The involvement of women in mission in the Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA)

Abstract

The principle purpose of the study was to investigate the role of women in the mission and ministry of The Lutheran Church in Southern Africa (LCSA). The researcher raised the question of why women are viewed as inferior within the LCSA, and whether this is Biblically supported. I investigated the distinction between men and women with regard to the church culture, tradition, pastoral office, priesthood, and authority within the LCSA. As a general theoretical framework, I used two theories in church mission: (1) The unity of the Church and apostolic practice as propounded by Schenk in 1983. (2) Paradigm shifts in theology: mission as ministry by the whole people of God as propounded by Bosch in 1991. These theories explain the mission of proclaiming the Gospel of God as belonging to everyone (both male and female) as His servants in the Church. To obtain people’s views and interpretations of Scriptures, culture, church practice, and the social reality of women’s roles in the LCSA, focus-group and individual interviews were used to gather qualitative data from 525 respondents. The data was collected and analyzed using the descriptive qualitative research approach. Based on the research findings in Chapter 2 (pages 37-42), Chapter 6 (page140) presents proposals for the involvement of women in the LCSA. The findings show that participants were concerned about the topic and those women’s rights and voices are not yet acknowledged in many societies in Southern Africa. However, the scope of the study is limited to the LCSA, and its findings cannot be generalized. Valuable insights were gained into the church’s traditional construction of women’s roles in the LCSA, not allowing women to preach the Gospel and to administer the Sacraments in the Church mission work. From a missiological study perspective, the researcher recommended that women should be allowed to participate fully in the Church mission work. Therefore, the Involvement of Women in Mission in LCSA was an important dissertation research topic, affecting women in Southern Africa particularly, and potentially, in the African continent at large.