I stopped going to church, not because I no longer believe, but because as a single young adult in my late twenties and early thirties, I felt different from everybody else at church. I no longer felt as if I belonged. I have attended many Adventist churches and found that often they do not even have a young adult Sabbath school or small group of any kind.
Read MoreHomosexual propaganda machine is in overdrive
Hollywood’s propaganda machine is in overtime, but why? Is the purpose of this agenda to simply ruin God’s creation? Or, in the spiritual realm, is there a more sinister plan behind the homosexual agenda?
Read MoreIncomplete church film leaked
An unauthorized version of Adventist Church-produced film “What Might Have Been” was leaked online last week before its orgionally planned release date of May 16. The film portrays the moments at the 1901 General Conference Session and Ellen White’s 1903 vision regarding that session. It was produced by the General Conference Ministerial Association as a call for the church to finally be part of hastening the second coming through revival and reformation.
Read MoreSanctuary message vs. Ballenger
Do you suppose that careful Bible study will preserve you from doctrinal apostasy? Albion F. Ballenger did. He was having doubts about the harmony between the Adventist message he had been preaching and the book of Hebrews. To be particular, he thought he found abundant evidence in Hebrews 6-10 to show that Jesus had entered the Most Holy Place when he ascended to heaven two thousand years ago.
Read MoreOperation Iceberg symposium coming to Bakersfield, CA
On March 27th and 28th, the Bakersfield Hillcrest Seventh-day Adventist Church will host a symposium of speakers, who will be exposing the dangers of the Emergent movement and its infiltration into the Adventist Church (Eph 5:11).
Read MoreThe Great Hope
The tall, elegant immigration officer stooped down and picked up a book from Reuben’s hand. We were sitting in the immigration office, waiting for our residence visas to be completed, and Reuben was holding a small stack of The Great Hope, which we were planning to hand out to workers in the office.
Read MoreEveryone knows Ellen White condemned bicycles
Everyone knows that Ellen White condemned bicycles. This most useful fact finds its way into the discussions of students in our schools who otherwise never seem to have a very keen interest in what the prophet has to say.
Read MoreMissionary finance: boon or bane?
The history of Seventh-day Adventism places Jesus’ Great Commission at the very heartbeat of its existence. Today the church has planted its logo in 215 of the 237 countries and areas of the world that are recognized by the United Nations. Hundreds of missionaries have left the comfort of their homes to take Christ to the nations of the world. We are one of the most dedicated and active Christian missionary agencies on the planet.
Read MoreSurvey: Muut or Disqus?
ADvindicate has switched to Disqus for its comment platform. We had been using Muut for a long time, but about a week ago there was a glitch that reset the path for each dynamically created thread. That means the little bit of code that is placed at the end of each article that automatically generates the path where the comments are stored on the server was reset, causing all the comments to disappear from each article; however, all these comments are still viewable in the forum.
Read MoreThe game of life: it's no contest
The first competition took place in Heaven and began with the desire to be number one. This high-ranking angel was not satisfied with his position; he wanted more. He initiated a competition with Jesus Christ. Ultimately, this resulted in a war with dire consequences for Lucifer and his sympathizers. The losers miss out on their prime spots in Heaven.
Read MoreFinancial troubles spur Texas conference to close Valley Grande Academy
Texas Conference of Seventh-day Adventist’s executive committee voted Feb. 26 to close Valley Grande Adventist Academy, a 100-year-old boarding school in Weslaco, Texas. This seems to be the final chapter for an institution founded in 1911 that has long been a feeder school for Southwestern Adventist University. This decision was taken despite a 39 percent increase in enrollment at the K-12 educational facility, from 121 students last year to 168 students in the current school year.
Read MoreThe god of Ekron and a prosthetic right arm
The right arm of the gospel—a phrase commonly heard in Adventist circles—is a work that has been too long neglected and underestimated. In a talk given by Mrs. White in the sanitarium at St. Helena’s chapel, she plainly stated, “There is to be no division between the medical missionary work and the gospel ministry. Medical missionary work is to be to the third angel's message as the right arm to the body. Both are to work in harmony. Then the salvation of the Lord will be revealed” (Sermons and Talks, Volume Two, 141-2). Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that we, as Seventh-day Adventists, understand what “medical missionary” work refers to, and what it does not.
Read MoreAdventists are proud little spiritual ants
Adventists have two things to offer the world: the health message and the Sabbath. What we have neglected to illustrate to this global culture is Jesus, front and center. Our movement has been mired down in finger pointing and polarized camps of liberals and traditionalists. Everyone is posturing their own spiritual agenda, while we forget what we as Christians are supposed to be doing in the first place, reflecting God’s love. How dense and immature we have become, and yet we strut around in our theological glitter all hyped up on self-absorbed egotism.
Read MoreTheistic evolution incompatible with Adventist doctrine
An outright hand-wave dismissal of theistic evolution would be unfair to those in our church that sincerely believe that a compromise is possible. Indeed, it is only fair to give the matter a proper treatise and confront the issue face-to-face. For this reason, this article seeks to provide rational and theological arguments that show the incompatible partnership of theistic evolution and Adventism and why any attempt to prove the contrary is futile and damaging.
Read MoreBabel or Zion?
As a millennial having been raised in the Adventist church, I think that there cannot be enough discussion on the topic of Christian unity. This subject has unfortunately become surrounded in controversy, especially in the Adventist church, where unity is needed the most. Due to the development of ecumenism; the decisions the Adventist church is facing regarding women’s ordination; and the plethora of different interpretations of Scripture; unity within the church is frequently being viewed as a secondary ideal rather than an absolute necessity.
Read MoreBook 'Something's Happening' documents struggle between GYC, GC
In Suzanne Ocsai's new book "Something’s Happening: The Behind the Scenes Story of GYC," she delves into the history of the Generation of Youth Conference (GYC) with commentary on church politics. Her story sends two strong messages. The first is young people can, and do, make an influential difference in the world. The second, whether intentional or not, is the General Conference (GC) youth department is not an effective ministry.
Read MoreGiving as God commands
Paul commends the Christian brethren in Macedonia who, though themselves suffering economic want after three subsequent wars reduced the Macedonians to petitioning Tiberius for a reduction of taxes, nevertheless managed to raise a considerable offering for the church in Jerusalem. The Macedonians had faced famine conditions following widespread crop failures in Judea.
Read MoreAppeal dismissed in LSU-3 lawsuit
The North American Division has announced that the appeal in the LSU-3 lawsuit has been dismissed, thus finally ending the litigation. ADvindicate readers will recall that this case began with an inadvertent recording of a conversation among three La Sierra professors Jeffrey Kaatz, James Beach, and Gary Bradley and La Sierra board member Lenny Darnell at the home of James Beach April 20, 2011.
Read MoreDramatic questions
We live at a time when Adventists are unashamedly producing their own films and when youth programs regularly feature drama. Now, for example, talk is adrift regarding the second proposed movie in as many years on the great controversy between Christ and Satan called "Heaven." That is ironic. But the irony will be more apparent toward the end of the article.
Read MoreEmergent thought: questions and deconstruction
During the 1980’s and 90’s rogue bands of Christian pastors began asking themselves how they could repackage, bend, hacksaw, and sell Christianity to a postmodern global culture no longer interested in the cranky and judgmental values their parents collectively gave them as a society. An unofficial movement that transcended Christian denominational boundaries slowly began to take shape as brash thought leaders explored new and fresh possibilities for reshaping Christianity into one fabricated for Western culture.
Read More