Women In Ministry

When we consider what the Bible says about Women in Ministry, there are at least two voices that have informed our evangelical preconceptions.

These two are:

1.      The King James Version of the Bible

2.      Past and present cultural understanding of the role of women.

Evangelicals who may have never owned a King James Version (KJV) of the Bible are still profoundly affected by it. Christianity in the United States has been shaped by the lyrical voice of the King James Version. The KJV has become part of our spiritual DNA. There is no doubt that the world is richer for it.

In spite of our love and appreciation for the King James Version, it does have some drawbacks. This is the version that refers to men servants as deacons and women deacons as servants. The authors of the King James Version had several agendas that innocently but profoundly colored what they wrote.

The Bible of course is written primarily in Hebrew and Greek, not Elizabethan English. In Greek, the word deacon means ‘servant’ or ‘minister’. One of the places where the authors of the KJV make the switch is Romans 16:1. This passage serves as the inspiration for the title of this book as well. It says, I commend to you Phebe our sister which is a servant (deacon) of the church which is at Cenchrea.

The word servant in this passage was written in Greek as ‘diakonos’. In I Timothy 3:12 the same word is used in a specifically male context. Now the same word is given special importance and an exact translation is made, Let the deacons be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

So what does the Bible actually say? Many other translators have followed the KJV by subconsciously imposing their social agenda on the Bible. These man-made interpretations give a lower status to women. Still, the Bible clearly and literally places a woman on the same level as men in terms of ecclesiastical title and authority. Romans 16: 2 commands a measure of authority be given to Phebe. The Romans are to cooperate with her, doing what she needs to have done in order to fulfill her ministry. The passage literally reads: …that you help her in whatever manner she have need of you; for she herself has also been a good friend to many, and to myself as well.

Cultural conditioning is the other lens through which we see the role of women in the church. The United States is one of the most progressive countries in the world in terms of equal rights and opportunities for women. This provides some with the false comfort of thinking we are free from gender based cultural bias. Nothing could be farther from the truth.