Adventists and Buddhists:
What do Adventists have to share with nearly a billion of the world’s Buddhists?
It’s one thing to compare scripture with scripture when you’re having a conversation with someone who sees the Bible as authoritative. But what is your approach when the person with whom you’re having a conversation about spiritual things doesn’t see the Bible as inspired?
It’s one thing to compare scripture with scripture when you’re having a conversation with someone who sees the Bible as authoritative. But what is your approach when the person with whom you’re having a conversation about spiritual things doesn’t see the Bible as inspired?
That’s the challenge faced by Scott Griswold, director of the church’s Global Mission Buddhist Study Centre in Thailand. And while Griswold and others connected with the centre work primarily in countries in Southeast Asia, where Buddhism is the primary religious philosophy (Thailand, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, etc.), Buddhism is increasingly being practiced in Western societies as well.
Most Buddhists believe in karma, the law of reaping what you sow. Griswold points out that the Adventist concept of judgment focuses on a loving Judge who offers forgiveness and salvation from eternal death.
“All that Buddhists are trying to be through many lifetimes of rebirth, Jesus is ready to give them through His mercy and grace,” says Griswold. “This is important, but our actual deeper connection to Buddhism is that we pre-sent a gospel that not only forgives but transforms the life. This is far more than the cheap gospel that many other Christians present, which teaches that people are saved no matter what they do. Our perspective of judgment is distinctly different in that we emphasize repentance and transformation.”
Quite a few conscientious Buddhists don’t eat meat, and refrain from drinking alcohol—again, principles familiar to Seventh-day Adventists around the world that provide another good connection. One of the most special connections that Griswold sees is the Sabbath.
That’s the challenge faced by Scott Griswold, director of the church’s Global Mission Buddhist Study Centre in Thailand. And while Griswold and others connected with the centre work primarily in countries in Southeast Asia, where Buddhism is the primary religious philosophy (Thailand, Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, etc.), Buddhism is increasingly being practiced in Western societies as well.
Most Buddhists believe in karma, the law of reaping what you sow. Griswold points out that the Adventist concept of judgment focuses on a loving Judge who offers forgiveness and salvation from eternal death.
“All that Buddhists are trying to be through many lifetimes of rebirth, Jesus is ready to give them through His mercy and grace,” says Griswold. “This is important, but our actual deeper connection to Buddhism is that we pre-sent a gospel that not only forgives but transforms the life. This is far more than the cheap gospel that many other Christians present, which teaches that people are saved no matter what they do. Our perspective of judgment is distinctly different in that we emphasize repentance and transformation.”
Quite a few conscientious Buddhists don’t eat meat, and refrain from drinking alcohol—again, principles familiar to Seventh-day Adventists around the world that provide another good connection. One of the most special connections that Griswold sees is the Sabbath.
“As we invite them to experience the Sabbath, they will be blessed by much-needed physical and emotional rest,” says Griswold. “Their family relationships will be enhanced by spending time together on that day. We can invite their families to join our families out in nature, enjoying the lessons God has placed there. Then we can gently introduce them to the Creator God.” The Sabbath connects Buddhists to concepts of peacefulness and a rejection of materialism.
Bridging the Gap
But how does one get close to a Buddhist in the first place?
Buddhists are not likely to attend traditional evangelistic meetings. They might attend church services at the invitation of a friend, but may find it so different from what they’re used to that they’re not likely to attend services regularly. According to research that Griswold has discovered, Buddhists respond primarily to two things:
(1) Caring family and friends, and
(2) Personal experiences with answers to prayer.
So it all boils down, he says, to embracing Christ’s method for reaching people as described by Ellen White:
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with [them] as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow me’” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 143).
Bridging the Gap
But how does one get close to a Buddhist in the first place?
Buddhists are not likely to attend traditional evangelistic meetings. They might attend church services at the invitation of a friend, but may find it so different from what they’re used to that they’re not likely to attend services regularly. According to research that Griswold has discovered, Buddhists respond primarily to two things:
(1) Caring family and friends, and
(2) Personal experiences with answers to prayer.
So it all boils down, he says, to embracing Christ’s method for reaching people as described by Ellen White:
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with [them] as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow me’” (The Ministry of Healing, p. 143).
Because reaching people in this way can’t be done en masse, Griswold recognized the need to multiply workers among Buddhists by careful disciple-making. The team at the Buddhist Study Centre put together a program called disciple-multipliers initiative.
