| Author | Message | ||
| Nate |
Well, everyone, I have seemed to fade out of the picture for a while. I have been studying, praying, researching, and exploring. My wife and myself have been on quite a journey. But the time is at hand. We can no longer lead our church as a Pastoral team. We believe God is calling us out of the SDA church to become part of the larger christian community. This has been a difficult process, but we know the Lord is leading us. He has been so good to us at every step of the way. This weekend we are making public our resignation. We have already discussed this with our conference president. We are not sure where we will go at this time, but we do know that God is in control. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us! Please don't stop now! We are so grateful for our friends who have been so good to us. We know God will use us and provide for us. May God bless you all! God bless, In Christ, Nate | ||
| Lori |
You know, Nate, it takes a lot of courage to take a stand like you are taking! But I know that you are not in want of courage for your courage comes from the power source of Jesus Christ. I think there comes a time for each and everyone of us to take a stand. A time when we must proclaim it loud and clear--I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST! Lori | ||
| Sherry2 |
Thank you for sharing, Nate. We will be praying for you. God's blessings to you as well. Keep us updated. And thanks for your honesty. Here, here to Lori. That's what taking the stand really means doesn't it? We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. "Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh what a fortaste of glory devine. Heir of salvation. Purchase of God....." | ||
| Colleentinker |
Nate, I've been wondering how things were going for you. Thank you for sharing with us. I remember saying to Richard when we left, "What if we lose the house?" He responded, "God is is control. If we lose our house, he will have something else for us." We didn't lose the house, and what He provided for us was beyond anything we could have imagined. We will continue to pray for you. We will also pray specifically for your sermon this weekend. This is an act of courage, as Lori said, and faith. God will bless your words and your integrity. Praise Him for walking with you through this vulnerable and liberating time! Colleen | ||
| Lydell |
Nate I was just wondering about you, and praying for you, yesterday. Guys, you know, it's always such a blessing to hear someone say they are praying for you, but we have all discovered the difference it makes when we can actually hear the prayers they are praying. So how about joining me here? Father God, you are so good to us, so merciful, so incredibly patient, so overwhelmingly kind. And Father, we just bow before your majesty right now. Father, all of us here can remember what those days were like before we left the SDAs. There was such a sense of uncertainty, and we know that for a pastor who is leaving the burden is even more enormous. But God, we have seen what you can do. We know that you have such awesome things in store for Nathan and his family. And we are so excited for him. The freedom is so sweet, so delightful. In Jesus name we are asking that you will show yourself strong on behalf of Nathan and his whole family, the extended family as well. You have heard the cries of their pastor hearts. They long to be able to give some of what they have learned to the members of the church before the must leave. Something that will last, take root, and spring to life. So we ask that you send your Spirit right now to Nathans home. Make his spiritual hearing keen to catch all your promptings for what you would have him to say. Bring before his eyes the particular verses you would have him present. Let him KNOW that he KNOWS as he works on his sermon that it is your Spirit that is writing it, that this work is really out of his hands and in yours instead. And Father, we stand together with Nathan praying that you will prepare the times of divine appointment for the people you want in that service. Lord we all know that there will be folks there who wouldn't listen if Christ himself were standing before them. But God, we know there are others whose hearts you have been preparing to move into greater truth. And we ask that you send your ministering spirits to them these next couple of days to soften their hearts and minds to be ready to receive the seeds that you ARE going to sow thru Nathan and his wife this weekend. You have promised that your word will never return void. And we claim that promise for Nathan and his wife. We don't know how long it will take for these seeds that are planted to grow, but we stand believing that there will be growth! So we ask that the seeds that are planted will be sealed in the listeners and protected from all negative comments that they may hear later. Cause those seeds to continually niggle at the thoughts until folks are driven into your Word to find truth. Lord, we ask that you will open your hand of provision and that Nathan will be guided to the employment that you have already planned out and been preparing for him. Open his thoughts to your thoughts. Make him receptive to even the ideas that have never occurred to him before. Lord when we were leaving the denomination you gave us your promise: You will hear my voice behind you when you turn to the right or the left saying, "this is the way