A core feature of Sabbath keeping for Seventh-day Adventists is congregational worship and study on Saturday mornings, expressed in Sabbath School and sermon time. For many people these two periods are a time for listening to familiar themes told and retold, with little opportunity for response and creative thinking. A critic once noted that in Sabbath School there is no progression, especially in the adult classes; no intellectual excitement. Some feel stifled by this environment and lose interest in attending.

Potentially this period could be a time for spiritual and intellectual growth and stimulating discussion by thinking people who come together regularly to listen, reflect and make discoveries. I am proposing a way to change this environment, especially for young college graduates and professional people in the church. Sabbath School can become a place in which people look forward to gaining new perspectives for themselves and for friends whom they might invite.

That way is through the recording of presentations by leading thinkers in the church - college Bible teachers and other theologians, as well as people with other areas of experience. With the many forms of electronic media available today - audiotape, videotape, CD, DVD - it should be possible to prepare half-hour presentations of material that could be replayed in Sabbath school classes. Following such a presentation the audience could then engage in discussion and probing of the subject.

Various features of the church would have to be used to make this possible, especially at the colleges and universities. Selected faculty members would prepare series of lectures on subjects at the leading edge of Adventist thought. Communication technicians would take down these lectures in preparation for making the copies for distribution. College administrators would approve the use of their facilities and their institutional name. Advertising would be promoted in the various church journals and related publications like Spectrum and Adventist Today. Pricing would have to be set to cover the cost of production and distribution and administrative expenses, as well as some royalty for the lecturers. Viewers might be persuaded to support the purchases. Possibly even church administrators could be persuaded to give approval of the project.

So what would be the implications of such an enterprise? Aside from the enhanced spiritual and intellectual experience of Sabbath School members, this program would enable the colleges to find a point of contact with their alumni and other educated Adventists. It could be part of a program of lifelong learning and intellectual enrichment. It could also help colleges keep their alumni records more up-to-date and complete. And if this program were to be widely adopted, it would counter the drift toward fundamentalism that affects the thought of many of the churches not in touch with centers of higher education.

Possible topics

Here is a list of possible areas of thought that would interest the intellectually curious Adventists:

1) Christian approaches to the physical environment.

2) Ethical behavior in various situations.

3) The church's program of education on various levels.

4) Courtship, marriage, home and family, divorce, ?remarriage, sex and reproductive choices.

5) Domestic violence and sexual abuse.

6) Church history, tradition and proposed structural changes.

7) Adventist doctrine and theology.

8) Standards of behavior and attire.

9) Gender relations, roles, equality.

10) The church as a community, and in its relationship 'to the larger community.

11) Leadership and followership and critical thinking as ?responsible members.

12) Earth science, time in earth history, evolution.

13) Creation and the Flood of Noah.

14) Social environment of early Adventism.

15) The church and civil government, with relationships 'to military action.

16) The Bible in its original historical and social setting.

17) Ancient manuscripts, biblical and extra-biblical, like 'the Dead Sea scrolls and Nag Hammadi finds.

18) Myths and legends of the Bible.

19) AIDS and the church.

20) Genetic manipulation, including therapeutic cloning.

Conclusion

This is a sketch of what might be done. Whether it would fly depends on many different factors. Perhaps a limited trial run in different formats might show which would be most acceptable and also turn up flaws needing correction or even whether it would catch on at all. But at least it would be a start for thinking about how to improve the environment for Adventists who want to grow in their spiritual and intellectual life while still in the community of like-minded friends. 

Gordon Short writes from Salt Lake City, Utah, where he works for a company that distributes training materials, films, and other order fulfillment items.