He answered the phone and I was unprepared as to what to say. I did not think someone as famous as him in the Adventist church would pick-up from an unknown caller ID. My old college teacher answered the phone and was gracious as he listened to me; even though I did not have pleasant news to tell him.
I said as much, “You were my Seventh-day Adventist college professor 35 years ago and I took your classes in theology. After I studied under you, I almost left the Seventh-day Adventist Church. I suffered for years of doubt faith and I even wrote you a letter about it back then. You wrote me back that you had quoted my letter in your latest book Inspiration. I have long since gotten through my crisis you caused and today I’m an Adventist pastor. Now it is time, be it 35 years later, that I speak to you again.” I wanted to finally follow Mathew 18 and get past this tragic event in my life so I could move forward.
AFFIRMING SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST EDUCATION
Let me state to the reader that I do trust Seventh-day Adventist education. In fact, I have a bachelor, a masters degree and a doctorate from Seventh-day Adventist colleges/university. However, having said that, while I do trust completely in all the Bible, I do not trust completely in all Adventist Bible professors at our colleges. Let the students attending our colleges beware of many pitfalls which they will encounter while attending an Adventist college. Don’t be like me when I thought an Adventist college was an extended arm to help me in faith building.
Let me briefly explain my story. I had been a Baptist and it required over a year of constant study for my conversion to occur. I went from being a Southern Baptist to becoming a Seventh-day Adventist as a teenager while attending public high school. During that journey of my denominational conversion, all of my new Adventist friends defended the truth and used apologetics to help convince me to join with God’s remnant church. An apologist is a person who offers an argument in defense of something controversial. Thinking that this was what true Bible study was all about—I entered an Adventist college to study for the ministry. Being brand new in the faith, I naively believed two things: (1) my college teachers were professionals sent to train me to become a good Adventist pastor; (2) my Adventist college teachers were completely trustworthy since the church leaders trusted them above all others to impart truth.
SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP
My old professor writes his philosophy in the preface of his book; he states, “A student obviously was troubled by what he had discovered as he worked through one of my assignments. When I talked with him, I asked if our earlier discussion in class had helped any. ‘Oh my,’ came the quick response. ‘If we hadn’t discussed it first in class, I might have gone out and shot myself.’ He wasn’t joking.” (Inspiration 2016, p. 9) He goes on, “we don’t need to be afraid of what we or anyone else might find in Scripture. Hard searching and many tears may follow” (ibid, p. 10). To his premise on Bible study, I disagree completely.
Having now been a pastor for over 26 years, let me state emphatically that this is the wrong way to give a Bible study—if such responses occur from the person receiving the study. Really? Two people and two different Bible studies and person 1 wants to go commit suicide and person 2 wants to cry many tears and grows depressed. Wow! This is not how you give Bible studies to win souls and grow a church in faith with the Holy Spirit! Instead, this sounds more like spiritual boot camp in the Marine corps. The drill sergeant barks, “All of you want to be soul winners and get ordained! When I get done with you some of you, some will want to shoot yourselves and others of you will cry tears of doubt every night into your pillows!” In contrast today, my small church in Michigan just finished live evangelistic meetings led by my church elder as I assisted. It was a joy to help encourage, attend and assist this a lay member as we won souls together. As a result, by the final night of the meetings, God blessed us with 14 baptisms and still others more have followed. Trust me—Jesus shows us how to assist people in soul winning; and I have never tried the boot camp approach.
CRISIS OF FAITH
After my single year at that liberal college, I made a complete U-turn and went to a better Adventist college to graduate. Instead of focusing on doubt, this better Adventist college affirmed my faith and taught me to trust the Bible. Instead of merely a liberal academic debate, I was now taught practical things. While attending this traditional college, we were: taught on-the-job how to conduct an evangelistic campaign; required to do colporteur work; encouraged to do mission service; required to be assigned as an active student pastor who lead out in a local church; and we were taught how to preach Biblical, faith building sermons and to give Bible studies. I want to thank those professors who worked hard to train us and teach us to be good, conservative pastors and soul winners.
