Ruts? Adventist in Ruts? Oh no, it is the path of truth

Right now I am immersed in a wonderful book.

A Generous Orthodoxy, Brian D. McLaren, Zondervan, 2004

The long title, which the author concedes is somewhat difficult and
unwieldy is:

"Why I am a missional, evangelical, post/protestant, liberal/
conservative, mystical/poetic, biblical, charismatic/contemplative,
fundamentalistic/calvinist, anabaptist/anglican, methodist, catholic,
green, incarnational, depressed-yet-hopeful, emergent, unfinished
CHRISTIAN. "

To quote the dust jacket.

"He is founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, an
innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington
region. He is a sought after speaker and author focusing on the
church and the postmodern culture shift surrounding it. "

At the moment this book is the best description of the approach I
have taken to in regard to doctrine, belief and the more elusive
concept of "truth" as presented in the Bible.

Brian McLaren does a masterful job of pointing out how each and every
protestant and catholic sect and denomination has gone wrong and lost
their way by focusing on just one or two facets of the the Gospel to
the exclusion of emphasis on others. His comments strike a cord with
me as I live in at least three worlds of the SDA church. This list,
which is a mix of fundamentalism and liberal thought, the church I
attend which is mired in fundamentalist thought and inaction, and the
greater PUC community which is progressive and looking to prepare
youth to lead the church of the future.

This mix of old and new, fundamental and liberal, are tensions that
are felt in all denominations, and here is the point... and these
tensions take us away from the one thing that should unify us all in
the first place. JESUS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.

I am so tired of the squabbles over doctrine. I am so pleased to be
on the edges of a Christian community that loves Jesus and is proud
to say so. Oh, sorry, that is the Protestant Christian community at
First Christian School where Mark is enrolled. We are the only
Adventist student family in the school and I see Jesus Christ every
day on the campus and in the communication with the teachers and
leaders that I NEVER saw in an SDA grammar school. What makes the
difference? I suspect one of the biggest differences is the fact that
First Christian focuses on what we all have in common rather then
what we may not agree on.

And.... to quote my Calistoga SDA pastor, "How do you know that is bad?"

We have spent to long as SDA's being proud of our deep and profound
understanding of end time events, activities in heaven, death, the
Sabbath, church structure, and along the way I think we are at risk
of becoming Pharisees, smug in our grasp of the "truth" and ignorant
that we misplaced the little box we placed the Savior in along the way.

Adventist have placed our picture of God and TRUTH in such a narrow
little frame that we end up leaving out a lot of ideas, beliefs and
concepts that are understood by other members of God's family. But
no, we have the "truth", don't bother us with facets of God we did
not think of. That would be heresy.

Well, parts of me must be a heretic. God is a concept so huge and
vast and beyond me, I think, he/she smiles at our feeble grasps at
concepts beyond our mortal minds. But the smile is in love and the
thought is, "just wait till I get all of my people home with me,
those Adventist are sure to be surprised at who else shows up in
heaven. "