We are a couple of weeks removed from the 2026 Triennial Convention, and it seems a good time to reflect on all that happened and what it all means for us going forward. It was great to see so many Advent Christians take a week of their time to gather primarily for making some critical decisions about the general conference. Each one sacrificed their time and energy because of their love for and commitment to the denomination.
The days were full beginning with business in the morning, workshops or town halls in the afternoon and wonderful worship services at night. The evening services were especially encouraging and edifying to me. Each night we were led in powerful times of singing together by the excellent worship team. It is a wonderfully glorious experience to sing with a group of people like that. I think it might be a sweet foretaste of what we will experience in Christ’s eternal kingdom. We celebrated the long and faithful ministries of three men who have served the church of Christ for more than 50 years. We also took time to pause and remember the many faithful servants we lost to death over the last triennium. Each service was marked by exceptional biblical expositions of 2 Corinthians chapters 4 and 5.
Of course, there was some very substantive business for the delegates to discuss. The proposed Declaration of Principles failed to garner the 75% majority required for passage, but all the proposed changes to the articles of association and bylaws passed. For most people the results were a combination of being pleased and displeased at the results.
But regardless of the specific outcomes, I believe the Lord was very gracious to us during this convention, and it was a real success. The delegates passionately discussed hard and important things over which there was substantial disagreement. Yet, with only a few regrettable exceptions, they did so with grace, respect and charity toward one another. It was heartening to see the many side conversations that were taking place between people who disagreed over the issues; conversations undertaken in a genuine effort to understand and bring greater light and less heat to the debate. In the end, there were no sore losers or pompous winners. There were simple godly men and women trying to faithfully work through all these things together in a way that honored Christ. And that is a huge win.
It will take some time before we fully know the full implications and consequences of the decisions reached by the delegate body at the 2026 convention. But I am hopeful for the future because of what I saw there. It was clear that we all desire to be faithful to Jesus as we work for the unity and fruitfulness of the denomination. The love of Christ compels us to love and bear with one another even in times of disagreement, and to do so with grace. The Lord grows and matures us individually and collectively as we learn to do this. And despite the thoughts of some, it was obvious that we actually do agree on a great number of vital issues related to truth and practice.
Like the 2026 convention, our path forward will be imperfect and perhaps a little messy. We do know that the Proposed Declaration of Principles will go back to the executive council for further review. I believe that if we continue growing in our willingness and ability to have honest and charitable conversations about hard and important things, that the Lord will use that to sanctify us individually and collectively in such a way as to increase our unity so that we will be more faithful to and fruitful in the work he has entrusted to us. So where do we go from here? We go forward, together.
