Do Women Make Good Ministers?

Do Women Make Good Ministers? August 9, 2017

Do Women Make Good Ministers?

photo-1470498391568-00fd7ae8075f_opt

Confession: I grew up in a form of Christian life that had women pastors, evangelists, church planters and, of course, missionaries. The only thing women could not do in church life was, apparently, serve as denominational executives. I don’t think there was any rule against it; it just didn’t happen—except in those few denominations founded by women. Both my birth mother and stepmother were licensed ministers of the gospel. (I don’t recall whether either one was ordained and neither one served as lead pastor although both worked alongside my father, functionally serving as co-pastors of our churches.) This was a very conservative form of Christian life; we were fundamentalists in doctrine if not in mentality. We called ourselves “evangelicals” and described our form of Christian life as “full gospel,” but we interpreted the Bible as literally as possible (although inconsistently so).

However, when it came to those New Testament passages about women being silent in the churches and being submissive to their husbands, our leaders tended to interpret them as culturally conditioned. After all, there were counter-balancing aspects of the New Testament in which women taught men. I do not remember very much teaching about this matter; it was simply taken for granted that God had gifted women with ministerial callings and skills and it was not our place, as men, to question God’s gifts or callings.

*Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my own (or those of the guest writer); I do not speak for any other person, group or organization; nor do I imply that the opinions expressed here reflect those of any other person, group or organization unless I say so specifically. Before commenting read the entire post and the “Note to commenters” at its end.*

Later, as I left that form of Christian life (Pentecostalism) and entered a new one (Baptist), I encountered strong opinions against women servings as church leaders—except “on the mission field.” I should clarify that this transition was before the explosion of modern or contemporary so-called “complementarianism,” before the rise of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. My early close encounters with Baptists were with two European-based, relatively small Baptist groups. I attended a seminary founded by German Baptists (the North American Baptist Convention) and then taught at a college and seminary founded by Swedish Baptists (the Baptist General Conference). My first Baptist church membership and ordination, however, was within the American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. (the old Northern Baptist Convention). (Contrary to my Wikipedia article I was never ordained in the Southern Baptist Convention and, in fact, have never been a member of a SBC church.)

The ABCUSA had by then come to accept women at all levels of leadership—both within the churches and in the denomination. (Of course there were “holdout” congregations that did not ordain women and would not call a woman to pastor.) The German and Swedish Baptists (by then populated by many non-Germans and non-Swedes) were slower to accept women’s leadership.

One thing that stood out to me very clearly, however, was that even among these non-fundamentalist Baptists who resisted ordination of women and women pastors there was profound respect for women missionaries who, on the “mission fields” of Africa and Asia especially, performed all the functions of pastors. They preached, taught, baptized, officiated, counseled, even had authority over male missionaries who arrived at their “mission stations” later than they. As I looked deeper into these seeming inconsistencies I noticed that even here, in the U.S., women had occasionally served as church planters and pastors among them—mostly in the distant past when they were immigrant churches.

During my seminary days and later, as “complementarianism” began to gain steam among American evangelicals, I had several fairly heated conversations with evangelical Christians who told me in no uncertain terms that women’s ordination and church leadership was a sign of a “liberalizing tendency” and needed to be resisted and even rolled back. One evangelical denomination that I won’t mention here (in order not to start an argument about who, when and how) had women leaders during its early years (early 20th century) but under pressure from complementarians banned women from being pastors (late 20th century).

I pointed out to those conservative evangelicals who argued that women in ministry signaled a liberalizing tendency that my grandparents on both sides belonged to very evangelical denominations, untouched by liberal theology, that had women pastors. My maternal grandparents were Evangelical Free and I know that, at least once, their church was pastored by a woman. It was something of a discovery and led to some controversy—at family reunions—but especially my grandmother loved her and defended her. My paternal grandparents were Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and that denomination (which denies it is a “denomination”) has always, so far as I know, had women pastors. Many churches in the Pietist and Wesleyan-Holiness traditions had women pastors and leaders without ever being touched by liberal theology!

Since I have come into a religious context historically dominated by Southern Baptists (although most of my colleagues and students are no longer SBC) and since the rise of “complementarianism” among evangelicals I have been asked occasionally “When did you become ‘liberal’ and accept women pastors?” I laugh—and then explain about my grandparents’ churches and the churches I grew up in.

The reason I get asked this occasionally is because…During the past twenty years I have been a member of three Baptist churches (in succession) pastored by women. Many of my students know this and I tell them, in class, tongue in cheek, “Don’t worry,” looking at the male students, “I do believe that men can be pastors if they are called and gifted by God.”

In no case, not one, did I join the church because the pastor was/is a woman. In each case that particular church just happened to be best for me and my family at that time. And I believe God led us to those churches. And I have experienced those pastors as called by God and gifted by God for ministry on a par with any man.

So, of course, complementarians ask me “What about” this verse and that verse? We all know what they are. Then I ask them “Do you permit women to pray in church without their heads covered?” and “Do you permit women in your church to cut their hair?” and “Do you permit men in your church to have long hair?” and “Do you permit women in your church to wear jewelry and makeup?” and “Does your church sing hymns written by women?” (That one requires some explanation so I point out that singing hymns written by women such as Fanny Crosby is permitting women to teach in the church—including the men who sing the songs!) I ask “Does your church support women missionaries in Africa and Asia and Latin America who do all the work there you only allow men to do here—in the U.S.?” And I ask “Who does most of the real work in your church?” knowing it’s probably women.

My points are 1) Having women ministers is not evidence of a “liberal trend,” and 2) Christians who reject women ministers are usually quite inconsistent in practice.

*Note to commenters: This blog is not a discussion board; please respond with a question or comment only to me. If you do not share my evangelical Christian perspective (very broadly defined), feel free to ask a question for clarification, but know that this is not a space for debating incommensurate perspectives/worldviews. In any case, know that there is no guarantee that your question or comment will be posted by the moderator or answered by the writer. If you hope for your question or comment to appear here and be answered or responded to, make sure it is civil, respectful, and “on topic.” Do not comment if you have not read the entire post and do not misrepresent what it says. Keep any comment (including questions) to minimal length; do not post essays, sermons or testimonies here. Do not post links to internet sites here. This is a space for expressions of the blogger’s (or guest writers’) opinions and constructive dialogue among evangelical Christians (very broadly defined).


Browse Our Archives