Our church seems to be at an impasse. Our policies dictate we will not ordain women, either as deacons or ministers. But our church has few men, and they are elderly. Soon, we may not have any active deacons. What can we do?
The ordination of women continues to be an issue for many Baptist churches. Two schools of thought remain. Some believe only men may serve as deacons and point to passages such as 1 Timothy 3, where qualifications for a deacon are listed and include being the "husband of one wife."
Others believe both men and women can serve the church as deacons, and they point to passages such as Galatians 3, where Paul states, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus," or to Romans 16, where Phoebe is commended as a deacon.
One possible way of dealing with your church's situation is to form a committee of well-respected people to study the issue of ordaining women. Once the committee completes its study, it can report its findings to the congregation, and the church can discuss the matter in an informed manner and decide whether to change the church's policies.
Another option would be to invite a speaker who could address the issue and promote dialogue based on biblical principles and the needs of your church.
Either or both of these approaches might encourage a change in the current policy of the church through consensus. If the church is not open to exploring possible changes in the deacon structure and your male membership is aging, perhaps another option is simply to function without active deacons. The work of the deacon is being a servant in ministry for the church. Servanthood is a natural reaction to God's love for us, resulting in our desire to love other people through service and ministry. I suspect your church already has a number of women as well as men who are ministering to the needs of the community of faith without the designation of deacon.
If the church chooses to have a dialogue on this part of the issue, this fact would need to be part of that discussion, since ordination is simply a recognition and confirmation of someone who already is engaged in service and ministry.
The church must consider the unity of the congregation in any decision. There is diversity in every church. Whatever is done must be conducted in such a way that, though some disagreements may exist, respect and love for one another remain. "They will know we are Christians by our love" is paramount in any decision-making process in the church. And if truly adhered to, it also can be the way to finding a solution for most potentially conflictive issues.
Teresa C. Ellis, theological librarian
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Logsdon School of Theology and Seminary
Abilene
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