By Pastor Hal Mayer
Dear Friends,
Welcome to Keep the Faith again. This month we are going to look at how the enemy has stolen the spirituality from our schools and churches. I hate to say it, because it isn’t politically correct, but our church has become worldly, and our church and schools have joined worldly alliances that have become a yoke that can’t be shaken off without serious consequences. We deceive ourselves into complacency, just as the Jews in Christ’s day. We argue that our schools are better than most other systems. No doubt that is true. But what has God commanded us? Now popular Adventist thinking has shifted our mission and stripped us of the vital spiritual power that was evident at the founding of our church. What are the key reasons why we are floundering spiritually and why God isn’t pleased as we are?
Let us pray. Dear Father in heaven, we are in a dilemma. On one had we are apparently successful. But on the other, we are mostly just nominal spiritually. Please help us to understand this problem and find solutions. Please guide us as we study. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Please turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 1:18 – 24. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
Our education system is one of the most misunderstood entities in Adventism today. Most parents are often lackadaisical about the education their children are getting because they think, “It’s an Adventist school, so they’ll get a Christian education, and they’ll turn out as good church members and play their part, and in the end, they’ll be saved.” After all, the Bible says, “train up a child in the way he should go…” right?
Nothing could be further from the truth with this mentality. Adventist education today is not, for the most part “Adventist” nor even “Christian.” But instead, it is modeled after the world and produces worldly young men and woman that don’t know or understand the Adventist message and aren’t committed to it. And they are oriented to worldly achievements. And have a strong entertainment mentality. Many of our campuses have gone to woke, LBGTQ+ friendly, often criticize or downplay our distinctive beliefs, and appeal to students with worldly motivations. Our students aren’t taught our message, but a mealy-mouthed evangelical and ecumenical theology, if they get Bible teaching at all. When you ask a room full of SDA college students what happens during the investigative judgement, you can hear a pin drop. Then someone pipes up with a wrong answer. Ask them to describe the third angels’ message and the silence is deafening.
This is very alarming. When you listen to Adventists talk about the educational system you would be impressed with its value as better than the others. But SDA education has wandered very far from God’s revealed will concerning our schools. And that is reflected in the motivations and lifestyle of the graduates.
Disappointed parents lament that their children aren’t “in the church anymore,” or aren’t attending and aren’t interested in spiritual things. It is politically incorrect to raise the alarm because church people have sacrificed huge resources to build up these massive monolithic institutions and have sacrificed to put their children through them. They are rather emotional about them. The radical changes that would have to be made to right the ship are too much for most to even comprehend, and too difficult to implement. The knee-jerk reaction is to offer excuses and platitudes and persecute the messenger, as it is with other areas of our church. But like in every area of reform someone, in fact, many need to speak up if there is going to be any real educational reform. Adventist education is imperiled by a complacency that is largely pervasive.
Parents who have neglected the spiritual training of their children place their children under the influence of teachers that don’t have a strong spiritual commitment to true education (though there are some notable exceptions) and the influence of peers lead them away from an interest in spiritual things. Our denominational schools are modeled after the world, and therefore the training is basically worldly with a few Bible classes thrown in. That way everybody feels like their children are getting a “Christian” education. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
What has happened to our schools? Where have they gone off? Now that I have been Academic Dean of a self-supporting college for a time, I know something about the reasons why the enemy has stolen the spirituality from our educational system.
Let’s go back and understand how we got here. Our inveterate enemy has derailed God’s church at least once before. He targeted the educational system of the Jews and it led them to reject Christ, the Lord of Glory, when He came to earth to rescue the human race. Now he is targeting the SDA educational system in a similar way to get them to reject the Holy Spirit in the latter rain, making them unfit for heaven.
Notice from the scripture text that while the Jews were looking for sensational miracles that they could see and feel, the Greeks were emphasizing worldly wisdom. And because they were mingled together, the Greeks influenced the Jews so much that it was impossible for the Jews to see that Christ emphasized ministery to the humble peasants instead of proud intellectuals. The Jews expected a different Christ than what they got. Do we have the same or similar conditions today? Could we be falling into the same trap?
Originally, the educational system God gave the Jews was simple, practical, natural, and designed to create love and loyalty to God, and an understanding of His law in their hearts. If Israel had remained loyal, God would have blessed them so much that they would have been the admiration of the world and consulted regularly. God’s educational plan would have prepared Israel to announce the Messiah’s salvation to the world.
But God’s chosen people stoned the prophets, went whoring after idols, languished in Babylon, and ultimately rejected Christ the Messiah. After returning from captivity, being fearful of idolatry they hedged themselves with rules and regulations to prevent apostasy. Satan knew it would be extremely difficult to entice Israel into rank idolatry again, so he tried another angle.
Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Great’s four generals, took control of the southern part of the Greek empire which included Judea. He began the Ptolemy dynasty that ruled from Alexandria, Egypt. Leaders from Judea were invited to participate in at least certain aspects of the Ptolemy government in a sort of “political ecumenism.”
The pagan Greeks were very friendly to the Jews, which caused large Jewish communities to arise in Alexandria. The Ptolemy strategy to bring Greek culture into Jewish life was through their educational system, economy, entertainment and the arts. The Jews were intrigued by Greek intellectualism and eventually became enthralled with it. Jewish scholars in Alexandria translated the Septuagint, the old testament, into the Greek language.
Promising and talented Jewish youth were invited to Alexandria’s schools and then with their degrees came back to teach in Jewish schools. Because Greek culture was becoming quite popular, the Jews thought this a good way to bring fresh thinking and new perspectives into Jewish life. The average Jew was enamored with Greek lifestyle and materialism. And the prospect of wealth strengthened the Jewish fascination with Greek thinking and culture. Meanwhile, Greek intellectualism crept into Palestine and brought with it the Greek culture, with sports, entertainment and fashion.
The Jewish priests had made themselves singularly wealthy from the offerings of the people and had become corrupted. By supporting Greek culture, they improved their chances of increasing their wealth even further. Later some Jews worked for the Romans as tax collectors and made themselves very, very wealthy. Matthew and Zaccheus were among this class at the time of Jesus’ ministry on earth. Some of these wealthy ones had invested in Palestine and showered it with money, improving economic conditions and raising the people from poverty to prosperity and changed the course of Judean history. Of course the Jews saw it as the blessing of God. But money gained by deception and fraud are not evidence of God’s approval.
The new wealth in Jerusalem changed the attitude of the Jews. They emulated the Greeks in everything. Jewish tastes became more refined. They became interested in less practical arts, especially painting. Their homes became more beautiful. Their clothing copied the fashions of the Greeks. But the simple habits and customs of the Jews, designed to keep them loyal to God and separate from pagan idolaters was lost. Though they no longer bowed down to idols, they were guilty of a new idolatry to the gods of reason, materialism and fashion.
It was the Jewish leaders that led the youth of the day to adopt the worldly customs of the Greeks, including indulgence in wine, worldly music, drama, theater, competitive sports, and other entertainments. They placed more importance on making money than on spiritual values. Greek fashions became customary in Judea.
Jews from Alexandria introduced a new educational system in Judea, which as it advanced it increased the love of worldliness and monetary gain. This really appealed to the youth who were quickly drawn into dissipation and immorality.
Some important Jews, familiar with Ptolemy’s court, witnessed, and even participated in the corrupt orgies connected with the numerous Greek festivals. These leading Jews brazenly introduced them at Jerusalem. The result was that there was less interest in the festivals that God had given to His people to inspire them with truth and soul-saving education. You see, the Jews were being re-educated into the thinking of the world.
Some of the leading Jews realized that in order to Hellenize the Jewish church, they would have to control the education of the young. Some of the most influential Jews shamelessly conspired to abolish the faith of their fathers. The goal of these “liberals” was the complete incorporation of Jewish life and customs into worldly Greek culture.
Greek education put a high priority on sports. These Jewish leaders introduced games, races, wrestling matches and contests of all sorts in Jewish schools, even though Jewish law sternly opposed these innovations. One of the High Priests, named Jason, introduced the Olympian games into Judea and built a gymnasium for this purpose in the heart of the city close to the temple, of all things. Jewish youth flocked to this Olympic shrine within their own borders. Greek sports masters were hired to teach their games. The Jews crowded the stadium. Even the Priests neglected their temple duties so they could play in the games.
The decline in standards fostered by the liberal leaders led to a general disregard and even denial of the fundamental truths of the Jewish faith.
Bevan says, “By the act of its own people, Jerusalem had renounced its age-long isolation and come into line with the great Hellenic world.”
Little by little the things that made the Jews distinct; their very identity, became open for discussion and were often discarded. Even conservative Jews began to question their traditional beliefs. They wondered if the teachings of Judaism were actually correct.
The rabbinical schools of the Jews continued to operate. But as Alexandria-trained rabbis held sway over the curriculum, the training in these schools became greatly compromised. Increasingly they were less practical, less biblical, and more theoretical and philosophical. Sports, games, wealth and luxury were glorified. Worldly motivation replaced service in God’s cause.
