Women In Leadership part 4: The Modern Woman
[audio:WomenInLeadershipPart4.mp3|titles=Women In Leadership part 4|artists=Christian St John]
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Women in the Western world have taken the bull by the horns, so as to speak, and have become a major part of the workforce. Many of today’s women have high up positions in multinational companies, have gone passed the sex symbol only stage of Hollywood to become serious actors, and it’s believed that female authors and musicians sell more of their products than men.
With regards to home life, in some families it is no longer the woman who stays home while the husband goes out to work; in many cases it is the other way round. In fact I know of a couple who have just moved into town and the wife is going out to work while the husband stays at home and looks after the kids and so on.
It seems that the modern woman is in touch with her feelings but is also able to make her own decisions with regards to her life. Many women feel that for too long that they have been forced into a state of submission by a male dominated society, only allowed to do that which the men say they can.
And as such many women have said “no more” and want full equality with men in all areas of work, play, and life in general.
One question I ask often with regards to the churches outreach to women is why do we offer women freedom in Christ and then restrict what they can do in his body. Jesus himself said, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) Why then do male governed and led churches fail to recognize and accept this simple fact, why would God set women free to then turn around and restrict what ministries they can be involved in?
Again the answer lies in how we interpret 1 Timothy 2:12 (see part 2).
The modern Christian woman is everything a man can be. She is capable of doing all that a man can do and more than capable of learning what man can learn. She can attend Bible College and seminary, become the CEO of a company, and even work her way up through the political chain. The modern Christian woman has a voice and is not afraid to speak, a brain and is not afraid to use it. But she is still not allowed in many churches to preach to or teach men, or lead in any form.
I see two dangers in men neglecting this issue or failing to embrace women as equals, recognizing them as being able to do all that men can.
1. If a woman walks into a church full of questions and searching for answers and is then told that because of one Bible verse (1 Timothy 2:12) they will be restricted in what they can do within that church, my fear is that they will simply turn and walk away, possibly never to darken the door of a church again.
2. There is a current trend towards women’s ministries, where women teach women. This is being pushed more and more with many churches and denominations promoting and providing women a stage to learn from, and interact, with one another. My fear with this whole concept is that by segregating women’s ministries to only women we may eventually see a form of feminism within the church which may then lead to a complete split of men and women’s ministries and possibly an even greater gender war.
The fact is many Christian women are asking the questions that the previous generations
never asked, be it through ignorance of what Scripture really says and why, or fear or intimidation. And I’m sure that there are many Christian women would love to be able to have say and have a part in how the church of the future will be governed and led, and ultimately what the church of the future will look like.
Note: Obviously, I’m a man and as such have written this series of articles from a man’s POV. However, I realize that it’s still harder for women out there in the Western World to land the promotions, get ahead in business, and get to the top of a male dominated system. With that said my hat’s off to all of you wonderful women out there that keep pushing for equality and recognition of a job well done, especially in a church context.
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
July, 2009
Picture by Steve Woods
Thanks for being willing to rock the boat Chris.
I was wondering about the weird disconnect between our society and the church. Why would Southern Baptist Republicans have been willing to support Sarah Pallin as vice-president but then in her own home, or church, would not have supported her right to make any decisions at all?
It’s a very strange phenomenon.
That made me think about Bill Gothard and the influence he has had on evangelicals. Here is the link to an article I found from Time magazine in 1974.
Back in the 70′s when I was a teenager, a Christian friend of ours came up from Seattle to visit and told us all about this seminar that was sweeping American churches. Bill Gothard’s Basic Youth Conflicts stated without any qualification that the husband in a family was the hammer that chipped away at the obedient wife who would then produce a diamond in the rough teenager. There were no options, only total obedience from both wife and kids. As I heard someone quip, “If Bill Bright and Bill Gothard got together, the motto would be – God loves you and has a horrible plan for your wife.”
I’m not sure Bill Bright would have appreciated that comment but it was kind of funny in a deadly serious way. Gothard’s seminars had a major impact on Americans during the rise of feminism and helped evangelicals dig in their heels against this rising liberal force. Those same teenagers who listened like robots to Gothard as he spoke (as my friend described) are now in their 50′s and are still reiterating his ideas. His brand of legalism affects the home and the church.
However, (and I’m not sure about this as I never attended a seminar and all the information was supposed to be a secret unless you paid for the book) I don’t think Bill Gothard got so far in his thinking as to what would happen if a woman ruled the country. Hmmm.
Even as i write this, I keep thinking – it’s not about who rules. And it’s not about rules at all.
