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| Pastor Jason Thornton |
If you haven't guessed, this month's article is a follow up to last month's newsletter article entitled “What is this crazy Methodist system of ‘Itinerancy’?” Since that article, we have learned that the bishop has appointed the Reverend Dawn Blundell from South Reno UMC as Epworth's new pastor! Last month I discussed why our United Methodist pastors are moved from church to church. This month I am discussing why we not only “allow” women to be pastors in the United Methodist Church, but why we even go so far as to encourage women to enter ordained ministry. The simple answer is the same answer as last month's answer. Namely, both itineracy and the ordination of female pastors are very biblical!
Some reader's well versed in the Bible might be taken aback a bit (or a lot!) now. They might be wondering, "Jason, are you off your rocker? What about 1 Timothy 2:12-15?" in which the apostle Paul says
I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. (1Tim. 12:-15)
Well, for some this seems to make it a closed case. But I quickly ask the question, "What about Galatians 3:27-28?" Where the apostle Paul says
"As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:27-28).
And what about the apostle Peter, who interprets the works of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost through the prophecies of Joel?
". . . This is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy." (Acts 2:16-18)
The scriptures are clear. In 1 Timothy 12-15, Paul says "I permit no woman to teach or have authority over a man . . . ". In 1 Timothy Paul is not talking about God's will, Paul is talking about his own will concerning women in the particular churches that he was addressing in his letter.i But in his letter to the Galatians (see above), when Paul proclaims that we who are baptized in Christ are one in Christ, Paul is not proclaiming his personal opinion. Rather, Paul is proclaiming the will of Jesus Christ! It is the will of Jesus Christ that all are made one in Him, which is to say that all – men and women - are made fully equal in Christ through baptism. The apostle Peter also emphasizes that it is God who has declared that in these last days our sons and daughters shall be filled with the Spirit and prophecy. It is the will of Jesus to make men and women fully equal through their baptism. It is the will of God enacted through the Holy Spirit that both men and women should prophecy - which is to preach God's word - in these final days.
So then why does Paul seem to want to keep women in a submissive role in 1 Timothy and other passages? It is because Paul operated under the principle that he expresses in Titus 3:1-2, where he encourages his churches to ". . . be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show every courtesy to everyone." Paul was more interested in saving souls than getting embroiled in political fights or culture wars. So Paul encouraged his followers to obey the laws of their countries to avoid unnecessary problems. In the Greek city states of Asia Minor, it was illegal for a woman to have any political or economic power, or any authority over a man. So Paul advised these churches to obey their local laws by not permitting women to teach or have authority over men.
But - thanks be to God - we live in a country where women are politically and economically equal to men! So there is no law or authority - nothing! - to stand in our way of encouraging women to claim the full equality they receive from God through their baptism in Jesus Christ! And there is nothing that could stand in the way of the Holy Spirit from anointing a woman to prophecy and proclaim the word of God in these last days! In fact, God himself declares it is His own work through the Spirit that gives women the desire and authority to prophecy and preach. Women in the United Methodist Church are called to be pastors and preach by God's actions through the Holy Spirit!
I hope that you will join me in welcoming the Reverend Dawn Blundell, a daughter of God made one with us through our baptism in Jesus Christ; a woman anointed by God through the Holy Spirit to prophecy and preach!
In the Love of Christ,
Jason
So let's start a discussion called what if. What if it was Adam that was tempted by the serpent.
ReplyDelete
DeleteActually, Genesis 3:6 tells us that Adam was with Eve when she was tempted, so he was also tempted. And when he failed to stop her from eating the fruit, he became guilty of a sin of omission. A sin of omission is when we neglect to do something we need to do and a sin results. So both Eve and Adam were tempted together and equally guilty. Eve was guilty of her sin of commission, Adam of his sin of omission.