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The pastoral staff study shows that in 1996 women held 7.9% of pastoral staff positions in US and Canadian Mennonite Brethren congregations. "Although the General Conference decisions permit the appointment of women to certain kinds of pastoral positions, there has been no great move in that direction, especially not in the United States," says John H. Redekop, author of the report.
"It is sobering to discover what a long way we have to go," says Lynn Jost, BFL chair. He adds that some areas of congregational leadership, primarily music and Christian education, are more open than others. "It is interesting to see there are areas in which women are free to work," he says, "and at points it is disappointing to see that we've actually regressed."
In 1993, General MB Conference convention delegates defeated a BFL recommendation that would have allowed each congregation to determine what areas of ministry were open to women, including the role of lead pastor. The recommendation was defeated by a vote of 61% to 39%. Some saw the vote as a clear statement on the role of women; others said some of the opposition was toward the idea of congregational autonomy.
At any rate, Jost says, the 1993 vote left "too many jagged edges". "On the one hand, it sounds like a decisive rejection of women in senior pastoral ministry, but on the other hand, the vote was very painful for quite a number of people--women and men."
In the wake of the rancorous 1993 floor debate, BFL announced its intention to let the issue rest for a while. But at this summer's convention in Waterloo, Ont., BFL "served notice" that it was time to talk again, Jost says, because "the problem hasn't gone away".
BFL had planned to come to this year's convention with a recommendation that would mandate churches and conferences to involve women in leadership roles, Jost says. Instead of having delegates debate and vote on that issue, the Executive Council recommended that BFL simply declare its position: Women are encouraged to do anything in the church except senior pastoral leadership.
"We've never affirmed anything (about the role of women)," Jost says. "It's a very uneven history (regarding) what our official position is. . . . We accepted the decision by the Executive Council, but we were glad we had the survey ready as well."
Jost says BFL has wrestled with the challenge of trying to encourage the group who "feels they've been betrayed" by the negative vote without alienating those who feel the issue is settled. BFL decided that a "benchmark" survey would be helpful as a way to describe the present reality.
The second survey, covering 1980 to 1995, indicated an increase in the number of women holding leadership positions at the various conference levels and in congregations. In 1980, 118 women held such positions. Fifteen years later, that number had almost tripled to 349.
Most of the increase came in Canada, where the number of women in leadership jumped from 53 in 1980 to a high of 242 in 1995, nearly a four-fold increase. In the United States, 65 women held such positions in 1980, compared to 107 in 1995 and a high of 142 in 1991.
"The approximate doubling of female participation over 16 years is still only a modest increase," Redekop writes.
Jost said the survey revealed some unexpected results. "One of the surprising things was that in British Columbia, which we tend to think of as one of the conservative provinces, there are a lot of women on staff. This tells us there is a growing awareness that women have gifts and can use them. It really does become, then, that biblical leadership question: Can women exercise final authority in a church as senior pastor?"
The study surveyed boards and committees at four levels: binational (General Conference); national (US and Canadian conferences); district and provincial conferences; and the local church. Boards and committees which have traditionally been the domain of women (such as women's ministries and the nursery and library committees) were excluded at the congregational level, according to Redekop.
The survey also indicated that women who are selected for denominational boards and committees are seldom asked to lead them. Since 1980, no woman has served as moderator or assistant moderator of the General Conference, the US or Canadian conferences or any district/provincial conference. However, Valerie Rempel currently serves as General Conference secretary, and Elizabeth Esau as Canadian Conference secretary.
Copies of the surveys are available upon request from the Centre for Mennonite Brethren Studies, 3-169 Riverton Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5. Jost encourages interested individuals to study the report and draw their own conclusions. "We want to hear from people as well," he says. "How else can we move toward unity on this issue?"
Jost and other BFL members are disappointed at the apparent lack of interest on the part of women in pursuing the various roles now open to them. "Canada is ahead of the United States in terms of engaging women in provincial and national positions," he says. "I don't think it's a theological difference because I think (both countries) have the same diversity of opinion. It may be that US women have chosen to do other things." He adds that in his experience, women's ministries are stronger in the United States than in Canada. "And it may be that women have found more productive ways to use their energy than in conference positions. It seemed that in the mid-1980s there was more interest. Maybe because of the discussions and dissension, women have chosen to retreat, or just decided it wasn't quite worth the hassle. I don't really think we have a large group of women trying to beat down the door to get into these (conference) positions."
Connie Faber, Assistant Editor, The Christian Leader
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