Churches are divided over the role of women. What does God think?
Women priests. Women bishops. Women pastors and elders.... Christian denominations are often at daggers drawn as to the role of women. The Church of England, for example, is split on the issue. A decision was taken in Synod to allow women priests. But a substantial number reject the idea, and have their own Bishops who refuse to ordain women. In many Protestant churches there have been women pastors for many years. Yet the all-male pastorate is strongly advocated by others.
Bible Leadership
The issue is confused by the way leadership in the church has evolved over centuries. The primitive church knew nothing of priests or bishops or the kind of hierarchical structure that is today's norm in the large denominations such as the Anglican and Roman churches. Simply, each local gathering of Christians appointed - with some external mature oversight - a leader as their spiritual guide. Such were expected to fulfil the criteria outlined by the apostle Paul to both Timothy and Titus. Christians in a city - Philippi for example - would have 'overseers and deacons' (Philippians 1:1). [Request The Small Church and Church Governance for a study of this]
The 'church', in its beginning, was the assembly of believers who came together - usually in a home - to fellowship, to worship, to learn and grow in the faith. It was necessarily limited in size, but each group appointed its leader to oversee the spiritual needs of the flock. There would be several such groups in town, all on fraternal terms and sharing leadership. All the assemblies would come together - eg for the annual Lord's Supper and for Festivals. There were then no competing 'denominations'!
The 'pastor' or shepherd of each flock - as the apostle Paul termed it - was spiritual overseer of the group. Each assembly and its leadership was patterned on the synagogue. By the direction of the Spirit, the pastorate was an all-male preserve. [This theme will be explored in a.future article.]
Women in Service
But there were a variety of other no less vital leadership needs: caring for widows, collection and distribution of alms, accounting for income, maintaining records etc. Each function was carried out by those gifted for the task by the Holy Spirit. The Scripture records that women were highly esteemed for such services. Jesus, for example, valued a number of women in his entourage as he travelled to promote his mission. They 'ministered' to his needs and those of his companions from their own property (Luke 8:3).
Essential to the stability of the church, Paul urged the more mature women to impart their experience and wisdom to the younger women (Titus 2:4-5). They would instruct them in the fundamentals of family life and in the behavior fitting for a woman in Christ. We are not given the details in God's Word, but we can assume this would include both formal counsel - in the form of group talks - and also informal one-on-one counsel. Clearly, women are best fitted by nature for such a heavy responsibility! If juvenile Sabbath schools were then in vogue it would be natural that they would be organized and led by Christian ladies.
Biblical perspective
The Scriptures don't pull punches in their praise of women who make their mark in varied aspects of religious life. Throughout the four thousand years detailed by the Bible, women are recorded as having equal access to God. There are numerous instances of women at prayer. Equally with men they were to attend public worship 'to hear and learn and fear the LORD your God and to do all the words of this Law' (Deuteronomy 31:12). Women were vital to the 'university of the home'. And there were women prophets and national leaders.
In the New Testament, too, we find active participation by women in many aspects of church life. Nymphas for example extended the hospitality of her home to the brethren meeting in Laodicea (Colossians 4:15). Women in Philippi 'labored with' Paul in some unspecified evangelistic task - though clearly, in context, not the oversight of a local assembly (Philippians 4:3). Priscilla, alongside her husband, personally instructed the eloquent but untutored Apollos to a more accurate understanding of the Gospel (Acts 18:24-26). A woman in a young assembly near Corinth was a 'servant of the church' - probably what we would term a deaconess - there. She received warm applause from Paul for being a 'great help to many people', including Paul (Romans 16:1-2).
Women of Faith
In the 'roll of honour' of the faithful throughout history women are listed for their faith and perseverance in face of persecution for their beliefs (Hebrews 11). Abraham's wife Sarah is singled out for praise (v.11), and by God in Isaiah as the mother of Israel (Isa. 51:2).
Christian women, no less than men, are 'joint-heirs with Christ' and God's 'daughters' (II Corinthians 6:18). Each must discover her gifting from Jesus Christ and powerfully use it in his service in their assembly. Christians - men and women - are 'all one in Christ', each with our special function.
To comment on this article or request more information, please contact James McBride by e-mail at the comment form below.
For PDF or mailed copy, see CGOM. Excerpt from New Horizons Volume 6 No. 1, January/February 2002. Edited by James McBride of the Churches of God, United Kingdom.
Go to Literature Index Page
This URL is www.abcog.org/nh/value.htm