Alumnus brings relevance and meaning to history and prophecy
Avondale alumnus Dr Allan Lindsay is still keen to tell the world about Christ and the church as revealed through the ministry of Seventh-day Adventist pioneer Ellen White. The retired academic and minister and former director of the Ellen G White/Seventh-day Adventist Research Centre spoke to Signs Publishing book editor Nathan Brown about history and the spirit of prophecy and about how to keep both relevant and meaningful.
Why is history so important to Seventh-day Adventists?
To be ignorant of the past—either as human beings or as a church—is to lose identity. If we don’t know how and why we came into existence, we won’t know why we exist today, and that will most certainly affect our understanding of our mission.
Do Adventists talk and think enough about their history?
Not as well as we might. Many in our church are still ignorant of our prophetic foundations and of the Lord’s leadings in their fulfilment. God’s commands to ancient Israel to remember and teach its history are still relevant and meaningful.
The docudrama series Keepers of the Flame, which you presented in the late 1980s, is still one of your most recognisable contributions to the church. Why has it been so well received?
This has been a surprise, but I think it’s partly because Keepers of the Flame presents, in a visual way, some of the highlights in the great story of how God has led us, and His teachings, in the past. What we see we’re more likely to remember and to respond to than just what we hear. Seeing the places where the events of our past occurred has also added impact and reality to their telling.
Why is the ministry of Adventist pioneer Ellen White such a difficult issue for the church?
A simple answer is because the gift of prophecy has always been surrounded by misunderstanding, rejection and opposition. If prophets are genuine, they’re bearing, like it says in Revelation, the testimony of Jesus. In the light of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, that will ensure opposition.
So, how can the church deal better with this opposition?
By helping our people—especially the young—see Ellen White as a warm-hearted, sincere and God-called human being and to understand her major role was to lead people to Jesus, as well as to teach about how to live the abundant joy-filled life Jesus spoke about. If her writings are to continue to speak to the church, we must continue to learn how to interpret and understand them, especially by noting the circumstances of her counsel and by looking for the principles she’s addressing. The key is to apply her writings in a balanced and accurate way in a very different world than the world in which she lived.
In what way did you contribute to the new The Ellen G White Encyclopedia?
I contributed in a small way. The seven entries I wrote mostly concerned the beginnings of the church’s work in Australia, including the account of the nine years Ellen White spent here. But this encyclopedia is the most comprehensive resource on the life and ministry of Ellen White ever produced, and I cannot recommend it too highly.
You also contributed to the Adventist heritage film project Tell the World. What’s been your role on the film?
My role has been to ensure the film presents the account of the first 40 years of our church’s history as accurately as we can make it. This is the first time the church has attempted to tell this story in a full-length movie—and with more than 90 actors and 1000 extras! All involved in its production are committed to portraying the story in the most professional, heart-warming and faith-affirming way.
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