Adventist Voices by Spectrum: The Journal of the Adventist Forum

A pastor for 43 years, Will James, now retired from leading the Paradise Valley Adventist Church, talks about his continuing work engaging his local community.  Assimilating refugees, delivering food, caring for a community garden, Pastor James discusses Friendships for Hope, his history and his continuing work for toward a multifaceted ministry to the large refugee and low income communities of S...

On this LGBTQ Podcast, Dr. Melodie Roschman discusses her dissertation, "Identity, Counternarrative, and Community in Progressive Christian Women's Memoir," with Kendra Arsenault on this episode of Imago Gei, affirming Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer identities in religious spaces. When we think about testimony in Scripture, eye-witness accounts, what a person heard or saw, life stories l...

Darriel Hoy, who earned a BA in Public Policy from Duke University and an MDiv from Andrews University shares her vision for community engagement in Adventism. An ordained minister with 18 years of church ministry service, Darriel is the Communications Director for the Office of Regional Ministries and the Regional Conference Retirement Plan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The journey to becoming LGBTQ affirming in a religious setting or church environment is dependent on more than simple Bible knowledge or good exegesis. LGBTQ affirming is a position people come to based on a theology that takes holistic consideration of what is ethical, good, and just. At a minimum, LGBTQ affirming is to exercise the reflexive practice of asking how a particular theological constr...

Continuing our series on community engagement, I talk with Ronald D. Williams, Jr., D.Min., pastor of the Macedonia Adventist church, Delaware Valley Area Leader of the Allegheny East Conference, and Program Director of the Chester Peace Initiative. An urbanologist, we discuss his undergrad and graduate level education in information systems, his first career in IT, and how he turned that previous...

Professor Matthew Korpman and Kendra Arsenault finish out this queer theology series on Imago Gay by discussing the absence of women in the Levitical laws against homosexuality, the broad category of sexually divergent people that Eunuchs encompass and a more inclusive theology that holds an all-embracing view of LGBTQ people in the history of faith. "I am so sick and tired of people saying that L...

Concluding our tripartite conversation through Dr. Richard Rice’s intellectual and publishing history, in this third episode we discuss his 2014 book Suffering and the Search for Meaning (InterVarsity Press Academic). Perhaps his most widely read work, in discussing it Rice shares brief summaries of the major contemporary theological and philosophical responses to the problem of pain. We also refl...

On this episode of Imago Gei, Randi Robertson discusses her journey as a trans woman married to her college sweetheart and working as an Air Force pilot for 22 years as well as an instructor for a Christian university. As we end Women's Month, we are going out with thoughtful consideration over gender and the implications of being a woman or trans woman both in the church and in society. See omnys...

New Upper Columbia Conference President David Jamieson shares the vision for community engagement drives his ministry. He talks about his twenty years leading the Church in the Valley’s growth through a wide range of services opportunities for members called Acts of Kindness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"What do I do with the mad that I feel when I feel so mad I could bite!" Mr. Rogers shared this piece of therapeutic children's music at Congress back in 1969. Today, we are still learning how to manage emotions, especially regarding the church and LGBTQ matters. So why are we all so TRIGGERED? Spiritual Care Provider Roxan and Kendra Arsenault M.Div. dive into the world of feelings, theology, and...

Gail Rice, EdD, shares her story of lifelong learning and her work promoting evidence-based teaching at Loma Linda University for several decades. We discuss her early work as a nurse, her career as a professor in the School of Allied Health Professions, her love for the arts, and the pedagogical approaches she wrote about in her book, Hitting Pause: 65 Lecture Breaks to Refresh and Reinforce Lear...

In 1987 the Seventh-day Adventist church sued SDA Kinship International claiming trademark infringement for using the name "SDA". The lawsuit has had ripple effects throughout the LGBTQ community and their continued relationship with the church. After participating in a grueling trial, many left the institution  never to return. Others saw this victory as a landmark that one's religious identity d...

