Theo 202 Role of Woman in the Church

Name: ___________Joseph Kelly____________________

Writing Style Used: _______________MLA___________

Course and Section Number: ___THEO 202 D03 LUO___

Short Essay on the Role of Women in the Church

Today my friend Mary told me that she wanted to get involved in a ministry at her local church. She said she had a few questions about the role of women in the church in light of the debate between egalitarianism and complementarianism. She wanted me to answer these questions before she committed to any of the possible ministries. So this is what I told her.

I told her that there are specific questions that must be examined in order to determine the proper role of women in the church and what service they might have. In the New Testament Church, elders had many roles and duties. They are associated with the leader of the Jerusalem church, James (Acts 11:30). They were to conduct the oversight of the church as shepherds (Acts 20:28) and as the apostles and prophets ministry began to fade they were responsible to teach and preach at a local level (Wallace 369). A deacon is a servant. These servants were required to be a husband of only one wife, have control over his own children, have a good relationship with Christ, be sincere, worthy of respect, not to be a drunkard, not pursuing material wealth, and he must undergo scrutiny to verify his trustworthiness (1 Tim. 3:8-13).

Women possessed the role of deacon in the church (Phoebe, Rom 16:1). Along with Phoebe other women served with Paul (Acts 18:18). In the Old Testament Deborah held the role of prophetess in Israel (Judg. 4:4) during the time of the Judges. Galatians 3:28 points to the standing of men and women in Christ, which reflected the utmost of equality in spirit and glanced back on the original creation standard prior to the fall. Though passages such as 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 seem to support the silencing and limiting of women in church function this conclusion misses the mark in light of the...