On August 30, 2022, the Loma Linda University Health board voted to approve a statement clarifying its understanding of Adventism in the LLU context. The goal of the statement was two-fold: to provide further clarification of the institution’s mission “to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus” and to do so affirming perspectives and values central to the Seventh-day Adventist community.
“Love is central to God’s will and God’s ways, and love for others cannot be separated from love for God” the statement begins. It continues to explain, “Jesus provides this true revelation of God, who is often misrepresented and misunderstood. The expression and experience of God’s love is a dynamic and growing reality in the world and will one day, when Jesus returns, be a way of life for everyone. This anticipation nourishes hope in a day when all things will be renewed, and needless suffering and death will be eliminated…”
Full statement: Jesus’ Teaching and Healing Ministry
Loma Linda University exists to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus to a hurting and broken world. As a Seventh-day Adventist Christian health sciences institution, this mission is motivated, animated, and sustained by key theological convictions drawn from Scripture.i
Love is central to God’s will and God’s ways, and love for others cannot be separated from love for God.ii Jesus provides this true revelation of God, who is often misrepresented and misunderstood.iii The expression and experience of God’s love is a dynamic and growing reality in the world and will one day, when Jesus returns, be a way of life for everyone.iv This anticipation nourishes hope in a day when all things will be renewed, and needless suffering and death will be eliminated.v
Jesus’ healing ministry was a demonstration of God’s love and healing power.vi The Hebrew prophets proclaimed God’s justice as care for the poor, the widow, the fatherless, and the migrant, and resistance to the social conditions that produce inequity.vii Jesus embraced that tradition, welcoming and extending healing to all who had need, especially to “the least of these.”viii God’s love and care extends deeply into all aspects of creation; Jesus drew many of his teachings from nature and taught that God notices even the sparrow that falls.ix
Jesus’ ministry was empowered by rhythms of rest and work, as well as prayer and action.x He continues to invite his busy followers to “come rest awhile”xi and experience true Sabbath renewal.xii Jesus chose to heal on the Sabbath to demonstrate God’s presence to those who feel it the least.xiii
Jesus’ teaching and healing ministry stood in contrast to many of the social and religious norms of his day. The reaction and opposition to it, which led to Jesus’ death, demonstrates that humans are often at odds with his distinct embodiment of God’s love and justice.xiv Jesus’ resurrection, however, affirms him to be the ultimate revelation and demonstration of God’s character.xv In Jesus, God the Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all things, has, in a permanent embrace, become intimately involved with humanity and all that has been created.xvi
As Jesus promised, through the work of the Spirit, God continues to be at work in the world in many ways.xvii In and through the diverse communities that have been called into Jesus’ way, the Spirit continues to invite individuals to freely respond to God’s love in faith and to express it more fully and consistently in their lives. As they experience personal healing and wholeness, they become God’s ambassadors in extending physical, psychological, social, and spiritual restoration to those around them, also working to prevent, when possible, illness and suffering before it begins.xviii
The Spirit leads to the renewed expression of these convictions in new contexts and enables new and deeper understanding of present truths, both timeless and timely, in all domains of inquiry.xix
Approved by LLUH Board, August 30, 2022.
i 2 Timothy 3:16
ii Luke 10:27-28 (see also Mark 12:29-31)
iii John 1:18; John 14:9
iv Luke 13:18-21
v Revelation 21:4
vi Luke 9:11; Luke 11:20;
vii Isaiah 1:17; Jeremiah 7:5-7; Zechariah 7:10
viii Matthew 25:45
ix Matthew 10:29
x Luke 5:16
xi Mark 6:31
xii Exodus 20:8-11;
xiii Matthew 12:9-12; John 5:1-9
xiv Luke 23:18-38
xv Hebrews 1:1-3
xvi John 1:1-5, 14
xvii John 3:8; John 14:16
xviii Galatians 5:22-25
xix John 16:13
Several School of Religion faculty contributed to the drafting of this statement, suggesting revisions or additions that highlight aspects of Jesus’ ministry that have been influential at Loma Linda University historically and also address the contemporary context. So, for example, in addition to drawing attention to Jesus’ observance of Sabbath, that statement also highlights, Jesus’ care for “the least of these” and the implications this has for current conversations about social justice, as well as ecology.
“Input from School of Religion faculty members was critical in assuring that this would be a theologically robust statement,” according Pastor Randy Roberts, VP for Spiritual Life and Mission and senior pastor of the Loma Linda University Church. “This input came through the participation of the School of Religion dean and associate dean in the Spiritual Executive Leadership Committee (SELC) which was responsible for developing the statement. All SR faculty members had the opportunity to weigh in with suggestions that were included in the final product. It has been a great privilege for me to be a part of developing a statement that represents Adventism—from a Loma Linda University Health perspective—at its best!”