South Pacific Perspectives on Ordination: Biblical, Theological and Historical Studies in an Adventist Context

291 Pages·2015·8.64 MB·English

by  Graeme J. Humble

South Pacific
Perspectives on
ORDINATION
Biblical, Theological and
Historical Studios
in an Adventist Coonnttext
8DITED BV
Graeme J Humble
and Robert K Mclver
Avondale
South Pacific Perspectives on
Ordination
Biblical, Theological and Historical Studies
in an Adventist Context
Edited by
Graeme J. Humble and Robert K. Mclver
Avondale Academic Press
Cooranbong NSW
2015
Copyright © 2015 Remains with authors
Avondale Academic Press
PO Box 19
Cooranbong NSW 2265
Australia
Cover design: Ann Stafford
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-publication entry
Title: South Pacific perspectives on ordination : biblical, theological and
historical studies in an Adventist context / Graeme J. Humble and Robert
K. Mclver.
ISBN: 9780958159128 (paperback)
ISBN: 9780958159135 (ebook : Kindle)
Subjects: Seventh-day Adventist Church. South Pacific Division.
Ordination—Seventh-day Adventists.
Ordination of women—Seventh-day Adventists.
Ordination-History of doctrines-Middle Ages, 600-1500.
Other Creators/Contributors:
Humble, Graeme J. (Graeme John), 1954- editor.
Mclver, Robert K. (Robert Kerry), 1953- editor.
Dewey Number: 262.146732
3
Contents
Part 1: May Women be Ordained as Gospel Ministers?
Chapter 1: “Women’s Ordination: Why Not!?”
Ray C. W. Roennfeldt.................................................................................
Chapter 2: A Biblical and Historical Reflection on the Theology of Ordina­
tion and Whether Women May be Ordained as Ministers in the Seventh-
day Adventist Church
David Tasker...................................................................................... 26
Chapter 3: The Ordination of Women: A Biblical-Theological Introduction
David Thiele.......................................................................................... 44
Part 2: Biblical Studies
Chapter 4: The Language of Appointment to Offices and Roles in Scripture
H. Ross Cole....................................................................................... 75
Chapter 5: A Biblical Theology of Ordination
Kayle de Waal........................................................................................ g7
Part 3: Historical Studies
Chapter 6: The Problem of Ordination: Lessons from Early Christian His­
tory
Darius Jankiewicz....................................................................................101
Chapter 7: The Lord Has Ordained Me”: Ellen G. White’s Perspective
John Skrzypaszek.....................................................................................
Part 4: Theological Studies
Chapter 8: The Authority of the Christian Leader
Darius Jankiewicz...................................................................................155
Chapter 9: Should Ordination Be Considered a Sacrament in the Seventh-
day Adventist Church? An Evaluation in the Light of the Biblical Data
Wendy A. Jackson...................................................................................1 go
Part 5: Moving Forward
Chapter 10: Looking Back, Going Forward
Geoffrey Madigan...................................................................................211
Chapter 11: “Lifeworlds” of Seventh-day Adventist Female Pastors
Drene Somasundram...............................................................................221
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Chapter 12: Reflections on the Ordination of Local Church Departmental
Leaders
Ronald G. Stone.......................................................................................248
Chapter 13: “Temple of God” Ecclesiology and an Adventist Theology of
Ordination
Peter S. Marks..........................................................................................254
Chapter 14: Moving Forward in Unity
Barry D. Oliver........................................................................................271
Appendix
Theology of Ordination: Report of the Biblical Research Committee South
Pacific Division
November 2013.......................................................................................285
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List of Contributors and Editors
Barry D. Oliver, PhD. President, South Pacific Division of Seventh-day
Adventists
Darius Jankiewicz, PhD. Chair, Theology & Christian Philosophy Depart­
ment, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews Univer­
sity, MI
David Tasker, PhD. Field Secretary, South Pacific Division of Seventh-day
Adventists (2010-2014); Senior Lecturer, Avondale Seminary (2015-)
David Thiele, PhD. Dean (2008-2013) and Associate Professor, School of
Theology, Pacific Adventist University
Drene Somasundram, DPS. Chaplain, Faculty of Arts, Nursing and Theol­
ogy, Avondale College of Higher Education
Geoffrey Madigan, PhD. Retired. Past-President, Avondale College (1990-
2003)
Graeme J. Humble, DIS. Dean (2014) and Adjunct Associate Professor
(2015-), School of Theology, Pacific Adventist University. Field Secre­
tary and Director of Adventist Mission, South Pacific Division of Sev­
enth-day Adventists (2015-).
John Skrzypaszek, DMin. Director, Ellen G. White/SDA Research Centre;
Lecturer, Avondale Seminary.
Kayle de Waal, PhD. Senior lecturer, School of Theology, Avondale College
of Higher Education (2009-2014); Head of Avondale Seminary (2015-)
