Should Women be Allowed to Lead in the Church?
Many Christians all over the world wonder if women should be allowed to have leadership positions in the church. Because of this contentious and divisive issue, many women inside their churches feel less than or inferior to the men, and many men feel more than or superior to the women.
Should women be allowed to serve in leadership positions in the church?
Women in Leadership
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I've seen and heard of churches where women are not given leadership positions unless it's the food service ministry or the women's ministry. Some of these churches strictly adhere to what the apostle Paul said in the Bible:
"Let a woman learn in silence with all obedience. I do not permit a woman to teach or to usurp authority over a man, but to be silent." (1 Timothy 2:11-12)
"Let your women remain silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak. They are commanded to be under obedience, as the law also says. If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
Of course it's right to obey the Word of God, but we all have to see the context of what Paul is saying in both passages.
First, Paul told Timothy that a woman should not "usurp authority." This means she tries to grab authority or force her way into taking authority in church. While women play a great role in the kingdom of God, no one – men or women – should usurp any authority.
Second, we read Paul speaking to the Corinthians about women staying silent in church. Commentaries give various explanations, but Gill's Exposition notes that this practice of allowing women to teach in the church became a disorderly practice. Prior to the command, Paul noted that "God is not the author of confusion" (see 1 Corinthians 14:33). He wanted the church to be in order, with the women being under obedience.
Leadership
Knowing this, we must understand that women aren't forbidden from leadership positions anywhere in the Bible. We see women having various roles in the Kingdom of God. For example:
- We see the Judge Deborah (see Judges 4-5), who led Israel into battle against Sisera and his forces. Israel won.
- We also see Esther taking the reins and asking Mordecai and all the Jews to fast with her and for her as she works for the safety of all of God's people (see Esther 4:16).
- We also see Priscilla working in tandem with her husband Aquila as they serve the Lord in teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ (for example, see Acts 18:26). Some even think Priscilla wrote the letter to the Hebrews.
Not only that, God Himself promised to pour out His Spirit on all people, not just the men in the church (see Acts 2:17). True enough, those who believe in Christ and follow Him have the Holy Spirit of God in them, regardless of whether they're male or female.
These reasons alone make it easy for us to understand that God allows Godly women to lead. Think about it.
