a hermeneutic on gender and ministry [#ICSEX]

Few things bother me as much as misinterpreted and misapplied scripture. And (I believe) one of the worst examples of this is around the issue of women’s role in ministry in the church.

There are many that disagree with women being active in ministry, and others that would go so far as to say that they should be silent participants in church. Not only do I feel that this is based on a misinterpretation of the intent of the Scriptures, but it also creates a situation that forces society to question the validity and relevance of the Word in our world today.

First let’s look at the passages used to support this idea:

The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church.

– 1 Corinthians 14:34-35

A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

– 1 Timothy 2:11-12

Seems pretty clear, right? I mean, Paul doesn’t even stutter when he lays outs this direction.

But responsible Bible interpretation isn’t as easy as just looking at these passages at face value and saying that God is trying to tell us that women should never talk in church. After all, when Paul wrote this he was writing specifically to a first century audience dealing with very specific first century issues.

This means that there are cultural and sociological differences that we need to consider for us to fully understand what’s happening here. We must also take these passages in their literary context by understanding how they fit into the entire writings to which they belong. So here are a couple of questions that we need to consider before we can apply these ideas to the church today.

Who is Paul writing to and about?

The simple answer is that he’s giving instruction to a first century church and church leader. Because these passages are about women, we should understand what first century women were like. More often than not, women in the first century would have been very uneducated. They may be very skilled in the ways of keeping the home and raising the children, but most would not have been very educated at all, but especially in the Scriptures. Many may not even know how to read, but due to the lack of availability of literature they probably wouldn’t have needed to read in the first place.

Therefore, it would have been very common for women to have questions when listening to a great intellectual like Paul. It would have been the modern equivalent of a fifth-grader trying to listen to an Albert Einstein lecture. So they would have had questions about what Paul was teaching… LOTS of questions. And who would they turn to? The passage in 1 Corinthians answers that one pretty clearly.

Why would Paul be addressing this issue?

Considering that these curious women would’ve had lots of questions, and would’ve been asking things like, “Hey honey, what does he mean by we are ‘saved by grace’?” The women’s inability to understand complex intellectual and religious concepts would’ve created quite a disturbing chatter for someone who was trying to teach (probably in pretty tight quarters). These uneducated women were interfering with Paul’s teaching! I can imagine Paul thinking, “How rude! I wish these women would just be quite for a minute! They can ask their husbands what I meant later!” Oh… he did say that…

So what’s Paul’s intent?

Especially considering the surrounding text for the passage in 1 Corinthians, I believe that Paul is trying to talk about respecting the service than he is trying to prove male dominance in the church. Even the passage in 1 Timothy can be interpreted as being more about order, structure, and respect, than it is about keeping women quiet.

How does this translate for today?

Well, first of all, women are much more educated today than they were back then. And this level of knowledge/wisdom means that chattering, confused women are not interrupting the church services today like they would have back then. And if we look closely at Paul’s intent and the state of the church today, then Paul’s word might actually apply to many men as well.

And with other writings (like the Book of Acts) clearly pointing out that women often had a prominent role in ministry, it makes it hard for me to believe that Paul (and God) intended for women in today’s church to remain silent and miss out opportunities to minister to others.

What factors do you consider?

What else do you consider when interpreting passages like these? How do you reconcile these passages with others that clearly show women as active parts of ministry? What role do you feel women play (or don’t play) in church today? Why?

This post is for The Idea Camp blogging series during #ICSEX Gender Week.

the seventy-two project

Later the Master selected seventy(-two) and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:

“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands. On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You’re like lambs in a wolf pack. Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage. Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way. When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.’ If your greeting is received, then it’s a good place to stay. But if it’s not received, take it back and get out. Don’t impose yourself. Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don’t move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town. When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’”

– Luke 10:1-9 (The Message)

Jesus sent then out two-by-two to spread the message. That’s what Jesus was all about… sending people out to deliver healing, restoration, and the Good News.

For a couple of weeks this Summer, special contributor Andi Shaw will be on a cross-country road trip sharing the love of God with ‘the least of these’. Along the way we will be sharing with us her reports from the trip. Andi will be telling the stories, posting the photos, and recording videos of her experience.

Our hope is that these experiences will encourage and inspire you to reach out to ‘the least of these’ as Jesus intended for all of us to be doing… in His Name.

Check out the posts, and check back regularly for updates…

• a cross-country trip [for the least of these]
• shining light on the souls of shadows [purpose of the seventy-two project]
• the beginning: finding direction
• a dream and a smile
• divine interactions in austin
• young and homeless
• churches, zoos, and salt shakers

Follow the updates here at http://bibledude.net/roadtrip

[highcallingblogs.com] how to engage community on facebook

Note: This is an excerpt of a featured Community post (written by yours truly!) at HighCallingBlogs.com.

Facebook is a game-changer. Say what you want about sites like MySpace, Twitter, or a number of others, but Facebook is the killer app that brought social networking into the mainstream.

Social networking is ultimately about community, and not just surfing a website. So if you want to get the most out of Facebook, and even use it to benefit your blog, there are some things you should know about engaging community. The good news is the rules aren’t very different than ‘real’ life, even though the tools may be.

Engage People Directly

Whether it’s online or offline, few things are as effective as just talking to people. When you want to talk to someone offline you walk over and talk, or you pick up the phone and call. Regardless of how you do it, the idea is that you take the initiative to connect. Generally speaking, it makes people feel good when others reach out…

Read the entire article at the HighCallingBlogs.com website.

[real-time connections] author’s closing thoughts

I’m really excited about Realtime Connections for several reasons:

First, it’s for everyday disciples – not just preachers.  My other books have been geared primarily to pastors and church leaders, but many everyday disciples wound up reading them and wanted something more practical. Also, when the Great Commission is fulfilled it will take the whole body of Christ – not just preachers.

Second, I was able to tell lots of stories of how everyday disciples are making a difference from a stay-at-home mom with an autistic child to a policeman, to an NGO leader, from the Global President of Disney theme parks to a young computer geek – and to get to tell parts of my story as well.  The stories are the power in this thing.

Third, at the end of each chapter I was able to give action steps so that if a person will read the book and finish each action step – by the time they’re finished with the book, they’ll have a life plan for engagement. 

Realtime Connections IS NOT an idea, a theory, a concept we should try – it is something we have already done as a church in Vietnam.  It is something our members are doing on their own.  It is an approach that I am helping other churches engage in in other parts of the world.  It have been proven time and time again.  It is the present future.

I LOVE the forwards – those are two people I love a lot.  Rick has mentored me since we first started NorthWood.  He’s taken my calls and even checked on me for no reason over the years.   Eboo is the one who helped me understand the concept of multi-faith and to have a Muslim do the forward for a book on the Great Commission – well – that’s just too wild – thanks Eboo. 

In the book I also begin to try to shift the conversation on global issues.  All religions are all places and how we speak of faith and how we serve others must go through some transformation to bring us out of a 17^th century response to the Great Commission to the 21^st century.  Issues like dealing with Muslims, Religious freedom, how we link with the global church beyond “missions” and “denominationalism,” and moving from society as a social contract to a moral covenant.  Another challenge when we think of the Great Commission is how do we justify doing things far away when things are so broken here – but in Chapter 7 I explain how our members are more involved in our inner-city than they ever would have been – because they’ve seen the world and know what they need to do here.   

I’m always asked by people – if I can read only one book – which one should I read – my answer will be simple now  – Realtime.

Bob Roberts Jr.

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