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Saturday, March 17, 2012

And The Women Spoke God's Word

Whether man acknowledge them or not, there were women who worked in the service of God. They followed their heart and leading of the Holy Spirit. There will always be those who go against the grain and follow what they believe to be their Christian duty. In the end God will be the one to judge. After knowing the names and works of the women listed below, one would have to ask "should it be voided and left undone because a man did not do it?" We must remember it is never MAN doing his will but a VESSEL being used by God. And God gets to do His will without any permission from man.

Anne Hutchinson 1591-1643 Anne was a preacher in 17th century Massachusetts
Margaret Fell 1614-1702
She co-founded the Quakers with George Fox. One of the books she wrote was called Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Knowed of the Scriptures.
Anne Dutton 1692-1765 Anne was a theologian
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon 1707-1791 Selina was a key figure in the Methodist Movement of the 18th Century.
Sarah Osborn 1714-1796 Sarah was a Christian leader and writer
Sarah Crosby 1729-1804 Sarah was a famous Methodist preacher
Ann Lee 1736-1784 Ann was a Quaker missionary
Hannah More 1745-1833 Hannah was a famous writer and philanthropist.
Hannah Adams 1755-1831 Hannah was a famous Christian writer.
Elizabeth Ann Seton 1774-1821 She was a Christian writer
Ann Judson 1789-1826 Ann was a missionary to Burma
Phoebe Palmer 1807-1874 Phoebe was a famous evangelist and writer
Antoinette Brown 1825-1921 In 1853 she became the first ordained Congregationalist woman minister
Catherine Booth 1829-1890 was a preacher. She married William Booth in 1855. (At first William disagreed with the idea of women preachers but he changed his mind after hearing Catherine preach!). Catherine and William founded the Salvation Army in 1865.
Hannah Whitall Smith 1832-1911 Hannah was a writer and evangelist
Maria Woodworth-Etter 1844-1924 She was a famous evangelist
Eva Burrows 1930- She was an Australian evangelist
Aimee Semple McPherson 1890-1944 She is probably the most famous women evangelist of the early 20th century

Top 4 Women In Ministry

Famous Female Preachers

Profiles of Popular American Women Pastors


Joyce Meyer - wjtjones
Joyce Meyer - wjtjones
These four women overcame abuse to become successful international ministers.
Despite the Bible's reservations (1 Corinthians 14:33), these women not only serve as church pastors, but they also head world-wide ministries. These popular American female pastors are particularly significant because they overcame abuse and adversity in their rise to success.

Ministry of Joyce Meyer - Most Popular Female Preacher

Born in Missouri in 1943, Joyce Meyer was sexually abused by her father from an early age and at 18 married a man who would later abandon her and their baby. She then married David Meyer in 1967 (they have three children) and rededicated her life to God. Meyer started a women's Bible study group in 1976 and following its success, started Life in the Word media ministry a few years later. Now called Enjoying Everyday Life, Meyer's ministry is a worldwide success. She teaches at numerous conferences and the taped sermons are broadcast globally.
Now a grandmother, she has written 100 books and the $100 million in donations that Joyce Meyer Ministries receives is used to fund charities around the world. The ministry employs 500 people in her Missouri headquarters and 300 in the ministry's 15 foreign offices.
Controversies Involving Pastor Joyce Meyer

Meyer was described as a "get-rich-quick carnival barker focused on one thing: how to get the most money from the most people in the shortest time." ("From Fenton to Fortune in the Name of God," on STLToday.com, November 15, 2003) because of her offering-focused conferences and lavish lifestyle.

Meyer stated "you can be a businessman... and people think the more you have, the more wonderful it is, but if you're a preacher all of a sudden it becomes a problem... the Bible says 'give and it shall be given unto you'".
She was named by Time magazine as one of the '25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America' and continues to be preach worldwide.

Ministry of Juanita Bynum - Popular African-American Preacher

Born in 1959 in Chicago, Juanita Bynum preached in local churches in her teens and married at 21, but when her husband left she fell into depression.

"If I close my eyes right now," she said, "I can see myself in the snow, wearing a black $2 coat and tennis shoes with no socks, waiting to get my $76 in food stamps. I can see myself in the hospital after my nervous breakdown, crying and throwing myself against the walls of the padded cell they put me in."
Bynum eventually returned to God and started ministering again.

In 1998, Bishop TD Jakes invited Bynum to preach at a conference, and the warts-and-all sermon on sexual sin called No More Sheets struck a chord with those gathered. This marked the start of video sales of the sermon; this ultimately led to a video sale phenomenon, propelling Bynum into the limelight.
She then began the Weapons of Power TV ministry, wrote books and released gospel CDs.

Controversies Involving Pastor Juanita Bynum

The Christian Sentinel criticised Bynum's aggressive pleas for money saying "she focuses on the people struggling, living hand to mouth, and tells the poor to give to the rich. She’s the opposite of Robin Hood."

In 2002 her televised million-dollar wedding to Bishop Thomas Weekes III featuring a wedding dress festooned with hand-sewn Swarovski crystals was criticised for its extravagance, but Bynum said "I did it this way because I plan to stay married."

But six years later the couple divorced after Weekes was found guilty of assaulting Bynum at a hotel parking lot. The highly-publicised fallout saw Bynum giving interviews to secular TV and magazines. One commentator said Bynum was "marketing her misery." (Sheryl Underwood on the Tom Joyner Show, circa 2008)
However Bynum continues to preach and sing worldwide.

Ministry of Paula White - Popular Preacher

Paula White was born in Mississippi in 1966 to wealthy parents, but at 5 her parents divorced. Her father demanded custody of her and when her mother refused he killed himself. Her mother turned to alcohol and White was looked after by adults who sexually abused her from the age of six to 13.

"Then there were the eating disorders" she said "and sleeping with different people...there was such a fear in me that [men] would never come back so do whatever you have to; hit me, call me a dog...just don't leave."
At age 18, after one failed marriage and a baby, White became born again. She married Randy White in 1989 and they started Without Walls International Church in Florida in 1997.

The church grew to 22,000 members and received $39 million in 2006. White's popularity grew and she began hosting the nationally syndicated Paula White Today, ran conferences and appeared on secular TV shows.
Controversies Involving Pastor Paula White

The Whites divorced in 2007, both for the second time and after 18 years of marriage and White took over the church. Her money-focused sermons, $2.1 million mansion and Condo at New York's Trump Tower has been criticised. One ex-church employee said "Mansions, big planes, money, fame. That's what it's all about now; there are prophets for God, and there are prophets for profit, that's the category they fit in."
Today, White continues to run her church and TV ministry.

Ministry of Marilyn Hickey - Oldest TelevangelistBorn in Kansas in 1931, Marilyn Hickey grew up in a Pentecostal family but later found it difficult talking to her mother because "everything became an excuse for talking about the Holy Spirit," and Hickey became disillusioned with Christianity.She married Wallace Hickey, a devout Christian in 1954 who led her back to God and they founded the Orchard Road Christian Centre in Colorado in 1960.


Hickey's Today with Marilyn airs internationally and Marilyn Hickey Ministries has offices around the world, distributes food and bibles worldwide and employs 200 staff at its Denver headquarters. She has written several books and regularly travels to the middle east to preach to Muslims. Hickey's daughter Sarah and her husband Reece have taken over as senior pastors of the church and Sarah now joins Hickey on the TV show renamed Today with Marilyn and Sarah.
Controversies Involving Pastor Marilyn Hickey

Hickey has been accused of dubious ministerial practices: "Hickey's fundraising letters...states that if you want more riches, simply give to God's ministries financially... they repeatedly say that none of her formulas for miracles can work unless money is sent in to seal the deal with God..." ("Healing for Dollars, Forgotten Word Ministries, Undated) But Hickey continues to be the most enduring female televangelist in America.
http://kimberly-ward.suite101.com/famous-female-preachers-a151392

Biography Minister Antoinette Brown Blackwell

Antoinette Brown Blackwell

(1825-1921)

Antoinette Louisa Brown was the first American woman ordained as minister. She was born May 20, 1825 in Henrietta, New York, U.S.A. and later attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. Oberlin was the first coeducational school to grant college degrees to women and to accept students of all races. Women, however, were expected to clean rooms, wash clothes and serve food for the male students. While studying at Oberlin College Brown met and became lifelong friends with Lucy Stone, a suffragist and an abolitionist. In 1847 Brown finished the literary course taken by most women. She encountered serious objections from the faculty when she then decided to study theology. They did not think it an appropriate field of study for a woman. However, the school charter decreed that no student could be excluded on the basis of sex, so Brown prevailed and finished the theological course in 1850. The Oberlin College faculty, however, refused to award her a college degree and she did not receive a license to preach. The degree was eventually awarded to her twenty eight years later.

