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The following are my reflections on the events that we, Come And Reason Ministries, experienced at the 62nd General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was held in St. Louis, Missouri, from July 3 to 13, 2025.

We were privileged to have a booth in the exhibit hall at that event, but sadly, after five days, a lawyer from the General Counsel of the General Conference was sent to inform us that they were exercising their contractual right to close our booth and have us leave. No explanation was provided, and no opportunity for discussion, accommodation, or avenue for appeal was offered. When we inquired about these options, the representative simply repeated that they were exercising their right within the contract to close our booth. We expressed our regret to the individuals communicating this sad news that they had been placed in such an awkward and distressing position, because we realized they were not the ones who had made this decision, and then we immediately packed up and left the hall.

Before addressing this particular incident further, we’d like to say to the multiple thousands of people from all aspects of the Seventh-day Adventist Church who came by our booth and expressed how much our ministry has meant to you—we thank you! You are appreciated, and we love you!

It was such a joy to meet people from every continent who came by to visit and share how our ministry has been a blessing to them and their families, how their love and commitment to Jesus and the mission of sharing the messages of the three angels have been strengthened by our ministry.

And to the multiple church-employed pastors, teachers, conference presidents, delegates from around the world, and members of the General Conference executive committee who came by to express their support and how their relationship with Jesus has been enhanced by our materials—we thank you and praise God for you.

We also want to thank all the new friends we met, many of whom started reading our materials while at the conference and returned to get more, bringing along their family and friends and telling us how beautiful, clear, and powerful our material is in bringing God’s principles to practical application in the healing of hearts and minds here and now.

We deeply appreciate the opportunity to be at this event, to meet all of you and share with you, for our hearts are for people, to give back to others what God has so graciously given to us. As Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8 NIV84). This is why everything at our booth was free. Our ministry has operated upon this principle of providing free resources since its founding in 2010, and God has richly blessed this practice as evidenced by the overwhelmingly enthusiastic response and the testimonies of our friends and supporters.

Across those five days, we celebrated the sharing of God’s love with you and rejoiced in the unity inherent in our faith—and we gave away 20 pallets of materials! We are thankful! God is good! And we are blessed! Despite being asked to leave after five days, we have no regrets. We know God is leading.

The Spirit of Fear

But how to respond to those few individuals who acted behind the scenes to shut down the Come And Reason Ministries booth? To those who shut us down, please know that we love you! Our hearts ache for you. We pray for you and long for you to be free of the spirit of fear that each one of us inherited from Adam.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV).

We know that since Adam sinned, every person is born infected with fear and selfishness (Psalm 51:5). We understand the power fear exerts; we have all felt it, been vulnerable to it, and made decisions based upon it. We don’t blame you and are not angry at you—we long for healing, reconciliation, and the fellowship of loving friends of Jesus.

Do you long for the same? We pray you do! Loving fellowship is only obtained by the application of God’s principles in our lives. It cannot be obtained by made-up rules and law enforcement, despite how “right” it feels.

We have experienced how frightening real freedom and unfolding truth can be, how advancing truth can seem threatening as our current beliefs, which make us feel safe, are challenged, and how easily it is to justify the need to silence those sharing a different view. It is the spirit of fear that leads to the need to find security in rules, protocols, structures, systems, power, authority, and control.

We can all look back on our own lives and see when we allowed fear to overcome truth and love, and how we have acted with methods contrary to God’s kingdom in order to make ourselves feel better, to feel in control, and we have all told ourselves that the use of such methods was justifiable, simply to protect others, those less enlightened than ourselves. We do not blame you. We genuinely understand; we have been there.

We recognize the fear driving your decision because we have experienced that fear ourselves, and we understand that when fear motivates, it utilizes secrecy to avoid accountability. Fear uses proxies; fear sends lawyers to enforce laws rather than sending friends of Jesus to resolve misunderstandings and seek reconciliation.

The religious leaders in Christ’s day also behaved like this—leaders in God’s church, who observed the Bible Sabbath, believed in the Creator God, were diligent Bible students, faithful tithe payers, careful about diet, loyal to their sanctuary message, yet all those right doctrines were motivated by fear rather than love and trust. They sought to control others through their rules and laws. They couldn’t tolerate advancing light, so their fear caused them to use their law to silence, purge, and eliminate voices of truth and love that challenged their orthodoxy.

Contrary to the allegations leveled against us, Come And Reason does not disagree with any of the 28 fundamental beliefs of the Adventist Church—the doctrines are truth. However, we disagree with the setting of fear, which leads to teaching the doctrines through Roman law, imposed law, human law, the laws of the kingdoms of this world, which Jesus said are not His (John 18:36). We long to place these amazing doctrines in their proper setting, the setting of love and trust, in God’s design law, the laws only the Creator can establish, the laws reality itself is built to exist and operate upon, the laws the Creator wants to write upon our hearts and minds (Hebrews 8:10).

