Last year, when our church was appointing elders, the question was raised whether or not women could be elders at NewLife.  Historically, our church has only allowed men to be considered for the role of pastor or elder.  In this decision, we have stood with many other evangelical churches in how we have interpreted the Biblical texts about church leadership.  Last year, however, the elders wisely decided that this interpretation was worth a closer look, and as a result I will be preaching through a series on what the Bible really says about men and women beginning the week after Easter.  My hope is to deal with not only gender roles in church, but the role of a husband and wife in marriage, as well as anything else the Bible has to say about gender roles. 

The issue of women in church leadership (pastor or elder) has rightly been considered a “secondary issue” in inter-church relations by most Christians (as opposed to primary issues such as the divinity of Jesus or the Trinity).  In other words, believing Christians have differed on this issue over time, and therefore it is not worth dividing over.  However, it is also true that this is hardly a secondary issue for any woman who feels called to the ministry but finds most doors shut, nor for a congregant who feels that the church leadership is lacking some feminine qualities that might improve the functioning of the church.  For these reasons, the topic is certainly worth some careful study and discussion so that our church might be in line with God’s will. 

Our belief as a church is that the Bible is authoritative for faith and practice.  In other words, we believe that the Bible is God’s Word, and therefore should be the measure we use in how we live and what we believe.  Certainly there are plenty of churches and Christians that do not hold such a view of the Bible, and as a result are free to believe and decide whatever they wish regarding issues such as women in leadership.  But our church’s hope is to do our best to understand the Bible in the context in which it was written and then to apply it to our world today.  Unfortunately, this can be a very difficult task, given the different language and cultural situation.  For instance, how would you apply passages such as the following to today’s world?

1 Corinthians 11:4-5 - Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.  And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head– it is just as though her head were shaved.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 - A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.

As you can see, anyone who wishes to treat the Bible as authoritative for faith and practice needs to do a careful job of understanding the passage in its context and applying it appropriately to today’s world.  Otherwise you’ll wind up with a church full of angry women in head coverings staring at you in stony silence.

As I spend time studying gender issues and the church, I am considering ending the series on men and women by dealing with what the Bible has to say about homosexuality.  This is certainly one of the most complicated and difficult issues the church is facing today, and the gay community is a population that the church has largely failed to love as Jesus would have.  If I believe that I can do justice to the complexity of this issue as well as to what the Bible says, then I will preach on it.  Please pray for me as I attempt to do all of this in the spirit of Jesus.

Here’s how you can help me as I prepare.  I am sure that many of you must have questions about gender roles, women and men in the church, and homosexuality that you would love some answers or at least some fruitful discussion about.  Please do me a favor and post a comment with the questions you would like me to address in this series (you can do it anonymously if you wish).  Or, if you have no questions and all the answers, you can take a look at some of the questions I am currently wrestling with as I study this issue:

Questions about the Biblical role of men & women:

- Can women be pastors?  Elders?  Can they preach?  Have authority over men in a church?  Speak in church? 
- What has been the church’s history on women in church leadership?  Does that impact our understanding of God’s will?
- Can a woman have authority over a man in a workplace?  What about in their home?
- Which passages do you interpret universally (applying to everyone everywhere at every time), and which ones are culturally bound (specific to the writer’s locale), and why?
- What does Paul mean when he says that in Christ there is neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28)?
- What does it mean that men are the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23)?
- What does it mean for a wife to submit to her husband (Ephesians 5:24)?  When is it correct not to submit or to challenge a husband’s leadership?

Questions about Christianity, the Bible, and homosexuality:

- Which passages about homosexuality do you interpret universally, and which ones are culturally bound, and why?
- Does the Bible ever speak about mutually loving, committed homosexual relationships?
- Christians throughout history have reversed their stance on issues like slavery, interracial marriage, and the role of women; could they be wrong on this issue as well?  If there is even a chance we could be wrong, how should that affect the way we handle this issue?
- Did Jesus ever speak to sexuality and gender?
- If Jesus were on earth today, would he even speak to “the issue of homosexuality”?  Or would he stick to ministry to individuals?

If homosexual behavior is against God’s will, then…

- What are the options for a gay person who concludes that homosexual behavior is against God’s will?
- If someone is in a loving relationship with a member of the same sex but they are not sexually active, is this against God’s will?
- How do you teach that homosexual behavior is against God’s will without damaging the psyche and faith of countless of people who question their sexuality?
- How do you convince a gay person that God loves them and is worthy of worship if He will not allow them to experience a loving, committed relationship to the person they love, simply because he is the same sex?
- If the Bible only speaks to homosexuality specifically about four times, should we devote so much attention to it?
- Where does homosexual behavior rank in the hierarchy of sins?  Is there such a thing as a hierarchy of sins?
- Can an active (not celibate) homosexual be a pastor?  An elder?  A member of the church?  Teach Sunday School?  Sing on the worship team???
- If you answer no to any of the above questions, are there other sins that need to be “screened for” as well in other people (e.g. greed, gluttony, bigotry)?
- Is there a middle ground between “open and affirming” and “closed and condemning”?
- Do you “legislate morality” by trying to make your beliefs part of the national law (i.e. not allowing gay marriage)?  Or should you advocate for gay marriage or civil unions in the name of justice and equality for all?  Or should Christians avoid the political aspect of this issue altogether?
- How do you fight unjust oppression and bigotry done to homosexuals while still not condoning their sexual choices?

If homosexual behavior is not against God’s will, then…

- How do you support that Biblically?
- How does the church need to respond to gay people and gay marriage?  Do these become justice issues which the church needs to be involved with?

The above questions only scratch the surface of the complexity of this issue for a church or Christian that is genuinely committed to both submitting to the truth of God and displaying the love of Jesus.  Again, I encourage you that if you have other questions or thoughts, please post a comment so that I might deal with these issues in all their complexity.  Pray for me as I attempt to understand and communicate God’s heart, but more importantly, pray for everyone who is struggling to figure out how to live out their gender and sexuality in the light of God.

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