To Reconsider Woman Suffrage in the Church

WHEREAS, The 1969 convention of the Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod (LCMS) narrowly passed a resolution permitting congregations to adopt women suffrage and stated that any such suffrage in the congregation must not conflict with the order of creation or infringe on the pastoral office; and

WHEREAS, An important principle of our Lutheran Reformation was found in Martin Luther’s own confession at Leipzig in 1519 that councils can and do err; and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures clearly prohibit women from exercising authority over men as noted in 1 Timothy 2:11–12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34–35; and

WHEREAS, In the polity of many LCMS congregations, members of the voters assembly are granted authority not only over trivial matters but over weighty matters (the calling of a pastor, the final excommunication of a sinner, etc.); and such voting is clearly an act of authority over men; and

WHEREAS, Our Synod strongly opposed the practice of women suffrage in the church for the first 122 years of its history on the basis of the Word of God, and many of its pastors and congregations continue to oppose the practice to the current day; and

WHEREAS, Scripture allots to women wonderful opportunities to serve God as wives, mothers, and in various capacities within the church (teachers, deaconesses, mercy work, etc.), which do not conflict with the divinely ordained principle that a woman must not exercise authority over a man; and

WHEREAS, The Church should not be at all ashamed of God- given distinctions in the area of gender which ought to be increasingly apparent in a society that wishes to ignore and deny all differences between the sexes; and

WHEREAS, Many of the congregations of our Synod chose to adopt women suffrage hastily in order to align their practice with the culture, and without any study of the Scriptural basis for their action or the theological implications involved; therefore be it

Resolved, That the congregations of the LCMS be encouraged to study the matter on the basis of the Word of God; and be it further

Resolved, That the congregations of the LCMS be encouraged to reconsider their current practice in light of the Holy Scripture.