The Emerging Church and The One Project? is a series of PowerPoint presentations asking the question if there is in fact a connection between the two. The purpose of the presentations are not to lambast those who want to lift Jesus up, but rather to allow leaders of the One Project to tell us in their own words (and the words of those promoting the project) what their goals and aspirations really are, and how these goals have been enacted in their past experiences. Presentation 1 of 10 is a summary of the Emerging Church as defined on Wikipedia. This is a summary of the 17 page article found there which is taken from many leading proponents of the Emerging Church here in America. Presentations 2 through 4 deal with Leonard Sweet, a leader in the Emerging Church movement and a professor at George Fox University, and many of the nearly 50 books he has authored which express his various viewpoints. Presentations 5 through 9 deal with the five main leaders of The One Project, four of which graduated with or started DMin degrees from George Fox University under the mentorship of Leonard Sweet. In each presentation an objective look is taken at material in print telling of each leaders work and ministry up to 2012. The question will naturally follow; is this the direction we should be leading our young people in the Adventist Church? Presentation 10 deals with the One Project gathering in Seattle, February of 2012, looking at the claims of the Project “Jesus. All” and comparing this to what really took place at the gathering. Yes, there was some good points made, and we need to lift Jesus up, but…. We also take a look at a little of the evidence suggesting The One Project is a response to GYC. For a fully interactive edition of all 10 presentations with video clips, contact: theemergingoneproject@gmail.com

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“Terry Swenson, MDiv, DMin serves as campus chaplain and an
associate professor of the School of Religion for Loma Linda
University. He has held that position for 15 years. Before Loma
Linda University, Terry served as a pastor in the Northern
California Conference and the Central California Conference and
now is a member of the Southeastern California Conference. He has
served in the pastoral ministry for 28 years. Working with young
people has been a constant focus throughout his ministry. The
opportunity to focus his ministry on students at a university level
attracted him to his current position.”
“Pastor Swenson‟s vision for campus ministries at Loma Linda
University is „that every student who leaves Loma Linda University
would become a fully devoted Christian with a vibrant relationship
with Jesus Christ. At the least, I want them to leave knowing that
there is a God who loves them deeply and longs to be intimately
involved in their lives.‟” (http://the1project.org/board/terry.html)
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“Campus chaplain defends thesis: The University extends
its congratulations to Terry Swenson, campus chaplain, who
successfully defended his Doctor of Ministry dissertation on
March 11, 2009. (http://myllu.llu.edu/oncampus/story/?id=2976)
“Pastor Swenson recently completed a Doctor of Ministry
degree from George Fox University, Oregon with an
emphasis in the areas of postmodernism, cross-cultural and
global interactions and leadership.” (http://www.llu.edu/central/
chaplain/terry.page)
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“Pastor Swenson earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from
George Fox University with an emphasis in the areas of
postmodernism, cross-cultural and global interactions and
leadership.” (http://the1project.org/board/terry.html)
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“Through a combination of academic seminars and field trips,
students interact in-person with scholars from the host location
and leaders from churches and faith-based nonprofit
organizations engaged in significant ministry, humanitarian,
community development, social justice, missional, and church
planting efforts. Additionally, students meet with their advisors
and research course instructors to discuss the progress in their
research.”
“Through a series of real-world experiences in a variety of global
venues students engage with Christian leaders from around the
world, who are making a difference. They join a network of likeminded leaders who are transforming lives, empowering
communities, or engaging in social entrepreneurship as a witness
to the love of Christ. They explore ministry leadership at the
global and local intersections of church, world and culture with
Dr. Clark in a flexible, online learning environment.“
(http://www.georgefox.edu/seminary/programs/dmin-lgp/index.html)
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“My sonnets are not generally finished till I see them again after
forgetting them.” So wrote Dante Gabriel Rossetti in 1854. The
following doctoral students helped me see this manuscript afresh
after forgetting it: Sarah Baldwin, Michael Berry, William
Alexander (Alex) Bryan, … John Stumbo, Terry Swenson, Jon
Talbert. I feel honored to be studying with each and every one of
them and wish more criticism came my way with such admirable
amenity. … Leonard Sweet, Thanksgiving Eve, 2007” (Leonard Sweet,
11: Indispensible Relationships You Can’t Be Without, p. 11: http://www.google.com/
search? q=11%3A+Indispensable+Relationships+You+Can%27t+Be+Without&btnG=
Search+Books&tbm=bks&tbo=1)
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“George Fox Evangelical Seminary: October 25 [2012] via
HootSuite. Check out The One Project, being led by 3 of our
D.Min alums: Terry Swenson, Alex Bryan, and Tim
Gillespie: http://bit.ly/Mj0MR”
“Jim Carlson: The link doesn't seem to work right now and I
wanna see it cause these are my boys. October 25 at 5:40pm
via mobile”
“George Fox Evangelical Seminary: The One project Celebrating the supremacy of Jesus in the Seventh-day
Adventist Church—Home: the1project.org”
(https://www.facebook.com/georgefoxevangelicalseminary/timeline?filter=1)
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“My seminary training took place in the mid-80s. During that
time, we were taught the following methodology for Bible studies.
