The Church has Moved Toward a Decision on Women’s Ordination. Will it Culminate at the 2015 GC Session?

The Church has Moved Toward a Decision on Women’s Ordination. Will it Culminate at the 2015 GC Session?
Story by Beth Michaels, Photograph by Viviene Martinelli

The General Conference (GC) Executive Committee at the church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., during the 2014 Annual Council last month, took one day to discuss, pray and vote on the issue of women’s ordination. Three possible positions on the subject voted at a June meeting of the Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) were thought to be the launch point for the day’s discussion. Lacking consensus, the committee instead proposed a multi-faceted question, which by day’s end, earned a vote of 243 in favor and 44 against that they will push through to the 2015 GC Session in July, which sets policy for the entire world church:

“Whereas, The unity for which Jesus prayed is vitally important to the witness of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and;

“Whereas, The Seventh-day Adventist Church seeks to engage every member in its worldwide mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ among people from every nation, culture and ethnicity, and;

“Whereas, Various groups appointed by the General Conference and its divisions have carefully studied the Bible and Ellen G. White writings with respect to the ordination of women and have not arrived at consensus as to whether ministerial ordination for women is unilaterally affirmed or denied, and;

“Whereas, The Seventh-day Adventist Church affirms that ‘God has ordained that the representatives of His Church from all parts of the earth, when assembled in a General Conference Session, shall have authority’

“Therefore, The General Conference Executive Committee requests delegates in their sacred responsibility to God at the 2015 General Conference Session to respond to the following question:

“After your prayerful study on ordination from the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, and the reports of the study commissions, and;

“After your careful consideration of what is best for the Church and the fulfillment of its mission,

“Is it acceptable for division executive committees, as they may deem it appropriate in their territories, to make provision for the ordination of women to the gospel ministry? Yes or No”[.]

How did we get here? Click to the next page to see.

How Did We Get Here?

That July vote could put an end to, or further prolong, a debate on the issue, which has plagued the church for many years. Minutes and official documents from GC sessions and administrative committees, as posted on the Office of Archives, Statistics and Research website, reveal that the matter of women’s ordination has been studied and discussed in the Adventist Church for more than 130 years.

Some of the greatest impact on the issue has occurred in the past five years, including actions by the North German Union, Columbia Union and Pacific Union to affirm women in ministry in their territories. Although some in the church fear their decisions superceded the unified action of the world church, it did spark a more formal discussion that many members feel is considerably overdue. “Our committee consists of loyal Adventists who respect and are wholly committed to advancing the mission and message of our church,” wrote Columbia Union officers in the special July 2012 Visitor article titled “Why We’re Advocating for Women’s Ordination.” Because the church believes “authority rests in the membership,” they see the issue as a teaching moment for the church.

In most recent months, many agree that the divisive issue has boiled down to the definition of headship. In August faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University (Mich.) published a seven-page study on this definition. Titled “On the Unique Headship of Christ in the Church,” the document opens by unequivocally declaring that the church’s head, or leader, is no one other than Christ.

It revived strong feelings across the world church. While a group of 25 North American Adventist theologians and pastors appealed to seminary leaders to reconsider, emphasizing that God established the headship of man over woman in the Garden of Eden and says He desires to maintain that hierarchy, the faculty remained steadfast.

What Happens Now?

As members around the world await the vote of the 2,600 delegates at the upcoming GC Session in San Antonio, Texas, Columbia Union leaders suggest we follow the charge given by Ted Wilson, world church president, prior to the Annual Council meetings: to earnestly seek what the Bible says about ordaining women in ministry and to pray that church leaders will humbly follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance on the matter. The most recent release on the subject is the book Questions and Answers About Women’s Ordination, which tackles 151 common questions around the issue.

“In light of the fact that the discussion on women’s ordination has been given to the world church since 1990—and was not left with the unions as a number of experienced GC and union leaders believed it should have been—then it is a good thing that we are deliberating on it again,” states Dave Weigley, Columbia Union president. “It is encouraging and a significant point that the TOSC—which represents all divisions and individuals with variant viewpoints—did support allowing divisions to decide on women’s ordination by a two-thirds majority straw vote.”

He adds, “I am hopeful our members will study and pray, and that the world delegates in 2015 will be sensitive to the fact that we work in a very diverse world, where the mission of the church needs to be expressed effectively in each culture. There is unity in diversity.”