In the third post of the series Ray writes:
As I mentioned in my last post, when asking a question of Scripture, it is important to weigh the evidence for and against as on a scale. In this case, there is surprisingly scant biblical evidence that absolutely, categorically prohibits women from being leaders in the church. And yet, there is surprisingly substantial biblical evidence that supports women in church leadership. To be honest, there is no place in Scripture where it says, “Women should be able to become ordained ministers,” mostly, as I have mentioned before, because our contemporary model of ministry has become overly professionalized and is often far from the grass-roots, Spirit-blown movement of the early Christians.He then discusses specific Bible passages that describe women spiritual leaders.
Ray concludes:
Many conservative Protestants sideline women from participating in the gospel ministry of the church, allegedly on biblical grounds. In actuality, the biblical evidence tips in favor of women leaders. More than likely, their prohibition stems from incomplete theology (errant biblical interpretation and application) or just tradition. On the other side of the coin, many liberal Protestants gladly endorse women as ordained “ministers,” completely unhinged from the witness of Scripture. They mistakenly claim that women have the “right” to assume leadership in the church by invoking a modern paradigm of inalienable rights that is foreign to the world of the Bible.Read Ray's posts and then comment, either on Ray's blog, on this blog, or on both of them.
Throughout these posts, I have explored the relevant biblical texts and conclude that, based on the weight of Scripture, women ought be included in the various leadership roles of the church. There are many qualifications required of Christian leaders found in the New Testament, including faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, sound doctrine, concern for the flock, and the Spirit-activated gifts for ministry. But being a man is not one of those qualifications.
