Principles & Practice of Health Evangelism
Chapter 25
How to Deal with Special Issues
Textbook pages 275-278
Health evangelism activities sometimes result in special problems that will cripple your programs if not handled properly. These problems tend to come up repeatedly. Handling these issues requires much prayer, tact, and counseling together. Here are ways I have dealt with these problems over the years. You may need to try different solutions depending on your circumstances.
Dictatorial Leadership
When a health evangelism program becomes successful there is a tendency for the developer to become proud. You think the success of a program is largely due to your personal charisma, talent, and skill -- then follows a dictatorial, controlling environment that hampers success.
It is best to develop and promote programs with the input of a committee. God blesses us when we work together to advance His cause. Making moves from a consensus developed when a group of workers have shared, studied, and prayed with one another, is superior to unilateral, dictatorial decisions.
It is best to develop and promote programs with the input of a committee. God blesses us when we work together to advance His cause. Making moves from a consensus developed when a group of workers have shared, studied, and prayed with one another, is superior to unilateral, dictatorial decisions.
Health Fanatics
Health evangelism is given a bad name and is discredited by health fanatics. The devil has cleverly claimed the extremes of health. Health fanatics usually have no (or only a limited) education in the science of health matters. These people have come to believe one or more of thousands of bogus health theories that abound in our culture.
These fanatics go to extremes in drink and diet. Many are devout church members who think their actions are condoned by Scripture or the Spirit of Prophecy. These fanatics will be quick to volunteer to help you with your health evangelism program. They will often want an opportunity to present their ideas or products to your audience. Kindly, but firmly avoid these people. They will only confuse your audience, taint your good reputation, and defame health evangelism.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought on stage new types of health fanatics. It is settled science that vaccines are safe including all the ones licensed in the United States. Vaccines prevent infections and greatly reduce hospitalizations and deaths. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination favors vaccine use including the use of the Covid-19 vaccines. Those who conduct health evangelism programs should protect the public that comes to their programs by being in the best of health possible and fully vaccinated against communicable diseases. Anti-vaccination individuals should not direct the program or be small group facilitators.
The value of wearing masks to reduce (not eliminate) the transmission of respiratory viruses is also settled science. Mask mandates are viewed by many as an infringement on personal freedoms by governments and industry. They see in these mandates a foreshadowing of the extreme restrictions on freedom of worship that are predicted to come in the future.
The wearing of masks when mandated or otherwise prudent, protects the public that comes to your health evangelism programs from unnecessary exposure to respiratory pathogens. Anti-mask or anti-mandate individuals should not direct your program or be small group facilitators. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination is not against mask mandates when the need for them is indicated by pandemic conditions.
These fanatics go to extremes in drink and diet. Many are devout church members who think their actions are condoned by Scripture or the Spirit of Prophecy. These fanatics will be quick to volunteer to help you with your health evangelism program. They will often want an opportunity to present their ideas or products to your audience. Kindly, but firmly avoid these people. They will only confuse your audience, taint your good reputation, and defame health evangelism.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought on stage new types of health fanatics. It is settled science that vaccines are safe including all the ones licensed in the United States. Vaccines prevent infections and greatly reduce hospitalizations and deaths. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination favors vaccine use including the use of the Covid-19 vaccines. Those who conduct health evangelism programs should protect the public that comes to their programs by being in the best of health possible and fully vaccinated against communicable diseases. Anti-vaccination individuals should not direct the program or be small group facilitators.
The value of wearing masks to reduce (not eliminate) the transmission of respiratory viruses is also settled science. Mask mandates are viewed by many as an infringement on personal freedoms by governments and industry. They see in these mandates a foreshadowing of the extreme restrictions on freedom of worship that are predicted to come in the future.
The wearing of masks when mandated or otherwise prudent, protects the public that comes to your health evangelism programs from unnecessary exposure to respiratory pathogens. Anti-mask or anti-mandate individuals should not direct your program or be small group facilitators. The Seventh-day Adventist denomination is not against mask mandates when the need for them is indicated by pandemic conditions.
