Would you walk out of your church if a woman missionary came to pulpit to speak ?

[GreenNnice]

Would you walk out of your church if a woman, who was a missionary, came up to the pulpit to give her testimony ?
Why or why not?

Would this be considered a woman having authority over a man, as 1 Tim. 2:12 states, if she were to recount her experiences of having seen God at work through her in a far-off land ?

1 Timothy 2: 12 : "I suffer not a woman to teach or have authority over a man but to be silent."
Keep in mind that 'to teach' goes with the word 'authority,' you are wrong to think that a woman is being told here by Paul to NEVER teach a man nothing. That's pathetic understanding of the English language, I think

The verse should read: "I suffer not a woman to teach (authority) or have authority over a man but to be silent."
The word 'authority goes with 'to teach,' it is IMPLIED, for all those English scholars out there

So, is a woman missionary imposing her authority over a congregation, filled with women AND MEN, if she recounts how God moved in her life in the days/months/years she was in the heart of AFrica's Congo, or, wherever she was missionary, bringing the lost to Jesus ? Keep in mind, let's just say it outright, she is going to give a POWERFUL testimony, full of faith

Yes or no. And, I thought hard about including this third poll choice, too, but, yeah, the Lord leads, so I will, 'depends.'

Can we, please, keep specific to this topic, no, going out on tangents about women preachers, etc., there are enough of those threads already silencing God's hand on what's His way and not our way and His thoughts and not our thoughts way of doing things that people, for some reason, like to THINK they and their bible scholariness CAN outTHINK God when it comes to women who are ALREADY patoring a church, fillwed with women AND MEN But, I digress.....

Women missionaries, what of them? Can they explain God's mighty hand on their life in parts unknown to modern day worldphites ? Can she tell others of her time that brought thousands and thousands to Christ? Can she exhort you to bring others to Christ, too ? Or, is this missionary woman like 'Dragnet,' to you, no nothing else, 'Just the fact, ma'am.'

 

[LegendaryXD]

No, she is just giving her testimony. If she was a preacher/pastor at the church then I would leave.

 

[wwjd_kilden]

Hmmmmm .... I wonder if those who would walk out would also walk out if a male pastor said something against the bible?

 

[Huckleberry]

Hmmmmm .... I wonder if those who would walk out would also walk out if a male pastor said something against the bible?

A "male" pastor? A pastor is by definition a man.
Concerning the OP, I wouldn't have to make that decision,
because no woman would be at the pulpit unless she were
standing with her husband helping him, or it was a ladies-only meeting.

 

[nathan3]

No. I would not walk out of a church just because a women is teaching God's word. That is not how Christ taught us to behave . People who struggle with that question , I can't really believe they have a good overall understanding of what the Bible teaches.

 

[zone]

Would you walk out of your church if a woman, who was a missionary, came up to the pulpit to give her testimony ?
Why or why not?

that wouldn't happen in my church.
why?
because no one goes up to the pulpit but the Pastor.

but we hear of Lutheran women's missions a lot. at meetings and before and after service.

is that okay, green?
or would she have to interrupt the service and go to the pulpit?

 

[LegendaryXD]

Hmmmmm .... I wonder if those who would walk out would also walk out if a male pastor said something against the bible?

I personally would. He is not teaching the truth, it's not like we are sexist, it's just the order of things.

 

[loveme1]

You know what is frightening?

That many will quote Paul to silence women in church but will exclaim "Pharisee" or "legalism" at Sabbath Keepers.

 

[oldhermit]

She would never be allowed in the pulpit in the first place.

 

[wwjd_kilden]

Good to know I shouldn't get a husband from these forums.... as I would not be a wife but a slave

 

[LegendaryXD]

Good to know I shouldn't get a husband from these forums.... as I would not be a wife but a slave

Looks like you are against God's word, not us.

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

Obviously not. I would thank God's beloved missionary for coming to share what God has been doing. GreenNnice, normally you don't crash scripture as badly as you've done in this post.

 

[AgeofKnowledge]

ROFL! !

Good to know I shouldn't get a husband from these forums.... as I would not be a wife but a slave

 

[Pearlie]

Surely the context in which Paul gave Timothy this pastoral advice should be considered. We have been taught that at the time, Paul was responding to reports of ongoing arguments that were taking place in Ephesus. The same had happened in other cities and Paul had learnt that the women in the 'congregations' had made it difficult for problems to be resolved. The women had been talking over the men. When Paul wrote the instruction to Timothy for the women to be silent, he certainly did not mean for women to ALWAYS be silent. It is important to consider both the historical event in its original context as well as the applicability to our current context. It is also suggested that women at the time were less educated than men. From a common-sense approach then, the conclusion that I would draw is that they were regarded as being less reasoned (than men) in their responses to conflict? This is certainly not the case any longer....so Paul's instructions to Timothy can therefore not be transferred ex-context.

