Michiana Adventist Forum Schedule/Details

Upcoming Michiana Adventist Forum events:

September 23
Duane McBride
"Mass Incarceration in the U.S."

October 21
Adriana Perera
Andrews University Department of Music chair
"Adventist Music: The Contemporary Challenge"

November 11
Gilbert Valentine
"The Prophet and the Presidents: Ellen White in Dialog with General Conference Administrators"

December 2
Reinder Bruinsma
"Facing Doubt: Why I Wrote This Book, Why I Think It Is Relevant, and What I Hope It Will Do"

December 9
Carmelo Mercado, Lake Union Conference vice president for multicultural ministries
"There Goes the Neighborhood: Embracing Diversity in a Multicultural World"

January 20
Julia Kim
"A Linguist’s Reading of the SDA Church’s Debate on Women’s Ordination"

February 10
Randall Younker
"Archaeology, Women and Early Christianity: An Update"

March 10
Curt VanderWaal, Nancy Carbonell, David Sedlacek and Shannon Trecartin
"The Ties that Bind? Exploring the Impact of SDA Family Response to LGBT+ Children"

April 14
Sigve Tonstad, MD, PhD
Loma Linda University School of Religion
Topic To Be Determined

Programs are held at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Garber Auditorium of Chan Shun Hall on the campus of Andrews University

Reading Ahead

Two of the coming year’s programs relate to books published by our presenters.

Gilbert Valentine’s book, "The Prophet and the Presidents," traces the sometimes strained and complex relations between three General Conference presidents and the church’s prophet, Ellen White, during the period from 1887 to 1913. Valentine, professor and former chair of the Department of Administration and Leadership at La Sierra University, applies insights from the disciplines of social psychology and organizational behavior to his analysis of the exercise of power and influence by the prophet in denominational affairs.

Reinder Bruinsma, a retired Adventist administrator and scholar who lives in the Netherlands, has written numerous books and articles for Adventist publishers. However, due to its content, his latest book, "Facing Doubt: A Book for Adventist Believers ‘On the Margins,’" is published by an independent press in the United Kingdom.

In the Preface to his book he writes,
"My special target in this book is a segment of the Adventist Church that I will constantly refer to as ‘believers on the margins.’ I have written especially for those in our midst who have doubts and concerns, for those who wonder where their church is going, and who have trouble believing as they used to...

I will be quite open about the fact that there are many things in my church that I do not like: that I also have many doubts and unanswered questions; that I am critical of some of our church leaders and of trends that I see and the direction in which major parts [of] the church seem to be going. Some may not like this, but I am ready to take that risk, because I believe that what I have to say could be helpful to many doubters in our ranks...

I do not have the illusion that reading [this book} will make all doubts disappear. I do hope and pray, however, that it will help those who read it to establish priorities in their faith experience and in their ties with the church, and dare to live creatively with their uncertainties and doubts."

For those who may wish to peruse these books ahead of time, both are available through Amazon. "The Prophet and the Presidents" is also available at the local Adventist Book Center.