Spiritual Zealots
These are devout church members. They have a zeal for God that can be useful, but may need to be tempered, especially in the early phases of a health evangelism program. The gospel presented in your health evangelism program should be problem-specific and free from religious jargon or distinctive doctrines.
These spiritual zealots may attempt to use your health program as an opportunity to introduce distinctive doctrines to your participants in an untimely manner. They will not confine their spiritual conversation to the health problems at hand. They do not bring just the milk of the Word but the meat as well. This will result in confusion and alienation of otherwise susceptible participants.
Do not necessarily give up on this group. They do want to help, but they bring too much with them. If they can be convinced to go slow and to confine a discussion of God’s help to the behavioral problem at hand, they can be useful.
These spiritual zealots may attempt to use your health program as an opportunity to introduce distinctive doctrines to your participants in an untimely manner. They will not confine their spiritual conversation to the health problems at hand. They do not bring just the milk of the Word but the meat as well. This will result in confusion and alienation of otherwise susceptible participants.
Do not necessarily give up on this group. They do want to help, but they bring too much with them. If they can be convinced to go slow and to confine a discussion of God’s help to the behavioral problem at hand, they can be useful.
Spiritual Novices
These church members set a bad example. They do not particularly believe in the health message. They do not practice the health message. When someone who wants to live a healthier life gets to know one of these people, they will become discouraged. In the estimation of these babes in the word, how you live is secondary to trust in God.
These church members, when it comes right down to it, think that most health evangelism is a form of salvation by works. They live degenerate lives. These church members often wake up when they develop diabetes, have a heart attack, or a stroke. These members are then willing to help you.
Do not give up on these members. If you have an obese church member who wants to help in a weight control program you can do one of two things. You can request that they take the program along with public members to demonstrate that they are serious about weight control. Once these church members have developed a measure of control over their habits and have a new or deeper relationship with God, they are ready to be a helper in the next program.
On the other hand, you can take a chance and plug them into your program. I have used obese church members as helpers in small groups in a weight management program. These people were always the ones to lose the most weight. They were making painful adjustments to their own lives at each step of the way just like others in their group. Their lives were literally on the line. Most did well. Those who did not do well usually did not want to help in the next program.
These church members, when it comes right down to it, think that most health evangelism is a form of salvation by works. They live degenerate lives. These church members often wake up when they develop diabetes, have a heart attack, or a stroke. These members are then willing to help you.
Do not give up on these members. If you have an obese church member who wants to help in a weight control program you can do one of two things. You can request that they take the program along with public members to demonstrate that they are serious about weight control. Once these church members have developed a measure of control over their habits and have a new or deeper relationship with God, they are ready to be a helper in the next program.
On the other hand, you can take a chance and plug them into your program. I have used obese church members as helpers in small groups in a weight management program. These people were always the ones to lose the most weight. They were making painful adjustments to their own lives at each step of the way just like others in their group. Their lives were literally on the line. Most did well. Those who did not do well usually did not want to help in the next program.
Nutritional Supplements
The nutritional supplement business is a multi-billion-dollar industry in the United States. In every church I have visited or been a member, there are well intentioned but misguided members who are distributors of vitamins, minerals, or herbal products. Avoid these people and their products.
It is especially distressing to me when I see poorly informed pastors and their wives promoting and selling these products among their congregation and in the community. Many of these people feel that the use of these nutritional pills or potions will help keep you off “drug” medication and are consistent with the writings of Ellen White. This is not the case as clearly made in Dr. Mervyn G. Hardinge’s book, A Physician Explains Ellen White’s Counsel on Drugs, Herbs, & Natural Remedies published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. (2001)
Do not advocate or promote any nutritional or vitamin supplement in any health evangelism program. God made food. Man extracts small chemical components out of plants and promotes them as being better than the original food. Food is wonderful. Food is adequate. Stick with good food and skip the expense and controversy of pills, capsules, and powders.
