My Conversion on Women in Ministry: Bill Victor

This post is by Bill Victor, pastor of Missio Dei Community Church at the University of Missouri and blogs here.

My beliefs on women in ministry changed to a more egalitarian view not because of a reaction to modern society and seeking to synthesize the Bible’s view on women with a more moderating stance fitting our evolving society. It happened through the course of scholarly research.

I was working on my dissertation at one of the Southern Baptists seminaries in the early 2000s. I generally had views of women in ministry that were in line with the leaders of the SBC (“…the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” Baptist Faith and Message, 2000).  A portion of my dissertation was on the concept of Paul and leadership. This chapter was dealing with the term for leadership in Romans 12:8 (proistamenos) and terms in Paul’s writings that might shed light on that gift of the Spirit. That led me to study how Paul refers to Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2.

This text identifies Phoebe with the function of “deacon.” Diakonos in Greek can serve as either masculine or feminine and could be understood simply in terms of a regular pattern of service undertaken by Phoebe on behalf of her local church. The term here in Romans 16:1 is variously translated “servant” (NASB, NIV, and KJV); “deacon” (NRSV); and “deaconess” (RSV). According to one commentator (James Dunn), if it were the case of a regular pattern of service, then it would have been expressed differently in Greek, by the usage of the verbal form of the term (diakoneo) or the more generic term for service (diakonia). Diakonos paired with the participle of the verb “to be” points to a more recognized ministry or position of responsibility within the congregation (pointing to deacon as the proper translation).

Phoebe’s duties as a deacon are not revealed in this brief introduction. At this stage in Paul’s writings, the understanding of ministry and office was not well defined. The form of ministry mentioned depended on the context and the needs of the particular congregation.

In looking at Romans 16:2, there are the curious translations of the term prostatis. It has been translated figuratively as “helper or support” (see NASB; NIV 1984; KJV; RSV; NEB; NJB). The term actually denoted a person of prominence in the ancient Greco-Roman world. The term should best be given the understanding here as “patron” or “protector.” (BDF equates this term with patron. The ESV also translates this term as “patron” and the NRSV and the NIV 2011 translate this term as “benefactor.”) The masculine form of the term was well established in this sense, especially for the role of a wealthy or influential individual as patron of a Hellenistic religious society.

There are two occurrences of the feminine form of the term in Jewish inscriptions in Rome. The term in these inscriptions should probably be understood in the sense of a patron or protector. If this term did indeed mean “patron”, then it would have been familiar to Paul’s readers in reference to patronage of a voluntary association or trade guild. In giving Phoebe this title, Paul acknowledges the public service this prominent woman has given to many believers at Cenchrea. 

The term could very well be related to the term “ho proistamenos” (the one who leads – Romans 12:8). One who stood at the head of and cared for a congregation, as the proistamenos did, would be compared to a patron who perhaps provided a meeting place along with social and political clout. Phoebe obviously had a position of prominence in her community. It has been speculated that she may have owned a house there and, as a wealthy, influential person was in a position to assist missionaries and other Christians who traveled to and from Corinth. If this were the case, her assistance could have taken the form of hospitality; furnishing funds for journeys; or representing the community before secular authorities. Whatever her role may have been, Paul’s Roman readers would most likely think of Phoebe as a figure of significance, whose wealth or influence had been available to the church in Cenchrea.

As I surveyed the terms Paul used for leaders throughout his letters, I saw similar characteristics between the gift of leadership (Rom. 12:8b), a patron (Rom. 16:2) and an overseer (1 Tim. 3:1-7). The Greek definitions for these three terms (proistamenos, prostatis and episkopos, respectively) have within their semantic domains the connotations of leadership, protection and care. The terms proistamenos and prostatis have similar roots (the verb proistēmi). The role of a patron and an overseer would have functioned very similarly within the context of the Greco-Roman voluntary association.

This would have put Phoebe in a role similar to what churches today call an elder. I found through my study no fixed pattern of leadership imposed on Paul’s churches. Paul’s method seemed to have been to wait until qualities of leadership emerged in certain members and then urge the others to acknowledge and respect those as leaders. One of the most obvious qualities of leadership was a readiness to serve the church and care for its needs.

Some men and women (like Phoebe) were in an especially suitable position to care for the church, those who had the resources to provide a place to meet and the social standing to represent the congregation. Certain members, gifted and called by the Holy Spirit, appointed themselves to use their position for the advantage of the church.

Phoebe was one of those leaders and that changed my views about women in leadership positions in the church. If Paul could call Phoebe a “patron” (which implied a position of leadership in the church), then why couldn’t I?