Women and Church Leadership

Transcription

1 Women and Church Leadership ML508 LESSON 9 of 13 Dr. Alice Matthews Academic Dean- Christian University GlobalNet Introduction Is it possible that we don t have to choose between two opposing alternatives on the subject of women and church leadership? Is there a way to think about a diversity in the churches started by the apostle Paul that would allow women more freedom to lead in some churches and restrict them in others? An answer to those questions comes to us from an important little book, Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness by Gilbert Bilezikian (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997). You can test Dr. Bilezikian s data by replicating it yourself, but it is a long project and I am not requiring you to do so! But if you wish to test his thesis, set up an excel spreadsheet with a column for each of Paul s letters (Romans through Titus; you can skip the personal letter to Philemon). Then down the left side of the spreadsheet allow for 30, 40, [or] 50 different variables, depending on what you choose to test. Then open Romans 1:1 and begin a careful reading of each of Paul s letters. Every time you come to what you know to be a theme in his letters, note the reference in the appropriate column. For example, in the first chapter of Romans you might immediately choose/write gospel as one category of variables and note 1:1 in the Romans column opposite it. Then you might add another variable, saints, and add it as a variable and note it in the Romans column as 1:7. Certainly grace is a major variable in Paul s letters, so create another variable for grace, and continue through the chapter, picking up other variables: faith (1:8), prayers (1:9), the will of God (1:10), spiritual gifts (1:11), fruit (1:13), etc. When you come to gospel in 1:15 and 1:16, note those references across from gospel under Romans. In the beginning you re setting up all of the variable categories and that takes time, but after a while you ll find that as you work your way through each of Paul s letters, the categories are already in your list and it is simply a 1 of 12

2 matter of noting the chapter and verse for each variable under the appropriate letter. What eventually will emerge is a fascinating chart in which we discover that some churches were characterized by some of the variables while others were not. Then you can ask yourself, Why this difference? Assuming that you will not go through that process yourself, let me give you in this lecture some data from Bilezikian s findings that may help you discern a diversity in the churches begun by Paul that we may otherwise miss. If you completed the excel spreadsheet chart, and you included as variables deacons or elders/bishops/overseers, you d discover that apart from a brief mention in the greeting in Philippians 1:1, all of the discussion about requirements and roles for church leaders are in the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus). Furthermore, you d find that these three pastoral letters to Timothy and Titus have no discussions at all about spiritual gifts, oneness in the body of Christ, or the work of the Holy Spirit in believers lives through their spiritual gifts. So we have to ask ourselves, what might have been going on in Ephesus and in Crete that required apostolic treatment different from the treatment Paul gave the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, or the Thessalonians? We must also ask, what might have been going on in the churches in Ephesus and Crete toward the end of Paul s life that made it necessary for him to intervene, sending Timothy to Ephesus and Titus to Crete? We know that Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus on an emergency mission to put out the fires of heresy threatening to destroy the church (1 Timothy 1:3-4). And we know that Titus was sent to Crete (a Mediterranean island south of Greece) on a similar mission (Titus 1:5, 10-14). Both letters contain much data about the practice of ministry in Ephesus and Crete, and this can be compared to what we know about other New Testament churches from Paul s letters to them. I. Leadership in most of the Pauline churches Of the 13 letters that the apostle Paul wrote, nine were sent to churches and four were sent to individuals. We can derive a great deal from the letters to various churches concerning 2 of 12

3 problems and how congregations approached those problems. And we find that all of the churches to which Paul directly sent letters, in spite of the problems, they were healthy enough to move forward without outside intervention. But of the letters sent to individuals (Timothy, Titus, and a part from the letter to Philemon about his slave Onesimus), a very different picture of some churches emerged. But, first, let s look at some of the healthy churches. While Paul did not found the church in Jerusalem, we ll include it here as the basic model for church leadership. A. Leadership in the Jerusalem church When we look at leadership in the Jerusalem church, originally the apostles (the Twelve) were the leaders, but soon others were added to that number. Jesus half-brother James became a leader in that congregation (Acts 21:17-18). Acts 6 tells us of the appointment of seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom who would deal equitably with the issue of unfair food distribution to Greek widows. These seven, where we have information about them, carried out ministries identical to that of the apostles (Acts 6:8-10; 8:5-8, 40; 21:8). Then in Acts 15 we find elders active in leadership. All of this shows a flexible structure of leadership adapted to changing circumstances and needs. In virtually all the churches, corporate decision-making was shared with the congregation (Acts 6:3-4; 15:22-23). B. Leadership in the church at Rome This church was known throughout the world (Romans 1:8) for the faith of the Christians there. In his letter to them, Paul speaks of different gifts, with some having leadership functions (Romans 12:6-8). But there is no mention of types of roles (deacon, elder) anywhere in the letter apart from the reference to Phoebe (diakonos) visiting from Corinth in Romans 16:1. Certainly there was some kind of leadership in the Roman church. The church had serious relational problems a judging spirit in Romans 2:1-5, Jewish racial superiority over Gentiles in Romans 2:17-24, and a disdain for others in the church who ate food considered unclean or who failed to esteem certain days over others (Romans 14:1-23). But Paul didn t refer these matters to the leaders. He bypassed the leadership and admonished the congregation directly to deal with these 3 of 12

