Why Do Conservative Pentecostals Ordain Women?
The
paradox I refer to is the unusual status of Pentecostal women. Despite an ultraconservative stance on many
sociomoral issues rooted in a holiness heritage that often interprets the
scriptures in literal or near literal ways, many Pentecostal and charismatic women
are senior pastors, professors in seminaries and universities, and hold
leadership positions in Christian organizations.
I became
more aware of this paradox when I talked to Pentecostal women in leadership
positions (e.g., Drs. Joy Qualls, Lois Olena, Donna Washburn), read works by or about Pentecostal women in
leadership (e.g., Dr. Howard Kenyon, Dr. Kimberly Alexander), and subsequently listened to several speakers
(e.g., Naomi Dowdy, Melissa L. Archer) as a part of my research into Pentecostal culture
for Counseling and Psychotherapy with Pentecostal and
Charismatic Christians
(2020).
To be
sure, not all Pentecostal groups consider women and men as equals when it comes
to selecting a senior pastor or university president. And the majority of
leadership positions are still held by men. Growing up in the church, I had
heard about women in leadership roles and it seemed quite natural to me that
women would be leaders since my mother owned a bookstore and led a local Christian
women’s group. However, she faced limits of which I was unaware at the time.
Despite
their current improved status, Pentecostal women continue to face considerable
barriers to acceptance. And even when they ministered as evangelists or
preached sermons, men were often actively involved as if to make sure women
would not be led astray or perhaps not lead men astray as Eve did Adam according
to 1 Timothy 2:14.
So, in the
context of worldwide Christianity where men are officially the only ones in
high leadership positions or permitted to serve as priests and senior pastors,
how is it that some evangelicals in the Pentecostal tradition achieved a
measure of equality?
My view is
that Pentecostal women benefitted from the way Pentecostals interpret scripture
differently than other evangelicals. That is, they give considerable weight to
experience when a case can be made that there is at least some support in scripture.
In addition, I suggest that Pentecostal women have been able to ride the wave
of the women’s movement more easily than women in other groups because of their
Pentecostal experiences in the early 1900s. For the most part, Pentecostals
interpret the Bible in a fundamentalist manner relying on a near literal
interpretation of various texts. In a sense, credentialing women is actually based
on a fundamentalist view for Pentecostals who reference Acts 2 as the
interpretive framework for the revivals of the 1900s when women and men enjoyed
the same spiritual blessings.
I want to
contrast the emerging leadership of women in Pentecostal and charismatic traditions with women in other traditions. First,
consider some common arguments keeping women in subordinate roles in the home,
church, and society.
Biblical Barriers to Gender Equality
The
biblical barriers to women in leadership positions have created a considerable
wall that remains insurmountable by women in most Christian groups.
B1. Like
the priests of ancient Israel, Catholic priests are men. And men are in the top
leadership positions of most other Christian traditions. Women’s roles have expanded
under Pope Francis (e.g., January 2021 VOA).
B2. In the
Hebrew Bible, God chose men to lead his people and deliver God’s laws to the
people (e.g., Moses, Joshua).
B3. As far
as we know, all the writers of the sacred texts in the Bible were men.
B4.
According to the gospels, God chose to reveal his redemption by a man, Jesus—not
a woman.
B5.
Although Jesus was kind to women and included them in ministry, he only chose
men as his 12 apostles.
B6. The
writer of 1 Corinthians 11:3 explains the sacred order: “But I want
you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman
is man, and the head of Christ is God.” (NIV) (See also Ephesians 5:23.) Southern Baptists refer to
this text.
B7. Women are not to teach, have authority over a man, and
should be silent (1 Timothy 3: 1-7). See the Southern Baptist position.
B8. Women should not be pastors (1 Timothy 2:12). Also cited
by Southern Baptists.
B9. In the Genesis story, Eve is responsible for the Fall of
humanity (1 Timothy 2: 13). This is also cited by Southern Baptists.
In the context of the many books common to most Christian
Bibles, women get short shrift when it comes to leadership positions. For those
who believe the Bible is the word of God, there isn’t much wiggle room to
support women in ministry. Thus, it’s no wonder that most women had limited
roles within the church and the family for nearly 2,000 years since Jesus ended
his earthly ministry.
Note. In addition to viewing the examples from the Southern
Baptists, see the Danvers Statement issued by The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
Biblical Arguments
for Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism
is a belief that all people are equal and should not be treated as less than
equals. A group of evangelicals advocate for women and men to be considered
equals in the church and home in contrast to distinctive or separate roles for
women and men. Some believe women should complement men’s leadership having
different but equally valuable roles. This latter belief is complementarianism.
Those who
justify equality based on biblical texts employ some of the following
arguments.
E1. God
created women and men in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-28).
E2. Both
Adam and Eve participated in the disobedience and subsequent doctrine of The
Fall (Gen. 2:21-23).
E3. God’s
directive for Adam to rule over Eve is the result of the Fall and a change from
the equality in the original created order (Gen 3:16).
E4. Women
held leadership positions in ancient Israel and in the early church. God chose
Mary to be the mother of his son and women brought the resurrection news to the
apostles. Paul acknowledged women who active in the early churches.
E5. In the
New Testament, the wife-husband relationship involves mutual submission
(Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5).
E6. At
Pentecost, the Holy Spirit baptized men and women (See Acts 2). This is also recognized
by Southern Baptists who do not ordain women or identify as Pentecostals.
E7. In the
Christian family, there is neither “…male nor female, for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28, NIV).
There are
other arguments that have been made but the foregoing are common. You can read
a collection of other arguments at https://www.cbeinternational.org/
The arguments of women for biblical equality appear to ignore
the preponderance of the evidence mentioned previously under barriers and focus
attention on exceptions or nuanced interpretations. Although Pentecostal women
do employ some of the biblical arguments illustrating women in valuable and
leadership positions in scripture, it is my sense that the key for Pentecostal
women is a spiritual experience.
Before looking at a Pentecostal perspective, let’s look at
the views of progressive Christians.
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