Walk of Humility: The Way of the Seventh-Day Adventists

To be loved, pampered and lifted up when one's spirit is low is one of the greatest gifts we, as humans, can give one to another.

I clearly remember the Saturday, many, many years ago, I ventured into a Seventh-Day Adventists' church in Mountain View, California. At that time, I was looking for answers anywhere I could find it.

I came out of that church after about three hours, feeling blessed and humbled for the experience: strangers had washed my feet and provided a love unequivocal at that time from strangers.

This is the memory that always flashes into my mind every time I think of the Seventh-Day Adventists. More recently, I visited with a Seventh-Day Adventists' church to check up on things. I felt the same level of love and support. Nothing has changed. These people are dedicated to service, serving and honoring each other and the human family overall.

Forget the Branch Davidians and other extreme groups that branched off from the Seventh-Day Adventists' church. The basic principles of the church are filled only with good intentions:

1. Preaching. A Belief in a loving God, through the message of Jesus
( Matthew 28:18-20), and believing that the Bible is God’s revelation of his Will, especially the 10 Commandments and keeping holy the seventh-day, the Sabbath.

2. Teaching. Acknowledging that development of mind and character is essential to God's redemptive plan, "we promote the growth of a mature understanding of and relationship to God, His Word, and the created universe."

3. Healing: A heavy emphasis is placed upon preservation of health and healing of the sick and affirming the “biblical emphasis on the well-being of the whole person.”



To fulfill these intentions, Seventh-Day Adventists are known for their leadership in a large number of hospitals and health-related facilities throughout the United States. Loma Linda University and its medical center, located in the same-name city in California, is the most prominently known Adventist medical facility. But throughout the world, Seventh-Day Adventists run a wide network of hospitals, clinics, and sanitariums.


One of the best-known Seventh-Day Adventists is Dr. Benjamin S. Carson, a world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins University Hospital.

In the United States Seventh-Day Adventists operate the largest Protestant educational system and is second only to that of the Roman Catholic Church. The Adventists' Church operates 7,200 schools, colleges and universities, with enrollment reaching nearly 1.5 million and employing about 75,000 teachers.

The Adventists' educational program is comprehensive, encompassing "mental, physical, social, and spiritual health" with "intellectual growth and service to humanity" its goal.

History of the Church
The Seventh-day Adventists' church is the largest of several "Adventists'" groups that arose from the Millerite movement of the 1840s. The Millerite movement was part of the wave of revivalism in the United States, known as the Second Great Awakening and originated with William Miller, a Baptist preacher from Low Hampton, New York.

Based on Daniel 8:14, Miller predicted that the Second Coming of Christ would occur on October 22, 1844. When this did not happen, many of his followers returned to their original churches. But a small group of Adventists continued to believe in this Second Coming, without making any predictions as to its date.

For about 20 years, the Adventists' movement consisted of a loosely knit group of people whose primary means of connection and interaction was through James White's periodical, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald.

The early Adventists also contemplated the question of the biblical day of rest and worship, with Joseph Bates, a sea captain, leading the group in his proposition of Sabbath-keeping. Bates introduced a tract written by Millerite Preacher Thomas M. Preble, who had been influenced by Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh-Day Baptist. James White and Ellen G. White also were prominent figures at that time.

Many thought Ellen possessed the gift of prophecy because of her many visions and her overall spiritual leadership.
The first Seventh-Day Adventists' church was formally established in Battle Creek, Michigan, on May 23, 1863, with a membership of 3,500.


Through the evangelistic efforts of its ministers and laity, the church quickly grew and established a presence beyond North America during the late 1800s. The denominational headquarters were later moved from Battle Creek to Takoma Park, Maryland, where they remained until 1989, until it moved to the current headquarters in Silver Springs, Maryland.

For much of the 1800s, a majority of the Adventist leaders supported the doctrine of Arianism , which proposed that Jesus was the highest created being but was not himself God. This, along with the movement's other theological views, led most Christian denominations to judge Seventh-Day Adventists' as a cult.

In the 20th century, Seventh-Day Adventists adopted the Trinity and began to dialogue with other Protestant and eventually gained wide recognition as a Christian church.




Adventists’ Humanitarian Activities




Through the work of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), more than 4,000 people are employed to provide relief from poverty and other extreme situations around the world. For more than 50 years, the church has worked as a non-sectarian relief agency in 125 countries and areas of the world, and the United Nations’ Economic Social Council has granted General Consultative Status to the ADRA.

Adventists also are known for the creation in 1893 of The International Religious Liberty Association, which advocates freedom of religion for all people, regardless of faith. Through its State Council, adventists also work to protect religious groups from legislation that may affect their religious practices.




The Youth Department of the Adventist Church runs an organization for 10- to 17-year-old boys and girls, called Pathfinders. This is similar to the Boy Scouts of America, except that membership is open to both genders. The Pathfinders organization exposes young people to activities, such as camping, community service, personal mentorship, and skills-based education, and trains them for leadership. "Camporees" are held each year in individual Conferences, where Pathfinders from the region gather and participate in events similar to Boy Scouts' Jamborees.



