On my post entitled Women Preachers I had over 100 comments. It was definitely my most commented on post. The reasons most thought women should be preachers were ~
They love their women pastors.
There were a lot of women in leadership positions in the Bible.
God loves women and they should get to be pastors.
Not one person who commented could give me one verse that said women could be a preacher in a church, being a leader and teacher over men. This is what the Bible specifically prohibits. It allows a lot of room for women to be in ministry and play a huge role in the church. But God doesn't want women in leadership positions in the church over men.
Debi Pearl gives a lot of good arguments why she believes this is the way God commands this ~
As a general rule, man is ruled more by his mind than the female, who is governed more by her sensibilities. God designed the woman to be sensitive and vulnerable for the sake of the little ones whom she must nurture.
Vulnerability is a woman's greatest natural asset and the point of her greatest weakness. We ladies are more inclined to trust in our feelings and intuition than men, which makes us more subject to deception.
For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
{I Timothy 2:13,14}
Experience proves that women are prone to claim God as their authority, when God had nothing at all to do with their "leading." When a woman steps outside her divinely ordained nature and assumes the dominant role, she will soon become emotionally and physically exhausted, and dangerous.
My church doesn't allow women preachers and I am very thankful. We have incredible women teachers that teach women and children, however. They are great Bible teachers and wonderful women of God. However, I love that men are the ones in charge of my church as a whole. This doesn't offend me in the least or make me think that I have less value. Our pastors love and respect women. They are great men and great leaders.
Logging you in...
LCB · 685 weeks ago
http://frankviola.org/role.pdf
Lots of interpretations are out there.
PJB · 685 weeks ago
One verse that forbids any Christian from being an (unsubmissive) leader "over" anyone: Matthew 23:11... any verse that reminds women leaders of this important commandment of Christ does not function as an additional prohibition. A woman's leadership must be (submissive) servant leadership, because all Christian leadership is servant (submissive) leadership which places one's self below those who are being led -- never above them. The verse in question says that women may not USURP personal authority over men. This is important. It is never OK for a Christian leader to become dominant like that.
The stereotypical image of a woman with low intellectual abilities, much given to sentimentality above sound reasoning is a dis-service to our entire gender -- as intelligent as you are, Lori, I'm surprised you would embrace it. A mature Christian woman is ruled neither by her 'sensibilities' nor by her mind, but by the indwelling Lord, the Holy Spirit of God. Both the mind and the sensibilities can receive deception, and either gender can fall into deception by either means. That fact does not substantiate the idea that none of us should be leaders among the Church.
The verse you quoted is an argument against the heresy of female superiority, but it in no way puts forward grounds for viewing women as inferior in their leadership potential.
When any Christian steps outside of the divine order of servant-hood in the Church, and assumes a dominant role, an error has been made. It is an error of pride and it tends to go before a fall.
But, considering that you, Lori, ARE a woman preacher (in print) with no control over the gender of the persons you might be teaching here... this whole post has quite the deep logical flaw that you might want to think about.
Holly · 685 weeks ago
Paul Leavitt · 685 weeks ago
Keep up the great work!
Paul
18 Year Old Homeschool Grad
P.S. does your hubby have a blog? I'm always looking for good blogs by older men (seeing as how I'll be one one day :)
Ronda · 685 weeks ago
Thank you, yet again, for your willingness to share and to minister to women as we really can benefit from the topics that you share and dicuss!
Tracy · 685 weeks ago
Christ is the head of Men and men are the head of their wives/families. Christ is the head of the church and all believers are the body...
To put a woman over a man in headship messes with this picture.
Kenya Johnson · 685 weeks ago
Tiffany · 685 weeks ago
I have a question for you....You live in CA right? How do you feel about the Prop 8 ruling that happened yesterday? Thought of you when I heard that and wondered what you think.
Rightthinker · 685 weeks ago
Since most churches care more about filling their chairs/pews with people, we have false doctrine leading churches more than teaching word-for-word through the Bible. We care more about not offending people, and about mocking Jesus Christ by turning Him into only a "good guy" who turns His eyes from sin and ignores it. This makes it convenient for us to establish our own truths...just look at Oprah. She has the biggest church in the world, holding weekly "church" services where she lies to millions of people about the nature of Christ.
Women wishing to have headship and to mislead (both consciously and unconsciously) men is nothing new! However, since the feminist movement, more and more people are being led astray by the apostasy of the new emerging church...mysticism, and the very false doctrine we've been warned about. http://andreamomm.blogspot.com/2012/01/feminism-a...
However, if we aren't studying our bibles, allowing our husband to have leadership in our families to be the spiritual leaders, and attending church where the unabashed Word of God is preached without fear or shame, what do we expect? If we are going because they have "fun programs" and a cool "yoga group" do we expect to be taken deeper in the Lord and our commitment to sound doctrine, or driven further away from the Truth, and closer to the what the world says is right?
Bekah · 685 weeks ago
Kim · 685 weeks ago
I'm not always comfortable when ladies are teaching and men choose to place themselves under a women's teaching, because I've seen first hand that most men will not challenge the women's authority or her teaching. I have challenged the women teachers but the men will sit and not say a word, kind of like in the garden. Now I've also been in classes where men are the teachers and men will debate a man and women will ask questions also.
It is very dangerous. We do not have Biblically based churches anymore. We have a Judges church, " people doing what is right in their own eyes."
Ken · 684 weeks ago
In the 38 occurrences of the word in the New Testament the vast majority use the word “hupotasso” in the context of not just mild authority, but strong authority. Only two contexts besides those used of wives submitting to husbands do not imply authority:
One is the command to “submit to one another.” The other is the verse that says the younger men are to be subjected to the older men which probably means authority.
One is really stretching things to say that the use of the word “hupotasso” does not refer to submission to authority in the six times it is used in a Christian husband wife relationship when 28-30 out of 31 times the word clearly refers to authority, and often to strong authority.
Is that authority to be granted by the wife, most definitely as she voluntarily submits to her husband not because he is smarter, or wiser, but because it is the order of things that God designed. In turn the thrilled husband recognizes that he has the greater responsibility to both love his wife and to show benevolent leadership.
A marriage should be a true partnership of equals with different roles. Consider the husband the President of the family, and the wife the vice president, and Jesus is the CEO and God is the Chairman of the board. No Christian husband in his right mind would want to go against what the CEO and Chairman have required of him as he leads his family forward.