Stories & Commentaries

James Edson White, the son of Adventist pioneers James and Ellen White, is credited with taking the gospel to African Americans in the southern United States — after having departed from the Adventist faith for approximately 30 years. What may have seemed like a delayed answer to Ellen White’s prayers over the years that Edson was absent from the faith turned out to be God’s perfect timing for the gospel to be shared with former slaves and their children.

"Where does all that money go?" As a church employee for more than 40 years, 30-plus of which as a treasurer, Randy Robinson has heard that question more times than any other. It is a profoundly legitimate question, but one that is difficult to answer because of the complexity of the church's financial system. But that's no excuse for not providing a clear and understandable answer. The goal of this article is to help demystify some of the complexity.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act, the Coatesville community leadership, with strong support from the community, banded together to carry on the legacy of King by not only speaking about change, justice and advocacy, but also by emphasizing the day of service and providing ample opportunities to serve. As a tribute to King’s housing initiative that he began in November of 1967, the W.C. Atkinson Memorial Community Service Center, an Adventist Center of Influence in partnership with many other organizations including Good Works and Adventist Community Services, started a home renovation project on Jan. 2, 2024, with a goal of completion by MLK Jr. Day.

"During this season, we want to remind you that Immanuel, Jesus, is with you — no matter what you're going through. This time of the year can be so lonely for so many. But the very essence of the season is Immanuel, which says, 'Jesus is not distant. He is near,'" says NAD president G. Alexander Bryant, in the 2023 holiday message he presents to Adventists in North America with wife, Desiree Bryant, who is the NAD Ministerial Spouses director.

While it’s natural to mark time by the tragedies and traumas that have marred our lives, we also mark time through triumphs. Wedding days, births, new homes, graduations, new jobs . . . these are some of the points—benchmarks—that give us measures of hope, joy. The sad reality for many of us is that those happy moments aren’t often equal benchmarks in this sinful world. The traumatic seems to win out. But then I think of Jesus and how He has created the best markers to live by.

What does your church parking lot look like during the week? For many, the answer is “empty,” but for two Adventist Community Services (ACS) ministries in the Houston, Texas, area, the answer is “full of cars.” The Fondren Seventh-day Adventist Church ACS moved their food distribution into the parking lot in 2020 to abide by COVID-19 recommendations and they haven’t moved back inside. Rain or shine, Fondren ACS volunteers distribute boxes of food to their community every Wednesday.

The Oakwood Adventist Academy Mustangs boys varsity basketball team, after being denied a Sabbath accommodation in the finals for the 2021-2022 state championships, forfeited their semi-final game. Fast forward to the 2022-2023 season and the team is back in the tournament and able to play. Watch what happens at the March 2023 finals; and what lessons the team learned.

A pastor’s biblical role and function include having a servant leader’s heart, caregiving, and shepherding. That leading includes coaching, equipping, teaching, and preaching. The layered expectations pastors face in role and function can, however, be fulfilling and overwhelming simultaneously.

At first glance “Pastor Joel” appears to be just an immigrant from another country. When you speak with him, however, you discover a heart devoted to God, his family, and God’s people. And you realize that he strives to “pay forward” the blessings God has bestowed on him.

Jacqueline Galloway-Blake, a devoted 40-year member of Sharon-Inkster, found herself thrust into action when she learned toxic waste from a train derailment in Ohio was now being shipped to a toxic injection well just four miles from the Sharon-Inkster church. Galloway-Blake said, “I was not going to sit by quietly as they shipped toxic waste all the way from Ohio to our backyard, where our people live.”