Overview of Two Views on Women in Ministry

Two Views of Women in Ministry, edited by James Beck and Craig Blomberg, features essays by egalitarian scholars Craig Keener and Linda Belleville and complementarian scholars Thomas Schreiner and Ann Bowman. The editors introduce the book with the conviction that while the evangelical church has not yet arrived at a clear-cut consensus, when the debate is conducted with integrity and a generous spirit, the church can only benefit. Beck and Blomberg offer reflections on both the egalitarian essays and complementarian essays, followed by some concluding thoughts. Blomberg also provides, as an appendix, an essay on gender roles in Paul, written for another volume.

The following presents a summary of the argumentation and positions that the contributors offer in this book. No critique is offered; rather summary statements within each section are meant to reflect the author's own position and perspective.

Craig S. Keener (Egalitarian)

To Keener, the reason believers hold different views on the issue of women in ministry is because "different passages, taken by themselves, seem to point in different directions" (27). For example, different passages permit women's ministry under "normal circumstances" while others prohibit it only under "exceptional circumstances" (29). He argues the one biblical passage that prohibits women from teaching "is addressed to the one church where we specifically know that false teachers were effectively targeting women" (29).

Keener then provides biblical examples of the ministries conducted by women, emphasizing the role of prophet and apostle. Keener structures his argument as follows: In the Old Testament, the most common form of ministry with respect to declaring God's word was the prophetic ministry. Although the priestly office in the Old Testament did carry numerous restrictions, the prophetic office "depended on personal calling and on gifts" (31). By virtue of these gifts, he reasons, "[i]n the biblical period some women held an office more directly influential than offices now frequently denied them," because a "prophetic commission connotes some sort of authority or authorization" (31-32). Deborah is cited as the leading example. Because of a prophet's authority, the prophet is the closest equivalent to the New Testament apostle. Although one would not expect to find many female apostles because of cultural obstacles, the existence of Junia in Romans 16:7 confirms that a woman could hold the office. Arguments that Junia was not an apostle are unpersuasive to Keener. The only reason someone would deny that Junia is a woman "is the assumption that Paul cannot describe a woman as an apostle" (35). Therefore, if 1 Timothy 2 is not read back into the texts, there is "no reason to doubt that Paul accepts women in ministry" (40).

Some contend the prohibition in 1 Timothy 2 refers to authoritative teaching, namely that of the senior pastor. But Keener argues that the grammar of the verse likely indicates that women may not teach or hold authority. However, he finds three problems with this straightforward reading. First, the text seems to suggest all kinds of biblical teaching. Second, Paul would not reduce the authority of women when he supports women's ministry in other passages. Third, to limit the meaning to senior pastor is to impose a modern understanding of church leadership on the text. Keener argues that although there are no female senior pastors named in the New Testament, neither are any male senior pastors named. He also believes Paul's teaching that elders were to be the husband of one wife (1 Tim 3:2) is descriptive (written to the majority of elders in the day) as opposed to prescriptive. Therefore, if we can accept women as prophets and other ministers, there is no reason to exclude them from the pastoral office (45).

There are two texts which can be used to prohibit women's ministry: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Keener cautions that although all Scripture is universally applicable, it is written in culture and language-specific ways. "Because Paul always sought to be sensitive to his readers' situations ... we dare not presuppose that every command applies in all circumstances" (49).

In 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, Paul cannot mean complete silence, because earlier in the same letter he allowed women to pray and prophesy (1 Cor 11:5). The problem was not that women were teaching, but that women were learning too loudly. "In the first generation church in Corinth, most women were novices and therefore should learn quietly. Paul's short-range solution, then, is to call for an end to the women's public questions" (51).

