Episodes
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Daniel Weber was the Communication Director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America and is now chair of the Dept. of Visual Art, Communication and Design at Andrews University.
We debate about the value and propriety of Adventists making public declarations about their political views, particularly candidate support. In addition, we discuss the history and meaning of Adventist social values, particularly separation of church and state. -
Hot off the co-publication of our article with the Miami-Herald on 3ABN, its author, Alva James-Johnson, an award-winning journalist, talks behind the scenes on the story as well as how she become a reporter. We learn about her first publication for Insight magazine, her early work as a beat reporter, why she teaches at Southern Adventist University now, and why she thinks that seeking truth as an Adventist includes asking journalistic questions.
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Retired teacher Janice Jensen, a longtime supporter of Spectrum (Advisory Council), recently published a memoir about losing her nine-year old son to drowning and how that changed her in many way, including her beliefs. Now a grief-recovery volunteer faciliator, Janice talks about heartbreak and how she supported her daughter and devastated husband as they struggled to rebuild their lives together. She has taught in Syria, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Oregon and Washington. Her 2024 book, One Ripple at a Time (She Writes Press) also explores how Janice’s solo visits to over 70 countries caused her to abandon dogma and find new meaning in water, movement, and spirituality.
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I talk with Greg Kewdar about his film Sing Sing which will probably be nominated for the Academy Awards. It stars Coleman Domingo plays Divine G, an innocent man incarcerated at the New York prison. He is part of the longstanding Rehabilitation Through the Arts program and it's the men who create in this space that bring the story of conflict and redemption to life.
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I interview journalist Eliza Griswold about her just released book, “Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church.”She embedded for several years with four pastors in Philadelphia and shares on their personal and public struggles as they pursue their radical Christian vision while dealing with the realities of misogyny, racism, and attendance decline.Griswold is currently a contributing writer to The New Yorker and a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her 2018 book, “Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America.”
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Erik VanDenburgh, president of the Hawaii conference speaks to me while driving a truck and 26 foot trailer to Gillette, Wyoming, to attend the International Pathfinder Camporee. He shares interesting details about the logistics involved in getting over 250 youth and support staff from the islands 3,400 miles across sea and land. A former youth leader, VanDenburgh explains why experiences like this matter and how his clubs are sharing the aloha spirit in Adventism.
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I interviewed Alan Reinach, Esq, president of the Church State Council, the education, advocacy, and legal services ministry of the Pacific Union. He is representing his client, Jeffery Lemasters Tahir, who until recently worked security at Disneyland. They talk about the Sabbath observance issues involved in the case and why the Adventist Church takes an interfaith legal and mission approach to religious liberty protections. Reinach is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill School of Law in 1987, and of the State University of New York at New Paltz, with special honors in history, in 1984.
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For a German perspective on Adventism, I talk with Stefan Höschele, Professor for Systematic Theology and Adventist Studies at Friedensau Adventist University. We discuss his new publication, “Interchurch Relations in Seventh-day Adventist History: A Study in Ecumenics.“ Given his background in education in Malawi and Tanzania, we discuss how Africa has shaped his appreciation for Adventism. We also talk about the soul of European Adventism and the problem with evangelistic triumphalism.
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In this conversation, Ben Archer, an Adjunct Research Fellow at Avondale University, shares about his recently published research on faith engagement in schools. In utilizing a scoping review methodology, Archer presents empirical literature related to faith formation activities with children. Activities covered included prayer, worship, chapel, evangelization, retreats and bible studies. His findings highlight that school-based programs do not appear to have a specific influence on student faith development. Rather it is teacher-student relationships that are the most significant influences in enhancing a student’s faith.
Article Cited:
Archer, Ben. “Moving From Faith Development to Faith Engagement in Christian Schools: A Scoping Review.” Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 17, no. 1 (2024): 136–154.
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The president of Seventh-day Adventist Kinship International talks about what pride means to him. We discuss how it’s different from the biblical vice of ego and about how some Christians don’t understand what conversion means in terms of sexuality, orientation, and spiritual maturity.
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An interview with Marianne Thieme, Dutch political leader, convert to Adventism, and environmental activist. With others, she founded the Party for the Animals in 2009 and was its chairwoman from 2002 to 2010. An attorney who has studied at the Sorbonne and recently at Newbold College, she won election every two years allowing her to serve in the House of Representatives from 2006 until she resigned in 2019. Marianne is now working on a PhD with the goal of drawing on biblical social ethics and Adventist vegetarian thought as she expands her eco advocacy around the world.
