Called & Gifted

Should women be pastors, preachers, and church leaders, or should they be "silent in the churches"?
Is the husband the head of the wife, or are they equal partners in a mutual marriage, leading their families together?
Many Christians and churches do not allow women to be pastors, preachers, or church leaders and encourage complementarian approaches to marriage and family relationships. They point to statements from the Apostle Paul, such as the following:

• ​"Women should remain silent in the churches." 1 Corinthians 14:34 (NIV)
• "A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet." 1 Timothy 2:11-12 (NIV)
  
• "An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe..." Titus 1:5-6 (NIV)
  
• "But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)
  
• "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church." Ephesians 5:22-23 (NIV)
  

These statements seem to make it very clear that God doesn't want women to be pastors, preachers, and church leaders and that husbands are their wives' God-ordained leaders...right? We in the Covenant Church say, "wrong." These conclusions come from a superficial, face-value reading of scripture that relies on a "plain sense" understanding of the Bible. This approach is fine for your personal devotions because God's Spirit can speak very easily through a simple reading of scripture like this for daily encouragement and inspiration.

However, when it comes to studying scripture for doctrine, we must take a more conservative approach, ensuring that we do our best to find God's inspired meaning of the text through the original author's original intent for their original audience in their original context. This requires a deeper study of the historical context, the cultural circumstances, and the nuances of ancient idioms (phrases, metaphors, etc.). It also requires measuring statements like these against what we find in the whole of scripture (Genesis to Revelation). After this kind of study, we in the Covenant Church have found some helpful clarifications of the original intent behind these statements. Thus, we have come to a conclusion that is quite different from some other evangelical churches—one that has led to empowering women as leaders since our denomination's beginning, ordaining women as pastors for almost 50 years, and encouraging egalitarian mutualism in marriage.

Some people think we should treat this matter as one of those "gray areas" under the Freedom in Christ affirmation. They propose that we embrace both convictions within the Covenant Church, allowing room for respectful disagreement. However, because the former conviction negatively impacts 50% of our population and limits them from full participation in church leadership and has a significant impact on church practice, affirming both convictions as equally supported in the church (in the same manner as our approach to infant baptism and dedication) is simply untenable. Therefore, we boldly hold to this conviction and clearly identify it within our affirmations. 

For two Sundays, we're addressing these two questions by exploring the biblical bases for the unrestricted ministry of women in the church on February 23rd and egalitarian mutualism in marriage on March 2nd. We hope you can join us for these two Sundays either onsite or online.

​If you know anyone who might benefit from these messages, please invite them to join us or share a link to the live streams with them.

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