1 Timothy 2:11-14 is part of a broader set of instructions for public worship in the Ephesian church. A straightforward reading of the text does forbid all teaching of Scripture by women to men and all instances of women having (usurping) authority over men, but the passage addresses a particular situation. "The one passage in the Bible that specifically prohibits women from teaching is addressed to the one church where we know false teachers were effectively targeting women... . If women as a rule were less educated than men, they would become a natural target as those particularly susceptible to such false teaching" (54). The general principle is "Those most susceptible to false teaching should not teach" (55). Keener questions whether one can be consistent in applying biblical texts without taking into account the dramatic cultural differences. If all of 1 Timothy must be interpreted transculturally then even the most conservative churches are falling woefully short. Therefore, since 1 Timothy 2:12 should be understood as a prohibition relevant only for women in a specific historical circumstance, then women who are not in that position and who have experienced the call of God to pastor should be given opportunities to preach and teach.

Keener rejects the claim that Paul's citation of the creation narrative gives the prohibition transcultural force because Paul sometimes applies Old Testament texts to local situations. A universal prohibition based on gender would be a statement about women's ontological inferiority in discerning truth. Paul is actually drawing a local analogy between Eve and the easily-deceived women in Ephesus. Universalizing a biblical text by analogy is typical of Paul, where Keener understands Paul to use Scripture in an ad hoc fashion at times (61). Because the "creation order" argument is used in 1 Corinthians 11:8-9 to admonish wives to cover their heads in church, transculturally prohibiting women from teaching or holding authority without requiring married women to cover their heads in church would be inconsistent. In creation order, man and woman are both imago dei. A "suitable helper" points to male and female correspondence, not to one partner's subordination (63).

Regarding the biblical pattern of male headship in the home, Keener believes that Paul's standard is one of mutual submission and servanthood. Both husbands and wives should practice submission though it is specified for the wife, just as both should practice love though it is specified for the husband. The subordination of the wife stems from the Fall and issues of women's ministry and gender roles in the home are distinguishable (64).

Though Keener's interpretation of these passages is not consistent with the majority interpretive view through the history of the church, he explains that the church has often missed or even suppressed truths that are clear enough in Scripture. He therefore concludes, "the majority view in the church throughout history -- the view that came down to most of us through tradition -- reflects the restrictive cultures of human history in which the tradition was formed rather than the clearest reading of biblical evidence" (66).

Linda L. Belleville (Egalitarian) 

Belleville begins by noting the issue between egalitarians and complementarians is not whether women can minister, but whether women can hold positions of leadership in ministry. Her essay seeks to answer four questions pertinent to the debate (80).

First, do women occupy leadership positions in the Bible? Belleville finds many instances of women holding leadership positions in Scripture. In the Old Testament, women ministered in Israel as prophets, counselors, mourners, and at the tabernacle. Through the entirety of Scripture, women most consistently exercised the gift of prophecy (86). In the New Testament church, women were involved in the ministries of teaching, patronage, and evangelism. Teaching would have been a strongly countercultural gift for a woman, but "Jesus' instruction of Mary and the inclusion of female disciples ... set the stage for women to have an instructional role in the church" (87). Most noteworthy to the discussion is the presence of female apostles, such as Junia, and female deacons.

The second question is whether women assumed the same leadership roles in the Bible as men. Belleville believes that gifting to ministry does not necessarily make one a leader, but the ministry roles enjoyed by women in the Bible does warrant the label of leadership over men. The Old Testament examples of Deborah, Huldah, and Noadiah give "no hint in the Bible that female leadership is wrong" (94). New Testament examples are more difficult to find, but virtually every leadership role that names a specific man also names a woman. "The only role lacking specific female names are overseer/bishop ... But then male names are lacking as well" (95). Ministry roles filled by women that constituted leadership over men were house patrons, prophets, teachers, deacons, and overseers.

The third question is whether the Bible limits women from taking certain leadership roles. To many, the issue is whether a specific ministry activity is authoritative (104). Belleville questions whether authority actually lies in a ministry activity. Church leaders do not exercise authority over the congregation. Rather, they are to minister to it and equip it for ministry. "No leadership position or activity in the New Testament is linked with authority" (105).

