For about 15 years now, Adventism has been in an absolutely stunning marathon of internal squabbles. We’ve fought about ordination (all of it), theology (especially the spicy bits), compliance (remember compliance committees?), tithe parity, policy interpretations, haystack orthodoxy, and whether someone somewhere is enjoying Sabbath too much.
We’ve debated until our brains hummed like a Pathfinder camp generator. And at this point—let’s be honest—everyone is tired. Even the people who pretend they’re not tired? They’re especially tired.
The left is exhausted from trying to explain their take on nuance to anyone who will listen.
The right is exhausted from trying to enforce policy with the sheer power of their eyebrows.
The centrists are exhausted from attempts at making peace, holding hands, and passing out watermelon slices.
And that’s the miracle.
Because when both sides are this worn out, something unexpected happens: we stop swinging at each other long enough to realize we’re all leaning on the same table.
We might actually be ready for a new chapter.
Not a chapter where we pretend the disagreements never existed (we’re Adventists; we literally document everything). But one where we don’t let those disagreements define us anymore. One where we put more energy into following Jesus than into following Robert’s Rules. One where we refuse to let another decade slip away in a haze of motions, amendments, and “points of order” delivered with the emotional intensity of an exclamation mark wearing a tie.
Imagine an Adventism where our energy goes into mission, creativity, compassion, and building spiritual communities that are unmistakably alive.
Imagine an Adventism where people feel less like they’re entering a perpetual church board meeting and more like they’re joining a hopeful, global movement with room for the weary and the weird.
Imagine an Adventism where we argue less about who can stand behind the pulpit and more about who we can lift up in front of it.
Here’s the thing:
We want to move forward.
All of us.
Left, right, center.
Boomers, Zoomers, and that one guy who still prints out the GC Working Policy before every constituency meeting.
We are a worldwide family that’s argued itself to the point of collapse—and that exhaustion can finally turn into clarity.
Because when a church this stubborn gets this tired…
It becomes open—finally—to resurrection.
Let’s choose a future worth handing to the next generation.
Let’s build something better, braver, kinder, grounded in the way of Jesus, and yes… a little funnier.
Let’s be the Adventism people look at and say, “Wait… they’re doing what now? I want in.”
Both sides are exhausted.
Good.
That means we’re ready.
Onward.
———————
If you’re tired of the fighting but not tired of community, if you still believe Adventism can choose the Hope of Jesus over trench warfare, and if you think a little smart, healing humor can help us get there—this is exactly why BarelyAdventist exists.
We’re here to tell the truth with a grin, to remind us we’re still one family, and to point—however imperfectly—toward the Jesus-shaped future we’re all aching for.
Love BarelyAdventist? Support us on Patreon for as little as $1 per month