 

[Misty77]

She is doing the work of the Lord and is in front of the church to given an update and share testimony. We have examples of women in the role of judge (leader) and prophetess (truth-speaker) in the Bible, and the command to share the Gospel is to all believers. Shame on anyone who would disrespect a faithful servant of God.

Galations 3:26for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave[SUP]g[/SUP] nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

While I don't think this necessarily negates all perceived gender rolls, it does point out that our unity is greater than our differences. When it says "in Christ you are all sons" that doesn't mean that we are all male. It means that we all have the same legal and relational benefits as sons. Daughters had significantly fewer rights at that time, and servants of course had a lesser place, but God has given us the same inheritance regardless of our ethnic or gender differences. There is no reason to think that a missionary is deserving of less respect because she did not inherit a Y chromosome.

 

[crossnote]

Women gave testimony plenty times in Scripture...old and new testaments.

 

[Pearlie]

My long post just disappeared into cyberspace....perhaps the angels have censored it. I agree with Misty77 on how we translate literally, especially the historical events of the Old Testament to our lives today. While the letters of Paul to Timothy was meant to be instructions on how to lead a righteous life, it was teaching against precisely the disunity that I see among men and women here and in the small community church I attend. This kind of selective reading has lead to so much dissention and Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians 1:10 pleads: "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." There are many other instances, mostly from Paul, that speak of building unity. Our teachers/leaders/preachers have a grave responsibility to not teach dissention and to educate themselves and grow in faith through learning the historical context before doing selective cut-n-paste jobs from the scripture to support their own prejudices. Let the scriptures speak for themselves.

 

[Bryancampbell]

I'll try to fence in the topic in a way to understand both what you're saying and what it is said.

If she is giving a testimony, she is giving a testimony. It is a blessing that she was a missionary and evangelized, and now shares her story to teach us, but the letter to Timothy is most likely talking about teaching doctrine from the pulpit. In 1 Timothy 2:12-15 says,

But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. - 1 Timothy 2:12-15 NASB

Simply if Eve had as much authority as Adam they would have both been created simultaneously. But the fact Adam was first and Eve was taught by what Adam knew, man is over a woman. Also another point Paul made was, Eve was the one who was deceived, not Adam. Adam ate of the fruit that Eve was deceived to eat. He in our knowledge was not in contact or tempted to fall by the serpent, but Eve.

In Titus 2:3-5 says:

Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. - Titus 2:3-5 NASB

We see here that women are able to teach other women, may even be allowed to instruct children, which this verse says older women [how old you must be isn't clear] are taught to do by Paul.

People like to use mighty prophetesses and women leaders in the bible to justify their position that women can teach in the pulpit. But teaching and prophesying are two different things. She may prophesy, she may lead through the office of a prophet. But no where in the bible have I seen a verse that says there was a woman who taught or preached boldly the Word of God. Again, she may have prophesied or had authority through the prophetic, but that's not preaching in doctrine as a type of teaching.

I could be wrong in everything I said. I may sound sexist, but I'm not. I know women who don't think women teachers over a man is biblical either. So sex doesn't really excludes anyone in opinion. Correct me but this is what I learned not through pastors I hear at church (actually they may go against what I said).

 

[starfield]

Would you walk out of your church if a woman, who was a missionary, came up to the pulpit to give her testimony ?
Why or why not?

I believe it’s great for Christian women to be involved in missionary work with their husband, e.g., consider Priscilla and Aquila, or in a Missions Team under the supervision of the church. Also, coming up to the pulpit to share their testimony is fine provided that they were appointed to do so by the pastor of the church. The idea is that women are not to serve as pastors or elders of a church, and it’s not a matter of human rights or sexism. We are to accept and yield to God's decrees as believers.

Cheers

 

[SparkleEyes]

If you were male, would you listen to her if she:
gave her testimony in your church's fellowship hall behind a podium in front of that same Sunday church crowd?

gave her testimony at your small group Bible study?

gave her testimony standing on a large rock in the garden or parking lot of your church in front of that same Sunday church crowd?

wrote her testimony in the form of a book?

authored a blog that contained her testimony?

I could go on and on and on and on.