On March 14, 2015, the Chewelah Seventh-day Adventist Church held Grassroots Faith Sabbath. Members of this North American Division (NAD) congregation responded to the NAD “Theology of Ordination Q&A” brochure. Some two weeks previously the Division had printed thousands of brochures and mailed copies to all NAD churches without informing their home conferences. In the unedited video, after a two minute introduction, members respond to the NAD mailing and speak to General Conference session delegates. After receiving the NAD WO brochures, members of the congregation had wanted to respond in their own words, whether in favor or opposed, to women’s ordination and this was arranged. Vocations of those participating include nurse, engineer, psychologist, business owner, wellness educator, farmer, film director-producer, health consultant, software programmer/analyst, missionary, evangelist, and marriage and family counselor. Presentations were uncoached, unedited, unrehearsed and uncensored. Every participant is a member of the Chewelah Church. The Council of Adventist Pastors thought OrdinationTruth.com readers would find the material a fascinating snapshot showing how members in the pews—the real grassroots of the church—view the women’s ordination issue as it has been handled by the North American Division. The denomination has heard from scholars, pastors, and administrators, but the various media have carried relatively less from rank and file membership. It seemed useful to us for interested members of the world church to hear from others who, like themselves, are truly the backbone of the church.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church where this was recorded is located at 2310 Sand Canyon Rd, about two miles off highway 395, Chewelah, Washington, USA.
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Breaking news Columbia Union Conference (CUC) Congregationalism Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) General Conference Working Policy NAD TOSC Report North American Division (NAD) Ordination as a practice Ordination Without Regard to Gender OrdinationTruth.com Pacific Union Conference (PUC) Principle-based Historical-cultural Method Seventh-day Adventist Church Time magazine Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
Council of Adventist Pastors Responds to North American Division's Ordination Mailing
nad-wo-qa-brochure-cap-responseIn February 2015 the North American Division mailed to Adventist Churches in its territory thousands of brochures posing carefully phrased questions and advocating women’s ordination. Very little Scripture support is offered in the document. The link below reproduces the “answers” as included in the NAD mailing. The Council of Adventist Pastors interacts with this material.
The COUNCIL OF ADVENTIST PASTORS responds to NORTH AMERICAN DIVISION Q&A Theology of Ordination: answers to common questions.
Note. Document version updated on March 8.
CAP pastor Stephen Bohr shares an update from the most recent issue of Time magazine. Even secular persons see the connections.
The Connectional Table, a United Methodist body of clergy and lay people gathered from around the world, have revealed their plans to propose a “third way” for that denomination. Addressing concerns about “unity” and a renewed “focus on mission,” the proposal would be voted on at General conference in 2016. For the UMC, the Connectional Table functions as a key leadership council for the denomination, guiding and coordinating that church’s mission, ministry and resources.
The article, published by the United Methodist news Service, is found here:
Church body proposes more open stance on homosexuality.
In the Seventh-day Adventist Church, some have used precisely the same “third way” language for their proposals to permit women’s ordination on a piecemeal basis by individual unions and divisions as locally determined. Consider: can even one Christian denomination be named that has not chosen a “third way” on this kind of matter, that has not in the end settled on an unbiblical way?
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1 Timothy Biblical Interpretation CAP authors Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) Distinct roles Doctrine of Holy Scripture Doctrine of the Church Doctrine of Unity Ecclesiastical authority Gender General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Headship Historical-grammatical method Larry Kirkpatrick Male-sex specific roles Methods of Bible Study 1986 NAD TOSC Report Ordination Without Regard to Gender OrdinationTruth.com Principle-based Historical-cultural Method Redemptive movement hermeneutic Rio Document 1986 Seventh-day Adventist Church The larger issues Theological pluralism Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) TOSC position one Trajectory theology Unity Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
An Appeal to the Delegates to the 2015 General Conference Session
More than 18M members, gathered from across the globe, make up the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Every five years delegates are elected and called to General Conference session. They seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit for collective leading in key decisions of the Church. This July (2015), delegates will meet in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The issue of women’s ordination is to be addressed. On two previous occasions (1990, 1995), the General Conference voted not to permit the ordination of women to the gospel ministry. The short video appeal above calls for delegates to reject the proposal to permit each division to decide for itself on women’s ordination, and that the Church instead implement TOSC position #1.
Pastor Mike Lambert looks at the idea of unity versus unifromity. Is it truly intellectually honest to sharply separate these two ideas? FIND IT HERE.
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Church governance Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) delegated authority Doctrine of the Church Ecclesiastical authority General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Ordination Without Regard to Gender OrdinationTruth.com Seventh-day Adventist Church Unity Wayne Kablanow Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
Women's Ordination and Aaron's Rod that Budded, pt. 2
Is there a lesson in the story of Aaron’s rod that budded that can help God’s church understand what it ought to do in the crsis over women’s ordination? Pastor Wayne Kablanow completes his series on the topic! FIND IT HERE.
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CAP authors Church governance Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) delegated authority Doctrine of the Church Doctrine of Unity Ecclesiastical authority General Conference General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Male-sex specific roles Numbers OrdinationTruth.com Seventh-day Adventist Church Unity Wayne Kablanow Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
Women's Ordination and Aaron's Rod that Budded, pt. 1
Could it be that God foresaw the women’s ordination challenge the church would face in our day long ago, and that Heaven provided an answer in the Scriptures long ago? Pastor Wayne Kablanow takes a look at women’s ordination and Aaron’s Rod that budded for a possible answer. FIND IT HERE.
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CAP authors Complimentarian Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) Cultural reconstructions Culturally driven Distinct roles Gender gender-inclusive language General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Genesis Headship Heteropatriarchalism Heterosexism Homosexuality Larry Kirkpatrick Male-sex specific roles Ordination Without Regard to Gender OrdinationTruth.com Patriarchy Queer Theology Seventh-day Adventist Church The larger issues Theological pluralism Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
Women in Male Roles, pt. 1
Larry Kirkpatrick compares two viewpoints on human sexuality: the creation viewpoint (or essentialist or complementarian), and the constructionist. One view holds that humans are fundamentally male or female and that this is part of the created order. Another view holds that human sexuality is humanly constructed and therefore shifting, flexible, mash-up-able and humanly redefineable. Does the constructionist approach led itself to targeting institutions with an agenda of societal “transformation”? Part one opens this discussion.
FIND THE ARTICLE HERE: Women in male roles, pt. 1.
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1 Corinthians 1 Timothy Annual Council Biblical Interpretation Clinton Wahlen Complimentarian Council of Adventist Pastors (CAP) Doctrine of the Church Doctrine of Unity Ecclesiastical authority Gender General Conference Session 2015 San Antonio Genesis Headship Ordination Without Regard to Gender OrdinationTruth.com Pre-fall headship Seventh-day Adventist Church Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) TOSC position one Women in Ministry Women's Ordination
Position 1 Statement to Annual Council
Clinton Wahlen was asked to make the presentation of the TOSC Position 1 group at Annual Council 2014. The Adventist Review has reproduced it here:
http://www.adventistreview.org/church-news/theology-of-ordination-position-no.-1