Prove All Things:
A Response to Women In Ministry
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An Appeal for a Biblical Stand on Women's Ordination
[A four-page document prepared for delegates to the Utrecht General Conference Session]
Dear Delegate to the 1995 General Conference Session:
At this GC session, you will be urged by selected administrators to vote that Divisions may independently choose to ordain women to the gospel ministry.
The initiative for this proposal has come from the North American Division (NAD) in response to pressure from a relatively small group of influential professionals.
You may be encouraged to learn that in spite of 20 years of campaigning, over 80% of churches in the NAD continue to recognize that ordaining women elders is not biblical and have not ordained them. Many NAD leaders and the vast majority of believers are not asking for the change.
Believing that the approval of this administrative request will seriously undermine the authority of Scripture and the unity of the Seventh-day Adventist message and witness, the editorial board of Adventists Affirm, along with other scholars and church leaders, have prepared this document for your prayerful consideration.
Two Bases for SDA Unity
The unity of the world-wide Seventh-day Adventist movement is one of the wonders of the world. We are unified because--
(1) our doctrines are based exclusively on the Bible. We have demanded a "plain thus saith the Lord" for all our "teachings and practices" (see The Great Controversy, p. 595.)
We are united also because--
(2) under the inspired leadership of God's chosen messenger, we have developed a unique system of organization that binds us together in churches, Conferences, Unions, and Divisions.
Part of this unity, based on the Bible, is that our Church Manual affirms "the equality of the ordination of the entire ministry" (1990, p. 38). The SDA Minister's Manual, 1992, p. 79 says that "ordination to the ministry is the setting apart of the employee to a sacred calling, not for one local field alone but for the world church."
Tragically, the NAD proposal involves a deep modification in both of these aspects of our unity.
Where Both Sides Agree
Both sides agree that--
1. Men and women are equal, equally created by God in His image and equally saved by the "precious blood" of Jesus (Genesis 1:26, 27; Galatians 3:28; 1 Peter 1:19).
2. Both men and women have been called to soul-winning ministry, to utilize their skills and spiritual gifts (Joel 2:28, 29; 1 Corinthians 12).
3. God has called women to public service in SDA history as well as in Bible times.
4. Men and women should receive equal pay for equal work.
5. Ordination is the church's appointment and commissioning of individuals for assigned services.
Where We Disagree
The two sides disagree over--
1. Whether the Bible permits women to be "appointed and commissioned" as pastors and elders or whether the Bible prohibits it.
2. Whether the matter is merely cultural and administrative and can be settled by vote, or whether it is a biblical and theological issue, on which God calls us to obedience.
Our disagreement is not as to whether women can serve as pastors/elders, but as to whether God permits them to.
Is the Bible Silent on the Question?
No, it is not silent. The Bible states specifically, in two different places (1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:6), that a pastor/elder is to be "the husband of one wife."
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