Spirit Song United Methodist Church

ABC News this past weekend had an interesting story about how conservative Christian churches are dealing with supporting a woman for the second highest office in the country and yet not allowing women to serve in leadership positions within the church.

Conservative Christians have embraced Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the first female Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States, saying that she reflects their values and their political views. And yet, at the same time, most of these conservative churches forbid women from serving as pastors, board members or to hold any position of leadership. One pastor who was interviewed saw no contradiction. He said that political leadership was different from church leadership in that one was defined by U.S. law and the other was defined by God’s law.

Over the past fifteen years I’ve preached several sermons on the issue of women in ministry. I have several good books on the subject and I’d be happy to discuss this matter in more detail with anyone who wants to have an honest discussion. Basically the conservative Christians point to Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians where he says, “Women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak but should be subordinate…” In Paul’s first letter to Timothy he writes, “Let a woman learn in silence with full submission. I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man.”

These are difficult verses to hear and to understand. Biblical commentators and theologians have struggled with these verses for centuries. On one hand, they appear very specific: women are to be silent, subordinate to men. Based on these words, you can see why some churches forbid women from teaching and preaching. Now, the main rule I learned in seminary about interpreting the Bible was this: “let scripture interpret scripture.” In other words, when considering a difficult passage, examine all of scripture to better understand that one passage. Don’t just take a few verses out of context and try to apply them universally.

If you look at the way Jesus viewed woman you quickly come to see that he did not regard them as second-class citizens but instead saw them as equals and included them in his circle of disciples (see Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene, etc.)  It is from Paul’s letters that we learn of Priscilla, a woman who is mentioned as a great teacher and Junia who is referred to as a fellow apostle. We learn that many of the new churches begun by Paul were house churches led by women such as Lydia and Phoebe. These references show that many women were actively involved in leadership at the highest levels in the early church.

So, what did Paul mean when he said that women should be silent in church? Most scholars believe that Paul was addressing a particular situation in a particular church. He was concerned about false teachings, that the Gospel message which he had taught was being distorted, primarily by some women teachers. Paul is simply saying, in this particular situation, that these women should refrain from teaching (be silent) and reverently (obediently) learn from true teachers. According to this interpretation of scripture Paul in no way silencing all women for all time. But rather, for the good of the church, he was commanding that those women who were not prepared to preach the true gospel should refrain from doing so.

I’m proud that The United Methodist Church recognizes and values the unique gifts of women who choose to be in ministry in the church. In The United Methodist Church you will find women serving in every possible leadership role including local church pastors and even as bishops. I pray that one day every church will understand the true meaning of scripture and allow every person to respond to God’s call without restrictions based on gender or race.

Blessings,

Steve

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 12:47 PM and is filed under General. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.