(If you are not familiar with the differences between humans’ imposed law and God’s design law settings and would like to explore them, we recommend starting with these resources:

• The Lie That Deceived Angels, Infects Christianity, and Delays the Second Coming of Christ.
• Salvation and You: What It Really Means to Be Saved.)

It is only then that our church can finish its mission of taking the three angels’ messages to the world. As long as we present the true doctrines in the setting of fear, of law and law enforcement, rather than the setting of love and trust (which is faith), we will fail in our mission despite having the true doctrines—for we are not saved by doctrinal attestation but by God’s grace through faith, a living faith that results in dying to the spirit of fear and being reborn with the spirit of love, truth, and trust, such that we live and practice the methods and design laws of God.

This end-time message, which calls people back to Creator worship, requires a return to the reality that God’s laws are design law—the protocols our Creator built into the operations of reality and upon which life is constructed by Him to function and exist. This leads to resetting our doctrines out of the Roman imposed-law framework of made-up rules requiring external legal enforcement and into the setting of reality, God’s eternal laws, which are expressions of His character of love. This causes the setting to shift from the spirit of fear to the spirit of love and trust.

It Happened at the 1888 General Conference

This was the message that came to our church at the 1888 General Conference, but sadly, it was rejected by leadership, who chose instead to teach that God’s law is imposed, that it is like Rome’s made-up rules that require the infliction of external punishments, which has perpetuated the spirit of fear. After that meeting, Ellen White wrote:

In Minneapolis God gave precious gems of truth to His people in new settings. This light from heaven by some was rejected with all the stubbornness the Jews manifested in rejecting Christ, and there was much talk about standing by the old landmarks. But there was evidence they knew not what the old landmarks were. There was evidence and there was reasoning from the word that commended itself to the conscience; but the minds of men were fixed, sealed against the entrance of light, because they had decided it was a dangerous error removing the “old landmarks” when it was not moving a peg of the old landmarks, but they had perverted ideas of what constituted the old landmarks (Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 30, emphasis mine).

Now at the present time God designs a new and fresh impetus shall be given to His work. Satan sees this, and he is determined it shall be hindered. He knows that if he can deceive the people who claim to believe present truth, [and make them believe that] the work the Lord designs to do for His people is a removing of the old landmarks, something which they should, with most determined zeal, resist, then he exults over the deception he has led them to believe. The work for this time has certainly been a surprising work of various hindrances, owing to the false setting of matters before the minds of many of our people. That which is food to the churches is regarded as dangerous, and should not be given them. And this slight difference of ideas is allowed to unsettle the faith, to cause apostasy, to break up unity, to sow discord, all because they do not know what they are striving about themselves. Brethren, is it not best to be sensible? Heaven is looking upon us all, and what can they think of recent developments? While in this condition of things, building up barriers, we not only deprive ourselves of great light and precious advantages, but just now, when we so much need it, we place ourselves where light cannot be communicated from heaven that we ought to communicate to others (Counsels to Writers and Editors, p. 31, emphasis mine).

The transgression of the physical law is the transgression of God’s law. Our Creator is Jesus Christ. He is the Author of our being. He has created the human structure. He is the Author of physical laws as He is the Author of the moral law. And the human being who is careless and reckless of the habits and practices that concern his physical life and health sins against God (G. Kress Collection, p. 46, emphasis mine).

The same power that upholds nature is working also in man. The same great laws that guide alike the star and the atom control human life. The laws that govern the heart’s action, regulating the flow of the current of life to the body, are the laws of the mighty Intelligence that has the jurisdiction of the soul. From Him all life proceeds. Only in harmony with Him can be found its true sphere of action. For all the objects of His creation the condition is the same—a life sustained by receiving the life of God, a life exercised in harmony with the Creator’s will. To transgress His law, physical, mental, or moral, is to place one’s self out of harmony with the universe, to introduce discord, anarchy, ruin (Education. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1903, p. 99, emphasis mine).

Because God’s laws are design laws and not made up rules, Ellen White, throughout her life, consistently linked them to the message of the three angels.

Men and women cannot violate natural law by indulging depraved appetite and lustful passions, and not violate the law of God. Therefore He has permitted the light of health reform to shine upon us, that we may see our sin in violating the laws which He has established in our being. All our enjoyment or suffering may be traced to obedience or transgression of natural law. Our gracious heavenly Father sees the deplorable condition of men who, some knowingly but many ignorantly, are living in violation of the laws that He has established. And in love and pity to the race, He causes the light to shine upon health reform. He publishes His law and the penalty that will follow the transgression of it, that all may learn and be careful to live in harmony with natural law. He proclaims His law so distinctly and makes it so prominent that it is like a city set on a hill. All accountable beings can understand it if they will. … To make plain natural law, and urge the obedience of it, is the work that accompanies the third angel’s message to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord (Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 3, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1872, p. 161, emphasis mine).

