Why I’m Not a Preacher

It’s interesting the reactions I get when people find out that I moved to Louisville to go to seminary. One of the most common ones is, “So are you a preacher?” (In fact, my neighbor asked me that a week or so ago). Um, no. Not in the official, professional sense anyway. I mean, I do preach (proclaim) the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever the Lord gives me the opportunity (regardless of race, gender or age), but I am not a preacher by vocation and I think the Bible’s pretty clear why I shouldn’t be:

Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 1 Timothy 2:11-12

The context of this verse pertains to women publicly teaching in the church and exercising authority over men within the church. The Bible is very clear that men are called to lead the church. This isn’t an equality issue or capability issue. It is simply the way that God has chosen, in His wisdom and sovereignty, to order His church. So really, for women, this is a submission/obedience issue. Will we believe and obey what God says or not?

God has a right to order His church the way He sees best. He ordered creation as He pleased and the events of the world reflect His grand design. In the same way, He has ordered Christian households/marriages with and for a particular purpose. All of this order is designed to display Jesus Christ and Christ’s loving sacrifice for His people/His church, which is His bride (Revelation 19:7; 21:2-3). The order within the church (male leadership) is also reflective of that. If a woman is leading a congregation, this also means she is leading her husband, which makes the whole thing topsy-turvy and mars the image of Christ and His church, which marriage is supposed to portray. Christ never submits to His people and His people never lead Him. He has ultimate authority and He perfectly leads His people, His bride, in love and holiness. He always does what is best for her, including sacrificing His life on her behalf in order that she would be saved from the wrath of God and completely cleansed from her sins. (For this paragraph, see Ephesians 5:22-33).

In the same way, husbands are to lead and love their wives and men are to lead and protect the women God has placed in their sphere of influence. Now men do not have ultimately authority as Christ does; they themselves are subject to the authority of Christ. They will be held accountable to God for how they led their wives and their churches (James 3:1). In this respect, men have a much weightier responsibility than women do. This headship-submission calling is a picture of the reality of Christ and His church. God designed marriage particularly for this very purpose (Ephesians 5:31-32). Even before Christ came to ransom His bride through His sacrifice, death and resurrection, God instituted marriage to display this reality. God planned before creation that He would send His Son to purchase a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue and nation (Ephesians 1:4-6; Revelation 5:9-10).

One young South Asian believing woman teaching a newer believer from God's Word.

So this is the order in marriage (the husband’s servant leadership and the wife’s joyful submission) and this is the order in the church (male elders who preach and teach and lead the body of Christ). Do I feel limited by this? No. I’m not one for public speaking anyway :), but, more importantly, God has given me many leadership opportunities within the church and outside of the church to use the gifts and abilities He has entrusted to me. He continues to show me just how much influence I have over the those in my life (both men and women). Just because women are not permitted by Scripture to preach, doesn’t mean they don’t have important roles within the church. Women most definitely can participate in and are called to roles of leadership. We are to be influential in the lives of others and we can lead and serve in many different capacities throughout the church and outside of the church. There are children than need to be taught. There are younger women who need to be trained and discipled. There are bulletins that need to be prepped. There are prayers that need to be offered. There are lost people who need to hear the gospel. There are people who need to be encouraged. There are ministries that need to be led. There are guests that need to be welcomed. There are songs that need to be sung and offerings that need to be collected and elements that need to be served and a whole host of other roles that women can and need to take part in. But the elders of the church are the heads of the church (under Christ) and they cannot be women.
 
So maybe the problem isn’t really that women don’t want to submit to the men that God has called to lead them (husbands, pastors, etc.), but maybe it’s that women don’t want to submit to the calling and boundaries that God has outlined in His word that they should follow. If God’s word is authoritative and completely true (and it is), then everything it states and affirms is authoritative and true and should rule our lives – no matter how hard it looks on the outside. We need to take God at His word and trust His purposes. By embracing who God has called us to be as women (or men), we will find freedom to live out our unique callings in such a way that we will make much Christ, which is our ultimate aim.