Female leadership in the church

Conclusions and recommendations for IREF-Delft, November 2015

I Starting point: Biblical references

Old Testament

God created men in His image, both male and female (Gen. 1:27). In Gen. 2 we read that God created Eve as a help (counterpart) for Adam (Gen. 2:18). The word for ‘help’ is the same word God uses for Himself. God created men and women with the capacity to communicate and to cooperate with one another to rule over creation.

The dependency of women on men (Gen. 3: 17) is a consequence of the fall and part of God’s judgment. Through Christ the relationship between men and women is reconciled and put in a renewed position (‘In Christ there is no man or woman’ Gal. 3: 28) and in a new order (Eph. 5: 21 v – ‘be subject to one another’, and from there: ‘wives submit to your husbands as to the Lord.., husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.’)

In the Old Testament official positions (offices) were mainly given to men, which mirrors the cultural setting of a male dominated society in the Middle East in old times. Nevertheless it is striking that God sometimes breaks through this pattern and uses women in leadership positions in crucial periods, like Deborah (Judges 4), who was a female judge and prophetess. Other examples can be found in Ex. 15 (Miriam), 2 Kings 22:14 (Hulda) and Isaiah 8:3 (the wife of Isaiah).

New Testament

In the New Testament the offices of king, priest and prophet are given to all in the church. Cf 1 Peter 2: 9: ‘You are a royal priesthood’, and also 1 Cor. 12 and 14, where the apostle Paul indicates that he wants all to be prophets. The Catechism of Heidelberg sees the offices of king, prophet and priest realized in Christ (Sunday 12). And through Christ, by His Spirit also given to the believers: as a Christen we are anointed to be kings, prophets and priests!

In the church of the New Testament offices or duties are closely linked to spiritual gifts (charismata) like the gift of prophesy in 1 Cor. 12:28 and 1 Cor. 14:1, or the gift of leadership (prostamenos) in Rom. 12:8.

In the New Testament we discover a wide series of leadership positions or ‘acknowledged duties’: elder (presbuteros), deacon (diakonos), apostle (apostolos), pastor (poimen), teacher (didaskalos), prophet (prophetes), evangelist (euangelistos), overseer (episkopos – which seems closely connected to ‘elder’ in Acts 20:28, Phil. 1:1, 1 Tim. 3:2 and Titus 1: 5, 7).

In most cases the acknowledged duties were given to men (and this reflects the usual pattern in surrounding culture as well). Jesus didn’t chose women in his circle of 12 disciples, but the accounts of the four gospels show great evidence about the role of women in spreading the Gospel, testifying and preaching about Jesus.

We find many cases of female leadership as well, like in Rom. 16:1-16. Phoebe is called a deaconess and a helper, prostatis in Greek. Next to her are mentioned: Priscilla (vs. 3), Mary (vs. 6), Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis (vs. 12). Also in Phil. 4:2 Euodia and Syntyche and in 1 Tim. 3:11 ‘the women’, which is often translated as ‘their women’ (i.e. the women of the elders and deacons), but it is more apt to take this as female workers in the church (like in 1 Tim. 5:9). Besides that God used many women on crucial moments in the history of salvation, like Mary who was chosen to become the mother of Christ, Mary Magdalene, who was –with other women- the first witness of Jesus’ resurrection, and Anna (Luke 2:36) who testified about God’s salvation in Christ. In Acts 2: 17 Peter quotes Joel 2:28 indicating that both sons and daughters will prophesy.

Difficult texts

We need to give special attention to two sets of texts indicating that women should be silent in the church: 1 Cor. 14: 34 and 35, and 1 Tim. 2: 11-13. About these texts many books and articles have been written. We cannot explain these texts without their literal and also cultural context. In 1 Cor. 14 the apostle doesn’t simply indicate that women should be silent, because elsewhere he indicates that they prophesy (1 Cor. 11:5), but he wants to avoid disorder of women overruling the plain teaching of the Word by bringing their questions and opinions very loudly and disorderly (he uses the word ‘lalein’ which indicates more ‘speaking in disorder’). For the women it seems to have been a sign of emancipation (together with the custom to have her hair cut and to avoid veils) and the apostle rebukes the Corinthians because they don’t do what the law (Thora) indicates and they let confusion arise.

