Should a woman teach, preach or pastor?
Another topic that widely divides the church.
This post was inspired by a conversation I recently had with a friend.
Not someone decades older... a peer, someone from my generation.
It surprised me.
I shared a sermon by Stephanie Ike Okafor with him.
He was a bit triggered and did not watch it because she is female.
Are the gifts of the Spirit available to only men? I wondered.
Or is the problem the fact that she got up on stage and taught a crowd?
Yes, he had a problem with her being a pastor at her local church.
I was challenged to dig some more into the subject.
I studied the three main passages used to support this position:
1 Timothy 2:11-12, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Corinthians 11:3
First thing that strikes me is that all these passages were written by Paul.
Could there have been a personal bias? Hmmm.
1 Timothy 2:11-12: Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. (NKJV)
Just a couple of verses earlier Paul says women should not braid their hair or wear any gold or expensive clothes (verse 9). Churches are full of women adorned with gold jewelry, designer clothes and fancy hairstyles.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35: Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church. (NKJV)
It is easy to see that Paul's words are influenced by his cultural context... a society dominated by men... which is still a reality in many Middle Eastern countries. Note that only a few verses later (39), Paul encourages prophesying and speaking in tongues... subjects still ignored by many churches.
1 Corinthians 11:3: But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. (NKJV)
Paul is discussing head coverings in this passage. I understand this as the husband being the head of his wife, which I agree with. All men do not authority over all women. In that case women should not lead even in the workplace. Boys will not submit to the authority of their mothers or older sisters. And considering the rest of the passage... how many married Christian women still cover their heads when praying? How many Christian women have short hair? Especially out here in the West.
We really cannot ignore cultural context when reading the Bible.
Let context and wisdom from the Holy Spirit be our guide.
Discern what is God's command and what is religious tradition or doctrine.
Personally I was convicted by Deborah's story (Judges 4)
For those who hold this position, I wonder how they explain away Deborah.
In a time when God directly led His people, He chose a woman to speak through.
Giving her such authority that the head of the army insisted he will not go into battle without her
This story is not an instruction, it is a record of what actually happened.
It does not happen often, it is the exception, but God can call a woman to lead men.
True, there are many women on pulpits who have no business being there.
But I believe some have been truly called by God to serve the church with their spiritual gifts.
Ephesians 4:11 does not say these offices were reserved for only men.
I was also struck by the fact that the same denomination (my friend's) obstinate about women pastoring
Is one that conveniently ignores all the verses in the Bible about the Holy Spirit at work in the church
They don't talk about the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the value of speaking in tongues
They do not talk about the need for the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the church.
They have made excuses for intentionally choosing to ignore these parts of the Bible.
The truth is no one obeys ALL instructions in the Bible
Every denomination has Bible passages they choose to ignore or misinterpret
Every Christian has verses they interpret to suit their personal convictions.
But what matters most to us gentiles when it comes to salvation was made very clear
We must abstain from idolary, sexual immorality, and meat with blood (Acts 21:25)
I hope we will stop allowing the devil to divide the church using vain arguments
We can disagree and still be united in love
We can disagree without condemning those on the other side
Through the lens of humility, we should see that we are all growing on this Christian journey
And remember only God is able to judge accurately
He has ALL the puzzle pieces to sees the full picture of every one of our lives.
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