{"id":3043,"date":"2019-06-20T15:48:09","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T15:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/sitenews\/2019\/06\/20\/three-days-to-change-europe\/"},"modified":"2019-06-20T15:48:09","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T15:48:09","slug":"three-days-to-change-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/three-days-to-change-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Three days to change Europe!"},"content":{"rendered":"

20 June 2019 | Binfield, UK [Victor Hulbert] <\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity as default is gone,\u201d states a headline in the UK\u2019s Guardian newspaper<\/a>. Quoting a report by Stephen Bullivant, a professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary\u2019s University, London, the conclusion is that, \u201cThe new default setting is \u2018no religion\u2019, and the few who are religious see themselves as swimming against the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"bible<\/a>Seventh-day Adventist leaders and lay-people meeting at the Trans-European Division (TED) Bible Conference beg to disagree. As Artur Stele, General Conference Vice-President stated more than once in his Tuesday morning devotional, \u201cRemember the supernatural perspective.\u201d He stated that, \u201cHumanly speaking, there is no future for the Church,\u201d but then went on to share how the book of Acts gives him hope.<\/p>\n

Stele noted that through the Acts the Holy Spirit is outpoured on five distinct groups of people: The disciples (Acts 2<\/a>), Samaritans (Acts 8<\/a>), Saul\/Paul (Acts 9<\/a>), Gentiles (Acts 10<\/a>), and members (Acts 19<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"Artur<\/a>\u201cIf the Holy Spirit can change Saul into Paul, what can He do with us in Europe?\u201d Stele challenged. Noting the other people groups, he equally challenged, \u201cHow do we enthuse Pastors to greater service? How can we involve members in the mission of the Church? How are we to reach the secular mind? How can we encourage greater confidence in the fundamental beliefs of the Church? How can we reach other religions?\u201d<\/p>\n

His answer was clear and, to some, may seem rather simple. \u201cIf the church belongs to God, the Holy Spirit is responsible for its mission and the supernatural aspect of the church.\u201d For Stele, the empowering of the Holy Spirit in Acts, \u201cis an incredible source of encouragement and hope, turning a problem into potential, turning enemies into our friends. The best days in Europe are still ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those \u2018best days in Europe\u2019 became a strong focus throughout the conference as around 125 participants from all parts of Europe gathered at Newbold College of Higher Education<\/a> from 17 \u2013 19 June, discussing a rich and challenging mixture of theology and practical ministry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an experience! I am so glad I was able to attend,\u201d reflected Carolyn Shultz, a lay-member from the North England Conference. \u201cThe topics were so relevant for today, the speakers were inspiring, the organisation was superb, and the fellowship and networking was encouraging and fun! Not only was this conference informative, it gave me new hope in a dysfunctional world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/a>Those topics included very practical issues on how to be a church of and for 21st Century Europe. This included the changing history of Adventist Identity from the time of the Millerites when, as Dr Daniel Duda described it, \u201cthe world was much simpler\u201d, through the discovery of mission beyond the boundaries of North America, re-evaluation of Righteousness by Faith in 1888, the publication of Questions on Doctrine in 1957, the challenge of national or tribal identity verses Adventist identity in times of conflict, and currently the challenge of \u201cwhat worked well in an era of optimism becoming harder in a world of disillusionment.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that varied and complex history, Duda then gave the solution by repeating the question that Jesus asked the disciples in Caesarea Philippi: \u201cWho do you say the Son of Man is?\u201d Peter replied accurately, \u201cYou are the Christ, the Son of the living God.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question was not, \u201cWhat do people think about my preaching, or my parables?\u201d Duda noted. Jesus asks about identity. In other words, Duda concluded \u201cThe person of Jesus precedes the doctrines of Jesus.\u201d The one will follow from the other.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/a>This idea really spoke to Svjetlana Veble, Executive Secretary of the Adriatic Union. \u201cThere were many exceptional presentations during this Bible Conference,\u201d she said, \u201cbut the presentation by Daniel Duda, \u2018Adventist Identity\u2019, has spoken to me the most. His style and clarity of explaining such a complex issue like our identity, a historical overview of the problem and the hope for the future, give me inspiration and confirmed my convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jo\u00e3o Martins fully agrees but, as CEO of ADRA Europe, he was very pleased to note that it was highly useful and enlightening to see the direction that the Church is taking in opening more towards communities and understanding the responsibilities we have to serve them. \u201cIn my opinion that is the way to succeed with the mission in Europe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This presentation, along with others, will be available on the TED YouTube channel<\/a> in due course.<\/p>\n

