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SHADOW ELDERS: A FEMALE PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT THE GAA REPORT GETS WRONG

In 2023 the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia accepted a Report, along with its attendant deliverances, on women’s ministry. The fundamental framework was built on the belief that “the Bible affirms that men and women were called to lead together” while acknowledging that “men have been given a privileged position of distinction in this leadership partnership.”  There could be a danger that the Report conflates the mandate for male and female dominion over the earth (Gen.1:26-28) with the biblical pattern for God’s church as specified in the New Testament (e.g. 1 Tim.2:8-15).  Leadership is then conflated with ordinary member ministry.  In the New Testament, leadership of the church is assigned to male elders.  The elders are not co-leaders with other church members, they are the leaders of the church.  Through their leadership, they equip the members of their church for the work of ministry (Eph 4:12-16).  The saints are not all called to be leaders, they are called to ministry.

Beware the reconstruction of our polity

As Presbyterians, our polity is in our name.  We are a denomination that by definition is led by a plurality of elders who are elected by the congregation.  This Paper proposes a major shift in that polity, with the establishment of permanent women’s advisory groups or female “co-workers” with the privileges of being associates at Session, Presbytery, and Assembly meetings.  It proposes a significant shift away from Presbyterian polity to a model where men and women, elders and congregation members, lead the church together. 

The role of an elder

In 2020, the Women’s Ministry Committee conducted a survey across the PCA to get a snapshot of women’s ministry.  From the 484 responses, the survey identified significant differences between female congregation members and male ministers to the following two statements:

• men and women work well together in this church;
• women trust the elders in this church with issues specifically related to women (e.g. domestic violence, sexism). 

Those 484 who responded represent a small percentage of people in PCA churches, but it does suggest a communication gap and significant difference of opinion between female congregation members and ministers and elders.

For context, the PCA statistics on church attendance from 2023 show that we have some 32,397 regular attendees at church services, including 305 inducted or appointed ministers.  That means that only 1.5% of those in regular attendance at PCA churches responded to the survey.  This is too small a number to be a representative sample.

Yet the solution to this reported communication and trust gap is for men and women to lead together.  Hence, there are recommendations for engaging women in the decision-making of the Church, including the establishment of formal advisory positions.

Rather than propose an extrabiblical solution, as a church we need to focus on better conforming to the biblical pattern for godly elders leading churches as outlined in the New Testament.  As we have already seen, the biblical mandate for men and women to have dominion over the earth is not directly related to the issue of who leads the church.  If elders are not doing their job properly and are not engaging with the women in their church (or any other congregation member for that matter!), the solution is not to formalise female leadership.  The solution is for elders to get back to the biblical pattern as outlined in the New Testament, address their blind spots, and be better elders.  If elders cannot themselves submit to the biblical guidelines for eldering, then they should resign.

There are two aspects of biblical eldering that are particularly pertinent to how elders relate to their congregation members, including women.

First, they are to be hospitable.

Both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 list “hospitable” as an essential qualification for an elder.  Hospitable doesn’t just mean welcoming strangers or having people over for meals, although those actions are important.  A hospitable elder will have a welcoming and approachable posture that seeks to make others feel comfortable in their presence.  He will know the members of his congregation by name and he will make an effort to spend time with them.  A hospitable elder will be someone to whom congregation members, male or female, feel they can safely come for pastoral care or to express their concerns or questions.  Hospitable elders will know their people and will make them welcome.

Second, elders are to be shepherds.

In his helpful book, “The Shepherd Leader,” Timothy Witmer outlines a vision for leaders as shepherds of God’s sheep.  Witmer outlines a comprehensive framework to help elders, know, feed, lead, and protect the sheep God has placed in their care.

The theme of God as the shepherd of his people is seen throughout the Old Testament (Gen. 48:15, Psalm 23, Isaiah 40:11), as is the description of Israel’s leaders as shepherds.  Moses and David are described as shepherds of God’s people.  Ezekiel 34 is a chilling indictment of Israel’s evil shepherds, who fed themselves instead of the sheep, and brutally dominated them.

Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd: “I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:14).  He “lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).  We see the same pattern in Peter’s instructions to elders: “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:1-4). 

Elders are not a board of directors, holding power but with little relational involvement with their church members.  They are shepherds, called to care for the sheep who God has entrusted to them.  If they truly know, feed, lead, and protect their sheep, then they will also be caring for the female sheep in their congregation.

Sessions are already making use of “fixed orders of the day” to engage with women in their congregations and co-opting women for pastoral matters.  Good elders know their people and their ministry gifts and help them to use those gifts.  They do this naturally without needing a formal structure to force them to know the women in their church.

