The Mess We’ve Made of Ordination
Can we set aside for a moment the great debate on should or should not women be ordained and acknowledge that the practice of ordination within the Seventh-day Adventist Church with or without women as a part of it is a mess?
In the New Testament the only real story of “ordination” I see takes place in Acts chapter 6. Here is what lead to that ordination: a need arose to feed widows so the Apostles could continue to study, teach, and pray, the Twelve Apostles called together the congregation of disciples and told them to choose “seven men of good reputation, full of wisdom, and of the Spirit…” (Acts 6:3) These disciples accepted the appeal chose seven, “And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.”
As I think of this story three thoughts come to my mind:
- The need for ordination arose out of a practical need within the church, not policy.
- This office, the Diaconate, that has had such a huge place in the context of the history of the church and the Twelve didn’t even choose those who were to be first ordained to this weighty service that we would squabble over for the life of the church. They entrusted this task to the congregation of disciples.
- When seven were chosen they prayed for them and then laid hands on them. It doesn’t seem like that much fanfare.
Ordination doesn’t seem to be so simple these days…
It also seemed quite simple at least as far as the requirements for ordination go in the early history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Read what James White stated just a year before the organization of our movement:
“In no way can a preacher so well prove himself, as in entering new fields…. If he be successful in raising up churches, and establishing them, so that they bear good fruits, he gives to his brethren the best proofs that he is sent of the Lord…If they cannot raise up churches … then certainly the cause of truth has no need of them, and they have the best reasons for concluding that they made a sad mistake when they thought that God called them to teach the third angel’s message.” -James White, Review and Herald. April 15, 1862
Wow! If only it were that uncomplicated now. “If they cannot raise up churches…then certainly the cause of truth has no need of them, and they have the best reasons for concluding that they made a sad mistake when they thought that God called them to teach the third angel’s message.” OUCH! James was a tough hombre!
I make the assumption though I don’t think it is a great leap that what Elder White was saying is that if a person couldn’t “bear fruit” i.e. get converts, “couldn’t raise up a church” i.e. get people to follow, then that person was not worthy to be ordained for the work of ministry. Very clean and simple.
Ordination doesn’t seem to be so simple these days…
At Southern Adventist University in one of the classes I took we had to memorize the following statement:
“Ordination is the public recognition through outward evidences of God’s inward calling on one’s life to the work of ministry.”
That seems rather clean and simple too.
But ordination doesn’t seem to be so simple these days…
In fact it’s not simple at all…it’s a mess!
Because no one seems to know what those outer evidences are, and how to asses them.
I’m now working in my third conference…
In my first conference in order to be ordained you had to do the following…well I won’t list all you had to do, because it was ridiculous…but I’ll share a few with you.
- Have a Masters in Divinity (not ridiculous but I think a dangerous requirement to have for all ordinations, an example of this later).
- Hold two evangelistic series. I think they have changed it to one now, which makes one wonder if it can be changed to one from two why would it even be a requirement in the first place. Of course one could argue that this would support James White’s premise of “bearing fruit” i.e. converts. One could argue that, except there was no stipulation on producing fruit, unless you count that you had to keep your handbill and any other materials from the meetings and put them in your portfolio.
- A third thing we were required to do was to show evidence of being able to lead a committee of some sort. One of the recommendations was if you were an associate that you would have the opportunity to chair a board a couple times (this is one of the things they request in my current conference as well). Cause there is nothing like chairing a board two or three times to show evidence you are ready for ordination.
- There were dozens of other steps that were asked of you as well. I still have a box full of bulletins, minutes, posters, etc., anything I could find to put into a portfolio so I’d have the opportunity to stand before many people, including many that had never met me, they would look through my portfolio interview me and then say, “yea” or “nay” to my ordination.
Ordination is a mess!
In my second conference I cannot honestly tell you what the process was, because prior to moving there one of the agreed upon points was that since I had already gone through the process of the previous conference I would not have to go through their process as well. I was grateful…though the day of my orientation into the conference I was given a book and told I needed to read it and submit a five page paper prior to being ordained. I never read the book and I never wrote the paper…I was still ordained.
