Episode 3 - Adventist Pioneers as Social Reformers

What if the church we know today was built on a foundation of radical social justice — and then forgot it? Historian Dr. Kevin Burton joins co-hosts Dilys Brooks and Nathan Brown to uncover the surprising, inspiring, and sometimes uncomfortable truth about early Adventism's role in the American anti-slavery movement — and what it means for who we are called to be today.KEY QUOTES"What were the pioneers thinking?""Ellen White said we are reformers.""We need to be the good Samaritan.""If we have a problem with any human being out there in the world, then we are desecrating God himself because we are created in his image.""I cannot be silent. That is actually a sin."TIMESTAMPS0:00  Intro & Theme Music0:56  Guest Introduction — Dr. Kevin Burton0:57  Why Study History?2:42  Why Study Adventist History? 4:40  How History Shapes Identity6:08  How Do We Balance Who We Were?7:44  Justice and the Adventist Church12:00  The Impact of Adventism on the Anti-Slavery Movement14:00  Apocalyptic Abolitionism — The Book23:00  Methodology: Prosopography & Cross-Archive Research29:00  Long Anti-Slavery Movement 33:46  How We Lost This History — WWI and the Conservative Turn39:00  The Two-Horned Beast Doctrine & America in Prophecy49:00  How the Saints Are Receiving This Work53:00  Personal Transformation Through Research60:00  Closing — An Invitation to Get Into Good Trouble1:01  Host Sign-Off & Episode CreditsFeatured BookApocalyptic Abolitionism — Dr. Kevin Burton (forthcoming)People & Works Referenced This EpisodeEllen White — "We are reformers" (recurring theme in her writings)Joseph Bates — Adventist founder and anti-slavery activistUriah Smith — Editor of the Adventist Review; called slavery "the prime mover"Joseph & Sarah Clark — Early Adventist evangelists in the post-Reconstruction SouthA.G. Daniels — General Conference President; racial segregation in Washington D.C.Jan Loughborough — One of the first Adventist historiansDoug Morgan — Adventist historian; work on race and the churchMichael Campbell — Adventist historian; Adventism and fundamentalismChimamanda Ngozi Adichie — "The Danger of a Single Story" (TED Talk)Matthew 25 — "Whatever you have done for the least of these"Luke 10 — The Good SamaritanRevelation 13 — The Two-Horned Beast and America in prophecyCALL TO ACTIONThis Week's ChallengeSit with this question from Dr. Burton: What does my faith mean if I remain silent in the face of injustice? Then take one concrete step — however small — to act on the answer. As our Adventist pioneers understood, silence is not neutral.Book RecommendationPre-order Apocalyptic Abolitionism by Dr. Kevin Burton — and add it to your JustLove Book Circle reading list for 2026. Leave a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help more people discover these conversations.Share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Tag us @justlovecollective.Subscribe so you never miss an episode — new episodes every two weeks.The JustCoz is a podcast of JustLove Collective.