LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2004, Page 458

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458 OTHER PERTINENT DOCUMENTS

The Service of Women in Congregational
and Synodical Offices

J. The Service of Women in Congregational
and Synodical Offices:

The CTCR’s Assignment

A. The Service of Women

The Scriptures without qualification affirm that all believing
Christians, both men and women, are priests of God (1 Peter 2:9;
Rev. 1:6). Through Baptism, God has made them all, equally and
without distinctions of importance or value, members of the one
body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12~13; Gal. 3:27-28; Rom. 12:5). No
one is baptized to be either man or woman. To the members of the
“royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9) of believers belong all of the rights,
privileges and responsibilities which Christ has given to His church
on earth (1 Cor. 3:21, 22; Matt. 16:13-19; 18:17-20; John
20:22,23; Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-25; Treatise 24). By the
mercies of God, His priests are exhorted to present themselves “as
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is [their] spir-
itual worship” (Rom. 12:1).

In their various callings, Christian men and women alike have
received from their Lord the high privilege and responsibility of
serving each other and their neighbor, as He has served them (Mark
10:45; John 13:15). In their relationship to one another as followers
of Jesus and members of His family, all questions of rank or au-
thority and the insistence on individual “rights” must be set aside
(Mark 10:35-45; John 13:16-17). Rather, in their common life to-
gether, they are to give themselves to each other in humble and lov-
ing service (Phil. 2:1-4), seeking ways in which they might en-
courage each other to good works (Heb. 10:24).

When we speak, therefore, of the service of women in the
church we are referring in the first instance to nothing else than the
common work that belongs to all Christians which they faithfully
and joyfully accomplish until the Lord comes (Phil. 4:4-7).

B. The Service of Women in Congregational and Synodical Offices

The Synod has asked the Commission on Theology and Church
Relations to prepare a study of the service of Christian women in
assigned areas of responsibility in the church.'

Specifically, the Synod has requested “that the CTCR, in con-
sultation with the Council of Presidents, prepare a study on the el-
igibility of women for service in all offices of the congregation, in-
cluding that of chairman, vice-chairman, and elder, and district and
synodical boards and commissions where their official function
would, in effect, involve public accountability for the function(ing)
of the pastoral office.” Simply stated, this assignment has arisen
because the Synod has previously taken the position that the Scrip-
tures themselves qualify or limit the eligibility of women for ser-
vice in the church. The Scriptures do so in those passages which
require that only men are permitted to serve in the office of pastor
and carry out the functions which God has assigned to it
(1 Corinthians 14; 1 Timothy 2). The question before the Commis-
sion, therefore, is this: In applying what the Scriptures teach con-
cerning the pastoral office and its functions, what additional limi-
tations, if any, should Christians place upon the service of women
in the church, specifically with reference to offices established in
and by the church?

In our judgment a Scripturally informed response must seek to
hold in tension two equally valid themes. On the one hand, we must
take care not to diminish in any way what the Bible teaches us
about the full possession by men and women, equally, of the rights
and privileges of the priesthood of believers. At the same time, we
must remain faithful to biblical teaching regarding the uniqueness
of God’s gift of the pastoral office, and the divinely given require-
ments which circumscribe it. ;

2004 Convention Workbook

II. Offices within the Christian Congregation

A. The Pastoral Office.
1. A Divine Institution (ture divino).

According to the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, our
Lord has mandated and instituted the office of the public min-
istry—the only divinely established office in the church (Matt.
28:18-20; John 20:22—23; Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 12:28-29; Eph. 4:11;
1 Pet. 5:1; Tit. 1:5; AC V; AC XIV; Ap XIII; Treatise 67-72). This
office is distinct from the universal priesthood of believers and has
its origin in the divine institution (iure divino) of the office. The
Scriptures speak of the office uniquely as one to which God ap-
points men with the responsibility of oversight and care for His
flock (Acts 20:28). To this office belongs the “shepherding” (serv-
ing as “pastor’) of that portion of God’s flock assigned to him
(1 Pet. 5:2-3). This charge to serve as pastor of God’s flock is con-
ferred by God through the call of the church, which places a man
under a special obligation for which he is accountable to God and
to those who have called him (1 Cor. 4:1-15; Heb. 13:17; 1 Tim.
3:1-7, 14-15; Tit. 1:5-9).

2. Divinely Given Functions (iure divine).

The pastoral office requires the performance of specific func-
tions that carry out the mission of God in His church as it carries
out its work in the world. Some of these functions are “distinctive,”
for they entail the public exercise of the ministry of Word and
sacrament that has been assigned by God to this office for the nur-
ture, care and equipping of His people. In summary form, the
Augsburg Confession asserts “that according to the Gospel the
power of the keys or the power of bishops [pastors] is a power and
command of God to preach the Gospel, to forgive and retain sins,
and to administer and distribute the sacraments” (AC XXVIII, 5;
cf. 8-9, 21 etc.). We recognize that neither the Scriptures nor the
Lutheran Confessions provide a detailed list of the activities re-
quired of pastors as they carry out these responsibilities in the
Christian congregation which they are called to serve. However,
intrinsic to this office of overseeing and shepherding of the flock
are the following functions: (1) preaching in the services of the
congregation; (2) leading the formal public services of worship; (3)
the public administration of the sacraments; and (4) the public ad-
ministration of the office of the keys.*

3. Eligibility for Service.

In addition to the moral and vocational qualifications required
of those divinely placed into this high office in the church (1 Tim.
3:1-7; Titus 3:5-9), the Scriptures teach that the incumbent of the
pastoral office must be a man. On the basis of Old Testament Scrip-
ture, St. Paul taught that “the women should keep silence in the
churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subor-
dinate, as even the law says” (1 Cor. 14:34). Understood within its
context, this passage means that women ought not lead the public
worship service, specifically carry out the teaching-preaching as-
pects of the service.’ In | Tim. 2:12, St. Paul instructs the church,
“Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no
woman to teach or have authority over man; she is to keep silent.”
Again on the basis of Scriptural arguments, the apostle holds in this
text that women are not to take the position of one to whom is as-
signed responsibility for the formal, public proclamation of the
Christian faith.*

In summary, Scripture teaches that women not hold the formal
position of the authoritative public teaching office in the church,
that is, the office of pastor.®