Just when you thought it was safe for your children in California, the One Project climbs out of the mausoleum for another meeting.
The One Project, after shutting down amidst much fanfare in February 2018, is apparently resurrecting itself for another meeting on February 17-18, 2019 in Redlands, California. Four observations:
When liberal elements in the Church say they are done, they usually aren’t.
The GC Excomm issued guidelines for independent ministries on April 11, 2018, naming the One Project as an example of an organization that should be scrutinized for their fidelity to the Christ of Scripture and the unique Message entrusted to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. That is good advice.
The One Project apparently made the announcement of a resurrected meeting in Redlands on October 16, the last day of Annual Council in Battle Creek. Could the events in Battle Creek, so troubling to liberals in our church, have influenced their decision to resuscitate the One Project?
Fulcrum7 made the prediction on August 18, 2017 that the One Project was not really going away—that it would be back. We were correct.
Faithful Adventists in the Redlands area, should evaluate the reincarnated One Project with these questions:
1. What does it mean to accept Jesus Christ? When we say we accept Christ is this a mystical Christ of experience only, or, does it mean an acceptance of the doctrinal truths He taught, or, both? Does such ministry or initiative uphold the substitutionary atonement of Jesus?
2. How do they understand the role of doctrine in Christian faith? Is there an organic connection between the person of Christ and the teachings or doctrines of Christ? Is there the understanding that knowing Christ necessarily includes knowing and living His teachings and the Biblical truths He taught?
3. What is their understanding and support of the message and mission the Adventist church in the light of its prophetic mission? How do they express their understanding of 1844 and Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary?
4. Do they have a clear understanding of the uniqueness of the Seventh-day Adventist movement? Are they clear in how Adventist faith differs from other evangelical denominations that exalt Jesus?
5. What is their understanding of creation? Do those involved in new ministries and initiatives believe that God created this world in six literal days and rested on the seventh day in the recent past as understood and voted in our 28 Fundamental Beliefs?
6. What is their understanding of biblical authority and prophetic interpretation? Do they accept the historicist explanation of Bible prophecy and do they share the Adventist understanding of the little horn of Daniel 7, the beast powers of Revelation 13 and the antichrist of Scripture, and that faithfulness to Christ will ultimately climax in a conflict over the law of God with the Sabbath at the center of that final controversy?
7. Due to current perceptions of gender and sexuality, which contradict the biblical teaching on marriage and the family as accepted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, these pertinent questions must also be asked: How do they understand gender identity and the question of LGBTQ+ relationships to church membership in the light of Scripture? Do they have a clear, unambiguous and biblical understanding of this subject?
If they demonstrate biblical faithfulness in each of these areas, they should be commended, and we will do so. If not, they should remain high on the Church’s warning list.
For your own research, here are some articles that have evaluated the One Project in the last 2.5 years:
The One Project Final Gathering: Sundown or Mutation?
The One Project in Sydney, Thoughts and Notes
Ohio Youth Meeting Patterns Itself After The One Project
Sorry Alex, Spiritual Formation is Not Compatible With Bible Adventism
The One Project Final Gathering: Sundown or Mutation?
The One Project Final Gathering: Emerging Aberration
Stay informed, stay faithful. When elements of the Church undermine the Three Angels’ Messages, stand up and call them out on it.
Hold one another accountable to the Word of God in love (Ephesians 4:15; 5:11). And be a blessing!
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