My family and I just returned from the Church of God General Assembly in Orlando Florida. As an Ordained Bishop, sitting and debating on the General Council floor is what I consider, part of my "job description." In the Church of God, all Ordained Bishops make up what we call the General Council. The General Council's task is to debate doctrine, interpret Scripture (in a judicial manner), and determine the course for our denomination. All Ordained Bishops who attend and are registered are allowed to speak and vote. Over the years, I have seen some very interesting issues arise on the General Council floor. However, this General Assembly will no doubt be one I remember for a long, long time!
This year, one of the items for discussion was whether or not we would remove the word "MALE" from the description of qualifications for Ordained Bishop. By doing this, we would then be opening up the possibility for women to obtain the credentialing of an Ordained Bishop and hold any positions that any other Ordained Bishop might hold. This includes sitting on the General Council floor and holding the position of Administrative Bishop over States/Regions in the Church of God (from here forward, referred to as the COG). I knew, as did every other person attending, that this would be a very "LIVELY" debate! The arguments were very passionate and ran very deep. However, I was asked by another Minister and a friend of mine that I went to college with, to write a paper detailing my view of women in ministry. So, in answer to that request, let me take a moment and share with you, the reader, my viewpoints on this matter and how I arrived at that viewpoint.
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First, I was and still am, in favor of women being Ordained Bishops. I am unashamedly Pentecostal! Pentecostal theology from its very inception was inclusive. The Azusa Street revival at the turn of the 20th century boasted the inclusiveness of all people, in race and in gender. This was quite a statement in the early 1900's. This was the unity that was in the Upper Room when the fire of the Holy Spirit first fell on the Day of Pentecost and it was the unity that was manifested at the Azusa Street Revival. Pentecostals adamantly believe in the "Priesthood of ALL Believers!" We also believe that the Gifts of the Spirit are distributed by the Lord as HE WILLS, regardless of race, socio-economic standings or gender. With all due respect towards my Brothers and Sisters in other theological persuasions, we in the Church of God are not Baptist nor Fundamentalist in our theology,.......... WE ARE PENTECOSTAL! As Pentecostals, we believe that ALL people can and will be used by the Lord, to advance His Kingdom! Remember the words of Luke in Acts 2:15-21.......
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
"In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Why then would there be ministers in the COG who could possibly be against women in ministry? Some, who have been fortunate enough to enjoy a formal education, have gotten that education from a "Baptist/Fundamental" theological perspective. For years, unfortunately, we as Pentecostals simply adhered to a Baptist/Fundamental theology and only "added" a chapter at the end of our theology on the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues. This has rendered many of our ministers with a type of theological confusion when it comes to a purely Pentecostal perspective on theology, and that serves true in regard to their views on women in ministry. The great news is that within the last few decades, Pentecost has been blessed with some of the finest Theologians in Christianity! We have also been able to successfully establish a conservative theology from a Pentecostal perspective. We no longer need to borrow from others, and then add an "addendum." Within historical Pentecostal theology, women have played a very instrumental role in the advancement and leadership of the Church. Women like Aimee Semple McPherson come to mind, who founded the Four Square Church in 1927, which is a Holiness/Pentecostal church. She built a church in Los Angeles California which seated 5,300 people! As the founder of this denomination, she not only functioned as a "Bishop" of the church, but certainly one could argue that she functioned within the office of an Apostle. She ignored the fact that many said that because she was a woman, she was unqualified to do what it is she did! The Lord's anointing was upon her, and out of her ministry the Four Square Church (which as of 2000) boasted over 8,000,000, with almost 60,000 churches in 144 countries was born. In 2006, the Four Square Church membership in the United States alone was 353,995 in 1,875 churches. Out of her leadership as a "Bishop" and "Apostle," the entire Pentecostal Church, and in fact all of Christianity, has been blessed by some who are part of this movement. For example, Jack Hayford, who served as the President of the Foursquare Church, and who has blessed untold millions of Pentecostals and non-Pentecostals alike is ministering among us because of a woman who refused to let unfounded non-Biblical ideology keep her from doing God's will!
Our Pentecostal history is one where men and women alike serve, minister, and lead shoulder to shoulder in ALL capacities. The 21st. century is ready for us Pentecostals to remember our heritage and visit it again!
