It would be ingenuous to claim to encompass in a few pages the vast life of the church in Latin America, even if we decided to consider only the aspects relating to leadership. It is an undertaking that goes well beyond the real possibilities of any member located in "one" church which is very much in the minority on this continent's religious map. Where we are located, however, is crucial in asking questions and in calling into question models of the church, including relations between men and women. Therefore we regard our reading as somewhat partial, one that needs to be supplemented (and even corrected) by the experience of brothers and sisters in other denominations. Views on any aspects covered are not written in tablets of stone, anything mentioned throughout the paper is intended as a contribution to an ongoing discussion.

Respecting diversity in Latin America does not mean disregarding the growing globalization of the neoliberal market system by the "low-risk democracies", with its profound impact on the daily lives of the inhabitants of this continent, nor denying the history of authoritarian regimes that implemented the "National Security Doctrine", thereby marking society deeply.

In talking about Latin America it is also necessary to recognize the enormous influence of the Roman Catholic Church linked, since the arrival of the Spaniards, to conquest and "evangelization".

Current leadership in the Church

Leadership in the churches is inextricably linked to the ecclesiological model since it is one of its preferential manifestations. The way leadership is exercised and how it is attained says a lot about a church and its conception of the gospel. On this point we have to look at a great many models, even within a given church. It would be a grave mistake to see a church as a monolithic entity; consideration of specific cases clearly reveals sometimes strikingly contrasted positions that exist at one and the same time within a local community of believers. It would therefore be appropriate to refer to majority and minority approaches on how leadership should be exercised. Generally speaking, it must be said, leadership is experienced as a position of command, particularly at local level. While in most churches there are eminently democratic, participatory channels of access to leadership (assemblies, synods) that in principle do not exclude anybody in advance, in practice there is no guarantee that all lay people male and female or pastors of either sex have the same possibilities.

A careful study is needed of relations between the lay male and female leaders and the ordained ministers of both sexes where there is very often a struggle or competition for power. What is more, there are generation-based variations that should not be forgotten since these show up in different tendencies both theological and social. Unquestionably, the greater (not full!) participation of women at all levels of society in recent decades has opened doors in Christian communities that had been kept shut for centuries. Here again, how much impact this has depends on the characteristics of the Latin American countries and, within them, on the urban and rural environments. Similarly, the feminist reading or, rather, reading from the women's standpoint, has forced and will continue to force pastors of either sex in the new generations to take discrimination against women and their difficulties in reaching leadership positions very much into account. But this same reading has not found a similar acceptance among all pastors who are mainly older men (sic) driven by the weight of tradition and also by a theology that has not been much updated. Clearly, we are engaged in a gradual ripening process in the matter of alternatives for the full integration of women in the various ministries, but there is still a great deal to be done in this regard.

To offer an example: in a congregation in Santa Fe Province in Argentina in a rural environment, it was (is?) the custom to refer to the Steering Committee (in some churches known as the Consistory) as the Committee of Men, reflecting a history of the absolute exclusion of women from primary decision-making bodies. The same is true of the Assemblies. The women's organizations saw themselves as female co-workers or colleagues of this Central Committee. But here, female colleague does not mean equal dignity but a subordinate position "in the service of..." Of course, this subjection and exclusion from decision-making is also reflected in marriage. In fact, the presence of some women in a Consistory more often than not does not mean any serious questioning of this situation.

This small example reveals a hierarchical structure in the lay leadership, usually underpinned by the idea that the ordained ministry is the head of the body.

It is interesting to note that many older women have no problem with the hierarchical structure that discriminates against them, seeing it as part of the natural order of things, the will of God. The participatory path in the congregation, where women do twice or three times as much as men, particularly centred on worship (divine service) does not substantially change these women's deep-rooted self-understanding.

The younger women have taken another way, prompted by social claims made in recent years: legally speaking, for example, shared parental authority formerly vested only in the man (in Argentina). These claims encourage them to look afresh at their relations with persons of the opposite sex, although there are major differences in the level of awareness of their rights between those in the higher professions and those that have not reached that stage. Theologically speaking, there is a new openness and an increasing level of criticism. This is also found among the younger men who are used to sharing with women as equals in various situations.

Those places that are male preserves or from which women are barred in society are on the wane and this is having a positive effect in the communities of believers. It is easy to see that the churches almost always run second in claims made by the various sectors of society when they do not actually set out to obstruct them. First comes the social "breeding-ground" or "culture" that is then transferred to the churches, despite the fact that in most instances the claims are central to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This proves yet again the interdependency and interrelationship of religious and social affairs in the broad sense, at the same time showing how often the churches have proven incapable of responding rapidly to the most pressing social problems with a prophetic voice.

