What does it mean to be a woman in Ministry

Over the past few years we have seen a shift in the thinking of some of the mainline denominations toward women in ministry. Although there have been great strides made the battle is not completely over.

I grew up in a traditional denomination where women were never overlooked in their service to the Lord and were accepted in many areas of church activity. They were allowed to sing in the choir as soloist, they were also allowed to pray at times, during the "altar call". Women were allowed to be the chairman of any and all fund raising committees, (you know women are good at raising money!). Women were allowed to teach Sunday School to the Children, while adults on the other hand had to be taught by someone who was more gifted, a man. It didn't matter about the children because whatever it was that the woman had messed up during their childhood, a man would be able to straighten out when they became adults. Besides, women are supposed to take care of the children right? When it came time to clean the church or decorate for a special event, the pastor always called on "Sister Whose It" to take charge of that important duty. So as not to make the women feel unimportant, the pastor and other male leaders would always commend the ladies on what a great job they always managed to do and then throw in "We couldn't have done it if it had not been for the dedicated ladies of the church, (a truer statement than they even knew). So for the most part I conformed to this "Just Understood" theology on women in ministry. I had a deep ingrained concept that women were not allowed to preach or in any way declare the Word of God.

For many years I would listen in church as the pastor or other male minister, would deliver the message and I would have a burning desire to help them. It seemed they were not explaining the scriptures right or something was missing. I didn't know then but I do now, that it was mainly because they really didn't know them selves. We heard messages about Hell's fire and damnation as a result of sin. We were taught that God was going to do whatever it was that He wanted to do and there was nothing whatsoever we could do to change that. In other words we were just to wait and be patient and someday if we had managed to slip in by the skin of our teeth we would all be rewarded in a City made not by human hands, a city that possessed golden streets.

One day while meditating on some past experiences in my life and remembering certain scripture, I had a very strong desire to preach this message to others. A message about the Goodness of God. Instantly I rebuked that thought because it could not have come from God. Everyone knew that women are not allowed to preach, that was in itself a sin. So that thought I had to preach the message to others had to come from the devil and he was not going to get me in hell that easy, no sirree.
For about fifteen years this desire to minister remained in the deepest recesses of my spirit but each time the thought emerged I would instantly dismiss it as Satan trying to hook me. Then one day while watching Television I heard a Tele-evangelist read the scripture out of ACTS 2:17 that said in the last days your sons and your DAUGHTERS shall prophecy. I stopped to listen as the minister (a man) elaborated on how God had declared that women shall also bring forth the Word of God. This was an all together different explanation than I had received from my church about that verse, but we won't go there right now.

That is the day that I decided my calling was true and I enrolled in and attended a bible college in order to obtain a better biblical understanding which later lead me to seminary. What does it mean to be a woman in ministry? It means that God is not a respector of persons, man is. It means that women can declare the Word of God and that God does not discriminate because of gender.
Watch for my follow up blog on "Does the Bible REALLY say women can not preach/teach?"
This article is written by
Barbara Smitherman Pastor of Tabernacle of Praise Worship Center Inc. She is the author of "Engaging the Sons of Darkness" www.engagingsonsofdarkness.com