In my recent blogs, I have offered explanations as to why I believe in the full equality of women in Christian ministry. It may surprise some readers to discover that I didn’t always believe this.
Like most of the ministers in my tribe, I began ministry holding to a complementarian of view of men and women. I believed that husbands ruled over their homes, and that men ruled in the church. In fact, I provoked somewhat of a controversy in the first church I pastored because I refused to allow women to lead in congregational prayer. After all, the apostle Paul said, “women are to be silent” didn’t he?
After a few years in ministry my initial views mediated somewhat. After a careful reading of pertinent New Testament scriptures I decided that women did indeed have a place in ministry as long as they served under male headship. At a general assembly in the 1990s I spoke in favor of granting women status as licensed ministers. But I continued to believe that women could not practice ministry on equal terms with men. This was the view that I held for the majority of my ministry. My years studying at Church of God Theological Seminary did not change my views. When the issue of women in ministry was discussed in class my position was that women could not serve in positions of headship. I completed the MDiv with my complementarian views intact.
So, when and why did I embrace an egalitarian view? After completing the MDiv, I was invited to write a book on sacraments. As I was researching and writing the book my views on many issues began to change. Any serious study of the Holy Scriptures and Christian theology should challenge the heart and mind, don’t you think?
As I studied and reflected on Holy Trinity I began to realize that my complementarian views conflicted with a proper understanding of the Trinity. Orthodox Trinitarian belief is that Father, Son, and Spirit are co-eternal, co-equal, and consubstantial. As I reflected on the relationships within Holy Trinity I discovered that my views on anthropology were changing. What does it mean that humanity – male and female – are created in the image of God? Just as Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct, but one essence: likewise humans are distinctly gendered, but one flesh.
Also, my research on the nature of water baptism contributed to embracing an egalitarian view of male and female. In a relatively obscure and overlooked text I discovered a paradigm changing event. In Samaria, Philip baptized men and women (Acts 8:12). In the Abrahamic covenant, the sign of initiation was circumcision, which was limited to males. Women were included in the covenant through the headship of their fathers or husbands. In the covenant of Christ, women were baptized as a sign of initiation, which signifies that they come to Christ in their own right, not through the headship of their father or husband. Water baptism signifies the death and burial of the old and initiation into new in life in Christ – new creation (Romans 6:3-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 3:27-28). To be baptized into Christ is to participate in the in-breaking of the new creation.
Finally, years of pastoral ministry have informed my views. Some of the most dysfunctional families to whom I have ministered were those in which the father/husband dominated over his wife and children. In confronting these abusive men, they have always appealed to the writings of Paul as justification for their actions. They wrongly interpreted Paul through the words submit and head, instead of love, gave, and sanctified. Also, I have observed that many of the healthiest marriages are among those who profess to hold to a complementarian position, but actually practice egalitarianism. Egalitarianism promotes healthy marriages in which the distinct needs of husband and wife are satisfied through mutual submission.
