RIGHT OR WRONG? A woman as pastor

Posted: 3/17/06

RIGHT OR WRONG? A woman as pastor

Our Baptist congregation is more than 100 years old. We always have had men as pastors. Now, we are without a pastor and cannot find a man who will come to serve us. We have a young lady who recently made public her call to ministry. Is there any merit in considering her to fill the position of pastor for us?

Many individuals live their lives out of regret and remorse over decisions made long ago. They can see opportunity lost as a precious snowflake that lands upon the hand only to melt by the body’s warmth. Thus, life and ministry are truly gifts from the divine hand designed to reveal his grace and glory to his people. This is true in this particular congregational setting.

This congregation is in a unique position to perceive the divine hand at work. Therefore, the unmet pastoral need can be viewed via two factors: Is the divine still at work in the congregation? And how do we identify his working? The former question concerns the absence of a male minister to lead the congregation. Men historically have filled this role because of an obvious textual reading of the Scripture, but also because of the social and contextual restraints placed upon women in our ministry settings.

These restraints reflect the Apostle Paul’s description that women should not lead men and should remain silent in public. But these views are exegetically flawed; no one can build an adequate theological position based upon isolated texts. Paul also speaks of those “women who labor with me” in the gospel (see Philippians 4). The Bible itself provides insight into this and many exegetically sound approaches to biblical interpretation. Thus the second question, “How do we identify the divine working?”

The Lord declares in John 5:17, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” Jesus is responding contextually to the religious leaders who persecuted him for healing a man on the Sabbath day. The religious leaders sought to uphold their socially conditioned theological view as opposed to helping a man in need. Isn’t it interesting how we sometimes get in the way of the divine plan and purpose? The Father is about healing, but they wanted to focus on upholding a religious standard.

So, too, in our case today. The Lord has given this church an opportunity to move beyond a social stigma and embrace a divine moment in its 100-year history. This opportunity is a gift! Just as churches often embrace young men who declare/announce their call to the ministry, so should this congregation embrace this young lady. She is gifted equally by the same Spirit to glorify the Lord in her life and possibly in this ministry setting.

Yes, the divine is broader than our social, contextual understanding, and he is doing greater things in our midst than we can see. Our challenge is to respond in faith to the divine leading as he reveals his glory in us. Paul thus concludes: “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. So that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened you may know the hope to which you have been called; the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the believers; and the exceeding greatness of his power to us who believe.”

Kelvin Kelly,

minister to young couples and young people,

Abilene

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.