Ordination study concludes with suggestions for “The Way Forward”
Baltimore, Maryland, United States—Leaders and members of the Adventist Church’s Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC) wondered aloud whether the fourth and final multiday session of the group would yield a consensus on the issue of ordaining women to ministry.
However, when TOSC chairman Artur Stele announced the results of an informal survey of the group of scholars, church administrators, pastors, and laypersons, three positions emerged from the data, with no position claiming a majority of the 95 votes received. Forty TOSC members identified as their first choice a position that “Each entity responsible for calling pastors be authorized to choose either to have only men as ordained pastors or to have both men and women as ordained pastors.” Thirty-two members favored a proposal that affirms the “practice of ordaining/commissioning only qualified men to the office of pastor/minister throughout the world church.” A third option, the first choice of 22 participants, stated, “Christ is the only head of the church,” noting that there is a “biblical pattern of male leadership, under the headship of Christ, in the office of the ordained minister.” But this option also added that “we recommend that denominational leadership at a proper level be authorized to decide, based on biblical principles, whether such an adaptation [permission to ordain both men and women] may be appropriate for their area or region.”
General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson spoke to committee members after the poll results were announced by Stele. “As we move forward with this process, I’m asking that we each act with humility—not authoritatively or in an overbearing manner,” Wilson urged. “We should do all things in the spirit of Jesus.” Wilson also thanked participants for an action they voted unanimously earlier in the day. TOSC members acted “to affirm that in spite of the differences of opinion on the subject of women’s ordination, the members of the Theology of Ordination Study Committee are committed to the message and mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as expressed through the 28 Fundamental Beliefs.”
“We will be very open and fair in the way we approach the handling of this matter,” Wilson assured the committee as he sketched key stages the church will follow in the months ahead. The matter will be placed on the agenda of the denomination’s Annual Council convening in Silver Spring, Maryland, October 9–14, 2014. General Conference leaders have promised to make all materials from the recent study process and supplemental documents available in advance to the 300-plus members of the GC Executive Committee, which decides what to recommend to the church’s quinquennial General Conference session planned for San Antonio, Texas, to be held in July 2015.
“The results of today’s poll shouldn’t dictate any outcomes for the world church, but they should be given their appropriate weight,” said TOSC vice chair Geoffrey Mbwana, also a vice president of the church. “No one should quickly say, ‘This is all a clear matter.’ All that is really clear at this moment is that we have strong differences about the matter of ordaining women to ministry.” TOSC leaders saw the survey as an evaluation tool to determine whether consensus had developed in the committee, which the results showed had not happened.
The TOSC group’s assignment was to do an in-depth study and analysis of the subject of ordination with input from world divisions of the church. Karen Porter, TOSC secretary and assistant secretary of the world church, underlined the value of the study. “What we’ve experienced here could be an important template for the world church as it considers other international issues,” she said. “We’ve learned lessons of both kinds—what works, and what doesn’t—and we’re all better for having spent so many days and hours listening to people we may not always agree with.”
Stele also praised the spirit of committee members as the 24-month study process concluded. He suggested that the fourth session had probably been more positive because of the greater amount of time spent in caucuses and working groups instead of plenary presentations. “Though we’ve had challenging and difficult discussions at times, we’ve developed a camaraderie—a respect for each other—during the last two years,” he said. “A large majority of participants learned to trust each other as they prayed together, ate meals together, and talked in the hallways. This is the first truly global study process on this issue that has ever been attempted. It’s been gratifying to see and feel how much this unique process has built up mutual understanding and better relationships.”
As the Wednesday session ended, Wilson urged committee members to keep the mission of the church in focus. He said, “We may not yet see just where the Spirit is taking us on this issue, but we firmly believe that God will open the way for His church to fulfill its mission of proclaiming the three angels’ messages to the world.” [Adventist Review]
Adventist Church overhauls North American publishing operations
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States—The Review and Herald and the Pacific Press publishing houses have approved the biggest restructuring in Adventist publishing’s 153-year history, embracing a plan that Adventist leaders hope will strengthen the church’s American digital presence and ensure the long-term viability of its publishing work.
Constituency meetings of the two corporations, held consecutively on June 17 at the denomination’s world headquarters, voted 153–66 (Review and Herald) and 42–1 (Pacific Press) in favor of the restructuring.
The General Conference Executive Committee had previously endorsed the restructuring together with the church’s North American Division (NAD). Operating boards of both Review and Herald and Pacific Press voted to recommend the plan to each constituency during their respective board meetings held on May 8. Under the plan, the expanded Pacific Press will become an institution of the NAD.
“The General Conference wants the greatest expansion of publishing work in the North American Division (NAD) and will be praying that this new restructured approach will be blessed by God in its outreach to the vast public in the NAD territory,” said world church president Ted N.C. Wilson. He urged church members to rally “to the great opportunity of sharing Adventist evangelistic and nurturing materials in both printed and digital form as we anticipate Christ’s soon return.”
Under the restructuring, the financially troubled Review and Herald Publishing Association (RHPA) will unwind operations at its 80-acre facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, in a process that could take several months to accomplish. Some employees and assets may be transferred to the Pacific Press Publishing Association, based in Nampa, Idaho, which will become the North American Division’s major institution with its own printing facilities. Unneeded Review and Herald equipment and property will be sold, with the proceeds going to Pacific Press to help strengthen the print operations by allowing presses to run multiple shifts, making the print production more cost effective. The capital will also bolster its mandate to develop e-books, apps, and other forms of digital media.
Under the restructuring, Pacific Press became an institution of the North American Division following the June 17 vote, while the General Conference will retain a constituency structure for the Review and Herald, as one of its institutions whose scaled-down operations will move to its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, a 90-minute drive from its current site. Delbert Baker, chairman of the Review and Herald and a General Conference vice president, underscored that the Review and Herald would continue its ministry, albeit at a different location and, without its printing presses, with a different focus. “A most encouraging reality is that the RHPA will continue its historic publishing mission at the General Conference headquarters uninterrupted,” he said.
Dale Galusha, president of Pacific Press Publishing Association, vowed that Pacific Press would honor all Review and Herald magazine contracts, including Message, Insight, and Guide. “We will make sure that promises are fulfilled,” he said. Pacific Press’s digital strategy also remains in the early stages, but the company will be expected to add to its line-up some of the approximately 30 book titles that Review and Herald published every year.
The General Conference, which allowed Pacific Press and Review and Herald to operate as stand-alone businesses without direct financial assistance, has acted as an unofficial publishing house without its own presses for years. It employs an editorial staff of 40 to 50 people who manage a variety of publications, including Adventist Review, Adventist World, KidsView, Ministry, Journal of Adventist Education, Elders’ Digest, the Sabbath School study guides, and materials for the church’s Biblical Research Institute. Even though writings by Adventist church cofounder Ellen White are printed by both Pacific Press and Review and Herald, their publisher is the Ellen G. White Estate, an entity closely associated with the General Conference. [Adventist Review/ Andrew McChesney]
