| Author | Message | ||
| Pegg Registered user Username: Pegg Post Number: 524 Registered: 2-2006 |
http://www.e-gracenotes.org/article.php?id=2 Just regular protestants doing you a service. We hope you'll like it. They're doing real well with this pitch. The SDA elementary school in our town is full of other community kids. Pegg  | ||
| Animal Registered user Username: Animal Post Number: 699 Registered: 7-2008  |
Sounds like they want all the glory instead of giving the glory to God... ...Just my observation Animal | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2262 Registered: 8-2004  |
"Regular protestants" with "a strong parish ministry." Oh my! Methinks somebody got their dictionaries confused. | ||
| Pnoga Registered user Username: Pnoga Post Number: 310 Registered: 1-2007  |
Don't you know they have the truth? They just don't tell you the truth about this truth. Paul | ||
| Helovesme2 Registered user Username: Helovesme2 Post Number: 2264 Registered: 8-2004 |
LOL! Good one Paul! | ||
| Freeatlast Registered user Username: Freeatlast Post Number: 619 Registered: 5-2002 |
"mainstream"???!!! As mainstream as Mormons... "hope-filled"???!!! as in, "I hope I am saved"... | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10586 Registered: 12-2003  |
Freeatlast--EXACTLY!! And I know, as Pegg says, that in many places they're doing really well with this pitch. Their schools market themselves as Christian schools, and the unsuspecting come. Interestingly, however, somewhere during the 90s, they began putting "Adventist" into their school names intentionally. In fact, schools that had never had "Adventist" in the name suddenly had it. For example, Portland Union Academy (from where I graduated) became Portland Adventist Academy. The SDA colleges suddenly began sporting the word "Adventist". It was surprising to me; the schools had always "lain low" as if not wanting to advertise their "Adventism" to the public. But there was a surge of PR, or something, that wanted to advertise their denominationalism. Their bold, even prideful repackaging of themselves out there as regular Protestants but with a special day and identity and an enviable health message has actually worked to some extent. Have any of you seen that rather old movie about a person placed in a witness protection program--the movie is called, "Hide In Plain Sight"? I OFTEN think of that line, "Hide in plain sight", when I think of Adventism. Colleen | ||
| 8thday Registered user Username: 8thday Post Number: 1308 Registered: 11-2007  |
sorry this is off-topic.. but has anyone seen a History Channel show on Nostradamus? My husband caught it the other night - and they had an sda minister (not labeled as such, but we know of him) speaking on the significance of the number 7 in scripture - and Revelation. Instead of indicating his denomination, they used his personal ministry name. My husband was shocked to see him on there - he was the evangelist whose meeting founded the little sda church here in our town. so yeah.. just a regular guy! lol | ||
| River Registered user Username: River Post Number: 5694 Registered: 9-2006  |
Thats what they try to do, hide in plain sight. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7673 Registered: 3-2004  |
Just regular guys!!!!! NOT!!!!! Regular guys do not need a PR program to polish them up and make them them presentable. All a regular guy needs is a relationship with Jesus Christ. If I let myself, I can get so frustrated with their deceit. I know I cannot do anything about it. But I can ask God to show me how to educate others about what adventism really believes. I will let God have the frustration and let Him lead me to my unexpected adventures. Diana L (Message edited by Flyinglady on November 03, 2009) | ||
| Lrcrabtree Registered user Username: Lrcrabtree Post Number: 97 Registered: 1-2007  |
8thday, if it was Steve Wohlberg of White Horse Media, then it might be the same one that I saw, talking about the end times and the devastation to come. I've see a little of his stuff, and he never overtly identifies himself as an Adventist...kind of a stealth ministry, I think. Larry | ||
| Asurprise Registered user Username: Asurprise Post Number: 1084 Registered: 7-2007 |
They ought to say: "Yes! We have a wonderful prophet who has given us a wonderful health message where the adherent avoids the narcotics, which are tea and coffee (Ellen White calls them that in the book; "Councils on Diet and foods"), won't eat cheese (except at potlucks), won't eat a speak of food between meals (except for hot chocolate after going ingathering - if they still do that on cold winter evenings), makes sure they observe the wall that separates God's people from the Gentile nations around them - "nope, we don't eat pork!" (see Leviticus 20:24-26 where God gave Israel the food laws that showed Separation from the Gentiles and Ephesians 2:14-16; Acts 10; Romans 14:14 and 1 Timothy 4:1-5 that show that the law was fulfilled in Christ and the wall torn down.) They ought to say: "Yes! We have the Sabbath, though no