In the early days of the Christian Church, there were no mega-churches as there are today. Christians assembled together in their homes. House-churches were the basic building blocks of the corporate (not corporation) Church (capital 'C') within a city or region. There were several reasons why that was so, the most obvious of which was that there was no Church where the Gospel had never before been known. In order as new converts were won from among the heathen nations of the Gentiles, those new Christians had nowhere else to meet together, except, in their own houses.
Not until that there was a sufficiently large number of Christians in any given locale did the Apostles then seek to organize those persons as a "body" of believers: which organizing had much to do with "ordaining" "bishops," elders," and "deacons," according as the Apostles, through the Holy Ghost, saw fit. The act of "ordaining" leaders served two important purposes, namely: 1) it was meant to express Apostolic approval of those individuals; and, 2) it was the means whereby spiritual authority was conferred and delegated, through Apostolic authority.
That system of organization, however, does not imply that God intends for the Church to function as an hierarchical institution. He does not. In fact, Jesus taught his disciples that in the kingdom of God (in the Church), personal greatness is not demonstrated by "lording over" subordinates ~ as is the case with the heathen. Jesus furthermore said: "But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister [servant]" (Mark 10:43).
The Biblical concept which represents the Church as a living, spiritual "body" of believers is not a mere metaphor. In the body and in the economy of the Church, spiritual leadership and spiritual authority are exercised by those who have yielded themselves to be taught and disciplined by the Holy Ghost to serve and to edify the Body of Christ.
Today, there are no Apostles around to "set in order" the churches or to "ordain elders in every place," as was the case in the early days of the Church. To be sure, Apostolic authority does still consist in the context of the doctrines of Scripture; the Apostles' teaching is part of the foundation upon which the Church must be builded. Yet, I mean that the question of women's role in the Church is preeminently a question of spiritual authority; and, that such authority is not today conferred by any human agency, but by the Holy Ghost, in accordance with the Word of God.
I do not at all mean to suggest that the teachings of Scripture ought to be interpreted in the context of changing cultures, as many others insist should be the case ~ with the intention of undermining the immutable authority of the Word of God. God's will and Word has not changed. But we must "rightly divide" [interpret] the Word.
Thus far I have emphasized two important factors, namely: 1) the Church as such, today, in so many ways is very far from functioning according to the Apostles' doctrine in Scripture; and, 2) the meaning and implications of the term "leadership" must be understood not from the perspective of the heathen, but from a Biblical perspective; in Christ, leaders are by definition servants.
I can summarize, in two words, a whole litany of errors in the churches: the Apostasy.
Now let us examine what the Word actually says about women in the churches.
There are a couple of passages in Scripture which are often misunderstood to mean that women may not serve in any leadership role in the churches. Here is one of those passages:
"Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church" (1Corinthians 14:34-35).In the context in which those two verses appear ~ that is, the entirety of chapter 14, the Apostle Paul addressed what evidently was a serious problem in church at Corinth, which problem had to do with confusion and disorder in the assembly, by reason of two principal factors, viz.: undisciplined manifestations of the "gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues;" and, irreverent chatter ~ especially by women. It is the latter of those problems to which the above-quoted verses were addressed.
Who will not agree that, generally speaking, women when gathered together are much more talkative than are men? That is simply human nature. Notice, also, that the above verses are explicitly directed to married women. Paul was attempting to impart a sense of reverence and of order to the assemblies, of the churches. It is instructive to consider what had been the experience of those Christians at Corinth, before their conversion to Christ and their subsequent organization as a church. Doubtless all of them were familiar with the heathen temples and the kinds of debauched practices which that entailed, namely, drunken sexual orgies ~ and goddess worship. How, do you suppose, did that likely affect the ways in which the women in ancient Corinthian society viewed themselves and were viewed by others? Such a licentious culture must have accentuated the carnal tendencies of their already fallen human nature, both of men and of women.
Not insignificant too, the Greek word which in the above verses is translated as "speak," is not the same word which elsewhere in the New Testament is used for preaching and/or prophesying. But it is a word which alludes to talking in general.
Another passage of Scripture which is often misunderstood and which is mistakenly used to exclude women from serving as preachers or as pastors in churches, is the following:
"I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (1Timothy 2:8-14)
Incredibly, many people take merely that one phrase, "I suffer not a woman to teach," as if to mean that women are thus forbidden to be teachers in the church! But that is just ridiculous. Once again in Scripture, the above passage is explicitly directed to instruct men and their own wives, in the will of God concerning the marital relationship. God, by His own will, has given to the married man authority over his own wife only, and that in Christ. Men, in the church, do not have authority over women! For that is nowhere taught in Scripture. But every married man does have authority over his own wife. Period. The above verse of Scripture simply means that God forbids the married woman to usurp authority over her husband, especially, by presuming to make herself to be his teacher. The married woman is commanded by God to be "in silence with all subjection" to her own husband, whether in church or out of church. I should not have to elaborate further the bounds and parameters of what constitutes Godliness in marriage. Although, such instruction is sorely needed in the Church today, especially, in light of the Apostasy ~ which has corrupted not only the Church but all of society.
The Apostle John had four daughters ~ all of whom were prophetesses. They did not merely prophesy ~ in the generic sense of forth-telling the Word of God. But they were used by the Holy Ghost to edify the Body of Christ by means of their unique spiritual gifts involving specific prophecies and/or what the Bible calls the "word of knowledge." How foolish it were to suppose that the Apostle John's daughters were forbidden to speak or to prophesy in the assembly; but, once that church dismissed and everyone were out-of-doors, then John's daughters could prophecy!
The question of whether or not a woman may pastor a church can be answered in one word, a woman's name, actually: that is, Deborah. Who, do you suppose, raised up Deborah to serve as a Judge ~ not merely to a local church, but to the whole nation of Israel? She was not only the spiritual leader of the nation, but she was also a prophetess. Did she not then speak in the Assembly? Did she not teach the nation the ways and will of God?
Of course, I could write a whole book on this subject. But I won't. I have written enough already, I suppose, to answer the objections of any reasonable person who wants to understand whether a Christian woman may serve God in the church, in a teaching, preaching, or pastoral capacity, according to the leading of God. Still, let me conclude with a brief summary of points:
- Pastors (and teachers) are to be servants ~ and not CEOs nor lords, to the church;
- churches are not corporations; nor are institutionalized "churches" recognized in Scripture;
- Married women are to be under subjection to their own husbands, in the context of the marital relationship;
- In Christ (though not, of course, in the flesh) there is "neither male nor female" (Galatians 3:28);
- I personally know some very Godly women pastors and teachers. Don't limit God, by failing to rightly understand the Bible.
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