Category Archives: Women’s Ordination

SECC defies world church, nominates Roberts president

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The Southeastern California Conference (SECC) has nominated Sandra Roberts to serve as president of that conference (http://seccsession.org/nominating-committee-report, accessed 2024-09-18). The nominating committee recommendation to delegates is that the constituency session to be held on October 27, 2024 vote to appoint Ms. Roberts to this position. Roberts is currently executive secretary of SECC. However, the Seventh-day Adentist Church, in harmony with biblical principle, throughout its history has ordained only males to this leadership role. The current edition of the Church Manual, states that:

“The conference president should be an ordained pastor of experience and good report. He stands at the head of the gospel ministry in the conference and is the chief elder, or overseer, of all the churches” (Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, 2010 ed., p. 32).

The position of conference president is one of male headship. The Adventist Church has nothing against any particular “she,” but the church has indicated that this is a “he” position. The pastor who functions as president “stands at the head of the gospel ministry in the conference.” The apostle Paul stated the authority principle clearly in 2 Timothy 2:12:

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” (ESV).

The highest position involving the exercise of authority in a conference is that of its president. No unit which is part of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has authority to appoint a female person to this male-specific office. Two General Conference sessions (1990, 1995) forbade any such innovation. If, on October 27 constituents vote as their nominating committee recommends, by this act they shall place Southeastern California Conference in an unambiguous position of voted rebellion against the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Is Women’s Ordination culturally rather than biblically driven?

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Pastor Larry Kirkpatrick takes a look at findings prepared by Robert Yarbrough and makes a “surprise” discovery: theological studies supporting Womens’ Ordination published in Theological Journals suddenly change direction in 1969. Who would have imagined that? FIND IT HERE.

TOSC papers posted

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The papers which have so far been presented at the General Conference’s Theology of Ordination Study Committee have been posted online now for all to read. Here are the links:

http://www.adventistarchives.org/january-2013-papers-presented#.UgAcV9-B1M0.

http://www.adventistarchives.org/july-2013-papers-presented#.UgAcnd-B1M0.

http://www.adventistarchives.org/papers-revised-and-resubmitted#.UgAcst-B1M0.

Reaction: TOSC Consensus Statement on SDA Theology of Ordination

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By OrdinationTruth.com staff

Last week the General Conference’s Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) met in its second substantial meeting and voted 86-8 to approve a consensus statement concerning ordination. We are interested in the developing thought of the committee seen in the areas touched by this document.

In the first of five paragraphs, all members of the church are included in a “royal priesthood.” Believers are called by God and engage in the God-appointed mission of the body. They serve according to the gifts God bestows.

The next paragraph makes clear that beside this general ministry, there are more particularized kinds. There is ministry in terms of “specific leadership positions.” These are on the basis of particular “biblical qualifications,” among them, those sex-specific items found in 1 Timothy 3:1-12 and Titus 5-9. Persons are called to serve in these “offices” for “local and global church ministry.” This is amplified by recognition in the document that “some leaders were itinerant and supervised greater territory with multiple congregations” (third paragraph).

One argument that has been urgent to some of those favoring either the ordination of women or a significant overhaul of the Adventist understanding of it, has been that ordination, as it has been practiced by Adventists, is little more than an error emanating from a Roman Catholic tradition that we have copied unwittingly.

This idea is seen, for example, in the 1998 volume, Women in Ministry (WIM). Daniel Augsberger’s chapter “Clerical Authority and Ordination in the Early Christian Church,” closed arguing that

By mid-fourth century the bishops had taken over the power to preach and the authority to judge Christians. . . Clericalism had triumphed. . . . Adventist ordination that is valid worldwide reflects a later,
Augustinian concept of ordination (p. 96).

The idea represented here has been that anything approaching ordination as Seventh-day Adventists have understood it is wrong. Especially here, the new consensus statement is of special interest. The statement rejects this idea found both in WIM and in more recent discussions. The committee concludes rather that the basic Adventist approach is
consonant with Scripture; it is valid. This, then, is an important point of clarification: there is an identifiable biblical approach to this question, and the present Adventist Church position is confirmed.

More might be said. But as we look on and consider the development of this consensus, we see a position whose shapers have sought to develop in a manner biblically defensible. Interestingly, the statement as voted has room for both a baseline equality of men and women, even while honoring distinct, differentiated, creation-assigned sex-roles.

As earlier mentioned, here already is a trend away from the position of the chapter in WIM and toward a more biblical one. Not only has the world church never indicated progress toward the position of the WIM book, but here is seen movement away from that position. We concur that there is a kind of biblically consistent ordination, there is a royal priesthood in which we as believers participate, and at the same time, there are roles which are Scripturally mediated by specific qualifications.

We encourage church members to continue to lift up TOSC participants in prayer. We have added the TOSC consensus statement to our growing list of resources available on OrdinationTruth.com. Download it here:

TOSC-Theology of Ordination Consensus Statement.

Junia the Apostle. Really?

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The July 2013 issue of Ministry magazine, a journal published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and mailed to clergy of all Christian denominations, contained an article by Nancy Vyhmeister, titled “Junia the Apostle” (pp. 6-9). The cover artwork features an image of a smiling woman, presumably and supposedly a representation of this “apostle.” If you have never heard this person (Junia) described as a female apostle before now, you are not alone. However, among those endeavoring to find support for women to serve in male-sex specific roles, it is no new idea that this person must have been a female apostle.

Pastor Mike Lambert received his copy of Ministry this month, too (all Seventh-day Adventist clergy are mailed a copy of the magazine each month). When he saw the cover and its claim, he investigated. The brief article that follows here is pastor Lambert’s frank reaction to the arguments offered. FIND IT HERE.