安息日会教会规程修订继续进行

妇女按立依旧是问题，然而。。。

2009年10月15日，银溪，马里兰州，美国

马可凯内尔，新闻编辑，《评阅选报》/复临信徒新闻网 http://news.adventist.org/2009/10/adventist-church-man.html

翻译：刘忆牧师

  安息会年会代表们本周投票通过了对《基督福临安息日会教会规程》的一系列修订。教会规程是安息日根据圣经原则制定的有关教会生活及教会管理的条例。

被修订的内容中，有许多都进一步澄清了、或着重了某些涉及到教友资格及教会管理的用词，它们都将在第59届全球总会大会上交付代表们审议。全球总会大会是每五年一次的事务性会议，将于明年夏天在佐治亚的亚特兰大城召开。

目前的《教会规程》是2005年，在圣路易城召开全总大会时表决通过的，现在仍然有效。

。。。。。。

  然而，有一些具有争议性的问题还有待于2010年6月23日全球总会大会召开的前一天，举行的特别行政会议来解决，其中包括女执事的按立问题，以及区会会长是否“可以”/“将”（shall）或“应该”(should)是按立过的牧师来担任等问题。

。。。。。。

  “我们有许多妇女在我们教会，她们在对我们教会的领导上作出了巨大的贡献，”杨宝生告诉10月13日的代表们说，“她们在世界的不同地区，肩负着许多不同的工作。并且，我会说，如果没有这些占我们教会一半以上教友人口的妇女们的参与，教会将在布道以及照顾会众需要的灵活性上严重残废。”

杨继续说，作为教会领袖们，发出“正确的信号”并在教会文件中提供“正确的条款”是“极其重要的。”

  在1990年及1995年的全球总会大会上，教会考虑了妇女按立牧师的问题，两次大会都决定不按立。

  虽然这一问题不是2010年亚特兰大大会的议题，一些来自欧洲、北美及澳大利亚的代表仍然不时地提出他们的建议，希望能有一个计划书会产生，允许他们在各自的地区自行按立女牧师。

  目前，中国的牧师按立是基督复临安息日教会方面及政府管辖下的三自爱国委员会在操作，只有中国的安息日教会的女牧师是经过正式按立的。

杨的这番话 。。。。。。是在下午一阵激烈的辩论之后讲的，代表们意见分歧。北美代表们，包括分会会长东施耐德（Don Schneider）以及太平洋联合会会长瑞卡多葛拉翰（Ricardo Graham）都分别提到目前有一位区会行政秘书长就是女性，并且，葛拉翰说，“她一定会在不久之后被考虑上任【区会】会长职务的。”另有一些代表表示反对。

  中非洲联合会会长阿狼（Allah-Ridy Kone）呼吁“教会合一”并且声称女牧师按立没有圣经依据。教会档案管理员哈罗维阿珂（Bert Haloviak）宣称基督复临安息日会的创始人怀爱伦解释说赛61：6，“你们倒要成为耶和华的祭司，人必称你们为我上帝的仆人”（译者按：“仆人”原文为“minister，”本会按立过的牧师之专用名词）-- 同等地适用于男人和妇女。

  杨告诉代表们说，“在世界的某些地方，【女牧师】按立对我们教会来说是好的。在另一些地方，【女牧师】按立对我们教会是不好的。我呼吁你们不要把这件事当成一个问题。”

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 原   文

The changes, many clarifying or amplifying various terms and conditions of church membership and governance, are expected to be presented to delegates at the 59th General Conference Session -- the church's quinquennial business meeting -- in Atlanta, Georgia next summer.

Until then, the current edition of the Church Manual, ratified at the last session in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2005, remains in effect.

Some of the editorial changes and additions to the manual included language that would limit "ascending liability," something that occurs in nonprofit organizations such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, when one organization is held responsible for the financial liabilities of another. Other changes include the use of the New King James Version of the Bible when Scripture is quoted in the manual; the notification of members when a period of censure has ended; and emphasizing that every church must have a church board.

However, somewhat contentious questions involving the ordination of deaconesses and whether a local conference president "shall" or "should" be an ordained pastor, will wait for resolution at a special meeting of the world church's Executive Committee on June 23, 2010, a day before session begins. The issues were moved to that time to allow additional discussion and resolution of the issues. The goal, world church president Jan Paulsen said, is to ensure that the Church Manual and the "Working Policy" of the movement are in sync.

"We have many women in our church that make a huge contribution to the leadership in our church," Paulsen told delegates October 13. "We have them in many different assignments, in many different parts of the world. And I would say that without the engagement of women -- who constitute over half of the membership of our church -- the church would be seriously crippled in its outreach and flexibility to care for the needs of the congregation."

Paulsen added that, as church leaders, sending the "right signals" and making the "correct provisions" in church documents is "extremely important."

At its 1990 and 1995 General Conference sessions, the church considered the issue of women's ordination, concluding on both occasions not to do so.

While the topic is not on the planned agenda for the July 2010 session in Atlanta, some delegates from Europe, North America and Australia have periodically voiced their hope that a plan may emerge that would allow their regions to move forward with ordaining women to ministry.

Only in China, where ordination is a function of both the regional Adventist authority and the government-led Three-Self Patriotic Movement, have female Adventist pastors been officially ordained.

Paulsen's statement, and a vote to rescind a change in wording about conference presidencies from "should" to "shall" pending further review, came after an afternoon of spirited debate, with delegates lining up on each side of the issue. While North American delegates including regional president Don Schneider and Pacific Union regional president Ricardo Graham each noted that a woman currently serves as a conference executive secretary and, Graham said, "the time will come when she will be considered for [conference] president," others dissented.

Central African Union Mission president Allah-Ridy Kone called for "unity in the church" and claimed there were no biblical grounds for women's ordination. Church archivist Bert Haloviak asserted that Ellen G. White, a pioneering co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, interpreted Isaiah 61:6 -- "And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God" -- as applying equally to women and men.

"In some parts of the world, ordination is good for our churches. In other places, ordination is not good for our churches. I appeal to you not to make this into an issue," Paulsen told delegates.

With the ordination question momentarily put aside, other proposed changes to the Church Manual were moved forward and placed on the agenda for next summer's General Conference session.

Filed in 2009 Annual Council, Headlines

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原文

Adventist Church Manual revisions move forward

Questions on role of women in ministry remain, however

15 Oct 2009, Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Mark A. Kellner, News Editor, Adventist Review/ANN

 A series of proposed revisions to the Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual, which outlines an Adventist understanding of Christian life and church governance based on Biblical principles, was voted by Annual Council delegates this week.