Women in Leadership-Part 1
This post will start our new series, Theology Thursdays. We will be posting on a controversial topic and stating our opinions on the topic. Women in Leadership is something that the creators of CCW, have differing opinions on. This topic is also something a lot of ladies within the Christian community have differing opinions on as well.
You will hear Audrey’s side today of why she believes women can be in leadership, and mine (Isabel) next Thursday as to why women should not be in leadership.
We do ask that you not attack the poster but rather urge you to dig into Scripture to find answers and comment them below. Feel free to share this blog post with others with your opinion added. The authors of these post will not be engaging in the debates, but you are welcome to have a healthy debate with others. This new series is not to cause division, but to urge you ladies to dig into the Word of God. Audrey and I are not teachers, and these are just our opinions/convictions after reading Scripture and the conclusions we came to through much prayer.
I want to remind you all of our mission statement:
“Encouraging wives to store up God’s Word in their hearts, to understand more of who He is, and to exemplify Christ in their daily lives.”
What better way to do that then to push you ladies to study the Word of God and know what you believe and why. The goal for these posts is not to argue or cause division, but to encourage you ladies to store up God’s Word in your heart.
-If you do not agree, please be kind and comment why giving Scripture to support your thought.
-If you agree, state why and continue to give Scripture to support your stance.
Again, check back Next Thursday to see the opposing side.
Why Women Can Hold Roles of Authority in the Church According to Scripture
By Audrey Durden
In this post, I will lay out the reasons I believe, according to scripture, that women can hold roles of authority in the church. I'll also be speaking about why I believe pastoring a church should be a role that should be taken on by both husband and wife.
I'd like to give a disclaimer: I am not here to convince anyone I am right. I simply want to share my point of view as a way to encourage women to dig into scripture and decide for themselves, through studying, praying, and teaching what is the will of God.
Before you begin reading, I encourage you to set aside all the preconceived notions you may have from your childhood, church background, or possibly your family. Come into this discussion not defensive in your heart, but open and willing to learn. I know for a long time I held many beliefs because they were the ideals I grew up hearing. I held my parent's convictions and beliefs because I was scared to open scripture with a humble and teachable heart and let the Holy Spirit lead me. If at the end of this discussion, you take time to pray, read, and learn and your views have not changed, there is nothing wrong with that, stand firm in what the Holy Spirit is doing in your life. Hold firm to the conviction that has been laid on your heart. But, if at the end of this discussion, you feel confused and like you need more clarification, I pray you lean into that! Study, pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and speak to you regarding this topic.
My sincere prayer is that this topic encourages you to dive deeper into the Word of God, and get to know our Savior and friend better!
Many Christians have very polarizing views on women in leadership. We typically see them saying things like “The Bible is so clear on women in leadership, women are to hold no authority over a man!”. And while I recognize this is a very popular and “safe” view of the Word, I don't think it's as simple as people want to make it out to be.
There is a passage that I have seen used to argue that women have no place in leadership, 1 Timothy 2:10-12, “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”
What we are seeing in 1 Timothy 2:10-12 is similar to what we see Paul telling the Corinthian church to do in 1 Corinthians 11:5.“but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head since it is the same as if her head were shaven.” (This might be something else we disagree on, and that's okay). Just as covering the head was a command to humble the women of Corinth, so was the command to be silent in church for the Ephesians. Though I believe this isn't an absolute command for the church as a whole, I do believe all scripture is profitable, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This means this command to the Church of Ephesus is something we can all learn from and may also feel convicted of.
In 1 Timothy where we see Paul telling the women to be silent, he is writing to Timothy who is currently in Ephesus at the church there (also known as the Church of Mary or Church of St. Mary). But through some history about the Ephesians, I think it might make more sense why I believe this isn't an absolute command.
Ephesus was a city drenched in goddess worship long before any Christians were around. A city centered around Greek mythology, and boy was its “history” proof they loved mythology. It was said that Ephesus was first found prehistorically by warrior Amazon women who were priestesses with Hittie roots. The city was first named Apasas (meaning queen bee), after the Amazon queen.
The second founding came at about 1050 B.C. And the story goes that Androculs was told by an Orcial named Delphi where to found his new city. Which according to legend, was the same place the Amazon women landed. After the second founding, it came in and out of rule by many different people and even had a venue change, haha, they moved the whole city!
