I have a question, can you answer it?

[sunnyt]

Do you think that women should be pastors? And why or why not. I am very confused about this. I beleive that man should be the "head" of the home, unless he is not living in accordance to God's will. And I do know that Paul taught that women should be silent in church. Does this mean today also or was it a law of the times, women's standings in the community?

 

[stephen]

Hello sunnyt

Do you think that women should be pastors? And why or why not. I am very confused about this.

Here in the U.K. we have more lady ministers, within all the denominations, than we have ever had before.

I am pleased to tell you that a short drive from my home a lady Pastor has established a beautiful congregation, and also put up an attractive building for them to worship the Lord in. It is a joy to visit them, .......on those special occasions.

And I do know that Paul taught that women should be silent in church.

This is quite another matter, relating to the day in which it was written

God Bless You

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Do you think that women should be pastors? And why or why not. I am very confused about this. I beleive that man should be the "head" of the home, unless he is not living in accordance to God's will. And I do know that Paul taught that women should be silent in church. Does this mean today also or was it a law of the times, women's standings in the community?

From the Life Application Study Bible study notes re: 1 Cor 14:34,35:

"In the Corinthian culture, women were not allowed to confront men in public. Apparently some of the women who had become Christians thought that their Christian freedom gave them the right to question the men in public worship. This was causing division in the church."

SLE

 

[BecuzHeLives]

I once tell my sister that lady shouldn't be a pastor, and give the verse that SLE said. But that night as I pray, God told me not to break the spirit of other in serving him. He specifically command me to respect those who served God, men or women. We're all his children. We're all his creation. Is any of us special than other? The answer is no. We're one body in Christ. I Cor. 11:12, tell us that we have an equal amount of chance of serving God. On the issue should women silent in Church, Paul was refer to gossipping. The church in Cor. have that problem with gossiping which become a distraction that is why write to them and tell them that woman should be silent in Church. My the Lord blesses all of us so that we can understand his will and serve him better.

 

[Word of Life]

Personally and me being a women, I think men should be in charge, God states this in the Bible. Not just in the church but at the head of the household too.

Gen 3:16 To the woman he said, Great will be your pain in childbirth; in sorrow will your children come to birth; still your desire will be for your husband, but he will be your master.

If I put my feelings into this, women are too emotional, me included. I feel the world has gone wrong, because women want to take the lead. Now don't get me wrong as there are some really good level headed women out there, who are strong, but most women tend to be a bit too weak and too emotional about things, including me. And sometimes these emotions can give the wrong prospective on things, regarding life and general decisions on various things in life. As long as the man doesn't abuse that authority than that's fine. And what I mean by that, is physically and emotionally, that abuse is not good.

Now take Joyce Meyer for example, I admire her greatly, she is doing some tremendous good work with Gods help. I have read some of her books and have heard some of her teachings online. If she didn't live so far away from me, I would love to spend some time with her, listening to her teachings and learning by her example. She is a wonderful lady.

 

[sunnyt]

I am not sure what you are saying. You think that men should be in charge but you like Joyce Meyers and think she does good. So is what you are saying is that you think women can led a womens ministry but not a church?

 

[Dreamer]

If a woman isn't ever to lead, then what about Deborah? She stands as one of the most godly judges of Israel. What about Rahab, who took a courageous stand and changed the world. What about Mary, who humbly and quietly raised, taught, and nurtured the chosen Son of God? What about the woman at the well, who returned to her village and told many there of Jesus (she was the 1st woman evangelist).

God uses women as leaders, too. I believe a woman should be a bible teacher if God calls her as such. God calls all types of people: young, old, middle-aged, male, and female. Perhaps it is just my upbringing, but I can't picture myself attending a church where the pastor was a woman. However, I would not be interested in any womens ministry that was led by a man!

Neither men or women are better than the other. But we are different. Spiritually speaking, women tend to be relational, therefore focusing on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Men tend to focus on actions taken for Christ, such as asking, "Am I doing enough?" Neither is wrong!

 

[Eve]

I beleive that man should be the "head" of the home, unless he is not living in accordance to God's will

I once read in a church magazine a joke that went along the lines of - My husband is the head of our household, he deals with all the important issues, world hunger, war, politics and the state of the ecconomy. I deal with all the minor ones like when we eat, sleep, how our time is organised, and how our money is spent!

In my household it has been said that, I am the one who 'wears the trousers'. I feel that this is important as my husband is not Christian and without me being the driving force behind our family's worship, we would not have Jesus in our lives. My husband is not in favour of bring our children up as Christians as he is an athiest but I am in charge of running our household. So my husband accompanies us to church and supports my efforts in this regard because I insist on it.

