On the Inconsistency of Women's Ordination in the Advent Christian Denomination

The Advent Christian Minister’s Service Book.

“Why is there so much inconsistency within the Advent Christian denomination when it comes to the ordination of women?”

This question came to mind recently while watching a live podcast episode of Bible Banter that had Dr. Mark Woolfington on as a guest for the topic of discussion: Ordination Standards.

The broad discussion was centered around what ordination standards are in place currently, what should change, and what is needed in ordination standards for Advent Christians. As I was listening and watching, I made a comment about the need for consistency in ordination standards, which led to more discussion on the need for a commonly identified theological foundation in order to build more consistent ordination standards.

Thinking about the inconsistent ordination standards, methods, processes, and practices got me thinking more. I recalled a conversation I had with an Advent Christian pastor about women being ordained. This pastor did not believe that women should be ordained, and he stated that the crucial part for women seeking ordination would be to find those who would sign their ordination certificate. In so many words, if I ever wanted to seek ordination, I would have to seek it in an Advent Christian conference or region that was accepting of ordaining women. I would have to find people to “sign off” on my hypothetical ordination.

The kicker? Not all Advent Christian conferences are accepting of women being ordained.

So, the work falls on the women to not only navigate their ministerial calling, but also their geographical calling. There is further complexity in that a woman’s geographical calling (because one can certainly sense a call to minister in a certain city or state or region) may be hindered by the very conference in which she is seeking ordination. In other words – a woman may feel called to minister in “X” town in “X” state, at a church that is a member of “X” conference; but that conference may not allow her to pursue ordination, or there may be difficult obstacles to overcome in order to achieve ordination for that woman, rather than those obstacles faced by a man.

So, some Advent Christian conferences will ordain women, others will not. Within both, there may be some Advent Christian churches who will accept a female pastor, and others that will refuse. There are some Advent Christians who will fight against the ordination of women, and others who accept it or are simply not bothered by it.

The pieces of advice that I offer to readers include the following:

1.       Learn about the historical precedent for women’s ordination in the Advent Christian denomination.

I’ve devoted a good portion of my education to researching the role of women in the Advent Christian denomination. This is primarily because, in case you weren’t aware, I am indeed a woman in the Advent Christian denomination. I love this denomination (or, General Conference, to be technically correct), and I love our history. I think it is important to recognize and acknowledge the historical precedent for women’s ordination, and women’s involvement in leadership throughout the history of the Advent Christian denomination. The Millerites, our theological ancestors here in America, were unique at the time because of the active leadership roles that women had in the movement. The Millerites, and the forthcoming Advent Christians, saw the value that women could add to the movement, and to the denomination itself when it became more organized. We cannot forget this history; because when we ignore the voices of women in history, the voices of those women become lost and are difficult to find again.

I’ve written several articles related to the history of female leadership in the denomination, and a couple of articles on individual women in our history. You can read about women in Advent Christian history, Abigail Mussey, Rev. Mrs. Miriam McKinstry (part one and part two), and a brief look at what Advent Christian publications were saying at the time of the Women’s Suffrage movement. There are many other places to find more information, some of which are cited as references in these articles.

2.       Think through the issue of women’s ordination and come to your own conclusion.

I am unashamedly egalitarian, meaning I support the ordination of women and women being pastors of churches, and I find solid biblical support for it in my reading of Scripture. The other popular position is complementarian, meaning that someone who classifies themselves and their beliefs as such does not find biblical support for the ordination of women.

I believe it is important for thinking Christians to come to their own conclusions in studying this topic. I can certainly provide my favorite books and resources for the egalitarian position, as I have spent time and years of my education developing my position. But I admittedly cannot offer similar resources for the complementarian position, honestly because I have not found any that I could confidently recommend. Instead I offer a resource that will present both sides of the argument: a book called Across the Spectrum. This book is helpful for looking at divided issues such as women in ministry, as multiple sides of the argument are presented, as well as rebutted by the opposing side. I found this book incredibly useful throughout my education.

There are other similar works in a series published by Zondervan, called the Counterpoints Series. Each book has the same format of presenting various sides of an argument or topic, and then allowing each author presenting their argument to rebut the others. Here is a comprehensive list of the series on ChristianBook.

3.       Determine if, based on your convictions, you can support a female friend or acquaintance seeking ordination.

If you have a female friend, or even fellow church member, make it known to know that they sense a call to ministry in their life, can you support them? Will you support their call? I can tell you that it is difficult for women to tell the men in their churches and in their Christian social circles that they sense such a call to ministry. It can be intimidating. Most often, women who are called to the ministry are already dealing with a certain level of internal turmoil regarding their call. The message of “women can’t do that” is quite prevalent in Christian society, both overtly and subtly, and that message has been ingrained in the narrative for so many women.

