What Is the Role of Women in Today’s Church Leadership?
Wrestling with Culture and Scripture
Our culture is changing rapidly. One major shift is around gender equality. In most Christian circles, we try to hold a clear distinction between men and women in ministry, but Western culture keeps blurring those lines. Unfortunately, many churches are quietly following suit, adjusting conviction to match culture.
Recently, a major evangelical denomination voted to allow female pastors. To most of the secular world, that’s not news. Even many mainline churches see it as normal. But within conservative evangelical circles, the conversation has reignited deep debate; especially across regions with differing convictions.
So who’s right? Who’s wrong? And who decides?
What Does Scripture Say About Authority?
From a conservative biblical view, the question often raised is, “What about the passages on women submitting to male authority?” Whether or not we like the question, it’s still valid.
In 1 Peter 3:1–7, Peter writes:
“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands… let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit… Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
Out of conviction and belief in the authority of Scripture, I hold to passages like this that emphasize male leadership in the home and church. At the same time, I understand how difficult these verses can sound to those outside the faith, or even to new believers trying to reconcile biblical order with cultural equality.
The Tension Between Conviction and Compassion
Imagine being a new Christian woman reading these verses for the first time. It could feel confusing, maybe even offensive. Western culture has worked hard to erase gender distinction, while Scripture unapologetically preserves it.
The temptation for churches is to soften or skip passages like this to make people feel more comfortable. But we can’t pick and choose Scripture based on what’s trending. God’s Word doesn’t bend with the culture. And yet, the way we teach and live these truths must reflect the heart of Christ: truth with grace, conviction with compassion.
Understanding “Weaker Vessel”
Peter calls women the “weaker vessel” (1 Peter 3:7). That phrase sounds jarring today, but context matters. Peter isn’t speaking about value or worth. He simply recognizes the physical reality that men and women are equal heirs of God’s grace, but they are not identical in design.
The question I continue to wrestle with is where that weakness lies. Is it physical only, or also emotional and spiritual? I don’t see Scriptures that demean women in any way, but instead, dignify them through clarity of purpose and design.
The challenge for us who lead local churches (in a culture removing gender distinctions) is to hold both truth and tenderness, especially in leadership conversations.
Finding the Balance
So how do we apply all this to leadership today? I believe the healthiest churches allow women to lead and serve in significant ministry roles (teaching, discipling, counselling, organizing) under the spiritual oversight of qualified male elders/overseers as defined in Scripture.
That’s the heart of Complementarian leadership: equal worth, different roles, unified mission.
The Church thrives when men and women each live out their God-given design for His glory and the good of others.
Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts
- How can churches uphold biblical order while showing grace in leadership discussions?
- What has helped you personally reconcile cultural equality with biblical design?
- How can both men and women reflect God’s image through servant leadership in the church?
I don’t want to research it or do a paper on it .. that’s you young men’s job … but I feel that much of our church attitude toward women in leadership has nothing to do with scriptural teaching at all but is rooted in pre-victorian, even dark ages mentality that women were worth less than cattle … they had no vote, they had no say and they had no influence in any part of their life. Scripture I believe puts a very high value on women in leadership … I challenge those who still feel women should be seen and not heard to do two things … honestly look at scripture, especially the old testament where women were even used by God to provide leadership to Kings … even to the point of delivering direct revelation to them , direct instruction from God (leadership) and secondly, if you feel women should not be in leadership in the church then recall from the field all the single women missionaries who are planting and growing and pastoring churches all over the world…… look forward to your response
Thanks for your comment Dave. I struggle a lot with the concept of female leadership. I have experienced elders and pastors making decisions without consulting any females to see their perspective. I believe this is an error that has led to many errors that could have been prevented.
Yet, when I try to go down the mental-road of women in elder and pastor roles; Scripture gets in the way for me. If I were to dismiss the passages that state male authority in the home and the church, I would have to dismiss other teachings that would be detrimental to the church as a whole.
So, on one hand, I see the place where female leadership is beneficial; but I get nervous about where it would eventually lead us in regards to the inherency of the Bible.
Thanks again for your comment and support!