Year after year the word of God was studied less as the educational curriculum moved toward intellectualism and rationalism. Year after year man was exalted and God was less thought of. The rabbi with a “university degree” was exalted and those without degrees were depreciated and treated as if they “had never learned.” Ceremony increased as piety decreased. More emphasis was placed on the Mishna and the Gemara than on the simple truths of the Bible.
There was a saying which went something like this; “A child of five years should study the Bible, at ten the Mishna and at fifteen the Gemara.” As a student advanced in years and increased in mental ability, he studied God’s word less and man’s writings more.
Attendance at temple services declined. The simple truths of the sanctuary message failed to impress their minds anymore as the titillating ideas of Greek philosophy gained more attention.
Liberal compromises do not bring peace and unity. By the second century B.C. the degeneration of the Jewish faith led to severe internal conflicts creating a reaction. Those that opposed this liberalization banded together and formed the Chasidim or “The Pious.” The conflict between the liberals and the conservatives pushed both parties to opposite extremes so that they could not comprehend each other. Arguments arose on all fronts. Disagreements about sports, food, medicine, worldliness, and philosophical problems created general discord. As you can imagine, the conservatives trying to uphold the “old paths” and “the good way” were accused of causing the general disunity when it was really because of the liberals. Sound familiar?
The people generally took the middle course. They enjoyed the luxuries, refinements, entertainments such as drama and theater, and the ever-present sports, but disapproved of the extreme liberal excesses because they did not want to break their connection with the past.
Can you imagine how sad heaven must have been to see the reaction of the Jews to Jesus? Imagine their horror at the hatred that was directed at Christ because of His spiritual strength and His pointed, politically incorrect testimony. Imagine the heartsick angels that ministered to Christ as He was persecuted by the priests, as He anguished in Gethsemane, as He was beaten by the Romans, and hung on a cruel cross. Imagine the shock and amazement of heavenly beings as the church leaders mocked Him and derided Him as He hung on that cross. Satan had captivated the minds of the Jews with all these liberal compromises. The resulting conflicts prevented them from coming back into the balance. It was just too difficult.
Does all this sound familiar? Is it possible that Satan is working to do the same thing to God’s church today?
In our day, there has been a similar loss of the core principles of the truth in God’s church, and the parallels are phenomenal. For example, to meet accreditation standards, which tie the hands of our academies, colleges and universities and links them to the world in bonds that it’s not practical to break. Teachers attend evangelical and secular seminaries for advanced degrees (in the Greek tradition no less) and bring evangelical teachings back into church schools, compromising the training of the youth, and stripping them of their interest in upholding the distinctives of Adventism. It takes spiritual strength to uphold these truths, but SDA students are not generally taught how to study the Bible and defend our faith. The Spirit of Prophecy is generally ignored or even mocked. You wonder where the “she bears” are.
Years ago, the liberals knew that the only way to change the church was to control the educational system. This they have done successfully. Church schools have replaced agriculture with the pagan concept of games and sports and have tried to become as much like secular schools as possible, even competing with them in tournaments and leagues. The distinctive features of God’s educational system that were to set our educational system apart from the world have been largely eliminated. Curriculums now emphasize less Bible and more evangelical theology and ecumenical teachings.
Like the Jews, we have developed an entertainment mentality, which includes movies and theater, amusements like computer and internet games, dance music, fashion and sports. Similar to the Jews, many are more concerned about making money than about their spiritual life or the eternal salvation of others including their families. And many among us try to become as much like the worldlings around us as possible. We paint our faces and nails and some even put tattoos on their bodies. Prohibitions against jewelry long ago made their exit. The latest fashions are all on our campuses. The youth listen to worldly music emphasizing sensual themes.
Like the Jews, many Adventists now question the distinctive features of our faith. Many “progressive” leaders (as liberals like to be called) are determined to incorporate evangelical religious culture into our Adventist lifestyle and completely do away with the faith of our fathers. Many are woke, promote the LGBTQ+ lifestyle, argue against victory over sin, the sanctuary message, they despise the investigative judgement, the Spirit of Prophecy and key doctrines and lifestyle imperatives found in the Bible and the inspired writings. Many of us have become ashamed of the distinctives of our faith and want to hide or minimize them. Conflicts between liberals and conservatives today have gotten to the point where they often can’t understand each other.
God’s plan of true education, designed to strengthen the loyalties of God’s people to the Law of God is almost wholly extinct today. Compromise has gutted denominational education to the point that many graduates have little or no motivation to serve God’s cause.
