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Are women allowed to be pastors? Is a question that's thrown around a lot. So here's the spectrum. One side says that pastoral leadership is only allowed for men, and the other side says no. That may have been the cultural norm back then, but times are different now. Honestly, I think too many believers can look at the topic of the role of women in the church and hyper fixate on the question of whether they're allowed to be pastors. And they debate it all the time. And while I do have a firm belief on the answer to that question that I will share later in this video, I do want to say that Christian women should be held in the highest esteem and they have a very needed role in the church that I feel many churches miss out on. So in this video, I'll cover five thoughts that every believer should know about the role of women hey guys, did

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See you there. Thought number one women should have positions of leadership Romans chapter 16, verses 1 to 2 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchrea, that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many, and of myself as well. In this passage, Paul commended Phoebe to the church in Rome, along with many other men and women who played key roles in the early church. And In Romans chapter 16, Phoebe is listed among more than two dozen people, including other women, to greet them and show them honor. And the first thing to note is that Phoebe is mentioned first on this list in verse one, and Paul described her as a servant and a patron. You see, Phoebe was a woman who was believed to have a position of leadership in the early church, and her home church was in Centralia. And scholars believe that Phoebe was probably a leader because the word for servant is the same word that's used for deacon, which is an official position in the church, as seen in First Timothy chapter three. And they also believe she's a leader because of her being described as a patron. And this title refers to someone who provided shelter, funding, or other support for the church. And also note that Paul asked the Roman church to assist her in whatever business or help that she had need of. So basically listen to her and take care of her. And on top of that, some Bible scholars also attribute Phoebe with delivering this letter to the Romans, because Paul In Romans, chapter 16, verses 1 to 2, does say that Paul himself commends her and that he desires for them to receive her and do what she asks. And just so you know, carriers of letters weren't done by Amazon employees who didn't know details on what was being delivered, but instead they were delivered by trusted people who could answer questions and help explain the contents of the letter. And I say all of this to help you understand that Phoebe was a woman who seemed to be elevated in terms of position and that the same word that was used to describe deacon was used to describe her. And on top of that, the Old Testament also has women in positions of leadership, like Deborah, who was a judge over the people of Israel, Miriam, who along with Moses and Aaron, led the Israelites, and Esther, who was a queen that also led and protected her people. So if women had positions of leadership in both the Old and New Testament, then I would argue that women today should also have positions of leadership. And the reason why is found in thought number two. Women should be seen as significant within the church. First Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 4 to 6. Now, there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord, and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. In this passage, Paul spent time correcting the Corinthian church about their misunderstandings about spiritual gifts and how they should contribute to the unity of the church. And he reminded them that even though believers have different gifts, with some being more showy than others, they have all come from the same God. So because these gifts come from God himself, the church should obviously look at all the different gifts that God has given to men and women and use them all for the kingdom. Honestly, one problem that I have with the church is them pushing women to the side and leaving all of the leading to only the men. Like I do get that churches have biblical reasoning for elders or pastors only being allowed to be men. But sometimes they'll take that thought, carry it too far, and then take that as a reason to restrict women from having other leadership roles. You know, this passage in First Corinthians specifically says that people, men and women, are given spiritual gifts. And nowhere does it say that the gifts leading or administration are restricted to only men. Actually, I love what my friend Adam's church has, and he told me that his church created a women's leadership team that consults directly with the elders of the church so that they can use their spiritual giftings to care for the women and families within their church. And the reason why this is so helpful is because if all the church leadership is a bunch of dudes, then a teenage girl or a single mom may be limited in the help they could receive from them. So this women's leadership team not only creates a church team of leadership that fills in the gaps that men can't always fill, but it also encourages women to grow and serve the way that God designed them. And this is just one way women could be involved. I honestly think that churches would do well to think of the different ways they could identify, cultivate, and utilize the spiritual gifts that the women in their church have so that they could bless the whole body. And I think another way that women could potentially be more involved in is found in thought number three. Women should be engaged in teaching 2nd Timothy 2:24 and the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but kind to everyone, able to teach patiently enduring evil. In this passage, Paul challenged Timothy to embody the character of the Lord's servant, and he says that such a servant must not be quarrelsome or argue all the time, but be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and to be patient when they're wronged. And I want you to notice that Paul says that the Lord's servant must be able to teach. Now, even though Paul specifically addressed Timothy's pastoral calling in this letter, I believe that this truth about God's people should be applied to all of his servants, men and women included. So I would argue that this principle of teaching is not limited to just pastors and elders, because from this text I would say that teaching is a call to given to all believers that want to serve God. A clear example of this comes from Acts chapter 18, verse 26, where it says, he, Apollos began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. So in this