I’ve been aware of Former Adventist Fellowship (FAF) conferences for several years. I’ve known friends who attended; my husband attended; I’ve watched the videos online and listened to the audio presentations, but this was my first year getting the full experience. It was really great.
FAF is the type of conference that, ladies, you don’t wear mascara too. You sorta know before you get there that at any moment you can and will tear up. Whether it’s because you’re meeting an online friend for the first time, you’re hearing something from a presenter that pricks your heart, or you’re sharing your testimony with a complete stranger. Something is guaranteed to get the tears flowing. Sometimes only tears can explain and convey what you feel when you see grown men tear up about the Gospel. The mere thought of Jesus and what He has done for us makes grown men cry. There’s no greater show of strength in my book.
Just imagine what it’s like to witness the scales fall off someone’s eyes and experience another SDA doctrinal pillar crumble right in front of your eyes. Imagine being surrounded by worshipers, raising hands and singing:
“My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy rains
Unending love, Amazing grace”1
and
“What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand”2
and
“Nothing can for sin atone,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
Naught of good that I have done,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”3
They’re singing it like they mean it, like they’re overwhelmed by the knowledge of what they’ve been delivered from. It’s not just the latest praise song or old familiar hymn. The words mean something.
“O the blood of Jesus washes me
O the blood of Jesus shed for me
What a sacrifice that saved my life
Yes, the blood, it is my victory”4
That’s just praise and worship. Imagine hearing Bible-only preaching and teaching. When people ask questions, they are directed to the Word to let it interpret itself. Imagine realizing, for the first time, the richness of the words “redeemed” and “ransomed.”
If you take time to imagine it, you don’t have to wonder why tears were so prevalent. These are all the things that happened at FAF this year and they left a deep impression on me.
I almost didn’t get to go this year, but I’m so thankful that God worked it out for me to go. If there is absolutely any remote chance that you can attend next year, you have to start planning now to go. Let me say it again, you absolutely have to go.
Oh, and they serve haystacks. 😉
1. Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) / Chris Tomlin -hear it here.
2. In Christ Alone /Keith Getty & Stuart Townend – hear it here.
3. Nothing but the Blood/ Robert Lowry – hear it here.
4. O the Blood /Gateway Worship – hear it here.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/IMG_0918.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Delina Pryce McPhaull is a Christ-follower, wife, mother of 3 young children and a writer. Delina and her husband Ben, a licensed minister, co-founded Quarterlife Ministries to encourage, equip and inspire young adults (quarterlifers) to get grounded in the Word. She writes regularly on her blog, www.deliniation.com and hosts webinars for Former Adventists at www.after7.tv.[/author_info] [/author]
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Delina, one of my most vivid and sweet memories of the weekend is of sitting at the table next to you while Gary Inrig was teaching the passage of the prodigal son—and making us see the love and selflessness of the Father who gave that inheritance to the ungrateful son who actually was implying, by asking for it, that he wished his father were dead.
I kept wiping away the tears that seemed to be leaking out of my eyes, and then you opened your purse and pulled out some kleenexes. You handed me a couple and kept the other few, and my self-consciousness about crying melted away as we both sat there, dabbing our eyes with our respective wads of tissue.
Thank you for coming to the conference, Delina. It was wonderful to share the richness and fellowship of the weekend with you!
It was wonderful to meet you Coleen, and yes I too had trouble holding back my tears. Not usually a crier, but the whole conference was so healing. I came home thanking God I made the effort to attend. So refreshed in the fact that God loves me!
It was wonderful to meet you Coleen, and yes I too had trouble holding back my tears. Not usually a crier, but the whole conference was so healing. I came home thanking God I made the effort to attend. So refreshed in the fact that God loves me!
Absolutely, start planning now! I don’t know anyone who has ever expressed regret over having gone. It is an amazing time! And next years planning has already begun–it’s going to be amazing!!
It was so great meeting you Delina. I hope you and Ben can come together next year!
This was my first FAF conference and I must share a few thoughts.
I was very touched by the courageous testimonies of the former Adventists I met. The whole conference was planned well and very professional. Every speaker was edifying and all those I met were friendly and accepting! I loved hearing the Gospel, the deity of Christ, the Trinity, and so many other true Christian doctrines taught in such a clear way. I teared as well as I considered the deep, deep love of Christ for me.
I am not a former Adventist, but the teachings were biblical and encouraging, and therefore beneficial for anyone. While I learned about some Adventist doctrines, I can assure anyone that the conference was focused on the glory of God and His great redemption.
Delina, thanks for writing about the weekend. What an amazing experience! We formers will all share a close bond for the rest of our lives. We’ve come out of the battle zone together.
Sounds like it was a time of immense healing, connection, and spiritual renewal. I will have to find a way to find a way to come next year!
So great reading the comments by Delina & Patty about their personal experiences! It was powerful and the worship was indescribable….and, really, it was ALL worship.
Dana, yes, whatever it takes…come next year! It is the highlight of our year.