I used to think that the topic of female leadership was a minor one and that I shouldn’t get so worked up about it, but now I think it’s major and that’s what scares me. So many evangelicals are taking up positions, some like the Southern Baptists, convinced that women are subordinate to men in the home and the church. Others, like the group “Christians for Biblical Equality” armed with scholarship to support an egalitarian way of thinking.

The battle lines are being drawn and it could get ugly. There could be a seismic shift in the church, like there was during the time of Luther breaking from the Catholics. Not unlike the civil war when brother fought against brother over slavery. I don’t think I’m overstating it. This is a major issue.

I truly believe things need to change drastically, but I’m afraid of the war. Maybe I need to start praying for unity as well as justice.

I always laugh at men who use the 1 Tim. 2:12 passage to “excuse” women from leadership roles in the church but skim over the whole, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing.” (vs. 8). If the men in the church can accomplish this then I might listen to their arguments. Also I would love to see how many men can enforce the following text on their wives in our modern church “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes.” (vs. 9)

I would say that I believe this issue is a contextual one. I have researched this issue on and off for about five years now and believe the underlying reason for Paul writing this to Timothy was to counteract a Gnostic teaching in his church in which the women were teaching a false version of creation and the fall into sin. Hence Paul using the creation account to further back up his reasoning for prohibiting women from teaching at the time.

I would also strongly urge anyone struggling with this issue to read Galatians 3: 26 in which Paul wrote, “In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal.” (The Message) Either Paul was a schizophrenic writer, as this text does not marry up well with the whole “ruling” ideal, or indeed he had another reason for writing 1 Tim. 2:12.

Either way I would rather take the chance and be wrong and empower women into ministry… at the end of my days I’m sure God will forgive me. But what if Paul didn’t in fact mean all women for all time and based on this text I went and stopped God ordained women from fulfilling their calling? Which would be worse?

From the fall of Adam (and Eve), a consequence of sin is the ruling of man over woman. Unfortunately, this is the way it’s always been and always will be until Christ’s return. We live in a fallen world, with the terrible consequence that women will always struggle for equality with men.

It’s really too bad though as women leaders in my experience are some of the best!