Statement on the Warning

Background
At Annual Council 2018, the General Conference Executive Committee voted on
a process for dealing with non-compliance with the Church’s Working Policy. In
accordance with this process, the Swedish Union has been in dialogue with the
Trans-European Division (TED). The purpose of this dialogue has been twofold:
to identify which aspects of the Union’s decision regarding pastoral equality are
in non-compliance with Working Policy, and to find alternative ways to
proceed. The conversations have been conducted in a positive and constructive
spirit. In June 2019, the General Conference administration unexpectedly
requested that the TED report any non-compliance and recommend sanctions
for the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and Swedish Unions. The unions were also
requested to respond with their views on these reports and recommendations.
The TED and the unions in question considered it too early to draw any
conclusions from their conversations and recommended that no sanctions be
given at this stage.
Therefore, the unions in question were taken by surprise at Annual Council
2019 when the General Conference administration recommended that they be
warned for being in non-compliance with Working Policy. The unions were
informed of the proposed warning the afternoon before it was to go to the
floor. In addition, the proposed warning did not specify what non-compliance
issues were being addressed. Therefore, the Swedish Union was not given the
opportunity to defend or explain its position before a decision was taken,
except for a brief four-minute statement after the recommendation had been
presented. During the negotiations, General Conference President, Elder Ted
Wilson, explained that an ordained pastoral ministry is fundamental to the
Church’s organization. The warning has been issued because the unions in
question have ceased to ordain pastors. Instead, pastors are given the
alternative credential offered within Working Policy.
The warning has been appealed due to the legal uncertainty of the decision.
The process decided in 2018 had not been completed. Consequently, the
General Conference Executive Committee did not have sufficient background
information to make its decision.
Clear policies and organisation regarding the credentials of pastors are
important to the Swedish Union of Churches Conference of Seventh-day
Adventists. However, these policies can ensure the Church’s ability to fulfil its

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mission only when they are based on fundamental biblical teachings regarding
church leadership and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and when they meet the
needs and conditions that exist where the Church operates.

We Affirm…
Equal treatment of male and female pastors was voted by the Swedish
Executive Committee in March 2016 and confirmed by the Union Session in July
2017. In view of the warning, the Swedish Union Executive Committee wishes
to make the following affirmations:
1. We affirm the Bible’s authority and its clear call to all Christians to fulfil
the Great Commission;
2. We affirm the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, its
Fundamental Beliefs, and its prophetic role in proclaiming the three
angels’ message of an eternal gospel, true worship of the Creator, and
righteousness by grace through faith;
3. We affirm that God in His Word makes no difference between men and
women in the calling to fulfil the Great Commission. We base this on the
Old Testament prophecy that God in the last days would pour out His
Spirit upon all – men and women, and on the New Testament teachings
on the gifts of the Spirit to the Church, the priesthood of all believers,
and the examples of women in all the roles of the Church;
4. We reaffirm the temporary order adopted by the Swedish Union of
Churches Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to equate the pastoral
ministry within the framework of the Church’s Working Policy and in
accordance with its Fundamental Beliefs on “Unity in the body of Christ”
(no. 14) and “Spiritual gifts and ministries” (no. 17). The divergent order
is temporary until the Union and the General Conference have found a
satisfactory solution regarding the credentials of pastors;
5. Finally, we affirm all the men and women, employees and members,
who respond to the call to serve God in these last days and in the
community in which we live by making Jesus known and loved and His
second coming a desired event. We do not allow tensions or differences
between us, in different parts of the world or within the congregation, to
prevent the Spirit of God from using us as members of Christ’s body.

The Executive Committee of the Swedish Union of Churches Conference of

Seventh-day Adventists on December 1, 2019.