Women Pastors

Before giving my life to Christ, I had three sisters of whom I love and respect very much. They're all blessed with their own unique gifts that I've always admired. I don't believe anyone would have ever labeled me a sexist in the slightest.

Since giving my life to Christ I've been studying the Bible endlessly. I like to study the Bible with a question in mind, this way I'm motivated to discover an answer. The thing I hate is when I don't have a question. To solve this, I'll search other sources for questions. The Internet and discussion boards are great resources for questions.

Of course it wasn't long before I came across the subject of Women Pastors. I set out to discover exactly what the Scriptures have to say about this and discovered that Scripture never supports the role of women as Pastors presiding over a congregation of men.

While this subject has been debated endlessly for years, I hate regurgitating the same argument over again, especially since they haven't been able to convince anyone of the right way according to the Bible.
Many people that are for women Pastors have already discounted in their own mind all the scripture that speaks against women Pastors, so I hope not to revisit the obvious banter.
I think a simple approach is to just break down the roles within Christs Church and see which roles carry the responsibility of a Church leader or overseer?

Is a Deacon a church leader? No. Deacons were in charge of taking care of the sick and the poor. Phoebe was a Deaconess Romans 16:1

Is a Prophet a Church leader? No. Isiah wasn't a leader, he was simply a Prophet. Deborah was also a Prophetess - Judges 4:4-5 as was Miriam, Exodus 15:20; Huldah, 2Chronicles 34:22; Noadiah, Nehemiah 6:14; Anna, Luke 2:36; Philip's four unmarried daughters, Acts 2:36; and the list goes on.

Is a Ruler a Church leader? No. A ruler was a politician of sorts.
Evangelist? No. An Evangelist is called to go out and spread the word... not oversee a congregation.

Minister? No. There are many types of ministries, but these compliment a Church... they are not a Church. Matthew 27:55

Helper? No. A helper assists the Church

Witnesses? No. Mark 16:9

Preacher? No

Teacher? No

Judge? No.

Priest? Yes.

Pastor? Yes.

Bishop? Yes.

Elder? Yes

Our Churches today have difficulty with placing the proper title in accordance with what a particular office or position is. Because of this many people have become confused as to what the responsibilities are of a particular office. It's in this confusion that corruption occurs.

If there is an instance in the Bible that depicts a woman in a position of Church leadership and it is mentioned as favorable or acceptable to God, then I have no issue with women Pastors. I honestly believe that some women sitting among the congregation have a greater ability than the Pastor who is currently presiding over the congregation. That being said, I would leave the church immediately if a woman was ever to stand up to lead the congregation. While I can't find a passage that gives credence to women Pastors, I think Scripture makes it abundantly clear that women are not to teach men. 1 Timothy 2:9-15.... To believe women can preside over a church is to discount this and many other passages. I tend to check my understanding of scripture however by seeing if my thoughts contradict another single verse or passage in the rest of the Bible. If it does, then I know my interpretation is wrong.

Since becoming saved I didn't become sexist, I never lost respect for my sisters or any other woman. I did learn however to respect His Word.

Isaiah 3:12 & Deuteronomy 22:5 are interesting verses that aren't often brought up in relation to this discussion, but should not be overlooked in this context.

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