one knows just how to keep it - we don't keep it the way ancient Israel did - we just do it our way! We invite everyone to our evangelistic meetings and don't tell what denomination is putting them on until the last! (When I was an SDA I was in favor of that because I didn't want anyone to get weirded out before they found out that it was the "One True Church!" I thought a little dishonesty was okay in order to bring people into the "truth!") They could also say: "Yes! Our wonderful prophet tells us that only PAST sins are forgiven and we cannot say we're saved because if there's any sin we haven't overcome at the end, we'll be lost! Oh, and don't forget those LITTLE sins - you know, like eating a snack in between meals; because even a LITTLE sin will cause you to be lost if you don't overcome it! And don't pay attention to where the Bible says the believer is SAVED and SEALED!!! Our prophet says otherwise and you know who's right!" | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10590 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hold the phone!!! Does Steve Wohlberg call his "ministry" White Horse Media?? Well isn't THAT convenient—just a mite similar to the White Horse Inn radio broadcast that is hosted and produced by Reformed Christians. Hide in plain sight, indeed..and deceive and confuse the unsuspecting all the way to the bank! Sigh--I guess I had heard this before, but it never "clicked" before now! Colleen | ||
| Pegg Registered user Username: Pegg Post Number: 527 Registered: 2-2006 |
Yes, Colleen, exactly what I thought! At first I couldn't find the name of White Horse Inn in my head because "White Horse Media" was blocking it out.  | ||
| 8thday Registered user Username: 8thday Post Number: 1311 Registered: 11-2007 |
And yes, that is the guy in the documentary too. He used to live in these parts. | ||
| Hec Registered user Username: Hec Post Number: 710 Registered: 3-2009 |
I suppose that if some one would decide to start a ministry called "It Is Also Written" the SDA would take him/her to court for trade mark infraction. Hec | ||
| Jeremy Registered user Username: Jeremy Post Number: 3074 Registered: 10-2004  |
"It Is Also Written" Sounds like a program based on EGW's writings.  Oh wait, that's what "It Is Written" is. Jeremy | ||
| Pegg Registered user Username: Pegg Post Number: 529 Registered: 2-2006 |
Pretty funny, Jeremy. My husband will turn on It Is Written or 3ABN when he wants to tease me. Since I tune out the TV, he just waits until it finally breaks through then I come out like, "What is THAT?" Pegg (Message edited by pegg on November 04, 2009) | ||
| Lrcrabtree Registered user Username: Lrcrabtree Post Number: 98 Registered: 1-2007 |
Wohlberg is going to be on the History Channel again this month on another documentary. I forget the topic, but if you're interested you can find more information on his website - not to be confused with White Horse Ministries - a Texas based motorcycle evangelistic club (now that's my kind of evangelism!!). | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7677 Registered: 3-2004 |
I just looked up, on a search engine, White Horse Inn, White Horse Ministries, and White Horse Media. Just reading the home pages I can see the difference. The Inn and Ministries lift up God and the media tells how good they are. The WH Media says nothing about adventism until you get to the last line about Wohlberg. There it tells what SDA church he attends. So if you do not look for it, you do not see it. Lost in plain sight. How true that is. That is the way I see it. Diana L (Message edited by Flyinglady on November 04, 2009) (Message edited by Flyinglady on November 04, 2009) | ||
| Pegg Registered user Username: Pegg Post Number: 531 Registered: 2-2006 |
I don't mean to be an ingrate and bite the hand that fed me. I received a very good education that has stood me well in the SDA educational system. However, I have 2 issues with the SDA school system as it now stands. 1). During my time, 25-45 years ago, the SDA school system had 2 goals. The first was to shape future SDAs and the second was to provide a useful education. Making sure your child would stay SDA was the clear and unapologetically stated goal #1 of sending your child to SDA school. Things have changed radically within the last decade. While these goals unquestionably remain, evangelizing non-SDA students and families to join SDA has taken equal (at least) priority with goal #1 and, as has been previously mentioned, the original goal of shaping their own kids into future SDAs is given less play. (It is my sense that internally the new goal of school-based evangelism is getting played up and garners much support amongst the constituents of the school.)As Colleen has stated, the marketing is good and the public unsuspecting. Unfortunately many of the people who are placing their children in these situations either do not have the resources themselves to identify the shortfalls or they feel they have no better choice, having run the course with the public school system. Sadly, marketing (or the word of an SDA acquaintance) is taken at face value with little personal research being done. This has been the case in our community. SDA school teachers are faced with classrooms of 25+ kids at 4 grade levels for whom they have to prepare multiple lesson plans every day along with a high percentage of lower ability and/or disturbed kids. Further, because of the Top Goal, tuition charges are kept to a minimum for even community kids resulting in inadequate material and physical resources. I want to be clear that I am in no way impugning the intellect or dedication of SDA schoolteachers. It is simply not possible for educational quality not to suffer under these circumstances. All of this is acceptable, however, because goal #1 is to "bring people into the kingdom." I have neighbors and acquaintances who send their kids to the local SDA school. This is a very delicate subject to raise. At least in our community, you can't just walk up and knock on the door of someone who you don't know and out of the blue disparage the choices they've made about educating their kids. I have found that I have to build relationships and wait for an appropriate opening. This happened with my neighbor only a few weeks ago. This is their second child to attend SDA school. A few weeks ago the wife made some small complaints to me about the dress code. This was not enough to initiate the full discussion, but when I met her husband on the sidewalk, I took the opportunity to follow up. I explained to him that the school existed for one main purpose, and that was to convert his son and the family to SDA. Now this hasn't happened in all the years of their kids going there, and I don't think they're very worried about it, but I further explained that the SDA plan is not just about right now. The thing that they know is that if they can plant their seeds in a child's head, even if they don't take root right away, later on when that child runs into a bump in life's road and is called to make a move to God the god he will know to turn to is SDA. Within a couple of days the mom called me to follow up on my conversation. The kid is now safely in another private school where the parents are paying several times as much tuition and the school staff is scrambling to help the child catch up to grade-level. I have another acquaintance whose child remains in the SDA school. With her, no amount of discussion seems to sway the day. I think this is an area of counter-evangelism, if you will, that we can all engage in. SDA schools market their pre-schools and kindergartens with flyers and personal word of mouth. When you see one of those flyers, just comment about what you know. This doesn't need to be a long theological discussion. I've found that just a couple of words like, "I know a lot of folks send their kids there, but I don't think they're really equipped to provide the quality of education people are looking for," will open the door. Someone standing near will say, "Why do you say that? My neighbor sends her kid there." Still, it doesn't take the gruesome story of a religious cult. Just say whatever objective stuff you know. The school is over taxed. Teachers overloaded. Too many special-problem kids. End up with their top #1 priority is evangelizing the family to SDA. You Will Find That Eyes Get Wider And Wider And By The End Of A Short Story There Is Often More Than One Listener. Pegg | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 10593 Registered: 12-2003 |
Pegg, you are totally right on. YES, we need to say these things to the people we know. And mentioning that the goal is to make them Adventists is REALLY important. Good for you. Colleen | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 7679 Registered: 3-2004 |
That is what I told our care minister and his wife when I found out there are Celebrate Recovery programs in SDA churches. I told them I do not trust adventists because their goal is not to teach Christ and Him alone, but they want to make adventists of anyone that comes near them. Diana L | ||
| Dennis Registered user Username: Dennis Post Number: 1822 Registered: 4-2000  |
THE EVOLUTION OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION Why are Adventist parents now sending their children to school before the age of 8 or 10? Why are SDA colleges and universities now offering majors in Early Childhood Education? Historically, as most of you already know, Seventh-day Adventists did not believe in Pre-school nor Kindergarten due to Ellen White's stern warning against it. Today Ellen White's advice on this matter is hardly ever talked about in Adventist circles. Obviously, SDA parents have decided that early childhood education is better than being incarcerated. I well remember that the age requirement for entrance into the local SDA elementary school was age 6 when our daughters were school age. However, some influential Adventist parents persisted and succeeded in having their children accepted at age 5. So, increasingly, exceptions were made to oil the most squeaky wheels.  Dennis Fischer |
