| Author | Message | ||
| Mwh Registered user Username: Mwh Post Number: 182 Registered: 4-2006  |
1.5 million leaves SDA: http://www.sdaoutreach.org/Home/Articles/SDAGrowthSlows/tabid/495/Default.aspx Also I think I read somewhere that ca. 25% of SDAs leave SDA in their lifetime. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 4731 Registered: 12-2003  |
Randy, I have to laugh! Richard and I always sit on the fourth row in church, just to the left of center. And we also started 'way in the back and one day moved forward! So fun. Yes, the attitude is pervasive: people are "better off" if they go into the world and live godless lives than if they leave Adventism and go to another church. It does seem to be related to the notion that if a person is in the world, one day they will come back to truth. If they go to another church, they've received the Mark of the Beast already. Others, though, probably don't automatically assign the mark of the beastóbut they do seem to recognize that people who find Jesus really have no desire to come back. They have something MORE. Colleen | ||
| Jeremy Registered user Username: Jeremy Post Number: 1538 Registered: 10-2004  |
And they're right, too. There is more "hope" for worldly formers to come back to Adventism, because they are still under it's demonic hold--no matter how much they "reject" Adventism. Only in Jesus Christ can someone be set free from the hold of Adventism and it's false prophet! Jeremy | ||
| Winslow Registered user Username: Winslow Post Number: 2 Registered: 10-2006 |
Your warm welcomes have warmed my heart. It's just after "sundown" here in Portland Oregon. It used to be a time of settling down after "getting ready for Sabbath." What a joy not to have to feel that the edges have to be guarded and that if my shoes aren't I won't lose my Sabbath blessing. Thank you all too for sharing your experiences in finding a new congregation with whom to worship. Colleen, I'm not familiar with the abbreviations for what must be Bible study groups. Could you enlighten? I've been watching with interest the discussion about statistics. I've heard many of the same things--that it is a matter of pride that people don't leave the SDA denomination for other groups--they drift into the "world." I'm wondering if one of the two tollowing ideas might be a contribution to this: 1. The SDA denomination does not truly introduce it members to Jesus. The doctrines tend to draw one away from Him rather than point toward Him. It is an intellectual religion and tends to emphasize head knowledge rather than heart relationship. Perhaps those who drift into the "world" are those who never had a relationship but only joined a club? 2. The emphasis on "rightness" in the SDA denomination tends to "spoil" one for groups that don't have that assurance as the basis of their existence. It is, as many of us can attest, a difficult transition. I recently finished reading _Seductive Poison_ a book by a member of jim Jones' cult. She describes the difficulty of transitioning out of such a group even though she was completely disillusioned with them. In His true seven-day-a-week Sabbath rest, winslow shined | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2876 Registered: 3-2004  |
Winslow, I did not greet you. A big welcome to FAF. I hope you can come to our second reunion in Feb 2007 in Redlands, CA. It was an inspiring weekend and I know the next one will be also. It was so much fun meeting everyone I had met here. Tell us more about your journey with Jesus Christ. Isn't He awesome? Diana | ||
| Dd Registered user Username: Dd Post Number: 727 Registered: 7-2004 |
Hello Winslow! Welcome to FAF. BSF is for Bible Study Fellowship. Go to www.biblestudyfellowship.com for more info. It is an international study...anyone around the globe, who is in this study, is studying the same thing each week that you would be doing. Talk about a huge family in Christ...BSF is very, very clear that our salvation is through Jesus Christ ALONE! This year the study is on Romans. My only complaint of BSF is that they mix a bit of Old Covenant with their New Covenant teachings and beliefs. I will forever praise God for leading me to BSF. It is through BSF that God reached me and brought me into His freedom and grace and out of the bondage I had lived with all my life. And if that weren't enough, He has given me a wonderful group of Christ-centered friends and support. It really is a wonderful fellowship opportunity. If you are interested in Community Bible Study (CBS), "Javagirl" would have some info. She feels the same about CBS as I do about BSF. I am, by the way, from Portland, OR. Went all four years to PAA. Any chance we know each other? Colleen has my email address if you want to touch base. In Jesus 7/24 - Denise (Huey) Hutton | ||
| Bigal Registered user Username: Bigal Post Number: 9 Registered: 9-2006  |
What is this PAA connection? I too went to PAA for 3 years. Graduated in 1982. I spent some of this with your brother, Denise. Alan | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 4736 Registered: 12-2003 |
Hey, I graduated from there, tooóbut I'm afraid it was before you guys. It was still PUA when I graduated in 1971. I'm almost prehistoric... Colleen | ||
| Dd Registered user Username: Dd Post Number: 728 Registered: 7-2004 |
Alan, Do I know you? I know an Alan who married a classmate of mine (class of 79 - not that far behind the old lady, Colleen Tinker!). Did you go to WWC? Do you have an older brother I may have known there? The SDA world is small. Warmly, Denise I reread what I wrote last night (in my tired haze) and I may have given the false impression. I WAS from Portland but live in Missoula, MT now. | ||
| Randyg Registered user Username: Randyg Post Number: 273 Registered: 12-2004 |
