March 2021 Carolina's 10,000 P5
1. A PRAISE FOR OUR 27th PRESIDENT AT SOUTHERN ADVENTIST UNIVERSITY – DR. KEN SHAW
As a member of Southern Adventist University’s Board of Trustees, I am pleased to announce that Ken Shaw, EdD, will become the university’s 27th president. He will assume office on June 1.
Dr. Shaw graduated from Southern in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and will be the university’s first alum to return as president. In fact, his entire family graduated from Southern: his wife, Ann (Kennedy), earned her nursing degree in 1979; their daughter, Kate Myers, earned her associate and bachelor’s degrees in nursing in 2008 and 2009; and their son, Martin, earned his pastoral care degree in 2012.
“Ann and I cherish our memories from Southern,” Shaw said. “Returning to campus is like coming home for us, and we’re delighted to be part of this institution. I really admire that Southern is still fundamentally centered on its mission and on the core values that the institution has been about for 129 years.”
For the past seven years, Shaw has served as president of Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. Previously he worked at Florida State University for 25 years in various capacities, from assistant professor ofmathematics education to campus dean of Florida State University Panama City and academic dean of the College of Applied Studies. His track record as a leader in higher education includes increasing enrollment, establishing new academic programs, and improving institutional financial stability.
Southern’s presidential search committee identified five key characteristics and skills necessary in a new president:
Spirituality and ability to instill a strong spiritual character in the culture of the university;
Innovation;
Being the face of the university to the broader Chattanooga community;
Providing leadership to fundraising activities;
Business acumen.
The Board is confident Shaw possesses these qualities and more.
“I am pleased that Dr. Ken Shaw has accepted our invitation to be the next president of Southern Adventist University,” said Ron Smith, PhD, DMin, Chairman of Southern’s Board of Trustees and President of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. “The unanimous decision of the board is strong evidence that the will of God has been executed. We thank the Lord for His providential leading and anticipate His blessing in the Southern community as a result of Dr. Shaw’s acceptance.”
As President David Smith retires at the end of May, we look forward to showing our appreciation for his service as we welcome Dr. Shaw and his family with our warm Southern hospitality and earnest prayers for his leadership of our university.
2. PRAYING FOR OUR CHURCH SCHOOLS
As we began this school year last August, our teachers, our churches, and our school boards worked tirelessly together to safeguard the reopening of our schools and minimizing the risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus by ensuring that our schools follow federal guidelines of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), state and local guidelines, and the directives of the Emergency Response Team of the Carolina Conference. As a result, we can thank the Lord that none of our teachers or students in our Carolina church schools have lost their lives or have been affected in any significant manner by this dangerous viral epidemic that has tragically impacted over 400,000 lives in the United States alone.
We need to never forget in uplifting our church schools, our teachers and the precious lives of our children and youth that have been entrusted to us. They are our sacred treasure to be educated and nurtured to become a blessing on earth and a saved soul for all eternity.
Continuing with this issue of the President’s Prayer Partners, we highlight our second listing of church schools and the teachers of the Carolina Conference till we close the pages of our 2020-2021 school year in May.
Please uplift these schools in your prayers this month:
3. PRAYING FOR OUR PASTORS & THEIR CHURCH DISTRICTS
Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these words of encouragement were penned for our churches: “Ask of me, and I will answer your requests. The promise is made on condition that the united prayers of the church are offered, and in answer to these prayers there may be expected a power greater than that which comes in answer to private prayer. The power given will be proportionate to the unity of the members and their love for God and for one another.” [9MR, 303]
Praying for our pastors is very important. They are serving God and the attacks of the enemy are relentless. They must be covered in our prayers on a daily basis. Our prayers should be personalized by saying the title of pastor along with their name since they hold a position of sacred trust for God’s remnant church.
Why not pray specifically for our pastors by name using these seven needs and scriptural promises:
For Protection from Satan — "Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (1 Peter 5:8)
For Protection from Our Own Sinful Hearts — "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." (James 1:14-15)
For Deep Spiritual Encouragement — "For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine." (Romans 1:11-12)
For Wisdom — "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5)
For Doctrinal Faithfulness — "By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you." (2 Timothy 1:14)
For A Healthy Body — "But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9:27)
For A Strong Marriage & Family — "Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church." (1 Timothy 3:2-6)
PASTOR CHURCH(ES); COMPANIES & GROUPS
1. Christiane Dutra ......................................................................................................................................Pastor
Raleigh- Bethel Haitian SDA Company Apex-The Vine SDA Company
2. Jonathan Edwards ................................................................................................................................Pastor
Greenville North SDA Church Robersonville Mission of Hope SDA Group
3. Julio Flores .................................................................................................................................................Pastor
Charlotte Spanish SDA Church West Charlotte Spanish SDA Church South Charlotte Spanish SDA Company Rock Hill Spanish SDA Company
Lancaster Spanish SDA Mission Group
4. Brandon Ford .............................................................................................................................................Pastor
Banner Elk SDA Church Boone SDA Church
5. Glen Garver .................................................................................................................................................Pastor
Greensboro SDA Church Greensboro Montagnard SDA Group*
6. David Graham ...................................................................................................................Part-time Pastor
Asheville North SDA Church
Franklin SDA Church
7. Robert (Bob) Grant, Jr .........................................................................................................................Pastor
Salem SDA Church Westminster SDA Church
*Serves as an Overseeing Pastor who supports the work of a Volunteer Lay Leader (VLL) or
A Volunteer Lay Pastor (VLP)
4. PRAYING FOR OUR DEPARTMENTAL MINISTRIES
Last year, starting with our April, 2019 issue of P5, we began highlighting a department of the conference each month – not so much as to give a full-length report of all that they have been doing or are accomplishing, but rather to simply uplift in our prayers all our leaders and their faithful service. The ministries of the Carolina Conference are basically structured under 6 organizational departmental functions. They include:
1. The Adventist Christian Book Center
2. Camp Meeting
3. Administration
4. Outreach
5. Church Ministries
6. Children & Young Adults
Over the past few months, we have focused our prayers with the departmental functions of
Administration and Outreach. We continue our focus on the next department that is designated as a vital part of the Church Ministries in the Carolina Conference:
During this month of March,
I invite you to prayerfully uplift our
Singles Ministries Department
under the leadership of
Pastor Eli Rojas, Jr.