Ordination is a mess!
In my third and current conference I am now a mentoring pastor assigned to help others prepare for ordination. Can I share with you a secret? I am having a hard time getting motivated to “mentor.” Not because I don’t like helping other pastors and growing with other pastors, mentoring is so often as beneficial if not more for the mentor as it is for the mentee. No I have a hard time getting motivated because they gave me a 124 page manual I am supposed to go through with my mentee’s and there are checklists they need to do in order to prepare for ordination. Things like do a baby dedication, run a board meeting, do a wedding, and then I’m supposed to talk them about these things and how they personally grew from the experience, a fine resource but of little value in assessing ones qualifications for ordination. Since when do weddings and baby dedications have anything to do with converts and raising up a church? The process I was told normally takes five to six years…ugh!
Ordination is a mess!
I have a friend that in the past 11 years has lead more than 1200 people to Jesus in North America, not counting overseas, and the conference he has been a part of won’t ordain him. Why? He doesn’t have a degree…well he has a high-school degree. When I was ordained I’d lead probably 75 or 80 people to Jesus. Shoot I haven’t even lead 1200 people to Jesus yet.
1200 converts/no degree = No ordination
75 converts/degree = ordination
Ordination is a mess!
Could it be we are fighting about ordination so much because we don’t really get it?
We just see this mess we know is important in some way and so we fight over it…
The New Testament: There was a need. There were people ready to do the ministry. They prayed. They ordained.
The early Advent movement: New field “bear fruit” converts. “Raise up a church” followers. Ordained. No converts, no followers, to quote James White,”the cause of truth has no need of them,” which I think it is safe to assume means no ordination.
Now there are dozens of conferences with dozens of different ways to determine who does and who doesn’t get to be ordained all the while we continue to ordain many ministers here in North America that have zero or next to zero baptisms year after year, no converts. Who lead churches that haven’t added a single person year after year, no followers. But hey they are ordained.
What a mess!
I pray that after we accept in San Antonio that God calls whom He calls regardless of gender, that we will then take the time to figure out how to determine whom He is actually calling.
If we don’t we’re just gonna have more people (men and women) jumping through the hoops of the ordination mess we’ve made.
Multifarious Thoughts on Women’s Ordination
I’ve jotted down some thoughts based on a response to a friend this week on the women’s ordination issue and then I just went a little crazy Seth Godin style (not that I am the genius of Seth Godin just his free flowing style):
Something to remember in regards to the women’s ordination decision at San Antonio this summer is that a “yes” vote isn’t forcing anyone to go along with the ordination of women. No church, no conference, no Union, no division will HAVE TO ordain female pastors with a “yes” vote.
A “no” vote actually does force people to go against their beliefs.
I can see how folk can be convicted that women should not be ordained. How can I see this? I see it because I see in the Bible that there is no absolute “yes” nor is there an absolute “no” to the ordination of women.
In the writings of Mrs. White there is no “Thus sayeth the Lord” either for or against the ordination of women (which by the way should say something to us when she has commentary on every issue under the sun…and above the sun too :)).
For these reasons I can understand why some would come to the conclusion against women’s ordination because in the absence of these absolutes from the Bible or Mrs. White people must come to a conclusion from a multitude of variables. And it would be arrogant to assume the variables that have lead me to my position should be the same for everyone else.
Can I ask my brothers and sisters that oppose women’s ordination, with the absence of a definitive “yes” or “no” in these two authoritative places, are you able to likewise see how I could get to my conviction?
Do you my friends and colleagues that see this position different than I do believe that I can be, that I am a Biblically faithful Seventh-day Adventist even if I believe women should be ordained? If your answer is “no” then we have of course no place to work from, because you’ve chosen to place ordination at a level I have not, at a salvific level. However, if your answer is “yes, I can see how you could come to a different conclusion on WO’s than I do.”
