05/24/2026
I’ve been in a couple board meetings recently, where church members asked why the Church Of The Nazarene believes that both women and men are called to serve the church as pastors and in leadership roles. Now before we get too excited about that question coming up from a board member, let’s acknowledge that discipleship around this important matter has been inconsistent at best, because of that I thought I’d share a response I often share with those who ask this question.
The Greek word for pastor, ποιμήν (poimēn), is only used one time in the New Testament to refer to Christian leaders, Ephesians 4:11, where pastors are listed alongside apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers as gifts Christ gives to the church. The word itself is not gender-specific.
There are New Testament examples of women functioning in or being identified with all of the other ministries listed in Ephesians 4:11.
Peter, quoting Joel at Pentecost (which by the way, we celebrate this Sunday), explicitly identifies both men and women as recipients of the prophetic ministry: “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy” and “even on my male servants and female servants… they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:17–18; Joel 2:28–29). This is later reflected in Philip’s four daughters who prophesied (Acts 21:9).
Women also appear teaching in the New Testament, most notably Priscilla helping instruct Apollos more accurately in the faith (Acts 18:26), and there is a substantial scholarly case that Junia was recognized among the apostles (Romans 16:7).
While no woman is explicitly called “evangelist,” women are repeatedly depicted carrying and proclaiming the good news, including being the first witnesses and proclaimers of the resurrection (Luke 24:1–10; John 20:17–18), and evangelism itself is not restricted by gender in the New Testament.
Further, the New Testament more commonly describes church leadership using the language of elders (πρεσβύτερος, presbyteros) and overseers (ἐπίσκοπος, episkopos) than “pastor.” There is evidence of women occupying recognized positions of leadership and ministry in the early church (Romans 16), and the feminine form πρεσβυτέρα (presbytera) appears in the New Testament (1 Timothy 5:2, Titus 2:3), with most English translations downplaying the significance of this in their translation of πρεσβυτέρα (presbytera) as “older women.”
Related to the title “pastor”, aside from Jesus being called the Shepherd, no individual believer in the New Testament—male or female—is explicitly given the title “pastor.” Instead, shepherding appears primarily as a ministry function exercised within the life of the church.
My hope is that not only will we affirm both women and men serving in the pastoral office, but that we will become fluent in the biblical basis for why this is the case.
Regarding the so-called limitation passages in the New Testament, it is important to remember that the same authors who write those passages (Peter and Paul) also affirm and recognize women serving in ministry and leadership elsewhere (Acts 2 and Romans 16 most notably). Faithful interpretation requires us to hold all of Scripture together.
Scripture also reminds those of us who teach and lead in the church that we will answer to God for how we steward that responsibility: “Not many of you should become teachers… because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1).
At the end of the day, I will give an account for my interpretation of Scripture. I am comfortable standing before God and saying that I allowed someone to proclaim the gospel who should not have. I am not comfortable standing before God and saying that I prevented someone whom God called and gifted for service in His church from proclaiming the gospel.
Because restricting pastoral ministry on the basis of gender requires me to narrow or set aside broader passages of Scripture that affirm women serving in ministry and leadership, I have come to believe that the role of those who serve as ἐπίσκοπος (episkopos, overseers) and πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros, elders) is not to restrict the gifts of the Spirit, but to discern, equip, and release the whole people of God for the whole work of God.
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