I believe women should be preachers. You wouldn’t think that would be a big deal but it is. There is a bible verse where Paul is the writer. 1Ti 2:12 And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. Many different churches use this as proof that women shouldn’t be leaders of churches or teachers. However, I think it’s important to read every Bible verse in the context of all scripture. My only complaint with people that say women shouldn’t be in ministry is they use this verse so flippantly. Does one verse decide how we should live our lives? Does only one verse help us to see God? No. The full gospel is how we see the gospel. Every daily bread is how we live. So with that in mind how foolish is it to let one verse decide your stance on an issue that is so important.
Honestly, I could present the idea of why women belong in ministry in a number of ways but to be thorough I’ll start with scripture. In the old testament, women were in leadership. Miriam, Moses’ sister was ordained as a prophet. When they spoke against Moses God came down and spoke about who he appoints.
Numbers 12:6 And the LORD said to them, “Now listen to what I say:
“If there were prophets among you, I, the LORD, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams.
Joel 2:28 “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[fn] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ( To be clear this verse doesn’t mean you are no longer a man or a woman as a Christian. It means how you were born no longer decides how you fit into the plan of God. In order to follow Jesus, it doesn’t matter how you are born it only matters that you are born again and made new in Christ. Jesus doesn’t take away our gender or my blackness, he takes away our need to depend on a certain gender or birthplace to be a certain type of person in Christianity. Maybe in your past life, you were a prostitute or addicted to something. In Christ, our past life doesn’t decide our future life. Our jobs in the world don’t decide our calling in the Kingdom. The president becomes the servant and the servant becomes the Bishop in the Kingdom of God.)
I can look at scripture and see many reasons for women being in ministry. ‘But before I go into any of the reasons I have one reason that I think matters. I believe women belong in ministry because they are in ministry. I don’t know everything but what I know is the Spirit of God is leading women to do ministry with a passion and commitment that can not be denied. No matter if I think its wrong or right it is very clear that women are being used by God to carry on the gospel message in a real way. You can state all the “one” of your bible verses to be against it but if the Spirit of God is doing what He wants I wouldn’t be foolish enough to try to stop it. I am in no way saying that every woman that preachers are doing it the way God intended. Just like every man is not preaching the truth.
I question a person's passion for Jesus that would rather see a law in the new testament followed than see a person healed and saved. This was the lesson Jesus taught about the sabbath to a group of Pharisees. They got upset because it was against the law to work on the sabbath and healing was seen as work. But Jesus told them he was the Lord of the sabbath. Meaning he decides how sabbath works. If Jesus wanted to heal he could heal. If Jesus wanted to set free, he could set free. It was allowed because we have submitted to the Lord, not the sabbath. The Pharisees couldn’t see that. And now i fear that men that have problems with woman preachers cant see that Jesus is the Lord of our Sabbath and our law. If he allows it, who are you to not? If God calls a woman to the pulpit who are you to say she is wrong. If her teachings are based on scripture then we are to judge that part not a person's gender or birthplace.
So this brings me to a point. Would Jesus allow a woman preacher? I think he would. There is a very short story about Mary and Martha. Two devout followers of Jesus. Martha gets upset that Mary is not helping her do the kitchen work. However, Jesus didn't turn to Mary & say get to work. He didn’t say for Mary to do the things women are supposed to do. He didn’t jump to the scriptures to try to prove a woman’s place in ministry. He told Martha that Mary has chosen the better things & He will not take it away from her. I think that's a point about women in ministry. Jesus will not take it away. Jesus noticed how Mary learned at his feet without being called a disciple. Without recognition. Without a title. She saw how the teachings of Jesus invited her. She heard how the Holy Spirit called her to get to know Jesus. She was not just listening to good preaching she was a student of the Lord.
