Fourth Sabbath of August

enditnow® Emphasis Day

enditnow® is a worldwide church initiative

enditnow® Emphasis Day is on the world church's Calendar of Days and Events. General Conference Women's Ministries (GCWM) coordinates the production and distribution of the enditnow® Emphasis Day resource packets with contributions from six additional co-sponsoring departments of the General Conference: Children's Ministries, Education, Family Ministries, Health Ministries, Ministerial Association, and Youth Ministries.

August 27, 2022

Abuse of Power

Resource Packet

This year for enditnow® Emphasis Day we have chosen to focus on "Abuse of Power," an issue that is difficult to address and infrequently spoke about in our church. How do those in power and leadership relate to church members? Many members have had painful experiences that they may have never spoken about but that nonetheless need to be addressed. This is a sensitive topic, and we ask that in all we do and say we do not make general statements about all people in power since this does not apply to all, only to some.

What's in the Packet?

• Sermon and seminar scripts in Word (updated June 27, 2022)
• Abuse of Power sermon slides in PPT
• Abuse of Power seminar slides in PPT
• Also included in the Word packet are:
  • children's story and responsive reading
  • handouts for seminar discussion vignettes

You may print and reproduce the packet if you'd like to share it with others. We encourage you to use these resources in your church's enditnow® Emphasis Day program.

ZIP FILES

English | French | German | Portuguese | Spanish | Romanian | Russian

Packet authors

The enditnow® packet for 2022 was written by Ardis and Dick Stenbakken, a retired pastoral couple who have a wide background in church and family ministry. Ardis has a BA and MEd in English and Secondary education. Dick has Masters' Degrees in Theology and Philosophy; New Testament Studies; Family Therapy; Family and Communication; and a Doctor of Education in Family and Community Education. He served as an active duty Adventist chaplain in the US Army for almost 24 years; during this time he did thousands of hours of family and personal counseling. Ardis taught English and was involved in women’s and community issues. From 1992 to 2004 Dick was Director of Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries at the General Conference. Ardis served as Associate Director of Women’s Ministries from 1995 to 1997, and then as Director until the end of 2004. They have taught courses in pastoral sexual ethics at Andrews University, dealing with abuse of power issues. Through the years they have enjoyed preaching and presenting seminars together. They now live in Loveland, Colorado. They have two married children and four grandchildren, two boys and two girls, ages 13 to 18. Ardis continues being active in Women’s Ministries, leading Bible studies, and communication in their local church. Dick has a ministry presenting dramatic Bible characters; many of these characters are available on DVD’s. His web site is BibleFaces.com.

enditnow® resources

enditnow logo lo-res JPG | printer's hi-res logo JPG
Save-the-date postcard lo-res PDF | Printer's save-the-date postcard hi-res PDF
enditnow brochures

The Dynamics of Domestic Violence PDF eBooklet

Written by Mable Dunbar, PhD, LPC, published 2016 by North American Division Women's Ministries (used by permission)
English | German | French | Portuguese | Spanish

Breaking the Silence brochure

English | Spanish | German | Portuguese

Breaking the Silence magazines

Archive of Spanish and Portuguese PDF magazines

enditnow® social media square images as PNG files (courtesy of South Pacific Division)

1 in 4 women experience violent abuse from an intimate partner 
Prevalence of women experiencing domestic violence: indigenous 60%, Pacific 70%
Rates of domestic violence are the same, church = society
10 days

Learn more

North American Division enditnow website
Church Statements Against Violence
What Can My Church Do?
Protecting Our Children
13 Minimum Steps to Church Security, an 11x17 poster, by Gary Loster and Sarah McDugal, used by permission of WildernesstoWILD.com
Enditnow Decision Tree, infographic in Spanish
Sexual Abuse: Reclaiming Hope, a seminar for NAD teacher certification and continuing education credit (CEUs), from Adventist Learning Community

enditnow® news and views

Adventist News Network, 8-23-2021, Abuse [What Should We Do To End It Now?], YouTube, In-Depth interview with Dr. Rene Drumm,
Adventist Review, 9-01-2019, Safe Church, interview includes Raquel Arrais
Adventist News Network, 8-04-2019 Breaking the Silence Day in Brazil
Adventist News Network, 8-17-2018 enditnow Emphasis Day

enditnow® video messages by Pastor Ted Wilson

Ted NC Wilson, 8-22-2021 YouTube video enditnow 2022 message with Nancy Wilson
Ted NC Wilson, 5-11-2021 YouTube video enditnow 2021 greeting
Ted NC Wilson, 8-21-2020 YouTube video enditnow 2020 message
Ted NC Wilson, 8-21-2017 YouTube video enditnow 2017 message
Nancy Wilson, 8-21-2017 YouTube video enditnow 2017 message

Ted and Nancy Wilson speak out against pornography, Agust 26, 2021