Women bishops (4) - yes or no?

Over the past few months the DOOR has explored the debate surrounding the ordination of women bishops from the theological perspective, the ecumenical and the practical.  In this final part of our series, we hear two views on the possible impact of women bishops on mission - the missiological debate - from The Revd Ross Northing, Vicar of SSMary and Giles, Stony Stratford, and Dr Cathy Ross, Mission Interchange Adviser for the Church Mission Society (CMS).

Proclaiming Christ’s gospel, not ours
By the Revd Ross Northing, Vicar of SS Mary and Giles, Stony Stratford

Considering the ordination of women to the episcopate from a missiological perspective begs the questions Whose Mission? and What is Mission?

In reality the mission is God's. The Church is called to share in Christ's continuing mission of redemption by faithfully proclaiming His message, and provinces or local churches do not have the authority to decide what the message ought to be. Mission calls for fidelity to Christ and his Gospel. It is not ourselves that we preach but Christ Jesus our Lord. Concerning the ordination of women the Archbishop of Canterbury reminded the General Synod that for traditionalists ‘the problem is not one of opinion, it's rather of obedience. It's one of obedience to scripture, or obedience to the consensus of the Church Catholic.’

From a missiological perspective perhaps we ought to ask ourselves what those who have not accepted Christ as their Saviour make of this debate. It is said that ordaining women makes the Church more relevant to those outside the Church, to which I must ask: Does it? Much of what we do or say has little impact upon the lives of the overwhelming majority of the population and predictions that many would come flocking back to Church following the ordination of women to the priesthood have not proved true.

In our land many have become deaf to the Gospel of Christ and this ‘family row’ will do nothing to proclaim Christ. Among traditionalists there has emerged a phrase: ‘we want to get off the battlefield and onto the mission-field.’ Perhaps God's mission would be best served if we agreed to differ and allowed each other whatever is needed to engage in Christ's continuing mission of redemption, recognising that it is Christ and His Gospel that we are called to faithfully proclaim rather than ourselves.

Women are naturally in the mission field
By Dr Cathy Ross, Mission Interchange adviser, CMS

One of the aims of the Lambeth Conference in 2008 is to equip bishops for the Christ-given task of being leaders in God's mission.  Perhaps if we see bishops as being leaders in mission, this may give us a slightly different perspective on this whole debate. 

Mission is about God's reaching out in love to draw people into relationship with Christ to enable healing, wholeness and newness of life.  This is why the church exists - as Emile Brunner famously said, ‘The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.’  We try to practise a holistic understanding of mission along the lines of the five marks of mission which are broadly: proclamation, discipleship, loving service, social transformation and safeguarding the integrity of creation.  As we work out our engagement in mission we want our bishops to lead us, to be prophetic in word and deed and to model this understanding of mission.

Women have always been more engaged in mission than men.  Look at your local church and ask yourself who is providing the hospitality, who is showing compassion for the abused and marginalised, who is looking after the widows and orphans, who is championing caring for creation. Most of the time, it will be women.  Who is up the front, telling us how to do it?  Most of the time, it will be men.  From an early age, women are socialised into service - we know how to serve because that is what is expected from us. Bishops are servants too.  To be a leader in mission is to follow the example of Christ who ‘made himself nothing and taking the very nature of a servant.’ (Phil 2:7a)  We need church leaders who can lead us in mission - these will be both women and men as together we reflect the image of God.  God knew this when God created us male and female to reflect God's image.  Jesus knew it by including women in his band of disciples.

The Holy Spirit knew it as the gifts of the Spirit (including leadership) are poured out on both men and women.  Paul knew it with his hermeneutical key of Galatians 3:28.  Why can we not have the courage to appoint church leaders who will lead us in mission, according to their gifts and not their gender?