He is the main provider in monetary terms to our household, deals with the post (mail), the bills and paperwork or accounts, he provides the roof over our heads financially, he is the head in this respect and much more clever than I in terms of rationality and intelligence but I drive the heart of the household. I take the lead and responsibility to do the majority of the housework, gardening, repairs and make decisions on clothing, decor and any building work improvements and anything to do with the children including discipline or our health. I control the environment that we live but always consult him as he lives in that environment also. I would not do anything that he was very apposed to but that does not mean that I cannot be very persuasive! He helps with brawn when I ask him to, I have set him chores he takes out the trash once a week and does one bowl of washing up on a sunday, he 50/50 helps with putting our son to bed in the evening, makes dinner once a week (although this is usually salad)! He makes me a cup of tea in the evening, if I have cooked dinner, I make one for him if he has cooked. I also earn some money now doing a part-time job which allows me to feel more confident about giving monetary contributions to church.

We have a partnership that works well, when I guide the decisions regarding how we live, we are part of the same flesh. One part cannot function well without the other and is no less important.

I used to be scared about his disapproval of my faith, not anymore as I have taken back control of this area of of our lives and our house is in harmony again.

'A wise woman builds her house; a foolish woman tears hers down with her own hands. (prov. 14:1)

God Bless

Eve

 

[sunnyt]

Called to ?

So although I have a strong calling to lead and my strengths and gifts mostly are in administration, perhaps I have misinterpreted the call to be a pastor and I am actually being called to be an evangelist or to lead women's ministry somehow. I do know that as soon as I stopped asking God what am I going to do and started asking what do you want me to do, the doors started opening to Lay Speaking courses. Since then I have completed basic and advanced and will be certified as a District Lay Speaker. At this point I can go two ways, if I stay with this path. I can go on to become a certified lay minister or a local pastor. This is what I am most confused about. If I go on in the lay ministry I can stay in my own church. If I go on to become a local pastor I can not. And now there seems to be another question. Is God really leading me to be a leader in a church or a leader of women's ministry or evangelism. This is also worth praying about because our church members are 95% women. Ok, I hope you all keep talking about this because This is helping me to see more than I could before. Thank you all for your input. Blessings to you!

 

[Dreamer]

God is going to let you know. You may have a special calling. Maybe you are to be a pastor. I don't know. I am going to be praying for you that God reveals His will to you clearly, and also praying for blessings upon your studies and endeavors. God bless you!

 

[BecuzHeLives]

Yea, I agree with Dreamer. If you heard a calling, then you know exactly what you are call to do.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

I am not sure what you are saying. You think that men should be in charge but you like Joyce Meyers and think she does good. So is what you are saying is that you think women can led a womens ministry but not a church?

Joyce Meyer is the pastoral leader of Joyce Meyer Ministries, but the administrative leader is her husband Dave.


SLE

 

[jiggyfly]

This is a good question but the answer to this question depends on a person's interpretation of what ecclesia is. Many think it is an organization(s) and relate to it as such. But in reality the ecclesia is the gathering of brothers and sisters in Christ. The system of clergy/ laity is not scriptural in the least, it is a tradition started totally by man and is a segregating factor that divides. We are supposed to be God's family. There are far to many claiming to be ministers to family of God (church) when in reality they are taking from the family of God.

To really get a revelation of all the various functions of the family of God, the body of Christ, we first need to have the proper foundation laid and come to understand that Christ must be pre-eminent in all things and that the Holy Spirit is the governing authority under Christ's headship. Not a pastor or apostle. Just look at what Jesus instructed His disciples, the founding apostles of the church.

Matthew 23:1-12
1*Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2*“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. 3*So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. 4*They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden.
5*“Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside,* and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. 6*And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! 7 They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called ‘Rabbi.’* 8 Don’t ever let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters.* 9*And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. 10*And don’t let anyone call you ‘Master,’ for there is only one master, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you must be a servant. 12*But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

There is so much leaven in the religious institution that is generally referred to as "the church" no wonder there is so many divisions and confusion. Many today that claim to be called by God to be leaders in the body of Christ are in reality self-appointed hirelings and glory hounds. Scripturally speaking, to be a leader in the body of Christ, the family of God, is to become a mature believer first. Let's look at brother Paul's instruction to Timothy.

