Yet another significant problem related to the present “crisis” in ecclesiology is the relegation of theological activities to theologians. The bureaucratic compartmentalization of the church over the past half-century has led to divisions between the administrators and the theologians and the theologians and the laity. Thus, neither the administrators nor the lay are theologizing any longer; they are increasingly becoming indifferent, even hostile, to theology. There was a time in the Adventist church when Sabbath School classes in local churches were the primary ground for theologizing, but now this important task has been reined in under denominational college religion departments and seminaries and such entities as the Biblical Research Institute.

A wholistic approach to ecclesiology empowers the lay to exercise its right and responsibility to theologize. We ask the theologians of the church to give back to the whole church their monopoly on theology. The current crisis in Adventism seems to be as much about doctrinal disagreements as the struggle over the seat of theological authority. Certainly, theologians must continue their technical formulations of theology. However, the theology produced by the rest of the church—not the consensus of few professional theologians—must provide the substance of what we call Adventist theology. A wholistic view of the church will awaken Adventism to the important task of theologizing as a whole and reveal a true picture of the church as a community not only of priests but also of theologians.