The Enduring Resolution for the 2026 Advent Christians Ministers
On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the Executive Council voted to recommend the following enduring resolution to the 2026 Triennial Delegate body. Beneath the text of the resolution, you will find my explanation and commentary as the author and initial proponent of the proposal.
The Enduring Resolution for the 2026 Advent Christian Ministers
Whereas the 2026 Declaration of Principles has been proposed to serve as a standard of belief for the credentialed ministers of the Advent Christian General Conference;
Whereas the 2026 Declaration of Principles would in fact become that standard of belief if the delegate body also adopts corresponding amendments to the constitution and bylaws of the General Conference;
Whereas some already credentialed ministers may be unable to affirm the 2026 Declaration of Principles in good conscience because they hold doctrinal convictions incompatible with those set forth therein;
Whereas the Advent Christian General Conference is grateful for the faithful ministry of those men and women who are nonetheless servants of Christ;
Whereas the Advent Christian General Conference is committed to promoting the welfare of its churches, which includes maintaining competent pastoral leadership;
Whereas the Advent Christian General Conference is committed to being an evangelical Christian denomination.
Be it therefore resolved that, in the case that the 2026 Declaration of Principles is adopted, all credentialing bodies of the Advent Christian General Conference should continue to recognize the good standing of all credentialed ministers at the time of this resolution who can only affirm the Advent Christian Statement of Faith and the preceding Enduring Resolutions of the General Conference;
Be it further resolved that for the sake of conscience and ensuring the continued status of their credentials, ministers would be asked to report any doctrinal differences with the 2026 Declaration of Principles to their respective ministerial committees by December 31, 2027;
Be it further resolved that when such ministers preach or teach on these particular matters of difference, they would be encouraged to make it their practice, in full transparency, to disclose how they permissibly differ with their denomination under this resolution;
Be it further resolved that in their conversation on these matters they would show the same charity and tolerance towards their fellow Advent Christians as would be shown to them;
Be it further resolved that this enduring resolution should only stand as an enduring resolution in the case that the 2026 Declaration of Principles is adopted by the Advent Christian General Conference at the 2026 Triennial Convention.
Charity in the Midst of Change – The Rationale Behind the Resolution
When I drafted the 2026 Declaration of Principles and later worked together with the task force in shaping its final form, it was my hope (among other things) that the convictions presented in the 2026 DOP would encompass the vast majority of Advent Christians. In fact, I believe we have accomplished this. I believe most Advent Christians agree on the essential convictions presented in the 2026 DOP and that while some may wish to say more on secondary matters, their convictions are nonetheless included.
Even so, as time has gone on, I have learned that, while we have drawn broad lines, it remains the case that some of our credentialed ministers do in fact disagree with the 2026 DOP. They disagree with the proposal, not merely in form (e.g. “Well, I’d say it this way...”) but in actual belief. Here are a few examples of what such disagreement might look like:
1. Embracing alternative forms of Trinitarianism (e.g. Social Trinitarianism)
2. Denying the “filioque” - that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son.
3. Affirming the full divinity and full humanity of Jesus, but denying he has two natures and two wills.
4. Believing that humans beings are inherently immortal.
5. Holding that it is right practice to baptize infants.
6. Those who would deny the propriety of governments protecting their citizens from violent attack (not to be understood as those who could not conscientiously participate in war as an individual).
Other relevant examples might be identified that I have not listed. These ministers are already serving our denomination, in some cases having served our churches for decades. Do I think these ministers should lose their status as credentialed ministers? I do not - and I imagine almost all would agree with me. In the interest of doing right by these ministers for their faithful service, and in the interest of showing charity in the midst of change, I think it would be right for us to take a step to assure these ministers that their credentials will be retained. Failing to do so, our ministerial committees would only be tempted to bend standards and thereby set a poor precedent even as we are trying sure up our identity. The 2026 DOP might be adopted, perhaps at the minimally required figure of 75%. Supposing that figure is representative of our pastors and that a subset of that figure actually differ with the convictions contained in the proposal, I think we all should have an interest in showing kindness in this moment – especially for the sake of our churches who cannot afford to possibly lose capable pastors.
Even so, grace must not be made an enemy of truth. With that in mind, the enduring resolution indicates that if the 2026 DOP is adopted, ministers would retain their credentials provided they can affirm the denomination’s Statement of Faith and the preceding Enduring Resolutions. In other words, any credentialed minister who can be described as basically evangelical should remain an Advent Christian minister.
Those ministers who do not fit that definition would remain excluded. However, even in those cases, I must stress that ministerial credentials are handled by the local conference. If there is a conversation to be had, it will be had there. In the case of the evangelical ministers described above, they would be instructed to talk with their ministerial committees by the end of 2027 to ensure that it is made clear that their differences are covered under this resolution. Without putting differences on the record, future ministerial committees may think that a minister has changed his or her mind when their convictions have remained the same all along.
In the interest of fairness and guarding Advent Christian identity, there needs to be an end date for reporting these differences. As a minister already credentialed, it should not be the case that I (age 34) would possess a lifelong license to shift my convictions in every which way while newly credentialed ministers would be expected to hold the line hereafter. The purpose of this enduring resolution is to show kindness in this moment as we move forward with renewed clarity in our identity as Advent Christians. By upholding basic standards in our credentialing, we will avoid such conflicts of conviction in the future.
Understandably, it will take time for some ministers to process if they actually disagree with the 2026 DOP. Even now, some may think they disagree with the convictions contained therein only due to some misunderstanding. Giving our ministers until the end of 2027 provides a generous amount of time to think and communicate with their ministerial committees if they do in fact possess any genuine differences. As needed, transparency would encourage such ministers to explain their differences with the denomination to those who are otherwise uninformed to ensure Advent Christian belief is not misrepresented. Whether or not or on what occasions they choose to do so is ultimately left to their judgment; there are no grounds here for micromanagement.
Now, it may be that the 2026 DOP will not be adopted and this will all become null and void (as the enduring resolution states). Even so, I think it is important that we have this resolution in place so that we can have a healthy debate about the 2026 DOP – forming a climate that will feature more light than heat, a conversation that does not pit just treatment against affirming important truths.
I encourage you to vote in favor of this enduring resolution.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.