Anyway, Ephesus was built around the worship of the Anatolian mother goddess of Fertility, Cybele. And for good measure threw in a few more goddesses from other people's belief systems. They centered their city around the Temple of Artemis. In its original structure, they had statues of goddesses inside where people could come and worship. This is where we get the Temple of Artemis from, one of the seven wonders of the world! Artemis, also known as Zeus’s daughter, was the goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and childbirth.
These goddesses were often depicted naked and were praised and worshiped for their outwardly strong appearance, sexual nature, and gaudy attitudes. There would be extravagant festivals to praise the goddesses, in which people would get intoxicated and hold exhibitions of sexual immorality. Can you imagine growing up in an environment where all of this was normalized? It would make sense that the women raised in this overtly haughty behavior would display it in their own lives…
We see Paul is giving specific and needed guidelines to each church what they need. This is seen in the letters to the Church of Corinth when Paul was explaining love to them! I'm not going to go into depth about the Church of Corinth, but they were far worse when it came to sexual immorality. They were participating in the region's cult activity and becoming very comfortable with prostitution. We see Paul's letters reflect this, he tells them what true love is and what a marriage should look like. Again, Paul teaches each church what they need, and all can apply to us in a spiritual and physical sense without being a doctrine that would exclude us from living in God’s will if not followed.
Another very important note to make, women weren't allowed to read or study any of the Torah. If women were not allowed to read or study the Torah and they were trying to teach… a recipe for disaster!!! So of course they shouldn't be allowed to speak, 1) If they tried to teach, they would have no scriptural foundation to stand on. 2) They would be interrupting service by asking questions that their husbands would know the answer to. Very understandably, the women of Ephesus needed some very strict, hard, and fast rules to keep them in alignment. “the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be in submission, as the Law also says.” 1 Corinthians 14:34
We see through studying the history of Ephesus, that women were glorified in a godly manner because of their Greek ties to goddess worship. This led to a haughty and self-inflated female population in the church. Coupled with the fact that women were not allowed to study scripture, it is clear why they were given this command. Women in Ephesus and Corinth needed to be reminded that they had to come into the church with a humble heart and be willing to be taught by the more experienced followers of Jesus. When these women became an issue, Paul had to give them a more physical reminder. Just as the Israelites needed judges as a reminder they were under submission to God.
I also want to touch on how we as the church today should model what we see in scripture. Women were spoken about by Paul in his correspondents, and even mentions Priscilla helping teach and correct Apollos with her husband; “He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” Acts 18:26
We see Phoebe as a deaconess, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,” Romans 16:1
We see Chloe, who most likely had a church in her home, “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.” 1 Corinthians 1:11
If you take a stance against women leading in the church, where does it say “in church women can ONLY lead other women and children”, it doesn't. You draw that conclusion from reading. Just as one can conclude these commands were for Ephesian and Corinthian churches. Quickly I’d like to add, at what age would we say boys would be men? If women cannot teach their sons past 13, that also proves to be a problem.
Continuing, most congregations have a female leading part of the church, and I don't think they have to try to justify it by saying women can lead children, or women can teach other women. They can feel confident knowing that women can also be in leadership because nothing is preventing them. We also see that during Pentecost the Spirit was poured out on both men and women alike as seen in this verse “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18
Because Scripture is how we should model our lives and churches, a sole female pastor wouldn't be something I support. Never in scripture do we see a woman solely lead a church congregation? What we do see in scripture is Paul telling us how to be the healthiest body of Christ. We can see that modeled by Prisca and Aquilla leading their church in their home together. I believe most pastoral roles should be filled by a couple who both lead and take care of their flock together. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24
A lot of women point to Deborah to say that women can be in leadership, and while I agree, this takes place in the Old Testament. Because we don't have judges around anymore, I don't like using this as a reference. I will say, that she was amazing and truly stepped up to take on what I know was an unpopular role when she was needed! We can all learn from her.
In closing, I argue this, can a well-studied, well-versed, humble woman make a valuable contribution to both men and women?
My answer is yes.
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.” Romans 16:1-2
Audrey Durden
Again, feel free to comment your stance but be kind. We are all learning and growing in Christ.
Check back next week to see why women should not be in leadership roles- PART 2
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