by Alicia Johnston  |  19 May 2021  | “The difference between you and me is that you think the Bible is hard to understand, and I think it’s easy.” This quote is from a dear friend from college. She was frustrated with me because of my theological explanations for why I affirm same-gender marriage and […]

by Richard W. Coffen  |  18 May 2021  |   Tuesday, November 9, 1965. It was nearly dusk as 10-year-old Johnny ambled toward home. At 5:30, he found a short stick, which he hurled at a nearby utility pole. It produced a metallic thud when it hit the pole. Instantaneously the light atop the pole went […]

by Stephen Ferguson  |  14 May 2021  | There is a dangerous idea held within most corners of Protestant Christianity today, from Seventh-day Adventists to Presbyterians. This idea, in my respectful view, is a major cause underpinning many of our culture-war debates. This dangerous idea is the misconception that God treats everyone and all behaviors […]

By Jim Wibberding  |  14 May 2021  | Jennie[1] sank into a window seat, placed the leather satchel at her feet, and smoothed her blue cotton dress. As the railcar lurched and screeched into motion, she squinted out at the early twentieth-century bustle. Jennie Ireland had poured ten years into this place, giving free healthcare […]

By Paul Perez  |  11 May 2021  |   Being a man of 40 and deciding to return to school after 16 years is difficult. And, I’m a Roman Catholic which is, frankly, sometimes difficult too. The moment I utter the word “Catholic” I brace myself for the typical response: “oh.”  And this last was especially […]

by Joni Bell  |  7 May 2021  |   I’ve always felt accepted, loved and valued in my religious community. My dad was a much-loved pastor all his life and my husband a respected leader in our denomination, and I know I rode on their coattails for much of my early life.  I came into my […]

By Loren Seibold  |  6 May 2021  |   Recently I participated in a Facebook discussion in which one of our pastors reminded us of the threat of Sunday laws.  This in itself wasn’t surprising: Sunday laws have been hanging over our heads for as long as I can remember. In my childhood church we had […]

By Lindsey Abston Painter  |  30 April 2021  | Some years ago when Dr. Christine Blasey Ford testified against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, I wrote a piece for Adventist Today about believing women who share their stories of sexual assault.[1] Though I’ve written many controversial articles, about everything from gun control to my own divorce, the […]

By Carmen Seibold  |  2 November 2018  |   Like a lot of my generation, it didn’t occur to me when I was a child that women could be pastors. But when it was suggested to me, perhaps some time when I was in college, there didn’t seem to me to be any reason why they […]

By Loren Seibold  |  23 April 2021  | Around the turn of the 20th century entire industries were poised to disappear. They just didn’t know it yet. After the introduction of reasonably reliable and affordable automobiles, most industries that relied on horse transportation began to suffer: harness makers, wheelwrights, wood crafters, traditional blacksmiths, brass workers, […]

By Danny Handoko  |  22 April 2021  | Many Seventh-day Adventists are excited to study the Bible’s prophetic books. In Indonesia, where I grew up, the primary evangelistic programs were Revelation Seminars. Ellen White’s The Great Controversy played an important role in my spiritual formation, especially the chapters on end-time prophecy; that book may have […]

by David Geelan  |  20 April 2021  | Somewhere between 40 and 50 people leave the Seventh-day Adventist church for every 100 who join it, and that rate has increased in recent years. Obviously, this is an important issue for the church. Understanding why people leave might help the church to prevent some of the […]