leadership roles - a paper by tim quayle

Creational Design
God created Male & Female to display his image and to reflect the Relationship within the Godhead.   They were created equal in status, yet different in role & responsibility.  They both carried out Gods plan together, complimenting each other, yet had clearly defined roles. -Gen 1:26-31Man’s role- God created Adam to work the Ground. He was created to build, to provide, to protect and to bring about order in creation.  He was created to take responsibility and given the role of leadership within the family unit. - Gen 2:15.

Woman’s role- God created Woman as a Helper (Hebrew word ‘Helper’- ‘ezer’- Meaning, strength, power to rescue, save and be strong. Used 21 times throughout OT, and 16 of these times are talking about Yahweh himself).   ‘Ezer’ is a word describing woman and God- Psalm 121.
 
Equality in salvation

• Both male and female, are saved by Grace through faith.
• Men and woman are co-inheritors of Gods Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:17- “Your sons and daughters prophesying”. The Church-made up of Male & female are a prophetic Community.
• Men and woman are recipients of the gifts of the Holy Spirit-   1 Cor:12- To Each is given (Hekasto- to each-) is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the Common good...

A few examples of Ladies with influence & Leadership in the New Testament Church:

1. Anna was a prophetess - Luke 2:36
2. Phoebe was a Deaconess – Romans 16:1- Phoebe- seems to be a deaconess herself.    (2. Luke 8:1-3 Certain ladies provided for the apostolic group, through their own means. Ministering to them -diakoneo, I don’t think they were deacons, yet they had a crucial place in serving Jesus’ team).
3. Priscilla (and Aquila Taught), equipped & Discipled - Acts 18:26- He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him (Apollos), they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
4. Priscilla and Aquila were Leaders amongst the churches, had a church in their home and fellow workers with Paul. Romans 16:3-5 - Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Greet, also the church in their house. 

 
A study from-
1 Corinthians 11:2-16  (3) But I want you to understand that the head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife[a] is her husband,[b] and the head of Christ is God

• Men and woman are equally children of God, but they are not identical in every way.   Here in this chapter, Paul is dealing with Function and Not status.
• He uses the picture of God the Father and the Son, who are equally divine, yet the Father sends the son.  The Father is the leader within the Godhead, as 1 Corinthians 11:3, says, ‘the head of Christ is God’.   Likewise, in the Church men and woman are equal children of God, but in function within the family, the man is the head or leader.
• In the Church- The ladies in Corinth were excited by Pauls teaching – Gal 3:28 Equality of all Gods people. And with the coming of the Spirit, they thought traditional structures could be thrown aside now.  So, they were taking this to imply that men and woman were totally identical in their leadership roles.  This is the mistake Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 11.
• Headship is a function, not a status, it is a reflection of the Godhead. This picture of the headship of God, reflected in family life, is part of the argument that has helped shape my position of eldership being male. 

 
A study from-
1 Timothy 2:8-15 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. 11 Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. 

• Paul is writing to the Church in Ephesus, and for a moment he focuses on the fellas.  He tells them to take responsibility, within the church community.  He calls them to step up spiritually and take initiative, with humility and a good heart and not angrily.   
• Probably, connected to the neglect of the men’s roles within the Church, a teaching was spreading through the church community in Ephesus, influencing the woman and possibly some of the elders.   It seemed like this false teaching was provoking the woman to noisy outbursts & forceful behavior, probably trying to get attention in the teaching meetings. Paul confronts this issue, telling the woman to submit to the elders of the church.
• He goes on to say-  I do not permit a woman to teach- taking this phrase alongside other new testament accounts of ladies teaching/ministering (-whether husband and wife team working alongside Paul on his apostolic mission, or functioning in the spiritual gifts mentioned in 1 Cor 14:26 specifically ‘a lesson or a Revelation’), I don’t think Paul is forbidding woman to be able to teach per se, but I believe he is specifically forbidden woman to bring Authoritative teaching needed to  steer the Church, something designated to the elders in the Church. 