It is especially distressing to me when I see poorly informed pastors and their wives promoting and selling these products among their congregation and in the community. Many of these people feel that the use of these nutritional pills or potions will help keep you off “drug” medication and are consistent with the writings of Ellen White. This is not the case as clearly made in Dr. Mervyn G. Hardinge’s book, A Physician Explains Ellen White’s Counsel on Drugs, Herbs, & Natural Remedies published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association. (2001)
Do not advocate or promote any nutritional or vitamin supplement in any health evangelism program. God made food. Man extracts small chemical components out of plants and promotes them as being better than the original food. Food is wonderful. Food is adequate. Stick with good food and skip the expense and controversy of pills, capsules, and powders.
Food Demonstrations
Food demonstrations present special issues. For everyone to see a demonstration clearly, an overhead mirror or projection will be required. If the group is small, all participants can crowd around a table.
If you are going to serve food samples, this should be done in proximity to a regular meal so as to not be eating between meals. Food served as part of a food demonstration may substitute for a meal if sufficient samples are served to constitute an adequate meal.
Measure out all ingredients so that the recipe can be put together rapidly. If baking or prolonged cooking is required, have a batch completed and ready to serve so there will not be additional delay in cooking food.
Recipes are important and should be provided to the attendees. Ideally, they should be low in saturated fat and cholesterol and should have a limited sugar content. We should only demonstrate recipes that represent good nutrition. Recipes must pass the “taste test.” The food should look good and taste good as well!
Importantly, those demonstrating a recipe should be familiar with the recipe they are presenting. Not just having fixed it a few times at home to get used to the recipe, but it should be a recipe that has been in regular use by the presenter for years at home.
Church members are usually so truthful that if they do not eat the food they are demonstrating at home, they will confess that they have been trying all week to get the recipe just right. I have been asked if a certain concoction looked OK right in the middle of a demonstration. These small errors suggest that the members of your church do not eat this food and are unfamiliar with it.
Experience with a recipe is important in selling it to an audience. I had a sweet little old Italian lady in one program demonstrate a soup recipe that had been in her family for generations. She had learned the recipe from her mother. It had a couple of “secret” ingredients that made the soup “special.” This lady with her strong accent just won the audience over. Everyone loved her soup. Everyone took the recipe home. The evening was a great success.
You should screen recipes to see that they are appropriate from a nutritional point of view, but it is so important to be authentic that I would rather use family recipes that may be a bit suspect but have been in constant use, rather than some recipe a nutritionist hands out for you to try.
If you are going to serve food samples, this should be done in proximity to a regular meal so as to not be eating between meals. Food served as part of a food demonstration may substitute for a meal if sufficient samples are served to constitute an adequate meal.
Measure out all ingredients so that the recipe can be put together rapidly. If baking or prolonged cooking is required, have a batch completed and ready to serve so there will not be additional delay in cooking food.
Recipes are important and should be provided to the attendees. Ideally, they should be low in saturated fat and cholesterol and should have a limited sugar content. We should only demonstrate recipes that represent good nutrition. Recipes must pass the “taste test.” The food should look good and taste good as well!
Importantly, those demonstrating a recipe should be familiar with the recipe they are presenting. Not just having fixed it a few times at home to get used to the recipe, but it should be a recipe that has been in regular use by the presenter for years at home.
Church members are usually so truthful that if they do not eat the food they are demonstrating at home, they will confess that they have been trying all week to get the recipe just right. I have been asked if a certain concoction looked OK right in the middle of a demonstration. These small errors suggest that the members of your church do not eat this food and are unfamiliar with it.
Experience with a recipe is important in selling it to an audience. I had a sweet little old Italian lady in one program demonstrate a soup recipe that had been in her family for generations. She had learned the recipe from her mother. It had a couple of “secret” ingredients that made the soup “special.” This lady with her strong accent just won the audience over. Everyone loved her soup. Everyone took the recipe home. The evening was a great success.
