Central Abbotsford

A few months ago, in the second installment of Know Your CA Family, featuring Joyce Janzen, I asked my last question, which is actually an invitation for my interview subject to ask me one question. Her reported question related to my marathon training – a softball if there ever was one. What you did not know, from the edited transcript that formed the newsletter blurb, is that Joyce actually asked me a second question, that was a bit more provocative and consequential. So much so, in fact, that I asked for time to deal with it at length at another time.

So, here is Joyce’s second question: “And the second question, which is certainly not conducive to a short answer, is ‘why doesn’t Northview have a wider representation on its elder board? Specifically, gender diversity including women?'”

Now, if you have been around Northview for a while, you have probably encountered this question at some point. And, you might have a settled answer on it already. But I don’t want to assume that everybody has had the opportunity to consider this question before – so it’s a good one to look at.

The short answer is that Northview has landed on an understanding of the Scriptures that the office of elder is limited to qualified men – what has come to be known as the complementarian understanding of the Biblical testimony on manhood and womanhood. As Mary Kassian writes in her article “Complementarianism for Dummies” on the Gospel Coalition’s website: 

Complementarians believe that males were designed to shine the spotlight on Christ’s relationship to the church (and the LORD God’s relationship to Christ) in a way that females cannot, and that females were designed to shine the spotlight on the church’s relationship to Christ (and Christ’s relationship to the LORD God) in a way that males cannot. Who we are as male and female is ultimately not about us. It’s about testifying to the story of Jesus. We do not get to dictate what manhood and womanhood are all about. Our Creator does.

This understanding does not come out of nowhere, nor is it based in a momentary or transient cultural setting. In the early church, women were given great opportunities to serve. However, there are three scripture passages (1 Corinthians 11:2-16, 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 and 1 Timothy 2:8-15) which seem to put boundaries around women teaching and having authority within the context of the “gathered assembly” – the worship services of the church. Most clearly in the 1 Timothy passage, Paul ties his apostolic instructions to the nature of creation, and not any immediately surrounding circumstances. Men and women are both created equally in the image of God, but it appears clear that God has ordained them different roles and responsibilities in their mission to testify about Jesus to the world.

Accordingly, at Northview, we understand that the Scriptures limit the office of elder, and the responsibility of preaching to the gathered assembly in weekend services, to men who meet the character qualifications laid out in passages such as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

That said, we encourage women who have been gifted in leadership to take active roles in the life of the church! Our Council of Elders has a number of committees tasked with advising on specific issues related to church life and business, and our church believes that it is necessary and beneficial to the church to hear the differing perspectives and voices that women bring. If you are a woman gifted in leadership, I invite you to consider the possibility of seeking out membership in these committees. Our monthly elder meetings are open to all Northview members, male and female, and if you have never attended one before, you should consider doing so!

I should be clear that complementarianism is not the only understanding of Biblical teaching on these matters. Another view held by Christians is called the “egalitarian” position. This viewpoint teaches that when Christ came, he began the process of restoration and is “reversing the curse” put on mankind in Genesis 3. Women and men can both perform any function within the church. Galatians 3:26-29, Colossians 3:10-11, and salvation in Christ provide the basis for equality in all things. People holding this view believe that Paul’s instructions were to specific churches facing specific cultural issues, they are not indicative of God’s design but rather instructions bound in a historical context.

Churches within the Mennonite Brethren denomination have arrived at both understandings. The Canadian MB Conference’s formal position on the matter is:

It is evident that individuals and congregations practice a diversity of convictions based on different interpretations of Scripture as it regards the church’s freedom to call women to serve in ministry and pastoral leadership. On this non-confessional issue, the Board of Faith and Life recommends that the Conference bless each member church in its own discernment of Scripture, conviction and practice to call and affirm gifted men and women to serve in ministry and pastoral leadership.

At a church level, then, each church must discern its own stance, and Northview has done so, through much prayer, study, and deliberation. Questions such as this one are not easy, and conversations and debates over the correct interpretation of Scripture in this matter can often result in uncharitable words to those who hold a different view. The Bible, however, does not limit its reach only to the “easy” questions of life. 

As with any matter of the application of Scripture in our lives, my pastoral counsel to you is that you prayerfully study and consider what the Bible teaches, and that you endeavour to submit to God’s revealed and authoritative word, even if (and especially if) it runs against what your inner desire for the truth to be is. 

Here are some additional resources that can help you navigate this topic!

Northview Asks Podcast (Northview Podcast with Joshua, Thaleia and Kristal)

Gregg Allison – Complementarity: Dignity, Difference and Interdependence

Kathleen Neilson – Women and God: Hard Questions, Beautiful Truth

Kevin DeYoung – Men and Women in the Church

John Piper – Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

William Webb – Slaves, Women and Homosexuals

Doug Heidebrecht – Women in Ministry Leadership: The Journey of the Mennonite Brethren