walk in it." And I thank you that you love them as much as you did us and are going to keep that same promise in their lives as well. Father, we thank you that you are freeing another of your children to walk in the sweet and complete light of your gospel. Nathan, I heard a speaker make a comment recently about facing those times of difficult actions that we must take. I thought that it was pretty powerful. "All of us have to come to the point of realizing that God created us for this particular time, for this place, to do this particular task that He places before us, in the way and in the words that only we as an individual can speak. We can make the choice to shrink away and not act as boldly as we might have. But someone we know is waiting on the other side of our obediance. We just may be the person who can speak to someone in just the way that they as an individual think, and so we can be used to move them maybe just one hour closer to freedom." God IS going to do something amazing thru you this weekend. | ||
| Colleentinker |
Lydell, what a wonderful idea; I'll join you in praying right here for Nate and his family. Dear Father, you know the plans that you have for Nate and his family, plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them hope and a future. Thank you for guiding them to this step of their future. Help Nate and his wife to experience your love deeply in their hearts as they go into this weekend and out of their congregation. Please speak through them, and help them to give you the fear and the anxiety and the nervousness. Help them to trust your love, and help their trust and security to speak to their friends and parishioners. Please put your words in their mouths, and help them to think your thoughts and to know the truth you want them to express, and help them to experience you in a new and deeper way as they prepare for this weekend and as they go through it. Please put this certainty deeply in their hearts and minds, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ." Please protect them from spiritual attack and distraction. Put your Spirit in them, and surround them and the church with your angels. Please glorify yourself through this whole experience, through their marriage, through their faith, through their trust as they walk into the yet-unseen future. I praise you, Father, for bringing them to this point, for revealing your truth to them, and for helping them to know when the time was right for them to leave. I praise you for choosing them and for saving them and for giving their children the opportunity to grow up in freedom in You. I ask that you bless them and bring them with confidence to the work you already have planned for them. Thank you for bringing them into our lives and for giving us the privilege of upholding them in prayer. Please help their love for you and their confidence and trust in you to grow. Expand the freedom that they are experiencing, and help them increasingly to walk in Your rest. I praise You, Father, for making us Yours and for being our Lord. I praise you for making us Your body. Thank you that you do not leave us when you have chosen us, but that your love and relationship with us will grow for eternity. Thank you for making Nate and his wife and children our forever brothers and sisters. Amen. Nate, God will use you this weekend. His words will be in your mouth. He will use this opportunity to glorify himself. Praise Him! Colleen | ||
| Dennis |
Nate, If I remember correctly, you have two or three pastor friends that have varying degrees of difficulty with Adventist theology. It is my prayer that they will be greatly influenced by your noble example in leaving Adventism. I have utmost respect for someone that pursues Biblical truth despite any monetary and/or social implications. Hopefully, your example will inspire some members in your congregation to leave as well. It is important that your church family fully understand the reason for your leaving (i.e., theological considerations alone, NOT some personal incompatibility with anyone). They often say people only leave because they are BITTER about something or someone did them wrong. Your leaving for Biblical reasons, should really create quite a stir among them and your fellow pastors. Welcome to freedom in Christ! God has great plans for you and your family. Indeed, you are a catylst for truth! May God continue to richly bless your able leadership. Praying for you, Dennis J. Fischer | ||
| Windmotion |
Dear Nate, Can I say "Wow." I had been wondering why you hadn't been posting. It is so awesome that your wife and you are together in this. This is my prayer for you both, taken from Philippins "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God. Hannah | ||
| Windmotion |
This is a link to a testimony by a former named david dePinho I thought was very thought provoking. According to his testimony (which is very recent as far as I can tell) he was led away from sdaism by Clay Peck. Does anyone know him? Anyways, great story, check it out!! http://www.ellenwhite.org/testimonydd.htm --Hannah | ||
| Bmorgan |
