Stories & Commentaries

Christ’s final prayer for His people—for His church—is that we would work together as one. One people and one church. We find Jesus’ prayer to His Father recorded in John 17:23: “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected and completed into one, so that the world may know [without any doubt] that You sent Me, and [that You] have loved them, just as You have loved Me” (Amplified).* His prayer was for His people, His church, to be one, working together as one!

We’re in the midst of one of the greatest youth crises in history. Suicide rates are up. Way up. So is depression, anxiety, sexual confusion, and desperation. All of this was completely predictable when so many school systems decided to close their doors and leave children to the mercy of the Internet. But one system has bucked the trend. Here’s the story of Adventist Education in North America.

A shoe giveaway was held Sabbath, May 21, 2022, on the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon. The Madras, Pleasant Valley, and Redmond Seventh-day Adventist churches collaborated on the event in close cooperation with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and with funding from Samaritans’ Feet.

Three years ago, Roy Reid of Longwood, Florida, experienced massive chest pains, which nearly scared him to death. Reid, then 54, had a stroke on his way to AdventHealth Altamonte Springs ER, and his unresponsive state may have helped lead to the grim diagnosis — an acute aortic dissection: his heart had exploded

Veteran historian and educator, Brian E. Strayer, at Andrews University would famously offer in class a reward of $100 to any student who could find a photograph of Sarah Lindsey (1832-1914), the first woman licensed as a Seventh-day Adventist minister. This challenge remained until a recently discovered photograph in the George I. Butler Collection at Loma Linda University provides a picture of a “Sister Lindsey.”

​​​​​​​On Sunday evening, June 19, 2022, the doors opened up for 670 registered children, ages 3-12, to the unique experience of CALLEDKids Go Fish for Kids: Where Kids Explore Their Spiritual Gifts.

The official fitness team of the 2022 CALLED Pastors’ Family Convention was formed long before event planning began. The group, F5 Challenge, offers fitness events across the North American Division and beyond, and is open Adventist and non-Adventists alike.

I realize that General Conference Session and fun aren’t always considered synonymous. Admittedly, if you speak with me during business sessions, "fun" isn’t my first description of the experience. However, another word for General Conference is "family reunion." (OK, two words.)

David was a top-notch accountant. He had been working in the industry for 30 years. His children were through college, and he decided it was time to give back and do something in his life to make a difference in a tangible way. A change from crunching numbers to changing lives. He went back to university to become a teacher.

There is something poignant about a person’s last words—the phrases uttered with one’s last breaths create meaning that outlives the person who speaks to them. Many don’t consider their final moments until they look death in the face.  Others think about the legacy they hope to leave—even in the last few minutes, they have to do so. Michael McKay had given a lot of thought to his last words.