The Role of Women in the Church - Part 1

My Associate Pastor told me one of the reasons I have difficulty serving in my church is because I am single. Specifically he stated, "You do not have a husband to submit to and that makes it harder." I was surprised he said the "S" word, but it made me wonder how I might address this issue without having to take on a husband! I found the following Acts of Submission by Foster and thought it was worth passing on:

1. The first act of submission is to the Triune God.
2. The second act of submission is to the Scripture.
3. The third act of submission is to our family.
4. The fourth act of submission is to our neighbors and those we meet daily in our lives.
5. The fifth act of submission is to the body of Christ.
6. The sixth act of submission is to the broken and despised.
7. The seventh act of submission is to the world.

I don't see anything listed that would suggest my submission is predicated on having a husband. If I willingly submit to the Triune God and His Scripture then the rest just falls into place. If I submit to the body of Christ then I will voluntarily submit to the authority of my Pastor and others in authority over me.

I don't see why being a single female should make my kingdom service any different than if I was married or even male. We are ALL called to go and make disciples and to teach them. Jesus didn't say to wait and get married first.

I wrote the above in December 2008.  I don't remember the conversation with my Associate Pastor, but it does sound like something he would have said.  It's now five years later and I am still asking the same questions.

It might be because Sunday is Mothers Day, but I have been reading a lot about the role of women in society and especially in the church.  I know I lean toward the complementarian view, but there are some aspects of the egalitarian view that I also embrace.  If you are not in seminary or reading faith based blogs you may not know what complementarian or egalitarian mean. Here is a summary by "The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood," complementarianism is the viewpoint that God restricts women from serving in church leadership roles and instead calls women to serve in equally important, but complementary roles. Summarized by "Christians for Biblical Equality," egalitarianism is the viewpoint that there are no biblical gender-based restrictions on ministry in the church. With both positions claiming to be biblically based, it is crucially important to fully examine what exactly the Bible does say on the issue of complementarianism vs. egalitarianism.

There is a lot of information available and arguments on both sides claim to have Scripture support.  I plan to examine this issue over the next few weeks. To get us started read the following Scripture, in context, and see which view you think they support:

1 Timothy 2:9-15
1 Timothy 2:1
1 Corinthians 14:34
1 Timothy 3:1-13
Titus 1:6-9
Galatians 3:28
Luke 8:1-3 
Luke 10:38-42
Matt. 15:21-28 
Luke 7:36-50
John 4:39-42 
Matt. 28:1-10  
Mark 16:7
Acts 1:8