Female Preachers & Church Leaders

Upon moving to Florida, we (Lenny & Caly) were surprised by the level of intensity around the topic of women’s ordination and/or women’s empowerment to be leaders and preachers in churches.

While we desire to be sensitive to everyone’s conviction, we believe that it is both missiologically essential and biblically encouraged to empower women to be ordained ministers and leaders.

We have come to realize that, for many people, this is a sensitive topic because, in the end, everyone’s desire is to be faithful to the Bible. We commend and honor everyone who wants to uphold the Word of God without compromising the Gospel. We share the same desire. Sometimes, however, it seems that for some people the question of women preachers/leaders is a primary Gospel issue. We don’t agree with this assessment for the reasons listed below.

Entire books have been written about this subject. In the interest of being concise, here is a list of our most compelling reasons for why we hold a so-called “egalitarian” position that allows women to preach, lead, and celebrate Communion at The Table Church:

1) Jesus

• The very first person to see the risen Christ in the Gospel of John was Mary Magdalene, who was commissioned by Jesus himself to go to the disciples (the apostles!) and tell them the good news of his resurrection and coming ascension (John 20:17-18). In other words, a woman became the first apostle to the apostles. Well-known theologian N.T. Wright (an egalitarian) says that all preaching flows from this proclamation. So, if Jesus had a woman preach the first resurrection sermon, who are we to hinder them?

• Another example is Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet listening to him (Luke 10:39). This posture of learning from an esteemed rabbi was always with the intention of becoming a rabbi (or teacher) oneself, and was only open to men in Jesus’ culture. Jesus, however, not only tolerated Mary’s sitting under him but applauded her choice.

• People sometimes argue that Jesus’s apostles were 12 men. Therefore, women aren’t supposed to hold apostolic authority.
  Jesus called 12 male disciples because he was prophetically restoring the 12 Tribes of Israel through his arrival and the announcement of the Kingdom of God on earth (Isaiah 49:6). This had nothing to do with making a statement regarding men being more suitable than women for the task of apostleship or spiritual leadership. In fact, we know that many women followed Jesus as his disciples, too.

2) New Testament Examples

• The NT is full of examples of women being ordained as deacons (Romans 16:1, for example) and there is very strong reason to believe that Junia (not Junius!!) was an apostle (Rom. 16:13).

• Other women in the NT seemed to have had very influential teaching ministries as well. One great example is Priscilla (wife of Aquilla) who, in Acts 18:26, taught Apollos more accurately about Jesus.

3) Old Testament Examples

• While there were no female priests in the OT, there are examples of female prophets, judges and leaders (p.e. Deborah) who God used to influence, exhort, rebuke, direct, and lead Israel.

4) Hermeneutics & Exegesis

• 1 Timothy 2:11-15, 1 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Corinthians 14:33b-35, and Ephesians 5:22-25  are some of the main passages people use to argue against women’s ordination or empowerment to be teachers in churches.
  However, when interpreting Bible passages, we always ought to ask whether something is applicable to all people at all times in all places. There are various reasons and arguments as to why the restrictions placed on women in these passages should not be accepted as general restrictions. For example, there was a strong Diana cult in Ephesus (Timothy pastored in Ephesus) with female priestesses who performed all kinds of immoral acts. Did Paul give Timothy some of these limiting instructions to help protect the newly formed church that consisted of Jewish and Gentile believers from some of these immoral influences?

• Particularly the passage in 1 Tim. 2:11-15 needs to be interpreted carefully. The word Paul uses in the Greek for forbidding women to “exercise authority” over men is authentein, a word that only appears here in the entire NT and that is more likely to mean “usurp authority” or “domineer”.
  We must not use Scriptures like this to build entire doctrines, especially if they lead to restricting the majority of believers in the Body of Christ (women). 

• Eph. 5:22-25 also needs to be read in its wider context. Verse 21 actually starts out by saying that submission to each other applies to everyone, both wives to husbands and husbands to wives, in the way they lovingly serve each other.

We sometimes wonder why these passages are interpreted and applied without paying attention to cultural (and other) factors. After all, why don’t we apply a straight reading and application approach to passages like these:

• Titus 1:12-13
  One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” This saying is true.
  The Bible says Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, and lazy gluttons. It’s in the Scriptures!
  → Hence, no Cretans should ever become pastors or church leaders.

• 1 Corinthians 11:5-6
  But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved. For if a woman does not cover her head, she might as well have her hair cut off; but if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, then she should cover her head.
  → Why aren’t women covering their heads in our churches??

• 2 Timothy 4:13
  When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
  → Who has actually ever obeyed this Scripture? Who wants to go on a mission trip to Troas to find Paul’s cloak, scrolls and parchments? 🙂

5) New Covenant Context

• Scripture always needs to be interpreted in the wider context of Scripture (Biblical Theology), and, particularly, in the context of the New Covenant.

• In the NT, we are in union with Christ and, spiritually speaking, there is “neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). In the Kingdom of God, there is a “level ground”. If we take the New Covenant principle of the “priesthood of all believers” (1 Pet. 2:9) seriously, then we must no longer prefer one gender over the other when it comes to exercising priestly duties!

