WOMEN IN CHURCH LEADERSHIP

Throughout history, Christians have been asking what role should women have in church leadership? Today, some denominations ordain women to the highest positons of leadership while others do not allow a woman to hold any. Complicating the matter is how one defines the word leadership. Is it the clergy offices of the bishop, presbyter and deacon? Is it performing sacramental and liturgical duties? Is it teaching and preaching? Is it influencing others? I will briefly address how the church addressed these questions up through the middle ages. History shows that women deaconesses were considered clergy at least through the fourth century but it is not clear that they were excluded from the clergy until the thirteenth century. Similarly, women were clearly performing sacramental and liturgical duties until the fourth century and were excluded from them by the thirteenth century. Finally, despite Paul’s instruction for women to remain silent, we can see the church blessed women to preach, teach and influence others from the early church all the way through the middle ages. However, we do see a subtle shift that moves the preaching and teaching activities from the center of church life in the early church to the monasteries in the middle ages. Two reasons emerge explaining these three changes. The first and primary reason is the reintroduction of Aristotelian philosophy among Christian theologians. This also led to a new understanding of the sacraments and the requirement that only a properly ordained priest could consecrate the Eucharist. According to these theologians, a properly ordained priest could only be a male.

2021

This analysis hinges on controversial topic as to whether or not the Bible supports women occupying church leadership roles. This analysis reviews several New Testament passages of scripture; including several Pauline epistles. This topic of women in church leadership not only carries spiritual implications on the church at large but also social and relational implications as well. This analysis aims to eliminate the ambiguity surrounding this topic through careful exegesis of the scriptural passages that are being considered.

The question of whether or not women can serve as leaders in congregations has been significant in churches over the last few decades. Even the larger US culture struggles with the role of women in leadership. 1 The emotions run deep when the issue receives prominence, for reasons that are undoubtedly complex. In this brief article I will consider how our view of scripture informs the way we think about life in the Christian community; how particular biblical texts might be reconsidered in light of their historical contexts; the significance of both Jesus' and Paul's treatment of women; and how we in the church might approach the issue of women in leadership with grace, peace and maturity.

Doctoral Thesis, 2016

This study into women in church leadership in the Australian church views leadership as influencing others to achieve the goals of a social group and draws on selected literature relevant to an understanding of gender status beliefs. The process of enculturation within society is considered to influence attitude formation where gender roles are concerned. The power of precedent and tradition while enhancing cultural stability has created barriers to cultural change and inhibited a more accepting view of women in church leadership roles. While society generally has become more accepting of women in senior leadership roles and positions of authority, traditional hermeneutical interpretations of scriptural passages addressing the role of women tended to reinforce prevailing gender bias against the acceptance of women in senior church leadership positions. The anthropological concept of worldview is seen as a useful construct or template to integrate the concepts of leadership, gender and Scripture embedded within the broad context of culture and provides a paradigm for understanding the “softening” of social and ecumenical attitude toward women in church ministry. Seven research questions addressing worldview assumptions about gender and leadership were formulated for investigation. Adopting a critical realist philosophy, a mixed methods research strategy was designed with quantitative analyses of selected variables recorded in the 2006 and 2011 data base of the Australian National Church Life Survey (NCLS), complemented with a qualitative survey of literature and relevant biblical texts and interviews with church leaders. Quantitative studies interrogating 2006 NCLS leadership data found men and women had differences in leadership style, stress and strengths, but leadership effectiveness was not significantly different between male and female leaders. The NCLS data also shows that a positive change in attitude toward being more accepting of women in church leadership occurred between the survey years 2006 and 2011. Factor analysis was used to resolve psychometric indices for leadership style, stress and strengths which made indices unique to the NCLS data set. Leadership effectiveness was found to be significantly greater in younger (< 40 years) than in older women (>60 years). Attitudes toward women in church leadership roles were significantly linked with the cultural/demographic variables of denominational affiliation, age, marital status and the educational level of survey respondents. Qualitative studies found that when the historical, cultural context and the prevailing worldviews of biblical text were taken into account, there is a credible argument that the scriptural record does not preclude women from positions in leadership and authority in the church today. Interviews with church leaders indicated that the concept of leadership and its evaluation is poorly understood and that embedded gender stereotypes of male leadership may be contributing resistance to the acceptance of women in church leadership at the congregational level. Results in this study indicate the need for further study to probe possible causal structures and mechanisms and relationships generating the social phenomena described by the statistical correlations and linkages found in this study. The gender relationships within the redeemed community of the church are discussed and factors likely to influence women’s leadership roles in the Australian church are explored.

