05/13/2022
Should Women Be Pastors?
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT WOMEN IN MINISTRY?
The topic of whether women are allowed to be pastors in a church is a continuing debate among many denominations. One way to answer this popular question is to see how God has used women in the past, and we will see that God has not required women to be silent, even in a religious setting, and that he has sometimes allowed – even appointed – women to have authority over men. Shouldn’t women use the gifts given to them by God to lead the Church, for its uplifting and edification? Both play a huge part in making the Church a success. In Corinthians, Paul addresses both “brothers and sisters” when speaking of the gifts, claiming some will perform miracles, some will prophesy, some will be teachers, others evangelists and even others pastors. These are gifts distributed by the Spirit to both men and women, as God sees fit. If women are celebrated, empowered and given freedom to exercise their gifts in leadership as God intends, imagine what it could do for the global Church—God’s kingdom on Earth as He intended—a glorious, united and beautifully vibrant people.
The following women often get overlooked, but even though we do not have long stories about them, their leadership still is recorded in the Bible. There is Anna, who was a prophet (Luke 2:36) along with the four daughters of Philip who also prophesied (Acts 21:9). A “prophet” in the biblical sense, is a truth-teller delivering God’s message to the world — in other words, a preacher. More descriptively, a preacher who can pack a punch. There is also Phoebe, who was a deacon (Romans 16:1), and Junia, who the Bible describes, not only as an apostle, but an outstanding one (Romans 16:7).
And to that we say…preach, WOMAN!