@BobRyan:
First I heard of ‘Grace Place.’ I don’t see anything remotely resembling any trappings of Adventism there at all. Only Sunday Services. BBQ Pork dinner on Thursday. Annual Easter Egg Hunt on a Saturday this year. A special Hungry Men’s breakfast with sausage on a Saturday morning. Young adult college Bible study group with coffee. They affirm the National Association of Evangelicals Statement of Faith. I would say they are trying their darndest to be anything but Adventist if they once were.

Clay Peck shares his testimony, ‘My Journey Out of Legalism’ which chronicles his having been raised as an Adventist – only to later make a journey out of Adventism, disavowing its theology. He begins his story by saying some nice things about Adventists – however, the details of the story soon become filled with a profoundly negative and biased view of the Adventist church.
He relates how he was fired as an Adventist pastor in 1997 after being interrogated by professors at Andrews for his lack of orthodoxy. This was also the year a number of ‘Evangelical’ Adventist pastors were likewise fired. It was at this time that Grace Place became ‘interdenominational.’ In 1998 He began to preach things contrary to Adventist Theology(Covenant Theology) and Grace Place separated more formally from the denomination. It was then that many members decided to return to the Adventist church. I would have to say that your news is a little dated Bob. Over 10 years old I’d say.

Mr. Peck says that, “Grace Place was never an official Adventist church. We were called an “experiment.” We were an experimental outreach project to reach out to former and inactive Adventists.” I’m reminded of the Colton SDA church many years ago that was lauded for its phenomenal numerical growth – comprised mostly of disenfranchised or disillusioned Adventists in Southern California.

Now how does all this apply to the discussion here on educate truth?
Often those who are raised in the Adventist church end up trying to effect a radical reformation of its theology or rebel completely against its beliefs in response to a pharisaeical form of Adventism. My contention is that many of those raised in the church are given a warped and unbalanced view of the true principles of Adventism and of God. Our church contains a preponderance of wackos and legalists of the worst sort. These spiritually destructive members are responsible for driving many people away from the Adventist church. Those who have been traumatized by a pharisaeical/legalistic misrepresentation of the everlasting gospel will seek refuge within a fellowship offering an inordinate emphasis on grace, for healing.
On the other side of the coin our movement is a ‘holiness’ movement in the truer sense of the word. The carnal nature rebels against such a biblical emphasis and will gravitate toward an inordinate emphasis on grace for carnal refuge.

Once again, what does this have to do with educate truth? I believe that the backdrop to professing Adventists embracing liberal theology, higher criticism and theistic evolution is an unbalanced response to a destructive form of Adventism. As a result, many Adventists (especially those raised in the church), reach out for a more ‘open-minded,’ ‘compassionate,’ ‘relevant,’ and ‘transparent,’ form of Adventism. In doing so they often become willing to throw the Adventist baby out with the dirty Adventist bath water.

Those of us who would characterize ourselves as ‘conservative and orthodox’ Adventists, should search our hearts as to whether we have ever contributed to this dilemma in spirit, if not in word.

“The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.”–TSS 115, 116.  

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My point about Grace Place was that it came to me as somewhat of a shock, that our AR staff would publish a glowing review of that church just as Peck was being asked to leave — in fact the very month.

It was then that I took a closer look and found that most of the editors (in general) did not have training in theology at all — and since the recent comment about AR and advertising for LSU came up – it was simply a reminder that AR is not staffed to be a theological vetting ground. They follow policy and report the news and they also have good contributing articles.

But beyond that – we should not get too excited about what might be advertised on the back cover – or what recently defrocked pastor may have just gotten a glowing review of AR.

It was not intended as a criticism of some recent action by AR – just an observation over time.

It is not unncommon to find a non-SDA site quoting some offbeat statement from AR and then claiming this is an official view of the Adventist denomination since it was published in an Adventist paper. There again – I sometimes have to remind them that AR does not have the theology-vetting function at the level that those sites have imagined. AR may be doing that on purpose in support of a degree of pluralism.

in Christ,

Bob  

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