by Leo Schuster, Lead Pastor at City Church
For many reasons, I’m thrilled to welcome women into leadership at City Church. Let me mention three.
First, I believe it’s biblical. By that I’m not suggesting it is “the” biblical position. Fair-minded Christians, equally devoted to the Lord, the authority of scripture, and the gospel, can arrive at different positions on this matter. But if I did not believe in a biblical basis for women in leadership, no other reason would matter. I’ll explore what I see as the biblical basis below.
Second, I believe it’s wise. Leading and caring for a congregation is complex. The good news is that we are well resourced. The Holy Spirit has given gifts to every member of the body of Christ to use for the building up and care of the church, and there’s no evidence he’s distributed his gifts with gender differentiation. It’s wise and responsible, therefore, to unleash all the Spirit’s gifts at City Church. By including gifted and trained women in leadership and pastoral roles alongside men, we will be in the best position to care for the entire church body and serve our city. I’m also convinced including a woman’s voice and vote on all matters will make us a far more healthy church than we would be otherwise.
Third, I believe it’s missional. I want City Church to most effectively reach our secular, post-Christian culture with the life-transforming gospel of Jesus. Excluding women from leadership in the church can be a barrier to unbelievers exploring the claims of Christ. The church seems to be out of step with their life experience, where women are able to occupy virtually every other position of leadership. As long as it’s biblical to include women in leadership, then it’s missionally smart to do so because it removes that cultural barrier.
Those who believe women are not able to hold positions of authority in the church often point to a few biblical texts, such as 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35. But for those who believe in the authority of scripture as I do, these restrictive texts must be understood in a way that is compatible with the rest of the New Testament teaching about women in ministry.
A plain reading of 1 Timothy 2 may seem to preclude women from positions of teaching and authority in the church, but on closer inspection the text becomes more ambiguous. It does not address “offices” within the church or ordination at all. The word often translated “authority” is found in the New Testament only here, which makes it much more difficult to arrive at a definitive understanding of this word that has a considerable range to its meaning. Based on its first century usage outside the New Testament, there’s no warrant for translating it “to exercise authority.” A better rendering would be “to dominate, to get one’s way.” The translation would then be, “I do not permit a woman to teach so as to gain mastery over a man” or “I do not permit a woman to teach with a view to dominating a man.” The term “silent” is better translated “quiet,” so the full verse would be “I do not permit a woman to teach a man in a dominating way, but to have a quiet demeanor.” An altogether different way to understand this text would be to recognize it as referring to household codes, not the role of women in the church. A perfectly acceptable way to translate the term “woman” is “wife” and “man” is “husband.” This understanding would better fit with the complex wording that follows (1 Timothy 2:13-15). If this is correct, this text most frequently used to defend the view that women should not occupy church office does not actually pertain to a women’s role in the church at all.
In 1 Cor. 14:34, when Paul says “women should remain silent in the churches,” this must be understood in a way that is compatible with Paul’s words earlier in the same book where we learn that he expects women to be praying and prophesying in the public worship context (1 Cor. 11:5). Whatever one concludes Paul was concerned about in chapter 14–and there are plenty of different views on that–it cannot possibly mean that he was forbidding women from participating in leading public worship because of what he affirms three chapters earlier.
The New Testament vision for women in ministry begins with Jesus. He is introduced to the world with a genealogy that provocatively includes five women, all examples of faith (Matthew 1). His mother is held up not only as a person of exemplary faith, but one who wrote a song of worship that’s included in the Bible (Luke 1). Jesus’ attitude toward women was remarkably progressive, particularly given the patriarchal cultural context in which he lived. He counted women among his closest followers, allowing Mary of Bethany to sit at his feet and listen to his teaching, a privilege ordinarily granted in that culture to a male training under a rabbi (Luke 10). Even though women were not considered valid witnesses in court at that time, Jesus chose women as the first eyewitnesses and ambassadors of his resurrection (John 20), the most important event in human history and the one Paul considered the crux of Christianity (1 Cor. 15). Nowhere does Jesus say or imply that only men can be leaders in the church.
The practice of the early church demonstrates that women were using their gifts in a broad range of ministry. The first “Christian” sermon preached (Acts 2) anticipates that in the new era inaugurated by Pentecost both men and women would prophesy. Of all the passages in the Old Testament Peter could have quoted for this sermon, he selected Joel 2: “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. . . Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17, 18). Priscilla, in partnership with her husband, Aquilla, taught Apollos (Acts 18:26), who became one of the central leaders of the first century church. They are called Paul’s “co-workers in Christ Jesus.” Churches met in the households of Mary (Acts 12), Lydia (Acts 16), and Nympha (Col. 4). In his letter to the Christians in Rome, Paul calls Phoebe a “minister” or “deacon,” using the same term he applies to Jesus (Rom. 15:8), to himself (2 Cor. 3:6), and to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:6). Philip’s four daughters prophesied (Acts 21). In Romans 16:7 Paul commends Junia (a woman’s name) and refers to her as “outstanding among the apostles.” This is significant because Apostles had the highest level of authority in the ancient church.
What does the New Testament say about women serving as pastors or being ordained? Actually the New Testament never calls anyone–male or female– by the title “pastor.” The only time the word “pastor” is used as a noun and applied to ministers, other than Jesus, is in Ephesians 4:11. And importantly, no gender is specified there or in any other verses about ministry gifts. The word “ordination” is not found in the New Testament. Ordination developed as the mechanism by which the church recognized that an individual has been called and gifted by God to a specific ministry. And since the Spirit has not distributed his gifts with gender differentiation, we may assume he has given diaconal, leadership and pastoral gifts to women, as well as to men.
Am I suggesting that men and women are the same? Absolutely not. God created us male and female. The Bible doesn’t blur that distinction, but celebrates our complementarity and we should as well. We’re designed to work collaboratively as his image-bearers. Men and women are called to be co-workers in ruling over all of creation and to be his instruments of redemption for his glory.
You don’t have to agree with City Church’s position on this matter to be part of the City Church family. We view this as a “non-essential” of the faith. Let’s respect one another, pursue one another in love, and remember that what unites us is our hope in Christ.