Center for Creative Ministry A research organization and research center for Seventh-day Adventist pastors and their congregations
Some Principles of Prophecy
Losing a foundation is every homeowner’s nightmare. Once the foundation fails, then floors slope, walls crack, the roof opens up, and eventually the home is deemed unsafe for entry. Some unfortunate occupants have even lost their possessions as the home becomes too dangerous to retrieve them.
Such a scenario is currently playing out among some of the new half-million-dollar homes in the Moon Mountain neighborhood in Eugene, Oregon.
Crews demolished the home next to Mandy Tang, and they are evaluating her home and the one on the other side to see if they can be saved from the wrecking ball.
“In the past 72 hours, I learned that there was a sinkhole forming under the foundation of my house, my house was deemed uninhabitable by the city, the foundation fell by six feet and I was forced to evacuate,” Tang wrote in her March 24 Substack blog. Fortunately, the family moved their belongings into storage units just before officials issued the “Do Not Enter” order.
Even though Eugene City Engineers proclaimed the soil safe for the new housing development, some long-time neighbors in the community predicted this catastrophe. Moon Mountain resident Glenn Hoernig opposed the development from the beginning. “This piling of a bunch of dirt and then sticking a house on it when it’s going to erode away is something the city probably should consider revising its standards for what’s required,” Hoernig said.
Neighbor Roy Haugland lives below the sliding homes and watched with concern as developers cleared the woods behind his home. Recalling a landslide there in 2012, Haugland says, “The three houses were doomed from the beginning. I feel sorry for those families because they went into this thinking, they were maybe going to have their lifetime home here. Then after three years to see it demolished, I feel really sorry for them.”
Just as a solid foundation is essential for your home, a good scriptural foundation is also necessary when building an understanding of Bible prophecy. Prophetic teachings based on the shifting sands of applying the current news cycle to a few random Bible texts can leave believers bereft of hope when those prophecies fail.
Bible students can find sturdy prophetic foundations in the book of Genesis. A rule of study known as the “principle of first mention” shows that many Bible teachings are introduced in Genesis. From those foundational introductions, the student can build on several points of faith through the rest of Scripture.
In Genesis we find the introduction to our relationship to God as our Creator (Genesis chapters 1 and 2), the great controversy theme (Genesis 3), the finality of death (Genesis 4:8-15), the love of God (Genesis 22:1-13), and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus (Genesis 22:7-8).
When our theology is built on those foundational principles, we can fully understand and appreciate the definitive prophetic message from God in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
For Reflection
Connecting: When you set out to begin a project—either for work, home improvement, or an enjoyable hobby—what are the first steps you take? How do you prepare to begin? What happens if you miss or skip some foundational preparation?
Sharing: The Apostle John begins his testimony about Jesus in John 1:1 with the same three words that begin the book of Genesis: “In the beginning….” Why is it important to begin our testimonies by laying a strong foundation?
- It’s frustrating whenever someone starts a story in the middle and has to keep jumping back and forth to explain the backstory
- It’s even more frustrating when they don’t tell the backstory at all and just plow ahead—they know what they are talking about, but it’s confusing to the listener
- John understood that the gospel story makes no sense without the book of Genesis, and so he wanted to tie Jesus’ story to that foundational beginning
- John needed to establish the primacy of Jesus as fully God and fully human to combat the gnostic heresy that prevailed at the time he wrote his gospel
- It’s like trying to binge watch a streaming TV series when the first season is unavailable; you have to find some written synopsis that establishes who the characters are and their backstories
- Other:
Applying: There are so many different prophetic schools of interpretation floating among various Christian groups; how can we establish lines of communication among them to have a constructive discussion (rather than a debate) about Bible prophecy? What are some basic principles that we can all agree on? Is it possible to understand another group’s prophetic interpretation without personally compromising what we believe to be true?
Valuing: How is your biblical foundation holding up? Is your faith as strong as it was at the beginning of your Christian walk? Do you ever need to go back to your beginnings and reestablish your first love experience with Christ?
~ Chuck Burkeen
Monte Sahlin – Adventist Church Leader Passes to His Rest
Pastor, Mentor, Leader, Professor, Author are just some of the beloved references to Monte Sahlin by those whose lives he touched. These references highlight the career of one of our denomination’s most productive church leaders, pastors and researchers. Dr. Sahlin, 76, passed away peacefully in Kettering, Ohio, April 2, 2025, surrounded by his loving family.
Over more than 60 years in ministry with the Adventist church, Monte began at the Voice of Prophecy developing programs for new generations of radio listeners. Then he became the director of urban ministries in Los Angeles, California, Washington DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, followed by pastoring in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Worthington, Ohio.
Throughout his career Monte spearheaded dozens of inner city projects which are now in their second or third generation, and mentored pastors and community services leaders as they established local and regional programs. His work in the urban areas of the Northeast are chronicled in his book “Mission in Metropolis: The Adventist Movement in the Urban World,” and his many contributions to the work of the church are described in the festschrift book in his honor titled “As One Who Serves: Perspectives on Adventist Mission Ministry to Members, Families and Communities,” both published by the Center for Creative Ministry.
Sahlin then served in the newly formed North American Division (NAD) from 1987-1998 where he led the development of church ministries and began the semi-annual church ministry convention for union and local conference departmental leaders. He particularly enjoyed the transformation of the inner city program and Adventist Community Services into a first-rate professional agency resulting in a network of agencies and programs in many major cities of the U.S. and with a robust national disaster response program in collaboration with the United States government for which they gave him with an Outstanding Public Service Award in 1995.
Sahlin pioneered social research within the Adventist church and the use of survey data in the development of ministries and ministry tools. He directed more than 130 research projects over the last four decades. He authored twenty-six books and more than one hundred research reports and articles over his career. He served as an adjunct professor for Andrews University (who surprised him with an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2023) and for the Tony Campolo Center for Ministry at Eastern University in Philadelphia. From the NAD, Monte became the Vice President for Ministries for the Columbia Union in Columbia, Maryland from 1999-2007.
Sahlin retired from denominational employment in 2014 after working in the Ohio conference coordinating metropolitan ministries and research and development projects. His ministry continued as executive director for Adventist Today, an independent journalism agency for eight years concluding in 2020. His research and writing continued until just weeks before his death.
Monte is survived by his wife Gretchen, brother Chris, daughters Stephanie, Melissa and Najwa, grandchildren Zeke, Zoe, Alex, and Marco, and many friends and close colleagues. His legacy of service lives on in the lives of his family as well as the many pastors, students, and community services professionals he mentored throughout his career. At his request, his colleagues with the Center for Creative Ministry, an organization whose board he chaired for many years, will continue his important research and publishing activities.
Paul Richardson
The Center for Creative Ministry is fully recognized by the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church; it is also a 501c3 nonprofit organization which makes donations tax deductible in the U.S.