They invited several people from each of six countries in which Buddhism has a major influence. For three weeks they lived on the same property in guest rooms and guest houses—studying together, working together, fellowshipping together, and praying together. “We covered such things as ‘How do we become disciples of Jesus ourselves?’ ‘What’s the relevance of our message for Buddhists?’ ‘How do we reach out to Buddhists?’ A lot of it was an emphasis on dependence on the Holy Spirit and what that means.”
QUIET TIME: Scott Griswold, director of the Buddhist Study Centre, takes a moment to reflect on the challenges and opportunities connected with reaching Buddhists for Christ. Learning to multiply was also a major component in their time together. And that, interestingly, came on one occasion with the help of a broken water pipe.
Griswold took one volunteer and showed him how to repair the pipe. Then he instructed the first volunteer to demonstrate pipe repair to the second volunteer, who demonstrated the process to the third volunteer. “We went through the process of the four generations passing something on, and the last person fixed the pipe.
“To me, that’s what we’re often missing in our church,” says Griswold. “We know how to teach, we know how to preach, we know how to train. But we don’t know how to disciple in a way that multiplies.”
They invited several people from each of six countries in which Buddhism has a major influence. For three weeks they lived on the same property in guest rooms and guest houses—studying together, working together, fellowshipping together, and praying together. “We covered such things as ‘How do we become disciples of Jesus ourselves?’ ‘What’s the relevance of our message for Buddhists?’ ‘How do we reach out to Buddhists?’ A lot of it was an emphasis on dependence on the Holy Spirit and what that means.”
QUIET TIME: Scott Griswold, director of the Buddhist Study Centre, takes a moment to reflect on the challenges and opportunities connected with reaching Buddhists for Christ. Learning to multiply was also a major component in their time together. And that, interestingly, came on one occasion with the help of a broken water pipe.
Griswold took one volunteer and showed him how to repair the pipe. Then he instructed the first volunteer to demonstrate pipe repair to the second volunteer, who demonstrated the process to the third volunteer. “We went through the process of the four generations passing something on, and the last person fixed the pipe.
“To me, that’s what we’re often missing in our church,” says Griswold. “We know how to teach, we know how to preach, we know how to train. But we don’t know how to disciple in a way that multiplies.”
Griswold hopes that the church leaders, pastors, and lay members who cycle through the training process will become better equipped to train others in reaching out to Buddhists. He looks for people who are Christ-Centered and Holy Spirit-empowered—converted and consecrated disciples who are leaders of loving families. He wants servant leaders who can help meet felt, tangible needs, as well as those who can use stories and personal experiences to communicate Bible truths. Most important, he looks for mentors who can mobilize and train new workers.
Griswold points out that after more than 100 years in Thailand, the Seventh-day Adventist Church numbers only about 13,000 members in a population of 68 million. “We have solid educational and medical work,” he says. “But seeing significant numbers of people come to Christ from Buddhist backgrounds is still rare. It’s a huge mission field.” This is true in other Southeast Asian countries and is especially true of the millions of Buddhists in China, Japan, Korea, and beyond.
Griswold believes that God is about to change that. He is eager for Seventh-day Adventists around the world to help this happen by praying for Buddhists and learning how to reach them.
For more information about the Global Mission Buddhist Study Centre, and to sign up for an e-newsletter, Prayers Among Buddhists,
visit www.BridgesForMinistry.org.
From <https://archives.adventistworld.org/2011/july/the-path-to-enlightenment.html>
Griswold points out that after more than 100 years in Thailand, the Seventh-day Adventist Church numbers only about 13,000 members in a population of 68 million. “We have solid educational and medical work,” he says. “But seeing significant numbers of people come to Christ from Buddhist backgrounds is still rare. It’s a huge mission field.” This is true in other Southeast Asian countries and is especially true of the millions of Buddhists in China, Japan, Korea, and beyond.
Griswold believes that God is about to change that. He is eager for Seventh-day Adventists around the world to help this happen by praying for Buddhists and learning how to reach them.
For more information about the Global Mission Buddhist Study Centre, and to sign up for an e-newsletter, Prayers Among Buddhists,
visit www.BridgesForMinistry.org.
From <https://archives.adventistworld.org/2011/july/the-path-to-enlightenment.html>
