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Women Are Evangelical Leaders
Evangelical denominations and churches have been led by women clergy for generations. One of our member denominations at the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) was founded by a woman--Aimee Semple McPherson started the Foursquare Church. The Salvation Army has had women officers (clergy) for almost a century and a half. And, another denomination, the Wesleyan Church, recently elected Dr. Jo Ann Lyon as General Superintendent. In other words, women have been church leaders for a very long time--much longer than women have been business and political leaders in much of America; and, longer than women have been able to vote in America.
Other evangelical denominations do not have women clergy. Their reading and interpretation of the New Testament limit clergy leadership to men.
We acknowledge and respect different church distinctives, doctrines and traditions. The central core of belief is that the Bible must be taken seriously and that we believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Beyond that core we have variety, including the roles of women and men. Different traditions and interpretations on gender do not mean that one group is superior or inferior--just sincerely different.
Whether women hold clergy positions or not, all acknowledge that women held important political and government positions in the Bible. Deborah's biography appears in the Old Testament book of Judges, chapter 4. She was the military, executive and judicial leader of the nation of Israel. She was a prophetess and a lyric poet ("The Song of Deborah" is in Judges 4). It is interesting that she was the leader of the nation of Israel even when the priesthood of Israel was limited to men.
By
Leith Anderson
|
September 3, 2008; 1:23 PM ET
| Category:
Religion & Leadership
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Posted by: Bruce Gillette | September 5, 2008 1:42 PM
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Any church or nation that tries to limits the Holy Spirit working in people gets into trouble. Two excellent biblical scholars from the evangelical Gordon Conwell Seminary, Richard and Catherine Kroeger, have done a fine online Bible study on women serving as leaders in the Church, check it out at http://www.pcusa.org/womensministries/history-theology/women-elders.pdf
Grace and Peace,
Bruce Gillette
Bruce & Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, Co-Pastors
Limestone Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE