Adventism And The Heart of God
By Marcos Torres
I love Adventism.
Hands down. I believe our message has something to say that no one else is saying.
Yes, I get it. Adventism as a culture isn't always a good thing. There's been some toxic elements in there: fundamentalism, legalism, etc. I'm not talking about Adventism as a subculture though. I'm talking about Adventism as a story with no extra ingredients: No fundamentalism. No conservatism. No nationalism. No legalism. And definitely no Eurocentrism.
When you analyze the story of Adventist theology without all of those added cultural ingredients, what you have before you is a theology of love unlike anything Christendom has ever engineered; a story of God's heart. There’s a type of cosmology of harmony and relationship.
One of my biggest desires is to take that story and give it to humanity without the cultural additives. No institutional agendas. No brand loyalty. I simply want to share the story of God's heart, rooted in the rich history of Adventist thought; given to humanity.
This is an imperative because this story belongs to all of us. The truth of God's character is humanity's birthright. It shouldn't be enclosed within the walls of a denomination, or buried underneath layers of complex language only seasoned Adventists understand. The truth about the heart of God shouldn’t be reduced to a whisper only heard in the echo chambers of Adventist ghettos. It should be accessible, relatable, and contextual.
When we look at the core of our mission, it's not Adventism we are called to proclaim. Adventism is just a tool; a vehicle. What we are called to share is God’s heart, God’s truth, God’s character of love to the world with no strings attached.
Now some of you reading this might be a bit worried: am I saying the organized body of believers doesn't matter? Absolutely not! Never. We matter. Our local churches matter. Our leaders matter. Our movement matters. And growing this movement with a new generation of seekers and sojourners is my passion.
What I am saying though is that telling this story and growing this movement isn't about making people into cookie-cutter, card-carrying "SDAs." It's about making disciples of Jesus; not disciples of Ellen G. White, nor disciples of us, nor disciples of our conferences. We are called to make disciples of Jesus, with a passion for God's heart. Such disciples are empowered with a message of healing truth to tell the world. They may even carry the message whether they call themselves Adventist or not. They may carry the message whether they look like us and sound like us or not.
So here are three strategies to help get others on the path of embodying the Adventist story that manifests God’s heart in ways that are compelling to those around us. We must teach the people to (1) let every doctrine lead you to God's heart because that is what doctrine is for. Jesus said, "These are they which testify of me." Doctrines are not there to point to themselves, they are there to point us to Jesus. Let’s remind them to (2) live out the love of Jesus in your sphere of influence and community by listening to others and serving them without strings attached. Finally, (3) don’t settle for rules and religious rituals. Dig and dive deeper to develop meaningful relationship. This is where real faith begins.
Our goal should be to flood the earth with a message that is carried by people of all backgrounds and foregrounds. This message about the heart of God should be crystal clear: God is not abusive. God is not coercive. God is not tyrannical.
God is love, and the cosmos was built with God’s DNA of love, and that in Jesus, we are grafted back to love so that in the end, beyond the tragedies of sin, injustice, and suffering, there is a grand rebirthing, the code of reality is reset, and the universe returns to the charming rhythms and tempos of selfless love.
That's the Adventism that changes the world.
Marcos Torres is a church planter based in Perth, Australia, and founder of the Story Church Project.