Conservatives aren’t always anti

Sir, I write as a cheerful and positive conservative evangelical who loves nothing more than to get on with the work of the gospel of grace of God in Christ and the teaching of the faith uniquely revealed in the Scriptures within the life, mission and ministry of the local church.

There are big debates surging on in Church and society, not least in the C of E about the ministry of men and women and about marriage. But I am tired of conservatives being portrayed in debates, the press and media, Thoughts for the Day, or conversations as being against women’s ministry or threatened by it. And as for General Synod being lopsidedly conservative through ‘smart electioneering’, that is at best ridiculous and at worst sour grapes.

I believe that the Scriptures hold out an extraordinary and brilliant partnership between men and women in both marriage and in ministry, in which each both need and complement the other. Differences that are intrinsic to being a man or a woman are recognised, honoured and celebrated for making their union a partnership rather than a merger. Value and dignity are grounded in what each is before God and in Christ, rather than by what they do or necessarily doing the same things.

Marriage flourishes for the couple and for any children when the man is a man and the woman is a woman – for Christians that means the man is a Christ-like man and the woman is a Church-like woman, as the Marriage service puts it echoing the New Testament. Ministry flourishes for all in the Church when each church has a ministry and leadership team that is a true complementary partnership of men and women. Conservatives believe the Scriptures point to this rich and beautiful pattern of ministry, rather than the unisex uniformity of modern design.

The Church has just published the document Men and Women in Marriage for study. It appears to celebrate this long-- received partnership of man and woman with a loud Vive l’union and Vive la difference! It could do well to have the confidence, clarity and consistency to produce something similar for Men and Women in Ministry.

The Revd Canon David Banting Vicar, St Peter’s, Harold Wood, and member of General Synod