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| Q: | What are the reasons behind the exclusion of women in the church as far as preaching and voting? This is an issue I have been struggling with greatly - I've been brought up WELS, but have some serious issues with my lack of a place in the church (as a college student I do not have a husband or father at my church to express my opinion during meetings), and the fact that women can't preach (screams sexism to me). Please help me out with these questions if at all possible. Thank you. | ||||||
| A: | The short answer is that the Bible says that women should not teach or have authority over men in the church. The voters meeting is the authoritative body governing our congregation under the word of God. The pastor is to lead the congregation by teaching with authority from God's Word. The Bible says that these commands are not just temporary commands for the church of Paul's day but are God's will based on an order that he established at creation. But a short answer from someone else is not sufficient to address your concerns. You need to take your concerns to God by studying his Word. Because many people have questions about our teachings and practice in this matter, WELS has prepared two study pamphlets and a ten-lesson Bible course with the overall title Man and Woman in God's World. Because it is very important that we study Scripture in depth before we talk about how we should address practical questions about our practices in this area, the Bible class spends the first five lessons studying the principles and examples in Scripture before it begins to address the contemporary situation. Since you have deep concerns about this issue, a good first step for you would be to study this course and discuss it with your pastor or other Christian friends. As an introduction to your study you can find a brief statement of the principles in the WELS doctrinal statement on this issue in the section of this website that contains WELS doctrinal statements. At the end of this statement you will find a link that takes you to a brief statement about the attitude with which we try to practice these God-given principles. Doctrinal Statements of the WELS , click on "Man and Woman Roles". We pray that God will bless your study of this issue and that yours concerns will be answered by your study. | ||||||
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