Brown traveled the lecture circuit for two years speaking in favor of abolition of slavery and temperance (prohibition of alcohol consumption) and preached whenever she had an opportunity. This was at a time when public speaking by women was considered taboo. She was often shouted down by male preachers. Finally, on September 15, 1853 Antoinette Brown was ordained a minister of the First Congregational Church in South Butler, New York. That same year she was also an official delegate to the World's Temperance Convention in New York but she was not allowed to speak. In 1854 Brown withdrew as minister of her congregation due to theological differences. She found she had difficulty supporting the idea of the original sin and predestination. She then became a Unitarian.
 
Brown took her ministry to the slums and prisons of New York City. Her observations of the poor and people with mental disorders led her to publish articles on these subjects in the New York Tribune owned by Horace Greeley. In 1855 she published Shadows of Our Social System
 
In 1856 she married Samuel Blackwell, brother of Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, and a brother-in-law of Lucy Stone. The Blackwells had five daughters (two other children died in infancy) and Brown now focused on raising them. Though she stayed at home taking care of her family, Brown continued writing. In 1869 she published Studies in General Science linking scientific knowledge and women's equality. In 1871 she published a novel The Island Neighbors. In The Sexes Throughout Nature, published in 1875, she claimed that Darwin failed to understand the roles of the sexes. Altogether Brown published ten books in her lifetime.
 
She returned to the lecture circuit in the 1870s after her husband's business failed. She was a strong supporter of the women's suffrage and wrote magazine articles in support of this cause. Her articles were published in the Woman's Journal, edited by Lucy Stone and her husband Henry Blackwell. She also continued her religious activities. She still preached and even ordained two women preachers. Brown served as a pastor emeritus of All Souls Unitarian Church in Elizabeth, New Jersey from 1908 until her death. In 1920, when Brown was ninety five, she was able to vote for the first time, after the Nineteenth Ammendment gave women in the U.S.A. the right to vote. Antoinette Brown Blackwell died November 5, 1921 in Elizabeth, New Jersey.

Biography Rev. Dr. Brenda J. Little

Bethany Baptist Church of Christ

About Our Pastor
Rev. Dr. Brenda J. Little
Spotlight on Living African-American History Makers
The African-American Pulpit Winter Quarter issue features revivalists of the decades. Featured in the 1951-1980 Modern Revivalists is one woman among eight men: Rev. Dr. Brenda J. Little.

Dr. Little is a modern-day preaching trailblazer just as Jarena Lee was (1783-1849?). Her sermon is being featured in the journal, along with twelve other sermons by great revivalists. For Baptist women, this is history in the making among African-Americans.

Dr. Little was the first woman to be ordained in the historic Second Baptist Church of Evanston, Illinois. She was the first woman to become full time Assistant Pastor to Second Baptist Church. Rev. Little also trailblazed in the area of chaplaincy. She was the first African-American female to be Chaplain in the Veteran's Administration Hospital System. She also made history in being the first African-American woman to graduate with a Master of Divinity degree from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

This pioneer of women in ministry was given the distinct honor of being listed and placed in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. as one of the pioneers of women in ministry. Rev. Dr. Brenda J. Little was the first African-American female Baptist preacher to preach in the Ministers Seminar in Detroit, Michigan at the Progressive National Baptist Convention.

Dr. Little continues to be living history among her congregation. She is the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church of Christ, a 78 year-old Baptist congregation in Evanston, Illinois, where she was called by congregational vote, March 18, 1990. She is the fourth pastor in the church's history, and the first woman to pastor an African-American congregation in that city. A trailblazer in her own right, Pastor Little gives God the praise, honor, and glory for all He has done.

In June of 2006 after successfully completing 5 years of rigorous study, Pastor Little obtained the long deserved recognition of Doctor of Ministry from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.
http://www.bethanybaptistchurchofchrist.org/PastorBio.html

Biography of Minister Clara Cook Helvie

CLARA COOK HELVIE: UNITARIAN MINISTRY PIONEER1876-1969
By Catherine F. Hitchings, Author of Universalist and Unitarian Women Ministers


Clara Cook Helvie was ordained in a period when there was decided prejudice against women as Unitarian ministers.
She was born in Chaumont, New York January 24, 1876 to James H. and Marge (Beckwith) Cook. She was descended from eleven Mayflower pilgrims and was a cousin of William Howard Taft. Her mother died when she was very young, and her father became a recluse in the Adirondack Mountains.
Clara Cook lived with relatives who renamed her Clara Bailey, she attended public schools in Buffalo, New York and Sunday School at the First Unitarian Church. Despite many difficulties, she obtained a good education, graduating from Canton's Business College in Buffalo and attending Emerson College of Oratory in Boston in 1901. She worked for many years as a secretary. One job took her to Puerto Rico, and upon her return she collected a substantial gift of books for the San Juan Public Library.
She married Charles Elmer Helvie April 3, 1902 in Newton, Massachusetts. For the next eight years the Helvies lived in Manila P.I. and travelled in Japan and China. She edited the women's page of The Manila Times, then the leading paper in the Philippines—published a series of articles on old institutions in the city, directed the erection of a soldiers' monument at Fort William commemorating the Spanish-American War, raised a hospital fund for charged soldiers, and was a social activist.
She returned to the United States in 1910 and worked as Correspondence Clerk for the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company in Buffalo.
Widowed by 1916, she attended Meadville Theological School and graduated in 1917. For five summers she returned for postgraduate study and attended Harvard Summer School of Theology for one summer. When she applied for ordination to the Unitarian ministry, she found that no woman had been ordained into the denomination since Rowena Morse Mann in 1906, and many men were adverse to women ministers despite the fact that thirty-nine women had been ordained since 1871. She was told, essentially, that women hadn't contributed any worthwhile work except Margaret Bowers Barnard. This highly conservative opinion discounted the important work of the Iowa sisterhood in establishing societies in the midwest and untold other contributions made by women over the previous forty-six years.
Clara Cook Helvie's case was finally supported by several prominent men at the General Conference in Montreal in 1917, and several churches offered to ordain her. She accepted the offer of the Wheeling, West Virginia Unitarian church and was ordained there at the age of forty-one. She worked continuously, except for about one and one-half years, until 1936 when the Depression overtook her; as was the case in many other fields, men often had first choice of jobs. She felt there was "an unreasoned opposition to women ministers" and continued: "Of course a woman gets only the most difficult posts, but this challenge adds zest to the work.... I can think of no greater blessing that could come to them than to have a group of mature women ministers take over their pulpits for a few years and nurse them back to life and service. When that time comes, however, like all adolescents, they will grow too superior for 'mother's ministrations,' and will long for a man minister."
She was minister for the parishes of Wheeling, West Virginia 1917-1921, Moline, Indiana 1921-1926, Westboro 1927, Middleboro, Massachusetts 1930-1936, and Milford, New Hampshire 1938-1942. She retired April 1, 1942.
Clara pursued her interest in women ministers in the 1920's by compiling a manuscript titled "Unitarian Women Ministers" which was never published. Thirty years later she collected short biographies of Universalist women ministers. She corresponded with many who were still alive at that time, asking for autobiographical information and seeking their answers to questions on what, if any, difficulties they had found as women ministers and would they recommend it as a career for other women. Clara Cook Helvie herself felt that a young woman would be "greatly handicapped, even if she should secure a church, but that a mature older woman with varying experience to draw upon and "no competing interests" (presumably including husband and children) would probably have a much better chance of making a meaningful life.
She worked on many denominational committees, and was the only woman minister to take part in the dedication service of the Unitarian Headquarters at 25 Beacon Street and of the First Church in Washington, D.C. She was active outside the church also.
Clara Cook Helvie was keen minded, warm and generous. After retirement she lived in Middleboro until hardening of the arteries necessitated her hospitalization at the Taunton State Hospital. She bequeathed most of her estate to the American Unitarian Association, the income of which was to assist needy ministers. She died in her eighty-third year, July 22, 1969.
From The Journal of the Universalist Historical Society, Volume X, 1975.

