Troublesome Topic: WHAT ABOUT WOMEN HOLDING AUTHORITY OVER MEN IN AN ORGANIZED CHURCH?

This situation can be seen as halfway between the home setting and a secular job setting. Since we are talking about church congregations which have been institutionalized, they no longer look like and act like the house-churches of the book of Acts which followed the leadership structure handed down to them – the family. Being registered with the government, owning property, having a church sign, a budget, paid staff, and a leadership structure that was designed by people, all these things indicate that a “church” has been institutionalized.

On the one hand institutionalized churches are similar to a secular business in that they have to hire employees and follow the laws that are relevant to businesses, on the other hand they should be a reflection of the teachings of the Bible and have different priorities and methods than secular businesses.

But I can see why some churches and denominations have opened the door for the hiring of women on their staffs. If one sees the church almost like a business, just not for profit and with a heavenly agenda, then how to hire personnel will resemble the way businesses hire – get the best person for the job and promise them enough money to keep them around.

However, I prefer to see churches follow the teachings of the Bible as much as possible, even in the area of the authority of women in the organized church. This is one of the advantages I see of the house-church model where the lines of authority are already clearly defined, and no one gets hired who will need recognizable authority in order to carry out their ministry. Grandfathers and fathers already have God-given authority. What’s more, we should all be doing the work of the ministry, just in different ways.

The issue of realms needs to be considered here as well. Even if the organized church you are a part of is small in number, it is likely that there are several family realms involved, represented by grandfathers and father. The New Testament model shows that in such settings it is improper for a woman to teach and preach. I Timothy 2:11-15 and I Corinthians 14:33-35 are the most restrictive statements in the New Testament about the role of women; both of them are made clear by an understanding of realms. If you want more about this topic, I recommend you read my translation and paraphrase of these two passages.

The next lesson is: Can a Christian Mother Work Outside the Home?