Colleen, My loving children often refer to my generation (me in particular), HS grad '78 in fond terms as the age of the Neanderthal, or as a Relic, or I even recall the term Mosaic used once. I let it go because I am the Dad, and I recognize that secretly they wish they to had lived in a time when guys were cool with long hair, and could get away with wearing bell-bottomed pants, own a robin's egg colored Leisure Suit, and those brown platform heel boots with the zipper on the inside. Colleen, you have often said on this forum that God redeems our past. I hope you are right!! Thanks for providing this forum, Randy | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2881 Registered: 3-2004 |
Randy, Colleen is so right about God redeeming our past. I have seen it in my own life with my eldest sister and with the oldest of my younger brothers. I have seen it with friends while living in VA, before I left the SDA church for good. I have seen it here in NV where I now live. God is so awesome in how He uses us for Him. Diana | ||
| Bigal Registered user Username: Bigal Post Number: 10 Registered: 9-2006 |
Denise, Is your brother Kevin? I did attend WWC 1982-83 only. My brother is 20 years my senior. Was your father the treasurer of NPUC? If yes then I knew you only from your brother. We hung out together until he went to UCA. It is a small world, Alan | ||
| Dd Registered user Username: Dd Post Number: 730 Registered: 7-2004 |
Yes, Alan. Kevin is my brother and my dad was indeed the treasurer of the NPUC. I guess you are not the Alan I was thinking of because his brother was not 20 years older than him. You were at WWC my first year of Nursing in Portland (one of the negatives of taking Nursing at WWC). I am happy to "meet" you here on FAF. It is so refreshing to me to have a connection with former adventists of my past. God is faithful to redeem, encourage, lead and protect. Do you keep in touch with Kevin? He is one of those SDAs who no longer keeps Sabbath or attends church but just didn't leave to find God's will for his life - at least not yet (I keep praying, tho). It's funny (not ha! ha! funny) but my parents are not at all upset about his not being SDA but they hardly communicate with me. He lets them take his 2 year old to Sabbath School and that gives them hope. I have to leave this in God's hands. He alone is sovereign and knows the purpose in all our lives. I trust He has a plan for my family and I leave it in His hands. Praising Him for you, Denise | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 4739 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yes, RandyóHe does redeem the pastóeven those bell bottoms, horrifying polyester knit suits and dresses, and platform shoes! We wouldn't be who we are if we hadn't been part of that generation... Actually, I find Acts 17:26 really amazing and comforting: "From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live." Talk about a soveriegn GodóHe determined when we would live; He ordained this online fellowship to be here, now, at exactly this time for exactly His purposes. Just thinkóHe ordained long ago that increasing numbers of people would discover the truth about Adventism and seek Him, leaving their pasts. He ordained this miracle in our lives, and He is redeeming all our past. Colleen | ||
| Jeremy Registered user Username: Jeremy Post Number: 1544 Registered: 10-2004 |
Yes, Colleen, I love that verse about God's sovereignty! How wonderful to know that our lifespans are not determined by how well we follow a "health message," but by God's sovereign determination!  Jeremy | ||
| Lydell Registered user Username: Lydell Post Number: 753 Registered: 7-2000 |
WElcome Winslow. My family have been attending church on Sunday for about 10 years now. LOVE IT! There really are many opportunities out there to try out churches. There likely are some in your area that have meetings on Wednesday evening, or some other nights. Many churches today have small group Bible studies that meet in peoples homes on some week nights. It could be a place for you to get connected. | ||
| Winslow Registered user Username: Winslow Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2006 |
Thank you Diane, Colleen and all for the suggestions for worship and fellowship. I will check those sites and look for something . Because I am blind, I am somewhat limited in transportation here in Portland, and have not yet found a group along my main bus routes. I know He who orders our lives will certainly guide, so I'm not worried. In the meantime, I will check out those suggestions. It sounds like I'm the granddaddy of the group--graduated from PUC in '70 and should've graduated in '68. We of that generation gsarted the bell-bottoms and platform shoes, though I was far too straight for such things--my only protest was to march with the whole student body and faculty from the top of Howell Mountain the eight miles to the nearest sin in St. helena to protest mmoking. Looking back I'm embarrassed. we did, however, march right past Elmshaven which made us feel downright self-righteous and in tune with the good old SDA message of health. (For those who may not know, Elmshaven is EGW's retirement home--it contains her writing tesk and a pencil sketch of Jesus which she said was the most accurate likeness of Him she had seen.) For those of you who have left God's green country here in the Northwest, come on back and enjoy the winter rains which should start now any day. My kids went to PAA in the 90s--didn't help their walk with Jesus one bit. Colleen, not sure if we know each other, but I worked at Portland Adventist Medical Center from '74 through 89 and attended Mt. Tabor and Glendoveer during those years. Diane, if you went to WWC school of nursing, you might know my sister in law, Wanda Newcomb-Bailey or Wynelle Huff, close friend of the family. Small world . It's good to have this fellowship here--though we may not have shared the places, we certainly shared the experience of being SDA, nnd now, even more importantly, the joy of fellowship in the Holy spirit in Christ Jesus. -winslow PS I'm still figuring out how this forum works, so Colleen, not knowing how to give you permission to give out my email address, I'll give that permission here for javagirl or anyone else who might want to write off post. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 4746 Registered: 12-2003 |
