Abstract:
The church is a fertile ground for nurturing and protecting patriarchy. Within the Christian
church, gender equality remains a theoretical notion, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
Southern Africa (ELCSA) is no exception in this regard. Written from the perspective of African
women’s theology, this article critically reflects on and interprets gender issues in ELCSA
leadership structures by exploring the gender biases involved in the running of the church and
the implications of these biases for gender questions about reformation and pastoral care in
ELCSA congregations. Findings indicate that the gender gap in ELCSA structures is neither
biblical nor constitutional but is protected by the presence of wives of bishops, deans and
pastors who are placed strategically in women’s leagues, particularly the Prayer Women’s
League (PWL). In addition, qualifying the bishops, deans and pastors as ex-officio members of
these groups constitutes an obstacle to achieving gender equality in the Church’s leadership
structures and has implications for pastoral care in the ELCSA.
INTRADISCIPLINARY AND/OR INTERDISCIPLINARY IMPLICATIONS : The article is written from a
Christian-anthropological perspective. By reviewing literature from social sciences, practical
and systematic theology, it integrates sociological and African traditional assumptions of
gender and religion that hinder the African church’s reformation praxis, thereby affecting
pastoral care.
