The image of a fox preaching to a flock of geese recurs throughout medieval history: in paintings, on pottery, in book illustrations, and sometimes even in carvings in churches. Generally the fox is dressed in a priest’s vestments or a monk’s habit. The sly fox is lulling the geese into a false sense of security […]
Many love it. Many love to hate it. The 62nd General Conference (GC) Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is nearly upon us, set to unfold from July 3-12 in St. Louis, Missouri. Adventist Today will be on the ground to cover it. This gathering, held every five years (though the 2022 session was delayed […]
“Not only does hurry keep us from the love, joy, and peace of the kingdom of God—the very core of what all human beings crave—but it also keeps us from God himself simply by stealing our attention. And with hurry, we always lose more than we gain.” — John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of […]
Are you attending this summer’s General Conference (GC) Session in St. Louis? If so, we’d love to meet you in person! Join us for a casual, complimentary vegetarian buffet lunch on Friday, July 11, at the Hotel Saint Louis, Autograph Collection (705 Olive St, St. Louis, Missouri)—just two blocks from the America’s Center. Your hosts […]
For there shall arise false christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24 I remember as a child reading about false christs and prophets. That last phrase, “They shall deceive the very elect” stuck in my brain. I […]
Not long ago I talked to a woman who had suffered a lot growing up as a Seventh-day Adventist. The abuse wasn’t physical. It was spiritual. She was one of those people (I am another) whose parents and teachers drilled down on all the awful things that were about to happen to Adventists: persecution, our […]
In 2000, when I was four years old, I attended my first General Conference (GC) session in Toronto, Canada. My grandfather was a respected church administrator and pastor for 50 years, allowing us a chance to be in the epicenter of the event. My first GC Session and those afterwards were experienced from the delegate […]
Something you’ll often hear Adventists complain about is that there aren’t enough young people in our church. There are probably many reasons for that, but one that I’d like to explore has to do with who’s leading the church. The word to describe leadership by the oldest people is “gerontocracy.” Our General Conference (GC) is […]
In a world increasingly shaken by corruption, exclusion, and abuse of power—whether in political systems or religious institutions—it’s easy to fall into a mode of resistance. We see and feel deeply that something is not right. Many of us are no longer willing to allow our identities to be passively associated with systems that perpetuate […]
Adventists have in recent years begun to realize how centralized and authoritarian our denomination is. Those in top church offices seem to want to exercise control over every aspect of church life, in every part of the world, right down to the everyday operation of local congregations. The recent kerfuffle in Berrien Springs Village has […]
Adventism is unraveling, and it stings. A bloated church structure lets a few strongmen smother debate, block women’s ordination, and cram our dear church into a suffocating, General Conference-approved box. Honest dialogue? Routinely crushed. Conspiracy theories, anti-intellectualism, and contempt for “outsiders” fester in the pews. Evangelists wield fear and guilt to corral the flock. Meanwhile, […]
Sometimes I lie awake at night staring at the ceiling, and wondering what a single citizen is supposed to do. But my ceiling has no answers for me—only more fear. Sometimes I feel that fear is the point. If they can make us afraid, it makes us easier to control. Recently I was at a […]