What should be done in the event that there are no males available to lead a congregation? The SDA chruch has had in the past, and has today congregations that have no male who is capable of leading: a congregation. Should that congregation be disolved? Should it be ordered not to meet and by whom? Should the women who lead out in its spiritual activities by directed to quit?
What do I mean by "no male capable of leading a congregation?
1) A child of one of the female members. Yes, I know that the history of Christianity has stories of God raising up children to lead and preach--some of whom were female.
2) A male non-member who attends. I attend a SDA Church today that has a male who in not a member of any Christian group, but has attended this SDA Chruch for several years. He has made spiritual progress and has grown in his knowledge and priactice Christianity. But, he is not yet ready to become a member.
3) A male who may attend, but is struggling with issues in his life that deny him the prevlige of spiritual leadershlp over a congregation.
O.K. Let me take this in another direction:
The military of the United States has thousands of people who claim SDA background and who are assigned to locations around the world to include places where there is no opportunity for them to worship with local congregations. Yes, SDA military chaplains serve these people as much as is possible. But, it is often impossible for them to personally serve SDAs in these locations.
NOTE: Presently, females are allowed to serve in all of the individual services (Army, Air force, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and the USPHS). In addition, females, with some exceptions, are allowed to serve in the majority of the military jobs. The American public has little knowledge at to how much our ability to go to war depends upon our ability to send females into combat.
Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries (ACM), a part of the organizational structure of the SDA Chruch has a plan to attempt to meet the spiritual needs of small groups of SDA military who are isolasted from contact with SDA Clergy. In that plan, it authorizes groups to meet and it accredits a miliatary person to be the spiritual leader of that group. ACM Then attempts to coordinate administrative support to that group. What should ACM do:
1) If the only SDAs present in that area are female? This can happen.
2) Males who may attend are quite irregular in attending? Combat opperations may make such the norm for some people.
3) Males who attend may not be in a positon where they can/should provide spiritual leadership.
I would really like to see some of those who believe that females should never take posiitons of spiritual leadership respond to these situations.