The Hyve is a Seventh-day Adventist community of entrepreneurs & innovators, who seek to inspire and empower fellow Adventists to advance God’s work through missional entrepreneurship.
Their 2025 Conference was held March 27-29, 2025 at Andrews University. One of the Sabbath speakers was Jared Thurmon, founder of 1Up Your Life. Jared spoke just before lunch on Sabbath, and recounted how the Seventh-day Adventist Church let the world down during 2020-2022 by not standing for freedom of conscience. Here is his excellent and timely message, beginning at 2:46:30.
Some of Jerod’s remarks:
If we know anything about religion today, Christianity and Adventism is in a crisis. The data is clear at least in North America. When we get really honest about the data and reality, in our pews on any given Saturday more are leaving than are attending. We have to give away a free college education in many places now to get pastors to become pastors.
Our movement has prided itself for over 150 years, warning the world about a coming crisis where freedom of conscience would be tested, where the whole world may be against you. I pastored during this window and I saw member after member and visitor after visitor ask me why the organization who foretold in Revelation 12 identifying itself as the remnant of Bible prophecy was not standing for freedom of conscience. Seventh Day Adventists let the world down and while people were looking, we were arguing about the type of clothing on the emperor and then something hit me in all this.
The prophets aren't on the payroll. The prophets have never been on the payroll. There's a reason why I am all in on entrepreneurship. If you go through biblical and secular history, the greatest men and women who have ever walked the earth were not under the employment of government or religion. The were men and women like you and I.
Moses, Elijah, Deborah, John the Baptist, the reformers, Gutenberg and I'd add a few names but they might get me in trouble in this town. Men and women who spoke truth to power, they were not on the payroll of the church or the state. I believe God calls us to be entrepreneurs perhaps for the sole reason of giving us the freedom and the privilege and the responsibility to speak truth to power. The role of the ancient prophets was to say and do hard things. That was the main role, far more than just telling you about a future that wasn't there yet. The Bible speaks to this this identified role of a watchman—someone who's called to protect and to speak up. In Ezekiel 33,
“Son of man give your people this message when the watchman sees the enemy coming he sounds the alarm to warn the people then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action it is their own fault if they die.
They heard the alarm but they ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning they could have saved their lives, but if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not sound the alarm and warn the people he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins but I will hold the watchmen responsible for their deaths, and so I am making you a watchman. Therefore listen to what I say and warn them for me. If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways they will die in their sins and I will hold you responsible for their deaths.
But if you warn them to repent and they don't repent they will die in their sins but you will have saved yourself. While the world needed a warning we were sitting on our shofar.
This was an impelling and inspiring message, Jared. Our hats are off to you.
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“The greatest want (need) of the world is the want of men—men who will not be bought or sold, men who in their inmost souls are true and honest, men who do not fear to call sin by its right name, men whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole, men who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.”
