Book Review of Remnant in Crisis by Jack Provonsha

In Jack Provonsha’s retirement from teaching, he has written his most important book so far, A Remnant in Crisis. In this volume, Provonsha functions as a theological physician, diagnosing the fundamental cause of the patient’s-the church’s-illness: The Adventist church has lost its sense of specialness. The most significant contribution of Remnant is Provonsha’s tender but probing analysis of this identity crisis. During the past 30 years, the virus of theological pluralism has infected the Adventist body as it has most other denominations. Provonsha speaks to many of his peers who are uneasy with the unique Adventist assignment, a special people with a special message for a special time. Losing this sense of specialness is what “the Adventist identity crisis is really all about.”

More precisely, the present crisis, according to Provonsha, is primarily a matter of what the “message” is—because “a prophetic movement derives its mission and reason for being from its message.” The Adventist message is philosophically a “principle of synthesis” and theologically the “great controversy” theme. These two interwoven principles determine the uniqueness of the Adventist message in such areas as the importance of the Sabbath, body/mind, grace/works, concept of time, and the Second Advent. The basis of the crisis concerning the message is a confusion about the theological stature of Ellen White, as Provonsha explains:

The presence and guidance of…Ellen White has helped mightily to provide the special communications for the Adventist prophetic movement…The prophets’ entire reason for being…has to do with what they have to say. Without a message prophets are just like everybody else. No message, no prophet…The crisis facing the Adventist prophetic movement can be met only by a rediscovery of and dedication to what God has commissioned this people to say in the world.

In other words, no message, no movement. Without objective revelation, only the subjectiveness of reason or feeling as the source of truth remains.