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Question Summary:

The role of men and women in the corporate church seems to be a topic that never gets old and is constantly being examined or reexamined. Recently I was asked a series of questions about a woman’s roles within the Body of Christ and the spiritual authority of women.

I am going to list those questions and my answers below, just as they were asked and answered.

I want to first note that a woman’s relationship with her husband differs from her relationship with any other man, whether that man is a spiritual leader, her pastor, an elder, her brother, etc. The authority a husband carries over a wife is far different from, superior to, and much more extensive than the authority any other male would hold over a woman.

Reply:

Women and spiritual authority:

Q – “What is the proper role of women in spiritual authority in the Body?”

A – To minister in ALL capacities to the women of the Body of Christ and for specific women with certain spiritual gifts and callings to advise/counsel and pray for male spiritual leaders.

Q – “As I understand what you wrote, women are the leaders of women in the church, and men are the leaders of men?”

A – For practical life application purposes, your assessment would be correct. However, the male spiritual leaders are also the leaders of the women as well, in most areas – expect personal counseling, which I adamantly believe, should only be done by the same gender.

Q – “So a woman who is a pastor would be a pastor over the women? Can they also be pastors over men?”

A – Yes, a woman pastor is the women’s pastors. A woman can be a co-pastor or an associate pastor but not a head or senior pastor. Technically their role as a pastor would give them more authority than a congregation’s member who is male but typically, when a congregation is functioning well the men and the female pastor do not make an issue of her gender – they just each do their own thing. The female pastor should never attempt to usurp the authority of her male counterparts or take too much authority over her male congregants.

Q – “But then a man is usually something like a senior pastor or at the top of the chain of authority in a congregation, is that right?”

A – Yes, in my belief based on Scripture there should be a male senior pastor in a congregation if there are any males in the congregation.

Spiritual authority in general, whether inside a corporate church congregation or within the Body of Christ as a whole is largely based on a person’s calling regardless of gender. Meaning the callings are to be respected in a certain order – called the five-fold ministry. That order laid out in Scripture is not random; it is based on spiritual authority given them by Christ and is to be respected as such – again, regardless of gender.

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NKJV)

28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.

Ephesians 4:11–15 (NKJV)

11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—

Regarding worldviews:

Secular sources – self-help, advice, mass media – some of these resources can be useful in obtaining knowledge about what is going on in our world but they are not credible sources for a Believer when it comes to establishing beliefs, opinions, and directives for life. The gap between the two foundational platforms (biblical vs. secular) is too vast at this point in our present day society to bring reconciliation between the two. A Believer should seek out Christian lifestyle training, godly counsel, and Christian forms of mass media using those to shape their approach to life.

Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

¹¹And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, ¹²for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, ¹³till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; ¹⁴that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.