Bermuda Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

Success in business,high position in the church, lots of toys, and broken lives sent a wealthyWisconsin couple on a ten-day self-inventory to the upper peninsula of the Americanstate of Michigan thirty years ago.

There, Jim andSally Hohnberger looked deeply into their souls as he stopped vibrating fromthe blur of activity that had passed as living, and they came face to face withGod and each other – for the first time.

What theylearned as they peered over their private precipice staggered them.

Jim was a“little Hitler” consumed with controversies and crises, while Sally fussed withblaming herself for causing all the world’s problems.

“Religion isnot enough,” Jim explains of his way out. “We need God every moment of everyday.”

Now in fulltime ministry from the wilderness redoubts of Montana, sharing with others theirdiscoveries of restful and godly living for dazed and frenzied Christians ofthe 21^st Century, the Hohnbergers brought their experiences to raptaudiences of dozens at the Warwick Seventh-day Adventist Church in Bermuda foreight days of contemplation and counsel in January.

“It wasterrific,” enthused Jim Lightbourn, a long-time Warwick member. “I learned aheck of a lot from them – especially how to treat my wife and deal with thekids.”

Dividedbetween the spiritual and the familial, the talks discussed ‘God-governed’versus ‘man-managed’ beings, the contrast between God being with someone and God being in someone, balanced lives (you can say ‘no’ to excessive demands afterall!) and Christian family growth.

All of this emphasisesa continuous alliance with God.

“The exerciseof my will,” as Sally puts it, “is to do right in Him even against my desires.Not to decide is to decide to be under Satan’s control.”

Central tothe continuum of thought throughout was the issue of relationships –relationships with God and people, culminating in the core element of happyfamily life as the springboard of gospel proclamation.

“What are wedoing behind closed doors to those closest to us?” Jim asks. “Seventh-dayAdventists are not changing the world because we are not changing ourfamilies.”

Men inparticular attracted the Hohnbergers’ attention for their lapses of leadershipin the home, resulting in conflict with their wives and absence from theirchildren.

None of thatmade men their whipping boys but was conveyed in a spirit of restoration – men can be Christian family leaders.

“If it can belived in your home,” Jim assures his fellow men about the gospel, “it can besent to the world. Is it worth exporting to the world?”

Despite a bustlingcommerce in the Hohnbergers’ books and CD’s at the end, a wistful aura seemedto mix with the cool night air.

“Theyinspired me, both of them,” said Brenda Harris-Burchall. “That’s why I cameback. Their perspective was really good.”

For moreinformation and products: www.EmpoweredLivingMinistries.org.

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