Church Requesting Research on the Ordination of Women

The WCG doctrinal review team will be studying research submitted by ministers and members of the Worldwide Church of God on the subject of female elders and pastors. If you would like to contribute, please follow the guidelines below and submit your paper no later than May 25. Papers submitted after that date will not be included in the study.

Guidelines for submission

All research must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format. Use 12-point, Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and be sure to double-space your work and number all pages.

Include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number, along with the name of your congregation and local pastor, in the upper left portion of the first page. If you have formal theological training, please describe it on the line below your pastor’s name.

Begin your paper with a 250-or-less-word synopsis of your work, citing the specific question your paper is addressing followed by your basic tenets and conclusions.

Conclude your paper with a thorough bibliography of works cited.

Lay out your research and conclusions in calm, reasoned language. Before you conclude your paper, be sure to interact constructively with views that disagree with your own, and express what you understand to be the strengths and weaknesses of your perspective.

Papers do not need to discuss all the issues. A thorough discussion of one question or passage of Scripture is better than a superficial treatment of them all. Pertinent topics for research would include the following:

n      Does Genesis imply equality or subordination before the Fall?

n      Do biblical stories of women show that God requires that they be subordinate?

n      Did Jesus treat women as equals? Why did he choose only men apostles?

n      What roles did women have in the apostolic church?

n      Did Paul allow women to prophesy in church meetings? What authority did these prophecies have? How is this different from teaching?

n      Does 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 give a universal rule, or was it intended only for certain situations?

n      Does 1 Timothy 2:12-15 give a universal rule, or was it intended only for certain situations?

n      Do Paul’s other comments about men and women (apart from 1 Timothy 2:12-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-36) provide any guidance for us?

n      How do modern cultural matters affect this question?

Only submissions by members in good standing of the Worldwide Church of God will be considered for review.

Papers must be e-mailed as a Microsoft Word attachment to doctrinalstudy@wcg.org On your e-mail message be sure to include the following information: Your name, address, email address, the name of your congregation and the name of your pastor. This is in addition to the information you will include in the upper left portion of page one of your attached paper.

PLEASE NOTE: Submissions will be posted for general viewing (without personal information except your name and congregation) on a dedicated website at churchwomen.tripod.com

 Literature on Women in Ministry

Numerous books and articles have been published on the subject of women in ministry. The study paper in 1997 mentioned the following, in alphabetical order:

Clouse, Bonnidell, and Robert G. Clouse. Women in Ministry: Four Views. InterVarsity, 1989. Robert Culver and Susan Foh argue against the ordination of women, Walter Liefeld argues that ordination itself is erroneous, and Alvera Mickelsen argues in favor of women’s ordination.

Grenz, Stanley J. and Denise Muir Kjesbo. Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry. InterVarsity, 1995. A readable presentation of the egalitarian view.

Keener, Craig S. Paul, Women and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul. Hendrickson, 1995. Egalitarian, with extensive footnotes about historical situations.

Kostenberger, Andreas J., Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin, editors. Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15. Baker, 1995. Argues against the ordination of women.

Piper, John, and Wayne Grudem, editors. Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism. Crossway Books, 1991. The most thorough (500 plus pages) argument against ordaining women.

Several books have been published since 1997. We recommend this one in particular:

Beck, James R. and Craig L. Blomberg, editors. Two Views on Women in Ministry (Zondervan, 2001). Craig Keener and Linda Belleville write in favor of women in ministry; Thomas Schreiner and Ann Bowman argue against. Beck (in favor) and Blomberg (against) comment on the essays. A model of peaceful discussion.

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