What's a Girl to Do?

In the last post, we saw that God does not permit women to serve as pastors. I admit that we theological conservatives have spent so much time telling women what they can't do that we have neglected to tell women what they can do. This is a sad reality. It has hurt our sisters in Christ and the entire body of Christ.

Let me be very clear about this:
Without the God-given ministry of women, the church will cease to exist.

I am not overstating it in the least. It is that serious. Ladies, we desperately need you. And I’m not just saying that women can be involved in ministry; I’m saying every woman should be involved in ministry. It is your calling.

The ministry of the local church stretches far beyond the pulpit. Just because God doesn’t call you to preach doesn’t mean God doesn’t call you to serve.

Joshua Thomas, our son, is scheduled to arrive at the end of August. Dianna is the one who’s carried him for 9 months. She will be the one to give birth to him. She will be the one to experience that unique mother/child bond. No matter how much I might want to, I can’t do any of that. God won’t let me. I’m a man and that isn’t His design for me. But that doesn’t mean I have no place in Thomas’ life! My place is just different from Dianna’s.

Can you see how that applies to women in the church? Ladies, you have an absolutely unique and necessary place in the ministry of your local church. So let’s think this through and see the high calling of a woman in the body of Christ.

Allow me to restate the biblical view of women in ministry. I’m breaking it down into 2 parts.
Part 1= Men and women are equal, but God has given each unique roles.
Part 2= God gifts both men and women to do the work of ministry in ways fitting with their roles.

Part 1 goes back to the Creation itself. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). All mankind, both male & female, are created in the image of God, meaning they are equally able to serve God, to have fellowship with God, and to represent God. In our spiritual nature, men and women are equal in every way.

But God did not give the man and the woman the same roles. God created man to be the leader, and He created woman to be the helper. Genesis 2:15 says that God created man to “work” and “keep” the garden. In verse 18, we read that God created woman to be a “helper suitable” to the man. Those gender specific roles are seen from the very beginning.

In Genesis 3, we learn that mankind fell into sin. They disobeyed God. But notice how the gender roles played a part in this. God tells Adam that the reason he is being judged is “because you have listened to the voice of your wife” (3:17). Now that’s not to say that we shouldn’t listen to our wives! God is judging Adam because he failed to lead his wife away from sin. We also see that one of the results of sin is a distortion of these gender roles. God tells Eve, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (3:16). The Lord is saying that sin will cause some women to want to dominate their husbands, and sin will cause some men to want to dominate their wives in an abusive manner. The gender roles, like everything else, are marred by sin! Yet, the principle remains. God created men and women equal in His image, with unique, gender specific roles.

Part 2 flows naturally from Part 1. Because men and women have unique roles in life, it is natural that we should have unique roles in ministry. Leadership in the church must reflect leadership in the home. 1 Timothy 3:4-5, 12 teach us that one of the qualifications for serving as a pastor or deacon is a man’s ability to lead his family. So the positions of spiritual authority are delegated, by God, to men. (Gentlemen, that is a huge responsibility. Step up to the plate and do your job.)

The woman’s role in the church remains one of a helper. And if you think that is a demeaning task, you’ll do well to remember that God the Holy Spirit is called “the Helper” (John 14:26). So a woman’s ministry in the local church is to assist, to help the leadership accomplish its biblically mandated duties. The leadership of the church cannot accomplish these duties apart from the assistance of their sisters in Christ.

That is the overall principle. The hard part is applying it to specific situations. In this post, I don’t want to get into each specific staff position. So let me just give you a list of biblically appropriate places of ministry for women in the local church.

> Teaching Women
> Teaching Teenage Girls
> Teaching Children
> Counselor for Women
> Music Ministry (choir, praise team, instrumentalist, etc.)
> Hospitality Ministries (making meals, opening one’s house for a Bible study, etc.)
> Outreach Ministries (visiting the sick, shut-ins, lost people, etc.)
> Missions (promoting missions-giving, going on mission trips, serving as a missionary under male leadership, etc.)

That’s a lot! And I could think of more. Sisters, you play a critical role in our churches. I pray that you would delight in your God-given role and seek to use it to build your local church and glorify your Father in heaven! If you want more information on this topic, I highly recommend Women's Ministry in the Local Church. It's under the 'resources for church life' section on the blog.