Hi Hannah, You and I must have been reading the testimony at the same time. I clicked on last night, and finished reading it this morning. It's Awesome and compelling! Classic story, profound testimony! It debunks the myth that people leave adventism because they are angry and dissatisfied. Most people become angry when they discover they believed seemingly obvious lies for so long, and defended it so well. The shame, grief, loss of identity and the pain of separation from something much loved is disheartening. Yet, the joy of being in Christ overshadows the shame, comforts and heals the hurts, and opens up a world to you that settles the confusion that troubled(s) the soul. For each person the time of healing is different, but joy does come. I admire David's honesty of heart and determined courage to research and rethink his already "solid" theology. I am of the opinion that people honest in heart and truthful to themselves and God, find it unsettling and difficult to remain a member of the adventist church once they come face to face with the truth of the gospel as it in Christ. It is my belief also that your impact on people in the church is greater and more far reaching if you leave. Members may ostracize, ignore, be angry and/or even try to win you back to their "truth", but it hard to ignore and wonder about the peace of God in your life. I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Bmorgan | ||
| Nate |
Dear FAF friends, Thanks for all of your prayers and words of comfort. It was so good to hear from all of you. Especially the thing about the fear of losing the house, Colleen. That is close to home for us. I loved the online prayers too. By the way, this weekend was so anointed. The Lord just blew us away as He spoke through this human instrument. The sermon was just a call to follow Jesus all the way. It was a call to full devotion no matter the cost. The Holy Spirit moved so profoundly. In the end we had a call for commitment. There was a tremendous response. At the end we shared with our people that we were being led to serve the Lord outside the Adventist denomination. We told about our confidence in God's leading and our desire to follow Him even if we aren't sure exactly where we are going or how we will meet our financial needs. We thanked the congregation for their support of us, and encouraged them to follow Jesus and carry out the Gospel commission to reach lost people. The Lord truly had His way. There were some folks that told us they thought we were being deceived, others that tried to suggest study materials, but the vast majority recognized that God is in this thing and were encouraging to us. We wish them well as they are truly a grace-oriented church with a heart for the Lost. They truly do have a deep impact on the community especially as a haven for former or returning SDA's that might never set a foot in any church without the SDA label. So God is going to continue to use that church and He is going to use us and lead us. God truly answered our prayers. There was no spirit of bitterness, and there was such a presence of the Holy Spirit that there could be no mistaking that this was a God moment. Thank you again for your prayers and your support. We are confident that God will provide. In fact one woman in our congregation came up to me and told me that she had never told me before that she had the spiritual gift of prophecy, because she was careful not to be misunderstood, but she told me that she had known that this was coming, and that the Lord had told her to tell me that He was with me and would use me mightily. Another came with a similar message that they had in their quiet time with the Lord, seen a picture of me and my family in the arms of Jesus being held and protected. Praise the Name of Jesus! So here we are, for the first time in over 20 years of SDA ministry... outside of the SDA church officially, yet in a very real sense just starting a new adventure ... Please keep us in your prayers! Praise to Him, In Christ, Greg (Nate) and Paula Taylor Asheville, NC | ||
| Maryann |
Hi Greg and Paula, Thank you for the wonderful spirit you have consistantly demostrated over the last months. You have taken an awesome step of faith and I'm sure that will be rewarded many fold in your up coming ministry. Always remember that God had a plan for your lives before the foundation of this earth;-)) The blessing that I pray for you comes from 1 Chronicles 4:10 "Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, 'Oh that Thou wouldst bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that Thy hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldst keep me from harm, that it may not pain me!' And God granted him what he reguested." I'm sorry I didn't see your request many weeks ago for the reposting of my e-dress. christyoureternallife@hotmail.com Maryann...IBC=Insured By Christ | ||
| Colleentinker |
Dear Greg and Paula, How exciting to be able to call you by name and to hear the story of yesterday! You will continue to be in our prayers. We're excited to see how God will provide for you in the coming days. He will; he is completely faithful! Praise God! Colleen | ||
| Dennis |
Greg and Paula, I too resigned from the Adventist ministry in the Carolina Conference (that was back in 1972) after serving there for three years as an Associate Publishing Director. Many GC personnel retire in western North Carolina. We lived in Goldsboro, NC (piedmont area). Asheville is in a beautiful area near Mt. Pisgah Academy where my annual assignment was directing traffic at campmeeting. Prior to living in NC, we lived in Johnson City, Tennessee (just a winding, mountainous path north of Asheville in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference). We still communicate with our Adventist friends in the Carolina Conference. Sounds like your farewell worship service was well-presented yesterday, Greg. Without doubt, your testimony had and will continue to have, a giant impact on those in attendance. Hopefully, you will receive at least a six-month severance pay (not normally given to those resigning, but more likely to those fired). Feel free to email me anytime at: fischerdj@msn.com LET FREEDOM RING! In His amazing grace, Dennis J. Fischer | ||
