Roland Meyer, Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology, has published a book on the topic of the ordination of women according to the Bible. Written in French, the book is about the Consecration of Women to Pastoral Ministry: A study in Adventist ecclesiology, titled
La consécration des femmes au ministère pastoral: Etude en ecclésiologie adventiste.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which was organized in the second half of the 19th century, considered that three ecclesial functions should be retained for consecration: diaconate, elderhood and pastorate. It took well over a hundred years to accept that women could be consecrated as deacons and elders. For more than sixty years, the Church has been studying the possibility of consecrating women to the pastorate, but the matter has still not concluded. To break this deadlock, we need to re-read the biblical texts and consider the finesse and precision of the vocabulary used by the New Testament authors. The word pastor is used only once, and it is not accompanied by a consecration. The elders, entrusted to God, are responsible for shepherding the flock. As they also have to watch over the flock, they become its episcopes. If an elder is a pastor, then a female elder is a female pastor. Why doesn't the worldwide Church allow women to be ordained to the pastorate, when a woman consecrated as an elder becomes a pastor (shepherd) at the same time? That's what this book is about.
Published on February 11, 2025, BoD – Books on Demand
French edition by Roland Meyer
Available in online bookshops
There is also a discussion with Roland Meyer about the topic on Youtube:
La place des femmes dans l'église
https://www.youtube.com/live/FX3zoy9dMdc