4 situations. In fact, the leaders didn t even rate a greeting as titular office-holders in Rome. Paul was interested in the body ministering to itself at the grassroots level (Romans 12:9-10, 16-18; 13:8-10; 14:1-4; 15:1-7). He was convinced that his readers were competent to instruct one another (Romans 15:14). C. Leadership in the Church at Corinth This was a church with massive problems. Paul had spent more than 18 months there, then made several return visits. He had ample opportunity to establish a strong leadership structure there, but there is no mention of a functioning leadership structure in the Corinthian church in either of his letters to them. Despite divisions, personality conflicts, lawsuits, sacrilegious worship, lifestyle issues, doctrinal challenges, and false teachers claiming to be apostles, Paul s strategy for reforming the Corinthian church was not through elders, deacons or overseers. No, he addressed, rebuked, exhorted, and commanded the congregation directly. For an important decision in 1 Corinthians 5:4, the whole congregation assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. From 1 Corinthians 16:15-16, we know there were strong Christians like Stephanas and his household in the church, but Paul didn t ask him or others to take matters in hand. Instead he called upon the congregation to fix their own problems (2 Corinthians 13:11). D. Leadership in the churches in Galatia These churches were impacted by Judaizers a classic case for strong leadership to take control of the situation. But the only reference to leaders in Paul s letter to them was a note to pay teachers (Galatians 6:6) and a desire that false teachers would be castrated (Galatians 5:12)! Paul assumed that the Galatian Christians themselves could reject false teachings and reembrace truth (Galatians 5:7-10). E. Leadership in the church at Ephesus When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he devoted it almost entirely to the doctrine of the church, describing the place of the church in God s purposes. The letter defines the nature of the church as a community of oneness and lays out the conduct and relationships for such a community. If an elaborate leadership system were essential, this was the perfect place to lay that out. But while Paul did lay out one of the six New 4 of 12

5 Testament household codes (Ephesians 5:21-6:9), there are no parallel instructions for the organization of the church apart from the command to all believers to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). When Paul listed some spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11), the list is generic, not personalized to the local situation in Ephesus. There is no mention of overseers, bishops, elders, or deacons, though the church probably had them. F. Leadership in the church at Philippi Only in the letter to the Philippians do we have even a passing mention of elders and deacons. It appears in the greeting in Philippians 1:1: Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons. But after being acknowledged in the opening salutation, these leaders completely disappear. Though things were relatively quiet in Philippi, there was one major problem: a personality conflict between Euodia and Syntyche. This was a textbook case for intervention by church leadership (unless the women themselves were the leaders; this is possible from Acts 16:13-15). Paul didn t bring any leaders into this dispute but pleaded with the women to agree with each other in the Lord (Philippians 4:2-3). We could continue looking at the letters to the churches in Colosse and in Thessalonika, where we would find the same thing: Whatever leadership structure existed in the early churches, it was inconspicuous, discreet, self-effacing, flexible, and ready to intervene if needed; but the leaders were invisible servants. II. Leadership in the later churches in Ephesus and Crete When we turn to the Pastoral letters, suddenly the presence of overseers, elders and deacons is in our faces: 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 5:17-22; Titus 1:5-9. No other set of documents in the New Testament has so much information and so many instructions about these roles as we find in 1 Timothy and Titus. The exceptional prominence of leadership structures in these churches must be explained. A. Some history of the church in Ephesus This is interesting in light of the past history of the church in 5 of 12

