Are women authorised to proclaim the gospel — a pastor’s summary (2 June 2014)
Click here to download the document: Are women authorised to proclaim the gospel — a pastor’s summary (Pastor Nathan Hedt, 2 June 2014).
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Comments 2
I agree with the words of Pastor Nathan Hedt. Although I worked as Lutheran Hospital Chaplain until 2010 I never felt myself in the same position as a Pastor and would have felt uneasy if any-one had put me in that position.
May I say that the take on Romans 16:1-2 found in this paper is too wide. The paper seems to suggest that Phoebe was a “minister” of the church i.e. a pastor. This is not the word, used by for example the KJV – in the KJV she was called a “servant”. The question is what role of service did Phoebe perform in the church? The word used was διάκονον – meaning – deacon – someone who took care of the needs of the poor and needy in church. St Paul did not call Phoebe a ποιμένας, i.e. shepherd or pastor.
I regret that the exposition of Romans 16 is a bit anachronistic; we cannot conclude from Romans 16 that the women mentioned by St Paul were pastors. They were servants, but what kind? The kind that dispenses the funds of the church to help those in need – a deaconess. This is far from preaching, teaching or administering the sacraments.
LPC