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INTRODUCTION AND GUIDELINES
The Theology of Ordination Study Committee is the result of a request made from the floor by a delegate at the 2010 General Conference Session. The General Conference administration later took that request to the General Conference Administrative Committee for approval of the theology of ordination study process on September 20, 2011.
The objective of the Theology of Ordination Study Committee should be to carefully and prayerfully follow the terms of reference with an aim of reaching consensus on as many points as possible.
The Theology of Ordination Study Committee will provide for a committee membership with a broad base of perspectives to allow the Holy Spirit to help bring about consensus as much as possible.
Since this is to be a “study committee,” the normal “voting” process will not be used to place positions or representatives against each other. Rather, the study approach will provide opportunity for one consensus report on items accepted by consensus. On items on which it will be impossible to reach consensus, various reports should be prepared which present the different viewpoints and their appropriate responses. Through strong prayer sessions, study of the Bible, study of the Spirit of Prophecy, and the resulting careful discussion, the Theology of Ordination Study Committee should focus on solutions that would support the message, mission, and unity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
In its study, the Theology of Ordination Study Committee will collaborate with the established division Biblical Research Committees (BRCs) and provide assistance to the BRCs with the comprehensive agenda to be reviewed. The Theology of Ordination Study Committee will receive reports from the division BRCs and can assign research papers and presentations to committee members and nonmembers to be reviewed by the Theology of Ordination Study Committee.
The Theology of Ordination Study Committee will meet approximately four times, concluding its work in June 2014. A Theology of Ordination Study Committee Steering Committee will provide for supervision of the process. The work of the study committee will be to provide as much complete information on its assigned topic as is possible to be reviewed by General Conference administration in June 2014, and then the complete report provided to the General Conference Executive Committee to be reviewed and discussed at the 2014 Annual Council. The 2014 Annual Council will decide on any items to be referred to the 2015 General Conference Session.
| Terms of Reference | Authority and Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Supervise the worldwide study of the theology of ordination and its implications, reviewing and analyzing data from the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. | Power to act. |
| Review the history of the study of ordination in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. | Power to act. |
| Develop a comprehensive agenda on the subject of theology of ordination and its implications for practices in the Seventh-day Adventist Church including the subject of ordination of women to the gospel ministry. | Power to act. |
| Receive (not later than December 31, 2013) and discuss reports from the division Biblical Research Committees concerning their division-wide studies and conclusions ensuring that division Biblical Research Committees address the comprehensive study agenda. | Power to act in consultation with division Biblical Research Committees. |
| Request studies or solicit papers from committee members and/or non-members when further study is deemed necessary. | Power to act. |
| Develop a Seventh-day Adventist theology of ordination to recommend to the 2014 Annual Council for consideration. | Power to act. |
| Submit to the 2014 Annual Council, through General Conference administration, the full report of the worldwide study indicating areas of consensus and areas where consensus has not been obtained with respect to the theology of ordination and its implications for practices in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. | Power to act. |
| In areas of disagreement, focus on potential solutions that support the message, mission, and unity of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. | Recommend to the General Conference Administrative Committee (ADCOM) (GCC-S). |
| Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Stele, Artur A, Chair Mbwana, Geoffrey G, Vice-chair Porter, Karen J, Secretary Boward, Tamara K, Recording Secretary [no vote] |
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| Arrais, Jonas Arrais, Raquel C Batchelor, Doug Bauer, Steve Beardsley-Hardy, Lisa Bischoff, Fred M Bohr, Stephen Brown, Gina S Brunt, John Ceballos, Mario E Chang, Shirley Clark, Chester V III Costa, Robert Damsteegt, Gerard Damsteegt, Laurel Davidson, Jo Ann M Davidson, Richard M de Sousa, Elias B Diop, Ganoune A |
Donkor, Kwabena Doss, Cheryl Fagal, William A Finley, Mark A Fortin, Denis Gothard, Doris M Haloviak-Valentine, Kendra Hasel, Michael Holmes, C Raymond Howard, James Hucks,Willie Jankiewiez, Darius Kent, Anthony R King, Gregory A Knott, Esther Knott,William M Koh, Linda Mei Lin Kuntaraf, Kathleen K H McLennan, Patty |
Mackintosh, Don Miller, Nick Mills, Phil Moon, Jerry Morris, Derek J Mueller, Ekkehardt F R Nelson, Dwight K Nix, James R Oberg, Chris Page, Janet Page, Jerry N Paulson, Kevin Peters, John Pfandl, Gerhard Poirier, Timothy L Proffitt, Kathryn L Prewitt, Eugene Rafferty, James Read, David C |
Reeve, Teresa Reid, George Roberts, Randall L Rodriguez, Angel M Scarone, Daniel Silva, Sandra Slikkers, Dolores E Small, Heather-Dawn K Sorke, Ingo Timm, Alberto R Trim, David Tutsch, Cindy Veloso, Mario Vin Cross, Tara Wahlen, Clinton L Warden, Ivan Leigh Zarska, Carol |
| Two representatives from each division | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coralie, Alain Mathema, Zacchaeus |
East-Central Africa Division | ||
| Biaggi, Guillermo E Zaitsev, Eugene |
Euro-Asia Division | ||
| Henry, Elie Perez, Carmen |
Inter-American Division | ||
| Hasel, Frank Magyarosi, Barna |
Inter-European Division | ||
| Bietz, Gordon Pollard, Leslie N |
North American Division | ||
| Doh, Hyun Suk John Higashide, Katsumi |
Northern Asia-Pacific Division | ||
| Shimied Padilla, Lilian Siquiera, Reinaldo |
South American Division | ||
| Musvosvi, Joel Ratsara, Paul S |
Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division | ||
| Christo, Gordon E Tlau, Chawngdinpuii |
Southern Asia Division | ||
| Gayoba, Francisco Sabuin, Richard |
Southern Asia-Pacific Division | ||
| Oliver, Barry D Roennfeldt, Ray |
South Pacific Division | ||
| Barna, Jan Wiklander, Bertil A |
Trans-European Division | ||
| Bediako, Daniel K Nwaomah, Sampson |
West-Central Africa Division | ||
| EX OFFICIO | |||
| Wilson, Ted NC Ng, G T Lemon, Robert E |
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| Theology of Ordination Steering Committee | |||
| Stele, Artur A, Chair Mbwana, Geoffrey G, Vice-chair Porter, Karen J, Secretary |
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| Damsteegt, Gerard | Davidson, Richard | Fagal,William A | Rodriguez, Angel M |