Secondly, and this is purely a denominationally applicable point. We in the Church of God suffer from what I refer to as: "Theological Schizophrenia." We allow women to be Ordained and serve as Evangelists, Teachers, and even Pastors; but we will not allow them to sit on the General Council floor nor make any decisions regarding the very ministry God has called them to and we as a denomination have entrusted them with! They can endure all of the issues both good and bad, in the pastorate, BUT........ They can't have any say in the direction of their ministry or their church that they serve in. We recognize them as having the "Gift" of the Pastor; and we are ok with them being Pastors, BUT........ We don't want them to serve in positions where they might have leadership over men! My question is,....... “DO WE NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE GIFT OF THE PASTOR IS ALL ABOUT?” One would have to take a step DOWN from being a Pastor to be an Administrator conducting business over the denomination! As a denomination, we are saying YES and NO at the same time to women in ministry! Not only that, in our Minutes we state that the Pastor by default chairs the Church and Pastors Council, but until this Assembly, women could not be a member of the Church and Pastors Council. So, when we would appoint a woman as Pastor of a church, she would by default automatically CHAIR the very Council she could not be a member of as a women! THEOLOGICAL SCHIZOPHRENIA! As denomination, we desperately need to do some Theological housekeeping!
Third, Biblically there are NO restrictions for women serving as Pastors, nor in any other positions of leadership within the Body of Christ. Those in opposition to women serving in leadership capacities over men, site 1 Timothy 3:1 as their "proof" text to the prohibition of women in church leadership. However, upon proper exegesis, one can see that the NIV has accurately interpreted the word "MAN" used in the KJV as "ANYONE." The Greek word used here for man, is the word TIS, which is translated.... "ANYONE." Therefore, the NIV correctly interprets it when it states: "If ANYONE desires the office of an overseer." The word TIS in the Greek here is a general term similar to our English word "MANKIND." When we use the word MANKIND, we are certainly not saying ONLY the gender MALE and not FEMALE, but rather, ALL of humanity. The word TIS used here in 1 Timothy 3 is the word...... ANYONE. If ANYONE desires the office of an overseer (Bishop, Pastor, Elder) they desire a good thing. Ah but I can hear someone saying: "How about the statement that the bishop must be the husband of one wife?" Good question! When properly exegeted, we can see that the meaning of this verse is "marital fidelity." The Bishop must be in a committed MONOGAMOUS relationship of marriage to one wife at a time. In a world of polygamy, we can begin to see why that was a very important admonition and guideline.
"Some will point to the Apostle Paul's admonition to women in 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 where he says: "women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church."
However, in order to culturally and contextually understand these two verses, we have to do two things. 1) Back up and read verse 33 which says: "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints,..." And 2) We need to understand the specific setting Paul was writing to. So, how do we correctly interpret these verses? We need to understand that Jesus was the great "equalizer" of women, especially in this Oriental culture. Women sat on the opposite side of the church, and were used to being quiet and not being allowed to speak in the Temple. Now, Christ had saved them and brought equality to them. So, sitting on the opposite side of the church, and having very little knowledge of the things of God, the women would yell out questions to their husbands in the middle of the preaching. This served to not only interrupt the service, but also interrupt the flow of the Holy Spirit. Paul received a letter (or two) about this particular situation, and responded by telling the women that while they are in church, stop interrupting the service with asking questions about the message! He was instructing them to wait until they got home to ask their husbands any questions about the message they did not understand. Secondly, the application here is summed up in verse 33: "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace." The application here is not that women are not allowed to "speak" in church, as in the capacity of service as preachers/pastors or administrators, but rather that in the Body of Christ, there is to be Divine Order in the church service. God is a god of order, and in His Body, there is to be order in the worship service.
