Christ the Head Again
“In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.”
Today’s Text: 1 Corinthians 11:17-26 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Paul is talking about unity in the church expressed through the Lord’s Supper (Communion). But I still have the issue of women holding the office of pastor in a church on my mind and heart. I wonder what the Apostle Paul would think about the debate. I wonder what the Lord thinks.
As I pointed out in yesterday’s blog, “Albert Mohler, the President of Southern Seminary, has been leading the charge for a bylaw amendment to the SBC constitution that would explicitly restrict the office of “pastor” in any church to men only. Language to that effect is already in the Baptist Faith and Message.”
To be clear with regard to my own opinion, I believe that the senior pastor, that is, the senior teaching and preaching pastor, of a church should be male.
When we look at the full counsel of Scripture, we just cannot ignore the fact that women held positions of authority in the kingdom of God. There were highly regarded female prophets in both the Old and New Testament—for example, Huldah (2 Kings 22) and the daughters of Philip (Acts 21). The office of prophet was a position of authority by its very nature because it was a teaching office.
I don’t claim to have studied this matter in great detail, but I’m guessing that Al Mohler and those who agree with him would say that the fact that there were women in that office means either that Israel was in a state of apostasy to some degree or that those women only taught women.
Even so, we cannot avoid the simple fact that they were called “prophets.” Also, it is not always so clear that the Scriptures present the female prophets in a negative light. In fact, they are usually presented in a positive light.
Of course, Al Mohler might also say, “Well, that’s concerning the office of prophet, but we’re talking about the office of pastor.” But to me, that just seems to be splitting hairs.
Also, Al Mohler may bring up the issue of the inerrancy of Scripture and how “liberal” interpretation is a slippery slope that will weaken our doctrine and the church. I agree. But can we not keep the main thing the main thing?
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word become flesh, and Him crucified, resurrected, and returning. We must stand firm in that conviction. Everything else is really secondary.
Obviously, we cannot avoid the very clear instruction in Paul’s letters that elders (elders and pastors are pretty much synonymous) are to be men. Again, there is a lot of nuance that comes from the context that we should not just ignore or brush aside. My main point is that the elders Paul is referring to are the stewards of the doctrine of the church. In other words, they are responsible for the things that are taught in the church—whether they are taught by male or female teachers, who are under the authority of the head teaching pastor.
As the Apostle Paul said, “No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval” (verse 19). So I pray that God would make His approval very clear to the churches of the SBC in the upcoming annual meeting.
Whichever way the debate lands, we can be sure that the debate won’t end there. All I can say is that young women are leaving the evangelical church. Is it not obvious that the language of Al Mohler and others like him contribute to that exodus? And even if they are right, does that exodus not concern them enough to speak the truth in love?
Father, You know all things. We are all limited in our understanding, even the smartest and brightest of us. In the end, we know that Your opinion is the only thing that matters, and You will make Your opinion known by Your sovereign hand. If I am wrong, I accept that I am wrong, and I pray that You would give me deeper understanding so that I may be more effective as Your servant. If I am right, let that opinion be manifested through the messengers this year. But I know also that our being right or wrong is not what matters to You. Bring peace to Your church and Your SBC. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
