1 Timothy 3 provides the criteria for a man who desires to be a pastor. It begins (in the NKJV):
"This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work."
It does not say, "If a person desires..." Why?
Given the cultures of the world at the time, a female "bishop" or pastor would have been seen as ludicrous. When Paul said he thought women ought to remain silent and learn in full submission (1 Timothy 2), he was presenting an idea that would have had some up in arms. "What? A woman is permitted to learn?" That idea would have seemed just as wild in that culture, but that's why Paul (basically) followed it with, "Woah, guys, I still don't think it's a good idea for women to teach." In that culture, men wouldn't listen to a woman who tried to teach a man.
Paul's statements seem misogynistic from our perspective, but he was actually advocating for additional freedoms for women. It's also important to note he puts it in personal terms: "I exhort...I admonish...I do not permit..."
In short, Paul was taking the culture of the day into account, yet advocating for women to learn. In cultures where men don't have a problem being led by women, I don't see why a woman couldn't be a pastor. It's not expressly forbidden by God in the modern day, but was prohibited in a time when the culture would not recognize the value of a woman.
Arguments regarding Eve's sin and Adam's sin made sense in the Judaic mind, but in Galatians, Paul recognized there is no difference in God's eyes for the children of God (Galatians 3:28). He exhorted the Philippians (in Philippians 4:2) to help the women who had "labored with him in the Gospel." Not every woman can lead, nor can every man. But if God does good through a pastor--whatever their sex--then praise God. I see no reason why God could not or would not call a woman to lead, save for if the culture in which she lived would not hear her because of their own arrogance.
Men are certainly meant to be leaders, but in some cases, men have been unwilling to do what women were willing to do. I have seen as much in churches, where entire branches of ministry were dissolved because the church would rather hire a man than give an opportunity for a woman to lead. Oddly, the church I went to that took 1 Timothy 2 as applicable today allowed women to teach children, to sing solos, to be part of choir, to teach other women, and to serve on committees, but would not allow women to teach men.
What does the Bible say about women leaders in government? Should a woman be President?
Generally speaking, God designed men for positions of leadership. But, apart from leadership in the church and family, which is given to men alone, the Bible doesn’t expressly forbid women from positions of government.
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