Not that you agree but you can see how I could reach the conclusion I’ve reached, absent of definitiveness in the Bible or the writings of Mrs. White.
If you can see this, and if you do believe I can be a Biblically faithful Adventist while still believing that women should be ordained; why wouldn’t it make sense to support a decision that would allow me and people like me to serve in conjunction with my convictions and would in no way force you or people like you or your church to operate outside of your convictions?
A “yes” vote on women’s ordination is the only vote that does not force anyone to practice ordination outside of their convictions. No individual. No local church. No conference. No union. No division. A “no” vote forces individuals. Local churches. Local conferences. Unions. Divisions to function outside of their convictions.
I don’t believe a “yes” vote should be cloaked in the framework of “a vote for unity.” It makes it sound like if we don’t vote “yes” then those of us that support women’s ordination will rebel.
I believe a “yes” vote should be cloaked for those in opposition to women’s ordination in the framework of “a vote for acceptance.” Not acceptance of women’s ordination personally, but acceptance of other Biblically faithful Adventist’s having a different conviction.
I believe more individuals in support of women’s ordination should also state their opposition to the ordination or acceptance of practicing LGBT clergy within our denomination. Not because I want to oppose something that isn’t even on the table, but because this is the accusation and scare tactic being used Stephen Bohr and others to undermine the cause of women’s ordination.
Do I deny that there are some that do have this agenda? Absolutely not! But the world should know the great majority of us in favor of women’s ordination in North America do NOT have this position that Elder Bohr and others are insinuating.
I wish that those in favor of WO would stop saying that if we don’t vote “yes” on this we are going to lose our young people. For one, we’ve already lost a majority of our young people and it has nothing to do with WO. For two, a large percentage of young people I’ve talked to and asked, “would you leave the church over this issue?” have said, “no. I wouldn’t be happy, but no I wouldn’t leave the church.” The other large percentage has said, “What are you talking about? 🙂 ”
I think the millennial mind is a unique thing none-of-us should speak definitively on! It is as bad of argument as all the baby boomers that have said to me, “If we want to get the young people we need this type of music.” Here is what the millennials say to that:
Blogger Amy Peterson put it this way “I want a service that is not sensational, flashy, or particularly ‘relevant.’ I can be entertained anywhere. At church, I do not want to be entertained. I do not want to be the target of anyone’s marketing. I want to be asked to participate in the life of an ancient-future community.”
Millennial blogger Ben Irwin wrote: “When a church tells me how I should feel (‘Clap if you’re excited about Jesus!’), it smacks of inauthenticity. Sometimes I don’t feel like clapping. Sometimes I need to worship in the midst of my brokenness and confusion — not in spite of it and certainly not in denial of it.”
The scare tactic of “we will lose our young people if we don’t ordain women” is just as bad as “this will open the door for LGBT clergy.” Both are not helpful to the discussion.
I believe everyone on both sides of the discussion should watch this sermon by my friend Kessia Reyne Bennett. She lays out well her position, a good position, “that it is not a woman’s right or anyone’s right to be ordained.” ORDINATION is NOT a RIGHT
A “yes” vote is the only vote that has the potential to make the statement: “we agree to disagree now lets move forward with mission.”
I’m afraid a “no” vote at this juncture will keep this issue alive another 5 or 10 years and thus continue to be a distraction to the mission of the church, at which point the next generation will vote “yes” but we will have already lost those 5 or 10 distracted years.
I say this not because I plan to go against the church if it votes “no” but I believe there is too much momentum in support of women’s ordination at this time and many will keep it alive ’till the General Conference in 2020 or 2025.
That said if the vote is “no” I pray for God to give those of us in favor of women’s ordination holy amnesia and silent lips, ’till it is time to set the agenda for General Conference 2020 and then kindly request again the World Church’s support of our conviction.
May God shock and humble us all in San Antonio!
Okay I’m done.