Jesus is talking to a Samaritan woman at a well. They have a conversation about getting something to drink and as always when you are talking to Jesus he uses everyday problems to show a spiritual truth. The woman starts the conversation confused as the Jews wanted nothing to do with the Samaritans. He tells the woman that the drink He gives never runs out. When she asked for this miracle drink Jesus asks her to get her husband. She admits she doesn’t have any husband. Jesus then shows her that she had 5 husbands and the one she is with right now is not her husband. After it became obvious that Jesus was a prophet she decides to ask a spiritual question. At this point, two things happen. Jesus reveals to her she is the Messiah. Next, She becomes excited about that truth and runs to tell the town she has just talked with the Messiah.
The reason I think Jesus would allow women in ministry comes from his reaction to her excitement. His disciples finally catch up to him. He tells them that the harvest (meaning people that will believe in Jesus) is being reaped by them but the workers (i.e. the woman) are not them. Jesus is excited about the harvest but he is willing to use any worker. The harvest is the goal of the gospel not the gender of the person doing the work. In fact, the sin of the worker is not important and the failures of the worker aren’t as important. The woman had issues. 5 husbands and the one she was with wasn't even one of them. She has a lot going on. But Jesus called her a worker. Moreover, the town’s people believed he was the Messiah because she said it but after speaking to Jesus they believed because of His testimony.
Which I think is the most organic thing about the gospel. Many people get hung up on the testimony of the person but at the end of the day, we are supposed to be hung up on the person who the testimony is about. That's why i am so disappointed in people who claim women can’t preach and teach the gospel. The point of the gospel is not the person who proclaims it but the one who is proclaimed. Yes, I think the person who speaks should have some redeeming quality in this day and age but Jesus seems to use anyone that is willing to proclaim the gospel. Even with all your issues, you can be used by the Messiah. The townspeople obviously knew who she was and that she had a few husbands.
I would assume people thought her words couldn’t be that trustworthy as she found “another man”. But the Messiah wasn’t just another man. The townspeople believed her. Probably because for the first time she wasn't hiding her life and her 5 husbands but she was excited and outgoing about being known for the first time. Just think about that. She went through 6 men and for the first time in her life, she could say that someone knew about her. That is the point of the Gospel. To be known by Him and not necessarily to be known by your pastor, teacher, or leader. If there is any question about how Jesus might have used women in ministry my friend wrote a great Facebook post- https://www.facebook.com/TristaCooper/posts/10103649061982536 that highlights some of the interactions with Jesus’s ministry and women.
No matter where you fall on this subject I think the main point is you can’t stop it. Our job is not to tell people how to serve the Lord but only they should do it in a way that reflects his glory. Whether they decide to preach, teach, or lead; women have a place in ministry because it is not a sin to share the gospel. It never will be. I personally think men should lead whenever possible. The reason being is men usually need to see other men being real men in order to do the job of a real Christian man. Women don’t need to see a woman in leadership. My 7yr old niece is a full woman already and is sassy enough to prove it. Sometimes I ask her stuff and she tells me what every woman would say. Then I walk away knowing I just lost an argument to a 7yr old.
I believe everyone needs someone in their life to reflect them to a real relationship with Jesus. Whether that is a man or a woman shouldn’t matter but for some egotistical, prideful, overbearing, insecure, saps of men, a woman in leadership can be a struggle. I think Paul knew that. The world they lived in was built on men and women only had the purpose of making babies and food. For the longest time, women didn’t write, read, or study anything. Which is sad because the best prayer I have ever heard in the bible is from a woman named Hannah. So to end my thoughts on this I will end on her prayer.
1 Samuel 2:1 Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn[a] is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.
3 “Do not keep talking so proudly
or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
for the Lord is a God who knows,
and by him deeds are weighed.
4 “The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
5 Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
6 “The Lord brings death and makes alive;
he brings down to the grave and raises up.
7 The Lord sends poverty and wealth;
he humbles and he exalts.
8 He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor.
“For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s;
on them he has set the world.
9 He will guard the feet of his faithful servants,
but the wicked will be silenced in the place of darkness.
“It is not by strength that one prevails;
10 those who oppose the Lord will be broken.
The Most High will thunder from heaven;
the Lord will judge the ends of the earth.
“He will give strength to his king
and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
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