In 1 Tim. 2 the setting doesn’t seem to be the church, but the family at home. What the apostle indicates here is rather similar to his teaching about the roles of men and women in marriage and family in Eph. 5: 21v. Paul warns the women not to dominate in teaching and opposes the secularizing emancipatory culture around. The family is the first place where this should be shown. It doesn’t mean that women are not allowed to teach. They may teach in many ways, but the apostle seems to indicate that they should not exercise a dominant, ruling position over men, both in the family and in the church.

II Three major approaches

Summarizing we see three major approaches dealing with female leadership in the church.

1. Focus on the work of God the Father, the Creator

In this approach man and wife have different positions in society. Man is created first and He is the ‘head’ of the wife. This approach emphasizes the order in creation and denies official church offices to women. It advocates for a literal explication and application of the ‘silence texts’ in 1 Cor. 11: 7-9; 1 Cor. 14: 34, 35, 1 Tim. 2: 11-13; Titus 2: 5 and 1 Peter 3: 1. This is the position of most Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches.

2. Focus on the work of God the Son and reconciliation

Men and women are equal in Christ (Gal. 3: 28, Col. 3: 18; Eph. 5: 21v). Both humbly submit themselves in love to Christ and to one another. However, there is a renewed order in salvation: God – Christ – man – women, as the apostle Paul indicates in Eph. 5. What he says about marriage is an example for the church and for the wider society. In this approach women can have leadership positions in the church, but it is not obliged and depends on the need. This is the position of the mainline Protestant, Lutheran and Reformed denominations, and more recently the Anglican church.

3. Focus on the work of the Spirit andthe spiritual gifts. 

This approach emphasizes the Scripture passages about the gifts like Romans 12: 3 – 8 and 1 Cor. 12. Because both sexes are gifted equally by the Spirit, they both should have offices in the church. This position is mainly found in a number of Pentecostal and Charismatic churches and in ‘fresh expressions’ of church.

III Conclusions for IREF

1. In IREF several church traditions come together including different (theological) positions related to the issue of female leadership. IREF is connected with the Reformed and Evangelical conviction. We emphasize the work of the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Regarding female leadership we feel connected most with the second approach in the previous chapter.

2. Women have played and play an important, if not crucial role in IREF’s history, in all kinds of ministries, except the role as a member of the steering committee. From Gods work in creation as well as from the practice in the early church we learn that we cannot think about a part of church life that can be guided without the help of women.

3. We see acknowledged positions of leadership in the church closely connected with the gifts and experience of people. We want gifts to flourish in the church and one of the means is to connect these gifts and experiences with an acknowledged duty.

4. If somebody who is married is called to an acknowledged duty or office, this calling also includes the consent and the help of the partner. See the example of Aquila and Priscilla who worked together for the Gospel. (Rom. 16: 3v). If somebody who is married and has a family is called to an office, let him or her speak and pray carefully through it, whether this duty can be combined with the responsibilities of the family.

5. There is no Biblical reason to withhold the office of deacon from women.

6. We acknowledge that God may call women on leadership positions in the church related to the need of the church and the availability of gifted people. Both the IREF Leadership team and the Council may welcome male and female members.

7. In trying to understand what the Bible says in Ephesians 5 verses 21v. we aim to keep a majority of men in the IREF Council. We believe that in normal circumstances ruling and overseeing offices (the long run leadership responsibilities and accountability such as that of elder, overseer and pastor) should be given to men first. In case of emergency God may call women as well for that positions.

8. Next to the ‘official’ tasks (offices) in the church as they are discerned in the Presbyterian and Protestant churches, we encourage the evocation of ministries that correspond with special gifts (e.g. the task of evangelist, prophet, teacher, administrator…) both in men and women.

9. Referring to this special gifts the explanation and proclamation of the Word of God can be entrusted incidentally to women.

We want to practise what we propose in humble obedience to the Word of God, with the longing that He will be glorified most and that the needs of the church and the society around are met in the best way.

November 2015, in consideration with IREF Committee, pastor Niek Tramper