Women and the Church

Gender identity and social roles has not been something I have been particularly passionate about. Gender definitely plays a role in society, but for me, my maleness does not (at least consciously) play a major role in my personal identity (other things are much more important).

However, recently, I have noticed that I have been feeling more passionate about advocating for women in the institutional church.

There are many ways this is presented. At a basic level, the language we use in our Bible translations can make a big difference. I'm definitely supportive of the gender-inclusive language because I believe it is a more accurate translation of the meaning. And I believe the meaning to be the most important, as I do not take a literal interpretation most of the time.

Further, this type of translation is important because not only can our translations be archaic, but the way the original authors understood things may not be the way God understands things.

In any case, the area I have been having the most frustration is women's titles and leadership. J.R. Daniel Kirk presented a very nice post on women's silence in the Bible and how that does not mean they should not be pastors or leaders in the institutional churches. In many of the organizations I've been in, particularly religiously, women are the most motivated and wisest.

So why do we insist that men are the heads of household, spiritual leaders, and the only ones who can be pastors? Not all communities do assert this, but many do, even if that's not what practically happens because they have better women than men...