In contrast to the foregoing situation, Helen Cohen, minister of the First Parish in Lexington, Massachusetts, tells of hearing stories of children now asking whether boys can be ministers. Dr. Cohen herself had wanted to be a minister when she was 15, but when she applied to enter divinity school in 1977, she had never even seen a woman minister. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, there are more active female ministers in fellowship in the Unitarian Universalist Association than male ministers. Nevertheless, from 1900 to 1917, when Clara Cook Helvie was ordained as a Unitarian minister, the number of women ministers ordained was zero.

Women Pastors: Divine or Demonic

Women in ministry are neither divine nor demonic, pastor says
By Terry Goodrich, Baylor University   
Published: March 16, 2012
As women enter the ministry, they will find that "there will be voices inside and outside telling you, 'You're divine' or 'You're demonic.' But both are telling you a lie," Julie Penning-ton-Russell, lead pastor of the First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., told an audience primarily of women at a Waco conference.

She spoke to nearly 200 people at Sacred Voices, the 2012 Women in Ministry Conference, sponsored by George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University and Texas Baptist churches through the Cooperative Program of the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Julie Pennington-Russell speaks to nearly 200 at Sacred Voices conference. (Photo/Baylor)
Pennington-Russell recalled the note she got at one point early in her ministry: "Everything God is doing right now is because of you. ... You're the best pastor this church has ever had," the writer said.

But on the same day, she received an anonymous letter informing her, "You're the worst pastor this church has ever had. ... I pray every day for your hasty departure."

"One of those is harsh; the other leads to pride, which in my mind is the worse of the two," Pennington-Russell said. "God is the only one who tells you the whole truth about yourself."

One New Testament account is a marvelous example of how to handle conflicting messages—in that case given to men, the apostles Paul and Barnabas, as they healed a lame man, she said.

"The people who saw it started hollering, 'The gods are here!'" she said. Paul and Barnabas, horrified, protested they were merely humans.

The mood shifted when the apostles' enemies showed up to incite the crowd. People stoned Paul until they thought he was dead, then hauled him out of town.

"In one moment they're worshipped; in the next, they're walloped," Pennington-Russell said. "But when they get beat up, they shake it off. Why? Because they're secure in their identity as God's children and their commitment to their mission. They know who they are, and they know whose they are.

"There's always going to be someone who wants to put you out of town. Then there are our own up-and-down opinions of ourselves. But when you let Jesus show you who you are, no one's flattery will puff you up—and no one's criticism will throw you down."

During panel discussions, topics ranged from discerning a call to the ministry, to pastoral time management, to ways lay leaders can encourage women pastors.

Some Baptist churches grapple with whether women should be pastors, seeking to reconcile biblical texts about women's significant roles in the ministries of Jesus and Paul with Scriptures about how women are to participate in worship, said Todd Still, professor of Christian Scriptures at Truett.

Van Christian, chair of the Executive Board of Texas Baptists, said churches "don't know what they're supposed to believe about women in ministry. They want to do what's right, what's godly. ... It's going to be a matter of education."

The BGCT hired Meredith Stone as women in ministry specialist a year ago to be a resource for churches and is exploring other ways to aid, said Bill Tillman, director of theological education for Texas Baptists.

In many small rural churches, "we're running out of men (pastors)," Christian said. "If the churches are going to survive, they're going to have to turn to women as leaders."
http://www.baptiststandard.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13588&Itemid=53

Women in Ministry is a Partnership

This past year--and especially this past month-- has been a time in which the goodness of God’s people and the greatness of God have become eminently clear. I know for a fact that I am where I am today not because of my own doing but only because of the grace of God and the prayers of God’s people.  With that in mind, I start this new position full of gratitude and absolutely overwhelmed by the grace and generosity of so many friends, family and colleagues in ministry.  Thank you!

As I begin my ministry, the words of Frederick Buechner come to mind, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

The world needs women in ministry.  The world hungers for the gifts of women clergy. I acutely feel this need and my heart longs to respond. Equally acutely my heart jumps with joy—or, in Buechner’s words, “deep gladness”—for women in ministry, and I have a deep desire to address this need in a way which supports women in the living out of their call and the utilizing of their gifts.

Early in my ministry I was part of a wonderful group of women ministers who strengthened and supported my ministry.  When we gathered, I would often bring my kids, which at that time were my two daughters.  (Two sons have since been added to the mix!) One time the church I was pastoring happened to be hosting a community service at which a male pastor was going to be preaching.  When he arrived, decked out in ministerial garb, my then 5 year old, Danica, exclaimed to me, ‘You mean, men can be ministers too?!”  I hadn’t realized the impact this group of women ministers had in shaping her perspective!  When the gifts of all God’s people are fully shared, our perspective changes; our world is transformed. To that end, I want to be part of working towards the full participation and full partnership of women and men in ministry.  When we live as partners in mutual ministry we more fully live out God’s image in our lives and God’s design for our ministry.  How can we do that?

This past Mother’s day this same daughter and I ran the first ever Kalamazoo marathon.  Yes, 26.2 miles.  I am still feeling every one of those miles and especially that last .2 of a mile even as I now write!  She ran because of me; I finished because of her.  Together we did what neither one of us could do alone. As women in ministry we can partner with each other to do together what no one of us can do alone.  As we begin this journey together I hope ABWIM can be a place and a paradigm of partnership that we may live into and live out the dynamic and transformative partnership of God’s new creation.

I began by saying “thanks!” and that is where I end.  I am thankful to be here!  I am here quite literally because of you.  Yes, YOU!  And I am here for you.  More exactly, we are here for each other.  Let’s connect!

In closing, I want to especially thank Rev. Holly Bean and the ABWIM search committee, all of whom have been patient with the process, persistent in their prayers and passionate about the work to be done.  Indeed, there is much to do; together we can do it!  I invite your participation and your prayers as we begin this journey together.  Thinking of this journey, 26.2 miles suddenly seems short!  Would you run this race with me—not just a marathon but this multi-faceted, many colored, mosaic of ministry?!
Your partner in ministry,
Pat
Rev. Patricia P. Hernandez
ABWIM National DirectorPatricia.Hernandez@abc-usa.org


Word for Wise Women Ministers and others

Who Denied the Church?

By Sam Mayo
Enrichment Spring 1997
Devastating. Humiliating. Insensitive. Harsh.
How many more words are needed to describe the words and attitudes of "sit down and be quiet" that have pierced the hearts of women who have attempted to use God-given spiritual gifts in the local church? This is more tragic than the greatest of bank robberies. Somebody has denied the Church of some of its most God-given assets.
What kind of human organization would God build? Jesus tried to show us by giving an incredible model called the Church. The Church has been limited of its full strength and power from what God originally designed and intended it to be.
Intimidating and effective was the scheme the enemy of the Church devised in disqualifying women from using God-given spiritual gifts in the organization that God was building as a model for us.
Half God’s army is disqualified when women are silenced from ministry. The Church and a lost and needy world are being robbed of the ministry of multiplied thousands of women who are called and gifted by God for ministry.

Some Heavy Questions

Doesn’t the God who created the sexes know if the persons to whom He gives gifts are male or female? Why would God give spiritual gifts to a woman unless He meant for the gifts to be used?
Consider for a moment our inconsistencies within the church. We often preach, teach, and quote Scripture that says women should be silent in church (1 Corinthians 14:34) and not be allowed to teach (1 Timothy 2:12). Yet, we affirm a woman’s right to teach Bible studies, Sunday school, children’s classes, and speak at major retreats, seminars, and conventions. If we hold to the teaching that women should not speak or teach in the church, and if we believe the church is "where two or three are gathered together in [His] name," (Matthew 18:20) then are we not being self-serving to let women teach at all?
We must rethink church. The paradigm shift of including women into full ministry in the church is not because the Scripture has changed but because God’s Spirit is awakening a fresh understanding of the Scripture on what has been denied the church.
Many arguments could be given concerning the scriptural place of women’s ministry in the church. Let me share a few thoughts on appropriate and biblical treatment of women ministers in the local church.

