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Where Do I Go From Here?

I was raised Baptist but joined the Adventist church when I was 25. That was 1982. I’ve never felt that Ellen White was a prophetess, but I believed that the doctrines of the Adventist church were Bible-based and true. I didn’t know Adventist doctrines and Ellen White couldn’t be separated. That shows my lack of study and my blind faith! Or—maybe my Bible study was only through the Adventist lens.

Over the years, however, one thing that had me wondering—and which I couldn’t believe—was the doctrine of “unfallen worlds”. 

Most recently, it’s been the doctrine of “investigative judgment”. I was so convinced that I was in the true church until now. I’ve been watching some of Dale Ratzlaff’s videos and other former Adventist’s videos and reading articles from Proclamation! magazine. 

I know I am on a journey to rediscover the real truth. I am thankful to have my Baptist background, and I always believed that I was saved by grace, but honestly, the peace I had when I first accepted Christ, as a Baptist, left me when I became an Adventist. I was always inwardly questioning my salvation.

And also, after I became an Adventist, I looked at my extended family differently. They were in the Sunday-keeping “wrong church”. 

I judged that they were not real Christians.

I have many questions, as one would imagine. But my biggest question now is where do I go from here? This last May I moved across the country to be closer to my grown children. I have three friends who live near me, all Adventists, whom I had known and gone to church with years ago. I immediately got involved with the Adventist church where all three attend. 

I feel so alone. I don’t know how to navigate out of the church….to go where? I have not formally stopped going. I’ve only missed one Sabbath. But I feel I can’t keep up a charade, and I know I’ll be bombarded with a gazillion questions once I leave. But I acknowledge that I must eventually leave… 

I’m not even sure who will read this email, but I trust it will be answered. Thank you kindly in advance. 

—VIA EMAIL

Response: Thank you for writing. I so resonate with your anguish regarding your Adventist loved ones and keeping up a charade. It is true that the anticipation of leaving is terrifying and daunting. In fact, I have come to believe that this reaction is part of the spiritual battle involved in a person’s learning the true gospel and realizing that Adventism is a deception. The fact is that Adventism is driven by a spirit—the same one that gave EGW her distorted doctrines and visions. We all experience the battle of leaving the spiritual deception for the truth of the Lord Jesus. It is a real battle—but one that brings unimagined freedom and joy as we realize who Jesus is and follow Him.

I remember vividly the day I pondered leaving, feeling incredibly depressed and aware that we could lose everything we knew and loved. The Lord brought to my mind the words to an old Shaker melody, “Simple Gifts”, that says in part, “When true simplicity is found, to bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed; to turn, turn, will be our delight—till by turning, turning we come ’round right.”

They are not profound words, but in that moment I realized that God was turning me away from Adventism and toward Himself. The miracle was that when I found myself “in that place just right”, it would be “the valley of love and delight”. My Father was putting me where I would have love and delight, and He would never leave me or abandon me to despair. I just had to trust Him and walk where He led. 

He has been utterly faithful.

I pray the Lord will hold you and give you courage to follow Him. He will not drop you, and you will find community and support that will surprise you even if you experience loss.

I so understand. 

Although we are not currently publishing a printed version of Proclamation! magazine, all our back issues are online here: http://www.lifeassuranceministries.org. 

We have also added your name to our weekly Proclamation! email updates. You may need to add the email address LifeAssuranceMinistries@gmail.com to your contacts in order for the email not to be directed toward your Spam folder. These emails will arrive every Friday. Archived articles are available at ProclamationMagazine.com.

You might also enjoy our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/FormerAdventist/featured

Also, you might like to subscribe to our podcasts here; many say these help them unpack the Adventism hidden in the recesses of their minds: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/former-adventist/id1482887969

Thank You For the Details

Just a note to thank Colleen and Nikki for getting very specific in the podcasts—now on Daniel—both in explaining the nuances and details of Scripture which I’d never noticed before and for taking the time to read the Ellen White quotes which I didn’t realize are still triggering for me! 

Your podcast on Daniel 3 has been my latest. I cannot tell you how much I am enjoying these lessons. To point out the shift between being God-centered vs. man centered as Adventists are is a huge point of interest for me that gets me deep within. But I never thought about that really until listening to you talk about it. There is so much comfort in making that shift! It’s taking time. But the Lord is helping me get there…

I’m three years out of Adventism as of this December. It has been tough! The journey… Your podcasts have been invaluable as I know they are for so many! So I just want to thank you again. I’m still living under an Adventist roof, so to speak…! I’m very thankful I don’t have to conform. And my family is very accepting of my decision. 

