Should Women Do Ministry?
Among the world of women preachers and those who serve quietly in the background, this can be a hotly debated issue. Should women be allowed to preach? Should they just sit down and listen to their husbands? Is there a middle ground and what does the Bible say about the topic? I’m a firm believer that the Bible gives us everything that we need for life, and I also believe that God cares deeply about women as well.
This is a topic I am passionate about because all my life, I have been told that I cannot do vocational or full-time ministry because I am a woman. I can help with babies or in the kitchen but that’s it. Here’s some major flaws I see with this logic:
It assumes that because God made a woman differently, they have a lesser value.
It assumes that spiritual gifts are exclusive to men. This is NOT shown in the Bible. There are several instances in Paul’s letters where he mentioned the influence of women over a town. (Acts 19, etc)
This is typically the point at which people begin to tell me that feminism is leading to the destruction of the church and that what I am really advocating for is for women to be in a position of power over men. That is not what I am advocating for, and Biblical feminism is far different than what the modern media and civil rights activists lead us to believe. The Bible is very clear that a man is to be the head over his wife and that women are not to be in a preaching position. However, there are several things that we should keep in mind when addressing this topic. So let’s begin with the first point.
In the creation of the world, after God had made everything, He then made man (Adam) and then afterwards made woman (Eve). In Genesis 2:18, we read “Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (ESV)”, meaning that from the beginning of our creation, we were made for a different role than men. God designed us to be helpers of men, but notice what isn’t said in this section - that women are to be treated like they are of lesser value. If we are to believe that God made man AND woman in His perfect image, then we cannot say, think, or let our actions convey that we believe that women are not just as valued as men. If we, as Christians, treat people like this, then we really don’t believe the Gospel or we “[have] forgotten that [we] were cleansed from [our] former sins.” (2 Peter 1:9). Women were made with a different role but an equal value.
Jesus reflects this attitude of equal value in the Gospels. One of the most memorable instances of this, was when Jesus met the woman at the well. In John 4:7-30, we read about how Jesus went out of his way to go to a well to minister to a woman, a woman who the whole town despised and avoided. In this passage, we can notice that she went to the well in the middle of the day; this is our indicator that she was intentionally going for water during the hottest part of the day so that she could avoid people. During this whole interaction between Jesus and this woman, Jesus never belittles her or even condemns her for how many husbands she had had, but rather treated her like she was of equal value to any other person. We cannot treat someone like they do not have worth in God’s eyes.
Now to focus on the topic of spiritual gifts among women. After my first two years in vocational ministry, there were some major shifts in the church I was serving. New leadership came in and started making some changes, starting with no women being in charge over any ministry. The people in leadership positions must be male. Of course they never outright explicitly said that, but when a woman’s ideas are presented to be quickly shut down, only to have that exact same idea presented by a male to be immediately praised— you get the point. There are times based on the actions of others that you got the sense that the leadership wants women to be seen and not heard, and certainly not serve in church. People may not explicitly say that they think women can’t use spiritual gifts or be in places of influence, but I have seen and experienced that people do indeed think these things and their actions show it. Please, if you are in a leadership position within a church, listen to what women say. Most women have wisdom that you cannot imagine and will never share unless you give them the opportunity.
The Biblical examples of women using spiritual gifts are abundant. First, there is Deborah, who was the first female judge in Israel’s history. Deborah is a wise woman that settles the disputes of the Israelites in Judges 4. These people seek her out to help them come to decisions. She’s using her spiritual gift of wisdom in the way that God called her to use it. Take the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42. These women are using their gifts of serving and hospitality to directly serve Jesus- THE Jesus. If I had that opportunity, I would be so happy! In Acts 16:11-15, Paul is going through a town and stops to teach at the temple, as was his typical routine, when he meets Lydia. Lydia is described as a worshipper of God, but is unaware of the salvation that comes through Jesus. Once Paul discusses this with her and she becomes a believer, she then immediately goes and uses her influence over her family, friends, and town to share the news of Jesus with them as well. Throughout the book of Acts, we read many statements to the affect of “not a few women”, meaning that Paul ministered to women primarily because women were already doing the things they were called to do and using their place of influence to share the Gospel with others.
One of the biggest misconceptions or misinterpretations that I believe these beliefs stem from, is the section about husbands and wives in Ephesians 5:22-24. The first words in that section of Scripture is “wives, submit to your husbands”. Almost every time I have heard a man speak casually about this section, it immediately turns into “women, submit to man” but this verse does not say that. The first distinction we need to make is that this section is specifically referring to married people. As a single twenty-something woman, I am not called to obey every man that tries to exercise any authority over me. If I was married, I would be obedient and submissive to my husband. (Note: submissive is very different than allowing yourself to be walked all over or even abused, but that’s another blog post…) This section of Scripture then says “For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior”, meaning that men do have authority over their wives, not just any or every woman, but is also commanded that they treat their wives like Christ would. In verse 24 we read, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands”. This chain of authority pattern of God, Christ, Man, Wife, is also found in 1 Corinthians 11:3, where we read “….the head of every man is Christ, the head of every wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God”. Within these Biblical mandates, women can still be in leadership positions within the church so long as it’s not the head or senior pastor and elder/deacon roles.
We like to think that sexism doesn’t exist anymore due to the feminist movement or the decreasing gap between the salaries of men and women, but in a lot of ways, it still exists and is prevalent. Personally, I believe that women should not only be in leadership positions in the church (except for being the head or senior pastor, and/or deacons/elders), but that as Christians we should encourage them to walk in their God-given callings by giving them opportunities and guidance. What experience do you have with women in ministry? Are there women in leadership positions in your church? How does your church address women as a whole, and their specific needs or callings?
- Crystal