| Author | Message | ||
| Ernie |
Thanks Colleen and Susan for your support, your words of encouragement mean a lot for me and my wife. God is working wonders in our lives and opening doors we never imagined would be opened for us. God's power is so real in our lives, and His faithfulness has no limits in blessing us. My wife was a teacher in the SDA system, now she is completing a double degree in another area of education. I have been active in ministry like never before. I am conducting seminars on how to bring SDA members to the knowledge of God's grace. I am teaching at an evangelical seminary and very soon, by God's grace, will start a pastorate here in my hometown. Please pray for us, and ask for the Lord's health and strength to keep doing His will. Let us keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Let us seek His power in our lives daily, and keep our lives under His wonderful care. What we need is a daily experience with Him. That's the key of our spiritual victories. In His grace, Ernie | ||
| Thomas |
Ernie, We have all been through similar situations. Yours, has the added validity of being a pastor who has gone on to learn of grace and faith and remain in active ministry, trying to help other "beggars find your source of bread". I would really like to read your story. Perhaps an addition to the "story" section of this forum? May you continue to walk toward the light. Jesus, the only source of our salvation! In His Grip Thomas | ||
| Ernie |
Thank you Thomas. I am planning to write a book on the subject. But for your benefit and that of other individuals like you, let me give an abridged version of our own experience. I grew up SDA; and for a reason I do not know yet, God led me to Adventism as my introduction to the knowledge of Christ as my personal Saviour. I went to primary and secondary SDA schools. I went college and seminary in the Adventist system. While I was completing my BTh I had to do a research paper on the early Chirstian worship. When I began my research I thought it was going to be a great tool to disarm the arguments of those who met on Sunday for worship. To my surprise I found evidence that the early Christian community worshipped on Sunday as a celebration of the Lord's Resurrection. I spent an entire semester working tireless on that paper. When I saw that my findings were in total opposition to the SDA position, I went to the instructor of the course who advised me to keep quite if I wanted to have a future in the SDA ministry. Or course, I was an inexperienced young man, with heart to do God's work and with a real calling to preach the Gospel. I kept quite for many years. I tried to put that research in the back burner. However, God kept working in my life and leading me to new sources and new historical evidence about the early worship of the Christian church. During my seminary years, I did further research on the subject. It was then that God led to the conclusion that Adventism had a flawed historiography on the question of Sabbath and the Lord's Day. Once I arrived into that conclusion, I began an earnest research on other areas of the Adventist theology such as: Sanctuary, the Investigative Judgement, the role of EGW in the church, the eschatological scheme of Adventism, etc. After that period of research I could not, in good conscience, remain an Adventist minister. The pressures were big. The transition was painful, but God showed us the depths of His love. We began attending a good church, with sound biblical doctrine, and God opened doors through that church for a teaching ministry in an evangelical seminary. I began teaching there about one year and a half after leaving my last pastorate. God sustained me in such a powerful way that I even finished my PhD during that transition period. My wife lost eventually her job as an Adventist teacher, but now she is about to graduate with a double major in two areas in education. Right now, we are conducting seminars all over the world on how the witness to SDA members. Actually, tonight we begin a series of meetings in a church on how to minister to SDA individuals. As you may see, God is wonderful! His power is real and his love is endless with those who fear Him. We praise God with all our hearts for His grace. May His Name be glorified forever! In Christ, Ernie | ||
| Bruce H |
Ernie We in this group feel the calling from God to give the saving Gospel to the Adventist people. If we could assist you in any way let us know. B | ||
| Lydell |
So Ernie, what do you think is the key, or the first thing that gets the attention of most SDA's? Do you see amongst those with whom you've had contact a common link of the first issue that God raises to get folks thinking? Many here, at least I think that's where the discussion was, say that it is suspicions about EGW having plagiarized much of her writings. We were Christians before we went to the denomination, and I was always annoyed with EGW and largely ignored her. Too bad, if we had paid more attention, we wouldn't have been there as long. We do servant evangelism with our church and lately I have been toying with the question of just what would I say if confronted by the, "no thank you, I keep the sabbath" comment. There's still a knee jerk reaction of knowing that I'd want to grab them by the shoulders and say, "GET OUTTA THERE! God has way more for you somewhere else!" Hmm, probably wouldn't be the best way to begin a conversation, huh. haha And yes, I do realize that everything said has to be under the promptings of the Spirit first and foremost. Maybe this would be a good thread of discussion for everyone. What is the one scripture that most needled you as an SDA? | ||
| cas |
Ernie, Please tell where you are having these seminars and When are you having them? Can you give me some good advice on how is the best way to study the early church and Sabbath. Adventist's claim the Pope changed the sabbath from Sat. to Sun. Did you study this issue in particular? I would like to check into this myself but am not sure which resourses would be best. Thanks for any advice you give. God Bless. | ||
| Ernie |
Hello Cas! Well I'm having the seminars all over the world. Right now, I'm conducting one in Montreal, Canada. Next month is going to be London, England. In the new year we are planning to have some in the States and Latin America. Our main problem is that we do not have a large budget to take all the requests we receive yearly. I think that if you leave your email address with the webmaster of this site, he knows how to reach me. Regarding your question on the early Christian church and the Sabbath, there are the writings of the Church Fathers. Especially, what we call the Apostolic Fathers. These writers are individuals who lived about two hundred years before Constantine, and some of them describe the way Sunday services were celebrated. Others, give theological arguments for Sunday worship, etc. Cas, these findings were the first in a chain of discoveries that led me out of Adventism. A very good source is: Lightfoot, J. B. The Apostolic Fathers. J. R. Harmer, ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1978) The Ante-Nicene Fathers (This is a collection that gives all the writers before the Council of Nicea. Check the indexes for the words Sabbath, Lord's Day and Sunday. Be ready to spend many hours of intense reading. The results will be great). As secondary sources: Carson, D.A. From Sabbath to the Lord's Day. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1984. This is just to begin with. If you need further references just let me know. God bless you, Ernie |
