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| Q: | I am 4th generation WELS and have difficulty without a vote in the church or ability to attend meetings. I am more educated than most of the men on the board. They quote 1st Timothy and I cling to Judges 4:4. From the NIV: Deborah,a prophetess,a wife of Lappidoth,was leading Israel at the time. Translation from my NIV study bible: The bible records several women who held national leadership positions,and Deborah was an exceptional women.Obviously,she was the best for the job,and God chose her to lead Israel.God can chose anyone to lead his people,young or old,man or women. My guess..is you may claim it is in the old testament..but: Anna is in the new testament,a prophetess (whose main roll was to speak for God according to the footnote)(Luke2:36-37) Phoebe was a leader (Romans 16) ...and in case you didn't know...Eve was framed. | ||||||
| A: | The whole matter of women taking leadership roles and voting is not to be decided by what might seem right or fair according to what the world thinks. Instead, in this, as in all matters in our lives, we want to be guided by the principles that God gives us in his word. From the time of creation, God established different roles for men and for women. He wants women to humbly refrain from exercising authority over men, and he wants men to exercise authority as a loving head (1 Co 11:3, 8; 1 Ti 2:11-13). A more detailed treatment of this subject (all the Bible passages involved as well as applications) can be found in Prof. John Brug's Bible class booklet A Bible Study of Man and Woman in God's World that is available from Northwestern Publishing House. Whether a congregation has meetings that women attend, and what women will or will not do if they attend these meetings must both be done in keeping with the roles that God in his love and wisdom has given to men and women. If women take part in the voters meeting of a congregation, they could easily be tempted to step out of their God-given role in one of two ways. In the discussion which precedes a vote, a woman might argue against some of the men in a way that indicates she insists that her will should be done rather than that of the men she is arguing against. Setting my will over against that of another person is not humbly refraining from trying to exercise authority over that person. In the vote itself, the women may outvote the men, or the women might provide the "swing vote" that thwarts the will of the majority of the men. This also is not humbly refraining from exercising authority over men. That women have talents, suggestions, ideas, etc. which can be benefit the work in the congregation and which can be used in the service of the church is certainly true. And men who are carrying out their God-given role of serving as the loving head in the congregation will find God pleasing ways to use those talents and ideas just like Christian husbands do at home. Some congregations have a woman who has financial talents serve as treasurer of the congregation without her being a voting member of the church council. Some congregations have informational meetings in which several members of the church council share with women of the congregation some of the items that will come before the council. The women are also given an opportunity to share with those church council members their ideas and suggestions. It becomes the obligation of those church council members to share these ideas and suggestions with the whole council and eventually with the voters assembly if approved by the council. These are but a couple examples of how congregations do have women participate actively. The point is that the contributions that women are able to make can be used without placing them in situations where they might be tempted to step out of their God-given role. Deborah did take the lead in a sad time in Israel's history because no man was willing to take the lead (Judges 5:7). But Deborah herself chides Barak (Judges 4:9) for insisting that she come along with him and for not being willing to take the lead as the Lord commanded him to do (4:6). Anna is called a prophetess, but nowhere in Luke's account does he say she took authority over men in proclaiming the word of God publicly or leading public worship. Phoebe (Romans 16) is called a servant or deaconess who Paul says was a great help to many people, including Paul. But Paul does not say she was a leader who had authority over men. | ||||||
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