\"Lazic<\/a>Timo Flink from Finland was impressed with the depth of research and reasoning by Dr Denis Fortin of Andrews University. He presented twice on issues of Ecumenism \u2013 in the first presentation looking at Adventist dialogue, and later in a workshop period tracing the varied history of the Catholic Church\u2019s cautious view towards ecumenism. \u201cThe presentations by Denis Fortin gave some new thoughts and ideas that I haven’t heard before,\u201d Flink confessed. \u201cThe ecumenical dialogue appears to be a more complex issue than I had thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others were impressed both by the musical skills of Dr Tihomir Lazi\u0107, and his ability to present a clear picture of where the Seventh-day Adventist Church stands in the 21st<\/sup> century. \u201cWe are not just the messenger, we are the message,\u201d he said. \u201cTwenty-first century Europe wants to see who you are first, then they will listen to your message!\u201d He emphasised the need for authenticity.<\/p>\n

This impressed Neven Kla\u010dmer from Croatia. \u201cDr Lazi\u0107 gave me some very practical ideas based on the Bible and how the Spirit is working within us, through us and most importantly, around us. We must recognise His work and engage where He is already working.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"bible<\/a>Veble adds, \u201cSometimes I have my own thoughts and doubts about future of mission in Europe in general and Croatia in particular. However, through this Bible conference, I see that we have many great leaders, who provide good answers, and challenge us to rethink and be brave to continue our work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among those good leaders were Dr Jan Barna, who gave a very clear explanation of Christ in a perfect Church, Wagner Kuln, who took a very practical look at Missional theology, and the likes of Sigve Tonstad, Elliot Williams, John-Claude Verrecchia, Bj\u00f8rn Ottesen and numerous others.<\/p>\n

\"Matija<\/a>\u201cI was so impressed by Matija Kova\u010devi\u0107,\u201d states retired pastor, David West. An MA theology student at Newbold, Kova\u010devi\u0107 eloquently presented a workshop on the Church as a safe place for Psychological Diversity. He was one of several student presenters. \u201cIf this is the calibre of students that Newbold is training, the future of ministry in Europe is in safe hands,\u201d West proclaimed.<\/p>\n

Shared meals and networking time added to the atmosphere, and presenters\u2019 ideas led to a few late-night discussions. But what difference will it make as people return home?<\/p>\n

\u201cI am coming away with an even greater motivation to live God\u2019s love in the world, and to be more intentional about being the eyes, mouth, heart and hands of God in a broken world,\u201d states TED Family Ministries director, Karen Holford. She says, \u201cI have benefitted from taking time out to be refreshed by listening to some of the greatest thinkers in Adventism, people who have clearly reflected on the heart of our mission and put God\u2019s love and Christ\u2019s compassion at the very centre of all that we do for Him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Erica<\/a>Lay-member, Erica Hole states, \u201cI appreciated the refreshing dynamic of openness in the presenters\u2019 exploration of Adventist identity, their honest acknowledgement of the brokenness of the Church while still expressing a determination to stick with it and be instruments of God\u2019s nurture and healing.\u201d It also had a practical result: \u201cParticipating in the conference made me want to be a better human being. After Dr Kuhn\u2019s presentation on missional theology I found myself at the railway station trying to initiate pleasant small talk with the ticket clerk, whom I previously perceived as routinely brusque and mean to all her customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TED<\/a>Robert Csizmadia reflects that as a leader, he is happy that he could grasp a deeper understanding of important issues that our Church struggles with, including identity, and Sigve Tonstad\u2019s presentation on \u2018Community and Commission in Revelation\u2019 has, again, forced him to think \u2018outside the box\u2019 in terms of mission and how he re-reads the Bible.<\/p>\n

Veble maybe sums it up best for many, \u201cI take home hope and a strong faith that we can work smarter and better for our communities and people around us. Even if it will be hard and tiresome, there is a good cause that will keep us active in bringing the love of Jesus to everybody around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps these three days really can change Europe.<\/p>\n

A further selection of photos is available on the TED Facebook Page<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

ted<\/em>NEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Deana Stojkovi\u0107, associate editor
119 St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: tednews@ted.adventist.org<\/a>
Website: www.ted.adventist.org
ted<\/em>NEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division. Readers are free to republish or share this article with appropriate credit including an active hyperlink to the original article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

20 June 2019 | Binfield, UK [Victor Hulbert] <\/p>\n

\u201cChristianity as default is gone,\u201d states a headline in the UK\u2019s Guardian newspaper<\/a>. Quoting a report by Stephen Bullivant, a professor of theology and the sociology of religion at St Mary\u2019s University, London, the conclusion is that, \u201cThe new default setting is \u2018no religion\u2019, and the few who are religious see themselves as swimming against the tide.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3023,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1577,1588],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-organisational-updates","category-united-kingdom-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3043"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3043\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}