Greetings from Jerusalem where I have the privilege of being a part of the Third International Bible Conference hosted by the General Conference of our worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church family. The conference is organized by the Biblical Research Institute, which is our main theological thinktank, and the theme for this year is anthropology. For the non-theologian the term “anthropology” describes the relationship of human beings to God. This is manifested not only in our relationship to God, but is similarly express in our relationship with ourselves, with other human beings, and with nature. As Adventists, our biblical understanding of anthropology is a strength that we have as a church that we can draw from and discover rich and fruitful insights that we can be proud of and share with the world. 
I wasn’t sure what to expect since I have never been to a denominational Bible Conference, although for my dissertation I wrote on the first major Bible Conference: the 1919 Bible Conference. Since then this is the sixth major Bible Conference our denomination has held in the last century. And I have noticed some obvious similarities: the meetings are interspersed with travel to see significant historic sites, there are devotionals each morning and evening by church leaders, the composition of the conference is made up primarily of educators, editors, and administrators (the 1919 meeting had about 65 delegates, this one has a little over 300 delegates), and the worship services on Sabbath were highlights for delegates both back then and now. We even had a “round table” discussion with the General Conference president yesterday afternoon, which similarly hearkened back to 1919 when the world church leader discussed issues that were on his heart and answered questions (including one from me) by delegates.
I knew I was going to be at a historic gathering when I arrived in Frankfurt for my connecting flight to Tel Aviv. As soon as I arrived I had people walk up to me who recognized me, and who I similarly recognized as delegates. I made friends with one young professor–and happily discovered that I was at least the second youngest delegate–and since then we’ve become close friends. I’ve discovered at the meeting that there is a young cadre of Adventist scholars who are taking up the mantle of Adventist scholarship who are here at this meeting. I think that part of the richness of having a Bible Conference is getting to know others and networking to forge friendships that will last a lifetime. I know that is already the case for me.
Once I arrived in Tel Aviv I saw my good friend, Jud Lake, as we exited customs. We found others who joined us on a bus ride to northern Israel where we spent the first four days beside the Sea of Galillee. I will never forget the opening night of the Bible Conference as I had to pinch myself to realize that we were standing on the very shore where Jesus stood two thousand years ago! In reality, the Bible Conference is focused on the primacy of Scripture and by extension I hear in the devotionals calls to remember the life of Jesus while He was here on this earth. I brought with me a copy of “Desire of Ages” by Ellen White and tears came to my eyes as I read about his life here on this earth. Although Ellen White never travelled to Holy Land she describes in that book in vivid detail the life of Christ while he was here on this earth. I could hardly believe how she describes in graphic detail the life of Christ that has suddenly enriched my understanding of the gospel. These images will enrich my preaching and teaching for the rest of my life. I can hardly wait to discover what will happen next as the Bible Conference progresses.
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