We Got Mail

Thank you for the conference

Thank you and the whole team for taking care of every detail so that last weekend’s conference would be a success. It seems that everything you do, you do as if it were for the Lord (Col 3:23). It was very encouraging and edifying for my spirit. 

Thank you for showing the love of God through what you do. God bless you and Life Assurance Ministries.

—VIA EMAIL

Response: Here’s a link: Former Adventist Conference 2025 “Sabbath In Christ”

Suffering Adventists cannot project a good public image

Recently I have been reading some back issues of Proclamation! magazine. I have especially noted the Stories of Faith containing the biographical sketches of former Adventists.

One of the things which stood out for me was the number of former Adventists who had in their background a broken, damaged, hurting, or suffering history. Even more striking for me was the indifference displayed in so many local Adventist churches all the way up to the General Conference level toward the personal suffering of Adventists.

The broken, suffering Adventists eventually discover that in order to survive in the Adventist world, they must put on a phony, happy-time costume, don a phony #5 plastic mask, and finally attach a phony #7 plastic smile to the mask in order to pretend everything is fine, when in reality, it is not fine.

In my judgment, broken, suffering Adventists are an embarrassment to most Adventist leaders for another reason. The idea of most Adventist leaders is for Adventists in the organization to “project a good public image” or “put their best foot forward” or other similar clichés. Adventist lay people who are broken or suffering cannot help the organization to project a good public image. 

—MAUGANSVILLE, MD

Response: I believe that when people live in the deception of a false reality (such as the great controversy worldview), all of life is interpreted with a skew. Suffering is inevitable to those trapped in a deception masquerading as truth. 

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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.

Latest posts by Colleen Tinker (see all)

• February 22–28, 2025 - February 20, 2025
• February 15–21, 2025 - February 20, 2025
• We Got Mail - February 20, 2025