Truth & Tech

I recently read a helpful article from Desiring God regarding when a woman can teach men and it was a blessing to me. So, I thought I would summarize it’s teaching and point you to the original article in case you wanted to read it in the full context. I believe we need to really wrestle with questions like these if we want to be a people of integrity. I am grateful for Professor Mary A. Kassian for writing this and Desiring God for posting it.

The article’s main focus is wrestling with when it is appropriate for a woman to teach or exercise authority over men in light of 1 Timothy 2:12. Can a woman lead a co-ed bible study? Can she teach at a counseling conference where men are present? What about preaching at a weeknight service if her pastor is shepherding her through the teaching or even a Sunday morning service? Scripture seems to make it pretty clear that there is some sort of line here, but where is that line to be drawn?

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” – 1 Timothy 2:12, ESV.

Professor Kassian makes it clear that she believes women should not be preaching in a local congregation. But anything short of that is not as clear-cut. So, she gives some helpful guidance on helping women determine how to try to be faithful to this passage and yet still seek to build up the church with their gifts. It’s a helpful article for a couple of reasons.

The main point that I appreciated about this article was that it wasn’t about trying to help women cope with being excluded from a role in the church, as much as it was helping women rejoice in the design, patterns, and guard-rails God has designed not just for the nuclear family, but for the spiritual family of the church as well. The question for women isn’t “When do I get to lead?”. It’s “How can I support and compliment God’s design and order for the church while using my gifts?”

The second point that I appreciated was that there was a very practical guide on how to evaluate each opportunity a woman has to preach/speak. There are eight categories that she offers to evaluate each situation by. Each category has two dichotomic options that are clearly opposite ends of a continuum. Those categories are Context (an informal gathering of believers vs. a congregational worship service), Nature (inspirational/testimonial vs. exegetical), Authority (is it a conversation about what Scripture teaches or is it an authoritative standard she would be setting), Relationship (is this group distant such as a group of believers in another state or close like a group of believers from her local congregation), Commitment (is this an informal or formal commitment), Obligation (are the listeners free to come and go or are they required to listen to the teaching), Constancy (is this an occasional commitment or a regular commitment), and Maturity (is the relationship one of peers so that the speaker is more like a sister, or one of authority where the speaker is more like a mother).

Each opportunity might be evaluated in each category, allowing the situation to be evaluated on whether or not it undermines God’s design or supports it. These types of practical tips on how to lead are worth sharing. So consider sharing this post with others who might need help evaluating this.