You should screen recipes to see that they are appropriate from a nutritional point of view, but it is so important to be authentic that I would rather use family recipes that may be a bit suspect but have been in constant use, rather than some recipe a nutritionist hands out for you to try.
Organic Foods
Organic foods are more expensive than ordinary foods. The nutritional value of organic foods is not significantly different from regular foods. In a health evangelism program about nutrition, it is better to focus on the big problems in diet and leave “organic” arguments for later programs in which the topic can be explored in detail and where it can receive a proper balance.
Genetically Modified Food
Virtually all foods have been genetically modified in one way or another over the past couple of hundreds of years. Plants that are disease resistant are superior to those that are not. Plants producing a greater yield will produce a larger crop for the farmer and will feed more people than older cultivars. Without genetic modification the current world population could not be sustained on the plants commonly grown 100 years ago. Without genetically modified foods the world would be starving much more than it is today.
On the other hand, scientists have been able to insert genes in plants to produce compounds that are toxic to insects that try to eat the plants. This results in larger and healthier crops, but the impact on humans has not been studied.
Scientists have also created some plants that are resistant to weed control chemicals. This makes weed control much easier and greatly increases crop yield, but the results of these plant modifications on human health have not been established.
In Genesis, God promises us, that until the end of the world there will be “seedtime and harvest.” I do not think it is wise to make a large issue out of GMO foods until there is sound science on one side or the other.
We need to eat healthfully of the abundance that is available to us. What we eat is certainly able to put the weight on us. Obesity is an epidemic that speaks to the availability of excess calories. GMO foods do not appear to be causing starvation or unusual diseases based on the evidence available at present.
On the other hand, scientists have been able to insert genes in plants to produce compounds that are toxic to insects that try to eat the plants. This results in larger and healthier crops, but the impact on humans has not been studied.
Scientists have also created some plants that are resistant to weed control chemicals. This makes weed control much easier and greatly increases crop yield, but the results of these plant modifications on human health have not been established.
In Genesis, God promises us, that until the end of the world there will be “seedtime and harvest.” I do not think it is wise to make a large issue out of GMO foods until there is sound science on one side or the other.
We need to eat healthfully of the abundance that is available to us. What we eat is certainly able to put the weight on us. Obesity is an epidemic that speaks to the availability of excess calories. GMO foods do not appear to be causing starvation or unusual diseases based on the evidence available at present.
Supplements of Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs, and Micronutrients
Carefully conducted studies of the nutrient content of foods widely available for all of us, indicate that the foods we eat today are nutritious and contain all the elements needed for good health.
The use of supplements of any kind is a statement of distrust of our creator and sustainer. Those who use supplements and believe in them should stop thanking God at mealtime because in their estimation the foods of God’s design, grown on God’s good earth are so deficient that a man-made supplement is needed to correct the deficit God has allowed to become established in the food we buy in the grocery store.
Trust in God and the food he provides. You do not need supplementation of any kind for the preservation of health. There is good science, Scripture, and Spirit of Prophecy counsel that these supplements are not needed in the human diet. Do not use, endorse, promote, or sell supplements of any kind in any health evangelism program.
The use of supplements of any kind is a statement of distrust of our creator and sustainer. Those who use supplements and believe in them should stop thanking God at mealtime because in their estimation the foods of God’s design, grown on God’s good earth are so deficient that a man-made supplement is needed to correct the deficit God has allowed to become established in the food we buy in the grocery store.
Trust in God and the food he provides. You do not need supplementation of any kind for the preservation of health. There is good science, Scripture, and Spirit of Prophecy counsel that these supplements are not needed in the human diet. Do not use, endorse, promote, or sell supplements of any kind in any health evangelism program.