Saturdays are still hard. I’m still triggered and have to get out and do something “normal” on those days since my family with whom I live do not work or do anything secular. Just going grocery shopping can be helpful on that day to remind me that I’m no longer in the old covenant, and the freedom there is in Jesus! At least I have peace with that! 

I will continue to pray for you all, as I know you are praying for “us” formers out here! And I will give to your ministry as I am able! God bless! 

I also want to say that though we don’t agree on everything, I really appreciate the value you place on the authority and authenticity of the Scriptures. It’s there every time I listen, and that is a true gift!

—VIA EMAIL

Does 1 Corinthians Support Sunday Worship?

I have been a “former” since about 1990. First, let me say I enjoy your podcasts and appreciate your work.

 I need some help interpreting 1 Corinthians 16:1-3. As an Adventist I was taught that on Sunday the individual members of the church in Corinth were to set aside money on the first day of the week (maybe because that was when they got paid) and then bring it to church at a later date (probably on Sabbath). But there is also another way to interpret the text. 

 I need help understanding exactly what Paul meant when he used the words “you” and “your.”   For example, in verse two, does the word “you” mean each church in Galatia and in Corinth, or does it mean each individual, when it says, “each one of you should. . . .”?  Likewise, in verse three it says, “the men you approve. . . .” Does this mean the men that each individual member approves, or the men that the church approves?

 To me this is important because in verse two it talks about setting aside money in keeping with “your income.” If “your income” refers to the church’s income, this would strongly imply the church was meeting on the first day of the week. On the other hand, if it refers to each individual’s income the implication doesn’t seem as strong.

 I have tried to figure this out but am totally unqualified to exegete this text. I am hoping you may know of a solid interpretation of this text, or at least maybe you can point me in the right direction.

—VIA EMAIL

Response: Thank you for writing. The passage in 1 Corinthians 16 is referring to individuals; he says “EACH ONE of you”…and that is speaking to the individual members. Then, in verse three, “whomever you may approve” is speaking to the church. The local church would select someone to represent them and to travel with Paul to the recipients of their monetary gift. Sending a representative would provide accountability so that no one could accuse Paul of tampering with the funds. 

This passage is not a central passage for “proving” Sunday or Saturday worship. The rest of the New Testament actually is clear that Sabbath was never required for gentile believers. If Sabbath had been required, it would have had to be taught to them because they had been rank pagans with no knowledge of the law. The New Testament, then, would have had to contain instructions for worship on Sabbath, and Sabbath-breaking would have to have been included in the many lists of sins which were not to be found among the believers. 

Acts 15 eliminates the idea that the gentiles are to keep the law or the Sabbath. The circumcision which the brothers agreed was not required for the new gentile believers was the entrance rite into the law. Thus the gentiles were not under the law unless they were circumcised and became Jews.

I would like to suggest that you get a notebook and begin literally copying, a few verses at a time, the book of Hebrews, asking God to teach you what He wants you to know. This book shows how Jesus Himself has taken the place of all aspects of the law, how the law was dependent upon the levitical priesthood and could not exist when the priesthood changed (Heb. 7:12). Further, Hebrews explains that a new covenant was given, and the first one is obsolete (Heb 8:13).

Hebrews 3 and 4 show that the seventh-day Sabbath was only a shadow, and God gave a new day—TODAY—in which to enter His rest. Adventists have twisted this section of Scripture badly in order to force it to “support” their Sabbath-keeping. 

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Colleen Tinker

Colleen Tinker, the editor of Proclamation! magazine, and her husband Richard left Adventism in 1998 with their two sons, Roy and Nathanael, who were in grades six and ten. They have co-led the Former Adventist Fellowship since 1999. Colleen, a graduate of Walla Walla University, is a former high school English teacher and also the former managing editor of Adventist Today magazine. Colleen became the stepmother of Roy and Nathanael in 1989, and in 2008 she adopted them. Romans 8:15-17 has assumed new depth and significance for her and Richard since she and her sons chose to claim each other legally and permanently. She and Richard share an office and a commitment to sharing the gospel of the true Jesus with all of those seeking a way out of the bondage of the false gospel of Adventism.

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