“Appropriate” Reality

When I graduated from North Park Theological Seminary in May of 2011 the keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Isolde Anderson, reflected upon her graduation from NPTS in the 1980’s. At that time there were only a few female graduates, and they were worried that a motion might be passed in the ECC to rescind the ordination of women. Rev. Dr. Anderson expressed how difficult it was to receive an initial call into pastoral ministry because very few churches were willing to consider a female candidate, and those who were open to this had very limited resources. Rev. Anderson’s first church was so small (only 25 people) that they couldn’t afford to fly her out for an interview.

The Covenant Church has come a long way in 30 years! The Covenant has made a strong commitment to affirming and supporting God’s call to women in ministry. In our class of 2011 half of the North Park Theological Seminary graduates were women! It’s exciting to see an increasing number of women entering seminary, pastoring churches, and serving in leadership positions in the denomination as well! However, we still have a way to go before there is a more balanced representation of women in ministry in the ECC; particularly in senior pastoral roles in larger churches. It’s interesting to note that while 23 of the 46 graduates in my class were women, the distribution of male/female balance was less equal in specific degree areas: 7 of the 10 MACF graduates were women, while only 13 of 34 of the MDiv graduates were women. Why this difference?

I believe part of the issue is that while the Covenant Denomination openly affirms women in all areas of ministry, the reality is that some people (and congregations) still view certain positions as more “appropriate” from men (i.e. Senior Pastor) and others as more “appropriate” for women (i.e. Children’s Ministry). I’ve heard people say, “It’s alright to have a female Youth Pastor, or Associate Pastor, or even an Interim Senior Pastor, but we can’t have our permanent Senior Pastor be a woman.” Why not?  If our denomination affirms that women are gifted and called for pastoral ministry, why not seek to call the “pastor” who best fits a church, despite their gender?

One of my hopes is that more Covenant churches will remove ‘gender’ as a ministerial qualifier (both spoken & unspoken), and will instead seek to call pastors because of their gifts for ministry, their fit with a church, and most importantly the leading of the Holy Spirit. As this qualifier is removed, and gifted men and women serve together, might all people be encouraged to faithfully seek and follow God’s call!