Considering the topic I find it somewhat humorous that only males have shared on this topic. So, as a women gifted with leadership, I can tell you there is nothing less discouraging than reading 1 Timothy 2: 11-15. I struggles with this contradiction in my life literally on a daily basis; and yet lack the knowledge and understanding to fully grasp scripture. So most often I am left with the advice a close friend and mentor of mine gave me several years ago. “Love the Lord God with all your heard, soul, mind and strength…. and do what the heck you want!”
I constantly find myself in mental debates of what submission looks like, what was the original audience of these type of texts, what is the intended meaning, what does this mean for my life on this side of heaven, what does this mean for my relationship with Christ, and how do I live a life of submission, but then I simply try to rest in Christ and remember that we are all called to lives of peace and quiet humility (James 3:13-18) in submission to Christ. There is a ton I still have to learn about my place in the world, just who Christ wants me to be, and where He wants me to go, but for now I find peace in loving and serving an awe-some God and do my best to follow scripture each day. If you are truly loving God and living scripture, the rest will work itself out.
Thanks for your all of your thoughts, I always find it interesting reading peoples opinions on this topic in particular.
Thanks Morgan. Regardless of any struggle with authority roles, I think you’re on the right track. Those people who neglect their daily experiences with God, lack the connection with the Spirit that is needed for discernment.
In my life, I seem to have very little struggle following women who don’t need to force their authority. Alternately, I have met women who seem to have an axe to grind and feel the need to constantly remind me of our leadership equality. Personally, I have no desire to follow any kind of leader who has to convince me of their leadership, regardless of gender.
You have been given leadership abilities for a reason. Just remember to let your abilities prove that leadership. Save the convincing for God, since He’ll be the one giving you the opportunities in the first place.
Thanks again,
Jeremy
Reblogged this on Found and commented:
As a women gifted with leadership, I can tell you there is nothing less discouraging than reading 1 Timothy 2: 11-15 that states the submissive roles women are to hace. I struggles with this contradiction in my life literally on a daily basis; and yet lack the knowledge and understanding to fully grasp scripture. So most often I am left with the advice a close friend and mentor of mine gave me several years ago. “Love the Lord God with all your heard, soul, mind and strength…. and do what the heck you want!”
I constantly find myself in mental debates of what submission looks like, what was the original audience of these type of texts, what is the intended meaning, what does this mean for my life on this side of heaven, what does this mean for my relationship with Christ, and how do I live a life of submission, but then I simply try to rest in Christ and remember that we are all called to lives of peace and quiet humility (James 3:13-18) in submission to Christ. There is a ton I still have to learn about my place in the world, just who Christ wants me to be, and where He wants me to go, but for now I find peace in loving and serving an awe-some God and do my best to follow scripture each day. If you are truly loving God and living scripture, the rest will work itself out.
The following is a post by a friend of mine on the topic of women in leadership, what do you think?
I believe women bring much needed compassion,empathy, and understanding to the Body of Christ. The more obvious areas are working with children, single mothers and so on, but women also have a way of making us men stop and think again before making decisions from a male perspective only. I believe those scripture passages that the new female christian believer would find difficult to accept are to be received as God’s truth, yet fully taking into account exhortations such as ” Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself for her….”
Thanks for your insight Chris. Your thoughts regarding men seeking a women’s perspective before making a decision is key. I have talked with numerous men who pitch every idea to their wives before it ever hits a board room table. If we do it informally, why not formally? Thanks for supporting LeadBiblically.com.
Wow. Dare I ‘weigh in’ on this one? Just for the sake of one more perspective perhaps. For me this issue has been an ongoing journey. I agree with your Scriptural concerns wholeheartedly. As a Baby Boomer raised in a non-Christian environment and a more or less female dominated household, it was hard for me to accept some of the seemingly harsh passages in the Bible that seemed to exclude women from leadership roles in the Church.
That was when I was younger and less experienced in Church ministry and leadership roles myself. Through my involvement in Men’s ministry over the years as well as having been a deacon and (technically) filling an elder’s role as well in the past, I have come to see two things that move me to endorse Paul’s (and other) teaching on the matter. The first is when, during a church leadership crisis some years ago, the women in our own congregation were crying where are the men to lead us? The second is in reading several Christian authors noting the crisis of male abdication of responsibility both in the Church and the home in past 60 to 70 years especially.
