"Theses on Women in the Church: Resources in dialogue with 'Women in the Church: Scriptural Principles and Ecclesial Practice: A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod September 1985'"

These resources are offered in dialogue with the 1985 document on "Women in the Church" (WIC) produced by the Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. The resources address the issue of what the Holy Scriptures say regarding the ministry of women within the Body of Christ.

The material on this web site is divided into a number of booklets. Each of the booklets is one segment of the total study, which is also available on this web site should one like to read or download it.

The material is laid out as follows: the shaded areas represent material usually taken from WIC-CTCR. Following the shaded material is a Thesis and supporting data in dialogue with the WIC-CTCR material. Also within this study are a number of essays which discuss specific topics.

The CTCR document with which this is in dialogue may be obtained from Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis by phone (1-800-325-3040) or by accessing www.cphmall.com (ask for item number 09-2477 "Women in the Church: Scriptural Principles and Ecclesiastical Practice"). The CTCR document may also be accessed through www.lcms.org (follow the links to the Commission on Theology and Church Relations).

This material is copyrighted and may not be reprinted or reproduced for publication or dissemination without express written permission of the author. Permission is granted to reproduce material herein for small groups and class situations in congregational or pastoral study group contexts.

"Why should I read and inwardly digest something written by Pastor Arnie Voigt?"

First, who am I? I am a pastor on the roster of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, a 1965 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. For 35 years I have served in parish ministry, for ten years at Faith Lutheran Church in Mobile, Alabama, and since then at Ascension Lutheran Church in Littleton, Colorado (1701 West Caley Avenue, 80120). I have done additional studies at Concordia Seminary Extensions, Selma; Springhill College, Mobile; Bethesda Hospital, Denver; Tantur Ecumenical Institute of Biblical Studies, Jerusalem. I served on the Board of Directors of the Southern District and as president of the Denver Area Pastors Conference. I worked as chaplain with victim families at the Oklahoma City bombing trials, Denver, and was present with students and families during and after the Columbine High School shootings.

Second, this paper was born out of questions arising in parish ministry: Our congregation's constitution was approved by the District without any gender distinctions. Later, the District Constitution Committee ask that we add these distinctions for a number of positions. The question asked by our Elders and Council was should we keep our constitution as is, and on which we were basing ministry practice, or should we accede to the direction of our District's Constitution Committee to add the term "male" in certain paragraphs outlining qualifications for elders and president?

How to address these issues? I take very seriously my ordination vow, which includes commitment to the "canonical books of the Old and the New Testament [as] the inspired Word of God and the only infallible rule of faith and practice..." (The Lutheran Agenda, "Ordination of a Minister"). I had no desire to lead into barren pastures the people God sent me to shepherd. I had done some study, albeit limited, in this specific area. So I felt that, first of all, I needed myself to listen very closely to how the inspired Word addresses these questions.

This paper is the result of that "listening closely." The paper has been shared with my District President, Pastor Roger Krause, Rocky Mountain District, and portions have been shared with our circuit pastors. Over a dozen individual pastors and several theological professors of Synod have reviewed and critiqued the material. It has been submitted in its entirety to the Commission on Theology and Church Relations. The resources are resources for study within the Church. May God bless our careful listening to his sacred Word!

Below is an index for this web site. Additional studies will be added in time.