한국 교회 여교역자의 목회 경험 사례 연구와 치유를 위한 여성신학적 제언

Abstract

This research paper tries to study women pastors’ pastoral experiences through a method of in-depth interview and to analyze theological and pastoral problems facing them from a feminist theological perspective under the circumstances of plummeting credibility of Korean churches and Covid 19 crisis. I pointed out crucial factors in the study of women pastors’ pastoral experiences such as relevance to doctrines, relatedness with military culture, and necessity of healing. Pastoral experiences of women pastors (or not ordained evangelists) of the past generation showed mostly suffering from Korean war and poverty, unconditional endurance and obedience in the gender discriminatory structure of churches. Through in-depth interviews with 2 women pastors that I had, I could find out the following facts and implications. Rev. Choi, 56 year old, confessed that she had experienced a serious feeling of instability or mental anxiety when she had served and worked in the churches as a single woman pastor. She wants to heal and overcome the antipathy or conflict between men and women. In addition, she hopes to include all various forms of family and household such as being single or divorced or remarried. Rev. Choi does not want to belong to the existing male-centered churches, so she encourages younger women pastors to attempt a new type of pastoral care, again and again. Rev. Lee said that she experienced double gender discrimination because she had to do the household works, raising children as well as studying, pastoral care as a married woman pastor. She claims that pastors must overcome using doctrines of sin and fear related with sin. She asserts that many women pastors go through hard times due to hurts originated from unequal church structure, and that women pastors need healing desperately. In conclusion, I argued that churches must overcome a chain of hierarchy of male and female/ pastor, elder and lay people. I also asserted that churches should stop making use of doctrines of sin and fear for the purpose of making people not leave the churches. I argued that the concept of sin should be comprehensively understood, and that sin is what violates God’s image in women pastors, thus what brings about their hurts and frustration. My last point is that healing must be not a defensive, passive one but an active, material healing.