Letters to the Editor: Women do the heavy lifting of Christian ministry. Let them be pastors

To the editor: As a former 10-year staff member at Saddleback Church in Orange County and a woman, I concur with Pastor Dwight McKissic’s criticism of the “disfellowship” by the Southern Baptist Convention of Saddleback over the ordination and employment of female pastors.

I have seen firsthand the male supremacy infused in the culture. In my decade in outreach at Saddleback, it was well known that women did the heavy lifting in ministry, from pastoral care to volunteering to counseling to children’s programs and on and on.

You will never find more godly examples of pastors than the women who were ordained at Saddleback. My life is better for having known these warriors in Christ.

I can understand why the Baptist community would like for Saddleback to appeal. My question is, why does Saddleback need the Southern Baptist Convention?

Dawn Maestas, San Clemente

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To the editor: Quoting scripture is always a problematic basis for determining God’s intent, such as the prohibition against women being pastors.

In his book “Misquoting Jesus,” New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman notes with respect to the manuscripts on which the Bible is based: “There are more differences among our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.”

Such ambiguity facilitates a plethora of mutually exclusive interpretations of God’s intent. Hence the hundreds of separate Christian churches each espousing the one true faith.

Specifically with respect to a woman’s place in the church, Ehrman cites a verse attributed to Apostle Paul referring to a woman, Junia, as “foremost among the apostles.” Surely if Paul describes a woman as an apostle, a woman should be entitled to be a simple pastor.

Darrel Miller, Santa Monica

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To the editor: I read with dismay how the Southern Baptists dumped Pastor Rick Warren’s megachurch from their ranks after it hired female pastors.

In 1978, while I was living in Salt Lake City, it was announced one day that the heads of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had a revelation that Black men could serve in the priesthood, reversing their exclusion of about 130 years.

It was that simple. The Southern Baptist Convention needs a similar epiphany by its leadership regarding female pastors.

David Moss, Los Angeles