The Single’s Department is devoted to providing support to individuals that are single in the Carolina Conference. Their mission is to help establish and solidify confident and secure relationships with God while also fostering personal growth. They also assist in finding a place to serve in the Ministry of Christ by utilizing personal talents and gifts—thereby aiding in preparing them to be beacons of light in their homes, communities, and churches. If you are interested in learning more about the Single’s Department, please contact Pastor Eli Rojas at: erojas@carolinasda.org
5. SATURATED WITH THE WORD – Fundamental Belief # 20 – The Sabbath
As a President’s Prayer Partner, we again invite you to truly be a people of the Word. As Seventh-day Adventists, we embrace 28 Fundamental truths that are based on the Bible alone. This is the second cycle in our emphasis on these vital beliefs that are centered in Christ as our Savior and as our Lord.
Let’s continue to place His Word prayerfully in our hearts each day of this month. I carry a set of these passages with me in my car and repeat them aloud as I drive from place to place. My goal is to prayerfully say one verse at least five times a day for a week, thus embracing the promise of God’s Word – “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11.
Repeat these passages over and over till they become a part of your very being. Of course, you can always choose to do more. Prayerfully consider how you can saturate your soul and make His Word a part of your heart every day.
FUNDAMENTAL BELIEF # 20: The Sabbath The gracious Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts.
A. Exodus 20: 8-11 (KJV) — “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.”
B. Isaiah 58:13-14 (NKJV) — “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lordl And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken,”
C. Luke 6:5 (NKJV) — “And He said to them, ‘The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.’”
D. Hebrews 4:4 (NKJV) — “For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest.’ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, ‘Today, after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.’”
6. PRAY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF OUR RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
On Thursday, February 25, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives once again passed the LGBT anti- discrimination bill “The Equality Act” (H.R. 5).
While the Seventh-day Adventist Church firmly believes that everyone is created in the image of God and should be treated with dignity, compassion, and respect, the Church remains concerned that the Equality Act, as drafted, would further erode the religious liberty of faith communities and their members.
As currently written, the legislation makes no allowance for communities or individuals of faith who hold traditional views of marriage and gender and fails to provide essential religious liberty protections that would allow a diverse and essential group of social service, humanitarian, and educational organizations to continue to thrive.
Encouraging to the Church is the diminished support of the Equality Act and the growing support of the Fairness for All Act, which was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, February 26.
The North American Division and General Conference have partnered together to represent the Seventh-day Adventist Church in a diverse coalition of faith and advocacy partners who support the Fairness for All Act’s balanced approach to addressing LGBT discrimination while maintaining the historically-protected and cherished place held by religion in society.
Several members of Congress who previously co-sponsored the Equality Act are instead attaching themselves to the Fairness for All approach, which this term has more than doubled its number of cosponsors.
The Equality Act is expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate, but lacks sufficient support to be passed in that legislative chamber.
NAD president G. Alexander Bryant responded to the legislative developments, saying, “People of faith play a vital role in our country, and I’m encouraged to see their values being considered in this important conversation. We need to find a way to protect the rights of all Americans in a fair and balanced way.”
NAD Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director Orlan Johnson affirmed the Church’s efforts, stating, “The Seventh-day Adventist Church will continue to advocate for the religious freedom of its members and institutions. It is both unnecessary and contradictory to weaken the civil rights of one group of society in order to strengthen the rights of another.”
Let’s join in prayer across our conference to plead for God’s wisdom and His direction to guide the legislative decisions that are under consideration in this important matter. Let’s pray that Heaven’s angels will hold back the winds of strife against the vicious attacks of the enemy of mankind toward God’s faithful followers. Let’s pray that our gracious God will intervene to shield our churches and especially our institutions of higher learning against impact of laws that could be enacted that are not in harmony with the biblical principles we hold dear to our hearts.
7. REMEMBERING AND UPLIFTING GOD’S ANOINTED LEADERS FOR THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH IN CONTINUOUS PRAYER
Be part of God’s praying church across North America by uplifting these leaders also in the Pacific Union of Seventh-day Adventists and the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada who guide God’s work in these territories of God’s vineyard:
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