Andy Lampkin, PhD

Regional differences in attitudes that may affect health behavior and willingness to participate in research among black Seventh-day Adventists

Biography: Dr Lampkin received his bachelor’s degree from Oakwood College, after which he earned two master’s degrees, both from Vanderbilt University; an MA in Theological Studies (1995), and an MA in Religion, Ethical Studies (1998). In 2000 he earned his PhD from Vanderbilt in Religion, Ethics, and Society. Prior to joining LLU faculty in 2006 Dr. Lampkin held teaching appointments at Tennessee State University, University College, and Oakwood University; and was the Adventist Health Study II Director at the Oakwood University Office. His research and teaching interests range from professional ethics, the SDA health teaching tradition, and the role of clergy in disaster preparedness and response, and attitudes of Black Adventists to health. At present Dr. Lampkin is Associate Scholar, Center for Christian Bioethics, Associate Scholar Center for Christian Bioethics (School of Religion) in addition he is the Associate Professor, Religion – Ethical Studies (School of Religion) (http://www.llu.edu/religion/faculty-details.page#lampkin)

Today we will focus on Dr. Lampkin research in the regional differences in attitudes that may affect health behavior and the willingness to participate in research among black Seventh-day Adventists. Consistent with this, it is important to point out that National surveys have reported for the past several years that the “physical and mental quality of life in black Adventist in some cases is a 4.5 percentage points better than the average American” says Jerry Lee, PhD, MA, RN, principal investigator for the Adventist Religion and Health Study (ARHS) (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110627183946.htm)

So the question remains why the difficulty and unwillingness of some blacks to participate in health research studies. Like most black Americans who recognizes the racist society we live in, it comes down to the overall “skepticism, fear, and mistrust of all academic medicine and the lack of understanding of the nature of  any and all medical research.”

So the question we must ask our self as a society and health professionals, how do you change this behavior and the way of thinking, particular this segment of individuals who we have pinpointed for research who are blacks in the Adventist organization.

In addition with such a  low participation it becomes difficult and potentially detrimental for the treatment and funding of most diseases that disproportionately affect blacks in general. So the attitude is now in trying to focus research in various regional parts of the country somewhat like most conferences are set up throughout the United States which seems to have a greater success rate as researchers attempt to plan their recruitment efforts in their attempt to solve the overall problem recruiting blacks for health research.

Dr. Lampkin’s research also brings into account the importance of  research with  Black Adventist in that “health and well-being, and health promotion are an important aspects of their faith tradition and group identity” that is why research is beneficial because Most Adventist like the wording in our constitution which states “separate but equal” which was the legal doctrine that justified and permitted racial segregation. Adventist as a whole are integrated within all regional communities but are separated by their above average and overall health and dietary practices.

So as Dr. Lampkin research is able to conduct research on Black Adventist and their Non Adventist Neighbors, it will have “broad application beyond the Adventist community.” Which will be beneficial to the overall black community in integrating health reform for all blacks. Research also shows that in the North and south areas of the country there is also overall differences which would provide additional insight and “help researchers design their recruitment efforts with greater overall success in health issues among blacks.” throughout the country http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3433048/

July 4 2013

Under His Wings

An article in National Geographic several years ago provided a penetrating picture of God’s wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno’s damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree.

Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. When he struck it, three tiny chicks scurried from under their dead mother’s wings.The loving mother, keenly aware of impending disaster, had carried her offspring to the base of the tree and had gathered them under her wings, instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise.

She could have flown to safety but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze had arrived and the heat had scorched her small body, the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, so that those under the cover of her wings would live. (Author Unknown)

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge…” (Psalm 91:4) Sometimes God appears to be silent amid all the trials  tribulations and heartaches that goes on in our life from day to day.

But as Children of God we must wait in faith and trust in an unseen God even In the midst of all the turmoil evil, and injustice in the world we live in, only our complete faithfulness, constancy, and dependability In God and His word will take us to the promise land. And like the mother bird who gave her life so her children might live.

Sep. 7, 2013

UNCHANGEBLE!!! AND PROSPERITY!!!

Psalm 33:11 “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.”

Severe changes are mounting,  life is emptied of most of our resources, hopes and ambitions are fading, and our first reaction of all of our anguish is to think God is so cruel. Why did He allow it to happen. But my Friends “Our God is unchangeable The concept of a growing or developing God is not found in the Scriptures.  It seems to me impossible to think of God as varying from Himself in any way” A.W. Tozer

Hebrews 13:8 tells us “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” God is unchanging in his character, purpose, and love. So why do we have difficulty taking our days separately. We usually look at one day endowed with success, and happiness, and another darkened with trials, failure, or why did I even get out of bed mentality.

Why such a propensity towards a changing attitude if our purpose is to be like a changeless God. Numbers 23:19 says God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

But as Christians victory in Christ must come about when we recognize that if our days are spent in the presence of the Lord, our PASSION. and I don’t use the word lightly, because the word PASSION must be A attitude that being in Gods presence instills into us. PASSION is defined as any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling.

