It’s been around for awhile, so maybe you’ve read this before, but good clean humor is can be hard to find these days. Regardless of what may be your view regarding the issue of women in church leadership, this satirical list is worth reading, both for laughter and reflection because this is what good satire does. Here are—

 

10 reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained For Ministry[1]

 

  1. A man’s place is in the army.

 

  1. The pastoral duties of men who have children might distract them from the responsibility of being a parent.

 

  1. The physique of men indicates that they are more suited to such tasks as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do ministerial tasks.

 

  1. Man was created before woman, obviously as a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

 

  1. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. Their conduct at football and basketball games demonstrates this.

 

  1. Some men are handsome, and this will distract women worshipers.

 

  1. Pastors need to nurture their congregations. But this is not a traditional male role. Throughout history, women have been recognized as not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.

 

  1. Men are prone to violence. No really masculine man wants to settle disputes except by fighting about them. Thus they would be poor role models as well as dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

 

  1. The New Testament tells us that Jesus was betrayed by a man. His lack of faith and ensuing punishment remind us of the subordinated position that all men should take.

 

  1. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep sidewalks, repair the church roof, and perhaps even lead the song service on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the church.

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED

Dr. Scholer’s sense of humor, whatever your ‘perspective’ on men or women in ministry may be. Just to set the record straight, Dixie and I have served three fine congregations, one with a rule in place when we arrived that permitted a woman to do pastoral work, but not to hold the ‘office’ of pastor per se; the others in which women did pastoral work and were fully recognized by the church body as ‘pastors.’

 

The latter view has always been mine and my wife’s preferred view, but we respect good people with ‘perspectives’ differing from ours on certain matters, this being one. Since we felt this was not a ‘mountain on which to die upon,’ we served all three congregations alike, knowing in our hearts she and I were called to serve in pastoral roles of teaching, counseling, leading and administering, serving the body of Christ whether or not the ‘office’ or ‘title’ was given.

 

Whatever your perspective may be, our prayer always is …

 

may Jesus keep us close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] This list is the work of Dr. David M. Scholer, a former professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and was published in Sojourners. Eugene Cho, after 18 years stepped aside as lead pastor of Quest Church in Seattle. Eugene is the President/CEO of Bread for the World and Bread Institute. This was posted on his 04-30-12 blog.