Abilene, TX
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| Mercy Street Church of Christ Abilene, TX |
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Leroy Garrett responds to the question... My study of this issue in recent decades has persuaded me that there should be no limits at all on a woman's ministry in the church. She may do anything a man may do -- even though Paul clearly places certain limits in the New Testament. What persuaded me is the distinction that should be drawn between what is only transitory and what is permanent, or between what is circumstantially the case and what is generally the case. The apostle would not necessarily say today what he said in1 Corinthians 14:33-34 and 1 Timothy 2:12, The place of women in our culture today is such that it is highly unlikely that the apostle would say, "It is shameful for a woman to speak in ecclesia (assembly)" as he did in first century culture. Women not only “speak” in all venues in our time, but they serve as prime ministers, governors, senators, scientists, airline pilots, etc. It would appear odd in our culture to tell a woman who serves as a professor in the local college that she can’t lead a prayer or make a talk in an assembly of believers. There would be nothing “shameful” about it as there might be in first century culture when women were marginalized and had hardly any rights at all. A woman speaking in an assembly, the mode of her dress, makeup of her hair are all transitory matters, subject to change through time. Over against this is Paul's declaration in Galatians 3:28: "In Christ there is neither male nor female." This has a permanent ring, applicable to all ages to come. He would still say that today, and we can conclude from it that in the church there should be no gender test at all. We readily accept the temporal/permanent distinctions in other areas, such as the communal practice in the church at Jerusalem, where they sold their possessions, pooled their resources, and divided them as each had need (Acts 2:44-45). While the principle of generosity that prompted such a method is permanent, the method employed is temporal or circumstantial. There are other instances where we agree that the transitory gives way to the permanent, such as the holy kiss and the dietary rules imposed on Gentile churches in Acts 15:29. If these things are transitory, though important in their time, why not also with the restrictions placed on women's ministry? Considering the tragic history of injustice and deprivation of women, the church should be boldly proactive in correcting this wrong. Just as the church fell behind “the world” in correcting racial injustice, we have fallen behind society in the liberation of women. In our case we are depriving our own dear sisters in the Lord, making it an aggravated sin.  |
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