Christian Education Journal: Research on Educational Ministry, 2014

Research suggests that one&#39;s perceptions of an ideal leader do not always match one&#39;s perceptions of an ideal woman. The roles are incongruous. This study used a causal-comparative methodology to examine role congruity theory within Protestant evangelical nonprofit organizations in order to discover whether or not role incongruity posed as an obstacle for women leaders. Participants completed one of the seven versions of the revised Descriptive Index, in addition to providing basic demographic information. Similar to previous research, results indicated that role congruity emerged as an obstacle for women. Unlike previous research, role congruity emerged as an issue for men as well. Furthermore, male managers differed more from successful middle managers than did female managers.

2019

A brief exploration and critical analysis of the debate regarding inclusion of women into ecclesiastical leadership.

Journal of Advocacy, Research and Education, 2015

Although many efforts have been made in time past in demonstrating that women are similar to men, there still appear to be a widespread persistent belief that women are indeed inferior to men even until today. What is even worrying is the theological backing that this sociocultural belief of society enjoys. One notices in the literature that God ordains, sanctions, and upholds the spiritual authority of women today as he did in time past as his official spokespersons and leaders of his people. However, the evidence and discussion presented in this paper demonstrate that problems with women being accepted as leaders by congregations, gender differences in pay and promotions, and the experiences and dissatisfaction of women clergy who feel constrained by these gender discrimination is widespread. The paper discusses this phenomenon and presents an often neglected perspective in the discourse – the sociocultural perspective. It interrogates the various stands on women and leadership in congregations. In doing this, the paper explores the position of women in the Old Testament through to the New Testament and the centuries following.

2020

Pharos journal of theology, 2022

The important of the role of women in the life of the church cannot be overemphasized. This is because research shows that larger percentages of church attendants who are active members are women. Incidentally, directly or indirectly most women are relegated to the background in terms of leadership position in the church probably due to cultural bias or the patriarchal nature and tradition of various culture and the Holy writ. This paper adopts an analytical and theological method in presenting the ecclesiological analysis of women leadership and the reflection thereof. Research shows that the majority of women throughout the world are still suffering from systemic trends of violence, inequality, discrimination, abuse, and neglect at home, in the labour market, church, and in society at large. Also, a second century Rabbi named Judah, Ben Ilai exclaimed: "Thank God I am not a woman, a slave, or a pagan" and down the centuries, many have also exclaimed the same sigh of relief. Some, even within Evangelicalism today, consented that this is the reason why Jesus chose twelve men to be the future leaders of the church and probably why Paul told Timothy not to permit a woman to teach in the church or have authority over a man; this in a sense is a sweeping generalization. Nevertheless, women as followers in the church play a significant roles in the composition of and roles within the church. Therefore, women in one way or another participate in the leading of the church as they influence the leadership of the church in diverse ways. Consequently, this paper examines the concept of Ecclesiology and women leadership and the theological reflection thereof.

The complementarian and egalitarian interpretation of Scripture 2. Biblical criteria for the office of elder or pastor 2.1. The history of leadership and teaching in the Bible 2.2. The biblical qualifications and functions of elders and pastors 2.3. An exegesis of 1 st Timothy 2:11-14 2.4. An exegesis of Galatians 3:28 3. Towards a biblical model of church leadership 3.1. A proposed biblical model of church leadership 3.2. The contemporary significance of biblical church leadership Conclusion Works Cited e) Overseeing financial matters in the church. This was the focus of the elders in Acts 11:30. f) Pray for those who are sick in the church, as mentioned in James 5:13-16. We have established the qualifications and functions of an elder/pastor in the church. The next section will focus on two key texts that complementarians and egalitarians use in support of their arguments; they are, 1 st Timothy 2:11-14 and Galatians 3:28.