6 Ephesus. The church was about 10 years old when Timothy was sent there. Paul had spent three years planting the church in Ephesus, and then revisited the church later. Now, 10 years later, Paul tells Timothy to instruct the Ephesian Christians so they would know how people ought to conduct themselves in God s household (1 Timothy 3:15). The church had regressed into infancy and had to relearn everything. Instead of praying for them with thanksgiving (see Ephesians 1:15-16), Paul had to write Timothy a very hard letter about the Ephesian Christians. Why should that have become necessary? When we look at Paul s prior experiences in Ephesus, we see that it was his toughest assignment. It had been the largest, most demanding, most difficult, and most dangerous assignment in his missionary career. In Acts 20:19 and 31, Paul reminded the Ephesian elders that he had worked to start that church for three long years with many tears. In Acts 19:8-9 and 23-31, we learn that Ephesus was the only place where both the Jews and the Gentiles opposed him. In 1 Corinthians 15:32, we learn that at Ephesus Paul fought with wild beasts and came under great pressure, despairing even for his own life (2 Corinthians 1:8-9). The Ephesian church cost Paul blood, sweat, and tears. Now, on his way home from his third missionary journey, Paul has called for the Ephesian elders to meet him in Miletus, the seaport for inland Ephesus. Acts 20:17-38 recounts that meeting of the Ephesian elders and Paul. To the elders, he defended the integrity of his ministry and warned them about a disaster about to fall on their congregation. There would be an external onslaught ( savage wolves ) and also an internal onslaught: homegrown heretics would rise up and split the congregation. He urged the elders to be alert to what was coming. From all the evidence, when Paul later wrote to Timothy, this onslaught both external and internal had happened. The church was reeling but was still salvageable (1 Timothy 1:3). Paul now planned to revisit Ephesus, but he had sent Timothy there to begin to clean up the mess. The first letter to Timothy contains urgent advice and rigid measures designed to bring the Ephesians back in line. 6 of 12

7 Blog: Read through Paul s first letter to Timothy (six chapters). Make note of every reference to heretical teachings and other problems in the Ephesian church. Also try to put yourself in Paul s shoes and imagine his feelings for this wayward congregation. Do you see any style changes from his other letters? B. The content of Paul s first letter to Timothy about the church The content of this letter witnesses to the serious crisis in the church. Timothy would have to deal with the false teachers (1:3-4, 7), some of whom were handed over to Satan (1:19-20), and with the hypocritical liars in the congregation (4:1-2). The apostate teachers were especially successful with women (5:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:6-8), infiltrating households and gaining control of spiritually unstable women, some of whom turned away to follow Satan (1 Timothy 5:15) and gossiped these false teachings. The controversies with these heresies resulted in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions, and constant friction (1 Timothy 6:3-5). The Christian flock was ravaged and divided. Paul s earlier letter to the Ephesians and his letters to Timothy are worlds apart in content and in style. The first letter to Timothy has no references to oneness, spiritual gifts, shared ministries, or the life of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mentioned only in 1 Timothy 3:15 and 4:1 incidentally, not in relation to the ministry of believers. Now it had become necessary to put a professional leader from the outside (Timothy) in charge of the Ephesian church. Here, Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete are the ones who do ministry while congregants pray to live peaceably (2:2). Even if they have a spiritual gift for teaching, untrained or disqualified people must learn quietly before aspiring to teach (1 Timothy 2:11; 2 Timothy 2:2). The churches in Crete were not much better. Though probably younger than the church in Ephesus, they had a similar crisis, so Paul sent Titus there to deal with the mess. First, he was to appoint elders (Titus 1:5) who conformed to Paul s instructions because there were many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers (1:10). They had to be silenced because they were ruining whole households by teaching what they ought not teach (1:11). From all the evidence, Titus also had a major problem on his hands. 7 of 12

8 In both places, Paul called for a contraction of ministry to isolate and eliminate self-appointed peddlers of subversion. Under the new rules the unauthorized heretics would be silenced (Titus 1:11). Access to ministry was withdrawn from the masses and entrusted to carefully screened individuals, reliable men with proven abilities. This model wasn t new. It was the legacy of the Jewish synagogue, derived from the ancient patriarchal system of government. The troops had failed; the Old Guard was called in to take over the front line. C. Bottom-line qualifications for ministry According to Acts and most of the New Testament letters, the process for appointing people to various ministries was simple: Acts 6:3 seek out those of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Romans 12:6-8 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; the one who teaches, in teaching; the one who exhorts, in exhortation; the one who gives, with liberality; the one who leads, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working or miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each individually as he wills. Each follower of Christ was to discover his/her gift and assume a ministry matching that gift. There were three criteria for the seven appointed in Acts 6: (1) They were affirmed by the community who vouched for their character and reputation; (2) they were known to be full of the Holy Spirit they had cultivated their spiritual walk and used their spiritual gifts; (3) they had to be full of wisdom, that is, people of experience and 8 of 12

9 discernment. Apart from the three letters to Timothy and Titus, there is no reference in the New Testament of other specifications to qualify for ministry not marital status, not a family situation. Now, in Ephesus and Crete, for the first time in the New Testament, the explicit requirements for leadership included marriage to one wife and obedient children. Nor could one be a recent convert, which would disqualify elders in newly planted churches (Acts 14:23). Suddenly, in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, elders had to be married men with more than one child, and all their children must be obedient and walking in the faith. Elsewhere both Jesus and Paul had noted that single people were preferred for the sake of ministry, but in Ephesus and Crete suddenly now only married men qualified. Furthermore, those married men had to be fathers of obedient, faithful children; no single men nor married men without such children need apply. D. What about the women in Ephesus and Crete? Also for the first time, Paul did not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man but instead was to learn in quiet submission. What happened when Ephesian women turned away to follow Satan (5:15) had happened in Eden when Eve followed the temptation of Satan. Adam had been formed first, then Eve. God personally instructed Adam about the tree before Eve s creation, and Eve was deceived by Satan. Fortunately for the Ephesian women, this was not the end of the story. In 1 Timothy 2:12 and 15, while they had been deceived, they could now learn in quietness and continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. They were redeemable for God s purposes. The situation in Ephesus and Crete was precarious, but it was not hopeless. Paul moves to curb the troublemakers as Timothy and Titus choose reliable and godly people for leadership in this crisis situation. III. The normative church vs. the church in crisis In the letters of Paul, we see two models of church ministry. No church was perfect (as noted earlier), but most churches had the inner strength to deal with problems without external interference. On the other hand, a few churches needed a Timothy or a Titus to come in with a firm hand because the 9 of 12

10 congregations themselves were no longer capable of dealing with their problems. This does not mean that one or the other model is unbiblical or less important. It depends on the church, whether or not strong leadership imposed from the outside is necessary for renewal. Bilezikian notes an inverse relation between open congregational participation in ministry on the one hand, and heavy leadership structures that monopolized ministry on the other. Whenever allowance was made for congregational participation in ministry, the leadership structure receded into the background. However, whenever ministry opportunities were denied to the congregation or to segments of it, ministry was assumed by the leadership. In general, in the New Testament, leaders were not told to exercise authority over their flocks. People were told to obey them and submit to them, as well they should, but the leaders themselves were accountable (Hebrews 13:17). In fact, their leadership style was to be that of a servant, leading by example (1 Peter 5:1-4). But when we open the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus), we see leaders on center stage. They are prominent and they are dominant. Ministry in other churches was carried out according to each one s spiritual giftedness, but in churches in crisis, only the leaders do ministry. Timothy had his marching orders: Begin by silencing the false teachers (1:3). Then set up a ministry structure that would exclude from leadership all women and all men except those who were married with obedient and believing children. If in your reading of the first letter to Timothy you took note of false teachings and the controversies, you can feel Paul s alarm for a church that was headed to destruction. These false teachers were especially successful with women (5:13-15; 2 Timothy 3:6-8) who were always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth (2 Timothy 3:7). These women then were going about from house to house... saying things they ought not to (5:13). No wonder they are told to learn in a quiet spirit, and they cannot teach if they have not learned. The leadership model during this crisis was to take ministry away from most members and entrust it to carefully screened individuals, reliable men with gifts for teaching and management. Conclusion 10 of 12

11 It was Gilbert Bilezikian s book Community 101 that opened my eyes to the possibility that New Testament churches moved on a continuum between two opposite models, both biblical. I want to conclude this lecture-segment with an extended quote from that book: The normative model at one end of the continuum called for structures of ministry that were open, participatory, and based on spiritual gifts. The function of leaders was to equip and support congregation-based ministries.... Most of the New Testament churches tended to move in that direction. The other model was remedial. It is represented by the ministry structures of the Pastorals, which were highly selective and restricted exclusively to married men with obedient and believing children. The function of those leaders was to control an unruly congregation and to direct the affairs of the church in order to bring them back to order. This contingent model is in the Scriptures, and it may not be dismissed as an ancient cultural phenomenon that has no relevance for today. Any church that finds itself in a situation similar to the churches in Ephesus or Crete is duty-bound to abide by this model of church order.... Whenever a church faces a life-threatening crisis, access to ministry should be restricted to the bestqualified individuals. For sick churches, applying the contextspecific prescriptions of the remedial model may be their only hope to become healthy and to move, as did the Ephesian church, toward the normative model. Unfortunately, church situations may still occur today that require the institution of this religious equivalent of martial law (pp ). Is there room for women in church leadership? That depends on the church: Is it normative or is it in crisis? If women are barred from leadership on the basis of 1 Timothy 2:12, is the church consistent in also barring unmarried men, married men without children, or married men with children who are either disobedient or not walking in the Christian faith? We can t pick and choose which verses in the Bible we will apply and which we will ignore. Blog: Think about any churches in which you have participated in recent years. What were the issues in any one of those churches that church leaders needed to consider? Were any of these churches in a crisis state similar to the churches in Ephesus and Crete? If so, how did the leaders handle the situation? On the other hand, if the churches in which you 11 of 12

12 played any role in recent years were normative with broad participation in ministry, how did the church leaders lead? Make a few notes about your reflections. The single book that generated the material in this lecture is Gilbert Bilezikian s Community 101: Reclaiming the Local Church as Community of Oneness (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997). I highly recommend this book. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 12 of 12