Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Jesus Creed

Home
Evangelical
Changing a Church Culture about Women in Ministry

Changing a Church Culture about Women in Ministry

Last updated on: July 29, 2016 at 10:17 am by Scot McKnight

Changing a Church Culture about Women in Ministry 2016-07-28T10:25:47-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Debbie Fulthorp:

Dr. Debbie Fulthorp has been an ordained minister of the Assemblies of God for over fourteen years. Debbie has ministered in over twenty-seven countries. She received her DMin from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. She is wife to Brian, mom to Mercy and Samuel, ages nine and six.

I overheard an amazing conversation on my way back from lunch at a conference I recently attended. A university student casually mentioned the history of strong women leaders in the early church, using Priscilla as an example, to his friend. He then passionately contended for women as equal partners in church leadership. I quickly realized that I knew the student who was advocating for female pastors and teachers.

Two years ago, I was invited to teach a session about women in ministry to a group of bright, young students. One young man was quiet and seemed unresponsive to my words. During the class, he mentioned his conservative upbringing, which excluded women from ministry. I left not knowing his response to my session.

At the time, I wondered how, or if, those few hours of teaching would actually change his perspective. Now, he was attending a church leadership conference and proactively advocating for the Spirit-empowered ministry of men and women.

Our words as egalitarian leaders and teachers can have great impact on the hearts and minds of other Christians. We must be wise and intentional in our teaching and advocacy for women as equal ministry partners to men. Here is a list of simple steps egalitarian leaders can take to guide people toward a better theology on women in ministry.

1. Start with the Heart

Including women in all levels of church leadership is a controversial move and a difficult topic to tackle. It should be approached as such. Crucial Conversations, a book on beginning difficult conversations, refers to this pivotal principle: “Start[ing] with heart… means starting with our own selves.”[1]

What were/are your own biases toward including women in all levels of ministry? Share your story, both the good and the bad, with the person, congregation, class, or group you’re speaking to. Attach personal weight to having women leaders in the church/community.

2. Set a Firm Theological Foundation: Understanding the Trinity

Within the last twenty to thirty years, a new debate over Trinitarian doctrine has emerged. This directly impacts how a church understands and models leadership, both in marriage and in the structure of the church.

If a church adheres to a complementarian or hierarchical understanding of gender, their theology on the Trinity is more likely to fall under the category of “subordinationist.” This perspective on the trinity (ESS or ERAS) subordinates God the Son to God the Father. It is important to clarify that both Scripture and church history affirm mutuality or “equivalency” among the godhead.[2]

3. Tackle the Controversial Passages

Passages such as Ephesians 2:20, 1 Corinthians 14:34, and 1 Timothy 2:12 are consistently misunderstood and misused to exclude and marginalize women. Historical and cultural context clues are of utmost importance in properly interpreting Scripture.

We should remind our classes, friends, coworkers, and congregations that they interpret the Bible through a Western, 21st century lens. But ancient texts cannot be understood correctly without considering their original context.

These controversial passages concerning the role and gifts of women are difficult to interpret, even for biblical scholars. When Christians take the time to research the historical-cultural-grammatical background and details of the texts, we are challenged with fresh insight and revelation from the Holy Spirit.[3]

4. Discuss Bible Translations

Inevitably, in engaging controversial scriptures, Christians will note differences in their Bible translations. Questions will likely arise as to why some words are included, others footnoted, and still others completely omitted. Be honest and thorough in explaining the process of Bible translation.

The Bible is God’s divinely-breathed word, but it was handwritten by thirty-nine human authors over a spanof 1,500 years. Emphasizing divine collaboration through human personality provides a more practical approach to understanding differences in translations of passages concerning women in leadership.[4]

5. Utilize Biblical Stories of Women

From the Old to the New Testament, stories of women leading the way abound. Teach about and celebrate women leaders like Esther, Deborah, Mary, and Priscilla. Build upon previous knowledge of Bible women, and step out with more obscure examples of female leadership like Sheerah, the female builder/architect,[5] the daughters of Zelophehad,[6] or Junia, the female apostle.[7] It’s important to point out that the inclusion of women in leadership among God’s people is not a new concept, it’s a biblical one.

6. Share Historical and Contemporary Stories of Women in Ministry

From historical figures such as St. Teresa of Avila, Pandita Ramabai, Susana Wesley, Jennie Seymour, and Catherine Booth to contemporary influencers such as Brenda Salter McNeil, Anne Graham Lotz, Gail Song Bantum, and Christine Caine, God chose/chooses diverse women with diverse gifts to lead the way.

7. Trust the Holy Spirit’s Work

Carve out time to spend in prayer, discussion, and thought for those listening. You’ll have given them much to consider on the topic of including women in all levels of church ministry. Ultimately, trust the Holy Spirit to do the work. What might take one person years or a lifetime to accomplish, the Holy Spirit can accomplish in a short amount of time. Plant the seeds as you’re called and watch the Spirit work.

“The harvest is plentiful, the workers are few… Pray for laborers.”

Jesus’ words in Luke 10:2 to his disciples are a stark reminder that the church remains ineffective and dysfunctional when it fails to use the gifts of both men and women. When the church has a healthy theological understanding of women’s gifts and leadership, dysfunction ceases and ministry thrives.

Notes

[1] Kerry Patterson et al., Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Education, 2012), 33.
[2] For a thorough and objective book on this subject, Millard Erickson, Who’s Tampering with the Trinity? an Assessment of the Subordination Debate (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2009).
[3] One book that does a thorough job on these scriptures is Deborah Gill and Barbara Cavaness-Parks,God’s Women Then and Now, 3rd ed. (Springfield, MO: Grace and Truth, 2015).
[4] Another good book on Bible translation and study, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 4 ed. (MI: Zondervan, 2014).
[5] 1 Chronicles 7:24
[6] Numbers 26:33, 27:2, 36:1; Joshua 17:3
[7] Romans 16:7

Uncategorized

Previous Post

July 29, 2016

Special Book Review: By Annabel Robinson

Next Post

July 29, 2016 I "Caught" One Salmon

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What were the Ten Commandments written down on?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Papyrus The Ark of the Covenant Scrolls Stone tablets