As if our world wasn’t confusing enough, there is a new phenomenon moving through Adventist college campuses. It began in 2017, and is known as the Love Reality Tour, or just Love Reality.
I first heard about it at ASI, while my wife and I ate our evening meal next to the Minnesota Conference President. In the course of our conversation, he helped me understand what it was about, and shared concerns about the movement. I decided to look into it further, after ASI.
Some of the claims of this group is that they are teaching people to be “free from sin” and find the “truth.” That sounds ok, but what are they teaching, compared with Scripture?
They have online Bible studies that require you to be a member to access. Although the movement appears to be wrapped in a shroud of secrecy, one of their teachings appears to be that sinful actions do not make you a sinner, because you are perfect in Christ Jesus. In that respect, Love Reality appears to be an SDA manifestation of hyper-grace. What is hyper-grace?
Hyper Grace
Hyper-grace is an exaggerated new wave of teaching that emphasizes the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin. Hyper-grace teachers maintain that all sin, past, present, and future, has already been forgiven, so there is no need for a believer to ever confess it.
Hyper-grace teaching says that, when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people —or children, to use the language of Love Reality. (This is true for a surrendered, repentant believer walking in an intimate relationship with the Lord. It is not true of an individual walking in presumption, using grace as a license for sin). The conclusion of hyper-grace teaching is that we are not bound by Jesus’ teaching, even as we are not under the Law; that believers are not responsible for their sin; and that anyone who disagrees is a pharisaical legalist.
I am not—at this point in my research—accusing the founders of Love Reality of this error. I am observing a very similar leitmotif between the two movements, however.
The founders of it are Tyler Morrison and Jonathan Leonardo, (possibly there are others).
In April of this year, a student from Union College wrote an excellent article about Love Reality on his personal blog. It is shared here, with permission,
What is Love Reality All About?
If you have been around campus or College View Church over the past few months, you have probably heard the buzz surrounding a group known as Love Reality Tour (LRT). The mission of this group of believers is to help people be “free from sin” and find the “truth.” They have become more vocal around campus, but who are they and what do they really believe?
These questions are hard to answer because if you go to their website, there isn’t a clear explanation about the organization as a whole. Of course, the website provides a clear spot to donate. Currently, they are asking for donations to reach a goal of $500,000 to help accomplish two goals: fund the development and production of “Wave Two: Healed From Sin” and to fund advertising to reach 100,000 people through “Wave One: Freedom From Sin.” These waves appear to be a collection of virtual Bible studies that you can access only if you become a member. However, there are no clear descriptions about these two goals nor is there any clarification about the content of the studies. But nonetheless, they are still asking people to donate $500,000.
From the website, you are directed to a Facebook group that is, once again, private. The only working links are the donate, waves, and contact buttons. There isn’t anything else that could further explain the organization or tell us who the founders and leaders are (through digging and questioning, I was able to find out that the leaders are Tyler Morrison and Jonathan Leonardo). However, it seems that to know any details concerning the organization, you have to fully commit and be immersed in their program.
In my attempt to find some clarity on many of the questions and concerns regarding their organization and its presence at Union, I reached out to many of their apparent members who are very vocal about Love Reality on campus. This exchange between myself and those affiliated provided some clarity, but in the end, left me more confused.
I reached out to five people with questions about Love Reality. Some clarified that they were not members of the organization but just strong supporters of them and their ministry. One of them even said, “The actual organization is only made up of a few [people].” I found this comment interesting. It left me wondering what the requirements are to become a member. Also, why are only a “few” making up an entire organization?
I emailed Tyler Morrison, and he replied with some answers. A common question that has been asked is if this is a Seventh-day Adventist organization. I could not find a definitive answer to this question. Tyler said, “Love Reality is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is made up of several Seventh-day Adventists in good standing.”
Another member said, “Love Reality is made up by many Adventists. It seems that most people in the group grew up in the Adventist church and developed ideas about God that placed them under the law of man and not under the law of Love.” Their website states that they are a “Christian movement.”
I also reached out to a faculty member who has expressed concerns about Love Reality. They said, “The secrecy and exclusivity of the movement make it feel like a cult. If it is such great ‘freedom’ for everyone, why all the secrecy?” This person was referring to the challenge of accessing information about the organization. I find it interesting that this word has been tossed around by so many on campus. In fact, many Union College students are familiar with the Instagram account @uc_confessions__. A few weeks ago, one of its posts read, “Love Reality tour is a cult prove me wrong.”
