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Interviewing in Africa (1988-89): Rapid Church Growth and Political Instability
In December 1988, Dr. Ronald Lawson embarked on his second international trip to interview Seventh-day Adventists around the globe. Just as he had done in 1985, he arranged final exams which wouldn’t leave him with a pile of papers to grade, and set off before Christmas. The uncertainty of foreign travel had made for a…
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First Interviews Abroad (1986): Latin America, Southern Africa, and Oceania
The remark Dr. Ronald Lawson had heard from the Ghanaian delegate at the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church session in 1985 was still fresh in his mind. Since he would have the next semester off from teaching, his desire to expand the scope of his study beyond North America was resolute. Lawson anticipated…
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Seventh-day Adventism in a Nutshell
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (also referred to as SDA or Adventist) is a Protestant Christian group that formed in mid-19th century America. The name “Adventist” reflects the group’s emphasis on the imminent Second Coming, or “advent,” of Jesus Christ, a central belief that shapes their theology and mission. You can learn more about the history of…
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Impressions From Dr. Lawson’s First Interviews In North America (1984-1985)
When Dr. Ronald Lawson was awarded tenure at his college and planning his first sabbatical, he knew it was the perfect time to conduct a study he had dreamt of since his first sociology classes 20 years prior. Few sociologists had focused on his own denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and by applying his research…
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Who is Dr. Ronald Lawson?
Dr. Ronald Lawson is a professor emeritus at Queens College, City University of New York. For roughly 30 years, he has worked on a comprehensive sociological study of his own denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church — and he continues to interview and write for the project as the lead researcher of the LISDA team. Why…
Author: Nathaniel Clizbe
