Look, we get it. The Seventh-day Adventist Church can feel like a committee meeting stapled to a prophecy chart wrapped in a casserole debate. We’ve got problems — sometimes big ones.
Global tension? Check. Worship wars? Check. That one uncle who forwards PowerPoints about what Ellen White really meant? Triple check.
But here’s the plot twist:
Cynicism isn’t actually very Adventist. Hope is.
Our origin story is literally: We thought Jesus was coming in 1844. He didn’t. We regrouped, rebranded, and somehow built a global movement with hospitals, universities, centenarians who could outrun us, and a potluck line that circles the earth twice.
We’re the people who look at crisis and go:
“Okay but what if… we keep going?”
Yes, we’re messy.
We’ve had leaders who made mistakes. Some structures feel like a sanctified DMV. We argue about drums while the world burns. Sometimes we cling to tradition so tightly it forgets to love.
But sweeping cynicism?
That’s just a lazy substitute for grief… and growth.
We’re also a miracle in motion.
• We are in 200+ countries — with translators turning “potluck” into 600 local equivalents
• We genuinely think Jesus changes lives (and we’re doing our awkward best to show it)
• We have kids and young adults who still raise their hands when someone asks, “Who wants to help with the mission?”
• We know the church’s flaws because we’re in it — and we still show up every week
(Sometimes late. But we show up.)
What if… we chose courage instead of cynicism?
What if broken things can be rebuilt?
What if calling out problems can be an act of love?
What if humor is a holy survival skill?
We can acknowledge the cracks without abandoning the cathedral.
We can laugh at ourselves because we believe God isn’t done with us yet.
Forward looks like this:
☑ Humor — because the alternative is crying in the pews
☑ Reflection — because Jesus deserves an honest community
☑ Humility — because none of us arrived perfect
☑ Eyes on Jesus — because that’s where the story gets good
Yes, the Adventist Church is complicated. But it’s also our spiritual home — full of family we didn’t choose but are called to love anyway.
We are not cynics.
We are a hopeful people in a sometimes-awkward church, walking toward the Second Coming with mismatched socks and endless announcements — together.
Let’s move forward.
With grace.
With accountability.
With good-natured jokes at GC Session.
And with our faith aimed squarely at the One who turns disappointments into resurrections.
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