Belleville suggests that only 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-15 "are worthy of consideration" regarding the question of limits on the leadership roles of women. Because of 1 Corinthians 11:2-5, Paul cannot be addressing women who are exercising their spiritual gifts by contributing a teaching, a revelation, etc. The key to understanding 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 "is in grasping the educational limits of married Greco-Roman women" (116). Women, who to this point had not had opportunities to learn, were asking questions and causing disorder during corporate worship. In this context, to be submissive is to be silent. "Control over the tongue is what Paul is talking about" (119).

1 Timothy 2:11-15 is best understood as a historically specific prohibition on "teaching that tries to get the upper-hand (not teaching per se)" (127). Belleville suggests the women in the Ephesian church may have been teaching in an authoritative manner because of an Artemis influence - where Artemis and all her female adherents were superior to men. Just as the manner in which a woman is to learn is the issue in 1 Corinthians 14, the manner in which a woman is to teach is the issue in 1 Timothy 2 (130).

Finally, Belleville addresses the question of whether the Bible teaches a hierarchical structuring of male and female relationships. The starting point for men's and women's roles is Genesis 1-2. The primary thrust in the creation narrative is the sameness of male and female (140). Both are created in God's image and have a sameness of function in God's sight. Belleville contends that there is nothing in the term "helper" that implies subordination -- particularly since the term is used of God. She denies that there is any authority implicit in naming something, or in the creation order. Rather, Genesis 1-2 emphasizes the human completeness after the creation of woman. Because male rule is not mentioned outside of Genesis 3, it has "no place in the theology of the Bible" (145). Male and female relations are to be lived out in light of God's intent to create two sexually distinct beings in partnership. The root of Eve's sin was not a desire to take the lead, but a desire to be wise like God. The curse actually involved a woman's yearning for personal intimacy while man's rule takes the form of sexual demands. "Dominion of one over the other was not the intent. This is gender dysfunction, not gender normalcy" (148).

Thomas R. Schreiner (Complementarian)

Schreiner begins with a brief discussion of the history, hermeneutics, and terminology of the debate over women's roles. Tradition is not infallible, but the fact that women have been prohibited from serving as pastors and elders across confessions throughout most of church history should lay the burden of proof upon those who want to challenge the historic interpretations. Although detached objectivity is certainly impossible, it must not be assumed that one cannot "gain a substantial and accurate understanding of the Scriptures in this age" (180). Further, the debate should not be framed as a choice between opposing texts. Rather, one must attempt to interpret all texts in context. All the texts in question have a basic teaching that is not difficult to grasp. One text is not more fundamental than another is. Finally, the issue is not over the ordination of women, but whether a woman can function as a pastor, overseer, or elder (which Schreiner believes to be the same office). It is Schreiner's thesis that although all believers are called to ministry, women are not called to be pastors, elders, or overseers (183).

In the next section, Schreiner affirms the dignity and significance of women. Women are equally made in the image of God and are prominently featured in the ministry of Jesus and the rest of the New Testament. This confirms the truth of Galatians 3:28 which in context teaches that all believers have equal access to God. Furthermore, men and women are equal heirs in the salvation God has promised.

Schreiner believes it is "a fundamental mistake to so concentrate on the Scripture passages that limit women in ministry that we fail to see the many ministries in which women were engaged in Bible times" (188). For example, women functioned in both the Old Testament and New Testament as prophets. Prophecy is not preaching and it is distinct from teaching. It is the spontaneous reception of revelation or oracles from God. The presence of women prophets does not neutralize the prohibition against pastoring. Schreiner does believe that women can and should serve as deacons (194). Women have the spiritual gift of teaching and men should be open to receiving biblical instruction from women, just as Apollos was. However, neither the office of deacon nor the act of instruction should be confused with the office of elder or functioning as the regular teacher of a gathering of men and women. The argument for Junia as an apostle is far too ambiguous to make a case for female leadership in the early church. Schreiner believes Junia probably was a woman but points out that recent scholarship suggests the verse actually means Junia was outstanding in the eyes of the apostles. Even were Junia an apostle, it is also likely that "apostle" does not have a technical meaning but refers simply to itinerant missionaries (199).

