The Ministerial Exception: How Church Workers Lost Legal Employment Protection
by Loren Seibold | 17 January 2025 | In comments under a recent Aunt Sevvy, someone asked about the status of church employees under the law. The question intrigued me enough that I started digging a bit into it. (I’m focusing here on the United States, since that’s where I […]
Genes and Genesis: Are We Designed to Grow for Eternity?
by Don Fraser | 16 January 2025 | What follows is, I admit, speculation. I’m exploring the possibility that we human beings might have been genetically designed to have access to both eternal existence and to the infinite universe. There are two key phrases from the story of creation as […]
News Brief: 16 January 2025
16 January 2025 | News from Andrews University “Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States, has received a grant of US$6,326,735 from Lilly Endowment, Inc., through its Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns initiative. The aim of the initiative is to provide resources to […]
ATSS: Kärt Lazic, “Reframing and Reforming Congregational Worship: An Appeal for a Reset”
8 January 2025 | What is it that happens when we come together for a “church service”? What should happen? Church members are regularly encouraged to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25). But what are we supposed to do when what we experience there seems to be so far […]
Who Controls Our Theological Narrative?
by Reinder Bruinsma | 15 January 2025 | Church authority is a complicated topic. Is it primarily about administrative oversight and personnel management, financial issues, the upkeep of buildings, and denominational strategies? Or is theology the most important role of ecclesial authority? Or perhaps it is about practical application of […]
Rare Inscribed Ivory Comb Artifact Coming to Southern Adventist University on Loan for Only U.S. Viewing
15 January 2025 | The following is a press release: In partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority and The Israel Museum, Southern Adventist University invites the public to see the ivory comb with the oldest deciphered complete alphabetic sentence in writing. The rare object dating to 1700 BC and excavated […]
Village Church Demands Reinstatement of Ron Kelly in Official Statement
14 January 2025 | The Village SDA Church released an official response during their January 11th service, regarding the Michigan Conference’s removal of their Lead Pastor Ron Kelly, and Elder Conrad Vine. 20 of the 21 elders gathered on the rostrum to: “reject both the premise and the process by […]
Broken Trust: My strange and disturbing summer at Adventist summer camp
by Carlos J. Gonzalez | 14 January 2025 | I’m a native of Brooklyn, New York. I loved my city while growing up there—and I still do. The salsa and beat-heavy music, and the air of innocence on DeKalb Avenue, were a utopia for me. But for my mother, things […]
Comments of the Week January 5-12
Comments of the Week January 5-12 “It’s called ‘lay activities’ and is a very effective means of church growth.” —Jeffrey C. Taylor on the satire piece about why parents lock the door to pray each Sabbath afternoon Comments on Badge of an Oppressor, Exorcisms, Satire, Is My Child a Jerk?, […]
Facebook Group Hopes to Share The Great Controversy at Presidential Inauguration.
13 January 2025 | A Facebook group entitled GC2DC has shared a video with their intentions for “an evangelistic endeavor at the presidential inauguration on January 20.” They hope to see “hundreds of thousands” of Adventists at the US Capitol to pass out Ellen G. White’s The Great Controversy to […]
Aunt Sevvy, is Michael the Archangel also Jesus Christ?
13 January 2025 | Dear Aunt Sevvy, Is Michael the Archangel the same as Jesus? I’ve only heard this in the Adventist Church, and I wonder: is it unique to us? Signed, Curiouser and Curiouser Dear Curiouser, The White Estate asserts that “many” non-Adventist Bible scholars equate Michael with Christ—but […]
Do I Wear the Badge of an Oppressor?
by Kara Wibberding | 11 January 2025 How do I do good wearing the badge of those who have done evil? Standing on the porch of a Kenyan elementary school, I locked eyes with a woman at the school entrance. She stood in a tiny gap between the two gates, […]
Southern California Conference Reacts to “The Most Destructive Fire in LA History”
10 January 2025 | On Tuesday, January 7, 2025, Southern California flames rose to create what is now considered “the most destructive fire in LA (Los Angeles) history. Dubbed the Pacific Palisades Fire, the dry conditions and high winds caused wide-spread devastation, with Newsweek stating that “The fire was estimated […]
To The Point
News
News Brief: 16 January 2025
16 January 2025 | News from Andrews University “Andrews University, a Seventh-day Adventist school in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States, has received a grant of US$6,326,735 from Lilly Endowment, Inc., through its Ministry in Rural Areas and Small Towns initiative. The aim of the initiative is to provide resources to help churches in rural areas […]
Commentary
The Ministerial Exception: How Church Workers Lost Legal Employment Protection
by Loren Seibold | 17 January 2025 | In comments under a recent Aunt Sevvy, someone asked about the status of church employees under the law. The question intrigued me enough that I started digging a bit into it. (I’m focusing here on the United States, since that’s where I have lived and worked. Perhaps […]
Features
ATSS: Kärt Lazic, “Reframing and Reforming Congregational Worship: An Appeal for a Reset”
8 January 2025 | What is it that happens when we come together for a “church service”? What should happen? Church members are regularly encouraged to “not forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25). But what are we supposed to do when what we experience there seems to be so far removed from our needs? When […]
