question lady pastors and lady speakers

Have you read 1 Timothy 3 and 1 Timonthy 2?

 

Exactly.

Susan

 

The church I attend has a number of single women who are missionaries. When they return from the mission field they are asked to give a report of their work during the services. Sometimes the reports can run the entire length of the service and include messages of encouragement from the mission field.

It has been a topic of disscussion as to whether this could be considered preaching. I'm comfortable with listening to a womans missionary field report from the pulpit in this circumstance.

 

The scriptures clearly teach that women should not be pastors; and I would also take this to mean that women should not hold any position of authority in the church, such as deacon.

Bill C.

 

I agree, Deacon, same thing at my church except we only have one lady. I would rather listen to her than some of the preachers I have heard. Our lady doesn't stand behind the pulpit and doesn't exactly preach (sometimes it is hard to tell). She is very wise and knowledgeable and well respected.

Pssst, Deacon, sshhhh, just between me and you, don't mention Sherrie and PTW, they seem to be having a tiff. I am trying to tiptoe away.

 

I agree that Paul was very clear in his NT writings that men are to lead and teach the flock of God as elders/pastors. Women can do many things,but preach and pastor a church with men present is not one.

 

I believe that II Timothy is very clear when it gives the qualifications for a pastor/preacher.Especially where it says that a pastor must be the husband of one wife. How then could a lady be called to preach the Gospel? The simple answer is that she cannot.

 

Several years ago when I was working during the time of the movement for women's equal rights and pay on the job, I did research about women in the church. Women do many, many jobs in the church and are necessary to the efficient running of a church; however, it is very clear in the Bible that men are to be pastors and deacons. The scriptures have already been quoted here.

Women are not to teach men or have authority over them in the church.

As to preaching, I think it would be the same as teaching. A women should not preach if men are present.

I, too, am confused about where giving a devotional or talk in church stops and preaching begins.

 

People tend to forget that God calls specific people to preach His Word.Not just anyone can be a preacher. I hate to hear that somone decides own their that they want to be a preacher. then they go to seminary for 5 yrs before they preach their first message. i believe that God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called. and every time God called someone to preach, not pastor, in the Bible it was always a man.the devotional stops and the preaching begins when the called man of God stands in the pulpit and delivers the message that God has laid on his heart.

 

I draw the line when it comes to actual pastoral responsibilities which includes the normal preaching of the word.

Are women qualified to preach, to teach? Certainly they are, and some far better than some men. So, in my mind, it is not a question of intellectual capacity or gifts of speaking. It is strictly a biblical edict.

Having said this, I have attended services where the speaker was a woman and enjoyed the service. The Lord blesses inspite of us, not always because of us.

The Fellowship, to which I belong, does not ordain women to ministry or select as deacons. I have belonged to the Baptist Convention in Canada, which does. We shared ministry and I have even shared wedding and funeral services with female ministers without prejudice. I still find it difficult to call a woman "pastor".

I am not always sure where the old scriptural edict oversteps modernity on matters like this. I will say this, I would rather lend my support than hinder her ministry, albeit a silent support.

Cheers,

Jim

 

I am curious as to what you believe and others.

Are you saying that a woman should not stand behind the pulpit and speak?

 

Jim, this is a very good point. I certainly would not walk out of a meeting or church if a woman were speaking or preaching and I don't think my husband would either. If God calls a woman to preach, then this is her ministry and she should follow the will of God.

 

Is the pulpit what makes a difference?

Nathan, in the sentence before this one, you used the word "pastor," which is different from "preach." I wonder what you would think of women's duty to witness? Do we have none, then?

 

I don't see a big difference between speaker, teacher, and preacher. The issue in this regard is the issue of authority. Speaking, teaching, and preaching can all be authoritative. Speaking does not always have to be, but in the context of church it usually is.

Here is a general rule of thumb: Is this person speaking (no matter what we call it) calling people to a greater understanding of Scripture with a concordant call to a response? That could be worded a number of different ways but I think the idea of authority is pretty clear. Is the woman speaking as an authority or from a position of authority? If she is, she is wrong. A teacher in a classroom is a position of authority. Therefore, women cannot teach men. A person preaching from a pulpit is in a position of authority. Therefore, women cannot preach when men are present. A testimony is simply a rehearsal of God's blessing; there is no authority inherent in it (unless it quits being a testimony and starts being teaching or preaching time.

We have a woman missionary. When she comes, I have her show her slides and give a report about her work on the field. She does not give it from a position of authority. Then I preach.

 

Kelly, I believe that women are very important and very instrumental in the church. and all are to share the Gospel with others, that is the Great Commission. i also do not oppose to a lady teaching a Sunday School class, unless grown men are present. but there is a difference between preaching and teaching. if you will notice 1st Timothy 3:1-7 you will see the word bishop used. bishop has a dual meaning, it means the office of a pastor or a preacher. and one of the qualifications to be a bishop is that you must be the husband of one wife. also, in those verses you see Paul referring to the office of a bishop as he (man). But the great thing is that we can all disagree on many things and still love each other anyways!

 

1st Timothy 2:12 says, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."

 

Does this mean that single men who have never been married and widowed men who have re-married are disqualified? Just curious.

Bill C.

 

Question #2:

Do these rules apply outside of a church, as well? It doesn't seem that Paul is making any distinction between in church and out of it, so I wonder what some men think of women teaching or leading in other realms.

Certainly, this thread began about pastoring and church speakers, but since the inevitable verses were broached, it seems relevant.