• All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matt 28:18).
• Jesus alone is the Head of the church (John 5:26-27, Eph 1:22-23, Col 1:18).
• God does not permit Christians to have controlling authority over other Christians in the church (see Matt 20:25-28, Mark 10:42-45, Luke 22:24-27, 1Pet 5:3, Matt 23:8-12, etc.).
• We do not have multiple special high priests over us. There is only One High Priest, Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 3:1, 4:14).
• We have One Master Christ and we are all brothers (see Matt 23: 8-12).
• You cannot obey two masters; you will love the one and hate the other (Matt 6:24, Luke 6:13). You simply cannot obey Jesus as master and a pastor as master at the same time.

What does the Bible say about women in ministry? Can women serve in church leadership?"

Pastor, Priest, Elder, Minister

What do each of these pairs have in common? They all indicate some role of female leadership in the Christian church. The concept of women in church leadership is a hotly debated topic- one that I am reluctant to address for fear that I may miss what God's desire is. However, I think we (Christians) tend to avoid difficult topics because we desire peace among people (and rightly so).

After much research, I discovered this to be a subject that seemed to lean more towards paid vocational choices in formal ministry, than ministry opportunities from a volunteer standpoint. From the vantage point of women taking on a vocational role in the church, this is what i have to offer on the subject. Please keep in mind that it is not my intent to stir up controversy, but to ask that we consider what God may truly desire in the matter. After all, the will of God is our highest goal!

A brief look at women who want a vocational role in the church from a historical perspective (recent history)

Mary Slessor, born in 1848 in Aberdeen, Scotland, felt called to ministry at age eleven. At twenty nine, she volunteered for a mission journey…a trip that would last a lifetime. She traveled to a part of Calabar, Africa known as “White Man’s Grave” (Collins). When asked how she endured, she replied, “Had I not felt my Saviour close beside me, I would have lost my reason.’ Empowered by that divine Presence, she held her ground and preached to the natives” (Harrison). Slessor answered God’s call and spent her remaining years as a vocational missionary that impacted thousands of lives in Africa (Harrison).

Women and men throughout history have felt a similar calling as Mary Slessor. Women, however, may be denied the same vocational opportunities as their male counterparts in our churches today. Is this because it is opposed to God's will for women to be in ministry, or is there another reason that needs to be considered and discussed?

God moved through the life of Mary Slessor when she went to Africa, much like He did through her male counterpart and predecessor, David Livingstone. Livingstone, born thirty five years before Slessor in Blantyre, Scotland, (122 miles from Slessor’s birth place)shared in her calling to the people of Africa. Livingstone, like Slessor, claimed his devotion to God and call to ministry when, according to Galen B. Royer author of Africa's Great Missionary and Explorer, Livingstone said, “It is my desire to show my attachment to the cause of Him Who died for me by devoting my life to His service"(qtd. in Royer). Livingstone went on to spend the remainder of his years in service to the Lord and to Africa.

Livingstone’s first African convert to Christ was in 1848 (ironically, 1848 was the year Mary Slessor was born…it was as if God was preparing the next generation’s missionary for Africa). Livingstone’s life work opened the door to many in Africa to hear the good news of salvation in Christ (Royer). Even his death in 1874 “created a great wave of missionary enthusiasm. The call for workers for Africa thrilled many a heart into action, one of these was Mary Slessor” according to Eugene Myers Harrison who wrote an account of Slessor in The White Queen of Calabar.

The title of “Queen” for Slessor gives us some glimpse of how well regarded she was. “J. H. Morrison pays this tribute: ‘She is entitled to a place in the front ranks of the heroines of history, and if goodness be counted an essential element of true greatness, if eminence be reckoned by love and self-sacrifice, by years of endurance and suffering, by a life of sustained heroism and purest devotion, it will be found difficult, if not impossible, to name her equal’ " (qtd. In Harrison). Livingstone was also lauded with great respect and admiration for his work “When the news that he was alive reached England, astonishment and admiration filled the minds of the people. The Royal Geographical Society awarded him its highest honors, a gold medal” (qtd. in Royer).

David Livingstone and Mary Slessor both heard and answered the call of God to minister to the people of Africa. Both were given great respect for their work. Each had an equal opportunity to preach the good news and to teach the ways of Christ to the native people there. They spent their lives evangelizing, pastoring, and teaching these new converts the ways of God. During this time in the year 1862, while Slessor and Livingstone preached in Africa, God was preparing yet another voice in a different part of the world…Ames, Iowa; the birthplace of William Ashley Sunday.