Having said that, I do agree with Dave’s comments that there has often been an imbalance in the way women have been treated in both society and the Church throughout history. I think that what God has shown us in His Word is that indeed women were created both equal and yet to be in submission in a way quite similar to what we see within the Triinity itself. It’s clear (for those who believe in the Deity of Christ) that Jesus is co-equal with God the Father in essence, yet He Himself made it clear that He is still the Son and, as the Son, in subjection to the Father at all times.
So what does this mean for women in leadership? We are at a critical crossroads in this area (as with a number of others) where society is diverging more and more from the Biblical worldview. I believe the Word is clear that women may serve as deaconesses in the church but not as elders. Argue as we may against this that is scripturally quite clear in my mind. But that does not exclude them from many other areas of leadership. Obviously one is to learn from and to honor one’s mother as much as one’s father. Can she then be a teacher of children (who eventually grow to become adults)? Of course.
Women are also shown to have been judges (at least in Deborah’s case). Also prophetesses in both Testaments. We are never told that it was wrong for the Queen of Sheba to be a Queen. Indeed there are countless examples that can be found throughout Scripture of women’s godly influence and leadership. The key, I believe lies in looking carefully at each of these and noting that often (if not always) there is to be an element of submission / subjection to some form of male eldership or leadership. This seems to be especially true in the area of Spiritual leadership. Hence there was never a female Hight Priest (or even priestesses) yet women we are told did serve at the tabernacle at least and, apparently even as temple servants.
Nor are we given the example of female elder / shepherds (pastors) in the New Testament. If I understand correctly this matter in terms of Paul’s statement regarding not ‘suffer[ing] a woman to teach or usurp authority over a man’, I believe, again, it is simply a matter of subjection (in a positive sense; not subservience). That is, she is not to teach a man / men in a general sense but that does not mean she cannot teach at all or hold a leadership role (eg. deaconness for example) in the church. Working this out in terms of paid ministry, I tend to agree with those churches that have hired women to be on staff say in the role of an Christian Ed director or perhaps head of women’s or even family ministries. These I could see as working under what could be called a deasonness role.
Even as far as teaching goes, I think some women have shown themselves to be favored by God in this role so long as they were openly and clearly doing so under the auspices of male leadership. Two examples which come to mind are Anne Grahm Lotz and Joy Dawson (the latter was a long time teacher with YWAM in the 70’s & 80’s). Both, so far as I know held themselves to under the authority of male leaders even within their given ministries.
The only proviso I would make regarding leadership in the church is that I do not believe God gives us leave in His word to appoint women to be elders in the church and hence to hold such a position as say a pastor’s role or at least as the lead pastor. That, to my mind, would be putting her in authority both over her husband (assuming she’s married & he attends the same church) as well as the other elders and the deacons, etc. This, I think, is where God, for His own good reasons (which we may never fully understand this side of heaven) has drawn the line.
So, as far as the new female (or male for that matter) believer coming into the Church from our increasingly non-Christian culture goes. While I would never want to set up any unnecessary or arbitrary barrier to them feeling at home in the family of God, I believe this is one area in which we need to be very, very careful not to compromise the Word simply in order to make the Gospel / Church more amenable. Let’s face the fact that we can never make the Gospel 100% attractive to the World, otherwise it ceases to be the Gospel. Paul speaks of the offense of the Gospel for a specific reason. That offense includes our holding even to the culturally unacceptable (ie. different) aspects that arise when you adopt a lifestyle consistent with what Jesus taught. Whether you are talking about the role of women in society today or matters related to dress, sexual orientation, pornography or whatever; those who choose to follow Christ will always be called to be counter-cultural to a greater or lesser degree.
That is my take on this one, at least. Hopefully, if you’ve had the patience to read through it all, it’s turned out to be a little helpful at least.
Thanks for your thoughts Don! Although, your content seems to be a blog post in itself. Not putting it down at all. Just stating that if you haven’t started blogging yet, you should. This is good stuff!
I specifically like two statements that your comment carried: (1) We are at a critical crossroads in this area (as with a number of others) where society is diverging more and more from the Biblical worldview. (2) Let’s face the fact that we can never make the Gospel 100% attractive to the World, otherwise it ceases to be the Gospel.
Thanks again Don, for your support!
Jeremy