A friend of mine passed along this link to a blog on Relevant Magazine’s website: http://relevantmagazine.com/releblog/ashleywolpert/the-role-of-women/
This blog post got me thinking about this topic. I didn’t want to regurgitate what Ashley has said here, but I have been confronted this week with the topic of women in church. This morning my husband, his mother and I tried a new church, a Southern Baptist one. To our great surprise, not only did this church include deaconesses but a female associate pastor as well. The deaconesses did everything the deacons did–served communion, took up the offering, sat at the front of the church. You never see this in a Southern Baptist church. At least I hadn’t until now. I thought it was so weird that I had just read that blog, thought I could ignore it, and then here it was in my face.
The truth is I’m not sure what I think about women in the church, especially pastoral positions. My philosophy on women in leadership roles has always been that God’s perfect plan was for men to lead and be supported by strong women, but in this imperfect world sometimes men do not step up, and capable women must take their place. It’s not that I think women are incapable of leading. I do believe that women are just as capable as men, but I don’t think that’s God’s perfect plan. But should we be ordaining women just in case the men can stand up to the job? And what about women who feel called to be pastors? Do we tell them they’re wrong? It’s just the late night pizza talking to them not the Holy Spirit. I don’t know. I don’t think we should walk out on women who do speak in church and lead. That’s disrespectful and not reflective of Christ’s love. And if a woman wants to start a new ministry inside or outside of a church I don’t think it should fall a part just because a man wouldn’t lead it. But how do we handle verses like 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 when Paul says women shouldn’t speak in church or 1 Timothy 3 where Paul specifies that only men should be elders and deacons? Do we brush those Pauline commands as cultural specific to that century and that place or do we hold it to be infallible like we do the word of Christ? In the Old Testament, God only allowed men to be priests, leading the people religiously, but then we have Deborah the judge who lead Israel politically. So is a woman barred only from spiritual leading? I don’t know. The woman in me cries, “That’s ridiculous! We can lead just as well as men.” But then I read those verses in the New Testament, and I wonder if my attitude is in line with the world or with heaven. What do you think?
much love–Char
Gosh….you sure picked a hard topic. I don’t really know how I feel. I am absolutely certain that senior pastors should be men, but there was no such thing as an associate pastor in Scripture, so I don’t know if God restricts those roles to men as well. Deacons are only talked about as men, so I think that role should be reserved to men….I just don’t get the feel that that was a cultural comment. I could be wrong though.
But I do think that women make great leaders often. And I would never state that women should only follow men – that is insane!! So the grand question is what leadership roles are allowed and what are not? Where is the line and in reality, WHAT is the line? i.e. I know women who are the primary youth leaders in their southern baptist churches. And I guess since she doesn’t get PAID as a pastoral staff, that makes it okay, even though she is doing EXACTLY what a male paid staff member would do. So is salary and title really the defining line?? That seems ridiculous to me.
So I guess my answer is – I have no freaking idea. How does that work for you? It makes me a little nervous to talk about women in some roles of leadership, but maybe that’s b/c I’m not used to it and not necessarily b/c its wrong. Or maybe that’s the Spirit giving direction. who knows??
So…about those new testament verses…
We have two campus pastors at APU, a man and a woman. Jamie, the woman, has done a lot of speaking on women’s roles in church, and she approached Paul’s teachings. Apparently, a bit of his guidance was directed at Christians in a city-culture that worshiped Aphrodite–women were therefore the priestesses, and held the highest authority in this city, and they were a bit on the insane side. I can’t remember everything from her topic, but essentially it comes down to that one logical interpretation is that Paul was speaking to a specific society where the leading of women is out of control.
Is that the correct interpretation? I don’t know. I certainly am not going to walk up to a female pastor and tell her she’s out of line…her calling is as much between her and God as any man’s. (And I think we can agree that there are quite a few men who, by their fruit, seem to have no business preaching.) When it comes down to it, I have heard God’s voice through just as many women as men. I guess I try less to ask the general question of women and/or men, and more to ask the specific question of “this person”. I don’t know if that makes sense…hopefully it kind of does. :]
I am the leader for the women’s bible study at our church. however, we ave female teachers, pastors and other positions in our church. i should explain that we are a full gospel church and believe women and men are equal in god’s eyes. i too have been questioning the roles of women in the church, and i have been reading some interesting things on this topic. i have asked god to show me what is right and what is wrong. through the study of scripture and listening to god, i believe that at one time in history, god did ordain man to lead. he did intend for women to be the “helper” to man in his ministry. he did want women to admonish and teach the younger women how to become godly women. however, in the book of joel, god showed me this…”in the last days, your sons AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY” prophesy is teaching, preaching, admonishing, encouraging. we are living in the last days and jesus is returning soon. all the prophetic scriptures have been fulfilled except for the sounding of the trumpet. i believe, in these last days, god is using anyone willing to be used for him to reach a lost and dying world.
As a Mormon I am used to seeing women giving talks from the pulpit, in fact, I have given two myself so I don’t see it as women being denied leadership opportunities but they come in a different fashion. Joseph started Relief Society for the women, so who do you think runs it? Women. Who is the President of Relief Society? A woman-duh! Who runs primary in our church? Women. Trust me, if the women up and all quit church tomorrow-it would totally collapse. Women have strong active roles within the church. I don’t think God wanted to deny women a chance to lead in the church but he saw an opportunity for men to strengthen their compassion for others, something women on a whole seem to have embedded in their DNA. Having the priesthood requires men to be of service to others. Something they might naturally do on their own. Besides, if we didn’t have men taking care of the more menial parts of taking care of the church, we wouldn’t have the women to take care of the people.