Winslow, what did you do at Portland Adventist? I suspect we didn't actually know each other (although your name sounds vaguely familiar) because I was off at WWC from 71-75, and after that I was teaching in California and then Idaho. But my parents lived near Portland in Boring, and my dad was a physical therapist at Portland Adventist. His name was Lester Moore. You might have known him. Colleen | ||
| Winslow Registered user Username: Winslow Post Number: 4 Registered: 10-2006 |
Hello All, At the risk of being verbose, I would love to share my testimony of Jesus work in my life which Diane invited. He is to be praised. On one side of my family I was fourth generation SDA; on the other, third. My great grandparents probably knew EGW, since she travelled a number of times to Iowa where they accepted the "truth." Goowing up I attended SDA schools through two quarters at the seminary. I've attended San Diego Union Academy, Laurelwood Academy, WWC and PUC as well as Andrews. My BA is in theology. I've worked at Paradise Valley hospital, Bronx-Manhattan elementary school, been a Bible worker in Canyonville Oregon and been a social worker at Portland Adventist Medical Center. My roots are deep in the Adventist tradition and it was home to me. From an early age, I had a desire to know God. I was baptized at 9 and never doubted that I wasn't saved--tht is, until I hit teen years with all the raging hormones. I was trapped by the rising tide of pornography that swept the country with Playboy's bid to take pornography from the dirty backgoom to the grocery store counter and with the Court's decision to permit the filth to be sold depending on community standards. I walked this double life through college and seminary; through years of teaching, chaplaincy, Bible work and later as SS teacher, local dlder and recognized leader in my congregation. I desired freedom and sought all kinds of remedies, including a Christian psychiatrist who recommended avoidance therapy--as if that would help. In the late 80s, I lost my job at PAMC due to vision problems and spent six years re-training and finding another job. This was the time when the Internet was born and I was one of its early enthusiast. I nearly drowned in a sea of filth. One day I told myself, "You know there is a God, but you know you cannot be free of this. You may as well enjoy it because you aren't going to heaven anyway." I immersed myself completely. I met others of like ilk online and eventually conducted an affair with a woman I met online. But, God be praised! He wasn't through with me. He not only watched for His prodigal's return, He cam and entered into the filth to find me. I stood in my bedroom one evening and suddenly, from deep in my spirit, I cried, "God if you want me, You'll have to do it, because I can't." The Sunnyside congregation kicked out its pastor for not paying tithe to the conference but rather supporting a needy family. The fallout of this was that an associate pastor was assigned to a small church for supporting the lead pastor. Some members and he conducted a Bible study starting in Galatians and continuing through Romans. I didn't want to attend, but found it necessary to keep up appearances and because my wife insisted. I dozed and thought my own thoughts until we reached Romans 3 or 4. The thought suddenly arose from some secret place deep within: "You believe in Jesus." And it was true. From that moment to this, He has continued to bless me. At first I kept up my double life, but became increasingly uncomfortable. I wanted to be "transparent" to any and all. I broke off my illicit iiaison (such euphemisms for sin). I was baptized into Jesus Christ on June 17, 2000. He continues to lead and bless me in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing. I left the SDA denomination in October 2005 and have found that the veil is truly lifted when one leaves. I bear no bitterness toward the people and most of the pastorate of the SDA denomination. They are mostly just as deluded as I. Paul says they are "bewitched" and I can heartily agree. The years I spent studying are not wasted, since they have provided a knowledge of scripture. Friends and family relationships have been strained and some broken, but it is a small price to have my childhood dream of knowing God finally realized. Praise Him from Whom all blessings flow! well, I've taken far too many electrons in this post. I promise to try to be less long-winded in the future--but don't hold me to my promise too stringently. There is a price in written wrods to pay for being a reluctant talker. In His grace, winslow | ||
| Winslow Registered user Username: Winslow Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2006 |
Hi Colleen, Yes, I did know your father--quite indirectly. I worked mostly on the mental health unit (that's what they do with former theology majors) and on medical and surgical units as a social worker. I knew most of the PT staff from contacts on the various units. Did you teach in elementary schools for the denomination? If so, you might have run across my Ida Parker at some NPUC teacher's conference or at WWC during summers when she was working on her fifth year certificate. w |