• In the New Covenant, true headship belongs to Christ alone (Eph. 1:22). Men and women together are under Christ’s Headship.

• The New Covenant is a covenant of the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:6), and as we learn from Pentecost and the prophecy in Joel 2, God explicitly poured out his Spirit on all flesh, sons and daughters, male and female servants, so that they prophesy. God wants women to speak and prophesy. In light of this, difficult passages like the ones we have seen above in 1 Corinthians need to be exegeted very carefully. 

• The New Covenant has broken the curse of inequality between man and woman that came as a consequence of the fall (Gen. 3:16). We are now restored to a pre-fall egalitarianism. Nothing in Genesis 1-2 (before the fall) indicates that men and women were unequal in any way. In fact, they both together reflected the image of God (Gen. 1:27).

6) Practical Inconsistencies

• While women are generally allowed to teach boys, why wouldn’t they be allowed to teach men? At what point does a boy become a man? And if they teach boys, aren’t they exercising “headship” over them?

Much more could be said and more nuanced discussions could be had. At this point, suffice it to say that we firmly believe that, in light of the entirety of Scripture and the full counsel of the wisdom of God, restrictions on women are often arbitrary and a hindrance to the expansion of God’s Kingdom on earth. 

Do you have feedback or questions about this important topic? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We welcome open and honest dialogue.

P.S.: The Table Church is part of a group of Anglican churches that are geographically linked called the Gulf Atlantic Diocese, which is part of all of the Anglican churches in North America. This group, or province, allows individual dioceses to determine the level of leadership held by women under the direction of their bishop. Our diocesan bishop, Bishop Alex Farmer, supports women’s ordination and endorses our position here at The Table. 

10 Reasons why we celebrate Communion regularly

As many of you know, we celebrate Communion every time we meet together for worship. In fact, this is one of the reasons why we’re called “The Table Church“!

But why are we doing that? Are we just being traditional or, heaven forbid, ritualistic? Far from it. 

Like a diamond, Communion has various facets that each reveal something beautiful about our faith. I have been deeply enriched by discovering these facets, especially after growing up in a context that didn’t celebrate Communion very often.

One of the core aspects of a Sunday service in the Anglican Church is Communion. Interestingly, the Anglican Church is the largest denomination in the world that fully acknowledges all other Christian denominations’ ways of celebrating Communion. This means two things:

1. You don’t have to be a member of the Anglican Church to be welcomed at the Lord’s Table on Sundays. Everyone who is a baptized follower of Jesus, regardless of denominational affiliation, may participate.

2. The way Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, and Christian denominations celebrate Communion is considered fully legitimate by the Anglican Church. There is no attitude of “you’re doing it all wrong” or “you must do it our way or it’s not the right way”.

Personally, I find this humble posture attractive. It was certainly a reason why I felt comfortable joining the Anglican Church.

But back to the actual topic. Here is my (growing) list of reasons why I have come to appreciate Communion and why I believe it holds much prophetic value for our times.

1) Jesus told us to do it

“23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” (1 Cor. 11:23-25)

We know from the book of Acts that the early believers took this instruction quite seriously. The Bible indicates that believers celebrated the Lord’s Supper very often: 

“42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.” (Acts 2:42-43)

Did you notice it says they devoted themselves? Communion was more than just an occasional addition to their worship services; it was done all the time, and it was part of the fantastic four: teaching, fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread!

2) A feast of victory

“In obedience to your will, he stretched out his arms upon the Cross and offered himself once for all, that by his suffering and death we might be saved. By his resurrection he broke the bonds of death, trampling Hell and Satan under his feet.” (excerpt from the Prayer of Consecration)

The night before he was crucified, Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper while celebrating the Passover with his disciples. He stepped into the meaning of this ancient Jewish ritual and basically announced that it had now found its fulfillment in him and in the work he was about to finish on the cross. Passover was the meal instituted to commemorate the liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Now, through Jesus, another Exodus was happening: freedom from Satan, slavery to sin and death. Communion is the feast of victory, an act of spiritual warfare, a visible declaration to the seen and unseen world that Jesus Christ has set us free! I don’t know about you, but this is great news, and worth celebrating every time we gather.

3) The Gospel made visible

Many of us hear the Gospel on Sundays (hopefully), but Communion is the Gospel made visible in front of our eyes. We see the bread being broken, we hear the invitation to literally get up from our seats and move to the table of the Lord. Our bodies are involved. We don’t just sit in church to receive and consume, but we actively participate. Even our taste buds get to experience the Gospel. In other words, celebrating Communion reminds us of the fact that the Gospel takes place in a real world and with real people; it is not merely a “spiritual thing”. This leads me to my next point.

4) Our faith has real substance

One of the early heresies that crept into the church was Gnosticism. At its root, Gnostics denied the Incarnation of Jesus saying that substance and material (the created physical world) is intrinsically evil and only the spiritual realm is pure. “Salvation” meant leaving the physical realm behind. The apostle John called this teaching “antichrist”: 

“I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.” (1 John 2:7)

These teachers taught that it was impossible for God, who was perfect, to put on imperfect flesh through the Incarnation. Well, they were wrong; seriously wrong! God did put on flesh!

Unfortunately, even today, we sometimes have a tendency to become escapists trying to leave our “flesh” and this “world” behind. The truth is, at the heart of the Gospel is God who took on flesh and, by doing so, forever sanctified physical matter. This has significant implications. It means that our bodies (and what we do with them) matter, that the environment matters, that physical health matters, etc. 

Communion reminds us that Jesus gave his real body and shed real blood to redeem a real fallen creation and to call the created order “good” again once and for all.

5) Our brokenness matters

“This is My body which is broken for you.” (1 Cor. 11:24)

Communion reminds us visibly that life is messy, that we are all broken, and that Jesus entered into our brokenness to redeem and restore us. Therefore, I believe there is spiritual and physical healing in the Lord’s Supper. People have gotten healed in multiple ways during Communion. Maybe it doesn’t always manifest or show; that’s up to the Lord. The Lord’s Supper is not a magic life-improvement ritual. And yet, it is a prophetic declaration that one day, maybe already today, everything will be made whole again.

6) Mystical, not magical

This being said, Communion is not a magic formula, or a ritual to make God do something. For centuries, churches and entire denominations have divided over what exactly happens during Communion. Is it merely an ordinance of remembrance and, thus, purely symbolic? Or are the bread and wine literally turning into the very body and blood of Jesus (“transubstantiation”)? 

Most Anglicans land somewhere in the middle acknowledging the mystery of Christ’s real presence without falling into the Catholic view of transubstantiation. I like this. I believe we need mystery at the heart of faith to protect us from becoming proud, and Holy Communion is an invitation into this mystery. Jesus is really present. How and to what extent, I don’t know. I don’t have to know. All I need to do is come to his table, eat and drink, regardless of how I feel. Christ is right there, with me. Thank you, Lord. 

7) Christ is at the center

For me personally, this is one of the most compelling reasons. By celebrating Communion every time we worship, we center ourselves, our lives, and our worship around Jesus. Everything we do on a Sunday - singing songs, saying prayers, preaching sermons - is only a stepping stone to the most significant part of our worship: our physical encounter with Jesus through the bread and wine. Partaking in Communion is an act of worship, of joyful surrender, and of communicating to our souls and bodies that we are here for Jesus. 

This is significant for each church leader who has a role up front. We’re not called The Stage because of our amazing worship band. Neither are we called The Pulpit because of our sermons. As meaningful and as important as they are, they’re designed to lead us to and center us around Jesus. We come to His Table. 

By the way, this is why priests and deacons who lead the Lord’s Supper often wear a stole (the scarf-like looking piece of fabric) over their shoulders. The stole represents the “yoke of Jesus”. In other words, the priest is not inviting believers to his own table but to Christ’s table. The stole is meant to point to Jesus. 

I believe that all of this holds prophetic significance for our times. Too many churches tend to build around a gifted, charismatic individual with amazing speaking or other spiritual gifts. The church, however, exists for Jesus, and for him alone. Therefore, let us follow the invitation to his table.

8) We’re part of a bigger story

This was another big one for me personally. Honestly, I never considered church history to be very important. All I wanted was to participate in what the Holy Spirit was doing now and in the future. I was part of the chosen generation that looked forward, and not back. 

Unfortunately, a lot of my thinking was rooted in pride. How beautiful and humbling it has been to discover that I’m part of a 2,000 year old faith with even older Jewish roots. Yes, much of church history was shaped by darkness and evil. But we must not forget that we’re still part of a bigger story. Our faith has deep, ancient roots that are worth upholding and celebrating. Communion is an invitation to stay connected to these roots of our faith. This is why we often use pre-written texts and prayers. Many of them are hundreds of years old. Like good old wine, they have stood the test of time and have preserved important truths that every generation needed to understand.

By the way, Barna studies indicate that Millennials (my bunch) feel increasingly attracted to faiths with more ancient expressions. I believe humans crave a sense of rootedness, of belonging, and of being part of something bigger than themselves. Thus, intentionally connecting to this bigger story can create outreach opportunities.

9) We’re all equal

Another powerful statement Communion makes is that we’re all equal before and equally in need of Jesus. No matter where you come from, what you look like, how old you are, if you’re Democrat or Republican, the bread and the wine are the same for everyone. No one gets a bigger piece. We’re all one body, members united under Christ. This is why we call it “Communion” (= Common Union). Again, how ironic that the meal that was given to communicate and prophesy unity has been at the center of church splits and divisions. Let’s rediscover the prophetic value of Communion at a time where Christians are again divided over various issues.

10) Hope for the future

As long as we’re waiting for Jesus to return, Communion will keep us anchored and expectant. In 1 Cor. 11:26 Paul says, 

“For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 

That’s why we always say, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again”. The death, resurrection, ascension and future return are at the heart of our Christian faith. Communion bridges the story from the past of our faith to the future.

By celebrating Communion, we look forward to the day when all of God’s people join together at the wedding feast of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9). 

Currently, at this moment in time and history, we prophetically step into the heavenly realm during Communion saying,

“we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven, who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your Name: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest.” (taken from the Communion liturgy).