Schreiner believes there is no contradiction between equality of person and the differentiation of roles. There are six indications from the first three chapters of Genesis that such roles were established at creation, although the six arguments are not equally persuasive (201). First, Adam was created before Eve. Second, the garden command was given to Adam, not Eve. Third, Eve was created as Adam's helper. Fourth, Adam names Eve. Fifth, the serpent approached Eve rather than Adam, thereby subverting the male ordained pattern of leadership. Sixth, Adam was responsible because he was rebuked by God first. Greater responsibility was given to Adam and he is named in Romans as the originator of sin. "It is crucial to see that these six arguments relate to the relationship between Adam and Eve before the Fall" (209). The creation narrative is especially important because it establishes God's intentions regardless of what sin has done to the model.

A difference in roles is taught in the texts concerning marriage. This is particularly relevant since the teaching on the family forms the fabric for the teaching on the church (210). If husbands are assigned a leadership role in the family, it makes sense that men would be given the responsibility for leadership in the church. Men are to love their wives as Christ loves the Church, but the leadership of the husband is not canceled out by the command to serve and love. Interacting with common egalitarian arguments, Schreiner contends that the context for the mutual submission prescribed in Ephesians 5:21 is to be the church, not the family. Kephale means "authority over" in almost every case, although in some instances it could mean both "authority over" and "source." Even if kephale does mean "source" it does not change the fact that the wife is supposed to submit to the husband for that reason. Hupotasso does mean "obey" but 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 reminds us there is mutuality of authority in the marriage relationship. Although some argue that the command for wives to submit is culturally conditioned just as slavery is culturally conditioned, Schreiner counters that there is no parallel between marriage and slavery because marriage is a creation ordinance and slavery is an evil human institution that is regulated by God. It has always been the plan that all marriages should reflect Christ's love for the church. To fail to do so is to see marriage from a secular mindset (218).

Just as there are different roles for the sexes in the family, Scripture teaches there are to be different roles for the sexes in ministry. Women should not fill the role of pastor/elder/overseer. In 1 Timothy 2, Paul prohibits two distinct activities -- teaching and exercising authority over men (221). This prohibition applies to the tasks of an elder. Paul appeals to creation, so the prohibition is not culturally bound. Furthermore, Paul gives no indication that lack of education is the problem. Schreiner believes that most egalitarians skate over the reason given and appeal to one that is not even mentioned (222). If lack of education were the problem, Paul could have easily mentioned it. The reason for basing the prohibition in Eden is not that Eve was less educated or intelligent, but that the serpent took the opportunity to deceive Eve to subvert the pattern of male leadership.

The principle behind the teaching on head coverings in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 is deference to male leadership. Clearly, women are to pray and prophesy in church. Schreiner also believes the distinction between public and private to be a modern invention (228). But prophecy is not the same as preaching. Apparently the refusal of the Corinthian women to abide by the custom was shocking. Shameful adornment in women is a symbol of rebellion against male leadership. Today, wearing a veil is not a signal of such deference. Parallels are difficult, but Schreiner suggests a modern equivalent would be the taking of the husband's last name in marriage. The principle behind 1 Corinthians 14:33b-36 is much the same. "Women are not to speak in such a way that they arrogate leadership. As in all other churches, they are to behave submissively and reserve the exercise of the pastoral office to men" (232).

Ann L. Bowman (Complementarian)

Ann Bowman's essay reflects on the nature of ministry itself, suggesting applications to the particular issue of women's roles. She begins with an overview of the New Testament teaching on ministry. All believers, regardless of gender, are called to minister first to God and then to others. All believers are under the general call to minister by the Great Commission. Every individual Christian also receives a specific call to ministry from God. With this, God provides specific preparation for the ministry to which He calls Christians. God prepares the whole person for ministry, primarily through the process of sanctification (250). It is from this cooperative work of sanctification that ministry flows. "We minister out of who we are and who we are becoming" (252).

