Vol. 20 No. 1 (2022): Revista Estrategias para el Cumplimiento de la Misión

Among Seventh-day Adventists, Ellen G. White is believed to possess the gift of prophecy, and her writings have served in organizing as well as nurturing the Church. This article is an inquiry into the concept of ordination as it is presented in her wittings. The following five questions guide the research: (1) What is ordination? (2) Why is it needed? (3) How is it performed? (4) When is it appropriate to ordain a person? and (5) Who should be ordained? A deeper understanding of her writings on the topic of ordination enables the church to avoid majoring in minors and pay the needed attention to its mission.

The study of the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the development of its evangelistic expansion has given poor emphasis on women contribution to church leadership and missionary work. More specifically, the participation of women in the presidency of Conferences has not been addressed in previous historical works, except the brief mention of the subject by Kitt Watts. The goal of this article is to fill this gap in the study of Adventist missiological history. On this purpose, it is described the life and work of Flora Plummer, Petra Tunheim, Hanna John Lutz, Emma Rodriguez, Marie Joswig Fanselau and Phyllis Mosley Ware; six women who have served as acting presidents of Adventist Conferences.

When gospel and culture meet, is the message biblically faithful and culturally appropriate? A theology that begins with culture and where culture is the determining factor will unavoidably end in syncretism. Adventist theology does not start with the cultural context but with the biblical text. A valid approach to contextualization demands a commitment to biblical authority. The message of the Bible must not be compromised.  In examining the topic of contextualization, this article first reviews the concepts of culture, a definition of contextualization itself, and the issue of syncretism. Then, it considers different approaches to the balance of Scripture and cultural setting, followed with a focus on the important issues of contextualization and culture, and contextualization and doctrines. In the two final sections, the article deals with implications for missions, evangelism, and pastoral ministry, and considers a faithful approach to contextualization.

The purpose of this article is to explain how the Holy Spirit speaks. Acts 13:1-4 has been chosen as a reference because in this passage there is a sequence of phrases. In one of them the Holy Spirit speaks, but in the others human intervention ‘seems’ to be the one that speaks or decides. In this way it is shown biblically that the Holy Spirit can speak in several forms. He speaks through the Scriptures, the prophets, the church, and natural phenomena. Although there could be other ways, in the holy text the ways mentioned are evident. Therefore, in great conflict context, while a group presumes to listen the Holy Spirit voice and dispenses of fundamental elements, it could be, really, listening to another spirit voice: this is the reason why study and identify the way as Pneuma speaks.

The sad reality of the fall and the starting point of the plan of salvation reaches every human being. As part of the purpose of God to save the humankind, He established a people with a mission with a universal scope. The main reason why God chose Israel as His people was for them to exemplify the reality of salvation, therefore, mission in the Old Testament is as broad as it appears in the New Testament and includes the idea of being a people with a message to be exemplified in their life in practical terms and be shared with other people and nations.