A Sincere Inquiry to Those Opposed to Women’s Ordination
I have heard the phrase used, “based on a plain reading of the text” many times by those that are standing in opposition to women’s ordination over the last few years. This phrase was was used by Clinton Wahlen in his TOSC position paper, it has been used in articles on the Ordination Truth website, on ADvindicate, and many other places. We’ll ignore for now the danger of the phrase without proper explanation or understanding, we as Adventists after all wouldn’t want anyone to live by a plain reading of Romans 14:1-9, but that is another discussion for another time.
Since this is a favorite phrase by those in opposition of women’s ordination my sincere inquiry is this, how do you apply the position “based upon the plain reading of the text” to Titus 1:5, 6?
“ For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion.”
I would like to know are we to apply the plain reading to all of verse 6? Or just the phrase regarding gender? If it is the latter wouldn’t that show that ones interpretation of these texts is really based on bias and not truly a “plain reading of the text”?
But if it is the former are those in opposition to women’s ordination truly ready to call for all ministers with children who are unbelievers, children who are accused of dissipation or rebellion to turn over their ordination credentials and cease serving as Pastors/Elders?
Such a move would not only effect those in favor of women’s ordination whom you may want to see removed from the ministry, it would also effect many of those opposed to WO. Some of the strongest voices against women’s ordination would after having won this debate “based on a plain reading of the text” have to resign their posts and take-up selling insurance or real estate.
So I ask in all sincerity are those in opposition to women’s ordination based on the “plain reading of the text” ready to ask some of their most vocal supporters, their favorite pastors to resign because they have children which have sadly abandoned Jesus and His Remnant Church?
Or
Are they willing to acknowledge that the position “based upon a plain reading of the text” truly only applies when we want it to apply?
Please help me understand how I am supposed to understand your application of “a plain reading of the text.”
Thank you.
Sometimes You Have to Ask More Than Once to Get to “Yes”
I have been married for 11 1/2 years, I would have never even made it to the wedding day though if I had not been persistent.
In the fall of 2000 I called Christina up on the phone and asked her if she would like to go out on a date with me and a few other friends of mine. It was going to be a double or triple date, I don’t remember exactly now; Christina’s answer, I do remember this exactly, “I’m sorry I can’t. I have a big test coming-up and I’ve committed to studying tonight.” Not aware at the time of Christina’s extreme commitment to graduate Summa Cum Laude all three times she graduated (yes you read that correctly) I saw this as a classic brush off.
In the winter of 2001 some friends were having a bonfire, my college Mom Kathy said, “you should bring,” and she named a girl…I said, “no I’m not really that into her, but I know who I’ll invite,” and I ran upstairs grabbed the Joker (Southern’s student directory) looked-up Christina’s room number and gave her call, Christina’s answer, “I’m sorry I’ve already made plans to hang-out with my roommate.” Again to me a classic brush-off.
Spring of 2001 I see Christina walking on the road in front of the gymnasium as I drive by, I swing my car around (I had been going in the opposite direction) roll down my window and ask,
“Hey do you need a ride?”
Christina answers, “I’m not going far.”
“That’s okay get in I’ll take you.” So Christina got in the car and I ask, “Where are you going?”
She pointed across the street…So I drive her 100 yards across the street…and that is the beginning of it all because…
A few weeks later after a Saturday night concert on campus Christina asked me if I wanted to go hang-out with some of her friends…I was less studious and more than willing to cast aside any plans I had with friends, so I said, “Sure I’ll go.”
I am fully convinced Christina would have never asked me that night to go and hang-out with her friends, if I had not asked her out twice and flipped a U to pick her up and drive her 100 yards across the street.
Persistence.
I wish more of us Christians had persistence! I believe if we did Jesus would have a lot more names written in The Book of Life. Each one of us should be consistently, persistently inviting people to our church, to study the Bible with us, to hang-out for the purpose of witnessing and serving these individuals, to pray with us or us for them, but many of us stop at the first “No.”
