Research Topic
The focus of this paper is the role of the women in the ministry, with a comparison between the past and present roles
Thesis Statement
This paper will argue that women’s role in the ministry has been prominent in the past, and presently they can occupy leading and teaching roles as strong believers.
Outline
- Introduction[1] (1 page)
The issue of role of women in the ministry especially in relation to the bible has been among the most contentious and volatile issues faced by the contemporary church. Cultural differences during the early periods of the church tended to relegate the role of women to the backbench even though some were actively involved in leading and serving. It has been acknowledged that Jesus treated women in a way that radically broke with the cultural tradition of the Jews at the time. Jesus overlooked custom and allowed women to be his followers.
Women’s response to Christianity was very strong as the religion spread across the world and their roles changed according to places and time. They have played a big role in defending religious rights, serving humanity and spreading the Gospel through such services. While women in the early church worked alongside men, their role has seen significant changes as the influence of gender and general society undergoes great alteration.
- Overview of the role of women
The role of women in the Bible has brought about tortuous and volatile issues in the contemporary church especially due first century cultural differences and the different Greek words interpretation on which important texts related to the issues are has intensified the debate. After examining relevant texts, a person will be hard-pressed to deny some kind of hierarchical order but the extent to which women in contemporary church should be led by men is quite debatable.
Churches in which women have been ordained as ministers have experienced significant division within their ranks especially in the mainstream churches. The opposition to women ordination has consolidated its stance to the point of threatening to withdraw from their churches or denomination, while the proponents have called out the alleged discrimination against women more so those who have been ordained. The debate on the roles of women in the ministry can largely be attributed to the increasing awareness of their social roles and changing life-span and the feminist movement influence. More women in western countries are increasingly working alongside men in various leadership positions and careers such as doctors, judges or even theology professors.
The emphasis on women to take up more roles in church leadership and be ordained has mostly come from feminist movements who are Christians and these arose after the 1960s liberation movement. While seeking for biblical answers to issues of women roles and ordination, a large number of writers and church leaders have deliberately or ignorantly been influenced by pressure from secular feminists. The tendency has been a re-interpretation of the Bible in a manner that it aligns with the prevailing views of women roles in the society held by feminists. However , moving away from personal views allows the prevention of such tendencies and approach the subject to be approached with a focus on scripture, humility towards those with divergent views and being sensitive to felt emotions that can come with such an understanding. This will allow for civility and prevention of divisiveness that can hinder Unity in Christ.
Jesus and women in the Bible
Women are mentioned in the scripture as they participate in various historical events, opportunities and situations from participation of Sarah in God’s promise to Abraham to Jesus’ mother, Mary. It is clearly indicated that there was a Godly intervention for women to be involved in the accomplishment of the divine historical purpose. The Gospels mention women as having followed Jesus, accepted Him and even supported the entire ministry. In addition to Mary is the Samaritan woman depicts the role women can play in witnessing for Christ, after she realized that Jesus was a Rabbi, prophet and the Messiah. Jesus revelation to her drove her missionary spirit and many Samaritans believe, and her mission was accepted[2].
Other women are also reported to have followed Jesus such as Mary Magdalene, Juana and Susana. These women joined the disciples in following Jesus and even though they were not inside the circle, they “were helping to support them out of their own means” Luke 8:3. Luke appears to highlighting the Gospel was as much important to women as was for men and thus, their role had to be underlined. These women’s commitment was significant in contributing towards the mission of Jesus and the disciples. It appears that women continued to be supportive of Jesus ministry until His final days and also were witness to the Crucifixion and resurrection.
Women in Early church
The basis of most Paul’s teaching on women and the ministry focuses on Genesis 1-3 creation account even though both man and woman were equal at this period. The harmony between the two was damaged by their sin and the resulting curse. The Pauline Epistles largely pays tribute to the effort demonstrated by women especially in offering support to the ministry. For instance, more than half of all people commended in the book of Romans are women and some like Tryphena, Persis, Mary and Tryphosa are recognized as hard workers in the ministry[3]. While Paul attributes authority to the man, he emphasizes on the interdependence of the both especially in Church and at home but both are from God. While Paul appears to contradict this notion by calling for silence and submission of women, it is likely that wives were criticizing prophesies from husbands in public and thus causing dissension. Some scholars attribute Paul’s position to the possibility that women were asking irrelevant questions or sounded uneducated. Therefore, it is unlikely that Paul was preventing women from taking up roles in the church or leading[4].
In the early church, women mostly participated when given a chance and they worked alongside men as per the divine order. However, women were attracted to the faith because it gave them self-identity as believers. They became aware of what was required of them as believers, had to find ways of appealing to the masses and they understood that they could only depend on God for knowledge and the Bible to teach and offer instructions to others especially men. Their leadership role rapidly emerged as point of debate and controversy among the believing churches. However, they played a significant role among the Christian communities during the early centuries in comparison to the broader social context. Their spiritual zeal exploded into provision of social services so that they helped privately in organizations.
Role of women in ministry today
The past spiritual zeal and commitment of women in the ministry demonstrated in the early church continued to be manifested in later years, even though it appears to have subsided in the mid-centuries. Women undertook various roles such as deaconesses but their role expanded so that occupied more influential positions in the church as the population of men believers declined in some counties. In protestant churches, women played a big role in countries such as Soviet Union where they led the church in absence of men and stood their ground in fighting for religious freedom or liberty.
Women’s role in the ministry todays is quite significant and is based on their understanding of their higher calling to spread the gospel and provide noble social services to those in need. Even where women are not ordained as pastors or other clergies, their role cannot be underestimated. Women have been given invaluable and unique gifts that they can use in ministries which are important to the society and growth of private family and the church at large[5]. Restricting their roles to their home impoverishes the church’s spiritual life and deprive the humanity the caring services that women can provide.
Conclusion
While the issue women role in the ministry has given rise to much debate and contention, past and present evidence shows that their contribution to the growth of the church family cannot be overstated.
Special gifts have been bestowed to them that can greatly help the church in accomplishing the purpose intended by God.
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[2] English, Jennifer A. "Which Woman? Reimagining the Woman Who Anoints Jesus in Luke 7: 36-50." CurTM 39, no. 6 (2012): 435-441.
[3] Johnson, Lee A. "Women and Glossolalia in Pauline Communities." Biblical Interpretation 21, no. 2 (2013): 196-214.
[4] Marshall, Jill E. "The Recovery of Paul's Female Colleagues in Nineteenth-century Feminist Biblical Interpretation." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 33, no. 2 (2017): 21-36.
[5] Warner, Shawna, Leanne M. Dzubinski, Sarah Wood, and Colleen Martin. "Justice meets justification: Women’s need for holistic ministry in world mission." Missiology 45, no. 1 (2017): 67-87.
