Please forgive my momentary concern of getting burned in this topic. :ROFL:
Much to my personal, I wish I believed differently. I believe women should not be Senior Pastor or Senior Apostle. I don't trust them because we can be deceived. I believe they can CO-lead with their husbands (Priscilla and Aquilla). I believe they can be Prophetesses (Philip's daughters) for sure. I believe they can be evangelists (woman at well, Mary at Jesus Resurrection).
But I believe a woman's primary spiritual ministry and responsibilities is to love her husband, love her children, and keep her home. (Titus2) That's what the Word says for older woman to teach the younger ones. How off from current Christian trends do I sound?
I am going to have to agree with Susan. I have heard a lot of women speakers that were totally awesome and would listen to them again and again. I do, however, believe that a man should oversee the functions of the church. God established a divine order and we really mess up when overstepping His boundaries. I feel women should be respected for their gifts and contributions to the church body but not be totally in control as a pastor would be... Ladies, we still can be Deborahs, Hannahs, Mary Magdelines, Mary the sister of Martha, Marthas, Rahabs, Ruths, Esthers,
Abigails, Sarahs, Rebekkahs, Rachels, etc....The list is endless just like our role in the church...on and on and on and on and on..........:bouncy:
I agree with you sisters. The man was the one appointed by God to lead. We must do things by God's order, and when we do, He blesses! I know there are many women who I read and listen to , who are great examples, and are spiritually sound, but when it comes to leadership, it is the man!
It's good to hear sisters speak like this. I often get ridiculed or shot down when I call out Joyce Meyers. If your a biblical literalist, as I am, you have to almost call herasy! God made man and woman different and opposite so we could balance each other out.
The big issue with the US is that we have taken the sexual revolution and femanist movement beyond its bounds. Neither has a place in the Church of Christ. Woman are by nature the best nurturers of children, best balance to men, and are the best at being submissive. Thats why God put you where you are! Think if men had to swallow all their pride! =p We'd never get anything done, we'd spend all our time on just that!
If we are to take the bible as the Word of God, and you have to in order to be a Christian, than you can not in all conciousness disobey the command of the bible. Thus, men should teach while woman follow. I pray that one day, woman like Joyce Meyers, will pick up the bible and go back to being literalists... nothing born of sin like that is glorifying God... in fact, her leading the flock into sin will bear a terrible punishment for her in the afterlife :(
do you realize the first evangelist to the Samaritan's was a woman? Do you realize the first person Jesus revealed himself as resurrected was a woman? Do you realize a woman was chosen by God to give the message of His resurrection to His apostles? Do you realize both Priscilla and Aquilla taught Paul (Acts 18:26)
I believe Joyce Meyer has a Biblical ministry:
first, as a titus 2 type teacher to many woman,
second, as a prophet calling again women to righteousness, and third, as an evangelist, preaching the gospel to salvation.
Joyce attends a church with a pastor and speaks of being in submission to him as a spiritual authority. Joyce is not a pastor of a church and speaks of submitting to her husband both in the ministry and as a wife. I haven't watched or followed much of her ministry for the last 2 years or so. But when I went to her meetings, I sensed a strong presence of God, the WORD was preached powerfully, and it certainly caused me to repent of stuff, especially attitudes. Yes, I can definitely testify to being reproved, rebuked, instructed, exhorted, and encouraged. SHe reminds me of the Samaritan woman, who had an encounter with Jesus and was used to bring many from her county to Jesus from her testimony.
Men attend but that's not her fault LOL.
I believe in women in ministry in these areas. Some of the ones I particularly have enjoyed are : Women of Faith Conferences; Ann Graham Lotz; Joyce Meyer; Kay Arthur, and Marilyn Hickey. I thank God for the ministries speaking to me from a woman's perspective: understanding childbirth, being married, being raped, being divorced, having trouble changing a flat, middle age...woman stuff.
