<> Ask the Pastor Pastor Walter Snyder Q: For some time I have been troubled with a question of women in the Ministry. I definitely believe that there is a place for women in the Church that men cannot fill. But.... My question is, what is the Lutheran (Missouri Synod) opinion (and yours) on women "filling pulpits" as preachers? How about lay-readers when a pastor is not available? A: The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LC-MS) follows the practice of the most ancient Christians: Only men are called and ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry. My church is confessing a belief in the truth of Holy Scripture, the validity of Paul's apostleship, and the actions of Christ himself. If the Bible is the inspired and unerring Word of God, then what is said by and of Jesus, Paul, and others remains valid and binding. What Jesus and Paul did and said indicate how we act and teach. Otherwise, you can pick and choose among the Bible's words until you find things with which you agree. Select what makes you happy; ignore what displeases you. But if you do this, you deny that all Scripture is divine. You say that you know better than Jesus, Paul, and their immediate followers how God really wants things to be. Some say, "If Jesus had started his church today, he'd have gone ahead with female apostles and pastors. They just weren't ready for such in his day." If this were the case, then Jesus wouldn't have started any church, because people weren't ready for that. He wouldn't have made those bold statements about his deity, because no one was ready for them. He wouldn't have consorted with low-lives, partied with sinners, and lain himself open to charges of being a "party animal," because no one was ready for such behavior in a religious leader. No, Jesus started what he wanted, as he wanted. And he seems to have wanted a male clergy. Some call Paul a misogynist (one who dislikes women by nature). His actions around women gave lie to this, and if this were the case, he would not have so many women listed among his friends and supporters. No, he commanded that women not participate in the public proclamation of the Word in the Divine Service. This was given to men according to the divine order, and Paul was not going to set this order aside. Did Paul do this because a female priesthood was alien and offensive to his Gentile hearers? No, for many religions and cults of his time had women priests. Many had only women as religious leaders. Some take Paul's words in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female--for you are all one in Christ Jesus," as encouragement to begin having women pastors once people were ready for such a bold move. There are two problems with this. First, Paul doesn't speak of how life is ordered and lived, whether in the church or in society. He addresses how God views redeemed sinners. He is saying that Christ died for all, not for some select group. A LC-MS paper, Women in The Church, [1985] says: "The things ordained by God in His creation and the divisions in *this* world which reflect in some measure the creation of God are not annulled. This text reveals how believers appear before God, but it does not speak to issues pertaining to order in the church or the specific functions of women in the congregation.... [A]ll the redeemed are equal before our gracious God, but equality does not suggest the interchangeability of male and female identities." Second, Paul elsewhere speaks of the silence of women in the public services. Also, his divinely inspired teachings to Timothy and Titus leave no room to accept a female clergy. "Husband of one wife" is enough of a barrier to what the early church would have called heresy--that is, women in the pastoral office. We have the model of Christ's willing submission to the Father as our example of how the church submits to the authority of his Word and to his chosen shepherds, a faithful, male clergy. This does not mean that all men are either faithful or suitable to be pastors, but excludes those who definitely are not both. Thus, The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod continues to confess an unpopular teaching in these times of compromise and political correctness. We uphold the order of Creation and claim fidelity to the divinely inspired words and deeds of Jesus and Paul. In my own practice, I normally do not use "lay-readers" who are female. Nor do I use male readers. My call by the Holy Spirit through the church charges me with the public proclamation of the Word. I include in this the reading of the Scriptures as well as expounding upon them in the sermon. In times when a pastor is unavailable, we normally use a godly man of the congregation to lead the service. He reads either a sermon prepared for him by the pastor or one which a pastor has checked for its doctrinal content. You asked for my "opinion" as well: I agree with my church. I agree with the teaching of Paul. I agree with the actions of Christ in calling his first apostles and preachers. If this makes me politically incorrect, so be it. I would much rather be correct and faithful in the eyes of God than in the eyes of people. Until next week, when, Lord willing, we enjoy more of your questions, remember to "Ask the Pastor" at P.O. Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or catch me around town. Pastor Snyder serves St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville, Texas and is the coauthor of *What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults*. Copyright (c) 1997 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.