Random Observations from Way, Way Upstairs on Day 7
by Loren Seibold | 9 July 2025 |
A collection of thoughts and ideas and observations that have been piling up on my mental desk:
I have seen my church…
…and it’s not white anymore. All ya gotta do is walk around this building, and you’ll see mostly faces of some shade of brown.
Prepare, all of you legacy Adventists, for a church that is dramatically different than it once was.
For me, the cultural mix makes it a lot more fun. I hope you agree.
A quote from Timothy Standish…
… from a few days ago. Timothy is in the GC’s GeoScience Research Institute, and he’s loquacious and highly quotable. This is one of my favorites. It has to do with the General Conference deciding how appropriations for missions are distributed, but it applies to everything the GC seems to be doing:
“Those of you who are familiar with the way in which the church was restructured into its current form in the 1901 and 1903 General Conferences will recall that it was a response to the direct message from God that was given to us by sister Ellen G. White. There is a trend that has been apparent in changes over the years that have gone against that intent, which was to move power from the General Conference down to the local level. We are in rebellion against that message from God himself. This particular change reflects that rebellion. It moves the power from those on the ground who need funding for doing the mission. It moves it to the General Conference in another city, in another land, on a different continent. I stand I hope with all of you who respect the messenger of the Lord and the message that she gave all those years ago that applies to the General Conference today.”
Where we work
Just wanna let you know that your Adventist Today team arrives early and keeps working. We’re up near the ceiling, and the echos make it almost impossible to hear—I listen to the live stream through my AirPods, which I suppose I could do at home. But it’s nice to be here with my team
The people who help us.
I’ve gone around meeting and thanking the people up in our section for their help. Here’s Yvonne from the security team (she says we’re behaving ourselves quite nicely), Margie from housekeeping (she’s a sweetheart, and keeps things nice) and Anu from GC communications, who solves all of the problems of those of us in the “outcast” press.
Our soupçon of fame
Both Bjorn and I have been pleasantly pleased that as we walk around, people recognize us and say, “Are you the guys from Adventist Today?” That’s fun, because it means we’re doing something that is connecting!
My “mad as hell” article of yesterday
This article had a long reach. Thanks to all of you who read it and “got it”—that I wasn’t trying to say this work shouldn’t be done, but that it was a huge waste of the talents and time of this great global church to edit a document from the floor with 2000 people. (Though some appear to be staying away—the floor is has lots of empty rows—and I think it’s because it is so deadly dull.)
But then, there was this comment from the floor first thing this morning:
Second, the very first thing Madame Chair did this morning was to abandon the grind of editing the CM, and Mark Finley announced a program where they were going to get people into caucuses and listen to them! The topic this morning was personal spirituality. It’s a small step in the direction of my suggestion that we used the presence of this amazing global population to do some spiritual and missional work—including some strategic planning!
I’ve no idea if Mark Finley read my complaint, but Björn says I should take credit!
Rubbing shoulders with our counterparts
Up here in the crow’s nest a few others from “outcast” press are working, too.
We got together and prayed with Andy Roman of Advent Messenger, and though we know we look at the world and the church quite differently, we’re brothers in Christ. I even did a 20 minute interview with Andy, got a bit of his life story (I’ll post it later), and I understood him better at the end. Also had a nice visit with Gerry Waggoner of Fulcrum7, and have been praying for his wife, who has cancer.
For the most part, we’ve been well-received wherever we go. Ran into John Bradshaw of It Is Written last night, and Bjorn managed a picture with Stephen Bohr.
Doing Grandma’s thing
This morning at breakfast, I replayed my Grandma Schroeder’s playbook: she always was watching for signs that someone in a public place might be a fellow Adventist.
So, I’m getting my coffee and I notice a woman next to me. Is she one of us? She has no jewelry on—one point in the Adventist column. She takes the eggs, but not the bacon. Another point in the Adventist column. But she’s also getting coffee—that could be a point in the not-Adventist column, but then I’m pouring a cup, too, so that, it seems to me, is a wash. Unfortunately, she slips away before I can pop the question.
This morning, though, we met Zethu at breakfast, and we learned that she comes from South Africa, and she is one of us! She says, “Oh, I always read articles from Adventist Today! You probably wrote them or edited them!” Guilty as charged.
Come & Reason Ministries
Just got word that the popular independent ministry Come & Reason was asked to leave their booth in the exhibit hall. I know that Timothy Jennings, M.D., has some unique interpretations of lots of things, including politics. This from Fulcrum7 (thanks, Gerry) which I haven’t heard myself:
“Jennings teaches a different position on the sanctuary. He also teaches that a person is born with a same-sex orientation. He also teaches that God would not destroy anyone because He loves them too much. … According to Wayne Blakely from Know His Love ministries, Jennings has taught that LGBTQ individuals don’t really have a choice in the matter.”
Loren Seibold is the executive editor of Adventist Today.
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