Pastor Bob, can a woman serve as a pastor in the church?

Designer Genes

Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home. —1 Corinthians 14:34–35 (NKJV)

Not a month goes by that I don't receive a question from someone in the church who wants to know, "Pastor Bob, can a woman serve as a pastor in the church?" God's Word does give us an answer to this question. But first we need to take note of a simple fact that is absolutely necessary in order to understand God's heart on this important issue: men and women are different. Check out the chart that secular science has put together listing the different types of energies typically expressed by women and men:

Female Energy ........ Male Energy
caring ........ accepting
understanding ........ appreciative
respectful ........ trusting
feeling ........ analytical
emotional ........ logical
intuitive ........ rational
nurturing ........ efficient
idealistic ........ practical
vulnerable ........ aggressive

Even beyond this, we know that men and women aren't the same because God's Word declares that they were designed to be different:

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)

We need to agree on this because once we acknowledge the natural differences in men and women, it makes sense that their roles in the church shouldn't be the same. The Bible tells us that men have been called to be the leaders in the home and in the house of God (1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:11). Scripture also teaches that women are called to support and follow their leadership (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Timothy 2:12).

God reserves the pastoral position within the body of Christ for men because even though men and women are equal in their importance, they are different in their performance. His heart is that both would be blessed as they embrace their divinely designed differences.

DIG - Why did God create men and women to be different?

DISCOVER - How does this truth impact your life?

DISPLAY - How would you answer the question, "Can a woman be a pastor?"