I believe the US and the Women's Liberation has greatly perverted the scriptural role of women. I, also, believe they are the result of men not being godly or christlike in their homes (Romans 1): Walking in a spirit of tyranny, oppression, and lording over or abdicating their leadership, neglecting their spiritual responsibilities, and abandoning their families to seek pleasure, success, youth, money, etc.
I am not sure what a Bible literalist although, I have been accused of taking the Word too literally or seriously. And I am not trying to shoot you down or ridicule you; but isn't that what you just did to Joyce Meyer?
I beseech you, as a woman old enough to be your mother, to look beyond doctrines and traditions but into the Word, study what the Word instructs and including the examples of what each woman was used by God to accomplish for Him especially Deborah and Esther. This will truly tell you the role of woman and the exceptions that GOD chooses too. I believe those women are exceptions, so was Corrie Ten Boom and Mother Theresa.
I would like to briefly weigh in on this topic. There are many views on the role of women in the church. Some are Biblically based, some are not. The Bible establishes some clear rules, yet leaves a view areas where we must follow our own convictions. The Bible is very clear in the Book of Timothy that a woman cannot biblically hold the position of deacon or pastor. It states that she can be a leader and teacher of children in the church. Some confusion arises when we look at personal evangelism as opposed to mass evangelism in the church. Yes the Samaritan woman told others about Christ, but yet the Bible gives no record of her preaching in a pulpit. In the Old Testament, the Bible records that one of the judges was a female, Deborah, but also shows that all of her dealings with the people of Israel came through a man. The one area that the Bible is clear on is that a woman is not to have a leadership role over a man in the church.
This is a very hot topic, and I probably should keep my opinion to myself, but that has never been my strong suit.
If a woman is teaching, and you are getting something out of it, why are you so upset about it? Will you be the one held accountable for it? Too many men are bothered by this because of pride, and as men, we ARE supposed to put ALL pride behind us. I won't go into the scriptures on pride, there are far too many.
I used to think like my brothers here, until I did some soul searching to figure out why. I discovered that my anger and resentment stemmed from that old demon Pride. Once you have the revelation that you are not responsible for another person's disobedience, and yes I still think it is disobedience, you will be free to enjoy what they are teaching.
We have a female asst. Pastor at our church. She is respected just as much as the Pastor. If for some reason our Pastor were to leave and the asst. Pastor wanted to step up into that possition, nobody would have a problem with it. More than that, they would be happy about it. And I am sooo happy to be a part of a church that thinks that way. It sad that so many women are taught that they are less than man. It's wrong. We are all equal and can have any possition that we strive for.
How do women with leadership and ministry skills use their talents then?
Unfortunately, (in my experience) when women preach to women in churches where women are not supposed to preach to men, we get stuck with the occasional Chocolate Night full of touchy-feely guff and never cover anything that requires chewing. (This might just be my experience!). But I have heard some wonderful, biblical, practical pulpit preached sermons by women pastors elsewhere.
Perhaps our interpretation of Timothy 2 can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy? If someone (male or female) is never allowed to develop their talents, they will usually be substandard to those with the opportunity to practice every week.
My understanding was that this was the problem in Paul�s time, ie: women had no access to education and were disrupting the service asking countless questions� Paul�s instructions were in fact a liberation, in that he requests the husbands to explain what they have heard to their wives, rather than presuming they were not capable of understanding at all.
Yes, Eve was deceived by the serpent. But Adam heard what the serpent said to Eve, did not correct her, and ate the fruit anyway� When Genesis 3 is used to say that women are more easily deceived, you need to remember that it also says that men can decide on their own right to completely ignore God�s instructions if it suits them.
This is not to paint either gender as the more guilty, only to remind people that we are all capable of all things given the right circumstances. So, if you are convinced that women should not preach, then you need to be mindful that they still need women leaders to teach and preach to them � and REGULARLY provide opportunities for this to happen. If (like myself) you believe God has gifted men and women equally, you need to use the talents you have been given to that effect.
After all, this isn't a central issue! The gospel is about being saved by grace, not the women's lib movement!
