Theology Chair Jim Wibberding Authors Book Exploring West Coast Adventism

Theology department Chair, Professor, and published author Jim Wibberding is adding to his literary collection a new book, Walking with the Pioneers: The Captivating Story of West Coast Adventism. The book explores traditional Adventist beliefs as they enmeshed and clashed with the landscape and culture of 1800s California.

Wibberding shares the story of “the second founding of Adventism”—a term coined by his wife, PUC History Professor Laura Wibberding—in the “restless land of the Gold Rush;” a lesser-known story than Adventism’s first institutional center at Battle Creek, Michigan.

“The book tells stories of how something Ellen White dubbed ‘California liberality’ and what one critic called ‘Western informality’ stirred changes that were huge gifts to Adventism,” Wibberding shared. “These include innovating worship music in 1877, the 1888 message of righteousness by faith, the first missionary ship, a cadre of women in ministry, the first Black person ordained to Adventist ministry, the first Hispanic Adventist pastor in the U.S., a medical empire, and plenty more.”

Wibberding’s inspiration to document the perspective on this region’s Adventist legacy began because he lives and serves on the West Coast, but shifted into a deeper pursuit as he sifted through dusty archives.

“West Coast Adventism is unique,” he explained. “As I grappled with this difference during my research, I realized this is what the Apostle Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 12. Each part of this ‘body of Christ’ is unique for a purpose, and our picture of Jesus is clearest when we value each distinct contribution to the mosaic.”

Wibberding hopes other scholars across the country will follow suit and write perspectives on Adventism in different regions of the United States and across the globe.

While the book discusses West Coast Adventism in previous centuries, Wibberding believes that modern Adventism in this region “remains a center of creativity, dreaming up changes that can change the world for God.”

“I hope readers will feel reinvigorated in their own service to God’s cause through the Adventist faith, and I hope this book will foster a deeper value for the beautiful variety in the Adventist family,” Wibberding said.

For upcoming literary endeavors, Wibberding plans to bring to life the stories of women in Adventist history throughout the U.S. and worldwide.

His book, Walking with the Pioneers: The Captivating Story of West Coast Adventism, is available at Adventist Book Center locations and online retailers: AdventistBookCenter.com and Amazon.com. You can also pick up a copy at your upcoming local Camp Meetings.