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[Snoopy]

Hhmm.  OK, so what is  "Missionary License"?

[Johann]

Hhmm.  OK, so what is  "Missionary License"?

I think a number of treasurers and auditors got that license along with spouses of ministers if they were helping their husbands. Perhaps also issued to a janitor or two under certain circumstances. Somewhat of a wage scale.

www.womenministrytruth.com/.../early-adventist-history-and-the-mi...
Finally, Anna Knight was a licensed missionary, not a licensed minister, contrary to what one might assume from her listing among the “women in Adventist ...

www.adventistalert.com/legal/legal.htm
The orders of ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church include Ordained Ministers, Credentialed Missionaries, Licensed Ministers, Licensed Missionaries, ...

http://www.adventiststatistics.org/StatsForms/Annual_S-4s_NAD_GC_ONLY.pdf

for more info.

[Gregory]

OK, so what is  "Missionary License"?

At one time a Missionary License was issued to  just about anyone who worked for the denominaiton and was not issued one of the ministerial credentials.  A review of listings in a recent YEARBOOK leads me to believe that this is still somewhat the practice, with some changes.

Present credentials are:  1) Ministerial Credential,  11) Honary/Emeritus Ministerial Credential, 2) Commissioned Minister Credential,  22) Honaryl/Emeritius Commissioned Minister Credentiall, 3) Commissioned Ministry of Teaching Credential,  33) Honary/Emeritus Commissioned Ministry of Teaching Credential,  4) Missionary Credential,  5) Administrative Ministries Credential.

Persons who have Licenses rather than Credentials are not commonly listed in documents such as the YEARBOOK.

[Gregory]

Anna Knight:

She was not called a minister, and she was not ordained. Her authorization through her many years of ministry was variously called licensed missionary and credentialed missionary. However, any man carrying her responsibilities year after year would surely have been designated a minister and would have been ordained.

During the years the Anna Knight worked for the SDA Chruch, she sometimes wsa a Licensed Missionary and sometimes a Credentialed Missionary.  But, never an Ordained Minister.

She was the 1st Africian American Woman to  go as a missionary to India where she worked for several years.  She began a work in Atlanta.  She served in leadership positions in several Local and Union Conferences.  She raised up new congregations of SDAs.  She did much more.

[Johann]

OK, so what is  "Missionary License"?

Persons who have Licenses rather than Credentials are not commonly listed in documents such as the YEARBOOK.

About sixty years ago we had about one quarter of a million members in the whole world and it appeared to me as if everyone employed by the denomination was listed in the Yearbook, especially in the smaller conferenced, even those who were retired. Now with 66 times more members the Yearbook would be way too large if everyone was listed.

[princessdi]

So this is exactly how the "doctrine on wedding bands/jewlery got muddled.  This exact type of inconsistency.  If the world church in business session says that there is biblical support for not allowing the ordination of women, then that shouold stand...in all of the world church.  But here again, that cannot be true, there is no biblical support, thus the "policy" is not and cannot be enforced uniformly.  So here in Cali we ordain, in Europe and China they ordain, but everyone else is in violation(Well Cali is considered in violation, also....sigh) but you see what I mean.  That is pure confusion.   

Ordination of female pastors:  The official position of the denomination is that those congregations who ordain women are only ordaining them as local elders, which they have the authority to do.  It is not a matter of money.  However, China has been granted an excepteion, as reported in the REVIEW in two different articles some years apart.  In China women who have been ordained as SDA clergy are officially recognized by the denominaiton as SDA clergy.  In other parts of the world, female pastors are officially Comissioned but not ordained.

In the official websites of the church in some European countries you find listed a number of female church pastors in the employment of the church.

That is allowed and does not violate policy