The Jews were so steeped in Greek education and lifestyle that they could not discern that among them was the Promised One – Jesus the Messiah. They viewed Him as unlearned and lower class because He never studied in their schools. They hated His pointed public accounting of their infidelity to the Law of God. They despised His simple teaching about how to be saved. But most of all they were angry that He refused to obey their authority and follow their rules. The Greek system of education and philosophy had destroyed the Jews capability to comprehend Jesus’ mission, and they ended by crucifying Him. The enemy had stolen their spiritual strength through their educational system.
Is it possible that many of us are so steeped in worldly (Greek) principles that we will treat the genuine manifestation of the Holy Spirit similar to the way the Jews treated Christ? Is it possible that many will miss the latter rain while it is falling all around them because they have refused to follow God’s simple plan of education? How many among us will miss the last opportunity to cooperate with heaven in the final warning message to the world because they have wasted away their preparation time in sports, entertainment, or other worldly pursuits?
Back in the 60’s somebody, who was guiding the system, got the bright idea that we should build schools, including dorms that could handle 400 students each. Afterall, the greater financial consolidation meant that we would have the ability to become accredited. And this would draw more students.
The problem with this was that it made the schools unwieldy and difficult to control. Now, to pay for everything accreditation required we would have to take virtually everyone that applied, both those interested in spiritual things and those that are not. We chose the way that made us like the schools of the world and evangelical Christianity. They didn’t stop to think that this was a formula that would open the door to Satan. Moral students would mingle, or room with students that have little or no moral bearings. This would lead the spiritual students to compromise. Also accreditation meant that we couldn’t be as choosy about teachers, because we had to have their advanced degrees to meet the required standards. These were just some of the problems that rather forced us into a nominal compliance with God’s commands and ruined our spiritual vitality.
The faculty couldn’t mentor 400 students. We had to have ways to keep the students doing things in larger groups, because we couldn’t supervise that many during free time. So, competitive sports came in, which is antithetical to true Christianity and strips the love of Bible study from our hearts.
Ellen White warned not to build too large. When Battle Creek started getting too large, she wrote in Battle Creek Letters, page 51, “Work is to be done in all parts of the vineyard. In early days of the message a right beginning was made, but the work has not developed as God desired it to develop. Too much has been centered in Battle Creek, and Oakland, and few other places. Our brethren should never have built so largely in one place as they have in Battle Creek. In many fields very little has been done to establish memorials for God. This is wrong. Years ago very many of our workers and people had the spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice. Success attended their efforts.”
Have we lost the spirit of sacrifice? Returning to true education would help to restore that principle more broadly among our people. In fact, we need to
develop that spirit as a defense against the enemy bringing in worldliness into our schools.
I’ll read on, “The Lord has signified that His work should be carried forward in the same spirit in which it was begun. The world is to be warned. Field after field is still unworked. Shall we as a people, by our actions, our business arrangements, our attitude toward a world unsaved, bear a testimony altogether different from the testimony borne by us twenty or thirty years ago? Shall we give evidence of spiritual disease and lack of wise planning?…”
I think we have given evidence of our great lack of wise planning, because now many of our schools are greatly compromised in every area, possibly beyond recovery except by the intervention of God. It may be time to sell them and start over on a spiritual basis.
I’ll read more, “God’s messengers must be clothed with power. They must have a reverence for the truth that they do not now possess. The Lord’s solemn, sacred message of warning must be proclaimed not merely in our churches, but in the most difficult fields and in the most sinful cities,—in every place where the light of the third angel’s message has not yet dawned. Every one is to hear the last call to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
How do we get spiritual power? Certainly not by disobeying Gods instructions. We can only get it by being united with Christ and the Holy Spirit. This cannot happen through sports, entertainment, or the world’s curriculum. This statement from Battle Creek Letters, page 51 gives us some guidance as to what should be done.
“My brethren, let your building plans be reconsidered. Bring your building within your means.”
In other words, don’t go into debt to build large institutions. That means we should have built smaller, leaner facilities in many more places. It also means that we would not be under the galling yoke of accrediting bodies. We would be less pressured to meet curriculum requirements, leaving us freer to invest in our youth and inspire them with Gods service and prepare them to stand in the time of trouble. Do you realize how unprepared most of us are to stand when things are rough?
I’ll read on, “The Lord sees the work that must be done. He sees the fields that are unworked and destitute of facilities. From all in His service He requires equity, just judgment. In all parts of the world there is work to be done that ought to have been done long ago. A large amount of means is not to be absorbed in one place. Every building erected is to be erected with reference to the other places that will need similar buildings. God calls upon men in positions of trust in His work not to block the way of advance by selfishly using in one place or in one line of work all the means that can be secured.”
If Jeremiah were here, we would be like ancient Israel, which was self-satisfied in a false security and rebellion. But now that we have these large institutions what should we do? Shall we sell them, build much smaller ones and give the leftover funds to fields that need similar schools?
