Ordination

[Gregory Matthews]

Female Ordination is the focus of the following extensive article that discusses the history of the SDA Church as it has considered whether or not women should be ordained as clergy.

https://spectrummagazine.org/views/analysis/memories-of-the-persistence-and-failure-of-the-adventist-womens-ordination-movement/

 

[Joe Knapp]

On 3/14/2025 at 12:27 PM, Gregory Matthews said:

Female Ordination is the focus of the following extensive article that discusses the history of the SDA Church as it has considered whether or not women should be ordained as clergy.

https://spectrummagazine.org/views/analysis/memories-of-the-persistence-and-failure-of-the-adventist-womens-ordination-movement/

 

I sincerely hope they do not try to bring this up at the next GC meeting in St. Louis. I can tell you the world church is tired of this issue.

My position has always been, that the world church does not want this. It would cause harm to our denomination. I can tell you as a Lay Evangelist, it would hinder our evangelism in SE Asia.

 

[Gregory Matthews]

* For a number of years, Ellen White carried the SDA credentials of an Ordained Minister.  People today argue as to whether or not   she was ordained, but she  had the credentials and was so listed in official SDA records.  Is that a problem in SE Asia?  Where was God in this?

*  Presently,  SDA Women are being ordained in some areas of the world.  Is that a problem in SE Asia?

* Some believe that the real Biblical issue is spiritual leadership and not ordination.  IOW, should women pastor SDA congregations.  Well, they do.  Is that a problem in SE Asia?

*  In some places female pastors are Commissioned, rather than Ordained.  Does that minor word change make a difference to the issue of female leadership.

*  During WW II, in one country, all male SDA pastors were removed from their congregation, with one exception of an elderly pastor, and placed in government service.  Two females led out in evangelism in that nation, and brought many hundreds of people into SDA membership.  Was their spiritual leadership a violation of the Word of God?

* OK, so some SDAs feel that what we may want to do is offensive to the Word of God, are they willing to forgo practices that we may find to be offensive?

[Joe Knapp]

Gregory, there is a big difference between having some women do exceptional work in some areas and having the institution endorse women's ordination.

[Joe Knapp]

 

19 hours ago, Gregory Matthews said:

  Presently,  SDA Women are being ordained in some areas of the world.  Is that a problem in SE Asia?

Rebellious people are in every organization. So it is not now a problem. 

[Gregory Matthews]

Do you understand why they are being ordained?  They are being ordained because the Constitution of the Union Conferences gives the Unions the right to determine who should be ordained.  IOW, in those Conferences the General Conference does not have the right to tell them that they cannot ordain women.  From that perspective, they are not in rebellion.  Rather it is the General Conference that is in rebellion.