The process began with the underlying assumption that the
persons we were going to be studying with were either Christians
who needed to understand the Bible better, Christians who had
fallen from faith or individuals that knew about Christianity but
had never made the commitment. So, the first step was to show
them the Bible and demonstrate, by the usage of appropriate proof
texting, that the Scriptures declare that they are the Word of God
and, therefore, are normative and directive for their lives. Now
accept and follow. But something has happened to the culture I
find myself in. The United States has changed from modern
homogeneity to postmodern emerging. And with that
transformation, so too, must our methodology be transformed. …”
(cont.)
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“In my mind, the realization of Christ‟s Kingdom of inclusion
begins with the embracing of the “rainbow” principles of
Scripture previously discussed. The Gospel is God‟s message in
verity. Through His Incarnation and how Christ approached
individuals, the Gospel speaks to the heart and need of diversity.
The refracted rainbow constituent colors would represent the
multiplicity of God‟s methods and means of reaching this world
and its cross-cultural diversity with the Gospel of His love,
presence and purpose. And now, through us His followers, He
seeks to be incarnate in our actions and relationships.”
“How do we communicate Christ‟s Kingdom dynamics in a
coherent manner? It is by embracing the diversity that we find
ourselves in. In other words, the reality of our lives is that „we‟—
the culture in which we find ourselves, and „them‟—the cultures
as they exist for those we come in contact with, are not divisible
from each other. To interface, we must embrace—who each other
is, how we process life, how we experience things, what our
stories are and how those stories are determinant for us. …”
(cont.)
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“The Gospel is the truth that defines and directs our lives as
Christians. Yet, the Gospel is story—the Story of God
incarnating in our world and our lives and sharing „His‟ story
of redemption and reality with us. We, in turn, as His followers
are called to share that story in the context of the varied stories
of „all nations‟”
“It is by engaging the diversity around us with a love that
reflects the love that comes from Christ in our hearts that we
are enabled to effectively share our story and stories. It is that
love that inspires and compels us to build relationships. But, to
build strong and vibrant relationships, there must be the ability
to communicate in a manner that is recognized, understood
and accepted by all individuals involved.”
“Embracing diversity through the impetus of Christ‟s love is a
beginning. It is an accepting of the value of another and their
cultural experience. But we need to move past acceptance and
enter into involvement. The next step that we need to take is to
establish an effective means of interface. …” (cont.)
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“For the followers of Jesus there is a deeper meaning to
„cross-cultural.‟ That deeper meaning is that all of our crosscultural interaction is transformed into a new cultural
oneness and inclusiveness through the Cross of Christ. That
is what seems to be missing in Christianity today. At its
beginnings, Christianity crossed over all barriers and
boundaries of nationality, race and culture and formed a
universal body. That‟s why all the powers that were sought
to stamp them out. Christianity seems to be the opposite
today—exclusive and separate.”
“As Christians, we are to incarnate Christ to the cultures
around us. To do so, we must become truly cross-cultural
and Cross-cultural. And, in so doing, we discover means of
effective communication and dialog, develop connections
and relationships, and form communities that reflect
Christ‟s desire of diversity and inclusivity. We will become
one.” (Terry Swenson, “Breaking Down the Walls: Becoming a CrossCultural Community,” The One Project Program Book, Sydney Australia,
July, 2012; http://the1project.org/sydney-2012.html)
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