According to Billy Sunday Online, William Ashley Sunday, better known as “Billy” Sunday, was born in November of 1862 and shortly after his birth was given to an orphanage. He started his vocational life as a professional baseball player with the Chicago White Stockings. In 1886 Sunday was “led to the Lord by Mrs. Sarah "Ma" Clarke at the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago” (BillySunday). Like Slessor, Sunday responded to the call of God at the age of twenty nine (in 1891), and kept going until his death in 1935. He gave up his baseball career and turned to full-time Christian work. Written of Sunday in Billy Graham Archives, “Billy Sunday is still one of the twentieth century's best known evangelists. By the time of his death in 1935, he had preached to millions, and it is estimated that three hundred thousand men and women were led to faith in Christ at his over two hundred campaigns”. Around the time that Sunday was answering God’s call; another well known evangelist was born in Canada.

Aimee Elizabeth Kennedy was born October 9, 1890 in Salford, Ontario. Her father and mother moved to Michigan following a personal scandal. Kennedy gave her heart to God at the age of seventeen while at a crusade held by her future husband, Robert McPherson. McPherson, an evangelist and missionary to China, sadly, died just after their second wedding anniversary and she later married Harold McPherson and became known as Aimee Semple McPherson (Lewis).

Aimee Semple McPherson began to hear the call of God on her life while violently ill. She didn’t want to give in to him, but finally dedicated herself fully and became known for being “the first famous Pentecostal evangelist, seeking publicity to broaden the audience for her religious message, using modern technology (including the automobile and radio) -- truly a pioneer in religious history. The Foursquare Gospel Church which she founded is now a movement with more than two million members around the world” (Lewis).

During the Great Depression McPherson had “programs to feed the hungry and respond to natural disasters” (Galli) thus feeding her followers both spiritually and physically. In her later years she built a permanent place to preach. Macpherson’s church was built in Los Angeles, California with all cash donations in 1923 and named Angeles Temple (Lewis). McPherson died the night before she was to give one of “her favorite sermons, The Story of My Life” (qtd. in Aimee: A Short Biography)

McPherson’s death was controversial and her life and ministry were colorful as “she turned the religious establishment of her day upside down” (Aimee: A Short Biography) much like the ministry of her counterpart, Billy Sunday as said of his ministry, “Sunday's sensationalistic "fire and brimstone" preaching was incredibly popular. He traveled from town to town, holding revival meetings in temporary wooden tabernacles, condemning liquor, birth control, and other sins of the modern age” (Matt Hucke). McPherson and Sunday were equally considered by historians to be “the most significant revivalist in the early twentieth century” (Galli). Both answered the call of God on their lives and each had an impact on Christianity. And in 1890- McPhearson's birth year- another child was born who would have her own influence on Christianity: Henrietta Mears.

Mears, born in North Dakota in 1890 (Henrietta Mears) “accepted Christ at the age of seven; five years later, she taught her first Sunday school class and never looked back. During her freshman year at the University of Minnesota, Mears became superintendent of her church's junior high Sunday school department. Teaching was her gift” (Marlene Baer). Later she became the Director of Sunday School at a Presbyterian church in Hollywood, California. She wrote her own Sunday school material and subsequently founded Gospel Light PublicationsGospel Light International, along with establishing Forest Home Conference Center in the San Bernardino Mountains in California (Marlene Baer). Her primary focus was on high school and college age youth. “On any given Sunday, 500 college students would cram into the church” (LaGue). and Among the many young lives she influenced, one notable person was Bill Bright, an attendee at the Presbyterian Church where she taught (Marlene Baer).

Bright, born in Oklahoma in 1921, moved to Los Angeles to start a business and while living there, attended the First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood (Bill Bright Wikepedia) where Henrietta Mears taught. In 1945 at the age of twenty four, he gave his heart to Christ, which led to “five years of graduate work at Princeton and Fuller theological seminaries” (Bill Bright). It was during this time, according to billbright.com, that he and his wife Vonette birthed Campus Crusade for Christ. He also commissioned The Jesus Film in 1979, viewed by more than five billion people worldwide, as reported at billbright.cci.org. Both Bright and Mears heard the call of God on their lives to minister to youth and college students. Each was given opportunities yielding amazing fruits for God’s glory. Both spent their lives teaching, mentoring, evangelizing, and ministering and were highly respected for their work.

This respect was evident in the words of Billy Graham when he said of Mears, “I doubt if any other woman outside my wife and mother has had such a marked influence on my life. She is certainly one of the greatest Christians I have ever known” (qtd. in Moore). And Bright’s tributes include, among other things, “six honorary doctorate degrees…he received the Jubilate Christian Achievement Award, 1982-1983, for outstanding leadership and dedication in furthering the gospel through the work of Campus Crusade and the Great Commission Prayer Crusade” (Crusade). Bright and Mears both were regarded for their outstanding contribution to evangelism just as McPherson, Sunday, Livingstone, and Slessor.