We can finish our mission only by returning to the worship of God as Creator, by taking our beautiful and correct doctrines and lifting them out of the Roman imposed-law lie and setting them in design law—what Ellen White called “natural law.” This leads to love and trust in God, the surrender of our spirit of fear and selfishness, and being reborn with a spirit of love and trust, which leads to practicing God’s methods of truth, love, openness, freedom, willingness to talk together, and unity of heart, mind, and motive—even if we are at different levels of understanding facts or doctrines.

But the spirit of fear feels threatened when truth advances and its ideas are challenged, and it always leads to the use of secrecy, authority of office, power over, coercive force, falsehood and misrepresentation, and particularly the use of imposed external law (rules) with law-enforcement, and action to purge, silence, or otherwise destroy the voices of truth. Repeatedly, the religious leaders in Christ’s day accused Him of breaking the law and then used the methods of authority, of office, of power over to silence Him and purge from fellowship anyone who promoted Him (John 9:22).

Please don’t misunderstand and think we are accusing you of lying; we are not. While fear sometimes leads people to knowingly deceive others (Matthew 26:60, 62), most often, it causes people to deceive themselves so that they can avoid their own fear, guilt, and shame. Then the falsehoods that such fearful souls spread are the distortions they cling to as a means of managing their own fear and avoiding their guilt and shame (Jeremiah 17:9). This is what the church leaders did in Christ’s day:

The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” (John 8:48 NIV84).

Their fear caused them to use rules to make themselves secure and then accuse Jesus of being a law-breaker; they then lied to themselves about Jesus in order to avoid their own guilt and shame.

This is what many Adventist leaders did in 1888. The spirit of fear cannot tolerate open, honest, truth-seeking discussion and instead puts up barriers to the truth in order to make self feel safe.

The Spirit of Love

We all have the spirit of fear inherited from Adam, and we all need a new spirit. We all need what Jesus told Nicodemus:

“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3 NIV84).

Nicodemus needed this because he also had the spirit of fear, which led him to seek Jesus in secret where no one would know. But because he was receptive to the Spirit of truth and love, he surrendered his spirit of fear in exchange for the Spirit of love and trust.

We at Come And Reason Ministries know you, who closed our booth, didn’t choose to have a spirit of fear. We know that you, like us, were born with it, conceived in sin and born in iniquity. We know how intensely that spirit of fear fights for survival, to protect itself, to justify itself, and to deny it did anything wrong. We know how frightening, uncomfortable, and threatening it is when truth is presented that exposes our self-made self-protective systems of belief as false. We know how those feelings of fear seem to justify using the methods of this world to protect self, to resist the light, to accuse others of heresy, and to take actions designed to silence the voices of truth.

We understand, and we are not angry—no, we are saddened, for we also know that we serve a real God, and have a real Savior, Jesus Christ, who became a real human being for the purpose of freeing us from the spirit of fear and selfishness and restoring in us His Spirit of love, truth, and trust. And we know that when the Spirit of love, truth, and trust is restored in hearts and minds, there is genuine unity that is inherent in our faith (love and trust), not unity of monolithic thinking or rule-enforcement, but unity of heart, unity of the principles of God, of love for God and others, and for the advancing truth. Thus, there is a unity of method, practice, and principles, of presenting the truth in love while leaving others free.

We long for this Spirit to be our shared experience with you, our Adventist brothers and sisters, who shut us down, so there will no longer be a spirit of fear, nor the need to silence voices that see things differently—but instead we will thrive, celebrating together and supporting each other motivated by Christ’s Spirit of love.

A Request for Genuine Fellowship

Therefore, in the Spirit of Jesus, who said …

“I have spoken openly to the world, I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret” (John 18:20 NIV84)

… we invite you to engage in an open discussion with us. We do not seek debate because debaters simply seek to win arguments. We are not interested in winning arguments; we are passionate about advancing in truth, of maturing in reality, of growing up into the full stature of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13). Therefore, we are not afraid to have our ideas challenged, our positions questioned; we ask only that disagreements be explained, evidence be supplied, reason be engaged, truth be cherished, God’s Word be foundational, and His methods be applied.

So, leaders from the General Conference, preferably those who made the decision to close our booth, we invite you to join us in a series of live podcasts to openly discuss our differences, seeking together God’s eternal truth.

We pray that this humble request will not cause fear, that it will not be heard as an attack, or a threat, but will be understood as the loving desire of your friends, your family in Christ, who seek to connect, dialogue, understand, and grow closer to you as together we grow ever closer to the Source of all truth.

We humbly ask that you prayerfully consider our request for a series of live podcasts and respond to us here: ministry contact information.

Thank you for considering this request, and we pray God’s blessings upon you, that His will may be done in your lives; and we pray that our church be empowered by the Latter Rain to fulfill our mission to lighten the world with the truth about His kingdom and character so that Jesus will return soon.

Timothy R. Jennings, M.D.
President and Founder,
Come And Reason Ministries

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