I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28-29 NIV)
The major news from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) this week was to reaffirm and codify their position that only men could be in roles of pastoral leadership. I have never been a part of the SBC, but have been in churches that do ordain women and churches that don’t. The disagreement is not usually over whether Scripture is authoritative, but over how these passages should be interpreted and whether they are culturally specific or universally binding. For instance:
I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. (1 Timothy 2:11-14 NIV)
Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34-35 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)
Complementarians are Christians who believe that men and women are equal in value and dignity before God, but hold different, complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage, family, and religious life. They point to Paul’s teachings about male leadership in the home, and extend that to the Church. And, they point out that Jesus chose twelve men to be His apostles. Complementarians would not affirm women in pastoral roles.
Egalitarians, on the other hand, argue that the passages restricting women are context-specific and should be interpreted alongside the broader biblical witness. They might argue that 1 Timothy 2:11–14 addressed a specific situation in Ephesus rather than establishing a universal prohibition, that Paul’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 14 concern disorder in worship rather than a blanket ban on women speaking, and that Paul’s descriptions of roles in the home do not extend to the Church. They would likely point to the places in Scripture where women were affirmed.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28 NIV)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people… (Romans 16:1-2 NIV)
In addition, they point to women such as Deborah (Judges 4-5), Priscilla (Acts 18:24-26), and Junia (Romans 16:7) as examples of women in leadership –even apostolic– roles. Passages such as Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4:11–13 describe spiritual gifts being given by the Holy Spirit without distinguishing between men and women.
And, of course, on the day of Pentecost when Peter quoted the prophet Joel, he included both men and women.
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. (Acts 2:17-18 NIV)
Egalitarians see this as expressing the equality of men and women in Christ and laying the foundation for equal participation in ministry. They would argue that if God grants the gifts of teaching, shepherding, and leadership to women, the church should recognize those gifts.
The disagreement ultimately centers less on whether Scripture is authoritative and more on how the relevant passages are interpreted and applied. Both complementarians and egalitarians seek to ground their positions in the Bible, but they differ over how the various texts fit together and whether certain instructions were intended for all churches and all times or for particular circumstances in the first century.
So, where does this leave us today? Just trapped in another argument that divides the Body of Christ?
Well, we do have that argument, but we are not trapped. In addition to the Bible, God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us discern. He gives us good minds that — when submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit — can work through the sticky, yet important points of debate. And He can speak through history and the present to help us navigate the very real and important debates we face.
The Pharisees of Jesus’s day believed that they could make God happy if they followed the rules. While it is important to strive to align ourselves with God’s perfect will, we must be careful not to become so focused on the rules that we, too, become Pharisaical or place our focus on practicing a perfect religion.
Jesus’s call to “follow Me” was active, living, and Spirit-led. As we become more like Jesus, are transformed more and more into the image of Christ, and grow in our journey of sanctification, we increasingly focus on God’s heart for us and for humanity. Paul wrote, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Romans 7:6 NIV)
I would also argue that we as Jesus followers should be careful to not limit God. If God can use murderers, prostitutes, adulterers, tax collectors, and other sinners, He can certainly use people who believe it’s wrong to ordain women and people who believe it’s fine. I believe that God’s Kingdom is big enough for all these perspectives.
May we, as people of genuine faith, engage these questions from a place of humility, seeking the perfect will of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we be people who are led by the Holy Spirit and who prayerfully interact in love with others who may or may not agree with us. And, as we focus on going into all the world to preach the Good News and make disciples of all nations, may the Kingdom of Love come and the Father’s will be done.
AMEN and AMEN.