Most Christians think that women are oppressed, and their rights denied when limits are put on their roles in the church. This has led to the cropping of great challenges between complementarians and egalitarians on the limitation of women’s leadership roles. For instance, many women in the current churches fight for the post of pastor despite its support from the holy book as men oriented (1Tim 2:11-15 & 1 Cor 14:34-35).
According to complementarians, all men and women were created identically in God’s likeness. However, God gave them different responsibilities in both places of worship and home. The complementarians believe in men’s responsibility of mirroring God as loving, intelligent, defensive and omniscient. According to complementarians, there are important dissimilarities between women and men that dictate their roles.
Rom 16:1 and Rom 16:7 support egalitarians’ belief in equality. The two verses outline the contributions of women. They also advocate for fifty-fifty power-sharing. Egalitarians disagree with men’s supremacy by arguing that God created both men and women equally in His image and awarded them equal responsibilities.
According to egalitarians, roles in the church are not based on gender observance (Gal 3:28), and at the same time, marriages are based on agreements and negotiations and not headship. They consider male exclusiveness in leadership as an abuse of power.
The offices of deacons and elders are very distinct in the New Testament. In 1 Tim 3:2, the term elder is used to refer to a man. The verse also outlines a good following of God’s teaching, monogamy, hospitality, blameless and vigilance as the qualities of an elder. A man seeking the post of eldership must have good leadership qualities in his own home; this is because of broadness in church supervision.
The word deacon, on the other side, means servant. A deacon serves as a subordinate of the church elder. Biblically, for one to become a deacon, he or she must have the ability to serve God in spiritual ways. In addition, one opts to be gifted with the evangelism capability (Acts 8:5-7). A deacon should have true aspects of Christianity life, full of truth and spirit of administering the word of God (Acts 6:9).
I view women’s leadership in church differently and take it negatively. This is because politics is finding its way into God’s holy place. Currently, women movements, the quest for equality in every field, including in the church, whereas the Bible clearly explains the importance of women’s submissiveness (1Tim. 2:12). Women are supposed to give their views to men and not lead them (1 Cor. 14:34-35). However, the majority of my friends call for equality and a sense of recognition for women in the church, which I think to be politics-oriented.
The rules outlined in the Bible on how women are supposed to live in society are highly neglected in their daily lives. Women currently are not subjective to their husbands. They emphasize equality even in decision-making.
Although the Bible calls for women’s submissiveness, they have some roles in the church. Older women are supposed to teach young women good conduct and ways of the church (Titus 2:3-4). It is also the responsibility of women to teach children good morals.
In conclusion, it is the responsibility of women to teach children good morals, and at the same time, they are supposed to respect and listen to their husbands. Women are also supposed to stop fighting for men’s posts in church and instead give their views on what they expect.
Bibliography
Towns Towns. Theology for Today. New York: Wadsworth Incorporated Fulfillment, 2001.
Elwell, Walter. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Baker City: Baker Academic, 2001.
Enns, Paul. The Moody Handbook of Theology. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2008.