Women, the home, church leadership...

How do I begin? I suppose I can simply tell you that I don't have this all figured out. But I want to share with you my thoughts, after many years, much researching, and many heated conversations. As a woman, I have constantly wondered: what is my purpose? In the world? In the church? Am I doing it wrong?

Many use Biblical passages in a way that makes me feel that women must be less than men, and should therefore devalue themselves. Women already feel that way! And I do not find this to be a Biblical standpoint at all. I am not about to go all "crazy Christian feminist" on you. I want to present a small case of Biblical womanhood and how it can relate to Biblical manhood.

I am of the persuasion that God gives mandates to preserve a right relationship between men and women which reflects his purpose in creating them. In the creation account, both male and female are given dominion over all creation and commanded to multiply. They are to work together. Some have argued that, as Adam was created first, he is therefore superior to Eve. However, all the rest of creation was made before people, so this argument does not seem to hold.

There is something undeniably unique about the way God creates Eve, however. Everything else in creation was made from nothing--or in Adam's case, was made from dirt. Why does God make Eve from Adam? Why does he choose Eve to be the future bearer of the messiah (indirectly)? She is both bound to Adam and to God in the first few episodes of the world.

So what does this mean? Ultimately, Eve is a part of Adam. When they come together, they are recognizing God's purposeful created bond between them. Eve owes her existence to Adam's physical sacrifice. Adam desires Eve's company. It is not good for man to be alone. God created Eve for Adam's companionship, but also for something so much more. She is his own flesh.

How does this inform ordination/ women in the home? First of all, in dealing with issues of gender, I would make a distinction between arguments about authority and arguments about roles.  I want to talk about this issue not from a "who's in charge" stance, but from a "what purpose has God given each gender" stance.
The purpose of both, in general, is to take care of creation, enjoy blessings from it, and have children. However, they are not originally given roles separate from one another. They are given interconnecting roles. I have heard this described before as a dance. She is made to be his helper in ruling. This means she has an active leadership role in the world no matter what. He is to leave all to be with her, recognizing his need to be rejoined with his helper (Genesis 2:22-25).

I realize this sounds egalitarian. But just wait. The nature of Adam and Eve's relationship should be termed interdependence. However, just as they are dependent on one another, so they are also dependent on God-for sustaining all of creation, including themselves. Both are below God and on the same level.
This informs us of the relationship between men and women in the home, as they need to recognize their interdependence on one another and their mutual dependence on God. But then how can the man be the head of the woman? (I Corinthians 11:3) I would argue that this passage has to do with the man being the spiritual leader of the household. Though both are dependent on God, the man is given a special obligation to imitate Christ in his love for the church towards his wife. This is true headship. I could go on forever about the numerous ways in which Christ's love is displayed towards His church. The most striking is in his willingness to lay down his life for her. How about some men who are so passionate about leading their families spiritually that they serve and love their wives?

The female response to this must be to submit. Even as I type that word I cringe. It has been so misused. This submission is anything but passive. Love does not demand a response, but certainly asks for one. True submission is doing what the church so often fails to do: to be imitators of Christ in self-sacrificing good works, to follow His example, and to listen to his words respectfully. Not to simply do whatever he tells us to do just because we think we should. Our hearts need to be involved in the matter.

So women need to respect their husbands. Not in a "should" sense, but in a responsive sense.
As for ordination, might I say that there was not a social structure in place at creation, as there was only one man and one woman. When many people are involved, the situation needs to be re-assessed. Therefore, I would not apply the creation account to church leadership, but rather to the marriage relationship, as that is how it is explained in the end of Genesis 2.

Instead, I would look at passages on church structure. Much is said in the way of different members performing different God-given functions. In these passages, no distinction is noted between men and women (I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, etc.). In interpreting prophesy, however, women are encouraged to learn in silence (I Corinthians 14:34-35). This social prohibition is coupled with a connection to the husband-wife bond. The woman is encouraged to learn, but not to declare the word of God directly (as interpreting would do). This can be linked to the passage in I Timothy 2:8-15. Again, women are encouraged to learn, to be submissive, and not to exert authority over a man.

There is a part of me that still wants to rile against this! But I believe it is because of the connotations I have with the words used. submit does not mean be a doormat. Not having spiritually authority does not mean being un-empowered. Women should learn so that they can teach other women. Women should learn so that they can lead alongside the Adams by doing good works. Women can love men actively by listening respectfully, being supportive, and offering assistance. None of this makes women inferior. This makes women some strong, powerful influences in the church. God wants to use men to preach His Word; He wants to use women to learn and practice His word. And both can learn from each other how to do the other function in appropriate contexts.