passage there was a guy named Apollos, and this guy was a man who was on fire for God. And and as he was preaching, a couple, Priscilla and Aquila heard him, and wanting to help him, they both came alongside him and gave him better understanding on the things he was preaching. And I want you to note how despite Priscilla being a woman, both her and her husband Aquila taught and explained the things of God to a man named Apollos. So note that Priscilla played a key role in this private moment of corrective teaching. And it should be seen as an act of love that helped to guide the life of an important preacher in the early church. So note that from these two passages, learning and teaching truths from Scripture is not a male only calling due to the fact that servants of God must be able to teach. And that Priscilla, who was a woman, along with her husband, taught and led another man in the ways of God. And one way women can lean into this more is found in thought Number four. Women should focus on raising the next generation of women. Titus, chapter 2, verses 3 to 5. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children. In this passage, Paul gave specific instructions to Titus, who was a young pastor at the time, about how to structure a healthy and multigenerational church. And one command that he gave to older women was for them to teach what is good and train younger women. You see, in the ancient world, young women faced intense pressure to conform to societal expectations around beauty, marriage, and domestic success. And they were often married young and tasked with running a household. And many of these young women lacked guidance. So I want you to see what Paul was doing here in this passage. And he recognized a need, and he saw that these young women needed help, guidance, and support. And while Paul could have taught them himself or commanded the young women to just get their act together, he instead called old older women to meet their needs by teaching and leading them. So note that here In Titus, chapter 2, verses 3 to 5, Paul commanded older women to raise younger women. And in First Timothy, chapter two, verse two, Paul also instructed older men to teach other men. So I want you to see the system that Paul laid out here for the church. And it's one that focused on discipleship and the full involvement of of every member in the church. So if that's the case, I believe that every church should really focus on how they can equip and empower women to fulfill their call to raise and teach the next generation. Honestly, I would say that one of the most loving things a church could do to help and support the young girls of the church is for them to invest and build up older women to lead and guide them. And training women for such leadership is a huge task that will not be accomplished if the church is not firm and intentional about it. And now to our final thought. Thought number five, women should not be overseers. First Timothy, chapter two, verse 12. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet. Okay, so when it comes to the question of whether women are allowed to be pastors, to be upfront with you, I would argue that the answer to that question is no. But I didn't want that answer to take away from what we explained in the first four points of this video, because everything that we said we believe to be true. But at the same time, I do not think that Paul teaches that women should be pastors or elders over the church specifically. And while some of you will disagree with us on our stance, I would challenge you to hear where we're coming from and understand why we believe what we believe. So in this passage, Paul wrote to Timothy, who was serving in Ephesus, which was a city that struggles with false teaching and division. So he gave Timothy pastoral instruction to help bring clarity and order when it came to the church. And here in this passage, we see that women were not to teach men or exercise authority over men. Now, I would argue that there is a specific setting that women are not allowed to teach in. So the issue in this verse was not whether women could teach, but under what context they were not allowed to. And the context that Paul restricted for teaching and exercising authority, I would say was tied to the duties of the office of pastor or elder in the gathered church. And the reason why I say that is because a pastor is a very specific position within the church that Paul gives very specific qualifications for. In the next chapter, and Paul continues in 1 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 2, and it says, therefore, and overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. So the prohibition of women teaching and having authority was connected to the office of overseer, elder, or pastor. What she described here. For example, Priscilla did teach and lead Apollos, which I think was a good and right thing, but she did not do so as a pastor. So again, I'm not saying women cannot teach because we've seen that the Bible affirms women teachers. I would just say that Paul's commands to not teach was in the context of the office of overseer. So next, let's talk about what it means for women to remain quiet or silent. This term in the Greek refers not so much to complete silence, but something like a posture of peaceful receptiveness or being Undistracted, respectful and humble. You see, back then, women being educated wasn't a thing. So here, Paul was inviting women to learn, which wasn't normal for them. So Paul wasn't excluding women because, as we saw in the other passages, he did command all believers to teach and for older women to raise younger women. So what was happening here when he said for women to remain quiet? Was Paul inviting women to learn in such a way that promoted order and unity when the Church gathered together? So, simply put, I would argue that Paul's words in 1 Timothy mean that Christian women should learn and teach under the context that God designed, and to know that the office of overseer was given specifically to qualified men in the church. Okay, so to close, every believer should keep these thoughts in mind about the role of women in the church. Women should have positions of leadership. Women should be seen as significant within the church. Women should be engaged in teaching. Women should focus on raising the next generation of women, and women should not be overseers. To close, I do want to say that, yeah, this is a controversial topic. But again, even if you disagree with me, let's focus on what we can agree on. And I think that we can agree that the church should prioritize and empowering women, building up women and caring for women. So I hope this brings some clarity on this topic for some of you. But if what we said leads you to wrestle with it more, then that's okay. Keep learning. And as you do, always remember that Jesus loves you.