Strife Behind The Pulpit: : An Examination of Women in Ministry Part 5: The Office

It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.
1 Timothy 3:1
It would be impossible to do a complete examination of gender and the ministry without looking at the biblical qualifications of the office in question. The question in which I sought out to answer was whether or not women could serve as pastors or in an oversight position in the church. But I want to go one step farther and ask who among us is qualified to serve in this role? Is there one person living at this time or at in time in the history of the human race worthy of the honor of proclaiming the word of our LORD?

Remember that it was Paul who gave women a voice, who converted from the legalistic way of the Pharisees. It was this sect that held to the Jewish customs that made speaking to a woman in public a shameful and even sinful practice. Let us not forget the great freedom that Christianity brings to all those who follow it. Furthermore let us not abuse those freedoms. When we take advantage of those freedoms we begin to tar out that thread the gospel writers so delicately wove through out their writings. I have heard women declare, “God called me to this ministry because He called a man and they refused!” What arrogance! I caution those who would be so quick to disregard the lessons of the previous chapter, that it is through your submission you can win them over without a word. If we ignore the Divine mandate we chip away at our freedoms and no longer speak the truth. We are ignoring the central message of love and submission to all.
God has many tasks for us all to do in the kingdom and they are all of equal value and importance. There is not a hierarchy in the Kingdom of God! Yet the question remains who is worthy to do the work of God? Who among us is considered worthy of the gospel? Find one man whom you view as righteous and I will show you a liar. The truth is there is no one not even one who deserves to be a pastor. No one is worthy of the Gospel. It is by grace alone that we are permitted into the Kingdom of righteousness. Inasmuch, there is no one who has lived nor ever will there be qualified to determine the qualifications of a Pastor, Deacon, Elder, or Christian leader. That right belongs solely to God.

This now becomes a question not of whether women can be pastors but whether or not you believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of the Living God. Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God to pen the words in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus 2. God clearly establishes several character qualities that a Pastor or overseer must posses. The terms used her as “overseer” “pastor' 'bishop” are used interchangeably. Overseer is the position, Elder refers to the maturity, and Pastor is a reference to the ministry. The man described here must be one who looks over the people of God defending fro false teachers. A man who is a mature believer we don't need rookie Christians behind the pulpit. And he must feed the people he serves faithfully as a sheep feeds his flock.

First hes says, “If a man...” some may say that you could better say it as if anyone. Yet then we run the oldest trick in the book found in Genesis when the serpent asked Eve if God really meant that. Don t stop here, continue reading. A overseer “must be blameless” this literally means to have nothing to hold on to. This is what all of us must seek to achieve. A pastor must be “the husband of one wife” now correct me if I am wrong but it would be biologically impossible for a women to to be the husband of one wife. There is no wiggle room around this word. Even in the original language the word translated husband is always used to express masculinity. This word is the Greek word aner, it is properly translated as an individual male (Strong's). In addition to this the Greek word Translated wife here is the base for other English words such as gyneocology, this word means women and in context means married woman.

One thing to note is that all the words in this text are use in the active present tense. In other terms you could read this as he must now be the husband of one wife. Meaning that at the present time is this true of the person. None of the terms here reach back in the past, the past is insignificant in the life of a believer because it is covered in God's grace. If we hold a persons past over there future in one area we would have to hold it over them in every area. The question is are you at the present moment blameless, a faithful husband, temperate, judicious, having your affairs in order, loving strangers, able to teach, not a heavy drinker, slow to anger, not greedy, a peacemaker, and be the leader of his home. There are grant it many of these qualifications that are achievable to anyone yet some are exclusive to men. The wife is never the leader of her family even when her husband isn't leading he is still the leader and the wife is to submit to him. This makes it impossible for a woman to serve as a pastor. The same applies to that of Deacons. We are all called to serve and through that service we lead others.

The question is are we willing to follow the leaders God has put in place for us? If not we are walking in disobedience and open rebellion. It is true that Phoebe was called a deaconess yet if you are a christian you have this same label servant of Christ. Do you desire to be a deacon then get off the pew and serve your brothers and sisters because this is what deacons do is serve, not fill a seat on a committee.

I have heard men and women alike ask if women are not called to be pastors can they still preach, can they still teach? I have heard many highly talented women speakers and seen God use women in ways that only He can. I believe God does call women just as He calls men but to serve in various roles. As the apostle Paul asked are all pastors, are all Evangelists, are all teachers? I believe that just as Aquila and Priscilla served side by side in ministry, He is calling couples to serve side by side in completion not competition. There are women serving such as Beth Morre who have phenomenal ministries and I believe are highly bible based. As Paul wrote to Titus that the older women should teach the younger women. Women are more effective than men at teach women on women related issues. There are some areas that are just not appropriate for a man to talk about to women. God does not Call women to be pastors of churches just like God doesn't call men to be a women's small group leader. You don't here many women complain about that now do you?

Women do you have a desire to teach? Are you skilled as a teacher then teach to women train up godly young ladies to serve and fear the Lord. There is no greater calling! Encourage your sons and husband to disciple other men and support them. If your husband isn't serving the Lord pray earnestly for him and continue to serve the Lord. I've witnessed first hand the power of a praying woman! I have seen wives pray for there husbands who would not go to church. In time those husbands would go on to become leaders in church. Don't underestimate the power of your position of submission. One submissive woman living for God can reach more people than you could imagine.

Men I urge you to take the lead and lead the church of God. This is our Divinely mandated role. We are called upon to be the pastors of our home. We must lead our family in the way of the Lord. Train them in God's word and equip them to be able to live there lives before the lord. It is our responsibility to love them like Christ. We need to spend time in prayer and let them see our heart for God in everything we say and do. We cant make them read the bible but we sure cant let them read us. The truth is they are whether we like it or not. We must also be the protectors of our homes. Recent studies published in the International Journal of Obesity show Those who had an overweight or obese dad were four times as likely to follow in their father's footsteps than children with a dad in the healthy weight range. Other studies show that if the dad is saved there is a 90% chance that the whole house will follow suit. It is only about a 40% chance if the wife is reached only. We are also to be the providers. Its not okay for us to be stay at home dads who make our wives work as the primary providers. I understand there are medical exceptions and I am not saying women are to be barefoot and pregnant. Simply men are called to be men and women to be women.