Women in the Corrections Chaplaincy: How Societal Pressures are Working Against Biblical Standards in US Prisons

Should women serve as chaplains of corrections facilities (jails and prisons)? In addressing this question, it is important to remember the changed social climate that has pressed such a question on the church and the state. As a result of the women's movement in America and other trends in society, women in the workplace are commonplace today, including women in top executive positions or supervisory positions over men. This raises the question why women should be denied in the church a privilege they have been granted in the marketplace, that is, that of being placed in positions of authority over men.

Following The World's Lead

Indeed, American society has fully embraced an egalitarian philosophy, and many churches and ministry organizations are eager to follow suit. What needs to be kept in mind, however, is that it is dangerous to allow the world to set the church's agenda. Thus some see in the recent advances of so-called "biblical feminism" and egalitarianism in the church a troubling sign. As Harold O. J. Brown states, "What is at issue is not merely a revolt against the traditional stereotyping of sexual roles. The revolt is a symptom of a very deep and strong resistance to the concepts of both authority and reality."¹

Women In The Corrections Chaplaincy

The above-mentioned trends are also affecting the corrections chaplaincy. For instance, in 1993 there were four female chaplains in Florida State Prisons, two of which were senior chaplains of their facility. In 1996 there are eleven female chaplains, three of which are senior chaplains at their facility. Thus, in three short years, the number of female chaplains has increased by nearly 200 percent.²

In dealing with the question of whether women should serve as chaplains of corrections facilities or not, it must be remembered that the position of corrections chaplain is one of spiritual authority. Although the chaplain is not technically the facility's pastor, the inmates and staff view him as such. The chaplain is called to preach and teach God's Word. He is called to counsel with men (counseling with women is best done by mature Christian women volunteers). And he is called to represent the ministry in the community and from the pulpits of local churches. Hence, the chaplain functions much as a pastor or elder.

The chaplain should therefore meet the qualifications of pastor or elder as stated in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. One of these qualifications is that he be a man. For it is the nature and purpose of a Christian leadership role that determine the scriptural qualifications for that role. This holds true even if the role is performed outside the walls of the church.

Hence, what the chaplain does and how the facility views his role determine before God what the qualifications are to be for that position.

Thus the chaplain must be a man in order to reflect the order God has established for Christian leadership both inside and outside the walls of the church.

Related Questions

Should a woman serve as assistant chaplain under a male senior chaplain? Some would answer that as long as a woman chaplain ministers primarily to the women in the facility she should be welcomed into this ministerial role. Yet to argue thus is equivalent to granting that a woman can be the pastor or associate pastor of a church as long as she ministers primarily to the women in the church. God makes no such distinction in his Word. The pastoral role is simply reserved for men (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:6-9). When a woman serves as the assistant chaplain, the facility views her as the egalitarian counterpart to the male chaplain. Thus, if the male chaplain is busy or absent, the facility looks to the female assistant chaplain to function in all respects as the male chaplain does.

May a female senior chaplain serve in an all-female facility? Even in this case there are male staff and support personnel who look to the chaplain for spiritual counsel and instruction. There are husbands and boyfriends of inmates who look to the chaplain for help. The chaplain is called at times to conduct marital and premarital counseling. Hence, in these cases the female chaplain's duties are simply not confined to ministry to women. She is viewed by the facility as the chaplain, in the true present-day egalitarian sense. She is not just the chaplain to women-she is the chaplain. Does this therefore reflect God's order for Christian leadership?

Conclusion

Women can and should have a strong and vital role in ministering to women in jails and prisons, but not from an official position as facility chaplain. As Raymond C. Ortlund, Jr. states, "A man, just by virtue of his manhood, is called to lead for God. A woman, just by virtue of her womanhood, is called to help for God."³ The position of corrections chaplain is one of spiritual leadership and thus is suited for a man. Nevertheless, there are ways for women to minister that conform to God's Word rather than the world's standards. They may help the chaplain in many ways. They may serve as volunteers to teach and counsel women inmates. They may lead women's Bible studies. They may grade Bible lessons. They may pray for the inmates and the ministry. They may help with special gatherings. They may serve as spokeswomen in the community. But all these things must be done in such a way that the inmates, administration, and the community will not construe women helpers to be the female equivalent of the male chaplain.

If God's order is followed in the corrections ministry, it will bring honor to God and be a witness to a world that largely fails to acknowledge male-female role distinctions. Men and women are indeed assigned different roles in ministry, and the church must be careful to respect and apply scriptural principles in appointing individuals to particular ministry positions.