When will the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) have clergywomen?

Question

What is their justification for not having women in the pulpit already?

Dear Gastoune: If women must be silent in church, does that mean that women cannot sing or say prayers aloud in church?

Answer 1

Disclaimer: The opinions I'm rendering are those of the LCMS CTCR (Commission on Theology and Church Relations). They are the body empowered by Synod to "Search the Scriptures...You Know It To Be True". They are NOT my own opinions. Your question was twofold: When will they have clergywomen and what is their justification for not having women in the pulpit already. To answer the second part of your question, I must put my own opinions aside and deliver the CTCR's position if I am to do your question justice.

First, I believe wholeheartedly, that within the next fifty years, the LCMS will ordain women. I know many a Lutheran who will argue with me, and even call me a heretic. (Of course, the church also called Martin Luther a heretic too). I believe that the same arguments that were used to justify the position shift of the LCMS from only using male teachers, the granting of suffrage to women in the church (and it should be known that there are still some rogue congregations that do not), and the ability of women to hold congregational office (such as executive director) will ultimately be used to justify the ordination of women. I believe that the ordination of women is actually adiophora, something that is neither required nor prohibited by Scripture. While the CTCR and other scholarly Lutherans will disagree with me, I'm sure, the same Scriptures that were once used to prevent women from teaching, from voting, and holding office are the very Scriptures now being used to prevent women from being ordained. Logically, we can presume that a natural progression will be that the Holy Spirit will reveal to us that the issue of women in the pulpit is actually adiophora.

The Scriptures without qualification affirm that all believing Christians, both men and women, are priests of God (1 Peter 2:9; Rev. 1:6). Through Baptism God has made them all, equally and without distinctions of importance or value, members of the one body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12–13; Gal. 3:27–28; Rom. 12:5). No one is baptized to be either man or woman. To the members of the “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9) of believers belong all of the rights, privileges and responsibilities which Christ has given to His church on earth (1 Cor. 3:21,22; Matt. 16:13–19; 18:17–20; John 20:22,23; Matt. 28:18–20; 1 Cor. 11:23–25). By the mercies of
God, His priests are exhorted to present themselves “as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1).

So, what is the justification for not having women in the pulpit already? This is where my opinions end and those of the CTCR begin. I don't believe this to be justifiable, but to answer your question, their justification of such can be found in the document "The Service of Women in Congregational and Synodical Offices." Specifically in section II A, "The Pastoral Office", it states that "This office is distinct from the universal priesthood of believers and has its origin in the divine institution (iure divino) of the office. The Scriptures speak of the office uniquely as one to which God appoints men with the responsibility of oversight and care for His flock
(Acts 20:28). To this office belongs the “shepherding” serving as “pastor”) of that portion of God’s flock assigned to him (1 Peter 5:2–3). This charge to serve as pastor of God’s flock is conferred by God through the call of the church, which places a man under a special obligation for which he is accountable to God and to those who have called him (1 Cor. 4:1–15; Heb. 13:17; 1 Tim. 3:1–7, 14–15; Titus 1:5–9)."

Further in that section, it states "In addition to the moral and vocational qualifications required of those divinely placed into this high office in the church (1 Tim. 3:1–7; Titus 3:5–9),
the Scriptures teach that the incumbent of the pastoral office must be a man. On the basis of Old Testament Scripture, St. Paul taught that “the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says” (1 Cor. 14:34). Understood within its context, this passage means that women ought not lead the public worship service, specifically carry out the teaching-preaching aspects of the service. In 1 Tim. 2:12 St. Paul instructs the church, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or have authority over man; she is to keep silent.” Again on the basis of scriptural arguments, the apostle holds in this text that women are not to take the position of one to whom is assigned responsibility for the formal, public proclamation of the Christian faith. In summary, Scripture teaches that women not hold the formal position of the authoritative public teaching office in the church, that is, the office of pastor."

This same argument has been used, as I have mentioned already, in the past to keep women from teaching, voting, and holding congregational office. It is now being used to keep women out of the pulpit. The Holy Spirit has led our church to recant those previous prohibitions, and I believe that in time, we shall also recant the prohibition of women to the pulpit.

I believe that we are doing the people of God a grave injustice by NOT ordaining women, and I hope that God permits me to live long enough to see a woman ordained in the LCMS.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Answer 2

Simple question, as long as the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod remains faithful to the scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions and remains a confessional Lutheran body, it will not ordain women (I assume you are referring to ordination when you say "in the pulpit"). The one piece of scripture that comes to my mind is 1 Timothy 2:12:
"I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet."

If both of you read the scripture that you referenced, you would see that it is not saying that women (in Church) can not talk. Though, the LCMS has deaconesses which we don't have and that just confuses me.

Answer 3

The women must keep silent in church according to the scriptures dear. That makes preaching technically difficult.