Questions and Answers | Women Ministry Truth

If the Spirit has gifted a woman to preach, who are we to stop her ordination?

Preaching does not require ordination. Preaching is a spiritual gift, and no one is asking that women be forbidden to preach, either to the church or the world.

Isn’t it a positive evidence that women are called to be ordained when they experience success in soul-winning?

It is entirely possible for an ordained woman to have an outwardly successful preaching ministry and still not be sent of God.

Isn’t defending gender roles from Scripture just like defending slavery from Scripture?

Unlike slavery and social class distinctions, which are human institutions, sex and gender roles were created by God

Are altered versions of Ellen White’s writings being circulated to make it seem she supported women’s ordination?

A significantly altered quotation was circulated in an effort to make it appear that Ellen White supported the ordination of women.

Would voting for a regional option create legal problems for the church?

Suppose a woman who is hired and ordained as a minister in one conference desires to pastor in another conference that does not recognize women’s ordination.

Because our women haven't been ordained, has our church undervalued their work and treated them unfairly?

Our church has not handled the pay and hiring issues fairly. Mrs. White protested such unfairness in her own time. But her remedy was not to ordain women, but to treat them justly ...

Does Ellen White warn against seeking a role or “sphere” different from the one we're assigned by God?

A neglect on the part of woman to follow God's plan in her creation, an effort to reach for important positions which He has not qualified her to fill, leaves vacant the position that she could fill to acceptance.

Did Ellen White urge the church to ordain women?

To the Gospel ministry and as elders? No.

Didn't Mrs. White encourage women to participate in the work of the church?

Yes, she did. Noting a “sphere” in which God had called and equipped women to work, she called for greater involvement.

Didn't Ellen White have a position of authority in the church?

She specifically rejected the idea of a leadership position in the church.

What is Ellen White's relationship to this issue? Was she ever ordained?

Ellen White was never ordained.

What has been the experience of churches that have ordained women as priests or pastors?

Some denominations have endured quarrels and divisions over appointing women ministers. For some this has involved forming new churches or even denominations.

Was the Biblical exclusion of women from elder-pastor roles a consequence of a prevailing patriarchal, “male-chauvinist” culture and mentality?

No. The culture of the time permitted women to serve as priests.

Why should the Seventh-day Adventist Church resist pressure to eliminate role distinctions between men and women?

Contrary to Christians who interpret the Creation story as a poetic description of the evolutionary process, Adventists accept as factual the account of the six days of Creation.

What does the New Testament actually say about women in elder-pastor leadership roles?

I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent

What does the Bible teach regarding the role of women in the church?

The Bible presents women as full participants with men in the religious and social life of the church.

Is the authority of the Bible really such an important issue for Seventh-day Adventists?

What issue is more important to Seventh-day Adventists than the authority of the Bible?

Why is the issue of the ordination of women as elders or pastors of such crucial importance for the Seventh - day Adventist Church at this time?

The New Testament expresses its teaching on the role of women in the church in theological terms, basing it on interpretation of earlier Bible passages.