What’s wrong with formalizing women in eldership spaces?

First, it’s not biblical

We can talk about “freedom in Christ” and “we’re all one in Christ Jesus,” but it doesn’t change the fact that God mandated a system in the New Testament church.  As churches were planted, elders were appointed to every church (Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5).  They were qualified men, they were meant to teach and rule over and care for the congregation, and they were accountable to God for the way that they carried out their role.

We always need to be aware of our own cultural biases.  We live in Australia, an egalitarian nation that loves to tear down its leaders and resents hierarchy.  We tend to get prickly or uncomfortable when the Bible talks about authority.  Resistance to qualified male leadership in the church has not just been a Christian debate, it has made national news.  However, God has made it plain that elders are to lead the church and doing that to the best of our ability should be our main focus.  If elders are not caring for the women in their congregation, the solution is not to formalize women in an advisory role. 

Second, formalizing “co-worker” or “advisory” positions for women muddies the clarity of what elders should do

At this point, we’ve stepped outside of biblical clarity and our Presbyterian polity.  If a congregation decides to implement this, there are no clear guidelines on how this works.  Indeed, there are no biblical precedents for such a role.  Are women appointed to these positions by the Session, or are they elected by the congregation?  If Session appointed them, are they truly representative of the congregation?  If elected, do only women vote or the whole congregation?  Are they appointed for a term or for life?  What is the process for removing them if they are no longer a fit?  When no clear guidelines are in place, misunderstandings and personal hurt seem inevitable. 

This also creates a lack of clarity around access to their elders by women in the congregation.  Who are women in the congregation meant to speak to if they wish to contact the elders?  Can they only speak to the women in the advisory position, or may they still speak to the elders?  Are these women meant to be some sort of mediators between the elders and the women of the congregation?  The biblical pattern is that the elders of the church are the elders of every congregation member, male and female, young and old, from every demographic and walk of life.  Women should not need a mediator or representative to access their elders.

Third, this inevitably creates a two-tiered system

The woman appointed to a permanent advisory or associate position sits in elder spaces but is not an elder.  She does not have a vote or authority.  There are two options in this situation: sit with the discomfort of always being second class, or reframe the collective of elders and female associates as something else – something other than the biblical structure – to create the appearance of equality.  The latter option probably looks like calling your collective “the leadership team,” “the board,” or something similar.  If a church adopts the latter option, it creates an extrabiblical structure.

If the PCA embraces this two-tier system, it is inevitable that it won’t be long before someone rightly points out the inequality and calls for female eldership in order to formalize what would be already happening.

Fourth, it places a heavy burden on these women that they were never meant to bear

God has placed the burden of leadership on the shoulders of elders, for which they will give account to God, and that is not a burden that congregation members are called to carry. 

The role of a member

For ordinary members of churches, Scripture makes our role quite clear: “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account.  Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Heb. 13:17).   We should pray for our elders.  We should encourage them.  We should love and care for them as our brothers in Christ.  We must not gossip about them or quarrel with them.

I want to close with a brief pastoral note to the person who feel neglected by their elders.

Our elders are sinners like all of us, but hopefully they are godly men who are seeking to follow Jesus and shepherd you and your church members to do the same.  If you feel neglected, your first step is to reach out to them.  Ask to meet with them.  Get to know them.  Show care to them and their families.  Ask them questions about their faith and how they came to know Jesus.  Pray for them.  The second step is to be a faithful church member.  Attend your church’s events and ministries.  That’s likely where you will get to spend time with the elders.  Go to church faithfully.  Join a Bible study.  Attend the prayer meeting.  Become part of the life of the church.  Above all, build your relationship with your chief shepherd, Jesus.  Read his word.  Talk with him.  Ask for his help.

It is no mistake that we are in the churches that we are in.  God in his wisdom has sovereignly placed us in our congregations.  Our responsibility is to be a faithful follower of Jesus and a faithful member of his church.  Our elders may or may not be everything that we might want them to be, but if they are faithfully trying to fill the responsibilities that God has called them to, even imperfectly, then we must submit to their leadership.

Take heart.  Jesus is your chief shepherd, and he is their shepherd too.  God himself will deal with the unfaithful shepherds (Ezekiel 34), and God himself will honour those who shepherd their people faithfully.  We can be thankful for the shepherds we know who love their flock, and who don’t need a formal consultation system to love the women in their congregation.  They are worthy of our honour and respect (1 Tim. 5:17).

– Lauren Riske