I have read the scriptures, I have looked over different articles and writings and I have observed the roles of women (and men) within the church. I am a
complimentarian. I believe in the God-given roles of men and women. I have often said that, "a mother cannot be a father nor can a father be a mother." I have said that because we were created to be what God created us to be- either male or a female- a mother or a father. We can't have it both ways (no matter how hard the
LGBT's try to persuade the church). A boy can never learn how to be a father by watching a mother. Sure, he can learn certain things about how to treat a woman and how a woman should or shouldn't behave (and I would argue that boys will learn just that- either to disrespect or honor women- from the actions of their mothers) just like a daughter can learn from her father how a man should or shouldn't treat a woman. Yet neither, father or mother, can teach their son or daughter to be something that they themselves are not. That is why we intrinsically know that every boy needs his father and every girl needs her mother. There is an understanding involved, because there are
differences involved. And you know what??? Those differences are
OK to have.
So all of this leads me to my post title, "
Thoughts on Female Pastors." I started with the role of the male/female in the home (or at least that was the point) to show that God has created male and female for certain duties. For the church, the "
pastorship" has been relegated to the men. It was a process that
occurred in the Old Testament, that God-not man- brought over into the New Covenant. It never meant that women were incapable of performing the said task, it just simply meant/means that it is within the jurisdiction of men. Just like the role of a father is relegated to the man, so is the pastorate. That doesn't mean that a woman cannot lead or teach- in fact Paul says in Titus 2:3 that the older women are to teach the younger women! Gasp! And from a quick glance at society nowadays, that kind of leadership has gone to the wayside as we desperately need godly women teaching the younger women how to be (we need godly men as well- but that's another post). Women should not feel slighted in any way because of their being kept from the pastorate. I don't see men crying out to God that they are upset because they cannot have children the way women can! Crazy comment I know, but it's true. For men the task would be physically impossible. For a woman to step into a male role is a great deal easier- but it doesn't make it right in the sight of God. And for a woman to complain (and egalitarian males as well) that she is being held back from being on par with a man, well your fight is with God. The Lord has made us equal, yet He has still divided the workload of the Christian life. Unfortunately, many of you see what the scriptures say, but still ignore them. The scriptures are
ignored because
Christians fall into the trap of having to have everything that world has. If there is a woman governor, then by right (supposedly in the name of equality) there must be woman pastor. If there is a woman president, then there must be a woman as the head of a church denomination. You try to justify your refusal to follow what the Apostle spoke of in 1 Timothy 2:12 that "a woman ought to learn in silence and not usurp authority over the male" (paraphrased). Yet you fail to look at the bigger picture. Paul elsewhere commands (in the Lord) that men ought to teach their wives by washing them in the Word. That is the duty of every husband. If a woman takes the authority upon herself to be the teacher, then the male is left without his rightful role. That is outside of the calling that every husband has on his life- his duty even. Now do you get why Paul always goes back to Adam and Eve? Adam failed by not teaching his wife. Eve failed because she took authority. Together they failed to display the glory of God that He had placed on them and we fail today because we refuse to allow God's Word to lead us when our flesh wants to go in the opposite direction. The truth is we all have a part to play in perfecting the church. But if we won't fix the areas we are assigned to first, how can we jump into other areas? Or better yet, how can you take mote out of your brother's eye, yet refuse to remove the beam from your own? Matt 7:3
Now as I say these things, there will be a number of people who will violently spew wrong, hurtful and disrespectful words my way. But I want people to understand what I am saying. I am not saying that a woman will go to hell for
pastoring (she'll go to hell for other things that I won't even be aware of- actually, she'll go because even though she may profess Christ on the outside (like many ungodly male pastors), on the inside she is none of His). To make it abundantly clear, I don't believe every female pastor is going to hell. Some will go to heaven- those for whom He died for. Yet, their salvation doesn't make what they are doing right. You can be a Christian and be severely wrong in some of your actions- none of us are perfect and none of us are without sin (not even me and I know this with a passion). Yet, nothing excuses us from doing what is right. Nothing gives us permission to disobey God's Word and grieve the Holy Spirit. And I don't know about you, but when I realize that I have grieved the Holy Spirit that is residing in me I am deathly ashamed....
Just like a neophyte to the Christian religion is not allowed to be a pastor, there are other
disqualifiers as well. Being a drunkard, a thief, etc, the outline for the pastorate is written in 1 Timothy 3:2 and in Titus 1:6-9. Now I don't know if I am going to win anyone over to my way of thinking with this post, but my hope is that through
honest prayer and reading, the body would come together to glorify God in the manner in which He intends. For those women pastors who may pass through here (highly doubt it), I don't doubt that you are talented enough to preach or teach. But just because you are
talented doesn't mean that you are
authorized to pastor a congregation. And while I don't believe that you would go to hell for
pastoring, it doesn't mean that God is glorified either when excuses are made to exclude certain scriptures from being followed. And if you cannot fully preach the entire bible accurately, what benefit then are you really to the body of Christ? Is it not enough to honor God by teaching the women only? Is it not enough to raise up a godly family? Is it not enough to do simply what He asks? Is it too hard to be the man or woman He created us to be? Or is it simply a desire to have what has been forbidden? Is it right for a woman to follow in the sins of Eve? Will you follow in her footsteps?