| Lydell |
Hey Greg, good to be able to call you by name. Could you e-mail me? We knew some folks who went off to Asheville several years back and have been curious what happened to them. davdell@snowhill.com | ||
| Nate |
Thanks for the encouragement and prayers! We are in the next step of the process not knowing where we are going and trying to sell our house, etc. Our severance package was NOT great, about 2 1/2 months, But God has already provided some funds for more than another month of expenses. Someone we had never heard of before! They had heard about us from a friend of ours out west, and sent the $ out of the blue! God is so good! This is just another confirmation that God is in this and will not let us go under. Ps 37:23-25. God bless, In Christ, Greg (Nate)and Paula | ||
| Speakeasy (Speakeasy) |
I would love as much input as all of the forum can pitch in. When you were in the Seventh Day Adventist church and believed the teachings of the church. What was the trigger or what was the one or two things that got you to wonder! "Is all of this true? Am I being lied to?" What were some of the things that got you wondering "I need to check this stuff out myself?" And what are some of the points that would be great to witness to a person that is caught up into legalism of the SDA church. I was not involved to heavly into The SDA more into Judaism. I know it is not as easy as this. But maybe a 1-2-3 step on how to witness to a legalistic person and some of the points that the SDA will use for there defence. When I was into Judaism. The main points were that the New Testament was a different G-d of the Torah, Paul was an untrustworthy person. And yes the Law was to be observed according to the rabbinical writtings. And that the gentile christians not only broke the 4rth commandment but also the 1rst and 2nd commandments were also broken. And scriptures that are in the Torah that say G-d is Not a man, G-d alone has no other This is very much a doctrine of Judaism. Many Rabbi's do not like the word doctrine. To them they follow the truth the Torah. And to a Jew the Torah means the Torah, Tenack, the Talmud and all Rabbinical writtings. So if you talk to a person that is into Judaism when they say we follow the Torah. they really mean ALL of the Jewsih Rabbinical writtings. Not just the Torah in the english translated bible that we have. So to many Jews Doctrin's come from man! TRUTH comes from G-d alone! But any help would be great on the above. I have some Adventist friends that I would love to witness to I have tried but I am not going at it correctly. speakeasy | ||
| Terryk (Terryk) |
I think you have just asked the 64 million dollar question. I at the time did not think anything was wrong with the teachings. A close friend who I had respected for years was questioning. I set out to prove him wrong. Of course there were things that made me go hmmm but I still thought even with its problems it was the truth and no one else knew. If they want to know truth and openly minded study what you have presented they will see. But I can tell you I was very brainwashed I thought and was taught that people leaving was a sign of the end times. Or I was taught that they never were really saved if they left. Talking to SDA is like talking to a Mormon or JW. Its also funny if you study they all came out around the same time each had their own books and prophet. God Bless you in your efforts. | ||
| Gatororeo7 (Gatororeo7) |
For myself, it was finding FAF. I had seriously flirted with the idea of Adventism being correct when I "stumbled" upon FAF on a link in Gospelcom. For my wife, it was Galatians 3:19. | ||
| Doug222 (Doug222) |
Speakeasy, Like Terry, I was fairly convinced that what I was being taught (and teaching) was the truth. I think that the thing that disturbed me the most was the whole Remnant church thing. For many years before I left, I detested the arrogance that existed with the church. tried to "soft sell" it, but in reality I still held to the belief. I am not sure there is any formula you can use to witness to Adventists. My experience has been that most are pretty firmly entrenched in their belifs. Even when you show them them the clear word of scripture, they have no interest in even entertaining the possibility that their could be another interpretation than that which they have been taught. The obvious place to begin to chip away at their armour is with the Sabbath. It is the Holy grail of Adventism. However, I would not recommend that tactic. The Sabbath is often the last stronghold to fall. Instead, I would focus my energies on the Gospel. Once you can convince someone what the Gospel is, and that what the SDA church calls the Gospel isn't really the Gospel, then they can start to ask themselves, "where else have I been lied to." The bottom line is that only the Holy SPirit can remove the veil from their eyes. We are sometimes used as vessels, but we do not do the convincing. Not sure this is what you were looking for, but here it is for what it is worth. Doug |