Great article, Ruth. I’m pretty sure we still have guys who are preaching this message even today, the good news is there’s a lot more people willing to stand up for their rights now too. I am reminded of the classic Twisted Sister song “We’re Not Gonna Take It!” (I wasn’t born a Christian and used to listen to TS a lot… so it’s bound to pop up from time to time). But it’s true, we don’t have to take it. God’s truth is truth, not mans idea of what the truth is.
You mentioned that the Christians in the 70′s dug in their heels against the rising tide of feminism. Well, many Christians today are saying that if we contextualize this whole issue (based on contextualizing the 1 Tim.2:12 text) then we might as well contextualize every passage of Scripture that deals with homosexuality, lying, stealing, killing, and sin in general (yes this whole issue get’s pretty childish at times). I think that sin is not the issue here because it cannot be a sin to let a woman preach or teach or to sit in a place of leadership within the confines of the church… can it???
I am embarrassed by my fellow brothers sometimes. I recall reading an article in which Anne Graham Lotz (Billy Grahams daughter) was preaching one time to a group of men and many of them turned their chairs away from the stage so they wouldn’t have to look at her. And like children they put their fingers in their ears so they wouldn’t have to listen to her either. Another article I read spoke about an incident that took place at an all women church in California – men stood outside with offensive banners chanting things like, ‘This place is filled with lesbians.’ Funnily enough (not funny ha,ha) a friend of mine tells me that she has been called a lesbian, feminist, and even a “demon teaching false doctrine” because she pastors and preaches in a church.
Oh, and I had a conversation with a freaky guy the other week (the inspiration for this series) who said that God didn’t want women in a place of leadership in the church because they are one of the main reasons why men sin. He went on to say that “like sirens they lure men into temptation and like sirens leave many bloodied carcasses of men on the rocks of sin” (poetic words but way out there somewhere!). He gave the example of Eve, Delilah, Bathsheba, Mary Magdalene, Jezebel, and a whole host of other women he considered evil. Personally I think many men have problems that go a little deeper than this issue…
Hah….Twisted Sister speaks the truth. LOL!
Wow. Your conversation with that guy is totally freaky. Yeah, I agree he had issues. He could go join the Taliban and feel right at home.
On the other hand – I can sure see how good and faithful believers don’t want to get off this traditional ship and jump into what they suspect are shark infested waters. If we do contextualize some of these verses, will we continue to go too far? I do worry about that a bit as I listen to the emergent church and some of the basic, fundamental ideas they are reviewing.
One pastor I was arguing with (that was unfortunate – it never leads to anything but me being pegged as a radical feminist – either that or I break down and look like a fool) said that if we let women be elders and pastors then what next – will we start letting gays and lesbians run the show? I didn’t like his response but i could sort of understand it. We don’t have many models for women pastors and where we do, it is often in the arena of very liberal churches where the clergy are sometimes gay. I also think there’s an aspect of witchcraft that has seeped into those churches. Maybe that’s why the mean-spirited overreaction when a truly committed female pastor does lead.
But back to your point about women in leadership being thought of as inherently sinful. Other than a woman exerting her own control over a congregation (men have done that too) and being totally domineering or teaching false doctrine, I don’t think we’re talking here about sin. What I think you are discussing is the hope that the body of Christ would not be disabled by stubborn tradition. That the wall between men and women could come down so that we can walk and grow together as Jesus leads us. I don’t think it’s about women grasping equality – Jesus, though he was God, didn’t do that either – but it’s about serving one another in love. Building up the body and pointing the way to Jesus who breaks down barriers and unites us.
Maybe we need to look outside of the Western World to find a model of church that works with women in leadership roles. For instance, I know of several churches in the Philippines where women are the pastors and the churches under their leadership are thriving like crazy. Likewise I have heard that in places like South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, and even China, women are being taken seriously as pastors and leaders. Maybe it boils down to persecution… think about this, if our Western churches were the targets of persecution do you think we would give another thought to this issue? I think we’d be more concerned about watching each others backs and getting the job of fulfilling the Great Commission done.
Yeah, that makes sense, Chris. The first book I ever read on this issue was about 25 years ago – “Women at the Crossroads” – an excellent book on female leadership from the perspective of a woman who had been a missionary in the Philippines. She came back to the States and found such a different world where the church was more concerned about tending to the status quo than preaching the gospel and transforming the culture. Her theme for the book was about taking the path less traveled, not following the road of either traditionalism or feminism, rather following after Jesus with a first- love fervency.