Perhaps it is past time to rethink our educational system and find ways to model it like the schools of the prophets. What would a change to our educational system mean to the spiritual life of our church? Would following the principles of true education be enough to bring back our dedication to spiritual things? Without a personal commitment a change in the educational system will be fruitless. But changing the system would allow the Holy Spirit to work where it is very limited today. Here are some of the key changes that would allow for the Holy Spirit to bring back the spirituality to our schools.
Returning to the Bible as the basis of the whole curriculum. Requiring courses in the distinctives of our SDA message would go a long way to returning to a knowledge of the truths of Adventism to our church. The Bible would turn the student’s minds away from woke ideas and alternative lifestyles to the principles of Bible living, from focus on money-making to self-sacrificing service in God’s cause, from human requirements to a focus on the law of God and the preparation so necessary to the end-times.
Focus on simple trades and agriculture instead of a sports program. Train for any practical skill that doesn’t require a license other than to take a simple test and that does not require years of training. These would provide a practical element to the student’s lives and give them something to produce a livelihood that avoids heavy licensure requirements that the enemy would use to coerce them to do things that may violate their consciences, like during the recent pandemic. There is much that can be done in these lines. We have catapulted our youth largely to pursue skills in medical areas that has left us with a dearth of trained workers in manual trades.
I have had occasion in the last few years to observe the Mennonite community in our local area. They avoid advanced education that requires much expense and instead focus building trades, auto mechanics, agriculture (market gardens) and other small trades or industries that can be run out of their homes so that even their women can be involved. Their very few large universities have adopted higher criticism and gone liberal and woke. So, the more conservative ones train their children at home in practical trades and jobs that require little education in schools. I have also observed that they and other families have multiple streams of income which are adaptable and can accommodate summer and winter, lean times and times of plenty. Our educational system should model principles that can provide an opportunity to make a living and at the same time give witnessing opportunities.
Renounce accreditation so that we can be free to follow the leading of the Lord and not stand in the way of the Holy Spirit. Accreditation places an authoritative voice between us and God. Our schools would have less cost, more spiritual faculty and curriculum. They would not be saddled with requirements that run counter to the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.
These are just some of the things that would need to be done to have a viable school of the prophets. To follow true education would strengthen our schools spiritually and bring them back into compliance with God’s revealed will.
It’s all about environment. An environment that leans toward the world will produce graduates that are more worldly. An environment that places a high priority on spiritual things will produce more spiritual graduates with a loyalty to the truth and commitment to the church. Following God’s plan of true education will also raise and establish a bulwark against the enemy to prevent him from taking so many of our youth. It would reduce the anxiety of spiritual parents about sending their children to worldly SDA schools, or the schools of the world.
Ellen White wrote a comment in January of 1894 which is from Fundamentals of Education, page 290.
“Our institutions of learning may swing into worldly conformity. Step by step they may advance to the world; but they are prisoners of hope, and God will correct and enlighten them, and bring them back to their upright position of distinction from the world.”
We often hear that quote. And it is used to settle our minds to not agitate concern about our educational system. But we rarely if ever hear the slightly different quote that she wrote 5 years later in 1899. It lays out a much more serious scenario with which we need to wrestle. It is in Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, page 145. Here it is, “Though in many respects our institutions of learning have swung into worldly conformity, though step by step they have advanced toward the world, they are prisoners of hope. Fate has not so woven its meshes about their workings that they need to remain helpless and in uncertainty. If they will listen to His voice and follow in His ways, God will correct and enlighten them, and bring them back to their upright position of distinction from the world.”
Notice that in 1899 there were conditions to the correction and enlightenment that if they had been heeded would have left us far in advance spiritually than we are. Perhaps the counsel is still valid and if we repent and listen to God’s voice and do the much more difficult “follow in His ways,” we will see our schools and church return to the spiritual life that is so needful right now to prepare them for the latter rain.
Perhaps we need to rethink our relationship to Christ and to the world around us and find where we are personally compromised and do all in our power to recover our faith and live by it in our homes, schools and churches. Perhaps we could gain much by restudying the sanctuary services that God gave to Israel to illustrate His principles of salvation. If we understood what Christ has done for us and His powerful love for each of us personally, we could see the pathway through all the temptations and attractions that the Devil would throw at us.
Let us pray. Dear Father, we are undone. We don’t know exactly how to right the ship, but we know that we lack the spirituality that is required to get us ready for heaven. Send us Your Holy Spirit please, urgently, to guide us at this time. Forgive us for our sins and our neglect of your instructions. Help us to be obedient, in Jesus name, amen.