The Trans-European Division at its 2013 Year-end Meeting made several recommendations connected with the issue of Women’s Ordination. Among its recommendations to the world church: “Removing the intricate differences between various levels of ministry, such as the licensed and ordained minister, the licensed minister and the ordained local church elder, the pastor and the local church elder,” that the Church “remove all gender distinctions in its Working Policy related to the ministry,” that “unions, whose constituency meetings in session have voted approval and whose division committee has voted approval, be allowed to maintain an inclusive pastoral ministry which removes all gender distinctions within the work of the church in that union territory,” “recommend that the ritualistic and consecrational flavour of the act of ordination, its vague mixture of granting the Holy Spirit or gifts for ministry and ecclesiastical authority be radically toned done and removed from policy and practice,” recommends “that the imposition of hands be an optional part of the ceremony,” and asks that the church “separate Ordination from Election to an Organisational Office of Leadership.” An article reporting more fully can be found here:
http://www.ted-adventist.org/news/ted-executive-committee-recommends-inclusive-ministry-without-gender-distinctions
A committee in the Division has been at work on these issues for 19 months. Over the coming months TED has plans to offer well over 1,000 pages of material they hope will support these ideas and others. The TED report is by far the legthiest to be sent to the GC Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC). TED is also the smallest of the 13 world divisions in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, having some 84,000 members.
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4 replies on “Trans-European Division seeks WO”
1 Timothy 4:13-15 (NKJV)
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
So we now should make the laying on of the hands optional? Would that also mean that the gift that is given to us by the laying on of the hands is also optional. We can choose to serve God having the option to chose whether we want this gift or not. How far will be go in this deception?
Thomas, please. Get over it. The Holy Spirit is moving. Ordination to the ministry is not Biblical and the laying on of hands is a general expression of God’s bless to anyone the community acknowledges. Please get your facts right.
I wonder what this committee was studying for the last 19 months to come up with such recommendations. If I were a betting man my money would be on the fact that they were not studying the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy.
1. “Removing the intricate differences between various levels of ministry, such as the licensed and ordained minister, the licensed minister and the ordained local church elder, the pastor and the local church elder.” The TED forgets an important level: lay members. They have the most important ministerial function, for the Great Commission is to everyone. The ministers and pastors are only coordinating discipleship.
2. “Remove all gender distinctions in its Working Policy related to the ministry.” Nonsense. For gender has never prevented someone from having part in the gospel ministry.
3. “Unions, whose constituency meetings in session have voted approval and whose division committee has voted approval, be allowed to maintain an inclusive pastoral ministry which removes all gender distinctions within the work of the church in that union territory.” This is rewarding the only Union in the TED that has blatantly rebelled – the NUC. The constituency of this Union did NOT approved WO in the Netherlands in Nov 2012. SEVEN times it was discussed and understood by the floor that the action was that we would wait the outcome of San Antonio 2015. The minutes and the audio tapes of the constituency meeting are clear on this. Fact is that the EC knew in October 2011 what she would do and despite the urgent call for unity in October 2012 she went ahead and pushed for legitimacy with a highly ambiguous wording of a motion and preventing a fair discussion during the Sessions. All for getting her aim. She usurped an authority she was clearly not given. The Ted administration knows this very well, so this recommendation is none other than rewarding a friendly ally. See TED News Bulletin of Nov 13 2012.
It is altogether clear that the three crusaders for “variance” at the Annual in 2011 went ahead to do their thing anyway. In stead of reproving the Dutch Union openly the TED is approving anarchy and disunity.
4. “That the ritualistic and consecrational flavour of the act of ordination, its vague mixture of granting the Holy Spirit or gifts for ministry and ecclesiastical authority be radically toned done and removed from policy and practice.” The Bible is vague on granting the Holy Spirit? Why not recommend rewriting the Bible altogether?
5. “That the imposition of hands be an optional part of the ceremony.” And by that open the door for unauthorized people to lay up hands of sin? Let us allow everyone who thinks himself a pastor, to start his/ her own church or conference/union and abolish the ministerial education system all together too.
6. “Separate Ordination from Election to an Organisational Office of Leadership.” For now everyone can be called to be Moses, for all are holy. Don’t we see a Korach, Datan and Abiram scenario here?
Where are the Bible based arguments under these recommendations? What we see happening here is a strategy we in the Netherlands call “polder diplomacy” – steering on a compromise, to save the face of those who choose to lay on unauthorized hands and the ones receiving them. For it will be a great embarrassment if San Antonio disapproves of WO.
TED missed the point altogether ….