August Summary

In spite of my best intentions I failed again to establish a pattern of blogging.  Well, now it’s been more than three weeks since I last blogged. I will bring you up to date on a very busy month.

School stated on August 13-15, depending on how brave you were, considering the short prep time upon the return from the Nashville NAD Teachers’ Convention.  By the way, the convention was amazing, although I was too busy to really take it all in.  I’m kind of disappointed in the fact that I did not even make it to the exhibit hall.

School enrollment seems to be up across the conference.  That is truly good news.  Only two schools were not up from the same time last year, but the number of students enrolled is almost forty more than last year at the same time, which is very encouraging.  TAA alone may reach 150 by the time the dust settles after Labor Day.  The schools that are not at the number of students they had last year at this time are one or two away, and they are expecting students to enroll by Labor Day or soon after.  Of course, when the enrollment has settled, then the work in earnest begins.

Penny is busy providing on-site leadership at TCE in Scottsdale.  She is working more hours than she should be allowed to work—which is more amazing when you consider she is doing it as a volunteer.  The school year began with high hopes and the school community seems to be rallying around the new paradigm.

AWC is moving along.  I have had a chance to preach there three times in the last month or so.  I have enjoyed connecting with a local church, even if it is truly an outside-the-box community.  We need such communities of faith in the Adventist Church.  Of course, it’s been a while since I have been in charge of a church, but leading their church board meeting earlier this week was a delight.  They seem like they are looking for leadership to take them to the next level—or perhaps to help them recapture something they feel they have lost over the years.  In any case, I am trying to help them define who they are now and how they see themselves being as a community of faith.  It’s very exciting.

As you probably know, the Pacific Union Conference held a special constituency to deal specifically with the subject of women’s ordination.  Although the recommendation to change the union by-laws came up short one or two votes of the two-thirds majority required to change by-laws, the second motion regarding the actual ordination without regard to gender easily surpassed the two-thirds majority vote of the delegates.  It was a watershed event in the annals of Adventism, regardless on which side of the aisle you stand with regards to the ordination of women.

I, for one, believe the vote by the PUC may be the final push the World Church needs to address once and for all the impasse that has existed in the church on this matter.  The time has come for the church to be consistent with its own practice.  Women have been pastors since the church came into existence.  One of the founders of the church was granted an ordination certificate by the “brethren”—she was a woman all her life!  The church has made allowance for the commissioning and ordaining of female deacons where such a practice is accepted.  Furthermore, the church first allowed the selection of female elders in the church.  That was followed by the commissioning of these female elders.  Finally, the world church allowed for the ordination of female elders at the local church level, even when they knew this would not be accepted in certain parts of the globe.  Since the church has found no biblical basis for forbidding the ordination of women elders, why has it not taken the step of ordaining women who have felt the calling of God into the Gospel ministry?

It is not simply about doing the “right” thing.  It is about the church recognizing the gift of God on women who are doing ministry as was prophesied by the Prophet Joel.  It is time to move—in fact it is time to lead.  The church should lead society in matters of fairness, justice, and equality-- not vice versa.  We lose the right to the high moral ground when we cower in the face of opposition based on anything but the Word of God alone.  (227.2)