God prepares believers for their particular ministry by five means: 1) an intimate personal relationship with God Himself, 2) a thorough and ever-increasing knowledge of Scripture, 3) identification of personal natural abilities, 4) identification and cultivation of spiritual gifts, 5) the training and experiences through which God sovereignly leads the believer (253-263). Bowman is convinced that ministry has always taken place in the context of relationships. Therefore, community is vital to ministry. Although the calling to ministry is individual, each Christian still needs a local body of believers for support, protection and the authority to minister (266-267).

Along with preparation for ministry, God provides other resources available to every believer. These include equal standing before God in ministry, equal empowering for ministry, and equal spiritual gifts available for ministry. Because both men and women are created in the image of God, they are equal in their relationship with God (268). To each is given the commission to be fruitful and multiply and to rule over the earth. Women and men share equality in the new creation and share equal access as believer priests. Both have equal spiritual resources for ministry because power for ministry comes from a Christian's relationship with Jesus and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Bowman contends that gifting is not gender based, though gifting is not the same as calling to office (271).

God's equips the Christian for ministry primarily through the giving of spiritual gifts. These are special abilities that are sovereignly distributed to believers by the Holy Spirit. Every gift is valuable because God has sovereignly determined each. "God alone selects various people to fulfill needed roles because he knows perfectly how the parts can best fit together at any given time" (276).

From this understanding of the nature of ministry, Bowman is convinced that women and men must minister together. Women were featured prominently in the ministry of Jesus and were instrumental in the New Testament church. Paul calls women his fellow workers and makes the "theological statement" that women and men work together to extend the kingdom of God (279).

Women in the New Testament ministered in their areas of gifting. Not all believers have the same ability to teach, but women (e.g., Priscilla) taught in a variety of settings. Women were prophetesses in the early Church and Junias is listed as an apostle -- one who takes the gospel to new places. Other women's ministries in the New Testament are service and hospitality.

Bowman believes the roles of elder and deacon are not spiritual gifts, although God would give those called to the office certain gifts such as leadership, teaching, and pastoring. The deacon ministers in areas of practical service. It was a role that entailed some leadership, and it was certainly filled by women. The office of elder is the primary leadership role discussed in the New Testament. Since an elder was to be the husband of one wife, this fact carries the presupposition that an elder would be a male and married. In the patriarchal society of the Greco-Roman world, this would have been the normal situation. There are no New Testament examples of female elders and the reference in 2 John is too vague to be a sufficient basis for female elders. But it is critical to understand that all authority is delegated by God. The Christian leader is called to shepherd. When this is done correctly it enables church members to exercise their gifts. Because of the delegated nature of leadership, women can serve in leadership positions in the church under delegated authority (286).

In 1 Timothy 2:11-15, Bowman believes Paul was singling out women in Ephesus who were struggling with false teaching. The opportunity to teach in the worship assembly would lend authority to their words. However, the passage is positive not negative - women are to learn. Women were to learn in quietness for two reasons. First, just as final authority rested with man in creation, Paul wants final authority in the church to rest with men. Second, because role reversal caused devastation in Eden, Paul wants to prevent role reversal from causing undesired problems in the church (289).

With regard to women in church leadership, Bowman believes "the person doing the teaching in the worship assembly (1 Tim 2:11-12) would be the senior pastor, since this is the most public, influential role pictured in the local churches of the first century" (290). This senior pastor equivalent was a man and not a woman. Therefore, in today's church the role of senior pastor is reserved for men, but there is nothing to prevent a woman from being a staff pastor. Paul's injunction applies to women today just as in the first century. If women are causing disruption in a church service, they are to learn in quietness.

Bowman concludes by observing that differences in spiritual gifts and differences in culture will affect ministry and that cross-gender communication is a form of cross-cultural communication. Therefore, accurate communication between genders is vital for effective ministry. The best communicators are those who are comfortable with their own gender and who have been touched by the Holy Spirit (295).