The Golden Rule

Incredible strength is added to the church’s ministry team when anointed women are released to function in the spiritual gifts God has given to them. Through the years spiritual gifts operating in women have most often been challenged by two groups: insecure men and jealous women.
Whether a woman is on staff, a layperson in the congregation, or an extended colleague in ministry, the Golden Rule still applies to how male counterparts should treat women in ministry. To speak to or treat a woman in ministry in a condescending or patronizing way is a violation of Scripture.
The Golden Rule is more than a childhood cliché. It applies to how any man of God treats a woman of the Lord—or anyone else. Staff or nonstaff—evangelist, pastor, or teacher—the man of God, above all others, should model for the world how a woman (and certainly God’s anointed) should be treated.
Superior attitudes are not acceptable under the biblical Golden Rule admonition, regardless of whether it’s at your church or mine. Treating a female staff person as though she doesn’t know as much or her input is not as valuable as a male staff person is totally wrong. It is in direct defiance of the scriptural Golden Rule and should not be part of any clergy mind-set. Respect; trust; value; meaningful, fulfilling assignments and responsibility; and corresponding authority belong to female staff as well as male staff.
God wants to give to the body of Christ some of the most gifted, sensitive, and anointed treasures the Church has ever known. One of the great tragedies of the Church Age is men who have been spiritually blinded to God’s gift of women in ministry—they are one of the Church’s greatest strengths.
My leadership is not threatened or usurped when I freely allow another anointed servant of the Lord (male or female) to stand alongside me or on my behalf to use his or her spiritual gift for His glory. I willingly delegate responsibility and ministry to others. I rejoice that I can share with others (both male and female) the wonderful privileges of ministry; the honor, respect, and trust of others; and the joy of being colaboring servants with God.
There can only be one head under Christ. But, according to the Body and spiritual gifts chapters in Ephesians, Romans, and 1 Corinthians, it is clear the Lord doesn’t expect the head to do everything. The head is to let other parts of the Body function. And since "there is neither male nor female" distinctions in the ministry function of spiritual gifts, we have the incredible opportunity to release into ministry—with respect and thanksgiving—those who are able to add their part to the ministry God has entrusted to us.

Husband-Wife Teams

Some husband-wife teams have also been especially blessed with ministry together. Although this ideal situation may not fit everyone, the principles are certainly relevant to everyone in ministry. See the sidebar that addresses four principles of strategic importance in successful husband-and-wife team ministry.
The days of telling a woman to "sit down and be quiet" are behind us. Women are serving in key ministry roles. Those who would disallow the local church of spiritually-gifted women are fading into the shadows. The Spirit of God is giving a fresh anointing to allflesh—"your sons and your daughters." God is using men and women. Women in ministry are one of the greatest gifts to the body of Christ. Let us take care of them, build them up, strengthen them, and use them. Not to use God’s gifts in this generation would be one of the greatest mistakes any church could make.
The best days of the Church are just ahead.
Sam Mayo is senior associate pastor of Capital Christian Center in Sacramento, California.

A Reminder About the Call of Women in Ministry

Shaking off Women Can't Be Ministers Through Prayer

Myra Thomason

New Beginnings Assembly
Kernersville, North Carolina
Godauthentic.com

By Abigail Gunasegaran
When Myra Thomason received the call of God, she was serving in a part-time staff position at First Assembly of God in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. God had given her a strong gift of teaching, but Myra struggled to discard the stigma placed upon her as a woman by her upbringing and background. Where she was from, the idea of women preachers was unacceptable. A woman's ministry was in the church nursery or children's ministry.

It was during this time that a missionary friend reminded her of the Parable of the Talents saying, "If you have been called by God to teach His Word and you don't, what are you going to say when you get to heaven?"
Myra replied, "Men won't let me." It was in that moment that she realized the lie behind those words.
Myra prayed about it but still struggled to come to terms with her calling as a female church planter. "In my core of core, I knew God didn't have a problem with it," she says.

Myra began to dig into the Scriptures to further understand God's plans for women in the ministry, and it was then that she came to the confident conclusion that God does indeed call women to serve as leaders within the church.

Myra prayed about it but still struggled to come to terms with her calling as a female church planter. "In my core of core, I knew God didn't have a problem with it."
New Beginnings Assembly launched on Super Bowl Sunday in 2007, with about 65 people in attendance. For 3 1/2 years they met in a public high school until they moved into their new building in November 2010.
Although Myra is now a successful church planter and pastor, she still faces struggles every now and then. "Being a female planter adds to the mix of challenges," she says.

The area that Myra planted in is extremely conservative, and many are still not accepting of her role as a woman preacher. On numerous occasions people have refused to attend her church simply because of that. While Myra understands that she cannot force them to change their minds, her goal is to influence their opinions through her life's example.

As a church, New Beginnings Assembly is setting an example in their community as well. Besides volunteering within the community, the church is also currently fully funding Impact Triad, a youth center that offers a free after-school program for at-risk youth. "We are here for the world. The world is not here for us," says Myra.

Myra's valuable advice to future church planters is that they should know their call and follow God. "Be willing to be broken past where you've been broken. Don't be afraid to trust God in the unknown," she says.
Used with the permission of the Church Multiplication Network. http://ag.org/wim/1202/1202_myra_thomason.cfm

A Woman Pastor Story of Church Planting

Kimberly Campbell

Fountain of Life Church
Clarksville, Tennessee


By Abigail Gunasegaran
When Kimberly Campbell was a little girl, she would sing and preach to her teddy bears. Little did she know that God would call her to be a church planter one day.
When God called Kimberly, she had just started a small Bible study of seven people. During that time, someone approached her with an opportunity to plant a church, but it took her much prayer along with heartfelt advice from Tennessee Church Planting Director Terry Bailey before she truly realized her calling. Recognizing a need for a church in the area, Kimberly went on to plant Fountain of Life Church in Clarkesville, Tennessee.

As a single female pastor and church planter, Kimberly admits that she faces plenty of challenges."I just feel like sometimes I have to push a bit harder to get through obstacles. It's easier when you have a partner."
Despite the struggles, her circumstances have worked in her favor to create a unique reputation for her. "I used it to my advantage because I don't want to be in the box anyway," says Kimberly.

For awhile even after Fountain of Life Church was launched in 2007, Kimberly worked as a home therapist specializing in working with families and at-risk juveniles. As a result, she was on-call 24 hours a day for 5-6 days a week in addition to bearing her pastoral responsibilities. Still, through all of her experiences, Kimberly is thankful for where God has brought her in life. "I love that I get to be bigger than what I intended to be."
As a single female pastor and church planter, Kimberly admits that she faces plenty of challenges. "I just feel like sometimes I have to push a bit harder to get through obstacles."
Fountain of Life Church began with a congregation of 30 people at a women's club in an 1800's house. The church continued to meet there weekly for 1 1/2 years before acquiring their own rental building in November 2009 to accommodate their growth. Currently, around 75-80 people attend Fountain of Life Church, and the congregation is composed largely of new converts as well as people from a wide variety of denominational backgrounds. "We do our best to meet every need," says Kimberly.

Outside of the church's discipleship program, Kimberly personally disciples people until they are strong enough to be placed under someone else. Right now, an age-factor discipleship program is in the process of being developed.

Within the church, Kimberly emphasizes the importance of modeling Christ's love by being a blessing to the community. The church has been able to impact the community through their charitable donations of food and care baskets to local organizations such as Centerstone and the Pregnancy Center. In May 2010, they reached out to the people who were affected by a local flood. This year their goal is to serve food to the community at Christmas. "Our whole desire is to build the kingdom of God."
Used with the permission of the Church Multiplication Network. http://ag.org/wim/1202/1202_kim_campbell_story.cfm

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Christian Woman Heritage

To understand the role women play in ministry today, we must acquaint ourselves with the role women played in ministry in the past. Education is Power!

Jesus selected and sent out the first missionary woman he met at the well. The book of Acts records the account of Priscilla, a woman specifically used of God to touch people in at least three different nations: Rome, Greece, and Asia Minor (Acts 18:26).

Many women were martyred for their love for Jesus in the first three centuries of Christianity. Lucia of Sicily, who lived about 300 A.D, was involved in Christian charitable work there. She married a wealthy nobleman. She was ordered to stop giving to the poor and when she refused she was jailed, persecuted and condemned to death.

Melania came from a wealthy family in Rome with estates all around the Mediterranean. She used her wealth to give to the poor and to build monasteries and churches for men and women in Africa and Jerusalem.

Clare lived and worked in the early thirtennth century. She was a reformer where Christianity had forgotten the poor. She founded the Franciscan order of the barefoot nuns in Italy.

The Protestant Reformation in the Sixteenth Century brought about changes in the role of women in Christianity. Reformers reemphasized that the role of women was in the home to be supportive of men. Arthur Glasser wrote that with the dissolution of the convents, women lost their last chance of churchly service outside the narrow circle of husband, home and children. In the early days of the Protestant mission most women who went to the field were wives of missionaries. Discerning men recognized that contact with women in most non-Western societies was impossible for them, so women had to undertake the responsibility. They received little recognition for their work. Leaders such as D.L. Moody, A.B. Simpson, and A.j. Gordon believed in encouraging women's gifts for public ministry.

