If I Were the Devil
Overview
In some parts of the world it seems the Seventh-day Adventist church is in danger of devolving into a social club. A renewed focus on its mission is required. With growing secularization, disorientation, and institutionalism, how can the church maintain its identity? How is the church to function considering it was founded on the belief that time is short?
George Knight tackles these and other tough questions in this shining collection of articles, speeches, and papers. Including the courageous speech, “If I Were the Devil,” presented at the 2000 General Conference session, this book is an insightful look at Adventism’s mission, structure, and contemporary challenges.
Not just for church administrators and academics—this is a call to duty to all Adventists, a call to become a church alive with passion and purpose. Let these pages reinvigorate you with fresh thoughts about the Adventist mission and how to accomplish it. Because the world doesn’t need another social club. It needs to hear God’s message.
With Logos Bible Software, If I Were the Devil is enhanced with cutting-edge research tools. Scripture citations appear on mouseover in your preferred English translation. Important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Powerful topical searches help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Tablet and mobile apps let you take the discussion with you. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.
Check out more work by George R. Knight with the SDA History Collection.
- Tackles tough contemporary issues facing the SDA church
- Calls SDA members to remember Adventism’s mission and purpose
- Combines articles, speeches, and papers
- Warming Up to the Topic
- If I Were the Devil!
- The Fat Lady and the Kingdom
- The Church and Change
- The Threat of the Present versus the Challenge of the Future
- The Life Cycle of a Church: Adventism, Institutionlism, and the Challenge of Secularization
- Challenging the Continuity of History: The Failure of Marxism and the Frustration of Adventism
- The Shape of Adventist Church Structure
- How We Got This Way: The Development of Adventist Church Structure
- The Shape of Adventist Mission
- From Shut Door to Worldwide Mission: The Historical Development of Adventist Mission
- Joseph Bates: Originator of Seventh-day Adventist Mission Theory
- Adventism’s Missological Quadrilateral: A Design for World Mission
- Organizational Reform and the Needs of World Mission
- Church Structure: Help or Hindrance?
- Church Structure for the 21st Century
- Hardening Wineskins versus Structural Revitalization: Adventure Options for the New Century
- Adventist Congregationlism: Wake-up Call or Death Knell?
- The Relation of Institutions and Lifestype to Mission
- Mission and Institutional Vitality: The Dynamics of Educational Expansion
- Mission and Lifestyle: Amish, Methodists, Adventists, and Changing Standards and Values
- Adventist Futures in Relation to Adventist Pasts
- Mainspring of Mission: Another Look at Adventism’s Prophetic Roots
- Occupying Till He Comes: The Tension between the Present and the Future
- Parting Thoughts
- Another Look at Babylon
- Another Look at City Mission
- Knight’s Law Applied to Church Leadership
Top Highlights
“If I were the devil I would get people to believe that there exists only one way to do something and that everybody has to do it that one way.” (Page 21)
“If I were the devil I would downplay the importance of new technologies in finishing the church’s work.” (Page 22)
“When Adventism loses its understanding of itself as an end-time people with a prophetic message, it will have become merely another denomination largely (or almost exclusively) concerned with shepherding those sheep already in the fold and merely involved with social action. Those things are good in themselves, but they are only a part of what Adventism as the personification of the third angel of Revelation 14 is all about.” (Page 10)
“I would also help the Adventist church forget that their very movement largely began through young people whose ideas were innovative and creative.” (Page 20)
“If I were the devil I would get Seventh-day Adventists to forget or at least downplay their apocalyptic heritage.” (Page 24)
George R. Knight taught at Andrews University as professor of educational foundations and church history. Previously, he served as a pastor, an elementary and secondary teacher, and a school principal. He holds two master’s degrees in theology and Christian philosophy, as well as a doctorate in the philosophy of education.
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