QUO VADIS, PPH? On February 28 to March 2, 2014 Philippine Publishing House (PPH) celebrated 100 years of publishing and printing gospel-oriented publications. The publishing house and its corollary – the host of self-supporting literature evangelists (LE) have had a significant role in the birth, growth, development and expansion of the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church in the Philippines. In numerous cases, these intrepid gospel workers were the trail blazers of the church in many areas of the archipelago. Subscribing to the proclamations of the SDA prophetess Ellen G. White, church members also assert that the publishing work will have a key role in the proclamation of the “three angels’ messages” of Revelation 14. They believe that the SDA Church was raised by God as the fulfillment of that prophetic work. The following two quotations attest to that belief: “There is a great work to be done in the day of God’s preparation in devising and executing plans for the advancement of His cause. Our publications should have a wide circulation, for they are doing a great work. There is much missionary work to be done.” 4T 600 “New methods and new plans will spring from new circumstances. New thoughts will come with new workers who give themselves to the work. . . . They will receive plans devised by the Lord Himself.” 6T 476 Operationalizing the principles and guidelines embedded in the statements above are the present and urgent challenge to the leaders of the publishing work of the SDA Church today. They need as much if not more divine guidance as the pioneer workers had. “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29.18 (emphasis mine). “The word for ‘vision’ comes from the Hebrew noun khazón, meaning a supernatural vision, a non-supernatural dream, some kind of divine communication with a visual component, or a prophetic book. The word for ‘perish’ is from the Hebrew verb pará, to loosen like a turban; to unbind [one’s head] or leave alone, like unwashed hair.”* In other words, the “vision” is not human wisdom. It is God’s divine revelation. It is neither the publishing leaders’ plans nor methods that are at stake here; it is God’s plans, purposes and ways for the publishing work as revealed in the Bible and (as SDA Church members believe) in the writings of Ellen G. White that should be done and implemented. If that is not happening, then the reality exposed in the second part of the verse is. A very apropos question to be asked is whether God’s principles and guidance for the publishing work of the SDA Church are being followed and done by the leaders at Philippine Publishing House today. Quo vadis, Philippine Publishing House? * morechrist.blogspot/2012/02/out-of-context-where-theres-no-vision.html
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 11:17:30 +0000
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