Ministerial Ethics

Ministerial Ehics

Did you know there is a link on the Education and the Ministry site that lists some important ministerial ethics? The link above will take you to an index. Scroll down until you get to "C" and choose "Covenant of Ministerial Ethics." Then scroll down to "E" for "Ethical Examination for Clergy." Some people might think that 'ministerial ethics' is an oxymoron. (Oxymoron is putting two contradictory words together.)
Ministers do not have to be perfect, but they really should attempt to have a code of ethics that puts them above reproach.
Do I sound old fashioned?

Ordained at Last

Well, last night was the big night! I was officially ordained as a minister in The Wesleyan Church. We had a wonderful worship service and the ordination message was brought by our General Superintendent, Dr. JoAnn Lyon. Wonderfully inspiring! I was blessed by the support of the people of our Northwest District!

It is wonderful to have completed all the work and have it behind me. Now I am on an adventure to see where the Lord leads!

The "World"

Also, I have emphasized increasingly the number of writings, by men and especially by women, before 1900 that have defended the full participation of women in ministry. This “answers” to a genuine degree that oft-repeated charge that Egalitarians today are simply an aspect of the modern feminist movement. Rather, I have learned by further study the depth of the biblical and historical roots of the Egalitarian position. David Scholer

The accusation that the affirmation of women in ministry is a result of the influence of the modern feminist movement is certainly an 'oft-repeated' one. Another way of expressing this perspective is to accuse a proponent of the full participation of women in ministry of being influenced by the 'world.' The Wesleyan Church may have been influenced by the first-wave women's rights movement, which followed on the heels of the Church's involvement in the anti-slavery movement. But the implication that The Wesleyan Church was influenced by the modern feminist movement can be refuted if one looks at how mute the church was on the issue during the 60's and 70's. Perhaps the church has been influenced by the "world," but the true influence of the "world" is visible by the church's acceptance of the 'world's" negative attitude toward women in leadership which translated into a reaction against women as church leaders and ordained ministers. The "world" has been struggling with women in the board room, women in the classroom, women as leaders in any field. The glass ceiling was first challenged by the "world" because it existed in the "world." It may have seemed the "world" was ahead of the church in raising the question, however, it actually was catching up with Jesus who always valued women and set the bar high for all of us today with regard to our view of women.

HERMENEUTICS!

...What I have argued is that nothing in the New Testament itself tells us which is the most important or “controlling” text on women in ministry. Rather, this decision becomes a hermeneutical one, attempting to assess the context of each passage and its role in biblical teaching and seeking a balance of all (not simply a selective group of) texts. Further, one needs hermeneutical skills to assess the cultural contexts of passages written in first-century culture, in which, generally speaking, women were considered inferior, subordinate, not worthy of education and suited only to domestic responsibilities. David Scholer

Hermeneutics, Hermeneutics, always Hermenuetics, I say!!

Jesus the Christian Hero

One particular issue to which I have given increasing attention is the oft-repeated Jewish charge that Christian feminism is a new form of anti-Semitism, by making Jesus the Christian hero who liberates women from oppressive Judaism. I have, thus, given attention to the accomplishments and positive roles of women in Second Temple Judaism before I cover the negative views of men toward women. Further, I have argued (in print) that Jesus is a hero to both Jews and Christians. David M. Scholer

This is an accusation of which I had not been aware. It is something to be sensitive to as we approach the discussion of how Jesus treated women. His treatment of women is very positive and is a model that is important in understanding the role of women in the home and in the Church. We do not want to minimize or lose the powerful image of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet learning as men did at the time. Nor do we want to miss the importance of Jesus speaking to the woman at the well and revealing to her who He was! But perhaps we should choose our words carefully so that we minimize any potential offense to our Jewish brothers and sister.

What do you think?

Male and female / He created them

So God created / man in His own image, In the image of God / He created him; Male and female / He created them. Genesis 1:27

Although there is much debate about the meaning of the image of God, the Hebrew poetic parallelism clearly demonstrates that the female of the human species is created in possession of this same feature. She participates in the divine image in no grammatically, demonstrably different way in contrast to the male. Mary Hayter, when discussing the Imago Dei, says:

Whatever it is correct to say about the creation of the male in the image and likeness of God applies to the female. Anything and everything that may be deduced from the text about “man,” “mankind,” “humanity,” is relevant not simply to one half of the human race but to all men and women (Hayter 92).

Therefore any claims to variation of degree in bearing the divine image based upon gender distinctions should be rejected. Such readings overlook or ignore the plain reading of the text. The third line of this poetic refrain candidly recounts the creation of a plurality of persons, “them,” in genders male and female. Article from Wesleyan/Holiness Women Clergy

Help meet?

If the Hebrew phrase simply meant “helper”, then could a woman hold a leadership position in the church, let alone a single woman?... In the beginning, men and women were both created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and they were created to be equals. They were both given the commands to be fruitful and to rule over the earth (Gen. 1:28-30). The woman was not created to be a subordinate helper to her husband. She was created as an autonomous being; she was a complete human being, just as the man was. Her existence was not dependent on him as his existence was not dependent on her: their existence depended on God alone who created them both.