The Civil war in the United States became a catalyst for change in the way women were sent. After the Civil War, so many men died that women were either widowed or unlikely to marry forcing women into an unusual range of responsibilities which extended into the church. Since missionary boards still refused to send women directly to work, women organized their own boards. One of the first such boards was the Women's Union Missionary Society. By 1900, over 40 denominational women's societies existed. By the eary decades of the 20th century, the women's missionary movement had become the largest women's movement in the United States. Sadly, boards were persuaded to combine with the denominational boards in the 1920's and 30's and women gradually lost their opportunity to direct the work.

Overall, probably two-thirds of the missionary force has been and currently is, female. Many mission executives agree that the more difficult and dangerous the work, the more likely women are to volunteer to do it.

David Yonggi Cho concludes from his experience; men are good for building up the work, but women are best for persevering when men get discouraged.

Women have been permitted great latitude in Christian ministry, with their work ranging from evangelism and church planting to translating Scripture and teaching seminaries. Christian women today need to know and celebrate their heritage.

How aware are you of the great works women have already done in Christian history? Should churches teach about the contributions of women to Christianity. Do you have your own great woman of Christianity that you would like people to become familiar with? If so, take a moment to tell us about her and her work.

from the book "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement (Women In Ministry) by Marguerite Kraft and Meg Crossman, Pasadena: Paternoter Publishing, 1999, 269-273

Are Women Pastors Going To Hell?


O.K. people. The genie is out of the bottle. There are tons of women already in the pastor position and yes they have won many souls for Christ. What should happen to those who were led to Christ by a woman? Does their soul remain unsaved because a man did not witness and bring them to Christ and instruct them in the ways of the Lord. Will there be one line for those taught by men and one line for those taught by men? Is the Gospel irrelevant if it is taught by a woman? Timothy was taught by women his mother and grandmother. Paul benefitted from having a young learned man ready to teach others because he was first taught by women. Where was Timothy's father in the equation? Why didn't another man rush in to teach this young man?

Women are usually relegated to teach children, but men take responsibilty later for their salvation. So women are allowed to do the prep work only? We have heard the saying "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world."

I ran across an article that asked the question whether women pastors would go to hell. Here is the answer.

If a woman is a pastor does that mean she is going to hell?
http://www.carm.org/apologetics/womens-issues/if-woman-pastor-does-mean-she-going-hell
by Matt Slick

If a woman is a pastor it does not mean she's going to hell. She is in sin, but it is not a sin that leads to damnation. The essentials of the faith that define our faith and form the boundaries of which a person is excluded from the faith does not include the issue of women being pastors and elders.
The elder, which is what a pastor is, is to be husband of one wife. Literally in the Greek it says, “a man of one woman,” (Titus 1:5-6). So, the elder is to be a man, not a woman. This is not culturally based because Paul clearly tells us in 1 Tim. 2:12-13, “but I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.” So, Paul ties the issue of teaching authority into the created order of God. Therefore, male eldership/pastorship is not a culturally related issue. It is based on the created order of God.
So, if a woman is a pastor she is not damned to hell for this, but she would be in contradiction to the word of God. She also would not be properly believing the word of God and what it says about this issue. How could such a person be trusted to properly represent God's word?

I would believe a woman would be out of the will of God if she sat by and watched a soul be lost in darkness due simply to the fact that a man is not around to teach. If we took a good look at the churches of today, they are not brimming to overflowing with men.

I once heard of a church of elderly women, a group of 7-9 did not have a male to teach them. What did they do? They waited for the only male child to turn 17 and he took over teaching them. Yes, following the letter of the law did not work in the Old Testament either.

If a woman preacher is in sin by teaching the word of God which we all have access to; then the power of the living word is not active. God's word does the saving and instructing. When man corrupts the word it's o.k. but we must make sure that a woman does not corrupt it.

What do you think? Are women pastors headed to hell?

Christian women lead the way

Gender differences: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm
Source for great statistics
The ratio of females to males who identify with different faith groups varies over a wide ratio. Only 38 or 39% of Seventh-Day Adventists, Buddhists, and Muslims are women; 55% or more of the persons identifying with the Episcopalian, Methodist, Pentecostal, or Presbyterian denominations are female.

This statistic shows that more women are Christians than men. We can look at gathered congregations on Sunday's and come up with a larger ratio then the one quoted above. This FACT continues to bring to the forefront: Should women be ministers? The argument against women ministers continue.

The statement below is from: www.gotquestions.org.women-pastors.html

Many women excel in gifts of hospitality, mercy, teaching, and helps. Much of the ministry of the local church depends on women. Women in the church are not restricted from public praying or prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5), only from having spiritual teaching authority over men. The Bible nowhere restricts women from exercising the gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12). Women, just as much as men, are called to minister to others, to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and to proclaim the gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15).

God has ordained that only men are to serve in positions of spiritual teaching authority in the church. This is not because men are necessarily better teachers, or because women are inferior or less intelligent (which is not the case). It is simply the way God designed the church to function. Men are to set the example in spiritual leadership—in their lives and through their words. Women are to take a less authoritative role. Women are encouraged to teach other women (Titus 2:3-5). The Bible also does not restrict women from teaching children. The only activity women are restricted from is teaching men or having spiritual authority over them. This logically would preclude women from serving as pastors/preachers. This does not make women less important, by any means, but rather gives them a ministry focus more in agreement with God’s plan and His gifting of them.

Should the church fail and Christianity be lost if the male population continues to decline in their attendance and faithfullness to the church? If nothing else, hopefully the presence of women in the pulpit will spur men to take their God given position within the church.

Women are large and in charge

Found this article and found it enlightening. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.

FEMALE PASTORS: The stained glass ceiling
by Galen Holley/NEMS Daily Journal

The Rev. Cheryl Penson had been preaching up a whirlwind , but halfway through her sermon she paused and drew a deep breath.

Like a mother gathering her children, Penson seemed to pull the spirited words and expansive gestures that carried the first part of her sermon in toward her, compressing them into a warm, staccato whisper. She began speaking in a measured cadence, making sure every member of Lane Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church could hear the point she was about to make.

“Mark, in his gospel, as does the Apostle, Paul, uses the body as a metaphor for the Christian community,” she said.

Just before she took the pulpit, Penson’s husband and co-pastor, the Rev. Charles Penson, prayed that God’s anointing would be upon her. “Like Yahweh’s blessing upon Aaron in the Old Testament,” he said, in a deferential, loving voice. As his wife preached, he handed her a towel, and the congregation clapped and waved their hands in recognition of the nuptial gesture.

Today in America there are twice as many women senior pastors as there were a decade ago. Women like Penson are providing capable leadership in many denominations, but females still haven’t assumed the larger pulpits in the same numbers as men.

According to the California-based research institute The Barna Group, one in 10 U.S. churches employs a female senior pastor. That’s a remarkable increase in a short time, considering that, until recently, women in the pulpit were an anomaly.

Those numbers are encouraging for people who see the issue of females in ministry as one of equality and justice, but even the optimists admit that women have a long way to go in terms of reaching parity with their male colleagues.

Mainline success

Despite decreasing membership and ongoing internal debates over social issues, mainline Protestant churches have opened new horizons for women in ministry in the second half of the 20th century.

Today, 58 percent of women ministers, as compared to only 23 percent of their male counterparts, work in mainline Protestant churches. Until recently, however, those women were mostly relegated to serving as associate pastors or as children’s or music ministers.

Among those churches with the longest-standing traditions of ordaining women is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which started almost 40 years. Today, two of the four female ELCA ministers in Mississippi are senior pastors.

The Episcopal Church has ordained women since 1976 and it is currently led by a woman, Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori. Thirty percent of priests considered senior pastors in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi are women.

The Presbyterian Church USA started ordaining women in 1956 and over the past decade the number of women serving as ministers of word and sacrament within the church has increased by 75 percent to just under 1,200. Today, four women serve as senior pastors of PCUSA churches in the Magnolia State.

When the Rev. Sandra Sisson left homemaking to enter the seminary in 1983, she was afraid people would laugh at her. At that time female ministers in the PCUSA were still rare. Sisson eventually became the first female teaching elder ordained in the Presbytery of St. Andrews.

Sisson, who today pastors Okolona Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, is convinced that women’s history of teaching religious education and directing ministries has paved the way for them taking over as lead pastors.

