BFL study series meets in Saskatchewan

The second in the series of provincial study conferences on the issue of women in ministry leadership, sponsored by the Board of Faith and Life (BFL) of the Canadian MB Conference and provincial conference leadership, took place in Saskatoon Sept. 25.

Some 37 people gathered in the West Portal Church for the day of study, led by Doug Heidebrecht, an instructor in biblical studies at Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask. Heidebrecht, a facilitator at all the proposed conferences, followed a format and outline similar to that of the first conference in Ontario (see Herald June 11).

Two areas of study intertwined and (because each is so large in its own right) sometimes competed for attention throughout the day. One was the issue of women in ministry leadership – the reason for the study conferences. This determined the texts under consideration. The other was the practice of interpretation, or hermeneutics. It was interest in hermeneutics and how it applies to contemporary issues, Heidebrecht said, that had brought him to the women in ministry leadership question.

Participants in “round table” discussion.

The interpretive model

Doug Heidebrecht

As far as hermeneutics are concerned, Heidebrecht suggested a four-fold model (also described in his article in the Herald, April 9): read the text carefully, place the text in biblical context, relate the text to our situation, and live the text. What happens, he said, is that “we attempt to read the text and live it, but we are missing the two steps in between.”

Heidebrecht emphasized the importance of “listening” to the text. This is a “call,” he said, “and a stance.” The call to listen “expects God to speak.” It means, he said, “that we stand under, not over the text.” Besides listening, some self-awareness is necessary. Factors that may influence how we think about texts include the Western cultural view of women, our denominational theological background, local church teaching and practice, the family structure in the home, and personal experience.

The process also includes talking together, with both conviction and humility. “The relational aspect is the most important part of our time together,” BFL chair Walter Unger had said as he opened the day. This happened in table discussions after each teaching session.

Heidebrecht used PowerPoint technology to assist the group in the study of the texts and to place them in context. He showed the entire book of 1 Timothy on a single screen, for example, with the relatively small portion the group was studying highlighted. He was also able to quickly call up Scripture after Scripture on the wall screen and highlight parts to reveal themes and the use of similar language or concepts in various texts.

Women in leadership

As far as the women in ministry leadership question was concerned, Heidebrecht prefaced the Bible studies with an overview of differing interpretations in the wider evangelical context, as well as the Mennonite Brethren journey on the issue (see sidebar). The evangelical debate “raging” today coalesces around views described as “complementarian” or “egalitarian.” Heidebrecht gave website addresses for each but cautioned against “taking these labels.” It creates a defensive debate, he said, and puts us in “different camps.”

In the study of Galatians 3:28, Heidebrecht showed that the focus is not equality but “oneness,” and the context is Paul’s conversation about receiving the Spirit. Differences do not count before a God who shows no partiality; the language is that of the new creation. In Timothy, there are repeated references to “godliness.” Heidebrecht suggested that the critical issue Paul is addressing is false or “a different” teaching that targets households. (His paper on 1 Timothy 2:9–15 is forthcoming in Direction.)

Sylvia McCorkindale, Hepburn, reports on a table discussion.

Summaries of the table discussions at day’s end included a candid admission of “brain overload,” as well as the half-jesting wish that Heidebrecht had stated “what it means” rather than making people work at the texts themselves. One group reported they accepted the reading of 1Timothy as forbidding false teaching. Another said they could not get past “the order of creation” argument in restricting roles. No clear consensus seemed to have emerged on the implications of the two texts for women in leadership ministry.

About the hermeneutical process, however, there was affirmation and confidence. “I’m excited about this process,” one participant said, “to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture.” Another – a man who declared himself the oldest in the room – said, “The Holy Spirit will guide us if we’re prepared to listen. Because God is who He is, He can be trusted.”

The 37 in attendance included 4 members of the provincial Board of Faith and Life, but represented only 11 of Saskatchewan’s 30 MB churches. Organizers privately expressed some disappointment in the turnout. It was suggested that this issue may simply not be a high priority for MBs in the province.

—Dora Dueck