To Affirm That God Does Indeed Prohibit Females from Public Reading of Scriptures, for Reading Is Preaching/Heralding the Word

Official Workbook overture source text

5-28 
To Affirm That God Does Indeed Prohibit Females 
from Public Reading of Scriptures, for Reading Is 
Preaching/Heralding the Word 
Preamble 
It cannot be denied that we at Trinity Lutheran Church, Tryon, N.C., 
are concerned that the Synod is drawing ever closer to the edge of 
allowing female pastors—if we have not already fallen over and are 
hanging on that edge. The Rev. Dr. William Weinrich has provided 
the most significant argument against women pastors in his lengthy 
article, “It Is Not Given to Women to Teach” (Matthew C. Harrison 
and John T. Pless, eds., Women Pastors? The Ordination of Women 
in Biblical Lutheran Perspective: A Collection of Essays [St. Louis: 
Concordia Publishing House, 2008], 353–88). Our concern goes to 
the present practice within the Synod of female readers in the public 
service. If the intrinsic work of a pastor is to preach the Word, and 
if to read the Scriptures in the public service is to preach or to 
herald, as James plainly states in Acts 15:21, it is easy to consider 
that de facto we are there already. The following overture 
encourages a scripturally mandated reset regarding the Office of the 
Ministry before it is too late. For information on the practice of the 
Lutheran Reformers, see Gunther Stiller’s Johann Sebastian Bach 
and Liturgical Life in Leipzig (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing 
House, 1984, 66–74, 121, 136). 
W
HEREAS, The Synod holds the Bible to be the Word of God, 
both incapable of error and free from error, and that as stated in the 
Lutheran Confessions, We believe, teach, and confess that the sole 
rule and standard according to which all dogmas together with all 
teachers should be estimated and judged are the prophetic and 
apostolic Scriptures of the Old and of the New Testament alone” 
(FC Ep, Summary Content, 1 [Triglotta]); and 
W
HEREAS, The Synod recognizes that preaching in the services 
of the congregation is intrinsic to the Office of the Ministry, and 
therefore the Synod recognizes Jesus’ prohibition against females 
serving as preachers and does not allow females to preach; and 
WHEREAS, By the Holy Spirit, James, the leader of the church in 
Jerusalem and brother of our Lord, authoritatively declares in Acts 
15:21, “For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city 
those [preaching/heralding] him ( τοὺς κηρ ύσσοντας), since he is 
read (ἀναγινωσκόμενος) every Sabbath in the synagogues” (author 
translation); and 
W
HEREAS, This public reading of Moses (Genesis to 
Deuteronomy) itself entails his being preached/heralded as 
recognized and stated plainly by Gerhard Friedrich, “In Acts 15:21 
the weekly reading of the OT Law in the synagogue is called a 
preaching of Moses” ( κηρύσσω, in Theological Dictionary of the 
New Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964], 3:705); and 
W
HEREAS, St. Paul refers to his own appointment as a 
herald/preacher (κῆρυξ), apostle, and teacher (1 Tim. 2:7), leading 
up to his clear exclusion of a female ( γυναικὶ) from teaching or 
exercising authority over a male ( ἀνδρός) in 1 Timothy 2:12, “ but 
for a female to teach I do not allow, neither to exercise authority 
over a male” (author translation) because of the order of creation 
and the way in which the female (γυνὴ) was involved in the fall; and 
WHEREAS, The source of Synod’s current position that Scripture 
does not prohibit women from reading the Scriptures in the church 
service goes back to 1989 Resolution 3-14, “To Address 
Appropriate Roles for Women and Men in Worship” (Proceedings, 
118): 
  W HEREAS, The Gospel images and expectations of women —
particularly those associated with the incarnation, the 
resurrection, and the ministry of Jesus — present strong and 
persistent recognition of the active and vital roles of service that 
women can offer to our Lord and to others; and 
  W HEREAS, The Commission on Theology and Church 
Relations (CTCR) has stated that there are certain distinct 
functions which should not ordinarily be carried out by the laity 
(who may hold auxiliary offices) but which are to be exercised 
by the pastor, including the following: 
1. P reaching in the services of the congregation 
2. Leading the formal public services of worship 
3. The public administration of the sacraments 
4. The public administration of the Office of the Keys 
(Women in the Church, p. 42); and 
  W
HEREAS, The CTCR has also stated in its report Women in 
the Church: “There is no ceremonial law in the New Testament 
regarding the reading of Scripture in the context of public 
worship. Nor is there explicit apostolic prohibition of such 
reading by women. Nevertheless, it is the opinion of the CTCR 
that the reading of the Scriptures is most properly the function of 
the pastoral office and should therefore not ordinarily be 
delegated to a lay person, woman or man,” (Women in the 
Church, p. 45); and 
  W HEREAS, The use of lay assisting ministers, both female and 
male, is permitted within the rubrics of Lutheran Worship for the 
reading of the lessons, except the Gospel and the leading of the 
prayers of the people; therefore be it 
  Resolved, That the Synod urge and encourage the continued 
service of women and men to our Lord and His church in 
accordance with His will as set forth in Holy Scripture; and be it 
further 
  Resolved
, That the CTCR report Women in the Church and 
especially Section III, “Guidelines for Practice,” be commended 
for study and guidance; and be it finally 
  Resolved, That the congregations of the Synod proceed with 
care and sensitivity in making decisions permitting the lay 
reading of the Scriptures, recognizing decisions in this regard lie 
in the area of Christian judgment. 
Action: Adopted (15).  
and 
W
HEREAS, The 2005 Commission on Theology and Church 
Relations report The Service of Women in Congregational and 
Synodical Offices with Guidelines for Congregations, in its section 
“Scriptural and Confessional Basis” (20), states: 
… 
4. Neither the Scriptures nor the Lutheran Confessions provide a 
detailed list of the activities required of pastors in the 
congregations they “are called to serve.” Intrinsic to this office, 
however, are the following functions: “1) preaching in the 
services of the congregation; 2) leading the formal public 
services of worship; 3) the public administration of the 
sacraments; and 4) the public administration of the office of the 
keys.”