Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Perspectives

This year marks 500 years since Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany (Oct. 31, 1517), challenging the established religious beliefs and practices of his denomination, and launching the Protestant Reformation. Conscientiously, he could not reconcile church practices with biblical teachings as he understood them. 

Multiple studies have shown that practicing gratitude results in being more resilient, more relaxed and less materialistic. It is difficult to be depressed and full of gratitude at the same time. This should not be surprising for people of the Word. “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God.” (Col. 3:17). And “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thes. 5:18).

I recall one day sitting on the steep, red oak-stained, concrete front steps of our tiny, rural home in Jamaica on long, carefree days full of wonder and expectation. My twin brother, J. Olive, and I couldn’t have been more than 3 years old because our younger sister was not yet born. On this fine day, mother gathered food for dinner from lush crops surrounding the house and firewood to cook in our homey, outdoor kitchen.

We are living in difficult times. It seems as if our civilization is falling apart because of terrorism, abuse and hatred. It is shocking to watch the news, as apparently harmless people—men, young women, sometimes children or elders—detonate themselves with explosives, killing and injuring dozens of people they do not even know! Can it get any crazier?

Story by Tim Allston

According to “American Congregations at the Beginning of the 21st Century,” a Duke University 2006-2007 National Congregations Study, the percent of regular adult participants younger than age 35 in the average congregation dropped from 25 to to 20 percent.