Rest on the Sabbath. Heed Old Testament dietary codes. And be ready for Jesus to return at any moment.
If these practices sound quaint or antiquated, think again. They’re hallmarks of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the fastest-growing Christian denomination in North America.
Newly released data show Seventh-day Adventism growing by 2.5 percent in North America, a rapid clip for this part of the world, where Southern Baptists and mainline denominations, as well as other church groups are declining. Adventists are even growing 75 percent faster than Mormons (1.4 percent), who prioritize numeric growth.
Exactly! Counterculture is what the church is about – but so many mainline churches, especially TEC, want to blend into the secular culture – to not rock the boat. So, why bother or give money to a group that is like everything else in one’s life that one gets for free without any hassle. You would think this would sink in after a long time of watching membership decline.
But TEC’s defense is that “every one else’s membership is declining too”.
True, #2, and I realize there is some sarcasm in your comment. But it interesting to note that only 4 churches seem to be growing in the US: Adventists, Mormons, RCC, and independent evangelical mega-churches. Taking into account the Hispanic influx having helped RCC to some extent, what is the common denominator for these 4 groups of churches: to a greater or lesser extent, they are all counterculture to the secular, no-standards, no morals, politically correct culture in the US and most of the industrialized world. So what does TEC do? Cozy up even more to this secular world. And the closer it gets and the more it accepts that culture, the more members it loses, because it simply is no longer relevant. But it seems most of our leaders don’t understand that or don’t care because they have their own agenda they are pursuing.
As an evangelical Anglican who has been thrust into the midst of Adventist culture as a medical school student at Loma Linda University I found this article to be very interesting. At Loma Linda our class is about 60% Adventist and the largest Adventist church in the U.S. is located on our university campus. Many of the Adventists I’ve come to know are wonderful people and genuine Christians. With that said though, I’ve seen a lot of religion here (especially in required-attendance chapels) that is more of a barren moralism than anything else. Jesus is often seen only as an example and not really as a savior and the teaching often seems to be that as long as you keep the Sabbath, don’t eat pork and treat people nice then you’re good with God. At a deeper level there are many serious doctrinal issues with conservative Adventism – such as viewing worship on Sunday as the mark of the beast.
#4 MattJP
Please help with comment …
[blockquote] viewing worship on Sunday as the mark of the beast[/blockquote]
What does this mean?
MattJP: I interviewed at Loma Linda a few years ago but didn’t get in. When no one in the interview group even knew what “SDA” stood for, I was at first astounded. Then I realized that our interview group consisted entirely of non seventh day adventists. We were the diversity group, catholics, mormons, and Jews. I’m finishing med school in my home state, but marvel at how different life would have been if I had moved to CA.
Ironically, as a Jew, I grew up in a family that celebrated a strict Saturday sabbath. I also didn’t drink coffee or alcohol. I now study just about every day of the week and drink coffee to stay awake and concentrate.
What year are you? (I wonder if we interviewed together?)
Justinmartyr,
This comment is probably too late. I’m a 4th year and interviewed back in 2007 in February I think.