Who is a Minister Pt 2
My second letter to our church about women in ministry including pastoral positions
This letter is intended for our church. I have been encouraged to make this available to a wider audience. Please be kind!
Dear CBC Family,
Two weeks ago I began a series of articles in response to the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to add to their Constitution and By-laws an amendment stating that only cooperating churches will have male pastors. In line with that, the SBC at their convention removed fellowship with two churches who have females in pastoral leadership roles at their churches. I believe this is wrong on two fronts. One, this takes away from Baptist local church autonomy to choose their own members and ministers. Two, I believe it is wrong biblically. In this and the next couple of articles I will exegete out a case for full inclusion of women in pastoral leadership.
Let’s start in Acts. If you remember after Jesus ascension there were about 120 Christians gathered in an upper room praying about what to do next. Then a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. All of them, men and women, were filled with the Holy Spirit. They then began to praise God in different languages than their own, proclaiming the Lordship of Jesus. As Peter explained the actions of the 120 people he quotes Joel 2 – “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy . . . Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:12). The question in this passage is “what is prophesy?” as both men and women have been empowered by Holy Spirit to perform this gift.
Just a cursory reading of the New Testament, one would conclude that prophesy is the inspired speech of charismatic preachers through whom God’s plan of salvation for the world and the community and His will for the life of individual Christians are made known. In the Old Testament prophesy as a gift was understood as a truth teller giving God’s message to the people of God and to the nations. In other words, both the New Testament and Old Testament prophesy had preaching or proclaiming God’s Word as its basic definition.
Let’s give an example. In the Old Testament we meet a woman named Huldah in 2 Kings 22. She is described as a “prophetess.” The rabbis described her as having started an academy of prophets and prophetesses and one of the gates to Jerusalem is named after her! In 2 Kings 22, The book of Deuteronomy had been found and the high priests and King Josiah did not know what to do. So they turned to Huldah to interpret the Word of God and give them a message of both judgment and salvation. King Josiah responded by widening his reforms to turn the nation back towards YHWH. Notice the formula – the Word of God read, interpreted by a prophet, a call to action/repentance, and then a response. In other words, a sermon. This is what Peter says is happening in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit comes down on men and women. This is what Peter expects both men and women to do in the age of the church. Later in Acts 21 we meet the four daughters of Philip (I can relate to him). They are described as “prophets.” What does that mean? They hear the Word of God, interpret it for God’s people, call people to action, and wait for a response. In other words, they preach.
Therefore if the Bible, the written Word of God, contains stories of women hearing the Word of God, interpreting the Word of God, giving a call to action or repentance, and expecting a response – the basic elements of proclamation – what stops God’s church today from releasing her daughters in the proclamation of the Word?
In future letters, I will introduce you to more women who were in leadership, including pastoral leadership positions in the earliest church. We will also walk through a couple of the passages cited when seeking to stop women from pastoral ministry.
Grace and Peace,
Ray P. Miller, DMIN
Pastor, CBC Nashville
Thanks, Ray.