What is an elder?
The Bible uses three words interchangeably to describe the office of the church senior leader/s.

• Presbuteros- which is most commonly translated ‘elder’.
• Poimen- translated ‘pastor/teacher’.
• Episkopos- translated ‘overseer/bishop’.

Elders, are Men set apart by the Holy Spirit, recognised by the Church Family and apostolic team, who oversee, shepherd and lead the Church. They are called by God to help equip and release each member of the Church to play their part in building the Church, influencing culture and reaching the nations with the good news of Jesus.
The biblical pattern for eldership is plurality-elders lead as a team together, drawing on different gifts within the team.  But where there is currently only one elder, the local apostolic team will step in and support the elder, until a team is established.
 
The main roles of an elder- With thanks to PJ Smyth (Elders)

• To Shepherd Gods Church- 1 Peter 5:2
• To Teach Gods word- Titus 1:9
• To Equip Gods people- Ephesians 4:11-12
• To Lead and Govern- Romans 12:8
• Model Character and Leadership- 1 Tim 3:2-7

 
Qualifications for elders-
Soon after this in 1 Timothy Chapter 3, Paul deals with the qualifications for eldership, as he also does in Titus 1:5-9.
In this list of qualifications, it seems like Paul is drawing on principles he has mentioned in the above chapters regarding the order of headship, within the Godhead and reflected into Family life.  Pauls writing in both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1:9-9, assume the elders are going to be men. 
He mentions, an elder (or bishop/overseer) must be the husband of one wife…… he must manage his family…. He must train & keep his children submissive.  To my ears these traits sound like ‘Fatherly characteristics’, and not necessarily motherly characteristics.  The Father is the head of the Godhead, Fathers are the head of the Family, and fathers are the elders in the Church. 
Some might object, saying these directions were given because of the cultural situation in the antient world, where woman were not educated.  However, it is believed that there were woman who had leadership positions, who were well instructed.  One such person would be priscilla, who had spent many years under Pauls teaching- in Ephesus (Acts 20:27), listening to Paul teach on the whole counsel of God.  Although Priscilla and aquila moved to Rome, we find them back in Ephesus at the end of Pauls life (2 Tim 4:19).  So, it is likely they were in Ephesus A.D 65, about the time Paul wrote 1 Timothy.  Yet Paul does not even permit well educated Priscilla or any other well-educated woman to teach men in the public assembly of the Church.
 
Celebrating Complementarity
In creation there are many harmonious pairings such as Sun and Moon, Day and Night, Earth and sky, these basic building blocks of creation are complimentary pairs that are equal in worth, yet different in function.   This is consistent with humanity too, father and mother, husband and wife, brother and sister.  The bible teaches that these pairs are completely equal in worth, whilst they have different God-ordained roles.  In contrast to culture that blurs distinctions between the sexes, the bibles perspective is clear- Male and female equal in status, yet distinct function. 
Within the Church elders are seen as Fathers -bringing fatherly guidance and leadership.  Yet, if there are fathers then there are also mothers, who different in function, have a crucial role of being involved in strengthening, nurturing and building the Church through their motherly love.  This is also True of ladies, who might not necessarily be married, yet carry a God-ordained role within the Church to help facilitate growth and health. 
 
History of the Church
The overwhelming pattern through Church history has been that the office of elder/pastor has been reserved for men.  Although this does not demonstrate conclusively that such a position is correct, it should cause us to reflect seriously on questions, before we rush ahead and declare much of the entire church history has been wrong.
 
To Conclude
Although I do not see any evidence of woman elders in scripture, I think biblically speaking they should be encouraged to be involved in all areas of Church life and mission (Apart from eldership).   They should be encouraged to be on the leadership team, deacon team, be able to preach, bring Prophetic Gifts, alongside other spiritual gifts.  I believe they can also be part of the Ephesians 4 ministry gift teams- serving other churches. And they should definitely be encouraged and released into their spheres of life, work and business. ​