Women Pastors and Ministers: What Does God Think, And the Bible Say?
Many believe that since the Bible teaches against women teaching men, that women should not be pastors or ministers in the church. Others go to the other extreme of making people ministers in their religious organization just because they are female. What is God’s take on women in ministry? What about women in pastoring a church?
Being a Christian is about being inspired by God. Christians must be Holy Spirit filled and train their spirit/souls (the soul is your mind, will, and emotions you can see here) to be sensitive to that guiding voice of the Holy Spirit in them.
If you want to make the case for women not allowed to be pastors in the Bible. You can certainly find some tradition in the Word to justify it, sort of. Passages such as 1 Timothy 2:11,12 as well as 1 Timothy 2:13,14 talk about women being in submission to men. Ephesians 5:22-33 talks about the spiritual structure of the family and how a wife must be in submission to her husband. It also talks about how a husband should love his wife just as Christ loves the church. Is this tradition, or Holy Spirit inspiration?
With this, you could end your search and conclude that the Bible says women cannot be pastors, ministers, or Bible teachers. Remember that Christians are supposed to be ‘Jesus people’ living under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34, that includes male and female. If God’s hand is on a minister and that minister operates in the miraculous power of miracles, wouldn’t that be because God is with that person?
God is looking for people that are willing to do his will (2 Chronicles 16:9). He is no respecter of people (Romans 2:11) … that means race, creed, ethnicity, social status, or even sex. If the men do not rise up, God will use women in leadership.
Rahab saved her whole family because she decided to protect the Hebrew spies (Joshua 2:1-16). Anna was ministering in the temple when Jesus the Messiah was brought in Luke 2:36-38. Mary of Magdala (the Magdalene) was a major contributor to the minister of our Lord Jesus. The culture of that time did not recognize women as much as our generation. God loves women just as much as He loves men who follow Him. A man who thinks he has to have women submit to him will find out very quickly that submission is a decision by both parties. Those that don’t get that, won’t be married long.
Concluding that a woman cannot be a minister just because of her sex is a position that misses the point that God uses inspired people. That position is blinded to the great women preachers and ministers of this generation as well as past generations. Of course, we do not see so many women as pastors as it seems to be a fatherly position in most cases. However, that does not limit women from serving as a pastor or minister if that is their calling.
Men mostly serve as pastors, the reason is because men our the spiritual head of the home (more on that here). However, God will use those who are open to Him and he will confirm it with signs and miracles. Anointed ministers, have arisen where the men were doing nothing. Kathryn Kuhlman, Aimee Simple McPherson, and many others through the generations have arisen to minister God’s Word and His power to the people. Besides, Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV) says it best,
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Galatians 3:26-29