And not only do we stop at the first, “No” with that individual we often times let that one “No” stop us from also engaging any other individuals ever again.
In witnessing “No” is going to be more frequent than “yes,” but persistence pays off.
It paid off in my love life and I have seen it time and time again pay off in witnessing.
In fact last week an individual I have been developing a friendship with and inviting to connect with for more than 5 months called me and left the following message on my phone, “Hi Chad this is _______ I was wondering if you would still be willing to meet and study with me and my wife?”
What do you think my answer was?
Christians be persistent! Sometimes you have to ask more than once to get to “yes.”
I Miss My Friend!
I have a photo album, and on the inside cover of that album I wrote:
“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24)…I have four of them.”
And throughout the album are dozens and dozens (we’ve probably taken hundreds) of pictures just like this one:
That there will never be another photo of us five added to this album…breaks my heart!
21 years of the five of us. 21 years equals thousands of memories.
Today Scotty thought of a hand on his knee and remembered Chris, Greg thought of his bunny rabbit and remembered Chris, Aaron thought of a goat and remembered Chris, and I thought of bathtub cleaner and remembered Chris.
Chris made all these things funny and lasting memories. Who else can do that?
21 years equals thousands of memories…and there won’t be any more made with ALL The Ohio Boys…and my heart just can’t handle that yet.
Yesterday one of The Boys was tragically lost and thousands of memories that will one day bring me comfort, at this moment just leave me reeling.
There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother…I lost one…
8 Random Things I’m Looking Forward to In Our Move to Maryland
In the midst of the sadness of leaving California I am I’ve decided to focus on some of the random things I am really looking forward to about moving to Maryland. I do this, not to avoid my sadness, but as a reminder that there a little positives even in the most challenging of times.
So here are five realities that I am really looking forward to in our move to Maryland (these are completely unrelated to my new pastor position):
- Sleeping in my own king size bed. I know this is a first world problem and really quite superficial, but our bed has been in Maryland since November and I won’t lie, I miss it a lot!
- A return to running. My friend Rich from Academy is a superb runner and he has already committed himself to my wife and others to get me back into shape. His running skills and commitment to running are a motivation. So is losing weight…though after seeing the temps out there during the winter I may be tempted to keep the extra pounds on. 🙂 Just kidding Christina! I look forward to being able to lay down some serious miles again. Please pray, for no injuries!
- Ice baths. Yep you read that right! Ice baths. After a good long run I really like soaking in a great ice bath. Over the last 5 years+ we haven’t lived in a house with a bath tub, and I’ve sorta missed warm baths, but I’ve really missed ice baths. It hurts for the moment, but I always feel so much better after a run when I’ve taken an ice bath; so the hurt is worth it! Anyway, in our new house we have several bath tubs, so the ice baths will return.
- Eating in the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist’s headquarter cafeteria. I recently had the privilege of eating there and it truly was a privilege. One of the things I loved about college was the cafeteria, and being at the GC cafe was like a return to college, probably a little healthier, but the variety was great and so was the food!
- Museums, museums, museums. I love museums! And most of them are free!
- Lots of baseball stadiums in close proximity. My sons and I are going to love a day trip here and there to watch different teams play, along with some regular visits to the local teams (The Nationals and Orioles).
- History! Oh I love history. Battlefields, memorials, Boston, DC, New York, South Carolina, Richmond, etc., etc. If you love history come visit and we’ll go on a history tour together.
- Politics. I’ll admit it I am not at all bothered by being so near the thick of political action. My plan was to be a history major, become a lawyer, enter politics, move to DC and never leave. Well, God had other plans, of which I am grateful, but I still have my not so closeted love of political activity. I won’t discuss it with you anymore, but privately I will read and follow to my hearts content!
Yes, my heart is broken leaving California. When I moved here six years ago I truly thought I would never leave. But God’s will is perfect and His ways are always right so I trust Him and choose to look at all the positives including the little ones I mentioned above.
California I love you! Maryland I will love you too!