HOME / PROCLAMATION! MAGAZINE / 2009 / FALL / EDITOR'S COMMENTS

FALL 2009
VOLUME 10, ISSUE 4

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D E P A R T M E N T S

Editor's COMMENTS

Reflections on the journey
Richard Tinker

 

The magazine you hold in your hands is a result of God's faithfulness and provision. But then, this whole year has been filled with God's glory and love as he cared for this work.

Our last issue published was the May/June issue; and as I write this, we are days away from Thanksgiving. Why the long lapse? It has everything to do with our supporters being impacted by the downward move of the economy. But recently the supporters responded to the need, making it possible to resume publishing this magazine.

I want to share with you a few of my experiences from the Tour of Encouragement this past summer. I admit that when Dale Ratzlaff suggested the idea of a cross-country odyssey, I was doubtful I would be involved. But God had other plans.

The first trip was a day drive to Auburn, California. I was amazed by the warmth I felt from people I had never met. I suspect my experience with other former Adventists is similar to my Korean War veteran father's attachment to the other vets he enjoys talking to endlessly—only better. We not only share the same "war stories" from Adventism, but we now share the same Spirit of God Who gave us our new birth into the body of Christ. By the end of our Auburn meetings, I was hooked.

The second trip involved driving to Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, and then home. It was fun touring the campus of Union College and driving through the local Adventist community. It amazed me that the Adventist sector of Lincoln looked so much like the communities around Pacific Union College and Loma Linda University. Apparently many Adventists in each community built homes with the idea that Jesus would be coming very soon.

The people in Lincoln were wonderful. Pastor Bryan Clark of our host church was so supportive of this work. I especially enjoyed the fact that although he pastors a mega-church, he, like me, is shy. The high point at Lincoln was discovering that a woman that attended our meetings had trusted Jesus alone and had been born again.

Our next stop was Michigan. We had heard through the Adventist grape-vine that things would be much more difficult for us near the Adventist seminary at Andrews University, but instead, we found the largest and most supportive audience there. As a result of our meetings, our host church, The Chapel, now hosts a weekly Former Adventist Fellowship.

In addition to meetings, we toured the important Adventist sites including Camp Au Sable, Historic Adventist Village in Battle Creek, and Andrews University, where we joined hands and prayed for the release of the captives. It was a huge blast from the past to eat in the Andrews cafeteria with all the varieties of meat-like dishes.

Our next stop was Miamisburg, Ohio. What the group lacked in numbers they more than made up in big-hearted warmth and hospitality. We were taken on an inside tour of Kettering Medical Center as well as the Dayton Adventist church and surroundings. We were surprised how much Kettering reminded us of Loma Linda—except for Kettering's openly serving real coffee in the hospital lobby.

The last destination of the Tour took us south to Alabama, where we presented our meetings at Whitesburg Baptist Church, one of the largest churches in Huntsville. We enjoyed the good food and southern warmth, as well as meeting so many brothers and sisters in Christ. In addition to the meetings, we toured the campus of Oakwood University, the Adventist denomination's African American university. We were once again faced with the segregation of races that still occurs within Adventism. Praise the Lord that we are all one race in Christ!

We are making plans for future tours, and we hope to meet many more of the readers of Proclamation! In the meantime, we invite you to join us in Redlands from February 12–14 for the fifth annual Former Adventist Fellowship weekend, "Defending the Faith".

This issue marks the last issue of 2009. Our board is meeting in a few weeks to seek the Lord's direction and wisdom concerning the frequency of issues for 2010.

Pray with us that Life Assurance Ministries will fulfill the mission that God has ordained. And we will continue to pray for all of you, our readers, that you will follow Jesus, no matter the cost. †

 

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