Does It Matter?
Some years ago Kellogg’s Corn Flakes came out with a clever marketing slogan in order to draw back an aging demographic market slice of consumers who had been weaned on the trademark taste of Corn Flakes but had moved on over the years to more exotic breakfast cuisine. The slogan simply invited: “Taste them again . . . for the first time.”GOP 381.1
But how can you do something again for the first time? You cannot, of course—but then again, you can if you are coming back for a fresh experience with something that has been part of your long-ago story.GOP 381.2
“Taste them again for the first time.” Could that be a marketing slogan appropriate for the writings of Ellen White as well? Perhaps not only to reach the millennials, but also their parents and grandparents. Is the third millennial church populated by “grown-ups” who have concluded they have outgrown any need to read the old “red books” of their childhood? After all, who needs your grandparents’ Corn Flakes for breakfast anymore?GOP 381.3
Roger Dudley and Des Cummings, Jr., researched the correlation between spiritual development and the reading of Ellen White’s writings with some astounding results. In a survey of more than 8,200 members in 193 Adventist churches in North America, 20 categories of spiritual life were measured, including a single question whether those surveyed were regular readers of the writings of Ellen White or not. Note these stunning numbers: 82 percent of the regular readers of Ellen White’s writings assessed their relationship with Jesus as “intimate,” in comparison with 56 percent for the nonreaders of Ellen White (a 26 percent difference). Eighty-two percent of regular readers of Ellen White indicated a high degree of assurance of being right with God, compared to 59 percent of the nonreaders. Readers of Ellen White were 24 percent more involved in Christian outreach and service activities than were nonreaders. And 82 percent of those who read Ellen White regularly also have daily personal Bible study, compared with 47 percent of the nonreaders. In fact, in every one of the 20 spiritual life categories surveyed, the regular readers of Ellen White scored higher than the nonreaders.GOP 381.4
In their conclusion Dudley and Cummings wrote:GOP 381.5
Seldom does a research study find the evidence so heavily weighted toward one conclusion. In the church growth survey, on every single item that deals with personal attitudes or practices [of spiritual life], the member who regularly studies Ellen White’s books tends to rank higher than does the member who reads them only occasionally or never. GOP 381.6
“Taste them again for the first time.” Because it is vital for the church to implement creative strategies to introduce the writings of Ellen White to those who have yet to read her; and because it is just as imperative for the church to recontextualize those writings for those who no longer read her.GOP 381.7
“Taste them again for the first time.” That was Jesus’ point about prophets, was it not? “By their fruit you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:16). No wonder He calls us to taste them again, and again.GOP 382.1