Actually one of the best preachers at one of my former churches was a young lay woman, untrained in public speaking. She was divorced by her non-Adventist husband, and went through a very difficult time, and then preached about it: her first sermon. She asked if she could preach, and I encouraged her, but said I needed to see the sermon before she spoke. She had never done anything like it before. She did not argue, but a few weeks later handed me a typed 7 page single spaced sermon that she said she had more or less memorized. I was brought to tears by its power. It was one of the best sermons we have ever had, including the ones I have preached. She bared her soul and was not afraid to shoulder her part of blame for what had happened, and showed how God had been with her, even though she had erred greatly. It was an absolutely wonderful sermon. There was hardly a dry eye in the church.
She has gone on to preach other very good sermons with thoughtful applications. She did one about 4 weeks ago, again good.
Now one of the reasons why I don’t feel WO is so necessary is that she does this without ordination or fuss. She just gets up and does it. She does not demand any kind of recognition, but says what God seems to have put on her mind.
It is not necessary to be ordained to communicate what God has put on your heart. If the church votes to ordain or not to, it makes not difference. Even Jesus said, do not seek to be called Rabbi…