I only saw shipwrecked faith from that first liberal Adventist college. Bill and his wife came to that liberal college and both took theology to serve the Lord in His remnant church. After a while, their faith was wrecked and Bill announced he was an atheist. He wrote a story published in the school journal next to his wife’s story: “Why There is No God” & she wrote “Why There is a God”.
Another friend, Ted, attended 4 years at our college and was prime to receive a call as a pastor. Then, he announced that his faith was finished and he might go consider Buddhism. The irony is that the professors thought that Bill had been a great candidate to become a pastor. They wrongly concluded, however, that their 4 years of boot camp was productive—it saved a church from hiring a bad pastor they reasoned. They never saw their role in being the antecedent in his faith being destroyed.
Also, Peter had accepted the Adventist message and was baptized, while being a sailor on a U.S. naval ship and he began to keep the Sabbath—even getting kicked out of the navy for his Sabbath keeping. He immediately came and attended this college studying for the ministry—we became best friends. After I left, he remained behind to also suffer and fell out and suffered a loss of faith. I heard he dropped out of ministerial school and possibly the church. I’ve never seen any of these people again since I have left, but I pray that they have come back to the faith.
THE DAMAGE IS DONE
I do not write this story to change the minds of liberal professors at our Adventist colleges, as I do not think they are humble enough to change on their own. My youngest daughter will start her first year at an Adventist university this summer (2021) following her graduation at our Adventist academy. She has watched her father, her brother and her sister all finish and graduate from the same Adventist university.
We all recommend that she study as well at this Adventist college. I simply write this to warn parents and students about the dangers lurking out there. Before I began my Masters in 1998, I interviewed my many seminary professors to find out the ones that I wanted to trust. One professor said to me, “You need to be open in your education and study under some liberals and some conservatives. That way you have a rounded education.” I answered tongue-in-cheek, “I agree and since I’ve studied under liberals already—I now only want to study under conservatives!”
Around 1997, a decade after I left, I read that this liberal Adventist college was finally formally rebuked. A type of board of inquiry was convened and many former students testified to them about this bad theology department. I met two of these pastors later at seminary as they also had had a horrible experience at this liberal college. I have read and have a copy of the 10-page (or so) document which the board of enquiry produced. I have also spoken personally to one man who was on that board of enquiry.
As for my old professor, in his book Inspiration, he talks about me personally and my experience as his student—he quotes me from my letter that I wrote (p. 45-46, Inspiration, 2nd ed.). Ironically, his book Inspiration caused a huge uproar at the time it first came out. My friend, who is a teacher and colleague, says that Inspiration was the book that caused the Adventist conservatives to react against it and rallied them to form the Adventist Theological Society. In response to his book Inspiration, many Adventist denominational and seminary leaders wrote a chapter by chapter rebuttal response in their book Issues in Revelation and Inspiration, (1992) edited by Frank Holbrook and Leo VanDolson.
Now that I’ve spoken personally and written to my old professor, I don’t feel it’s wrong to write this story publically. To his credit, he was polite to me recently on the phone and email. He even sent me some of his books as a gift and we both left on fair terms. I personally find him a man who I believe loves the Lord and he is a fellow ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister. However, he is a man who I strongly disagree with academically.
EPILOGUE
I recently attended a pastoral conference where the guest speaker was a professor at the Adventist university where my children recently attended. His lectures were wonderful, affirming and faith building. He spoke of faith, the fundamental doctrines and Jesus as our Savior. Excitedly, I went home to tell my wife about him. Wow! I was surprised when my wife said, “Yes I know him. It was his Sabbath school class that our son attended in college regularly and now loves Jesus more. He was the teacher in college who gave our daughter and her future husband their marriage counseling. He made a great impact on both of them in their marriage. Now, I want our youngest daughter to take his classes because he builds faith in Jesus for our youth.”
Parents we do have some wonderful teachers at our schools. Prayerfully do your research and God will guide you in choosing where to send your children. Adventist education is still the best we have to offer our children as a church!
Dr. Ryan Counsell, (D.Min) is a pastor in the Michigan Conference; pastoring a 3-church district and a church school. He has 3 children who have all been blessed by Adventist education. His wife, Marija and he love gardening, reading and serving Jesus.