Stick to Science and Scripture
Much of the public and many church members are suspicious of science. The scientific method is an extremely valuable tool in proving the validity of many things. Population studies in which hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested have proven the truth of the dietary principles contained in Scripture and Spirit of Prophecy writings. The use of these data, combined with Bible texts and selected quotes from the writings of Ellen G. White, represent the most powerful argument you can make for changes in behavior. Do not criticize science or Scripture in your presentations.
Cures for Disease
Those who are sick are looking for a cure. In many churches there are laypersons who believe in simple cures for complex diseases. These people have an extremely limited understanding of physiology, and the pathology of disease. But they have extreme confidence in grape juice, charcoal, or some diet to cure disease. Do not let these people express their opinion in your programs or privately counsel your participants.
Let the sick go to doctors and hospitals. Health evangelism is about prevention not about cures. Living right may make your diabetes, weight, and blood pressure better. Exercise may reduce your risk of a heart attack, but the sick need to be under the care of health care professionals.
Your health evangelism program should be about preventing disease by controlling harmful behaviors not curing people of their diseases. You should not be in the business of practicing medicine without a license. Do not promise to cure anything.
You can prevent or reduce the risk of cancer, you can prevent or reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack, but you cannot cure cancer, cure a stroke, or cure a heart attack. The modern medical system works on those who have become sick. This is the work for hospitals and doctors. You must not pretend to do their work for them.
Hospitals and doctors spend little or no time on prevention. Prevention requires behavior change which is so difficult and usually impossible without God’s help. Stick to behavior change issues and stay away from cures.
Let the sick go to doctors and hospitals. Health evangelism is about prevention not about cures. Living right may make your diabetes, weight, and blood pressure better. Exercise may reduce your risk of a heart attack, but the sick need to be under the care of health care professionals.
Your health evangelism program should be about preventing disease by controlling harmful behaviors not curing people of their diseases. You should not be in the business of practicing medicine without a license. Do not promise to cure anything.
You can prevent or reduce the risk of cancer, you can prevent or reduce the risk of a stroke or heart attack, but you cannot cure cancer, cure a stroke, or cure a heart attack. The modern medical system works on those who have become sick. This is the work for hospitals and doctors. You must not pretend to do their work for them.
Hospitals and doctors spend little or no time on prevention. Prevention requires behavior change which is so difficult and usually impossible without God’s help. Stick to behavior change issues and stay away from cures.
Independence
As your health evangelism program becomes increasingly successful, attempts may be made by individuals or organizations to assume control or manage your program. This will happen if your program attracts wide interest in the community and baptisms result. This is especially true if your program generates significant income from fees collected or from donations.
Successful health evangelism programs will come to the attention of other churches. As this occurs, church administrators or others will want to have some involvement or control of your program. What should be done?
Program details, data, and financial records should be open for any responsible individual or organization to inspect. You should be open with church administrators who make inquiry. The blessing and endorsement of local churches and church administrators will go a long way to legitimize your work and will help open doors to other churches.
Cooperation, however, should not result in loss of control. Pray for wisdom on how to approach this. Relinquish management and promotion of your health evangelism program, only if it appears that it is the best interest of God’s work.
A successful health evangelism program is not an opportunity for you to become famous or rich. Successful health evangelism’s sole purpose is to advance God’s work. The whole process should be controlled by God. Your role may need to diminish so the church and God’s work can get the credit for the success of health evangelism.
On the other hand, God may need you to keep a steady hand on the health evangelism program(s) you have developed. You may need to stay connected with your programs to preserve them. God will guide. Do not be selfish when success comes.
Successful health evangelism programs will come to the attention of other churches. As this occurs, church administrators or others will want to have some involvement or control of your program. What should be done?
Program details, data, and financial records should be open for any responsible individual or organization to inspect. You should be open with church administrators who make inquiry. The blessing and endorsement of local churches and church administrators will go a long way to legitimize your work and will help open doors to other churches.
Cooperation, however, should not result in loss of control. Pray for wisdom on how to approach this. Relinquish management and promotion of your health evangelism program, only if it appears that it is the best interest of God’s work.
