Famous Adventist Quits Ministry and Becomes Satanic Rock Star!

Did my title catch your attention? I bet it did. Chances are it’s the first thing you clicked on from the Adventist Review today. Yes, I admit it, it is total clickbait. In fact, it is completely made up. Sorry, not sorry!

Now, before you hit the little x on the browser tab, hear me out. I think we have a problem.

Outrage. In some twisted way, it can actually give us a dopamine kick. Most of the internet’s platforms and algorithms rely on it! Being able to have some scandal, issue, person, or situation to gossip about, complain over, or take a stand against has become the currency of the online world. And we are all guilty of it.

We Crave the Outrage

“Tom Cruise Dating Girl Decades Younger!”

“You Will Never Believe What Angela Merkel Said Thinking Her Mic Was Off”

“Will Smith Slapped His Career Goodbye”

“Guess Who Is on the Epstein List!”[1]

The production of often incorrect, incomplete, and certainly mindless content that floods billions of minds every day shows no signs of stopping. We can’t help ourselves. Humans love the scandalous and outrageous.

Our sinful nature craves whichever distraction best focuses our attention away from our broken selves. It is so much easier to drool over somebody else’s scandal or misery than to face our own.

Sadly, as Seventh-day Adventists we often do the exact same thing. Whether it is independent YouTubers, bloggers, or media entities (on either side of the path); or—closer to home—you and me individually, in our local churches. Sadly, a “good” scandal seems to “inspire” and “empower” the saints to action, often much more than the most heart-appealing sermon from the pulpit. Outrage comes easy.

An Adventist Scandal

As a teenager I had a close-up view of what one could label a significant Adventist scandal with its entire life cycle—the fallout, the outrage, the repercussions.

It all happened during my formative years and just at the time when I decided to become more serious with God. Influential individuals, mentors whom I and many others respected and looked up to, made some morally questionable choices. The whole thing became a widespread, public, Adventist obsession in my territory. Everybody gossiped about it, and too much of what should have remained private, including emails that somebody obtained through hacking and then released, made their rounds. Some took it as an excuse to leave the church “’cause y’all are hypocrites.”

It all culminated in a church business meeting that went until 1:30 a.m. Probably the most well-attended one I have ever seen. (When was the last time you attended a church business meeting that focused on outreach and mission that went that long and was well attended?)

Scandals are bound to happen. Obsessing over it, however, is a choice.

At that meeting and even before, the individuals in question had shown fruit of true repentance, and had initiated restoration efforts. Nevertheless, rigorous discussions took place, with some extra-zealous members virtually running to the microphone, waving the Church Manual in their hands, demanding more public humiliation under the pretense of wanting “the young people to know it was wrong” (as if anybody had doubts about that). Some stood up and appealed for grace; others clearly enjoyed the opportunity to bask in the perceived hypocrisy of the individuals who had proclaimed high standards for years but now had failed to uphold them themselves.

Watching all of this unfold was challenging. It really was messy, and I couldn’t help thinking that, as much as the outrage and judgment may be viewed as justified considering the facts, it surely did not feel like the way Jesus would have handled it. Last I remember, He settled things like this with one sentence: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

The How Matters

People mess up. You mess up. I do too. A lot. And people who watch us, whether we want it or not, are influenced by what we do and say. Proclamation of truth, standards, and righteousness, combined with the failures or apostasy of the proclaimer, make an easy target, yet it doesn’t change anything about the validity of the message.

Does this mean we should not call out sin for what it is and address “rebellion in the camp”? No. I am not suggesting ignoring issues or leaving our brothers and sisters stuck alone, struggling in this battle we all are facing. And of course, we don’t brush over it if a crime was committed. But in dealing with the issues, it is the how that matters.

Scandals are bound to happen. Obsessing over them, however, is a choice. How we react to other people’s failures, mistakes, and decisions—whether it’s a public figure’s or brother so-and-so’s from three pews back—can and should be informed by much prayer, biblical counsel, and Christlike grace. Ellen White has something powerful to say about this: “The very act of looking for evil in others develops evil in those who look. By dwelling upon the faults of others, we are changed into the same image. But by beholding Jesus, talking of His love and perfection of character, we become changed into His image.”[2]

A Scandal to Obsess Over

May I suggest that there is truly only one “scandal” that is actually worth obsessing over? And that is the scandal of the cross. “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block [Greek skandalon] and to the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23).

The more we contemplate the “scandal” of the cross and how it reveals the heart of God, the dynamics of salvation, and the transformational impact it has, the less we will feel the desire to gossip, gloat, or push broken people down even more. The dopamine kick of outrage is then replaced by the joy of salvation, the hope of restoration, and an attitude of grace-infused love that desires to build up and support rather than tear down. The cross helps us see through any hypocrisy we may perceive, and care for the human being behind it all—a child of the King, whom God loves more than Himself.

[1] These headlines are made up for illustrative purposes.

[2] Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1905), p. 492.