Role of Women in the Church

¶ … defination of "elder" and "deacon," and the biblical requirements for each office. It then discusses whether a woman be an elder or a deacon. It concludes by outlining contributions women make to theology, leadership, and management in the local church.

The Role of Women in the Church

According to the New Testament, the elders are overseers who are charged with the responsibility of governing the church (New International Version, Acts.20.28). The Bible requires an elder to be one who is

"blameless, married to one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) 6 He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. 7 He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap" (New Jerusalem Bible, 1 Tim. 3:1-7).

A deacon is a christian appointed to serve with the overseers or elders in a number of ways. (New International Version, 1 Tim. 3:8 ). A deacon is required to command respect, be sincere, not consume much wine, honest, uphold deep truths of faith and must be tested before holding the position (New International Version, 1 Timothy 3:8-10)

When it comes to the issue of women leadership in the church, it is interesting to note that the of the passages or verses in the Bible people use to base their arguments on whether women should serve as leaders, were written by Apostle Paul. The question of Exegesis arises here, the Bible is Gods communication to humanity and has no contradictions, it is the supreme authority. Therefore, it is critical to interpet the Bible with carefully analysing the background as well as the overview of the particular book, and the contents.

One of the most controversial verses in regard to women leadership is in the book of Galatians. The Bible says that all are equal before God "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (New International Version, Gal. 3:26-29). Those who favor of female leadership in church often use this verse to base their arguments. However, this verse in the explains how God sees those who have been renewed through believe in his son Jesus Christ, but it does not remove gender distinctions and roles among christians. In fact the woman was already assigned a priestly role, that of service to her husband through submission. In fact christians are all called to be of service to one another this is a call to ministry. Jesus talked of greatness by service and not status as demonstrated in the book of Mark 10:4 . The fact that the Bible specifies roles does not make women inferior or men superior. Submission as mentioned in the Bible is often misinterpreted to mean weakness while it should denote meekness. Women are commanded to submit to their husband christians are commanded to submit to one another and to the will of God. In the book of 1 Corinthians 14:26-40 explains order in worship not leadership. Gender roles are up held in places of worship just as in the homes (New International Version, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35). Women are allowed in the service of God, every christian is commanded through love to ministry, but on different levels befitting their reverence.