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Filmmaker Kyle Portbury talks about his film, The Hopeful, which tells the early Adventist story for any audience. The film premiered on 900 cinema screens across North America. In this second part of our conversation, Kyle shares his creative vision and discusses why storytelling matters.
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Filmmaker Kyle Portbury talks about his film, The Hopeful, which tells the early Adventist story for any audience. The film premieres on 900 cinema screens across North America on April 17 and 18. Kyle shares how the film came to be and some details about the aestheic and narrative choices he made. The Hopeful is the true story of a community whose lives were transformed as they learn what it means to truly wait for Jesus. This sweeping drama, set in 19th century New England, invites audiences of all ages to imagine how hope can change the world. In this story the audience sees blossoming the seeds of a new global movement of faith—the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Get tickets here: The Hopeful
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On March 27, 2024, “Testament: Story of Moses” premiered on Netflix. Spectrum correspondent Kevin McCarty interviews series producer Kelly McPherson about the docudrama approach. By using a docudrama (documentary and drama) approach, the viewer is led through the Exodus account in a vivid fashion, while also receiving wisdoms and insights from passionate scholars, theologians, and historians. These speakers represent all three traditions that hold Moses as a prophet, being the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.By engaging with the story in this manner, McPherson hopes to cause emotional responses in the viewer. For those who may not already know the story to see the enduring quality of it, showing why it still speaks to something within us to this day. And to add new layers and surprises for those who think they might know this epic story.Grounded in the humanness of Moses, this fresh look into one of the most epic stories of all time brings together many elements of storytelling in a new way. The result is an incredible journey for both newcomers and those returning to Moses’ story.
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Historian and retired university president Eric Anderson discusses next steps after the Ellen White working conference last fall at Pacific Union College. He discusses the meanings behind the joint statement and makes an argument that appreciating her writing as devotional offers Adventists a way forward.
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This is the third in a three-part series on Sex, Love, and Purity Culture. This episode focuses on next steps in growth and development past Purity Culture. Sofia, Ari, and Kendra are joined by Ezrica Bennett, who graduated with a BS in Biology from Oakwood University. She recently received a Princeton University grant for her ministry work with young adults at Loma Linda University Church.
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This is the second in a three-part series on Sex, Love, and Purity Culture. This episode focuses on the creation of purity culture as well as the history and political ideology behind it. Sofia, Ari, and Melodie are joined by Christina Cannon, who studied at Wycliffe Hall/ University of Oxford and graduated in 2023 in the Scholars Program at Southern Adventist University with a BA in History.
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This begins a three-episode conversation about the history, theology, and personal impact of purity culture. Although rooted in socioreligious mores that pre-date the term, purity culture emerged in the 1990s as an evangelical Christian cultural movement. It continues to influence Seventh-day Adventist understandings of dating and marriage, sexual expression and gender identity as well as female modesty and male headship.This limited series, “Sex, Love, and Purity Culture,” introduces our next-gen video podcast called Youth Group which seeks “to look without prejudice at all sides of a subject, to evaluate the merits of diverse views, and to foster intellectual and cultural growth.” That is also a quote from the founding mission statement written on the opening page of the inaugural issue of a journal named Spectrum over fifty years ago. That commitment to creating community through conversation continues today with:Kendra Arsenault, who studied International Development & African American Studies at UCLA and earned an MDiv in Professional Chaplaincy from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University. She has created several popular podcasts and works at Stanford University Medical Center.Ari Bates studied film at Southern Adventist University and is the Creative Director of Aberration Film Studios in Portland, Oregon.Sofia Lindgren graduated in 2023 with a BA in Business Administration from Pacific Union College. She is Spectrum’s Office Manager.Melodie Roschman earned her PhD in English from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her dissertation is on “Identity, Counternarrative, and Community in Progressive Christian Women’s Memoir.” She was editor of The Student Movement at Andrews University and graduated with a BA in English and Journalism in the J. N. Andrews Honors program.
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Seventh-day Adventist judge Daniel Nsereko has lived a remarkable life: from humble beginnings in a small rural village in Uganda, to the highest levels of international law in The Hague where he served as a judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC). In this interview he shares his educational and professional journey as well as the moment his ethical consciousness was awakened.
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