Can Reformed Women Be Ordained Deacons?

Can Reformed Women be Ordained Deacons? | Show Notes

Are ordained Deaconesses compatible with historic Christian
orthodoxy? Complementarians insist not, egalitarians insist, yes!
A recently published book, by Medieval Historian and Baptist
egalitarian, Beth Allison Barr claims that women were most
definitely ordained as deacons and that patriarchalist church
leaders today are unjustly barring women from being ordained.


Join me, Kerry Baldwin, with Deaconess Melissa DeGroot, as we
dare to think about the ordination of Women Deacons.
Guest:
Melissa DeGroot, Deaconess,
LCMS (Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod

Melissa DeGroot is a certified and consecrated deaconess in The
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. She studied Theology at Concordia
Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. She served at the
seminary in recruitment and formation, then later with the Synod
as a Writer/Researcher for the LCMS Deaconess Department based
out of St. Louis, MO. She has been a contributor to blogs: He
Remembers The Barren and The Lutheran Witness. She was a weekly
guest on KFUO radio’s bible study segment. DeGroot has also
written articles pertaining to theology, women’s roles and the
vocation of Deaconess in The Lutheran Witness, Higher Things
Magazine, and For The Life of The World. She has also written and
contributed to two books, He Remembers the Barren (both editions)
by Katie Schuermann, and Never Forsaken: God’s Mercy in the Midst
of Miscarriage by Dcs. Kathryn Ziegler. Melissa currently resides
in Rio Rancho, New Mexico with her husband, son and dog, and has
recently tried her hand at putting up shiplap. While DIY-ing has
seemingly taken over her life, she prefers reading, hiking and
cooking. And good conversation!
Ordination Lutheran & Presbyterian

Augsburg Confession and Westminster Confession, Compared
(Relevant Sections)


VII. Of the Church | XXV. Of the Church


VIII. What the Church is | XXVI. Of the Communion of Saints


XIV. Of Ecclesiastical Order | I. Of Holy Scripture


XV. Of Ecclesiastical Usages | XXX. Of Church Censures


XXI: Worship of the Saints | XXI. Of Religious Worship
Baptist

Baptist Faith & Practice - On the Church


"The biblical teaching about women in ministry is not about
ordination because Southern Baptists do not believe in ordination
or a clerical class. There is an argument that says, “A woman can
do everything a non-ordained man can do.” The problem with that
is that we are Baptists and have no theology of ordination
whatsoever. For that reason, we have to understand that the
pastoral office and pastoral function are the same thing." - Al
Mohler, 10 Points of Complementarianism
Three strains of Reformed and Presbyterian Confessions

The Dutch Reformed hold the “Three Forms of Unity” (3FU)
which encompass the Belgic Confession (1561), The Heidelberg
Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dort (1619).

The Swiss Reformed have the Second Helvetic Confession
(1566).

The Scottish Presbyterians hold to the Westminster
Confessions - WCF (1647) and Shorter (1647) and Larger (1648)
Catechisms.



The Westminster Confession also has a revised American version
(1788) which denounced Establishmentarianism (the idea that the
church should run the civil government).


Later, in 1689, came the London Baptist Confession, which is
essentially a Baptist version of the Westminster.


NOTE: There is/was a “new” strain of “Reformed” theology that
became popular through John Piper, John MacArthur, and others.
Piper later dubbed this “New Calvinism.” I and many other
Calvinist/Presbyterians reject this “New Calvinism” as not being
Reformed. So we distinguish ourselves as "Old School"
Presbyterians. Another term that shouldn’t be confused with “New
Calvinism” is “neocalvinism” which was a historical resurgence of
the Dutch Reformed tradition through Abraham Kuyper.


John Piper is responsible for both “New Calvinism” (2014) and the
Danver’s Statement (1987) and the Council on Biblical Manhood and
Womanhood (1988). His “12 Points of New Calvinism” has
“Complementarianism” as a cornerstone tenant, among other tenants
I find questionable.
Vocation

Luther on Vocation by Gustaf Wingren


God at Work by Gene Edward Veith


The Reformation on Vocation by D. G. Hart
Resources on Deaconesses in Church History

Deaconesses: An Historical Study by Aime Georges Martimort


Deacons and Deaconesses Through the Centuries by Jeannine E.
Olson


A Historical and Biblical Examination of Women Deacons by Brian
Schwertly


OPC Report of the Committee on Women in Church Office 


Phoebe Was a Deaconess, but She Was Not Ordained by Gregory
E. Reynolds
Additional Resources of Interest

Images of the Spirit by Meredith Kline


Women in the Church – A Redemptive Historical Approach by
Pastor Todd Bordow


What is Feminism in Simple Terms? | Dare to Think
MEMBERS ONLY CONTENT Full (uncut) Interview with Deaconess
Melissa DeGroot (56 minutes)

In the uncut version, we also discuss hierarchy, authoritarianism
in the church, and a woman’s Christian liberty. To listen to the
whole interview, you must be one of my monthly members. 
Become a Member!

Mereliberty.com/membership
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