LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2007, Page 371

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THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS 371

the public proclamation of the Word and the administration of the
sacraments. In keeping with what the Scriptures teach about the ser-
vice of women with respect to the-pastoral office, women may not
assume responsibility for or carry out in behalf of the congregation
(that is “publicly’”’), and in the stead of Christ, those functions in the
local congregation that would involve them in the exercise of au-
thority inherent in this authoritative public teaching office in the
church.’ This remains the only stricture.

These considerations imply, and even require, that in determin-
ing the eligibility of women for services in all congregational, Dis-
trict and synodical offices, attention be given to the functions
attached to a given office. As the Commission stated in the 1985 re-
port on Women in the Church, “For other offices [other than the of-
fice of public ministry of Word and sacraments] we have no express
‘thus saith the Lord,’ and everything depends on the functions as-
signed to these offices.’

CASE ONE: The Office of Elder

From the early years of the history of The Lutheran Church—
Missouri Synod to the present, congregations have established an
office called “elder” (Vorsteher) to assist the pastor in carrying out
the functions of the office of the public ministry (Predigtamt).? The
duties of this office in synodical congregations generally indicate
that elders work closely with the pastor in his divinely assigned re-
sponsibility to feed the whole congregation with the Word of God
and to watch over it for the sake of its spiritual welfare. Elders serve
primarily to assist the pastor in shepherding and overseeing the en-
tire flock of God at their place. They frequently assist in certain as-
pects of the conduct of the public worship service, such as in the
distribution of Holy Communion. In certain emergency situations
elders may be asked by the congregation to perform, on a tempo-
rary basis, certain distinctive functions of the pastoral office (e.g.,
lead public worship, deliver a sermon).

In evaluating whether women may serve in the office of elder
(established iure humano) in congregations, the principal consider-
ation is whether the office requires that those who hold it are eligi-
ble to perform those functions that are distinctive to the public
exercise of the ministry of Word and sacrament. If such a situation
pertains, women may not serve in this office. An additional con-
sideration has to do with the use of the term “elder” for those of-
fices which do not in fact require such responsibilities. In view of
the use of the term “elder” in the Scriptures (see note 9), in the his-
tory of the church, and in our own synodical history, we recommend
that this term be reserved for that office which has as its assigned
duty assisting the pastor in the public exercise of the distinctive
functions of his office.

To avoid confusion regarding the pastoral office, consideration
should perhaps be given to the use of a different term (e.g., deacon,
deaconess) for those who assist the pastor in the care of the flock,
but who are not engaged in the distinctive functions of the pastoral
ministry. Women have long participated actively in a caring, spiri-
tual ministry in our Synod’s congregations and in light of presently
changing needs will likely be increasingly asked to do so. Such
work is not only necessary, but ought to be encouraged, for the re-
sponsibility for the mutual care and nurture of Christ’s body, the
church, lies with all and may indeed be enhanced through the cre-
ation of offices for this task.

CASE TWO: The Offices of Chairman, Vice Chairman

If the duties prescribed for the offices of chairman and vice
chairman in the congregation do not allow for the assumption of the
distinctive functions of the pastoral office, women are free to hold
this office without any scriptural restriction—a principle that ap-
plies to the chairmanship of all other congregational committees as
well. Since the responsibilities of these offices usually do not in-
volve the exercise of the functions of pastoral oversight through the

ministry of Word and sacrament in congregations today, women
gifted for such areas of responsibility should be encouraged toward
such service.

CASE THREE: Members of a Synodical Dispute Resolution Panel

The following questions have been addressed to the CTCR re-
garding the service of women on a synodical Dispute Resolution
Panel: 1) Whether, or in what cases, the majority of persons on a
dispute resolution panel may be women, and 2) if the majority serv-
ing on a Dispute Resolution Panel are women, would the decision
be valid in that specific case?! Given the limitations noted above
regarding other positions created by the church but not divinely es-
tablished, women are free to serve as reconcilers and members of
such panels. The question as to whether women may constitute a
majority on such a panel is in itself irrelevant. To be sure, if women
having a majority on such a panel were to seek to assert their power
as women over men as men, such conduct would be a violation of
Christian love, just as it would be for a majority of men to exercise
power as men over women in such a situation.

Conclusion: A Word of Encouragement

St. Paul concludes his epistle to the Romans by greeting and
commending by name a number of men and women in the congre-
gation. Included among those mentioned are a number of women,
most of whom are held up for the church to see as models of de-
voted labor in support of the ministry of the Gospel. “If women kept
silence in the public worship of the church (1 Cor. 14:34), they cer-
tainly did not remain inactive in the work of the church.”""! The apos-
tle’s friendship and the warmth of his affection must have been a
source of great encouragement to these men and women who had
toiled hard with him in the service of Christ and His church.

The biblical restraints regarding the service of women in the
church and the authority of the pastoral office need not become the
only, or even predominant, word we speak to one another. To speak
of the “eligibility” of the service of women in congregational and
synodical offices might give the impression to some that our pri-
mary concern in the contemporary church is to discourage women
from exercising the privileges and responsibilities they hold as
members of the priesthood of believers. Men and women alike,
however, need to help one another, first of all, to see that God’s
Word itself provides standards of “eligibility” for service in offices
of the church, and it does so without any diminution of the value of
persons. But just as important, God’s people must be instruments
of daily encouragement to one another and help each other to dis-
cover and appreciate the joys of Christian service. All of us would
do well to emulate the apostle Paul’s example in giving words of
support and commendation to fellow workers in the church of God.

It is the prayer of the Commission that this brief report will as-
sist the members of the Synod in understanding and faithfully ap-
plying what the Scriptures teach about the service of women in
various positions of assigned responsibility. May our beloved Lord
continue to guide and bless our deliberations and decisions in this
area, to the end that we remain faithful to His will regarding the
ministry of Word and sacraments and our life of Christian service.

Appendix

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, after a number of years
of careful study and deliberation, decided at its 1969 convention “to
grant women suffrage and board membership.”? In that decision
the Synod stated that it understood those statements of Scripture
which pertain to the service of women in the church (specifically,
1 Corinthians 1!, 14; 1 Timothy 2) to mean that “women ought not
to hold the pastoral office or serve in any other capacity involving the
distinctive functions of this office.” Regarding offices and board mem-
bership the Synod went on to state its belief that women are prohib-
ited from holding any other kind of office or membership on boards

2007 Convention Workbook