“Women were the primary educators for a century or more,” she said. “It just makes sense that we’d eventually start leading congregations.”

Mainline churches, like the PCUSA, are often criticized for being too liberal, and those who oppose women serving as senior pastors see it as another concession to contemporary culture.

However, one church with a conservative pedigree has ordained women as fully commissioned officers and assigned them as senior pastors since its inception. Women in 19th century England were instrumental in starting the Salvation Army.

Major Sue Dorman has been the ranking officer and senior pastor of the Tupelo Salvation Army for three years. In addition to her administrative duties, each week Dorman preaches and ministers to a congregation of around 80, as well as countless transients. The Salvation Army mostly utilizes husband and wife teams, but Dorman is the only single female serving as a senior pastor in the region that includes Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

“There’s such a great need in the world today, both in terms of social justice work and in terms of preaching and spreading the gospel,” said Dorman. “We have to use every resource, every person we have, in order to succeed.”

Dorman believes women in ministry tend not to get hung up on issues of gender. As long as a person is able to do the job effectively, it doesn’t matter whether they’re male or female.

Small churches

Although female pastors have achieved unprecedented success, the Barna study showed they still haven’t taken the pulpits in the country’s largest churches. For example, Sisson’s two congregations, in Okolona and Aberdeen, are of small and moderate size.

Across denominations, churches led by male pastors average 103 adults at Sunday worship, compared to 81 for female pastors.

The United Methodist Church recently celebrated 50 years of ordaining female ministers, yet today only about one tenth of women shepherd the denomination’s largest churches.

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, who became the first female bishop for the Mississippi Conference in 2004, said getting women into the senior clergy positions of the largest churches is the new frontier in building the kind of diverse church Methodists want.

The UMC recently launched the Lead Women Pastor Project which combines researching leadership styles and building mentoring relationships to try to figure out how to get women ministers into bigger churches.

Ward said the project makes sense given that over 50 percent of those enrolled in master of divinity programs at Methodist seminaries are women. That confirms findings from the Barna study which show that females in ministry are better educated than their male counterparts. Seventy-seven percent of female ministers earn a seminary degree, as opposed to 63 percent of men.

Although being relegated to smaller churches presents a glass ceiling for female senior pastors, Ward said that as young women see more females leading congregations it will create momentum and inspiration.

“I find that a church’s openness to accepting any minister is in direct proportion to the minister’s experience,” said Ward. “If there’s a minority or a female minister that people can see, it opens people’s eyes. We have so many people out there doing good work – so many women – and, as a result, I think resistance to accepting female ministers is decreasing.”



Minority experience

Black women are also taking the pulpits in greater numbers. Twenty-three percent of the congregations in Mississippi are historically black churches. That’s the highest percentage in the country. Female ministers in the black church are a fairly new phenomenon but their ascendancy represents an affirmation of the strong matriarchal currents that have always been present in the church.

Denominations like the African Methodist Episcopal Church have led the way in ordaining women as presiding elders and today almost 30 percent of AME ministers are women. In 2000 the AME Church elected its first female bishop, Vashti Murphy McKenzie.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church started ordaining women in 1976. Today, about 5 percent of senior ministers in the CME are women.

Penson and her husband at Lane Chapel shepherd the largest CME church in the area. She’s pleased with the progress her denomination is making, but she’d like to see her sisters elected to the highest positions in the church.

“We’re gaining new responsibilities all the time,” said Penson. “Right now we have to be faithful servants and stewards with the opportunities we have.”

Even women who stand outside the pale of possible ordination are finding inspiration in what they see as the long-overdue historical progress of female senior pastors.

In her office at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Pontotoc, Sr. Soledad Mendoza sat counseling a young Hispanic man who often comes to her for advice.

Fr. Tim Murphy didn’t hesitate to say that, in a very real sense, Mendoza is the shepherd of the sizable Hispanic community at St. Christopher. The Catholic Church doesn’t ordain women, and with so few priests in the area Murphy is hard pressed to keep up with everyone who needs his attention. As a result, Mendoza and women like her often perform many of the pastoral duties in taking care of a congregation. They’re providing a critical pastoral presence, particularly at smaller, Catholic mission churches that don’t have full-time priests. Some say they’re keeping rural communities alive.

Mendoza isn’t angry that she can’t be ordained, instead she takes heart that women are increasingly being seen as equals in ministry, and, like her, they’re taking the lead.

She walked out of the counseling room, whispering in Spanish, telling the young man that she’d be right back.

“This is a matter of justice – yes, I think it is,” said Mendoza. “This work is not easy, but women have gifts, as do men.” She smiled, and leaned forward. “Perhaps one day I would like to be a priest, too.”

Contact Daily Journal religion editor Galen Holley at 678-1510 or galen.holley@djournal.com

Office of Deaconess

Many theolgians have debated if there is such an office of deaconess and if it is does it carry the same responsibilities as the office of deacon for a man. Pheobe is usually brought into this debate as many scholars deny she was a deaconess or in the position of pastor. There has come to the forefront documentation as to the office of deaconess being acknowledged by one of the apostles, Bartholomew.

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preachand to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter) James the son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder) Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." Mark 3:13-19.
From: Upcoming book - "When Will Eve Be Forgiven?"

Bartholomew, one of the twelve disciples, wrote protocol concerning ordination of a deaconess within the church.
CONCERNING THE DEACONESS – THE CONSTITUTION OF BARTHOLOMEW.

XIX. Concerning a deaconess, I Bartholomew, make this constitution: O bishop, thou shalt lay thy hands upon her in the presence of the presbytery, and of the deacons and deaconesses, and shalt say”



THE FORM OF PRAYER FOR THE ORDINATION OF A DEACONESS.

XX. O Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of man and of woman, who didst replenish with the Spirit Miriam, and Deborah, and Anna, and Huldah; who didst not disdain that Thy only begotten Son should be born of woman; who also in the tabernacle of the testimony, and in the temple, didst ordain women to be keepers of Thy holy gates, -- do Thou now also look down upon this Thy servant, who is to be ordained to the office of a deaconess, and grant her Thy Holy Spirit, and “cleanse her from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, that she may worthily discharge the work which is committed to her to Thy glory, and the praise of Thy Christ, with whom glory and adoration be to Thee and the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume VII, Constitution of the Holy Apostles. Book VIII, Section III.

In the above writing one of the original 12 apostles wrote how a deaconess is to be ordained. High honor is given to the position of a woman as a creation of Christ. She is viewed as a fellow worker in the kingdom of God. I was very pleased to have run across such an account, not so much for the knowledge of a position in the church for women. But because there was a time in which they were seen as capable of being a servant along with men in the church.

A Win for women ministers

Found this article and decided to share it.

28 June 2010
A Win for Women's Ordination
By Keith Lockhart
in GC2010 General Conference Session

The main topic up for debate this morning was the ordination of deaconesses. The issue of the ordination of female pastors having been kept off the conference agenda, this discussion was designed to provide a less controversial way of advancing women in the church.

The delegates took full advantage, approving changes to the Church Manual that went farther than the platform expected. At issue was a proposed new section of the manual that gave divisions the option of ordaining deaconesses if they wished.
But that proposal was rejected and instead delegates voted for amended wording that simply said that when local church officers are elected a “service should take place for ordination for deacons and deaconesses.”

Speaking to SPECTRUM, today's chairman of the General Conference Session floor Vice President Lowell Cooper said that the delegates voted effectively to regularize the ordination of deaconesses worldwide, which was more radical than anticipated. “They went further than was recommended in the original motion and I did find that surprising,” he said.

As might be expected, the debate on the floor ranged far and wide, with many suggesting that the measure was a slippery slope toward the ordination of women ministers. But on this occasion the fearful argument for the extreme failed to gain traction. The delegates were intent on going as far as they could today.
The applause on the floor when the amended motion was won was the loudest thus far at the General Conference Session. It gave a sense that the leadership could win the vote for women’s ordination if they really wanted.

Comment:
Why does anyone need ordaining? Are you against this pastor in China (see today's Spectrum news of G.C.) who pastors the largest SDA church in the world and she and her fellow female pastors have been ordained. Ordination means a different status, extra pay and allowances: IOW, equal pay=equal work. Are you against women receiving equal pay and recognition for equal work?

If you check the minutes and news of over 100 years of the General Conference in session you will see that in 188l women's ordination was voted. What has happened in the ensuing 100+ years? This was before any "feminist movement."

