What is a Seventh-day Adventist? Depending on who you ask, or what you read, the answers vary. But usually, there is a core of common descriptors, such as: Sabbath keepers, Bible believers, health promoters, educators, etc.
And there was a time when attending your local Seventh-day Adventist Church you could be reasonably safe in making basic assumptions about the pastor, such as: he is a Christian, he believes the Bible is God's Word and he supports the beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church as outlined in the Church's 28 Fundamental Beliefs. For example, you could assume your pastor believes in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, and other such basic beliefs.
In other words, you trusted that your local conference was sending you a Seventh-day Adventist to pastor your congregation.
Today, unfortunately, that trust has been broken--at least in one local conference.
Reasonable Expectations
The call to be a gospel minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a high calling. It is a calling to be God's servant--to serve and train, to evangelize, to lead, to shepherd, and to base one's beliefs and actions on the Word of God, the Bible. The minister is empowered by the Holy Spirit and through God's strength moves forward in this high calling.
An ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister is expected to have several personal qualities, such as:[i]
"An Experience of Conversion lived out in a transformed and whole-hearted following of Christ, a humble rejoicing in the forgiveness and love of God, and a life of obedience, witness and consecration of the total being through the Holy Spirit's power."
"An Adventist Identity grounded in a biblically-informed worldview and centered in a clear biblically-based understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the framework of the story of the great controversy from Eden lost to Eden soon to be restored. Such an identity will be evident in personal life, service, and mission."
Furthermore, a Seventh-day Adventist minister is to be "Knowledgeable of and committed to:[ii]
"God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--as Creator and Redeemer and as initiator of the personal and primary relationship with Him around which one's life and ministry unfolds."
"God's Word as the essential authoritative source and guide for gospel teaching, life, and ministry."
"The Message, Organization, and Fellowship of the Seventh-day Adventist Church expressed in the Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs, the Church Manual, the Minister's Handbook, and borne out in the active support of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its institutions worldwide."
He is also to be "skilled in studying and faithfully interpreting Scripture in order to discern God's message."
Strange Fire
Contrast this description, with the thoughts and beliefs of Pastor Kris Loewen, the lead pastor of the Redlands Seventh-day Adventist Church in Redlands, California, located within the Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
Some of Pastor Loewen's thoughts (which have since been removed), as shared on his Facebook page were shared in a recent Fulcrum 7 article, "SDA Pastor Says God Is A 'She'." The article received a lot of attention and was shared by hundreds of people who were very concerned about this pastor.
Below we offer a summary of some of Pastor Loewen's stated beliefs as revealed in that article, as well as additional Facebook posts by Pastor Loewen and a couple of his tweets. We then offer a suggestion as to how you can voice your concerns.
According to Pastor Kris Loewen:
". . . there are many ways of reading the scriptures faithfully. Feminist, liberation, process, public, queer, and other theologies approach God and spirituality with just as much sincerity and legitimacy as literalistic patriarchal white-western-centered readings."
"For what it's worth, there are dozens of references to God where she is spoken of with female metaphors and described as having feminine qualities. It is no surprise that male/masculine metaphors (such as "father" and "son") dominate the scriptures as they were written by males in deeply patriarchal societies. The list is practically endless . . . we have been wrongly conditioned to think of God as male because of an incorrect exclusive focus on the Father/Son metaphor, neglecting the diverse message of the bible despite its humanity."
"The Bible is not a monolith, it is not exhaustive, and it is not perfect in its exploration and expression of the divine."
"I follow the God who exists beyond the scriptures, who makes herself known through the love of people, in the beauty of music, through scientific inquiry and experimentation, evolving over the course of history, in private dreams, by way of therapists and coaches, at the hands and advice of medical professionals, in the mist of waterfalls, through the testimony of truth tellers on Twitter, and in the touch of sweet old grandma's [sic]."
“The data suggest that Adventist Church leadership needs to engage in further member education to differentiate and avoid confusion between the benefits of adhering to the Adventist Health Message and the Church’s belief that the actual source of salvation is through Jesus Christ alone . . . I feel guilty about being so astonished at the sheer percentages of people who hold to these Asinine worldviews. No wonder so many were up in arms about the One Project and Jesus.All.... That thinking was a threat to their belief system of: “Jesus.and.Veganism.and skinny. And no smoking. And no alcohol. And no desire. And only long dresses. And no dancing. And no drums. And And and and and....”
Tweets
What Can You Do? A Lot
‘Pastor’ Kris Loewen is employed and paid from God's tithe by the Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. If you believe that Pastor Loewen does not rightly represent the Biblical beliefs and practices of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and should no longer serve as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, we encourage you to:
Pray for Pastor Loewen. Pray that he will be truly converted and accept Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and His teachings as revealed in His Word, the Bible.
Pray for the members of his congregation, especially young people, who are being led away from God, the Bible, and eternal life.
Express your concerns and urge the removal of this non-Adventist pastor from employment by the Seventh-day Adventist Church, by contacting the following people:
Sandra Roberts, Southeastern California Conference
Email: Sandra.Roberts@seccsda.org
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 79990, Riverside, CA 92513
Telephone: (951) 509-2200Ricardo Graham, President, Pacific Union Conference
Email: ricardo.graham@adventistfaith.com
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 5005, Westlake Village, CA 91359
Telephone: (805) 413-7100G. Alexander Bryant, President, North American Division
Email: presoffice@nadadventist.org
Mailing Address: 9705 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD 21046
Telephone: (443) 391-7137Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Email: president@gc.adventist.org
Mailing Address: 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904
Telephone: (301) 680-6000