Peter S. Marks, MA. Retired Instructor in English Language, Sahmyook
University, Seoul
Ray C. W. Roennfeldt, PhD. President, Avondale College of Higher Educa­
tion
Robert K. Mclver, PhD. Associate Professor, Avondale Seminary; Director,
Spirituality and Research Centre Avondale College of Higher Education
Ronald G. Stone, PhD. Ministerial Association Secretary, Trans Pacific Un­
ion Mission of Seventh-day Adventists
H. Ross Cole, PhD. Senior Lecturer, Avondale Seminary (2004—2014)
Wendy A. Jackson, MBChB, FRACP, MDiv. Lecturer, Avondale Seminary
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Introduction
This book is about aspects of ordination to gospel ministry and it pro­
vides both academic and missional insights from a Seventh-day Adventist
perspective in the South Pacific region. Most of the chapters were commis­
sioned by the Biblical Research Committee of the South Pacific Division of
Seventh-day Adventists (SPD) and were written by Adventist academics.
They will be of keen interest to Seventh-day Adventist readers, but others
also may well be interested in what is said. All Christians revere the Bible
and share in common the history of the early church. Thus the papers dealing
with the biblical data regarding ordination and the history of the develop­
ment of the concept are of general applicability. Furthermore, those chap­
ters that deal with the issue of whether the Seventh-day Adventist Church
should make it possible to ordain women into the Gospel Ministry will find
resonance in the internal dialogues of many other Christian denominations.
The predominantly ex-Millerites who eventually formed themselves into
the Seventh-day Adventist Church came from a wide variety of backgrounds,
including Methodism and the Christian Connection. Almost all of them had
experienced rejection by their own denominations because they, along with
other Millerites, had been forecasting and actively looking for the return of
Jesus in 1844. As a result, they carried within their ranks a deep distrust
of denominational organization. But the sheer practicalities of managing a
growing religious movement led to the gradual adoption of organizational
practices of one kind or another, including the ordination of ministers. It
was a very practical response to the problem of identifying those itinerant
ministers and evangelists who could be trusted by local churches associated
with the “Third Angel’s Message,” and those who could not.
From time to time the leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church have
given consideration to the meaning and purpose of Gospel Ministry. In­
deed, the last quinquennium has seen a concerted effort by the world Church
to study the practice of ordination. Consistent with other developments
around the issue of ordination in the Adventist Church, this period of study
has been brought about by a very practical issue—whether the Adventist
Church should allow women to be ordained into gospel ministry. Each
of the Biblical Research Committees in the world-wide Divisions of the
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Church were invited to produce papers which addressed: (a) the biblical
and theological foundations for ordination to ministry; and (b) the question
whether the Adventist Church should allow women to be ordained as min­
isters of the gospel. The chapters in this book, with the exception of those
by Geoffrey Madigan and Peter Marks, were commissioned by the Biblical
Research Committee of the South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Ad­
ventist Church to assist it in its study of the two questions it had been given
to investigate. The report from the Biblical Research Committee of the
South Pacific Division to the Theology of Ordination Study Committee set
up by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to make a recom­
mendation on the matter of ordaining women is included in the Appendix.
The chapter by Peter Marks had been submitted to the BRC for consider­
ation, and it was decided to include it because of its relevance to the wider
topic of ordination, and to indicate some of the breadth of perspectives that
were considered by the BRC in their investigation of the topic of ordination.
The edited version of a sermon delivered by Geoffrey Madigan was recom­
mended to the editors by Barry Oliver as a helpful way to frame the concrete
proposals and recommendations found in the section, “Moving Forward.”
The editors would like to thank the contributors for the seriousness with
which they had addressed the questions they had been allocated, to the aca­
demic referees for their willingness to take on the extra burden of referee­
ing the chapters they had been allocated (all of the chapters, except that by
Geoffrey Madigan, were refereed), and the officers of the SPD for under­
writing the costs of publication of this book.
This book goes to print just weeks before the General Conference of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church meets in session to discuss amongst other
things the idea that each Division be given the prerogative to determine and
make provisions at is may deem appropriate within its territory for the ordi­
nation of men and women to the gospel ministry. Our prayers are with the
delegates to this session as they consider this and other important matters of
church policy.
Graeme J. Humble and Robert K. Mclver
18 June 2015
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