If God created man and woman equal, and Paul declares the same, what man do you wish to submit to in your spiritual discernment? We are equal and responsible before God. We can ride no man's coattails into the kingdom.

Amazon Women Warriors and their contribution to Christianity

Excerpt from my book "When Will Eve Be Forgiven?"


During the time of Paul's ministry there was a strong dominant female influence in the nation. Women were not seen as weak, but as embodying what gave life and salvation. This influenced how Paul would evangelize the people of Ephesus.

Why would Paul write to Timothy who was in Ephesus at the time: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But woman will be saved through childbearing---if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with prosperity.” I want to examine this passage paying close attention to what was occurring in Ephesus at the time Paul wrote to Timothy: goddess worship.

It seems Paul wanted the masses to understand how a man and especially a woman could find salvation. In the Young’s Liberal Translation, New Century Version, New International Version, 21st Century King James Version, English Standard Version, and the Amplified Bible, the word “saved” is used in verse 15 of each Bible for this passage. The Darby Translation of the Bible uses the word “preserved” in the place of the word “saved.” The Message Bible elaborates more on the word “saved” in verse 15 with this sentence, “But this salvation only comes to those who continue …” What was happening during this time of Paul’s missionary journey making it important for him to emphasize the role of women in the church and daily living?

Ephesus had a long history of goddesss worship when Christianity arrived in about A.D. 51. For 1000 years, goddess worship dominated the region with many cults loyal to female ‘gods’. Ephesus began as a tree shrine by traveling Amazons, the beginning of goddess worship.

Amazons, a tribe of female warriors, are credited with founding Ephesus. These warrior women first lived in Caucasus and Asia Minor and were the founders of the city Themiscyra. They were governed by a Queen. Men were permitted in their presence only once a year to perpetuate their race. All new born sons were killed. It is reported that their right breast were burned off so they could better handle their bows and arrows.

Trees in general, as well as the world of trees, belonged to Artemis with the latter being the source of unborn souls. It was believed the fruit of the Tree of Life could give, depending on how it was obtained and when it was eaten, eternal life, great wisdom, or help during labor. Artemis was worshipped as a tree goddess.
Eternal life in early civilization, did not mean immortality, but rebirth; the continuing survival of the soul. Diana means Artemis in Greek and she was the illegitimate daughter of Leto and Zeus, a twin sister of Apollo. The Greek goddess Diana is depicted as a huntress with a bow and arrow usually in her hand. Even though there is some blending of the two goddesses, Artemis of Ephesus had a different depiction and attributes that the people of Ephesus worshipped her for.

The Amazons adored Artemis as a protector and leader. Artemis’ tree priestesses at Ephesus served under her title of Opis, meaning silent or awful. Virginity was strongly emphasized in the temple of Aremis. The only people allowed to enter the temple were men and women that were virgins. Married or sexually active women were excluded and could face death if they were not virgins. Artemis, especially when associated with Ephesus, is also defined as the destroyer, death bringer, and the guide between worlds and lives.

Her temple was more than just a religious shrine. It was the source of immense civic pride, an assurance of protection, a secure bank, a treasure trove of priceless artwork, and the center of the city’s thriving economy. The temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the World alongside the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassusos, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. At the temple, the goddess was commonly known as Cybele, Mother of all Creatures, Lady of the Beasts, Artemis of the First Throne, Queen of the Cosmos, Lord, Saviour, heavenly Goddess, and Greatest and Holiest. Her pine cone tipped wand represented her motherhood. Just as she brought all life into the world, she took it back into herself in death. A firm belief developed that Artemis and Cybele were the same goddess. The people just had different understandings of her.

Artemis was worshipped throughout the area. She had centers in Italy that were considered holy groves. A festival at her main Roman temple in Aventin, was held on August 13. On the Island of Kythera, Artemis of Ephesus was worshipped. Her connection to sex and reproduction was directly acknowledged. Celtic hunters paid a fine for each animal taken into a communal fund and used to purchase a sacrifice to Artemis each year.

There is no record of Christianity in Ephesus before the arrival of Paul and his companions in about AD 51. Late in his life, Paul had made several curious references to myths and women in his letter to Timothy in Ephesus as in: 1Timothy 1:3, 4:7 and 2:13-14. Jewish stories of Adam and Eve had apparently merged with the mother-goddess myths so that Eve had become a mother-goddess. For that cult, all life issued from the mother-goddess, so they would naturally claim that Eve preceded Adam. Furthermore, wisdom came from the mother-goddess, so the revisionist version of creation would need to have Adam deceived by the serpent. This can be the reasoning behind Paul’s inclusion of how the woman was deceived by the serpent and the position of man as being before the woman and a position of strength and authority. Paul wanted to clear up any false teachings regarding the Christian creation account.

The disturbance over Diana (Artemis) is one of the most prominent stories in the book of Acts (Acts 19:23-41). There were 33 temples in the Greco-Roman world where Diana was worshipped. For over 1000 years, Diana with her temple provided a focal point for rich religious, economic, and cultural life of her worshippers. The temple was the center of drama and worship. Craftmen and silversmiths at Ephesus made their living crafting idols and statuettes to be sold to pilgrims and tourists coming to worship Diana. Demitrius, a leading silversmith preached, “the sanctuary of the great goddess Diana will cease to command respect; and then it will not be very long before she who is worshipped by all of Asia and the civilized world is brought down from her divine pre-eminence.”

She represented not only fertility, but resurrection in the shape of new birth, the eternal return of life to earth and, can be found in a number of early carvings such as the “Tree of Life.” Paul would have had to combat this idea of divinity in giving birth by the women in Ephesus and to make sure that childbirth was seen as a part of the Christian’s worship to God.

Not only was Artemis the guardian deity of Ephesus, she also figured as savior goddess in inscriptions. Inscriptions with “Artemis Savior” appears twice in Attica, once in Peloponnesos, three times in central Greece, once in Northern Greece, seven times at the Aegean Islands, including Crete, three times in Asia Minor, and three times in the broad area of Egypt, Nubia, and Cyrenaica.

Her cult idol (depiction) can be described as a person holding a staff with an elongated body with legs bond together in a mummy like fashion. The upper half of the front torso covered with protuberances resembling human breasts. There is some debate as to whether the protuberances are actually breasts, eggs, or the testicles of the bulls sacrificed to the goddess. The testicles affixed to the goddess, according to modern scholars, as a way of renewing her strength so that she might better assist her worshippers. This may be one of the reasons she is referred to as “many breasted Artemis.”

On her neck she wears a necklace of acorns. The oak tree was sacred to her and on her breastplate appears the signs of the zodiac. Because she was closely associated with death and the underworld, she became associated also with magic and astrology, thus the zodiac on her breastplate. A high crown tops her head with the turrets of the city of Ephesus. The lunar crescent became a symbol of virginity and adorns the brow of the Greek Artemis and Roman Diana because the ancient month was determined by the interval between one new moon and the next. This same interval also marks a certain recurring event in a woman, menses.

Her skirt is decorated with rows of animals, an indication of fertility. On the sides are bees adorned with crowns and wings symbolizing the actual insects and priestesses. The use of bees is due to the fact that Artemis her self was known as the “Queen Bee” and her castrated priests were called “drones.” The first idol of Artemis was carved out of wood and set in an oak tree at Ephesus by the Amazons. There are three marble copies of the cult statue that once stood in the temple on display in the Ephesus Museum. One of the statues is called Beautiful Artemis and it is from the first century AD. A second statue is called Great Artemis and it is from the second century AD.

By understanding the history of Ephesus, one can understand the need to combat the worship of Artemis as the one who can save and protect women. Paul would have had the daunting task of introducing Jesus as the savior of all people, man and woman. Artemis was the goddess women turned to for protection and assistance with fertility issues and childbirth. There would also be the women who would want to remain perpetual virgins so they could have access to her temple without the fear or penalty of death. Replacing a female goddess, a stable source of revenue, would also be a challenge for Paul and his endeavor to spread the gospel. So Paul’s battle was with a dominant female goddess and not with women at large.

Facts about women in ministry

Here are some facts about women in ministry and some resources for you to learn more on the subject.

Q: Are more women enrolling in seminary?
A: Women make up about a third of all seminary students, according to data from the Association of Theological Schools. That’s a big jump from 30 years ago when women made up less than a fifth of seminary students. Hartford Seminary Sociologist Adair Lummis suggests there are several reasons the increasing numbers of women. Social attitudes have changed and women are increasingly accepted in all the professions. In addition, several mainline denominations changed their rules to allow women to be ordained. Still, seminary remains by and large a male profession. Twice as many men as women completed the Masters in Divinity degree, the most popular of the programs, in 2005, according to ATS figures.
Want to know more? Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling, by Barbara Brown Zikmund, Adair Lummis, and Patricia Mei Yin Chang, (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) or see http://hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/bookshelf_book_excerpts.html#women. Also, consult the website for the Association of Theological Schools, http://www.ats.edu. Click on the 2005/06 Annual Data Tables.

Q: Are more women serving in churches today?
A: Yes, but just how many is hard to say. Some denominations, such as the United Methodist Church and the Presbyterian Church USA keep accurate tabs on the number of women clergy. Others denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention, which officially does not permit women to serve as senior pastors, do not, (even though there are small numbers of women pastors in the SBC). Not surprisingly, the United Methodist Church, the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination, had the largest number of clergywomen, 9,749, or 22 percent of its ordained clergy in 2006. But sociologist Jackson Carroll said women make up a disproportionately large percentage of associate pastors, and may face unequal access to higher profile positions.
Want to know more? Read Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling, by Barbara Brown Zikmund, Adair Lummis, and Patricia Mei Yin Chang, (Westminster John Knox Press, 1998) or see http://hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/bookshelf_book_excerpts.html#women. Also, consult chapter 3 in Jackson Carroll’s God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations, (W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006). Also see What percentage of pastors are female?

Number and Percentage of Clergywomen 1977 & 2000
Faith Group 1977 & 2000

American Baptist Church
1977=157 (3%) 2000=1,032 (13%)

Disciples of Christ
1977=388 (9%) 2000=1,564 (22%)

Episcopal Church
1977=94 (1%) 2000=3,482 (20%)

Evangelical Lutheran Church Am.
1977 ..... 2000=2,358 (13%)

Presbyterian Church USA
1977=350 (3%) 2000=3,715 (18%)

United Methodist Church
1977=319 (2%) 2000=4,370 (17%)

Conserv. Judaism
1977=0 2000=127 (9%)

Reformed Judaism
1977=3 (.2%) 2000=346 (14%)
(From chart in Olson et. al. Women with a Mission. (U of Alabama Press 2005.) p.8

Q: Why are women dropping out of seminary, or ministry?
A: Schools and denominations don’t keep records on dropouts so it’s impossible to say with any accuracy how many women quit school or ministry. But Barbara Finlay, a sociologist at Texas A&M University, suggests some women opt out of ministry during their last year of school, realizing they will face uphill challenges to better-paying positions.
Want to know more? Read Facing the Stained Glass Ceiling: Gender in a Protestant Seminary by Barbara Finlay (University Press of America, 2003, and Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Ministry by Dean Hoge and Jacqueline Wegner (W.B. Eerdmans, 2005). Also see Are more or less women entering seminaries today?

Q: Is there a salary gap between men and women clergy?
A: The salary gap that once existed between men and women clergy is narrowing. Whereas in 1991, women clergy earned on average 91 percent of men’s salaries in the same position, 10 years later that disparity had all but disappeared. Still, women face unequal access to senior pastor positions, which pay more. Sociologist Jackson Carroll found that among mainline clergy in their second decade of ministry, 70 percent of men were serving medium or large churches, compared to 37 percent of women.
Want to know more? Read Clergy Women: An Uphill Calling, by Barbara Brown Zikmund, Adair Lummis, and Patricia Mei Yin Chang Also consult, chapter 3 in Jackson Carroll’s God’s Potters: Pastoral Leadership and the Shaping of Congregations, (W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2006).

Women have inferior brains????

There will always be arguments for and against women in the pastoral role. Both sides of the argument should be heard and weighed. I present many pro reasons backing women, and I will also expose you to those opposing women pastors to familiarize you with their argument. This one does not stand with its belief in the difference in male and female brain capabilities.

On February 6, Doug Batchelor, senior pastor of the Sacramento Central Seventh-day Adventist Church in California and president of the international media ministry Amazing Facts preached a sermon entitled "Women Pastors: A Biblical Perspective." Batchelor's main point is to assert that women should not be pastors (or elders), as God designed women to be subservient to men, according to Batchelor. He states, "Sin came into our world as a result of man neglecting and women disregarding the husband’s leadership role." He presents his point of view as Biblical and therefore irrefutable by saying, "God's word is God's word."

Reactions have been pouring in to Adventist Today, as many feel Batchelor's conservative Biblical interpretations are being taken out of its historical and cultural context and his unrestrained remarks are offensive toward women.

Batchelor goes further, stressing the biological differences between the sexes. He states that "[M]en have more neurons in their brain, and some of that is because we have more mass and that may mean more nerve endings. But you should also know…and I know this isn’t gonna get me reelected. According to the British Journal of Psychology, [men] on an average score five points higher on an IQ test." He continues, "[I]t’s important to recognize that as we approach this subject that those who are clamoring and campaigning to say that there shouldn’t be any difference in the roles of men and women in the church - we are different. We are gifted differently and God has said there should be a different [sic]."

Batchelor's take on the "ordination versus commissioned" debate, he feels, is really just a play on words, as both male and female pastors are granted the same rights to perform their duties. Batchelor is not shy about his strong opposition of such rights for women pastors:

"I believe that we have been badgered and intimidated so that we are not really going by what does the Bible say. Matter of fact in the Seventh-day Adventist Church if you trace the history a little bit, I am sorry to say a lot of those changes and of course in North America, not so much in other parts of the world now, women are being ordained. They call it commissioned but it’s really the same thing as being ordained as pastors. And it’s… you know you can call it commissioned but in every other way it’s the same as ordination with all the rights, privileges. It’s like Abraham Lincoln used to say, ‘you can call a dog’s tail a leg, but it’s still a tail.’ And so just changing the label of something doesn’t change the definition of it. And what they have done is they have tried to pacify people who read the Bible and say only men should be ordained as pastors and say well we’re not ordaining women pastors - were commissioning them as pastors. That’s the same thing. And in every other way—the authority, they’re baptizing, they’re leading out in communion services, they’re fulfilling all the sacred offices that God originally said should be reserved for the man. And this is a dangerous subject for me to share. But you know I just figure someone's gotta say something and if I perish, I perish. I’ve been here a long time anyway. And I know it’s not very popular in our culture to say these things. Kind of like wearing a mink coat to a PETA convention. But someone needs to say it. Both male and female pastors."

The concern for many stems from the fact that thousands of Adventists, and even non-Adventists, look to Batchelor as a voice of Biblical authority and interpretation of scripture. Some are calling for responsible hermeneutics, and that other interpretations of Scripture be presented from the pulpits across North America to people of good faith.

Batchelor's church in Sacramento, CA, falls in the territory of the Northern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Adventist Today reached the president of that conference—Jim Pedersen, for a response and received this official statement by e-mail:

"When I’m asked to respond to a sermon’s topic, I always want to preface my comments by stating I honor the right of pastors to speak from their biblical study in the context of the Seventh-day Adventist message. Pastor Doug Batchelor, in his sermon titled “Women Pastors: A Biblical Perspective,” articulated his viewpoint on this subject as part of the ongoing discussion worldwide about the role of women in pastoral ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. However, I also deeply respect the positions voted by the world church and the Northern California Conference. The NCC has a history of supporting women in pastoral ministry. The members in Northern California went on record at the 2002 Constituency Session in support of this issue by recommending women’s ordination to the General Conference. While I wish views on this topic were always completely compatible, I remain confident that the Lord will eventually lead us all to the unity that Christ desires for His people."

Adventist Today is also waiting for a statement from Ricardo Graham, president of the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The Union's Executive Committee met last week, and, according to a close source at that meeting, Batchelor's sermon was brought up for discussion. Adventist Today will bring alerts to its readers of any subsequent action against Batchelor resulting from the Union meeting.

Adventist Today has also recently received the manuscript of the sermon. You can now download the entire 24-page sermon by clicking here. NOTE: The sermon was transcribed verbatim. The editing staff has streamlined the copy by eliminating only wordy redundancy and some "rambling" from the original sermon.

Finally, Adventist Today will be posting articles by thinking pastors, theologians and the laity in next few days. They will respond and challenge the Batchelor sermon in good taste and offer their own perspective of what the Word of God states on women and the church.

Please visit this site to view some of the very interesting comments made to this sermon. There is also a video to watch of the actual sermon against women pastors.
http://www.atoday.com/content/doug-batchelor-preaches-against-women-pastors