The foregoing shows that there are various degrees of awareness coexisting within the communities of believers. The same may be said of the churches as institutions. Normally the higher decision-making bodies are more progressive than local bodies, creating divisions between them. We must deal here with the expression often bandied about, "knowledge is power", in order to take a critical look at the role of the church leaders, the visible face of the church, in the drawing-up of policies to undo the various kinds of discrimination and ensure the full participation of all the sectors active in the life of the church; such policy-making is to be based on a critical reading of the relevant aspects of the gospel, incorporating historical and critical methods, semiotics, a socio-political reading to spur responsible hermeneutics, together with an active report on the fundamental contribution of the Reformation (for example, universal priesthood of believers). Thus the leadership that functions from the bottom up relating to and dependent on the grassroots could play a dynamic role, a catalytic role, rooting out prejudice, restoring healing power, periodically evaluating achievements and failures in the service of the congregations that are their reason for existing. This has to be approached as a process that calls for enormous endeavours and must overthrow any barriers still held in place by some leaders fearful of losing their privileges (here we must mention explicitly the ordained ministers of either sex who are essential players in the church machinery, directly responsible for and benefiting from the current ecclesiological model).

So we can introduce a highly relevant question that we may call: the ministry and the ministries of the church.

There is sufficient evidence that the pastoral ministry has an exaggerated importance in almost all churches, leaving other ministries to a purely secondary role. There are professional and training reasons for this, fundamentally linked to an over-emphasis on intellectual matters; to these must be added others of a theological or cultural nature injected over time without the issues being properly aired by either male or female lay people or pastors. The economic aspect cannot be ignored, since we are talking here about a ministry that is remunerated, alongside others that are voluntary and unpaid. Remuneration is without a doubt a topic that causes a great many members to feel uncomfortable. In some local congregations, about 80% of the budget is allocated to paying the pastors. The way the budget "pie" is divided makes members think that the main issue for the church is the ordained ministers. It is therefore correct to talk about the pastoral ministry and the other ministries. Congregations are thus stratified in a manner inconsistent with the gospel, where we believe the strong anti-clericalism of the Reformed tradition has been distorted. The power to preach and administer the sacraments has served to set male or female pastors apart from the people by conferring higher status upon them.

In the IERP, for example, there is a ministry by deacons that is also remunerated; this implies an official recognition of the need to serve the church, without disregarding the active role and responsibility of each member. Another important ministry for the life of the churches is the catechism, mostly taught by women of all ages. If formerly the pastorate was forbidden territory for women, the catechism, like women's organizations, was for them their natural place within the church. With the introduction of women pastors this fact has not substantially changed; the religious education of children has remained in women's hands (as is true also for public education). The emergence of male Christian teachers is slow and gradual, which suggests that there is a growing awareness of the need for men to commit themselves to this area as well as others. Although it is an essential ministry, it receives but little support from the congregation, which is reflected in the smaller percentage allotted to it in the budget.

The remaining ministries are even further relegated to the shadows (visits, music, and so forth) so it is essential to confer more dignity on them. There is clearly a pressing need for the ministries involved in the life of the church to be reassessed. In this regard, training for lay people must be emphasized so that they can take their proper place in the congregation and, at the same time, critically evaluate the pastor-centred model of the church. One illustration:

in a church in the River Plate basin, there is the ministry of the Reader, who reads out the texts in the services of worship. The idea of the Reader treats the lay people who carry out this duty as mere parrots whereas it would be more correct to describe them as lay preachers as happens in other churches. Both ministries are almost exclusively held by men.

Power and authority

Specific and indeed critical discussion is called for of the exercise of authority and power within the church at various levels. These issues largely determine the conduct and relations among members, together with the ecclesiological model that prevails. Once again it should be remembered that there was considerable diversity found within churches all over, and in local congregations. When we talk about the prevailing ecclesiological model, we mean the "official position", which, far from being a hegemonic view, particularly in the Reformed churches, is largely not accepted by all members. There is usually a plethora of models, some conflicting.

In addition, the level of acceptance of the official position should be explored further, particularly in the least participatory sectors. Furthermore, there are aspects on which not even the higher decision-making bodies have taken a clear stand.

Understanding power and authority is terribly important because the model has shaped and will continue to shape the relationship of the churches with political power (cf., for instance, Luther and Zwingli) whether the system is one of dictatorship or of democracy. This seems to be borne out by the painful experience of millions of Latin Americans exposed for years to repressive violence under military governments, where the churches ranged from conferring total legitimacy on these practices in the name of God to taking the dangerous step of openly denouncing the flouting of human rights, through all the intermediate stages. At present, with regard to governments elected by ballot, once again fundamental differences are emerging among the churches.

Recently a very interesting book came out by Rubén Dri that, abandoning the idea of finding the "essence" of Christianity, focuses on showing the various basic projects present in Bible texts and in the history of the church. These projects include the entire range of human experience covering models of society and relationships among human beings and therefore involve also political, economic, social, cultural and religious spheres. The study puts the projects identified into clear focus: the authoritarian project of the monarchy solidly founded on religion as opposed to the democracy of early confederation. It is useful to bear in mind the various lines of enquiry open to a critical exploration of Bible texts. It is particularly relevant to assess the attitude of Jesus towards power and its community expression in the Gospels and the Letters. Clearly Jesus embodied a deeply democratic project, restoring prophecy and resisting the temptations of domination placed in the gospel in the early days of his ministry and explicitly called satanic, devilish. Jesus conceives of power as service, as a stewardship of which there are many examples (see inter alia Mk 8.27-38; 9.30-37; 10.35-45; Mt 23.1-12) that we must not sidestep.

