Andrews University holds annual Adventist family research conference
Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States
The focus of the 2024 Adventist Conference on Family Research and Practice, held at Andrews University, was “Understanding Diverse Families.”
University President John Wesley Taylor V acknowledged that God created not only family but also diversity. In a video presentation, Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, encouraged participants to help families build on the principles of God’s Word.
Willie and Elaine Oliver, the General Conference directors of Family Ministries, noted that while God’s ideal for marriage and family relationships has not changed, there is the need to be mindful of differences because one size does not fit all. Upholding the ideals established by God in Eden, Elaine Oliver advocated for approaching family ministries with understanding, grace, and compassion.
Attendees participated in smaller breakout sessions covering such topics as development of children’s growth mindsets, challenges and opportunities of multigenerational households, family communication patterns and youth mental health, premarital education, love marriages and arranged marriages in biblical and sociocultural contexts, and trauma-informed communication in family practice.
Arlyn Drew, adjunct professor of systematic theology and Christian philosophy at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, addressed different family structures found both today and in the Old Testament, demonstrating that diverse families are not a contemporary phenomenon but rather one that has been with the human family for millennia. [Sara Hamstra, Andrews University]
Adventist Church leaders navigate human sexuality and biblical beliefs
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
At the 2024 General Conference Executive Committee Spring Meetings, the Inter-European Division (EUD) shared challenges related to those practicing same-sex intimacy and their relationship to the church, as well as how to work with pastors and leaders who are promoting positions on human sexuality that contrast with the church’s official statements.
Mario Brito, president of the EUD, stated, “We want to assure the worldwide church that the Inter-European Division’s leaders fully support the church’s theology, principles, and teachings.”
Brito also reminded the audience, “Jesus said, ‘For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.’ ”
In a report on the work of the Human Sexuality Task Force, Audrey Andersson, a vice president of the General Conference, emphasized that the church must go beyond just issuing official statements as we have done in the past and, instead, provide opportunities for honest conversations about human sexuality within the church.
“Human sexuality is a conversation that belongs in the church,” Andersson stated during her presentation. “We need to speak about it, share our experiences, and have sensitive, biblical conversations. If we don’t have the conversations, people will look to other sources, and they will not reflect biblical truths.” [Alyssa Truman, Adventist News Network]
Attendees Celebrate Freedom of Conscience
Columbia, Maryland, United States
Sponsored by the North American Division’s (NAD) Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) Department and Liberty magazine, the 2024 Religious Liberty dinner was held in the Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. It brought together close to 100 religious liberty advocates, government officials, academics, leaders, students, and other guests and featured US Senator Susan M. Collins as keynote speaker.
Melissa Reid, NAD PARL associate director, highlighted Collins’s achievements, including “leadership in ensuring the inclusion of substantial religious freedom provisions in the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act [RMA].”
The RMA, passed in November 2022, ensures federal and state recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. Due to concerns from Adventists and other religious freedom advocates, the RMA includes provisions addressing critical religious freedom issues. Per an NAD statement,1 RMA provisions “include Congress acknowledging that ‘both traditional marriage supporters and their beliefs are decent and honorable,’ protecting churches from being [obliged] to facilitate same-sex marriages, and preventing retaliation against religious organizations for their views on marriage.”
Collins thanked the faith leaders, stating, “You made it possible, [helping craft] what I believe are the most significant religious liberty protections enacted by Congress since the Religious Freedom Restoration Act more than thirty years ago.”
Among others, Shirley V. Hoogstra, president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities since 2014, received the religious freedom advocacy award for her longstanding commitment to protecting the religious liberty rights of faith-based institutions of higher education.
“Receiving an award from a group you love has great professional and personal significance,” Hoogstra said.
A Dutch Calvinist, she praised the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s leadership in spiritual, medical, civic, legal, and educational matters.
“I have learned so much from you and am better for my friendship with you. You are champions of religious freedom.”
Orlan Johnson, NAD PARL director, noted that there are 1.1 million Seventh-day Adventists in the US, but 8 million Latter-day Saints, 30 million Southern Baptists, and 90 million Catholics.
“If you don’t build coalitions, you can’t survive,” Johnson said.
Calvin Watkins, NAD vice president, concluded the evening by asserting that “the Adventist Church is committed to religious freedom. And it makes all of us stronger when we work together.” [Christelle Agboka, NAD Communication]
1 “Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America Statement on the U.S. Congress Respect for Marriage Act,” North American Division, November 20, 2022, https://www.nadadventist.org/news/seventh
-day-adventist-church-north-america-statement-us-congress
-respect-marriage-act.