Was David bisexual? Is Sodom and Gomorrah really a reference to homosexuality or something else? On this episode of Imago Gei, Kendra Arsenault talks with Matthew Korpman about his book Saying No to God and the insights he shares in his chapter "Saying No to Homophobia." There has often been controversy in the Christian community regarding whether or not Jonathan and David shared more than a stric...

Pastor Alex Golovenko was born in Ukraine and leads the Windsor Seventh-day Adventist church in Canada. He shares how the Russian invasion is affecting his own family and the larger Ukrainian Adventist community. He discusses the violence, the parameters of a just response, and offers some hope via his favorite scripture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Civil rights attorney Amanda Ghannam and Kendra Arsenault discuss why LGBTQ Discrimination at religious institutions is legal unfortunately. Prosecution of LGBTQ discrimination cases in religious settings is so difficult due to First Amendment complications. So what is the history of LGBTQ legislation and what is the possibility for legislative change in the future? See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Troubled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Charles Scriven and Ron Osborn discuss violence, moral deflation, and the responsibility to protect. Both have published books exploring versions of Christian pacifism, Scriven’s The Promise of Peace, and Osborn’s Anarchy and Apocalypse. In this discussion they revisit their earlier work in light of the Ukrainian tragedy and explore despair and hope whi...

Imago Gei is an affirmation of dignity for LGBTQ members, a declaration that we too are imago dei, or made in the image of God. On this episode, Kendra Arsenault interviews Matthew Korpman who is critical of the church's relationship towards LGBTQ members and makes a Biblical argument against prejudice. Discussing his book, "Saying No To God", this episode is focused on his chapter "Saying No To H...

Here is part 2 of our series exploring Dr. Richard Rice’s books and biography. In this Dr. Rice talks about how he came to write Adventism’s first serious theology textbook, The Reign of God (1985), the airplane ride the prompted Reason and the Contours of Faith (1991), and students and rabbi who influenced Believing, Behaving, Belonging (2002). See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Imago Gei, Kendra Arsenault interviews Ari Bates, a transgender woman currently studying and employed at Southern Adventist University. After publicly coming out as transgender, she was made aware of a new policy that will be implemented on Southern's campus requiring transgender students to dress according to their gender assigned at birth. After coming out, she was placed on adminis...

Back for a second round, Benjamin Baker, PhD, covers the 20th century of Black Adventist history including the cultural and spiritual meaning of Oakwood University, the origins and value of regional conferences, and Adventist involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. Spectrum’s guest editor for February, Baker earned his PhD in history from Howard University and has authored or edited six books an...

On this episode of Imago Gei, a multitude of LGBTQ voices share their stories of struggle, triumph and faith, along with their complicated relationship with the church. Understanding queer theology is more than just closing the loops in logic, it is being responsible for the impact of our theology upon LGBTQ lives. Living in the fullness of love, joy and peace starts with listening See omnystudio....

In this first conversation in a multi-part series, I interview Richard Rice, PhD, about his biography and extensive bibliography. We discuss Dr. Rice’s early life, what he learned in graduate school at the University of Chicago, and the early 1980s controversy around the publication of “The Openness of God.” See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kendra Arsenault, Spectrum Magazine and SDA Kinship have come together to bring you the premiere episode of Imago Gei where we share the latest on queer theology, stories, and a minority perspective on faith. Today, we are easing ourselves in the conversation by posing the question: Is It Safe? LGBTQ church members are often faced with the challenging question: do I disclose my queer identity in a...

I ask Dr. Benjamin Baker some common questions about Black Adventist history including: Why do some Adventists think Ellen White was Black? Was Sojourner Truth an Adventist? Did Adventists fight in the Civil War? Spectrum’s guest editor for February, Benjamin Baker earned his Ph. D., in History from Howard University. He has authored or edited six books and 150 articles. In 2010 he created blacksd...

This two-minute clip provides an introduction for a new podcast partnership between Spectrum and SDA Kinship, produced by Kendra Arseneaux. The first episode drops soon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.