A successful health evangelism program is not an opportunity for you to become famous or rich. Successful health evangelism’s sole purpose is to advance God’s work. The whole process should be controlled by God. Your role may need to diminish so the church and God’s work can get the credit for the success of health evangelism.
On the other hand, God may need you to keep a steady hand on the health evangelism program(s) you have developed. You may need to stay connected with your programs to preserve them. God will guide. Do not be selfish when success comes.
Copyright
All materials you develop should be copyrighted in your name. This is not to guarantee recognition or profit for you, but to protect your materials from being stolen and misappropriated by others who may not understand health evangelism as you do.
I have known people who developed useful health educational materials but left their product in the public domain only to have it stolen by someone else who then copyrighted that material. Those who copyrighted the stolen material then turned around and prohibited the original developer from promoting or using their own material. What a sad lesson.
Your goal should be to see health evangelism spread far and wide. Copyright the materials you develop and then generously allow others to use them and even modify them. Do not copyright materials to restrict health evangelism or to make a profit, although making a living from the work you do is appropriate.
Your copyright may be transferred to a church entity if you are satisfied that official recognition and endorsement by the church will result in a wider use for your program. Make sure the program you transfer retains its soul-winning elements.
I have known people who developed useful health educational materials but left their product in the public domain only to have it stolen by someone else who then copyrighted that material. Those who copyrighted the stolen material then turned around and prohibited the original developer from promoting or using their own material. What a sad lesson.
Your goal should be to see health evangelism spread far and wide. Copyright the materials you develop and then generously allow others to use them and even modify them. Do not copyright materials to restrict health evangelism or to make a profit, although making a living from the work you do is appropriate.
Your copyright may be transferred to a church entity if you are satisfied that official recognition and endorsement by the church will result in a wider use for your program. Make sure the program you transfer retains its soul-winning elements.
Commercialism
Some health evangelism programs become commercially successful. If you are an employee of the church at some level of administration, I would expect that you shouldn’t make any profit from a health evangelism program you develop or promote. The church is paying your salary and providing you with benefits. Any product you develop while working for the church ought to be the property of the church organization.
The situation is different if you earn a living for yourself. If a health evangelism program you develop and copyright becomes a commercial success, you need to be careful in the choices you make. It is appropriate for you to make a living wage from the work of your hands. Profits from any health evangelism program, however, should largely be used to advance health evangelism among local churches. The local church that uses your program should realize enough profit to offset all expenses and provide that church with enough margin to promote other health evangelism activities.
There are opportunities to develop and sell products that promote your program. These products should be selected carefully. Tee shirts, ball caps, bookmarks, and refrigerator magnets, may help create name recognition for your program but if not done carefully may cheapen your message that it is God who changes behavior for the good.
Good health comes from a plant-based diet, exercise, and avoiding toxic substances. Do not distribute or sell health supplements, protein bars, special lines of prepared foods, vitamins, or minerals. These are contrary to the Seventh-day Adventist health message and an undesirable way to create a profit in a church-based program.
The situation is different if you earn a living for yourself. If a health evangelism program you develop and copyright becomes a commercial success, you need to be careful in the choices you make. It is appropriate for you to make a living wage from the work of your hands. Profits from any health evangelism program, however, should largely be used to advance health evangelism among local churches. The local church that uses your program should realize enough profit to offset all expenses and provide that church with enough margin to promote other health evangelism activities.
There are opportunities to develop and sell products that promote your program. These products should be selected carefully. Tee shirts, ball caps, bookmarks, and refrigerator magnets, may help create name recognition for your program but if not done carefully may cheapen your message that it is God who changes behavior for the good.
Good health comes from a plant-based diet, exercise, and avoiding toxic substances. Do not distribute or sell health supplements, protein bars, special lines of prepared foods, vitamins, or minerals. These are contrary to the Seventh-day Adventist health message and an undesirable way to create a profit in a church-based program.