And this power can only come from A PASSIONATE GOD whose word ” is alive and active.” in our lives “Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb 4:12

Now that same power allows our mental capacity to say I am unchangeable no mater what the circumstances, situation or affliction in one’s life, simply because I serve an unchangeable God no matter what this world deems as changeable.

As Christians we must never forget Calvary, and A unchanging God who put it all on the line to send his unchanging Begotten son, In the midst of affliction, and a world marred by sin and the forces of evil so that we may focus on His changeless Character for our Salvation. Yes as A child of God I can say My God never changes.

Men have tried to destroy His character. The French infidel Voltaire said of Jesus, “Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion that has ever infected the world.”

He also boasted, “In twenty years Christianity will be no more. My single hand shall destroy the edifice it took twelve apostles to rear. He’s dead but Christ lives on.”  Thomas Paine wrote “The Age of Reason” in which he scoffed against Christ and the Word of God, but he died a drunkard’s death and my Lord and Savior lives on.

He is A Changeless God. At creation He was the Alpha  Gen 1:1 “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” and in the end He will still be God and God along the Omega when He enters the clouds to take the faithful back with Him.

Mark 13:26-27 tells us And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. And I call that the end. No more controversy on His Changeless love. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Revelation 22:13

Every attempt to destroy the character of Christ has failed. His critics die each day as they await there judgement before a unchanging God 2 Cor 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

He is as far above all His critics as the heavens are above the earth Jesus Christ character is perfect.He never changes in His love or His Character. so when john tells us in 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

At this moment ask yourself today, have I allowed the god of this world to transform our unchangeble character to a changeable  Characters  by “Setting my mind  “on earthly things” and “not on things above.”

In 1 Kings 2:3 it tells us to “observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may PROSPER in all you do and wherever you go.

Revelation 3:12 tells us “The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.”

“Let the Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant,” To be spiritually prosperous we must have a faith that is UNCHANABLE. And the faith of the Christian is produced through God’s word , “Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”We must believe that God “Is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” in our lives.

Our passion to be like Christ. First we must believe in “the exceeding greatness of his power to make our character as unchanable as his. Then we must believe that we can accomplish anything even through affliction to live A changeless life, as our Savior lived.

Many who claim to be followers of Christ are refusing to be unchangeable in their attitude of prosperity through Christ, His word, and there faith. But my friends “Where is your faith?” Our Lord said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” The first step toward an unchanable charactor and prosperity is A PASSION!!!! AND THE POWER TO MAKE IT HAPPEN THROUGH CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED

July 30, 2013

CLEANSE ME OH LORD

Psalm 51:1-2 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

We as Christians must allow Christ to Penetrate every fiber of our being, as we take our mind back in time when we first allowed the guiding hand of the Master, to take full control, in the transformation of our Character because if we allow our our focus to be distracted, dirt will accumulate in our life, and move from the presence of God.

So this tells me that in order for our heart and thought pattern to remain pure, we indeed need the purifying power of God’s Word and The blood of Jesus Christ that cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7 says The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.” “There is a stream that flows from Calvary, A crimson tide so deep and wide. It washes whiter than the purest snow.

And if we keep our eyes stayed on Christ as we continue to allow Him to transform our heart and Character like His, we will one day soon have the blessing of seeing Christ. John tells us in Revelation 22:12-14 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”Matt. 5:8 tells us Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Remember God’s Word is like a mirror to our lives. but we must realize as we look into that mirror today, how far short we have fallen from the glory and purity of God and of the high standard set for us, which is the cross.  The believer who longs for personal revival clings to what can be personally painful and difficult in the cross of Christ. Carrying a cross confronts ungodly attitudes, carnal living, and selfish motives. It keeps us in line with what Jesus want’s to do in our lives. The secret of true obedience is having a close and personal relationship with God. Any other attempts to do otherwise will only amount to failure. We must have total access to the abiding fellowship and love of Jesus Christ, and that only comes through continuously Studying His Word while allowing a full and complete transformation from our life to the Character of Christ.

His Word must be a part of every thought, activity, conversation, and motive, of our life, until our lifestyle magnifies Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Nothing can ever be about us when Christ takes full control. Sometimes change is painful because we are so use to doing it our way,

God has told us In His Word what we need to do to have A total Transformation. and that is we must have a personal revival that takes place in our lives. There are some who claim to be Christian but refuse to give it all to the Master. They tell themselves, I only look at house wife’s of Atlanta and Scandal i’m not hurting anyone. But God needs your undivided attention, not part of it.

It must be all about Him. You see we have this idea, as long as I am a Good Person what I watch on TV, or see at the show, or spend my money on, or gossip about, should not matter. I study my Sabbath school, or Sunday school lesson, I read the bible. But if the convicting voice of Gods Spirit abides in us we know what Christ will for us is.

In Numbers 32:23 it says “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the LORD; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out.” And if we choose to close our mind to his voice one day that voice will no longer be there and it will become harder and harder to find our way back to the abiding love and grace of Jesus Christ.

