Should Women Pastor Churches?

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Should Women Pastor Churches?

Apostolic Light Publishing
Published by H T Paul Davis in Ministry · 25 February 2019
Should women pastor churches?
 
This should not be so difficult for the Apostolic Woman who should by fact of the Holy Ghost baptism be able to understand the principles of headship (as in many scriptural references) and since they should already be walking in submission to their husbands or fathers, they should not have picked up the spirit of the world which is pushing feminism, women's lib, unisex  - all of this comes from the same spirit. And it is the same spirit that promotes women ruling their homes or ruling a church. After all that is why the qualification for elders includes home qualifications in I Timothy 3. One strong reason for women not pastoring - is that eldership includes a qualification for home leadership.   Though this may sound harsh, the reality is that the single parent home means that it is not in the proper balance and order that God intended. It does not mean that a single parent cannot have a good home, but it is not the model for the church. The fact that there are so many single parent homes reflects a world that is struggling with many tragedies of life. God never intended that this be a matter of course. There is a spirit that is destroying the home and this same spirit is responsible for feminism, unisex, abortion, divorce, homosexuality, and women in leadership. It is a spirit that should not exist in the church. In Isaiah 3:12, God condemned Israel for women ruling, and we see such a problem even in our government today.
 
I have heard many women pastors claim that the reason why they took the leadership role of the church was because there was no man to take the lead. According to I Peter 3:1 a woman is admonished to be in submission to even the husband out of place. When a woman pastors a church - she sends a signal to the other women in the church that if their husbands refuse to be the heads of their homes, they have the right to take over. After all, isn't that what she is doing when she tried to be a pastor, elder, bishop, or apostle. Now all that I have said only applies to women who want to be pastors, elders, bishops. The Bible clearly states that a woman may prophecy (that can even mean preach) providing they are covered (under submission). I Corinthians 11.
 
What about women preaching. Women can preach - because this is actually one of the forms of "prophesying" spoken of in I Cor 14 - for edification, exhortation, and comfort of men. 1 Cor 11 does state that woman may prophecy as long as they are under the covering (headship) of their husbands. Of course that begs the question of single women. The principle just simply applies to any woman in submission to proper headship and covering may "pray or prophecy".  However, it is important for women preachers to maintain a "meek and quiet spirit" in their preaching. A person can still be very anointed and not be boisterous or loud. But it is out of character for a woman when they begin to imitate the animation of men preachers. The anointing directs what a person says - not how they say it. I have seen many a good and anointed sermon ruined by the delivery of either men or women. When a woman does prophecy or preach - I believe her demeanor should be in keeping with the other characteristics laid out in scripture. (i.e. meek and quiet, without bold faced-ness / a little different that a bold heart) A woman therefore may have the anointing to "prophecy" (preach) but not the authority to rule (the job of eldership).  There are several scriptures dealing with women being silent in the church, not being permitted to teach men, but these are in fact in the context that deals with the subject of authority, not with the subject of ministry.  This important distinction should be understood in the light of the broader context of design where God intended an orderly distinction in the role of gender.  This is a very controversial topic in society, but the church needs to see in light of the many scriptures that plainly draw distinction between male and female.



Apostolic Light Publishing
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Phone: (407) 285-6644
Email: htpauldavis@apostoliclight.com



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