Barely Adventist

ANYWHERE, U.S.A. A local Sabbath School class made history this week by reaching the actual lesson with four full minutes to spare, members confirmed.

The morning began as usual with a welcome, birthday announcements and a prayer request about a cousin’s knee, which developed into a 12-minute discussion of orthopedic surgeons and which hospital cafeteria serves ...

SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDWEST. A longtime member arrived 45 minutes before Sabbath School this week and successfully claimed an entire pew using one hymnal, two jackets, a bulletin folded into a small tent and a Bible left open “to look occupied.”

“My family is coming,” he told a visiting couple who paused hopefully at the end of the row. At press time, the family co...

On most Sabbaths, money comes up once, when the offering plate goes by. Meanwhile the family two rows back may be choosing between rent and a car repair, and the retired couple by the window may be stretching groceries to pay for medication. Nobody knows, because nobody asks, and nobody wants to be the first to admit it.

Adventists talk often and faithfully abou...

The funeral ends, the casseroles stop, and a few weeks later the grieving person walks back into church alone. That is often when the loneliest part begins. Adventists hold a beautiful hope in the resurrection, but hope does not cancel tears. Even Jesus, standing near the tomb of His friend Lazarus, wept (John 11:35). Here are seven things any member can do.

1. ...

Doubt arrives in different ways. A prayer goes unanswered for years, or a teaching that once felt solid starts to wobble. Many Adventists quietly assume that a real believer would never feel this, so they keep their questions to themselves and feel more alone every week.

Scripture tells a different story. John the Baptist, sitting in prison, sent messengers to a...