article 26 and women preachers

[jane churchland]

I know I am asking for it by raising this question, but it is something which I am genuinely interested in finding an answer to. Excerpt  from the 39 articles below:

26. Of the Unworthiness of the Ministers, which hinders not the effect of the Sacraments.
Although in the visible Church the evil be ever mingled with the good, and sometimes the evil have chief authority in the Ministration of the Word and Sacraments, yet forasmuch as they do not the same in their own name, but in Christ's, and do minister by his commission and authority, we may use their Ministry, both in hearing the Word of God, and in receiving the Sacraments. Neither is the effect of Christ's ordinance taken away by their wickedness, nor the grace of God's gifts diminished from such as by faith, and rightly, do receive the Sacraments ministered unto them; which be effectual, because of Christ's institution and promise, although they be ministered by evil men.

Nevertheless, it appertaineth to the discipline of the Church, that inquiry be made of evil Ministers, and that they be accused by those that have knowledge of their offences; and finally, being found guilty, by just judgment be deposed.


The occasion which I am thinking of is people walking out of church upon finding that the sermon is to be delivered by a woman. I know this happens.  It occurs to me that the article, and some fairly heavyweight theological thinking behind the article states that unworthiness in the person of the minister does not destroy God's use of them for ministry (I know my terms here are loose). Do any of the complementarians on the board have a comment to make on how this may or may not apply to the situation of women preaching?

[Jenny George]

To start with, just to clarify (as I know you know Jane), this article was written in an environment where some people weren't sure about the validity of the sacraments they had received or might receive. The church was being tossed about by Reformation ideas from Europe, there were still a lot of people loyal to Rome and the English church was charting a path through this mess so it was important to reassure ordinary punters that the validity of the Word and Sacraments came from Jesus and not the status, moral or otherwise, of the person who was administering them. Especially since most ordinary people didn't have any choice about which church meeting they attended or who their minister was.

However it is interesting to apply this article to the rather different situation we find ourselves in now. When a person preaches the Word (and what they say is true) and adminsters the Sacraments (and we receive the sacraments with faith in Jesus) then does it matter what that person is, in themselves, for the efficacy of the Sacraments and our edification from the Word? This article might be taken to answer, No. So you shouldn't walk out on a sermon if there's a woman preaching. Rather you should stay, humbling accepting the truth that is being preached while also (as always) weighing what is being said to discern that it is in line with the Bible.

There is a kicker in the last bit though. (To paraphrase the article): If you know someone to be an evil-doer, you should use the proper channels to alert someone so that discipline can be carried out. Perhaps the corollary to this for women preachers is that those who believe that a woman preaching is wrong should use the proper channels (e.g. the minister) to raise this as an issue.

I have another question though... Given that we now live in a world where you have the ability to go to a number of different churches, is there now more responsibility on the individual to worship in a place where their conscience can allow them full participation without doubts?  

[Jereth]

Thank you for asking this question Jane. I'll try and and answer it as delicately as I can. Naturally I can only speak for myself.

Based on my understanding of scripture I do not think it is appropriate for women to preach to mixed congregations. Nevertheless I think scripture makes it clear as well that God works in sub-ideal situations and his word (and sacraments) is effective even if administered in a sub-ideal way. The story of Balaam makes this clear enough (not that I'm comparing a faithful female preacher directly with Balaam!). So the Anglican article is accurate in what it affirms.

In the past, when I have listened to sermons given by females, though I have felt uncomfortable, I have nevertheless been taught and edified. Personally I do not have a blanket policy of absenting myself (or walking out) when a woman preaches at church. Females only preach occasionally at my church, and historically my decision has been that the reasons to continue participating in church life outweigh the reasons to absent myself. (Other complementarians I know have taken a stricter line and I respect their choice.)

Interestingly, right at the moment there is a series of 4 sermons being given by a woman at my church. My wife and I have decided to absent ourselves for the last 3 of these. It is the first time we've ever taken such drastic (and painful) action. We have politely given an explanation to our minister for what we are doing. There are 2 reasons, one entirely subjective and one objective.

(1) As a male who holds the views I hold, I simply feel uncomfortable sitting through sermons given by women, and 4 in a row is just too much. It grates against my conscience, and Paul says in Romans 15 that participating in something with a spirit of doubt may lead to personal sin. So I am absenting myself for the ease of my own conscience.
(2) We feel that by allowing a woman to preach for 4 consecutive weeks, our church as a corporate body is defying the word of God in a way that is unacceptable. We do not feel that we can support this corporate disobedience, and our way of withdrawing our support is not to attend.

Note that neither of these 2 reasons negate what I said above -- that God can and does work effectually through his preached word, even when the circumstances are sub-ideal. Those who remain at church those weeks will, I have no doubt, be taught and edified and strengthened in the faith through the working of the Spirit.

Now, there is also the issue of whether it is healthy in the long term. So yes, God can certainly work in sub-ideal circumstances, but will it be good for the church if these sub-ideal circumstances are perpetuated indefinitely? I think that is a somewhat separate question.

I hope you're satisfied with my response, and feel free to ask anything else on your mind.

Regards,
Jereth

[David Paton]

Hi Jane,
 
One practice that I have seen increasing in churches is that when a woman is rostered to preach, the church tries its best to let the congregation know prior to that day.  This minimises the issue that you bring up here.  Having said that, I'm glad you raised it.
 
Its great to read Article 26 and be reminded of this.  Some of the churches that I have visited in Victoria have shown a huge diversity in doctrine.  In many places then, it is probably the case that many ministers may be unworthy, but in spite of this, some church-goers can still take part in the Lord's Supper in genuine faith.
 
An unworthy minister is in a significant situation.  2 Corinthians 11:29 says "For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself".  Many of the Corinthians became ill and some died for not approaching the sacrament rightly.  An even worse prospect would be where God does not discipline people in a church, and lets them continue in wrong conduct.

I agree that we can apply the principle of Article 26 to women who preach.  But in light of what 2 Corinthians tells us, this doesn't mean that we should ignore the directions in Scripture about sound church order.  For the sake of our ministers and our congregations.

David