand’s second largest city, and it was my first stop. I was looking forward to catching up with some of those who had been baptized as a result of our efforts over the past few years. As providence would have it, I was able to reconnect with more than a dozen of them. What a joy it was to see their bright, happy and energetic faces at church on Sabbath morning. I hadn’t alerted any of the three churches I visited about my arrival, so my presence was a genuine surprise. A good one, I hope!

My heart leapt with joy to see Debbie and her mother sitting in church soaking up the sermon. And Theresa and Collin …
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Sometimes we hear people say things like, “I need more of the Holy Spirit in my life” or “I want the fullness of the Spirit.” There is nothing direly wrong with this language, and yet it may evince a subtle danger in our thinking about the Holy Spirit. Sentiments like those above communicate, at some level, that we use the Spirit. If the Spirit were, as some suppose, merely a force, a power or some kind of divine energy, then perhaps this language and the underlying sentiments would be more acceptable, but this is not at all the case.

The Spirit is “the Third Person of the Godhead” (Desire of Ages, p. 671). This is manifestly clear language. Here is the statement in its larger context:

“The Spirit was to be given as a regenerating agent, and without this the sacrifice of Christ would have been of no avail. The power of evil had been strengthening for centuries, and the submission of men to this satanic captivity was amazing. Sin could be resisted and overcome only through the mighty agency of the Third Person of the …
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The ninth four-month Cornerstone class has come and gone. It’s hard to believe we’ve been at this for nearly a decade! Every class is special, I’ll be the first to insist on that. What made 2011’s class so special? I think it was a combination of several things, but two in particular come to mind. Let me share them with you.

First of all, the 2011 class is the first class we’ve ever conducted at our very own facility! Over the years, we’ve rented furnished corporate housing or summer camp facilities from other denominations, but not this year. This year we were in the new ARISE campus located in Jasper, Oregon. The facility, a former boarding academy, is absolutely perfect for our needs and the needs of our students. To be sure, we were saddened to hear of the academy’s closure; there can be no rejoicing when a Seventh-day Adventist institution closes its doors. The academy board, however, was persuaded that the time was right. We did not encourage their decision, but we did support it once it was made.

You …
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Even though it’s happened, I still can hardly believe it.

We merged. We moved. We’re here.

After months of conversing, praying, thinking, and planning, it happened. And, again, I still can hardly believe it. But here’s the good news, no great news: it’s going so much better than I thought it would. Being a perennial optimist, my hopes were high—sky high—and somehow my expectations have been exceeded. It’s comforting to know that I’m not alone in either my optimism or evaluation. The whole team is singing the same song.

Undeniably, this is a God thing.

You don’t just merge two long-standing ministries—complete with established ways of doing things, strong personalities, successful histories, and future plans—without incident. It just doesn’t happen; it can’t happen.

Until it does.

So here we are. The transition has been more than seamless, it’s been downright fun, exhilarating even. Already many of the “pros” we talked about prior to merging are materializing: joint projects, synergistic brainstorming, spirited fellowship, and directional planning. The future is looking bright, and the present is already pure joy. Hardly a day …
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A lot has happened since Part Two was written and posted, not the least of which is that ARISE has moved to Jasper, Oregon to merge with Light Bearers . (At least most of us have. Pastor Nathan Renner remains with his beloved church in Sonora, California but will continue to be a part of the ARISE team in important ways; Jeffrey Rosario has not yet made the trek, but will early next year after his wife, Marianna, finishes nursing school.)

Shortly after the move and the annual Light Bearers‘ Convocation (which was excellent, by the way!), my family and I fulfilled a lifelong dream by driving 2600 miles north to Alaska. This is where we are now. We’ll spend the next several weeks hiking, backpacking, canoeing, bird watching, fishing, and swatting mosquitoes. This is my last shot to finish this article before I disappear into the woods where there’s no internet access, so here we go with numbers 11-15…

11. REMEMBER THE CHURCH, THOUGH GOD’S, IS MADE UP OF PEOPLE

Fifteen years ago, when I joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I, like many others, held numerous …
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What a privilege it was to conduct the Week of Spiritual Emphasis at the General Conference World Headquarters earlier this year! Blessings continue to flow from that experience. One such blessing is the cover feature article for the current edition of the Adventist Review. One of the Review’s associate editors, Kimberly Luste Maran, took my second presentation from the week and turned it into an article. And she did a great job! It still “feels” like an oral presentation, but is also very readable. This was, I am sure, not easy to pull off. So my hat is off to the excellent team there at the Review. Thank you for the work you do for Jesus!

I hope you enjoy reading the article as much as I enjoyed preaching it!

The original plan was one blog with all fifteen points. Plan B was fifteen points in two blogs. Now we’re on Plan C: fifteen points in, you guessed it, three blogs. Life has a way of suddenly rearranging our otherwise perfect and precise plans. I’m sitting here surrounded by boxes on boxes. The packing is in full swing. Moving is neither easy nor pleasant. God willing, this will be our last move for a long, long time. With any luck all of our stuff will be either stolen, destroyed, or lost in transit to Oregon.

So back to the celebratory list for numbers 6 to 10…

6. GOD’S PROVIDENCE WILL NEVER LEAD YOU WHERE HIS GRACE WILL NOT SUSTAIN YOU

The plan was never for me to be an evangelist. I was simply taking a year off school to better understand and appreciate my newfound faith. Here I am fifteen years later, still on that “year” off of school. I preached my first full-length evangelistic crusade less than two years after my baptism. My victims were the kind and wonderful …
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Pastor Torres, complete with wetsuit, baptizing me in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Best day of my life.

It was June 6, 1996.

Five days ago was June 6, 2011.

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years ago, right now, seems like a long time. But time being the funny thing it is, it somehow, simultaneously and yet not contradictorily, seems like just yesterday. Fifteen years ago I was baptized. I remember it perfectly.

I remember what I wore. I remember the temperature of the water. I remember the smooth rocks on the river bottom and the mud squishing between my toes. I remember the singing of the assembled saints. I remember Mary’s smile. I remember the pastor wore a wetsuit. I remember thinking that was weird. I remember being afraid yet deeply satisfied, anxious and yet at peace.

I distinctly remember thinking more about the future than the past.

And, really, that’s how a baptism should be. It’s about what will be more than what was. Because though every …
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ARISE is thoroughly Gospel-centered.

ARISE is authentically Adventist.

Let’s be unmistakably clear: there exists no tension whatsoever between these affirmations. Both can be affirmed concurrently, absolutely, enthusiastically and unapologetically. Neither is threatened or crowded by the other. We don’t have to play one against the other, or emphasize one at the expense of the other.

So it’s not one.

Or the other.

But both.

Both.

Authentic Adventism is not “conservative” and neither is gospel-centeredness “liberal.” Both (there’s our word again) are biblical. And, in a sense, even identical. We’ll return to this last point.

Earlier this year I received an e-mail inquiring about my availability for a certain speaking appointment which included a query as to whether or not I could be less “conservative” for this particular appointment. I wasn’t quite sure how to respond. And I’m still not quite sure how to respond.

I, for one, am wearying of the bipartite portrait of Seventh-day Adventism as “liberal” versus “conservative.” It’s time to move on. Past time, actually. These are tired, tattered words. They are unnecessarily constraining, unimaginative, and just …
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