At the time of Christ, it was reported that there were two schools of thought concerning the eating of eggs laid on the Sabbath.
One school held that it was not permissible, since the hen had labored to lay the egg, and thus broke the Sabbath commandment. Another school held that it was permissible to eat the egg, because the hen was not in control of the timing of laying the egg.
That such a trivial question could become the object of serious discussion is a symptom of a religion that has lost its way, that no longer understood the purpose for which it existed, and was no longer focused on its main mission.
I honestly don’t think the answer to the question matters all that much. Personally, I rarely know on which day an egg was laid, in order to refrain or indulge. But even if I did, I don’t think the answer to that question is of central importance.
I know this will be heresy to many, but I think the controversy concerning women’s ordination is similar. Please, please, don’t anyone waste my time with the notion that I’m equating the two. I’m not. I believe the egg question was at best a trivial matter. I do not believe women’s ordination is a trivial matter, but neither do I think it is central to the purpose and mission of the SDA church.
I believe those fixated on this issue from either side are a symptom of a church that has lost its way, that no longer understands the purpose for which it exists, and is no longer focused on its main mission. Let women be ordained where the constituency approves it. Right or wrong, that’s the way our church is set up.
This issue has been fought over at least since 1975. My first child was born two years later. Now I have grandchildren. While the battle over women’s ordination raged, two generations of young Adventists left the church in droves. My generation, my children’s generation. And the third generation will surely follow if we don’t do something about it. Now.
I am not willing to sacrifice generation after generation of the church’s flesh and blood over a question of who can have the title of pastor!
When Jesus commissioned the disciples, he sent them first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Later, to Jerusalem, Samaria, and all the world. We would do well to repeat the pattern, beginning with our own little flocks.
