Women in Ministry-Response
Written May 8th, 2008 by Josh Rives | Email This
Women’s role in ministry is a complicated issue so I requested some comments from some people I respect. Read my initial post on this and then read Brent’s response:
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- Women and men were created equal, so positionally a woman is not less than a man
- However, their ROLES are different, and this is much of what Paul speaks of in his writings, esp. regarding marriage
- I do not believe women should be elders…this is made clear in different places, but the scriptures are all mentioned already in the PDF…in the original language, there are times you can tell gender differentiation, and in the passages for rules on elders, it is pretty blatant it is referring to men only
- Because, of this, I DO NOT THINK at any point a woman should be welcomed as an associate pastor, because associate pastors (including the head pastor) are ELDERS…when the Bible speaks of a woman not teaching a man, I believe it is in this context
- Which means I have no problem with a woman serving in the role of a teacher in certain contexts; what if woman gets up during the service to give testimony from the pulpit about a ministry she is a part of, and ends up teaching a biblical lesson in the process? I have no problem with this. She is not LITERALLY acting as an elected ELDER at that point, she is simply sharing truth about God in her life
- So, positionally I would not give biblical warrant to a female associate pastor, thought I would not deny women the right to teach small groups that have men in them/youth services that have men in them, etc.
- The main issue I have with the arguments arising out of this discussion is that women starting feeling ENTITLED to certain things, and thus lose what the Bible defines as their ROLE as a woman; it is not subservient, it is a glorious role; but women, being subjected in authority over time, are jumping off the other side of the wall (so to speak)
By the way, we have women who serve as ushers and teach in Sunday school contexts and share testimonies on Sunday mornings, but we do not have female associate pastors whose primary role is exegeting and teaching the Word of God to our body. That role is viewed as being reserved for men only (because that’s their clear biblical role).
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I think his point about associate pastors being elders is interesting. Should all teaching pastors be an elder? Associate pastors were probably not a consideration of Paul’s when he was writing, though I am sure the Holy Spirit considered it when He inspired Paul.
As a woman, I say AMEN.
He hasn’t called everyone to be leaders, but He wants everyone to be faithful with whatever their role/position may be.
I stumbled onto your blog, and I love it. Then I ran into this issue with your church while looking at the link you posted, and I was saddened when I read what your church wrote. I am so happy to hear the position that you take, however. Do not let feminists tell you otherwise. We do not let our feelings, our lusts, and/or our pride dictate what we want to believe… we must stand on the Word of Truth. It’s not that no woman could ever handle the job, it’s that God has a structure, and a perfect reason for this structure. Let us all follow Him, because His way really is the best way! Let’s have some trust that God knows what He is doing, and let us all be faithful to the roles and the plans that God has set before us.