This means calling into question every hierarchical structure in Christian and civil communities. Despite this, at the same time opposing ecclesiological models were gradually developed based on highly questionable theological readings. In practice, the sacred power of authority (hieros-archia) for the church was seen as established by God no less, that conferred plenipotentiary powers on Peter and these passed to his successors. This contradiction with Jesus' project was laundered by calling for spiritual service, the saving of souls, that was performed by the hierarchy, still calling in the secular branch. Thus an ecclesiological model was enshrined that was beyond question because it was desired by God. Its power did not derive from the people but came from above. A pyramidal structure was established as sacred that categorically conditioned the understanding of the members.

The Base Ecclesial Communities that have emerged in Latin America represent a radical break with this concept by promoting "a preference for the poor" where the people in the community read the Bible from their perspectives, acquiring their own voice beyond the church teachings. Power comes from below, among the poor that are becoming aware of their oppression, where God is ever present. "In contrast to the church that had replaced the kingdom of God, the church that presents itself as founded by Christ, with a hierarchical and theocratic establishment, in Latin America the community church has been restored, a church that emerges from the people, a democratic church of diaconal service and stewardship."

The Spirit blows freely beyond all frontiers (thank heavens!), among people with no credentials who are giving fresh life to prophecy as opposed to priesthood.

The Reformed churches through universal priesthood are much more open to restructuring for stewardship, being anti-hierarchical. But the relationship with a social and religious environment that functions from the top down has served to distort the concept of power as service, anchoring power firmly to the idea of hierarchy. We ordained ministers also often fall into the trap of exercising power autocratically, such exercise being bolstered by the prevailing structure of the pastorate. Restoring stewardship in the strongest sense is essential in order to assess the various forms of ministry and models of the church, making it possible to achieve full integration for men and women. It is good to be able to rely on the opportunity for open debate of these questions and thus of our faith in Jesus Christ. It would be advisable to identify desire for women's full participation in the church not with competition for the primary posts but with the desire to serve.

The ordination of women

This issue is directly part of the topic outlined earlier: the exercise of power and authority in the churches. The inclusion of women as ordained ministers of necessity involves a redistribution of power, with serious consequences for some. The arguments used thus far against the ordination of women directly or indirectly presuppose that God chooses some people and not others. Baldly stated, God chose men to lord it over women. This is a discriminatory God, barring women access to certain positions in the church. We firmly believe that this is an untenable position even though the practice in some communities (for example deuteropauline) has expressly limited the full participation of women.

These limitations do not express God's will, nor the redemption Christ worked out and affirmed by example (e.g. Gal 3.28) without the influence of a patriarchal culture.

Jesus' practice reveals, according to a critical exegesis, acceptance of women as disciples, as is explicitly stated in the meeting with the Samaritan woman (Jn 4). The Gospel of John in particular includes women as "first-class disciples". "In researching the evidence of the fourth Gospel, one is still surprised to see to what extent in the Johannine community men and women were already on an equal level in the fold of the Good Shepherd."

The choice of the twelve in no way invalidates what has been said above.

Subordination of women to men, the principal argument against the ordination of women, reflects a given set of historical and cultural circumstances (found in some texts) but not the will of God. Accounts of creation for example, do not express such subordination.

As for the argument that women will in some way be going against their nature in exercising the ministry, it is hard to see where the typically male and the typically female begin and end. But there is nothing to suggest that the ordained ministry runs counter to a woman's calling.

As for the symbolic incapability of women to properly represent the Christ in celebrating the eucharist (in the Roman Catholic Church) it must be said that the description of priest does not depend on sexual identity but on two facts taken together: expression through him of the faith of the church and his ordination. Nothing prevents women from expressing the faith of the church, so they should not be barred from the priesthood.

We must recognize the ordination of women as something positive and necessary for the life of the churches and for faithful adherence to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a matter of allowing the outlook, the vision and the intuition of half of humankind into all forms of ministry, including ordination.

Challenges

In moving towards "affirming the decisive contribution of women in the churches and in the community" and "making visible women's ideas and activities in taking action and striving for justice, peace and the integrity of creation", certain challenges arise along the way.

1. To work on making the decisive contribution women are making in the churches more widely known.

2. To appraise critically questions relating to power and authority.

3. To insist on training for lay people-male or female.

4. To use a questioning hermeneutical approach when addressing the ideological interpretation of biblical texts.

5. To promote joint participation by women and men in all social and ecclesiastical bodies and at all levels.

Questions

1.How can we affirm the existing leadership of women in all bodies? How can we highlight the essential contributions already being made by women?

2.How is an understanding of power and authority conveyed in the churches in practice? What does this tell us about collaboration between men and women in God's mission and the church-management model?

3.What needs to be done (locally, regionally, etc.) in order to attain a certain biblical and theological consensus on the need to ordain women, so that such consensus is not confined to leadership bodies?

Rev. Juan Carlos Wagner is a pastor of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate, Argentina.