Listening to God together

Now that the Board of Faith and Life’s (BFL) proposal on women in ministry leadership has been in the hands of churches for six months or so, feedback patterns are beginning to emerge. May I offer a few observations in response?

The BFL is our spiritual leadership body and deserves the respect of the MB community for its efforts on this matter. Everyone on the board – from provincial conference ministers to elected representatives – takes the Bible and its authority, as well as our confession of faith, very seriously.

We should remember that theologians worldwide have studied the texts on this issue. Clearly there are two groups, but those on both sides of the issue hold the Bible as the authoritative revelation of God to us. There is a growing bibliography that shows we can remain conservative in our beliefs about God and Scripture and advocate freedom.

For example, Gilbert Bilezikian, the resident theologian who has guided Bill Hybels and the Willow Creek Community Church, was one of the first authors I read, in the 1980s, advocating women’s service in all areas of church leadership. It’s interesting that the influence of Willow Creek in our denomination might also include this perspective.

We should also remember we’re Anabaptist. That includes our core value of listening to God as a community, and dealing with the “humanizing” force that has on Scripture. The humanizing force includes taking our current context seriously and determining how we’ll apply the Bible to it.

We have a history of discussion on this issue, including political actions that have already taken us into a more nuanced reading of the Bible. A case in point: at one time we ordained women to missionary work. As such, we followed a somewhat pragmatic approach that emulated the Anabaptist approach of bringing Scripture to bear on life situations.

Fear is a powerful motivator. We have seen the effects in some denominations of ecclesiological decisions made under the influence of sociological forces. We fear we’ll experience the same effects. The fact is we aren’t making a decision on this issue based on sociological pressure. Our leaders have looked at the Bible carefully, listened to theologians who come out in different directions, and determined a cautious path that locates this issue within the mission of the church.

After Gathering 2006, if the proposal passes, many of our churches will feel free to appoint women as senior pastors. Some churches will not, and will not be compelled to. We need to allow for that difference in our conference. Some Mennonite Brethren conferences worldwide have already ordained women as pastoral leaders; others have not. The International Committee of Mennonite Brethren accepts this difference.

Why do I say these things? I hope that as we go towards our Gathering event this summer, we maintain our respect for our spiritual leaders, the Board of Faith and Life.

I also hope we’re keeping an eye on the many other critical issues we must face as a conference in the future. We’re already processing appropriate ways for the church to relate redemptively with homosexuals. We will need to address the serious issues of greed and our service to Mammon. There are over 3,000 texts in the Bible concerning our obligation to the poor, and maybe ten at most concerning the role of women (not all restrictive). I have a deep concern that when we as a denomination meet our Maker, we will be asked how we handled God’s priorities.

It’s easy to let one issue dominate to the point that it identifies a person or organization. I’m glad the discussion of this matter isn’t holding up our church planting efforts or other areas of discipleship. The BFL doesn’t want to be identified as a “one agenda” board, though it takes on issues for conference study one at a time. To its credit, the BFL has devoted more than usual time and resources, with the Listening and Learning symposia across the country and production of DVDs, to help us work at this together.

In the end I would hope that no matter what the outcome of the BFL proposal at Gathering 2006, we as a conference body will have learned something about ourselves and about God’s processes in our community. So far, I think we’re in a position to do so. We have valued both the Bible as our authority and the community as the locus for discernment. And we have endeavoured to maintain good relations amidst theological differences – a sign of a healthy church in mission!

David Wiebe is executive director of the Canadian MB Conference, based in Winnipeg.