As I lay in my bed this afternoon, hoping to fall asleep for
at least a short nap, my mind decided rather than quieting itself it would jump
through a series of seemingly random topics.
One of these topics caught my interest, and I actually spent about 20
minutes thinking through it.
In the last few years, I have to come embrace the
“complementarian” view of the relationship between men and women. I believe that men and women were created
with equal but different roles that complement each other in the work of
building God’s Kingdom. Within that, I
believe that men have been given the responsibility of being the spiritual
leaders within their households and within the Church. This does not mean that women do not take
part in shaping the spiritual life of the home or in getting involved in
ministry in the Church; however, it does mean that involvement within the
Church does not include preaching from the pulpit on a Sunday morning.
For some reason, this idea of women preaching or being
pastors (or vicars if you’re talking about the Church of England) was one of
the topics that came to mind as I was trying to fall asleep. I have always associated the ordination of
female pastors or vicars with a more “liberal” viewpoint that contradicts my
own “conservative” ideas about the roles of men and women within the
Church. But today I began to wonder if
that is always the case. I don’t pretend
to know the history of female roles within the Church of England (perhaps
someone who does could fill me in… Ian or Henry?), but I wonder if the decision
to ordain women has any relationship to the predominantly-male exodus from the
Church after World War II. What happens
to the “men-only” view of leadership when there are no men to lead? Do we stick to our guns and close the church
because there is no one (male) to lead?
Or (perhaps worse) do we put a man who is not ready to lead in the
pulpit instead of allowing a woman to “stand in the gap” until he is?
I want to make it very clear that I am not advocating the
universal ordination of women. I am
simply bringing up questions that come to my mind as I view the Church through
the context of England
where congregations seem to be made up mostly of women. If men are not attending church, they are not
choosing to become vicars either, thus limiting the number of men available to
take over as need requires. Is it really
so bad (in those situations where no male leadership is available) to have a
woman step into the pulpit? Especially if that decision is accompanied by a devotion to prayer for God to raise up the male leadership that is needed?
Please add your thoughts, questions, etc. to mine. I’m posting this blog in hopes of starting a
conversation that will help me work through some of my thoughts and ideas
within a context of community rather than just coming up with half-baked ideas
on my own.
