Jun 26, 2019
By Jane Mackintosh
Conference President
It is almost time to welcome you to Lancaster, PA, Conference 2019!
This has been a very enlightening year for Doug and me as we have traveled around this nation visiting with many of you. We have enjoyed meeting new people and having a reunion with long-time friends. You have welcomed us and for that we are very grateful to know we are part of a larger SDB family. We look forward to connecting with many of you at Conference.
There have been some hard things that we have learned in our travels—the consolation I have in this is that God is getting us ready as a denomination for what He has for us. I mentioned originally that I believe God has clearly said, “The Church is returning to the Sabbath!” My admonition for all of us was: People Get Ready. I do believe Seventh Day Baptists have been preserved for the purpose of teaching the rest of the Church about the Sabbath, and that in order for us to fulfill our calling as a denomination, we have to get ready.
We have learned of some sin patterns among us SDBs, some of them decades old, that have needed exposure so that our “house” could get cleaned. I am not discouraged by this, rather encouraged, because God only disciplines His kids—that is because He loves us. I think as a denomination we have needed some serious discipline. We cannot let the enemy have access to the “holes” in us, and as long as those “holes” remain unhealed, we are sitting ducks waiting for the enemy to shoot us. Those who get caught up in sin are really little wounded boys and girls in grown-up bodies with unhealed areas who have had their holes exposed. We dare not sit in judgment, but we also cannot allow sin to fester and grow and wound everyone. We, in the independent Western Civilization, have a very mixed-up idea about the effects of sin. We believe the lie that my sin only affects me, when in reality sin is like throwing a rock in a pond where the ripple effect goes on and on and on. Sin affects us all and never happens in a vacuum and we need to quit believing this lie. We need mercy and firmness to call what is sin: Sin. We need to find ways to help restore the ones caught in sin and its effects with love and grace where it is received and a firm boot where there is staunch resistance. Sometimes a boot is the instrument of love and mercy and grace.
We need to grow up and realize that love sometimes has to be very tough. I suspect the exposure of sin in our denomination has only begun, so we need to not despair as we see God at work cleaning our “house.” Rather, we need to realize that what is, is—and denying it doesn’t do any more for us than the little child who covers his eyes believing if he cannot see you, then you cannot see him. We must become mature and act like it! And we must remember that God only disciplines those who are His!
God is at work among Seventh Day Baptists. At Conference, you will get a chance to see and support the youngest of us as they step out in leadership. We hope to see you in Lancaster, PA, July 28-August 3! A team has been praying faithfully for this Conference over the past year and you have been included in that prayer!