Craig L. Blomberg (Editor's Essay) 

Craig Blomberg's thesis is that "Paul was neither a classic hierarchicalist nor a full-fledged egalitarian" (330). Rather, Paul was coherent and consistent in traveling the middle ground between the two extremes.

To begin, Blomberg rejects claims that Paul was a strong egalitarian. There is currently no evidence that Paul could have inherited an egalitarian hermeneutic from his Jewish upbringing. Paul did not get an egalitarian perspective from Greco-Roman influences and though Jesus was counter-culture in many ways, he "stopped short of ever making any explicit pronouncements about the equality of men and women" (335). The book of Acts does not provide any clue as to the interchangeability of roles. Therefore, if Paul was the first egalitarian his writing should reflect an egalitarian clarity of thought that could not be confused because such teaching would not have been familiar to the cultures it encountered.

In his epistles, Paul describes women as being deacons, patrons, and coworkers. Junia, a woman, was an apostle but this refers to missionary service rather than the apostolate of the 12. A small minority of women played significant roles in New Testament ministry, but no examples exist of women exercizing ongoing authoritative teaching of God's word (338).

For Paul, women and men alike are new creatures in Christ and have been given spiritual gifts without regard to gender. Although Galatians 3:28 affirms the full ontological equality of men and women, there is nothing in the verse that indicates Paul was seeking to abolish all role differentiation (340). Blomberg then examines five key passages from Pauline epistles.

1 Corinthians 11:2-16. The controversy over kephale is encountered in this passage. Although meanings of "authority" and "source" both exist in the extant literature, it is significant that it has not been demonstrated that kephale ever means "source" or "origin" without "simultaneously implying some dimension of authority" (342). The contexts in Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds indicate that the female Christian, worshipping without a head covering, would have been sending "misleading signals suggesting sexual or religious infidelity" (344). Paul's assumption that women will continue to prophesy gives to them tacit permission to preach, so long as they do so under male authority. Blomberg does differentiate between preaching as prophecy and the consistent teaching of the word of God by an elder/overseer. By grounding the teaching in the creation ordinances, Paul is promoting some kind of timeless relationship between authority and subordination (345). In summary, Paul does not see head coverings as a timeless mandate, "but he does see male headship at least within marriage and perhaps more broadly, as defining a timeless authority structure ..." (347).

1 Corinthians 14:33b-38. Paul is not instituting a timeless absolute for silence since he allows female prayer and prophecy (which was identified above as a form of preaching). Blomberg dismisses the proposals that the limitation on speech is to the evaluation of prophecy and that uneducated women asking disruptive questions caused the prohibition. He believes Paul is insisting on proper roles of authority and subordination between men and women, or at least husbands and wives.

Colossians 3:18-19. Blomberg is impressed by the reciprocal responsibilities leadership figures are given in relationships of authority and submission. It is also apparent Paul did not feel the same tension that egalitarians do between "programmatic oneness in Christ and subsequent role differentiation" (353).

Ephesians 5:21-33. Paul preserves an irreversible hierarchy between husbands and wives but one that is constantly being recreated. It is to be wonderfully loving.

1 Timothy 2:8-15. The context is clearly false teaching, but Blomberg concludes there is not sufficient evidence for treating the teaching as either culture-bound or applicable to a specific situation only. However, the countercultural force of the command to allow women to learn must not be missed. Paul's prohibition, barring contextual qualifications, is an absolute prohibition on one specific kind of authoritative teaching rather than two independent activities (364). The result is that "it seems highly likely that Paul is restricting women in one (and in only one) way: They must not occupy the office of elder/overseer" (364). The reason for the prohibition is that Adam was created first. Verse 14 should not be understood as a second reason for the prohibition but is the natural progression as Paul's thoughts move from Genesis 2 to Genesis 3. Finally, verse 15 could represent Paul's emphasis upon traditional mothering roles in the face of pressure in Ephesus to promote celibacy as the Christian ideal. Blomberg concludes that most churches would identify their senior pastor as the equivalent of the New Testament elder/overseer and that women "could hold any other subordinate pastoral role" (369).