It seems illogical, therefore, that any of these ministers mentioned, would not have been allowed to pursue their calling. Research into this matter proves this might very well happen to others, however.

There could be any number of reasons that someone wouldn’t be able to fulfill their desire to pursue a ministerial vocation: illness, finances, family, or any other life circumstances. But there is one cause that seems prevalent among women that constitutes a simple denial of opportunity, regardless of desire or gifting. This problem appears to stem from two reasons: Belief in scriptural interpretation and customary practices in the church.

The custom of women holding ministerial positions in the early church seem to vary based on different scripture and interpretations of those scriptures. Some take the view that the Bible is explicit regarding women speaking or having authority over men in the church. Gotquestions.org, a web source that is endorsed by many well known men and women including: Dr. Woodrow Kroll, President - Back to the Bible International, Dr. Norman Geisler, CEO - Southern Evangelical Seminary, Dr. Les Lofquist, IFCA International Executive Director, Dr. Elwood Chipchase, President, Calvary Bible College and Theological Seminary, and Joyce Courtney, Former Chief Executive Officer - Stonecroft Ministries appear to hold this belief based on their endorsement of the site that contains the following statement:

"Apparently, certain women in the Corinthian church were out of order in disruptively asking questions publicly in the chaotic services. It is not coincidental that many modern churches that have tongues-speaking and claim gifts of healings and miracles also permit women to lead worship, preach, and teach. Women may be gifted teachers, but they are not permitted by God ‘to speak’ in such a manner in His churches. In fact, for them to do so is ‘shameful,’ meaning ‘disgraceful’ (v. 35) (Questions).

And another well known authoritative source’s author, Matthew J. Slick, of Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry Online (CARM), has this to say:

"There are many gifted women who might very well do a better job at preaching and teaching than many men. However, it isn't gifting that is the issue, but God's order and calling. What does the Bible say? We cannot come to God's word with a social agenda and make it fit our wants. Instead, we must change and adapt to what it says” …and in another place “the normal and proper person to hold the office of elder pastor is to be a man".

In June of 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention was reported by author Jody Veenker in Christianity Today as publicly declaring their stand in her article when she reported the following:

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has sparked another national controversy by adopting strict interpretations of Scripture—including barring women from pastorates—in a move to counter liberal culture… the majority of Southern Baptists affirm that biblical passages such as 1 Timothy 2:12 ("I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent" NRSV) clearly limit the pastoral office to men alone."God has built an order of authority into every institution on earth," James Merritt, the newly elected president of the SBC, tells CT. "We follow his order of authority and submit to his structure ...

All three authorities listed hold the view that women are limited in vocational pursuits in the church. For the sake of understanding then, let us look at the definition of the word “church” as it is defined in Easton’s Bible Dictionary:

Derived probably from the Greek word "kuriakon" (i.e., "the Lord's house"), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia, which is synonymous with the Hebrew “kahal” of the Old Testament, both words meaning simply an assembly (emphasis mine), the character of which can only be known from the connection in which the word is found.

There is no clear instance of its being used for a particular place of meeting or of worship, although in post-apostolic times it early received this meaning. Nor is this word ever used to denote the inhabitants of a country united in the same profession, as when we say the "Church of England," the "Church of Scotland," etc.

Should Women Be Pastors and Elders? Or any other church leader?

Based on Eaton’s definition of “church”, it is my observation that Slessor, McPherson, and Mears should not have held their positions when held against the beliefs and statements of the authorities cited. Each of these women mentioned preached to, and taught men who were assembled together somewhere.

Slessor did so to an entire society of men in Africa (therefore, women shouldn't be missionaries). McPherson did so not only at evangelical meetings with men attending, but also at the Angeles Temple and over the radio (therefore, women shouldn't be on the radio, TV, Bible Study, Sunday School class, home group, etc.). And Mears, while apparently limiting her teaching to young people and college students, taught males over the age of eighteen (legal adult age, therefore making them men- again prohibited).

Even though the listed restrictions from the three sources cited are limited to those who teach or pastor in a church building, this seems to be applicable to any assembly where a man may be in attendance or who may hear the word of God as spoken by a woman due to the literal interpretation of the quoted scripture and using the literal definition of “church”.

This brings me to wonder what we are losing in our spread of God’s message and spiritual growth of his people by limiting women seeking vocational ministry positions.

I can’t imagine how many people over the years have been positively affected by Slessor, McPherson, and Mears alone. Can you imagine if Bill Bright had never been taught by Mears? Not to mention the impact she had on Billy Graham’s life…or an entire colony of people in Africa by Slessor? And what of the thousands of people who were fed both physically and spiritually by the work of McPherson during the depression? It is unfathomable to consider the possible loss had they been denied the opportunity to preach and teach. And, although not famous, there is one other person I know who would have been affected; A young girl called Mabel who lived in South Pasadena with her parents and 4 siblings.

