Women in Ministry: A Follow-up

So, to recap my original post on women in ministry, I basically asserted that for the egalitarian Christian of today, I believe it is because of a category confusion that women are assumed called to any and all area of sacerdotal life. I believe that people often confuse telos (functionary form) with ontos (a person's substance or humanity). Ontologically, women have nothing intrinsically different than men in the ability to lead a church. But teleologically, tradition has reserved priestly roles (bishops and presbyters/pastors) for men. It's too easy to read male domination, culture, or toxic patriarchy back to the early Church. Instead, the telos is primarily an extension of a father... It is a figurehead role and not an authoritarian one. It is protective, representative, and compassionate. And, progression of image flows from the Father to the Son to Adam, and then to Eve. A priest/pastor serves as an icon of Christ -- the second Adam -- from the alter. This is not to say a women could never serve in such representation, but rather that it is ultimately a reflection of fatherhood and not an office to be held.

At the same time, abusive patriarchy has no place in Christianity. Many fundamentalist Protestant traditions prohibit women from any and all leadership, and often based on verses held out of context. We must ask then, what is it that women cannot do in church?

The bishop and priest are the presidents of the congregation -- the clan chiefs that lead the family-tribe in worship and in [spiritual] war. This is accomplished from the alter where the cornerstone of worship -- the Eucharist -- is offered to God in communion with his people. Beyond that, ministry is relatively flexible, since men and women together are a royal priesthood to the planet. 

Many Protestants will raise a few names and verses as examples of women in ministry. The Gospels speak of Mary the mother of Jesus, another Mary and her sister Martha, and Mary Magdalene as leaders and influencers. The Old Testament speaks of an elevated woman as a judge and prophetess-- Deborah. Acts 16 and 18 mention Priscilla as a teacher. There are co-workers in the ministry like Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11), Nympha (Col. 4:15), and Apphia (Philemon 2). We can't forget about Phoebe in Romans 16:1 either. And then there is Lydia, who helped lead a house church in Acts 16. And lastly, Junia(s) in Romans 16:7, whose name, though androgynous, could have been considered an apostle and may have been a woman.

All these and more suggest that women had an elevated role in the Church. In a contemporary context, we might say that they were teachers, prophets, board members, or lay-ministers. There is even evidence of deaconesses in Church history as well, whose primary focus was women's ministry, not liturgical service. In the end, all the above just proves that women were active in leadership, but bishop and pastor were not noted as a woman's ministry. The Bible is silent on the fact, but tradition has retained a male role here, and precisely because it is an expansion of the fatherly role in a family and church was/is family.         

I think another reason moderns confuse a fatherly role with an office is the way Protestant churches have changed worship. Worship is mainly music today, communion is infrequent, and the core of ministry life centers around preaching. All have their place, but offerings or sacrifice is the heart of ancient worship. It is ite n communion that the Church represents offering: to have a meal with and partake of God's presence. Preaching is merely a lesson or spiritual boost, and music is the inspirational backdrop to worship. It seems to me that the main sacred fatherly role in history has been the Eucharist. With a reduced meaning in communion, ministry has come to occupy areas that could be handled by lower level clergy, like deacons, or lay leaders [note: laity is an order of ministry as much as clergy... All are ministers]. For Protestants, all pastors -- youth, worship, outreach, and even senior  serve more like deacons than priests. Many of these areas of service aren't necessarily barred to women in antiquity. 

So, women can probably serve in a multitude of ministry roles, perhaps even be ordained (many moderns who are against female ordination would rather use the distinction of "consecration," but I believe these to be synonyms) to some vocational ministries, but women are not fathers -- they are mothers. Their telos is to bring forth life, enculturate the next generation, and work alongside the church' s fathers in a familial setting. Yes, women could do the lead pastor thing, but there really is no shortage of opportunities elsewhere. Women can indeed be leaders in the Church, but liturgically, it may be limited by order and calling.