The Bleating of Sheep and the Lowing of Oxen

It is a well-known story from the Old Testament. King Saul was commanded by the prophet Samuel to gather an army and destroy the Amalekites, whose cup of iniquity had reached its limit (I Sam. 15:2). This was not to be an ordinary war of plunder and conquest, by a divine punishment on account of sin. No spoil of any kind was to be taken. Nothing was to be spared, not even the animals.

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Carry Out and Enforce Order

The prophetic voice spoke in 1861. Organization was the issue. Warning was delivered via the pen of Ellen White: “And now unless the churches are so organized that they can carry out and enforce order, they have nothing to hope for in the future. They must scatter into fragments” (Review and Herald, Aug. 27, 1861). The churches subsequently organized. The Seventh-day Adventist Church was born! But now, after a century and a half, the church faces this question again.

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Why Women's Ordination Matters

“If we ever come to the place as a Church where we can interpret 'husband of one wife' to mean 'wife of one husband' or simply 'faithful man or woman,' then we can make any passage of Scripture mean whatever we want it to mean or whatever our culture tells us it should mean."

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A house divided: why regional ordination is the wrong answer

Good friends of mine, people I love and respect, have suggested that the best way to end the strife is to let the various sectors of the church follow their own convictions on the issue. Based on Scripture and history, I believe this is the wrong approach. But before I tell you why, let me first share two things that are not motivating me.

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Ed Reid entreats Adventist Review to correct misinformation about women's ordination

In the following letter, G. Edward Reid appeals to Adventist Review Editor in Chief Bill Knott to correct "egregiously inaccurate" details in Dave Gemmell's article “Ministry is Ministry—Changing views about women pastors” published in Adventist World's March edition. The article is absent from the online version. 

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