As a child in the 1920’s, Mabel, along with her family, attended a crusade held by McPherson. This is where she gave her heart to the Lord, ultimately leading her to raise her children (ironically in a Southern Baptist Church) as Christians. Her daughter then raised Mabel’s grandchildren as Christians, which lead to a granddaughter accepting Christ when she was seven. And as a resident of Southern California, each year Mabel’s church sent their youth to the Forest Home Conference Center for summer camp. In her junior high years, Mabel’s granddaughter spent a week each summer there and rededicated her life to serve Christ. I am Mabel's granddaughter. There is no way of saying for sure where I would be if McPherson and Mears had been silenced.

Thankfully their voices weren’t suppressed. Today I am in a personal relationship with God, thanks in part to the female influences in my life. And I, like the women mentioned, feel a call of God on my life as I have pursued ministry opportunities.

The issue of women in ministry seems to be controversial and complex, but does it have to be?

We should have a closer look at the verses, and context that is held to be the model for teaching and preaching by men only, putting aside all preconceived ideas, pride, cultural bias, fears, peer influence, or any other issues, as this subject is too important to be examined without objectivity. The vocational opportunities for women in ministry need to be thoughtfully re-examined. The gifts that are given based on Ephesians 4:11-13 in the Bible do not seem to indicate a reservation for men only:

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (New International Version).

If the subject of women in ministry is left static, who knows what other Graham, Bright, Slessor, Livingstone, Sunday, McPherson, Mears, or for that matter…an unknown soul like myself…would be denied the word of God; possibly an eternity apart from Christ; and hiding their “talent in the ground” (Passage results Matthew 25:24-26) thus burying their ministry- all due to potential misinterpretation and application of scripture?

What woman today feels the call of God on her life, only to ignore it based on denial of opportunity…cultural beliefs....scriptural teachings from authorities who have chosen a narrow focus…or worse…of an indictment by well known ministers of women being considered “disgraceful” or “shameful” (qtd. in Questions) in the eyes of God because she wants to be a pastor?

This is not about woman's rights or liberating women as a social, political agenda. This is not about usurping a man's role in his family. This is not about demanding equality.

This is about humbly asking for the subject to be reconsidered for the sake of the gospel. Is it possible that popular opinion is wrong? Is it possible that our good intentions have caused an unnecessary division?

Let's set aside our agendas (both pro and con) and take a fresh look at our real motives and beliefs on this controversial subject. It is God we serve...both men and women...and we are all commanded to go into all the world to preach the gospel to every creature.

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Works Cited

Aimee: A Short Biography. 4 April 2004. 10 December 2007 <http://www.libertyharbor.org/aimee.htm>.

Beth Moore, Lifeway.com

Bill Bright. 10 December 2007 <http://billbright.ccci.org/public/>.

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<http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/sunday/sunday01.html>.

BillySunday. 2001. 10 December 2007 <http://www.billysunday.org/timeline.php3>.

Collins. Mary Slessor:Mission Africa. 10 December 2007

<http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bioslessor.html>.

CARM.org, norman geisler

Crusade, Campus. Who is Bill Bright? 2001. 10 December 2007

<http://www.billbright.com/whoisbill.htm>.

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Harrison, Eugene Myers. Mary Slessor1848-1915 The White Queen of Calabar. 10 December 2007

<http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/bioslessor2.html>.

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<http://www.ctlibrary.com/15743>.

LaGue, D.A. Historical Renewal Friday: Henrietta Mears. 10 December 2007

<http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/blog/2007/09/07/historical-renewal-friday-henrietta-mears/>.

Lewis, Jone Johnson. Aimee Semple McPherson. 2007. 10 December 2007

<(http://womenshistory.about.com/od/protestant/a/aimee_mcpherson.htm).>.

Marlene Baer. Henrietta Mears. 2002. 10 December 2007

<http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/areas/biblestudies/articles/cr-2002-001-12.15.html>.

Mathew J. Slick. Should Women Be Pastors and Elders? 1995-2007. 10 December 2007

<http://www.carm.org/questions/womenpastors.htm>.

Matt Hucke. ForestHome. 1996-2006. 10 December 2007

<http://www.graveyards.com/IL/Cook/foresthome/se-sunday.html>.

Moore, Walon B. mentoring-disciples. 10 December 2007 <http://www.mentoring-

disciples.org/mears.html>.

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<http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=eph%204:11-13&version=31>.

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<http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/ilivingstone.html>.

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