When I asked what their response was to those who call them a cult, a student I emailed said, “Love Reality is no more a cult than College View Church (CVC) or Christ Place. As someone whose first Adventist private school experience is Union College, I would say that the culture of Union and CVC is far more cult-like than Love Reality.”
The response from Tyler was, “Well, as an Adventist, I'd say it's kind of par for the course when it comes to proclaiming the Gospel, isn't it? Never feels good though.”
When asking the members what exactly Love Reality believes in, I was met with very interesting replies. I asked, “What are the actual beliefs of Love Reality?” One member said, “The fundamental beliefs are rooted in the Bible. If you would like to know the fundamental beliefs, read the Bible.”
Tyler’s response was, “What we believe the Bible says is clearly presented in our series online.” I find these responses strange in the sense that if you are a supporter or leader, shouldn’t you be able to answer a question as simple as, “What do you believe?”
Some of the members/supporters believe they have the power to heal. One story, in particular, was told to me by a student who was experiencing some knee pain. The student casually expressed their discomfort in front of a Love Reality member who proceeded to grab and squeeze the knee while chanting a “prayer.” The student was confused, frightened, and didn’t know what to do. After leaving the room, the student said to a friend, “I don’t know what she [the Love Reality member] was doing! All she did was make my knee worse!” Another incident occurred when a different student had a sore throat. After learning about the ailment, the Love Reality member proceeded to place their hand on the student’s throat and pray. Though this may be a common practice among some Protestant denominations, this situation seemed more extreme than the simple laying of hands.
Another strange practice that is characteristic of Love Reality is sharing dirty laundry in public. Tyler Morrison felt compelled to share some intimate details about his personal life on his Instagram page. In his post, he says, “[When I] stepped outside the vows I made to my wife, it devastated her and destroyed me.” Another member, Eddie Cornejo, has also revealed intimate details about his past during Love Reality-related studies and posts. Based on video content found on the website and social media platforms, it appears that both men urge others to do the same. A concerning part of this is that others feel that part of joining Love Reality is admitting or revealing personal wrongs.
One of their beliefs is the idea that you are not a sinner. They cite the book of Romans in a unique way to form this conclusion. The narrative seems to be that despite sinful actions, you are not a sinner because you are already made perfect in Christ. This belief begs the question, if I lie, am I not a liar? If I steal, am I not a thief? If I murder, am I not a murderer? Matthew 9:10–13 tells the story of when Jesus was ridiculed by the religious leaders for His associations. He answers them by saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Recently, because of the many odd stories shared and reasons mentioned, Love Reality has been described as a “cult” from faculty, administration, and students alike.
On March 8, at a Union College town hall, a question was brought up concerning Love Reality and their forceful way of sharing the gospel: “On campus, there is a group known as Love Reality. I personally have expressed that I am not interested in their program, but certain members of their group continue to push their beliefs on me.” This question raised at town hall demonstrates that even after it was asked of the Love Reality member to stop sharing, they would not back off. This is concerning because we have to be able to feel safe without the fear of having other beliefs rammed down our throat.
I asked the members/supporters, “What would you say to those who feel threatened by the forceful way Love Reality pushes their message to others?” One of the supporters’ responses was, “I would say that these people need to learn about asking for boundaries. If Jesus scares them and talking to believers scares them, I think this says more about those who are intimidated than the Love Reality group.”
In many of the responses, I also was able to see some of the reasons people are drawn to Love Reality. One of the members said, “In my experience, the Love Reality group has been more accepting than any group I have encountered at Union College, CVC, or any other religious group in Lincoln. I feel safer, seen, and appreciated with the Love Reality [group].”
Jacob Sanchez is a sophomore communication major from Bakersfield, Calif.
An Adventist sister (Elisabeth) from Minnesota researched Love Reality’s video presentations, and assembled a 21-page study of her concerns and observations. Here is her study.
Our advice is to prove all things by the Scriptures.
May you grow in grace and truth, walking in truth and shunning hyper-grace.
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“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (Romans 6:14-15).