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| Q: | If you had the opportunity to have a conversation with a female ELCA pastor, and explain to her in Christian love why we understand Scripture to reserve the office of the Pastoral ministry for men (males), how could this be explained in a caring manner with gentleness and love, especially if she believes she has taken her responsibilities seriously, and dedicated her life's work to spreading the Gospel and instructing others in the faith, and has been accepted in this very role by her peers in the ELCA clergy roster? For those who do not see it as merely a matter of women's lib or equal rights, but have completely believed til now that their gifts and abilities have uniquely enabled them to hold the ministry they do in this church body, and take serious the Word of God (for those who hold to a more orthodox understanding of the inerrancy of Holy Scripture), what might you tell them, and how might you approach them with this, seeking that the Holy Spirit might win them over to this biblical teaching? If they have had years of experience in this role/profession, what alternative profession might you suggest to them that might be pleasing to God? The Deaconal ministry? Staff Ministry relating particularly to women and children? LWMS? What vision could you offer them should you suggest the only way they can be faithful to God in this regard is to abandon their pastoral ministry which is accepted in ELCA (and other so-called ecumenical) circles? Please keep in mind that if YOU were asked to leave the Pastoral ministry for biblical reasons, it would not be so simple as this has been your profession and you've invested years of training in this. | ||||||
| A: | You have set forth a poignant illustrative portrait and asked how I might respond. My initial response is to say it would be pastorally irresponsible to manufacture a conversation with such a Christian sister without really knowing her and being in a setting where I can hear her out in more detail and accuracy. Nor is this e-mail format a suitable vehicle to transmit even a hypothetical conversation since brevity is a necessity here. Other than that I would say that I fully concur that this would be no simple matter--for me or for the woman who is so gifted and eager to serve the Lord and the Lord's people faithfully. But I must also express the confidence that the same Holy Spirit who apparently endowed the woman with her abilities, a high regard for the Word of God, and the desire to serve in some form of the public ministry, is also able to lead her to use her abilities within the limitations He himself has established for her. And to do so with joy and contentment because it is her Lord's will. Regarding alternate positions of potential ministry, I would again wait until I knew her better, would allow those who are charged with appraising ministerial gifts and skills in our midst to do just that, and then point her to appropriate ways she may serve, either full-time or part-time. Full-time staff ministry in a deaconess-like role strikes me as a possibility well worth considering. | ||||||
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