Fourth, one of the arguments that those who are in opposition to women serving in positions of leadership over men like to use, is the argument of "headship" within the home. Let's take a look at this argument from a Biblical perspective. We must understand that there are three Divine institutions that God has created and ordained. Within those institutions are functional principles and roles. The first institution God created was the family. The second institution was government. The third institution was the Church. These three institutions function independently of each other, yet complimentary of each other. The principles, roles, and responsibilities of these three institutions are different and separate from each other. For example, God gives the institution of the government the role and responsibility to establish and maintain civil order. They are also given the responsibility to punish evil and those who commit crime, even up to and including, capital punishment (I know that particular point is debatable, but we'll save that for another blog). However, what is important is, that God DOES NOT give the church nor the family the role, nor the responsibility for establishing and maintaining civil law and order within the communities they are in. That is the responsibility and role of the government not for the family nor the church! In the same understanding, the Lord NEVER gave the government the leadership gifting of: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. He NEVER refers to the institution of the government, nor the family as His "Bride." When the argument is used that God established "MALE HEADSHIP," they are making two very serious errors concerning the Divine Institutions God has ordained. First, God gave "headship" to the "HUSBAND" within the institution of the FAMILY alone! That headship includes mutual submission between the husband and the wife. The wife submits to the husband by respecting him and deferring the "deciding vote" on the major issues to the husband, as he follows the Lord and leads his family in following the Lord. The husband submits to his wife by loving her with the same sacrificial love that Christ had for the Church. These "roles" and "responsibilities" would be silly and unbiblical if they were superimposed upon the institution of the government! They are equally silly and unbiblical when they are superimposed upon the institution of the Church as well! Again, these divinely ordained institutions of God are separate and distinct from each other, with different and distinct roles and responsibilities. To give the Church the SAME roles and responsibilities as the FAMILY, is the same error that the Muslim faith engages in with Sharia Law, where ALL males may fulfill the role (and even to the extreme) of the husband. If we really consider this, and exegete Holy Scripture correctly instead of from our own subjective viewpoints, which too often are based upon learned ideas that are contrary to Pentecost and even greater, contrary to "rightly dividing the word of truth," then we MUST cease trying to interchangeably superimpose the distinct roles and responsibilities of each Divinely ordained institution upon each other!
Fifth, and probably most importantly, we are in the beginnings of the last great revival before the return of the Lord! This revival is being led and directed by the Holy Spirit, and He is pouring out His power and Gifting upon those who are willing to be used by Him, to the glory of Christ! As part of that, in the days and months ahead, we are going to see a return to the apostolic authority and power that once defined the Body of Christ! The power of the Holy Spirit has been "withheld" like a dam holds back a river, because we in the Body of Christ have "acted" like we did not need His power. What we have by our practice said to the Holy Spirit is: "You can sit this one out! We have done this long enough, and we know how to have church!" Actually, what we have done by our "attitude" and "actions," is to offend the Holy Spirit! Before we can EVER experience the power the Church was meant to "move and flow" in, we must apologize to the Holy Spirit for offending Him, confessing and repenting of our sins against Him! Then we must follow the admonition of the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:25 which says: "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." We must, in these end times before the prophesized return of the Lord, be very careful that we are "keeping in step with the Holy Spirit!" We must by the same Holy Spirit, "discern and turn" in the direction that the Holy Spirit is leading the Church, the Body of Christ! Our "old wine" just will NOT satisfy the needs of sinful mankind! Nor will the "new wine" of the move of the Holy Spirit be contained in our "old wineskins!" It is NOT the Holy Spirit who must keep in step with us, nor our "pet" ideologies and beliefs, no matter how spiritual and biblical we try to dress them up as! If change and realignment to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit's moving is to occur, it MUST be we, the Lord's Bride who changes and realigns! (By the way, isn't it interesting that the Lord uses both male and female terminology when describing His people? He uses words such as "MANKIND," or in reference to the Church, the "BRIDE?" WOW! ........... God used a FEMALE gender term to describe His Body the Church, which is made up of both men and women! This is the SAME way He used a MALE gender term to describe for both males and females, how good it is to desire the office of a Bishop!)
The Holy Spirit is moving! Revival is beginning! Actually, what we are beginning to experience is not merely revival, but........... REFORMATION! The LAST Great Reformation before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ! This IS the move of the Holy Spirit! Within this move of the Holy Spirit we are beginning to see, as previously mentioned, a return to apostolic authority and gifting. That means that we are seeing a resurgence of the leadership gifting of the Apostle and Prophet within the Body of Christ. And, we are also seeing that the Holy Spirit is gifting both MEN and WOMEN alike with the gifts of Apostle and Prophet not to mention, Pastor, Evangelist, and Teacher! Men and Women alike, whether anyone's theology agrees with it or not, are being called, commissioned, empowered, and released to serve in ALL leadership and ministry service positions within the Church, the precious Body of Christ!
In conclusion, it is time that we in Christ's Body, especially those of us within the segment known as Pentecostals, STOP segregating and dividing the Body based upon race, socio-economic standards, and of course,.............. gender as well! For you see, the Lord's body is ONE body, made up of Jew and Gentile, Male and Female, Slave and Free! It seems I read that somewhere in a sacred old book! It is time we return ourselves, our theology, and our practices back to THAT book, the Bible, making sure we "align" with it only. And that we also return to the God of that Book, and stop dividing, minimizing and limiting HIS Body! GOD BLESS YOU!
By Pastor Steve Gardner
