Even though the Seventh-day Adventist church has a 145-year history of "practicing health reform" it still must evaluate the effectiveness of its message in the communities it serves, health experts say.
Even though the Seventh-day Adventist church has a 145-year history of “practicing health reform” it still must evaluate the effectiveness of its message in the communities it serves, health experts say.
Addressing a 500-strong audience of Seventh-day Adventist church leaders, laity, and professional health specialists attending a health summit in Orlando, Florida, Jan. 30 to -Feb. 5, Dr. James Kyle II, voiced a challenge to revisit the way Adventists speak about and practice healthful living.
“Our religious observance, our church going, our Adventist lifestyles, while admirable, are not enough to please God and men,” he stated in a keynote address. Dr. Kyle was named last year as dean of the Loma Linda School of Public Health and chairman of its department of health administration. Among the issues of concern he identified is the often overwhelming approach of relegating wholeness of life to a concept of “don’ts.”
“We don’t eat meat, we don’t smoke, we don’t drink alcohol, we don’t, we don’t, we don’t. And for many, our health message has become the standard by which we judge the truly converted among us,” he stated.
“The gift of health reform in this church has much broader applications than to simply make us all healthier,” Kyle added.
Mark Finley, director of the church’s Center for Global Evangelism who is conducting an intensive health-outreach training program at the Florida event, explains that meeting people’s physical needs first is “Christ’s method of reaching people.”
“Seventh-day Adventists view the gospel as physical, mental, spiritual and social wholeness, therefore we cannot conceive the total health as being without spirituality,” Finley told Adventist News Network. “In practice, this means leading people to an understanding of the God who created them, and His essential principles of life and health.”
“Understanding the spiritual component and putting it into practice wherever Adventist communities are will allow us to make significant changes not only in our lives but in the lives of those around us, added Dr. DeWitt Williams, organizer of the conference. “That’s why we are talking about a holistic approach to our ministry as a church.”
This is the fourth Health Summit organized by the church and the event “is growing each year,” Williams added.
Dr. Kyle said that “true success” in the church’s health ministry “can only happen when we are contextually relevant to the needs of our communities.” Commenting on the needs of today, he drew a parallel with the biblical times and the experience of the ancient people of Israel, who “neglected their opportunity to join the ministry of God by helping the sick, the prisoners, the oppressed and the Gentiles ... Yet as we participate in the inevitable social, economic, and spiritual blessings of the Adventist lifestyle, we have become increasingly more disconnected from the suffering of real people around us and less capable of mingling with domestic outcasts.”
“It’s time for the church to confront the gates of addiction, injustice, intemperance, and depression ... We need to engage not only the communities where we live, but to systematically evaluate our areas for how we can be of help to vulnerable populations that are in the greatest need,” Kyle stated.
Connecting the theme of the conference, “Empowering Health Leaders to Reach the Unreached,” Kyle stressed the disconnect that often permeates a one-sided mission approach of many. He encouraged the church to engage in a deeper role—“to lead [the people] to discipleship, not just conversion.”
“The community is calling us,” said Dr. Williams. “That’s why we have here such an array of people and approaches to offer and make our response relevant and responsible. This summit offers a best slate of authorities, scientists and medical experts, and among the obvious advantages of being here is that participants can not only get good materials and hear great experts, but also receive appropriate certification in a given subject. We are taking this approach because we are aware of trends with some of our church members opting for alternative medical options which often have little scientific background in what they offer.”
The courses offered at the summit address a holistic lifestyle with courses covering emotional, mental, physical health and financial health. Instruction is given on such topics as vegetarian cooking, forgiveness, regeneration, depression recovery training, coronary health improvement, and lifelong weight management.
Pastor Jan Paulsen, Seventh-day Adventist Church world president, is expected to address participants at the conference’s conclusion.
“What you see at this event is a smorgasbord of topics and tools to help your church become a center where people can come to improve their lives,” comments Dr. Allan Handysides, health ministries director for the Adventist world church.
He added that the summit is the biggest such gathering in the Adventist world church. It is organized by the , North and Inter American regions of the church, but is now attracting participants from Europe, the Philippines and Singapore. “We are international and diverse in our church. The materials can be adapted to fit the context where they are to be used,” said Handysides.
