Women: Part III

Women were the first evangelists for the Risen Christ. Let that sink in for a second.

Women were the very first humans to see that Jesus had risen from the grave, so they told the other disciples about it. They proclaimed the Good News (Greek: euangelion). This is where we get the word(s): "evangel, evangelical, evangelism, and evangelistic."

These words are all about being a herald, proclaiming, verbalizing, declaring and speaking out what is Good and True about God. Women did this FIRST and yet, 2000 years later, women are still rarely seen in our church pulpits doing these very things.

Half of the population has been underrepresented in getting the opportunity to proclaim Good News and teach people as to why said News is so Good. One has to wonder why this is such a rarity.

1. Is it an issue with the text? We've tried to address that in multiple ways that context is important to the various texts seemingly prohibiting women from teaching. Is it not a once and for all doctrinal statement. We've also shown the gravity of what it means for Mary to sit at the feet of Jesus (i.e. be a learner with the assumption that she would go and teach what she learned). And, the very fact that the Gospel writers included the women's testimony of the Risen Christ is, by its very nature, a bold and Godly move. A woman's testimony would not have been admissible in the ancient world; but the resurrection changes the social structures of that world.
2. Is it an issue with preference? Some may say, "I just hear from a man better." Is it because you've been conditioned that way? Is it possible that preferences are secondary to the primary need of spreading the Gospel? We also have preferences for the music that is played in churches. Does that prohibit us from worshipping God?
3. Is it an issue of not seeing it done successfully? We may feel that women are ill-equipped to be speakers, pastors, or preachers because we just haven't seen it done well yet. What if they abuse their responsibility? What if they take the power and it goes to their head? What if they speak with a chip on their shoulder? Is it possible that any male speakers, pastors, or preachers have ever abused their responsibilities, their power, or spoke with a chip on their shoulder? I'm not going to leave that one rhetorical. The answer is simply, "Yes. Yes, it is not only possible, but has happened on multiple occasions where men have abused their responsibility."

Here's a more personal note:

I used to struggle with women in leadership because of reasons listed above, all at different times and in different ways. But, in a quest to just learn more and try to understand the "other side," I started to find the theological arguments compelling. Then I began to encounter and work alongside and work for women leaders and pastors in another church; many of which were/are extremely talented capable, wise, and just overall wonderful human beings, pastors, and leaders. I learned so much from them. I realized that actually much is at stake if we don't have women preachers. We miss out tremendously on the gifts that God has clearly given some women to teach, preach and share God's Word with others. They provide a perspective that I simply don't have and I don't want to risk doing a whole life of ministry and missing out on 50% of the voice in our world.

We invite you to wrestle through this yourself as you continue to grow in the experience of the unity in Christ we share.

Bottom line: men and women are broken, men and women are capable of following Jesus, men and women are empowered to proclaim Good News to anyone everywhere. 

In some ways, we have made progress at LifeChurch Canton; but there is so much more work to be done.

This content and other ministry is made possible because of the generosity of donors who give directly to LifeChurch Canton. If you'd like to continue to see more content and make an impact, partner with us through a generous gift or a recurring gift by going to our site. Thank you so much.

Also, make sure to subscribe in order to be notified whenever a new blog post is published. You can do so by clicking "SUBSCRIBE" in the upper right hand corner of this page.