So today “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

So my friends today. Stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY

July 27, 2013

A SPECIAL PRAYER  FOR US ALL  PART TWO

“Dear Heavenly Father, we come before you today in our hour of need, to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your Grace, mercy, and guidance. We know Your Word says, in Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” but we as a CHURCH and a SOCIETY and a NATION have done exactly that, and allowed our FOCUS to move from JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED TO SELF AND WHAT’S BEST FOR ME AND NOT THEE.

We have lost our spiritual compass and transformed our values to the values of the god of this world. We confess to you and you only, and ask at this moment for your forgiveness, and pray that once again our focus will be placed on our Lord and Savior and His will for us. And through your HOLY WORD AND SPIRIT and a sincere and daily HEARTFELT PRAYER LIFE our eyes will forever remain on Thee as we ENDURE THIS RACE to the FINISH LINE.

And than, we your FAITHFUL CHILDREN may all say with one accord as you enter the clouds above to take us to your pure and holy kingdom. LO THIS IS OUR GOD WHO WE HAVE WAITED FOR. And as you present to us a golden CROWN and wipe our tears away. Oh to finally here you say to each of the redeemed ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ AMEN:

BELOW, Part Two of A Four Part SPECIAL PRAYER LIST for our Churches, our Nation And each of us who look forward to entering Gods Pure And Holy Kingdom one day soon.

We have endorsed perversion, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgende. and called it an: ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE. “The preacher said turn to the person next to you and ask them if they are saved. So the little boy turned to the man next to him and said,”Are you saved?” The man replied,”Son I’ve been a deacon in this church for 35 years!” The boy said, “It don’t matter what you’ve done God will forgive you!” In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 it says Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. But Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:9 – The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Romans 8:37-39 also states But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 God hates sin.

Psalm 5:5 says “The boastful shall not stand before Thine eyes; Thou dost hate all who do iniquity. Then if God hates sin. He also hates what it has done to each of our lives, which happened through the choices we made, and He will never overrule that choice. So if I choose sin in my life over and over again, and if I allow the forces of evil to have dominion over me, and I choose to serve the god of this world instead of God, then I will become an abomination to the Lord Proverbs 17:15 says “He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both abomination to the LORD” So my character eventually becomes transformed by what I behold either Christ or the forces of evil

But If I continually choose God, then I will be formed into the image of Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. You are what you eat comes to my mind. You are what you behold follows this same train of thought. As we walk with Christ each day our character then transforms into the love and grace of Christ and Him crucified, but if I follow the god of this world I take on the same attributes as the forces of evil and their destructive power. So once again God does not hate me the sinner, He loves me and His desire for me is eternal life. But He hates sin which is an abomination to Him, and what His pure and holy kingdom represent.

We have abused our power and called it the: RELIGIOUS RIGHT aka TEA PARTY aka REPUBLICAN PARTY. So What is the real Agenda of the Religious Right aka Tea Party aka Republicans Since the majority in their on party are also part of the 99% who struggle from day to day to make ends meet. Well my conclusion is they have no earthly idea how the government operates to insure fairness to all. only the Republicans and the one percenters have that knowledge and they have no desire to share there wealth with anyone, so they have figured out how to twist and fabricate the true purpose of all faith based government programs that only go to the takers, as they call them.

like the Phariseess Sadducees and the Herodians who were a political force in Christ day, each had opposing ideas and political agenda’s, but joined forces to oppose Christ Agenda. The Religious Right, Tea Party and Republican party who also seem to have opposing views, have also joined forces to eliminate any and all faith based programs that the government subsides for the poor. Their hidden agenda if you read between the lines is that the government should only act in the interest of there agenda. So, they have no problem with the government defaulting on it’s debt’s.

The question is not whether the debt needs to be reduced? it does. But when American’s begin to rely on a Paul Ryan budget that only benefits a selfish minority something is truly wrong with that picture. So the war then becomes between the makers and the takers as they call us. The Bible contains over 300 verses dedicated to the poor and social injustice. In all of those verses it is quite clear. God is concerned for both.

So why are those who claim to follow Christ example so willing to defund programs such as Social Security, Medicare, welfare, food stamps, healthcare, etc. refusing to abide by our Saviors Mandate in how we treat the less fortunate. The concept of “it takes a village originated with the teachings of Jesus. But The village must be an environment in which families and individuals are supported and strengthened by all, which in most case is through the government process.

And what about our churches who’s only focus should be to carry out Christ mandate, while leading by example. Well as I see it, many church doors are locked to the poor. When someone phone’s a church asking for help, they usually send you to a shelter, or an agency which the government funds, which most Religious Right, aka Tea Party, aka Republicans want to cut the funding for. In God We Trust I believe is still on our currency, but what god, not the God who died on the cross for all with no distinction between classes, or The have and the have not’s.

The Republican party will fight hard to give a tax credit to a rich man, but has targeted the school lunch programs and other subsidizes programs to cut funding for at our inner city schools that mostly benefits our poor kids who most likely this will be their only nutritious meal of the day. My friends we are the village Christ Mandate never changes and He will soon return to take His children back with Him who has walked in His footsteps and followed His agenda.  The question we must all ask ourselves is WHAT IS MY AGENDA TODAY.

So my friends today. Stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY