Qualified Men Alone: Why We Clarified Our Statement of Faith

By the Board of Directors

At our May 2026 meeting, the Board of Directors of New Aberdeen College made the following clarification to the College’s Statement of Faith:

“The church is the body of Christ, His bride who submits to Him as her head. She is visible in the congregation of the faithful, where the pure gospel is preached and the sacraments duly administered according to the discipline of Christ. To carry out this ministry of word and sacrament, Christ ordains qualified men alone.”

The Board does not take lightly any modification of the Statement of Faith, and this decision was carefully considered. In general, it is not necessary for the college to adjust its statement of faith to address every matter of controversy that emerges in our culture. We are however deeply concerned that our own Reformed churches do not follow the path of the mainline Protestant churches, which proceeded in the 20th century from the ordination of women to further departures from the Christian faith, including the abandonment of Biblical sexual ethics. And in the education of a new generation, we are determined to safeguard “the faith once delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).

Scripture, Tradition, and Experience
When a question of faith or morals enters controversy, Reformed Christians appeal to scripture above all as our ultimate authority. We read the scriptures through the tradition of the church, and especially through our historic reformed Confessions. We also learn from experience, observing the fruit of the various churches as they apply the controverted question.

The Scriptures on Ordination
The scriptures offer a unified witness to male leadership in the church. Jesus selected twelve men as his apostles (Mark 3) and those men nominated only men to replace Judas, when they could have nominated Mary the mother of Jesus (Acts 1). Moreover, the qualifications for overseers/bishops and elders/priests in the pastoral epistles assume that these roles will be filled by men who have a demonstrated record of effective leadership in their own families (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1).

Negatively, Paul also excludes women from authoritative teaching, a prohibition he grounds in the order of creation rather than local culture or practice (1 Timothy 2). Though man and woman were equally created in the image of God, the man was created before the woman and the woman created to help the man (Genesis 1-3). The scriptures teach both male headship in marriage and also a consistent pattern of male religious leadership across both Old and New Testaments. Therefore the ordination of qualified men alone is not a product of the fall, but rather a sign pointing to the restoration of God’s good creation.

The Tradition on Ordination
From the beginning of the church, ordination of episcopos (overseers/bishops) and presbyteros (elders/priests) was reserved to qualified men. Some egalitarians and feminists allege that this was merely a function of the sexist culture of the day. But it was actually the pagan religions of the Greek and Roman world that had women priestesses. By contrast, Jesus and the early church had no difficulty taking the countercultural position of restricting clerical authority to men.The Reformed tradition is in complete lockstep with the universal practice of the early church. All of our confessions teach or assume a male clergy, and every one of our churches maintained this practice until the innovations of the 20th century.

The Experience of Women’s Ordination
Lastly, if the clear witness of the scriptures and the tradition were not sufficient, the practical experience and rotten fruit of women’s ordination abundantly illustrate our concern.

The ordination of woman has been and continues to be a slippery slope leading toward acceptance of unbiblical forms of sexuality. Disregard for Biblical sexual roles naturally leads to disregard for Biblical sexual ethics. This progression can be seen in the ordination of LGBTQ clergy in those denominations that allowed female ordination during the 1960s. The feminist movement accelerated and normalized a pattern that was previously considered settled doctrine. The PCUSA ordained its first female pastor in 1956, leading to its culture of egalitarianism, and eventually, non-restrictive policies about sexuality. Recently, the denomination has gone so far as to debate whether pastors must be monogamous. Both the liberal Episcopal and United Methodists have likewise established cultures where female ordination is also typical. As a sign of the times, a woman was recently installed as Archbishop of Canterbury in the Church of England. As these mainline denominations have increased the share of female clergy, it is no coincidence that they have also abandoned Biblical sexual ethics, including the redefinition of marriage.

Our Concern About Women’s Ordination Today
While the practice of the ordination of women is less common in the denominations associated with New Aberdeen College, there remains debate among our churches. The OPC, PCA, ARP, and ACNA have wrestled with these issues in recent years. The PCA has been engaged in an internal battle over female officers under various titles. The ACNA allows each diocese to choose its own policy, with the result that Anglican churches in the Carolinas hold a variety of practices. These are the signs that suggested to us the importance of the College providing clarity on its position.

Other Roles and Our Expectation
The College’s primary burden in this clarification is to affirm the ordination of qualified men alone to the ministry of word and sacrament. We do not address here the question of other appropriate and significant roles for women in the church.

The College appoints female professors, board members, and PAC members, roles whose function and responsibilities can reflect the gifts and calling of both women and men. We expect that students of both sexes will show female faculty the honor and respect due to women, as they would mothers in the faith.