1Timothy 3:1-13
1*It is a true saying that if someone wants to be an elder,* he desires an honorable responsibility. 2*For an elder must be a man whose life cannot be spoken against. He must be faithful to his wife.* He must exhibit self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home and must be able to teach. 3*He must not be a heavy drinker or be violent. He must be gentle, peace loving, and not one who loves money. 4*He must manage his own family well, with children who respect and obey him. 5 For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?
6*An elder must not be a new Christian, because he might be proud of being chosen so soon, and the Devil will use that pride to make him fall.* 7 Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not fall into the Devil’s trap and be disgraced.
8*In the same way, deacons must be people who are respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers and must not be greedy for money. 9*They must be committed to the revealed truths of the Christian faith and must live with a clear conscience. 10*Before they are appointed as deacons, they should be given other responsibilities in the church as a test of their character and ability. If they do well, then they may serve as deacons.
11*In the same way, their wives* must be respected and must not speak evil of others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.
12*A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. 13*Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

As long as the church is related to as an organization rather than a family, there will always be a need to revise and amend the governing doctrines and ignore or reduce certain scriptures to apply only to that particular culture, when it doesn't confirm or compliment the doctrine. Only when a proper foundation is laid, can anything of eternal purpose by built up. I don't think anyone will debate that all female believers are sisters and all male believers are brothers, so let's keep it simple and just focus on becoming good brothers and sisters in the family of God and allow the Holy Ghost to work out the rest.

 

[beccasmom]

To me the Scriptures tell us that women are not to be preachers. They can lead other women in Bible studies and teach them but they are not to be in any type of leadership over any of the men in church. I hear a lot of talk that well that only applied to that time period for instance when Paul lived. Well if that was the case then it would not have been recorded in God's law book the Bible. Those are our rules to follow and if the Bible tells me not to lead men in church than I can not do it. Also if those rules dont apply now because of the different time period then what about the 10 Commandments? Do those need to change as well due to the "world". I am just expressing my thoughts here so please forgive me if I offend anyone. I just feel that Christians today are too busy trying to keep up with the world and not with becoming Christ-like which is the opposite of the world. Also if Christ wanted women in leadership roles over men He would have picked a female to be one of His disciples and not men only.

 

[postie]

Hey Terri

As you can tell from the responses to your question the answers are many and varied. As for me, I know that with God all things are possible in Christ, and that if Jesus chooses to have a shepherdess guarding a part of his flock instead of a shepherd, thenthats fine with me. Being a pastor in any church is not easily achieved. You dont just wake up one morning and think to your self, I think I'll become a pastor. The best advice I can give you is to talk to pastors of both genders about WHY they became pastors and what it means to be a pastor. The pastor of my church was a lawyer and to the horror of his parents, GOD saved him, and what was worse, was that GOD called him to serve as a minister.
I find it totally amazing what GOD can do when a person is willing to listen to him.

If you do take my advice, (about talking to pastors) let me know what conclusion you come to, and also dont forget to pray about it before you do anything.

You can contact me at [email protected]
Blessings to you, from your brother in christ

Big T

 

[MAJ52653]

I'm usually wrong, But...

Basically I agree that the head position should be male since the priest, pastor, whatever, is a stand in for Christ. Just makes better symbology. And God did pick Arron, and not his wife to be the High Priest. But let's leave leglism.
Women should be missionaries, deconesses, elders, teachers, nuns and all that sort of thing. The more the merrier. Wish I had a better quote in that last sentence, but I think you get the idea.

 

[I_love_Jesus]

If God Says so

God created women from men not men from women dont question God he is above all.

 

[sunnyt]

question about this

Basically I agree that the head position should be male since the priest, pastor, whatever, is a stand in for Christ. Just makes better symbology. And God did pick Arron, and not his wife to be the High Priest. But let's leave leglism.
Women should be missionaries, deconesses, elders, teachers, nuns and all that sort of thing. The more the merrier. Wish I had a better quote in that last sentence, but I think you get the idea.

I do not think the pastor or minister is standing in for Christ. I believe they are teachers, elders that guide the congregation to understanding God's love and plan for us all.

 

[sunnyt]

huh?

God created women from men not men from women dont question God he is above all.

I do not understand what you are saying. Are you saying that because woman was made from man that a woman can not be called by God to serve as a teacher or pastor? Are you saying that women are in servitude to men? What if the congregation is 95% women? What if God is the one who chose the woman? What about the roles of women in the Bible when God gave them the news to give to the men?

 

[sunnyt]

question

To me the Scriptures tell us that women are not to be preachers. They can lead other women in Bible studies and teach them but they are not to be in any type of leadership over any of the men in church. I hear a lot of talk that well that only applied to that time period for instance when Paul lived. Well if that was the case then it would not have been recorded in God's law book the Bible. Those are our rules to follow and if the Bible tells me not to lead men in church than I can not do it. Also if those rules dont apply now because of the different time period then what about the 10 Commandments? Do those need to change as well due to the "world". I am just expressing my thoughts here so please forgive me if I offend anyone. I just feel that Christians today are too busy trying to keep up with the world and not with becoming Christ-like which is the opposite of the world. Also if Christ wanted women in leadership roles over men He would have picked a female to be one of His disciples and not men only.

Can you tell me where it says in the Bible that women can not be preachers? Thanks, Terri