"I am working with a well-intentioned man who is considering becoming a part of our congregation. After exploring Wesleyan Doctrine, he is hung up on one thing- that we allow women in ministry. He believes that 1Timothy 2:8-15 is a clear Biblical prohibition against females in ministry"....click on the link below to read more from Pastor Mark O. Wilson's blog. You can either add comments to his blog or to this one.
"..when the true light shines and God's words take the place of man's traditions, the Doctor of Divinity who shall teach that Paul commands woman to be silent when God's Spirit urges her to speak, will be regarded much the same as we should now regard an astronomer who should teach that the sun is the earth's satellite."-Catherine Booth, co-founder of the Salvation Army with her husbandI do not believe the day has yet come when this is the case that those who teach against woman speaking "when God's Spirit urges her to speak" will be considered out of step with reality. Yet, as we continue to pursue our call we may help to move the thinking and perceptions toward that goal.
"Some Christians have used this verse to justify the exclusion of women from significant participation in the life of the church. But the church is a society of the redeemed. The church should model the Orders of Creation and Redemption, not of the Fall. In creation, female and male are formed equally in the image of God. In Christ, the Redeemer and Lord of the church, there is neither male nor female. In the church, the body and bride of Christ, that should be the basis of polity and practice." -Joseph ColesonThe idea that we are part of a redeemed society should be a matter of celebration! Both male and female being made in God's image and then being redeemed fully back to that image is important to our understanding of the affirmation of women in ministry. So many times the sin of Eve, being the tempter, is used to show that women are weak and incapable of leadership. But we do not live under that curse! When people use the argument of Eve, the tempter, I need to remember that I am redeemed, and so are you! And so is our community of faith!
"I believe we have seriously misread the relevant passages in the New Testament, no doubt not least through a long process of assumption, tradition, and all kinds of post-biblical and sub-biblical attitudes that have crept in to Christianity." N.T. WrightThis, in fact, is the case when it comes to a discussion of whether women should be in the ordained ministry. I believe that assumptions and tradition have the strongest influence on how Scripture is used to exclude women from the ministry. People will call the ordination of women unbiblical and accuse us of not valuing what the Bible teaches. What they really mean is we don't follow their personal interpretation of what the Scripture says. They perceive that their interpretation is really the "truth". They claim to "take" the Bible literally and accuse us of not valuing Scripture. May we always attempt to enter into such discussions with humility and as learners. May we never claim to have a monopoly on the truth. May we always invite the Holy Spirit in and keep our spirits pure as we seek to follow God's leading in this matter. Sometimes, I find this difficult!
"seven Wesleyan Holiness denominations, whose primary objective is to enable women in differing stages of their ministry journey to discover a community of supportive and encouraging clergywomen from the Wesleyan Holiness movement."I encourage you to visit their website and consider going to the "Come to the Water" conference April 15-18, 2010.
"God will not go against his Word and ordain a woman preacher. If she claims she has been ordained by the Spirit and does not need man's approval, it is evident she is reprobated and working under her own manufactured alleged anointing. God is not in it." -Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor, (opposed to women in ministry)You might wonder why I am quoting this same person...again! I believe it is important for us to know the type of hostility that can be voiced against our call to ministry. We can be silenced by those we see in authority and by those who use the Word to prove their point. Therefore, here is something to remember. Wesleyan Theology applies a Biblical hermeneutic that affirms God's call of women to the ministry. We do not need to defend the call. We belong to a church that defends it! What we do need to do is follow our call. Be encouraged that although there will be people inside and outside our church who may want to challenge us, the theology of our church supports us. We do need to understand our theological foundations, but the "field of battle" is about changing the culture of the church to advocate and place women in ministry and not about our theology!
"The New Testament does not contain a single passage authorizing female preachers. There were no female Apostles. No female wrote a book of the Old or New Testaments. No female was an Elder, Bishop, or a Deacon. There are no ministerial qualifications for females in the New Testament priesthood. " -Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor, (opposed to women in ministry)I am not sure what resistance to women in the ministry you have heard of or even experienced. Depending how you came into ministry, you may not have "hit the wall," but it is likely that you at least know that not all people think it is a good thing for women to be in the pulpit. There is cultural bias against women moving into these positions but there is also opposition based on scripture. This negative use of scripture is a very strong weapon and it is powerfully wielded to keep women in their place. One must be prepared for the "sword of scripture" to be brandished against one's call to ministry. As persons who place a high value on scripture, we are particularly vulnerable to this form of attack. Put on the full armor of God so you can resist those who would side track you from your call.
''Dr. Tilghman's [first female president at Princeton] administration has acquired a markedly different makeup that separates it from the traditions that have, historically, defined Princeton...There is an ideological notion -- unquestionably liberal -- within the context of women in academia that runs contrary to the Princeton of the 1950's and 1960's. It is impossible to divorce female appointments from overall liberal ideology.''-2004 (article in New York Times quoting Princeton student paper)The first female president at Princeton (2001) was taken to task for filling 4 administrative positions (formerly held by men) with women. Sound familar? Interestingly, Princeton only admitted women beginning in 1969. (The Wesleyan Church has 'theoretically' been admitting women since the mid 1800's.) As we can see, resistance in the church to women in leadership positions is also mirrored in secular institutions. In some ways, it is reassuring that this is going on in other institutions. Unfortunately, we, the church, should be modeling a redemptive, forward approach rather than a reactive, backward one. Change is considered liberal by those opposing it. So, we will be called liberal, but we are truly representing a Biblical, Spirit-filled theology, not a "liberal ideology."
"...the Christian feminist critique, if taken seriously, could help us in the Wesleyan tradition to rethink many of our practices and convictions with the goal of making them more Biblical, more inclusive and faithful to our vision of the Coming Reign of God."--Randy MaddoxSo there is that "F" (Feminist) word again. Do you think it really is possible that a feminist critique could help us be more Biblical? I think it is possible that Christian feminist scholars could help us be more Biblical as they look at Scripture and emphasize its trajectory leading toward the "Coming Reign of God." This trajectory (recognized by both women and men scholars) has positively led us away from slavery moving us toward egalitarian perspectives of equality with persons of all colors. I believe it can do the same leading us toward equality for men and women both in the church and outside the church. We need to be reading the Christian feminist theologians. I think we might learn from them. Are you brave enough?
