In the World but Not of the World

I'm a fifth-generation Adventist. I received all my formal education through Adventist schools. Many of my extended family members are, or have been, church officers. I am, in short, as Adventist as any individual can get, both spiritually and culturally.

I am also more than a little disturbed by the attitudes and positions expressed in the recent comments by "David." First, I am bothered by his assertion that the answer to young-person retention and membership growth in general is a change in, for lack of a better term, "format." Second, I am bothered by the arrogance of his assertion that, "I am likewise not really interested in what our pioneers did or didn't think." Finally, I am bothered by the relativism which pervades his statements.

It is said that the first generation Adventist joins and stays in the church because they have learned and believe in the doctrines, lifestyle, etc. The second generation stays in the church because they learned the doctrines and lifestyle at the same time as their parents and likewise believe in them. The third generation stays in the church because it's tradition. The fourth generation comes along and wonders why they bother. Why is this? Lack of substance transmission.

I've seen the gimmicks church leaders use to try to retain youth. At one point in my childhood Sabbath School involved a religious perversion of Wheel of Fortune, complete with glitter-festooned wheel and cash prizes. I wasn't impressed. When we reached Earliteens we were told that we weren't going to use the quarterly because they figured we already knew the Bible stuff, so we were going to talk about what Earliteens really wanted to discuss-relationships. I was bored stiff. By Youth the leaders were bringing in orange juice, donuts, etc to make us comfortable and you couldn't tell what the leader was trying to do because the older youth were enjoying the social opportunity too loudly. I was bored to tears.

I'm still in the church, but that is in spite of, rather than because of, the "innovations" designed to attract me. These efforts had glitz, but none of the substance and meaning I was yearning for. It is the absence of substance, meaning, and purpose which drives youth out of our church and discourages new converts. No amount of reformatting will cure the exodus, because the reformatting of Growing Healthy Churches is all about externals, not substance.

So how did I break the generational cycle of loss? The lion's share of credit goes to my parents who started my religious instruction in the cradle. They were consistent, persistent, and encouraged intellectual discussion and questioning but were never pushy or dismissive of my ability to understand "grown up things." These efforts were supported by Adventist teachers and other sincere, committed Adventist adults within my parents' circle of friends who practiced what they preached. The bottom line is that I was actually taught the substance of Adventism both intellectually and experiencially, not just the traditions and lifestyle. That is what is needed to stop the loss, not style or governance changes.

"I am likewise not really interested in what our pioneers did or didn't think." There are so many time-honored truths with which to reply to this it is hard to know where to start. "We have nothing to fear for the future except we forget the past," "those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it," etc. The pioneers that David is so willing to dismiss were led by God is some very specific and spectacular ways to create this denomination. They were fallible humans like the rest of us but they said and did a lot of things which are worthy of our consideration. They had to be doing something right or Adventism would never have gotten off the ground. The spectacular membership growth which occurred under their watch ought to be enough to send those worried about the present "flat-lining" of the Adventist church in North America running to study their example and learn their secrets. To ignore them is pure arrogance and unmitigated stupidity.

"If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19).

"They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them" (1 John 4:5).

"Know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God" (James 3:4).

Is anyone noticing a pattern here? There is a prevailing attitude in our culture today that "If you feel that it's right for you I have no right to criticize it." This destroys all absolutes. You cannot say that anything is wrong because you might offend somebody. This insidious attitude has oozed its way into the Adventist church and I hear it as the basic premise throughout David's statements. I firmly believe that this is one of the many reasons why we are told to be in the world but not of the world. We must live in the world and interact with its inhabitants, but when we start adopting its philosophies in order to "reach" those outside Adventism it is not us who are converting them--they are converting us. This is the danger warned against in the texts quoted above. Changing our presentation make it more appealing in practice means dumbing it down and hiding our more "controversial" doctrines. This in turn means that those brought into the church under this system don't really understand the fullness of being Adventist. These people then take leadership positions, think they know everything they need to know, and refuse to accept any guidance from more senior Adventists. (By "senior" I mean having been in the church longer, not physical age.) These new leaders then push to do things their way and lead Adventism even further from its origins and central beliefs. This is why the Bible says, "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil" (1 Timothy 3:6).

What the Adventist church needs is not gimmicks or fresh formats. We need sincere, committed Christian Adventists who not only know but live what they believe. That would be more than enough to retain youth and attract new members.

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