So, if your female friend trusts you enough to tell you of this call to ministry that they sense in their life, what do you do? What do you say? What do you not say or do? What are you thinking about? Do you laugh? Do you smile and nod and wait to get out of the conversation? Do you offer support? Or, do you state that you may not agree with your friend’s perspective on women’s ordination, but you will support them by listening and offering prayer?

4.       Determine if, based on your convictions, you could approve of a female friend or acquaintance being ordained and receiving credentials.

If you cannot in good conscience serve on a ministerial committee for a woman seeking ordination due to your convictions, what do you do next? Could you recommend someone else to support that woman? Would you recommend that they seek ordination in another conference? What if this woman senses a call to serve in a particular church or conference?

I’ve known women who lost friends because they chose to follow God’s call on their lives and seek ordination. I’ve known women who turned that loss of friendship into a drive to succeed, and they are doing incredibly well now. I’ve known women who chose to turn around and not seek ordination, or even a job in ministry, out of fear of losing friends. I’ve known women who abandoned their call, or even their ministerial education, because they did not have support.

If you know of a woman who is seeking ordination, but cannot in your own conscience and Scriptural understanding support her ordination yourself, how can you support her? How do you encourage her? Do you wish for her success?

5.       How does this inconsistency regarding the ordination of women in the Advent Christian denomination affect the women in our churches, ordination-seeking or not?

Supporting women in ministry is not necessarily the same as supporting the ordination of women. But they are in the same vein. All women in your church who serve in any kind of leadership position (deaconess, elder, teacher, coordinator, administrator) are by definition a woman in ministry. If your church says that they support women in ministry, does your leadership team reflect that? If your leadership team says that it values the voices and opinions of women, do they have a seat at the table?

I would argue that both aspects mentioned, support of women in ministry and support of women’s ordination, impact the women in our churches.

If I visit a church that is supporting of women in ministry, but there are no women serving in leadership roles, what does that say to me?

If I visit a church that is supporting of women’s ordination, but there is talk of women “staying in their place” or women “not belonging in the pulpit” from church leadership, what does that say to me?

In conclusion, I have my fair share of experiences as a woman in the church. When I add on top of that the fair share of experiences as a woman in seminary, also now a woman in the Advent Christian Denomination who earned an M.Div.; there’s a lot to sift through. I’ve been encouraged by some, and diminished by others. I’ve been asked to preach a sermon in church, and asked if I think I deserve to preach the Word of God from the pulpit as a woman. I’ve led bible studies and taught adult Sunday School, and I’ve kept quiet in class as a student for fear of being “talked over” rather than being heard. I’ve been asked for my opinion on theological concepts and practices, and I’ve been told that I should be working in the church nursery.

Luckily, I consider myself blessed to have had wonderful and consistent support from those I am connected with in the Advent Christian Denomination, certainly when it comes to my academic endeavors. But I ask you to consider this: how do you support the women in your church communities? How do you support the educated women? The working mothers? The single women? The women who have suffered great loss? The women who are battling disease? The women seeking ministry experience? The women seeking ordination? The women who are simply there to be fed the Word of God?

I fell into ministry and ministerial education because of an all-consuming love of the Word of God, and studying the Word of God. This same Word of God I am convinced tells me that I am worthy and able to do the work of God from the pulpit should I choose or feel called to do so. In my case, I do not feel called to the pastorate or to ordination.

However, there may be women in your lives and in your churches who do. There may be women so consumed by their passion for the Word and preaching the Word, that they desire to do what you do, pastors. How will you support them, even if you do not agree with their interpretation of scripture on this topic?

I beseech you, pastors, love and support your entire congregation. There is inconsistency within the ordination standards and practices of the Advent Christian Denomination, and I fear that this may be inadvertently harming your ministry to the women in your churches.

I don’t have answers. I’m not as familiar with ordination standards and practices within the various conferences as I would like to be. What would the first step be? A unifying theological understanding of the topic? Ordaining only at the level of the local church rather than the conference? Implementing a streamlined ordination process across the denomination? Honestly, I don’t have an answer for you.

But I have a lot of questions, and a lot of observations. I think it’s time to ask the hard questions, and have the uncomfortable conversations.

Consider these things, and consider your beliefs on the ordination of women. Continue to love one another, and love the Word of God so much so that nothing but that guides your ministerial work.

Until next time, friends.