Evangelical Futures: What’s the future for C of E complementarians?

Is there a future for complementarianism in the Church of England?

Thirty years ago, when the first ordinations of women priests were beginning, the Church of England claimed to hold ‘two integrities’. Both those in favour of such ordinations and those opposed on grounds of theological conviction were held to represent valid Anglican orthodoxy. The balance changed with the consecration of women as bishops. At that point, the church declared that women should rightly be able to serve in any office in the Church of England. There is now only one integrity.

However, complementarians were still welcome to remain in the Church of England, and in the infamous phrasing of the Five Guiding Principles concerning this issue, we were also to be enabled to flourish within the life and structures of the church.

Are we flourishing?

It cannot be said that such flourishing is immediately evident. Last year’s report from the Implementation and Dialogue Group (IDG), tasked with finding out how well it was working, made no less than 21 recommendations for improving things. The report was wide-ranging, with recommendations for dioceses, for training, for Synod, and for making senior appointments. It remains shocking that, since 2015 when the first female bishop was consecrated, the only complementarian evangelical appointment to a senior role was that of Rod Thomas as the Bishop of Maidstone to have responsibility for the complementarian evangelical constituency across the country. Bishop Rod oversees 146 parishes with a total congregation equivalent to a medium-sized diocese.

The evidence of the past 30 years, and especially since 2015, shows that we cannot expect others to make our flourishing their priority. It is a great blessing when our evangelical egalitarian brothers and sisters speak up for us, and indeed when others do. But we are the people who care most about this issue and we should be the ones to take it most seriously.

How can we flourish?

While senior appointments are important, the real question is whether complementarianism is flourishing in the church. We are a full generation away from the debates around women’s ordination. We are eight years away from the debates about women’s consecration. It is easy to think that this issue is no longer important because we are no longer fighting those battles.

But here’s the thing. If we genuinely believe that complementarianism is more than an evangelical shibboleth, but rather God’s best plan for His people and His world, we need to be teaching it in season and out of season. Complementarian theology is out of season in the church and in the world. But it is still your responsibility, if you are a minister, to pastor your flock by teaching them how to live in joyful obedience to the Lord.

I know it can be scary to start teaching about something which is likely to cause disagreement and controversy in your congregation. I know it is not a salvation issue. I know we all fear putting some people off. But the good thing is that it is the Lord who builds His church, so you can leave worrying about that to Him. Your job is to preach the whole counsel of God including His gracious, kind, joyous teaching about men and women. And it is joyous. It is attractive. All too often, complementarianism has lived up to its caricature of simply stopping women from serving. But it isn’t a doctrine about saying no to women. It is about saying that women are absolutely necessary in the life of the church. Because men and women are different, they are complementary – we need both.

People should be able to look at complementarian churches and immediately see how women and men are working together for the good of the whole church. It should be clear that women workers are valued and honoured as much as their male colleagues. Women with all kinds of gifts should have opportunity to use them for the church. Our churches should be places where everyone can thrive. Where everyone can flourish.

There will be no future for complementarianism in the Church of England unless we are discipling a new generation who understand and live it out. Let’s not be afraid to do so.

Signs of hope

As I look at the current situation in the wider church, I do see tiny signs of hope. The IDG recommendations mentioned above, if implemented, would represent a huge change in direction and attitude. Consultations are already underway concerning the appointment of a successor (or successors?) to Rod Thomas when he retires later this year. Around 10% of the current General Synod are complementarian evangelicals, and growing numbers are in synods and committees at diocesan and national levels. The pandemic has left many churches in a precarious situation, with evangelical – and complementarian evangelical – churches faring better than most.

We have no reason to give up hope. But we must recognise that if complementarians are to have a future beyond this generation in the Church of England, we need to be working towards that now.