"Adventurer" (ages 6-9), "Eager Beaver", and "Little Lambs" clubs are programs for younger children that feed into the Pathfinder program. Boys and girls who are older than 16 years old are eligible to become "Master Guides" (similar to Scout Master) and begin to take on leadership roles within the club.

Adventists and the Media

The Adventists' church owns and operates many publishing companies around the world. Two of the largest are the Pacific Press and Review and Herald, publishing associations located in the United States. The Review and Herald is located in Hagerstown, Maryland.


The official church magazine is the Adventist Review, which has a North American focus. It has a sister magazine (Adventist World) which has an international perspective. Another major magazine published by the church is the bimonthly Liberty magazine, which addresses issues of religious freedom.

In the last century, these media based efforts have also made use of emerging media such as radio and television. The first of these was H. M. S. Richards' radio show Voice of Prophecy, which was initially broadcast in Los Angeles in 1929. Since then Adventists have been on the forefront of media evangelism, and one program, It Is Written, founded by George Vandeman, was the first religious program to air in color on television. It also was the first major Christian ministry to utilize satellite uplink technology. Today the Hope Channel, the official television network of the church, operates six international channels, broadcasting 24 hours a day on both cable and satellite networks.




Seventh Day Adventists’ lifestyle

"Seventh-day Adventism advocates a simple, wholesome lifestyle, where people do not step on the treadmill of unbridled over-consumption, accumulation of goods, and production of waste. A reformation of lifestyle is called for, based on respect for nature, restraint in the use of the world's resources, reevaluation of one's needs, and reaffirmation of the dignity of created life."

Wholeness and health always have been a major emphasis of the Adventist church.

Adventists are known for presenting a "health message" that recommends vegetarianism and expects adherence to the kosher laws in Leviticus 11. Obedience to these laws means abstinence from pork, shellfish, and other foods proscribed as "unclean". The church discourages its members from the use of alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs. In addition, like the Mormons, some Adventists avoid coffee and other beverages containing caffeine.

The pioneers of the Adventists' church had much to do with the common acceptance of breakfast cereals into the Western diet, with the "modern commercial concept of cereal food" originating with Adventists.


John Harvey Kellogg was one of the early founders of the Adventists' health work. His development of breakfast cereals as a health food led to the founding of Kellogg's by his brother William.




In Australia, the church-owned Sanitarium Health Food Company is one of the country's leading manufacturers of health and vegetarian-related products.

In Western countries, Adventists have traditionally held socially conservative attitudes regarding dress and entertainment. These attitudes are reflected in one of the church's fundamental beliefs:
"For the Spirit to recreate in us the character of our Lord we involve ourselves only in those things which will produce Christlike purity, health, and joy in our lives. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit."

Accordingly, many Adventists, even in the West, are opposed to practices such as body piercing and tattoos. More conservative Adventists refrain from the wearing of jewelry altogether, including earrings and wedding bands. Traditionally Adventists dress semi-formally when attending church.

Conservative Adventists also avoid certain recreational activities, like dancing, rock music and secular theatre because they have a negative spiritual influence. Officially, the Adventist church officially opposes the practice of gambling.

The official Adventist position on abortion is that "abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the Church." But women who face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral or medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman's life or health, severe congenital defects in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, are able to make their own decisions about abortion.

Adventists do not perform same-sex marriages and homosexual men cannot be ordained. An extramarital affair is one of the sanctioned grounds for a divorce, although reconciliation is encouraged whenever possible. Adventists believe in and encourage abstinence, for both men and women, before marriage.

Seventh-Day Practices and Services

Adventists usually practice communion four times a year. The communion is an open service that is available to members and Christian non-members. It commences with a foot washing ceremony, known as the "Ordinance of Humility", based on the Gospel account of John 13. The Ordinance of Humility is meant to symbolize Christ's washing of his disciples' feet at the Last Supper and remind participants of the need to humbly serve one another.



Participants segregate by gender to separate rooms to conduct this ritual, although some congregations allow married couples to perform the ordinance on each other and families are often encouraged to participate together. After its completion, participants return to the main sanctuary for consumption of the Lord's Supper, which consists of unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice.

In order to keep the Sabbath holy, Adventists abstain from secular work and other non-essential business on Saturday. They will also usually refrain from purely secular forms of recreation, such as competitive sport and watching non-religious programs on television. However, nature walks, family-oriented activities, charitable work and other activities that are compassionate in nature are considered acceptable.




Much of Friday might be spent in preparation for the Sabbath; for example, preparing meals and tidying homes. Some Adventists gather for Friday evening worship to welcome in the Sabbath, a practice often known as Vespers.

Saturday afternoon activities vary widely depending on the cultural, ethnic and social background. In some churches, members and visitors will participate in a fellowship, or potluck, lunch.

The major weekly worship service occurs on Saturday.

I am privileged to have been witnessed,
been included in and blessed by these Saturday activities.

Namaste’,

Che’

NOTE: For more information on the Seventh-Day Adventist Church go to: http://www.adventist.org. Next month, we'll take a look at the Jehovah Witnesses.