With the approach of the General Conference session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in San Antonio, Texas in 2015, advocates of women’s ordination in the church have begun to launch new articles, videos, and websites promoting their views. Some sixty days out from the beginning of the session, six retired church leaders launched a site with video and text doing this very thing. Their site identifies them as “elder statesmen” of the church.
They argue that it is now time for the church to embrace women’s ordination on a per-division basis. They also speak of fracture in the church if women’s ordination is not permitted by the upcoming vote in San Antonio.
The Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) have viewed the site and video and the arguments of the “elder statesmen.” In the document linked to this post, CAP considers this material and reacts to the ideas and arguments presented by the retired leaders. The Council of Adventist Pastors invites delegates and readers to consider our response in reference to these serious matters.
CLICK ON THIS LINK TO READ THE ARTICLE
Categories
Adventist Elders Alejandro Bullon Angel Rodriguez Breaking news Calvin B. Rock Calvin B. Rock Charles Bradford Columbia Union Conference (CUC) Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) Culturally driven Doctrine of the Church Doctrine of Unity E-60 Ecclesiastical authority ELCA Elder Statesmen General Conference General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Guy Erwin It's Time video North American Division (NAD) Northern California Conference Ohio Conference Ordination Without Regard to Gender Pacific Union Conference (PUC) R. Guy Erwin Second Wave Feminist Theology Seventh-day Adventist Church Southeastern California Conference The larger issues Theological pluralism Time magazine Unilateral Action Unity William G. Johnsson Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
6 replies on “"Elder Statesmen," Women's Ordination, Church Fracture”
It´s very alarming, that these six „statesman“ and in particular Angel Rodriguez as theologian, obvious don´t see, or don´t want to see, the clear order from God in the bible, that an Elder must be a man of one wife. But if we don´t have the love to truth, then God sends errors.
The BRI theologian from 1987-2011 earnestly writes in „IT´S TIME“: “…it is now clear that there is not a biblical passage or a statement from Ellen G. White that clearly commands or opposes the ordination of woman to the ministry.“
It would be good for him, to read the article about woman ordination from his fellow BRI person Clinton Wahlen again. And I think, that a part of the prediction of Ellen White is now fulfilled if we read „IT´S TIME“ from these six old „Statesman“: „Many a star that we have admired for its brilliance will then go out in darkness. Those who have assumed the ornaments of the sanctuary, but are not clothed with Christ’s righteousness, will then appear in the shame of their own nakedness.“ (PK 188)
I was reminded of these words from the scriptures as I heard the 6 elders – 2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
I wonder how many years these men must have studied the scriptures and yet…
WE MUST STAND FIRM AND WE WILL STAND FIRM AS THE REMNANT CHURCH OF GOD WE WILL BE FAITHFUL TO HIS WORD. We will NOT be like Jeroboam who changed worship due to fear.
The Bible is not silent regarding the pastoral leadership of the church. The role of Pastor/elder is reserved for men and a church/congregation should have as pastoral leader a man who meets the standards of 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, not to mention Christ’s own leadership (New Testament) and Aaronic/Levitical leadership (Old Testament); and it is sad that we wish to ignore Scripture for the semantics argument. Christ overruled cultural and sexist bias throughout His ministry: woman at well, Mary (adulteress) women as followers, touching the leper/diseased, ministering to children. If Christ had chosen to establish women as pastoral (sent to establish and remain) leaders, He would have done so. The greater issue is the authority in the Word to recognize and compensate women as ministers: judges (administrators), evangelists, prophets, etc.) If we do the write thing, the issue of ordination as Pastors/Elders will not occur. Pray for the Holy Spirit to rule our actions in San Antonio.
It is important to add that we must not add to or take away from Scripture for any reason. The Bible does speak about ordination and as it relates to men:
Tit 1:5 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
Tit 1:6 If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly.
Tit 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no | 300 limit
Apostasy is not a matter of age but of heart. I just read not so long ago a publication in Spectrum that a conference in Germany has approved women ordination as a message to the GC Session. The publishers hoped it would send a clear message that conferences will not be bullied. That was the drift of the discourse. Well, it is a dare not a message and the General Conference should call their bluff. They should be dissolved and a new conference founded made up of those who believe in the integrity of scripture however few they may be in number and these errant people can form a new church called after their new belief and do as they please. They are welcome. Secondly, I am glad God is not German and Germany IS NOT heaven and the German conference leaders in question have no heaven they can shut anyone out of. They really are of no consequence. It is God we must care about. The fact that they suggest that women from Africa etc should be mobilized to overthrow the male vote clearly brings the matter to the foe. Someone is creating political power structures to overthrow Divine order in the church. It all becomes clear. WO is all about political control of the church. The idea that unions are sovereign is misrepresented to mean they have doctrinal autonomy. This is not only untrue, it is patently dysfunctional. We cannot have a world church if unions teach and practice what they please. Unions do have sovereignty in deciding on matters operational and to do with the implementation of GC agreed objectives. Local circumstances mean variance in methods and speed of achievement, not in the goals themselves. Our objectives and principles are singular because they are Divine in origin. | 300 limit
This brings another matter to the foe. We have for many years now been mingling world agendas with our operations. It ought to cease. We do not need world issues and methods and programs mixed with God’s things. We do not need strange fire. This matter if no other says it is time to clean house. It is time for primitive Godliness and we need to relieve some General Conference officers of their offices. We do not need United Nations programs and social engineering programs in our Sabbath school time. We must in San Antonio, clean house. We need to move a whole new working policy that allows lower structures to come up with their own programs for church growth just as long as they teach our beliefs faithful. The How should be left to them. Current world issues created by their rebellion against God are not our issues. They are strange fire. Our issue is sin. Our answer is the Holy Ghost housed in the word of God. We are done.