You can usually spot it before the opening hymn ends.
There’s the doctor family in their coordinated Sabbath outfits, the polished deacon whose tie costs more than the church piano repairs, and the visitor in jeans trying to blend in with the wall paint.
And then there’s the unspoken truth: Adventism, for all its talk about equality and service, sometimes has a type.
We’ve quietly learned who fits the “ideal Adventist aesthetic” — clean-cut, educated, vegetarian (but not too vegan), with a career that sounds good in the church directory. If you’re working two jobs and can’t make it to midweek prayer meeting, the system doesn’t know what to do with you.
We’ve built entire ministries around uplifting the “less fortunate,” but heaven forbid the “less fortunate” join our church board. We preach about the early church sharing everything in common, then brag about whose kids got into Andrews.
The irony? Jesus spent most of His time with the people we treat like outreach projects — not board members.
Maybe it’s time we asked ourselves a real Sabbath School question:
If Jesus walked into your church in work boots and a hi-vis jacket, would we hand Him a bulletin — or a Benevolent Fund form?
Love BarelyAdventist? Support us on Patreon for as little as $1 per month
