Update on Seminary Headship Statement
Vote taken to reaffirm original statement
Earlier this summer, the Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary published a statement on “On The Unique Headship of Christ in the Church.” In addition to being shared via the Andrews University website this statement, adopted by seminary faculty on August 21, also received wide exposure through traditional and social media.
In its preamble, the statement indicated that the faculty of the Seminary:
“…affirm that Christ is the only Head of the Church (Eph 1:22; 5:23; Col 1:18). Therefore, while there exists legitimate leadership in the Church, no other human being may rightfully claim a headship role in the Church. As Head of the Church, Christ provides the ultimate manifestation of God’s love (Eph 5:23,25), demonstrating and vindicating God’s moral government of love (Rom 3:4, 25-26, 5:8), and thus defeating the counterfeit government of the usurping “ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 16:11; cf. DA 758; 2T 2:211).
Following its publication and distribution, there was an appeal released in early October by 25 professors, pastors and church members (“An Open Appeal From Faculty, Alumni, Students, and Friends of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary To Faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Regarding the Recent Seminary Statement on the Unique Headship of Christ in the Church”).
The writers of that appeal called upon the seminary to review and adjust their earlier statement on Headship, ending their open letter by noting that the letter writers “humbly appeal to the Seminary leadership and faculty to reconsider the recently-published statement and include our suggestions.”
On October 10, 2014, the seminary faculty met for three hours to review the open letter and their earlier statement, and at the end of the meeting the faculty voted unanimously, with the exception of one individual, to release the following statement in response to the open appeal:
“We, the faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, respectfully reaffirm our original statement on the ‘Unique Headship of Christ in the Church’ which was the result of prayerful and responsible study of scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy, and was voted by an overwhelming majority of the faculty in a duly called meeting.”
Founded in 1874, Andrews University is the flagship institution of higher education for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and offers more than 200 areas of study including advanced degrees. Its main campus is in Berrien Springs, Michigan, but the University also provides instruction at colleges and universities in 19 countries around the world.
Please Note: In an earlier post on this response by the Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, copy from Adventist Review coverage of this statement was inadvertently included without credit or acknowledgement. We regret that mistake, which occurred without the knowledge of the Adventist Review. The Adventist Review has done excellent reporting on this statement and its appeal, and you can read their reporting on the original statement, its appeal, and the seminary response here, here and here.
