What does the Bible say about women's roles in the church? With pros and cons on either side of a heated, ongoing debate, no definitive conclusions have emerged. This book furnishes you with a clear and thorough presentation of the two primary views on women in ministry so you can better understand each one's strengths, weaknesses, and complexities. Each view-egalitarian (equal ministry opportunity for both genders) and complementarian (ministry roles differentiated by gender)-is represented by two contributors. This revised edition of the book brings the exchange of ideas and perspectives into the traditional Counterpoints format. Each author states his or her case and is then critiqued by the other contributors. The fair-minded, interactive Counterpoints forum allows you to compare and contrast the two different positions, and to form your own opinion concerning the practical and often deeply personal issue of women in ministry. The Counterpoints series provides a forum for comparison and critique of different views on issues important to Christians. Counterpoints books address two categories: Church Life and Exploring Theology. Complete your library with other books in the Counterpoints series.

Two Views on Women in Ministry—Revised Edition
Copyright © 2001, 2005 by James R. Beck
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Two views on women in ministry / Linda L. Belleville . . . [et al.] ; general editor,
James R. Beck.—2nd ed.
p. cm.— (Counterpoints)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN–10: 0-310-25437-X (softcover)
ISBN–13: 978-0-310-25437-9
1. Women clergy. I. Belleville, Linda L. II. Beck, James R. III. Series:
Counterpoints (Grand Rapids, Mich.)
BV676.T96 2005
262'.14'082—dc22 2005008670
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible:
Today’s New International Version®. TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations in Thomas R. Schreiner’s essay are taken from the New American
Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
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Chapter One
WOMEN IN MINISTRY:
AN EGALITARIAN PERSPECTIVE
Linda L. Belleville
WOMEN IN MINISTRY:
AN EGALITARIAN PERSPECTIVE
Linda L. Belleville
One of the continuing hotbeds of debate in evangelical circles
today is the nature and scope of leadership roles open to women in
the church. Can a woman preach God’s word? Can she serve communion,
baptize, or lead in worship? Can she marry and bury?
Can she serve as the lead or solo pastor? Can she teach an adult
Bible class? Can she serve as a bishop, elder, or deacon? Can she
put “Reverend” or “Doctor” before her name?
These are the questions with which numerous churches in
the last fifty years have struggled and over which some have
divided. In large part this has been due to the absence of any
middle ground. The issues and terms have been defined so as
to force a choice either wholly for or wholly against women in
leadership. The interpretive approach of traditionalists, in particular,
has been notably selective. The focus has been on one or
two highly debated passages (first and foremost, 1 Tim. 2:11–
15), with little acknowledgment of the roles of women in Scripture
as a whole.
What about today? Has any middle ground been reached?
What currently separates the traditionalist and egalitarian? As
recently as two decades ago the polarity was vast. It was not
uncommon to hear evangelicals talking about a woman’s flawed,
self-deceived nature or her secondary creation in God’s image,
which ruled out any leadership role for her in the church.2 Now
there are very few who would go this far, and most who thought
this way in the past have changed their minds.
What accounts for the change? It is not that a biblical consensus
has emerged, for traditionalists still claim that theirs is
the “Christ-honoring, Bible-believing perspective” and that the
egalitarian’s perspective is the “liberal, culturally acceptable
view.” The primary impetus is actually social in nature. The
feminist movement and economic pressures have catapulted
women into the workplace, where they have shown themselves
to be equally talented, wise, and levelheaded—so that whereas
twenty-five years ago only young adult males were challenged
with the slogan “Uncle Sam wants you,” today women and men
alike are encouraged to “be all that you can be.”
To a great extent evangelicals have followed suit. There is
now general agreement that women possess exactly the same
spiritual gifts men do and are to be encouraged to develop and
exercise these gifts to their fullest potential. In effect, women are
urged to “be all that they can be spiritually.” Acase in point is a
recent catalog statement from one of America’s largest and most
conservative evangelical seminaries: “As members of the faculty
of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and leaders in the church
of our Lord, we recognize that God has given his gifts to both
men and women in the body of Christ,” and “It is our goal that
each woman be encouraged and receive the training she needs
to be fully prepared for future ministry.”
So the issue that divides traditionalists (now self-identified
as “complementarians”) and egalitarians today is not that of
women in ministry per se (i.e., women exercising their spiritual
gifts). It is rather women in leadership, for while a consensus has
emerged regarding women and spiritual gifting, a great divide
has emerged on the issue of women in leadership—especially
women leading men.
What accounts for the great divide? The patriarchal structures
that were in place in the American workplace thirty years
ago have been replaced by an ethic of gender equality—in theory,
if not always in practice. Here, however, evangelicals have
not generally followed suit. While mainline denominations have
embraced gender equality, evangelical churches by and large
have not. It is the rare evangelical church that has a woman in its
pulpit on Sunday morning, a woman as lead pastor, a female
chairperson or chief elder of its council, or a female teacher of its
adult Bible classes. It is also the uncommon evangelical denomination
that ordains women, installs women in key administrative
positions, or appoints women to governing boards.
The reason for this state of affairs is not hard to pinpoint:
the relationship of male and female continues to be perceived in
hierarchical ways. God created men to lead; God created women
to follow. It is this that fundamentally differentiates a traditionalist
from an egalitarian today.
This distinction has become highly politicized. Councils are
formed, supporters are sought, newsletters are generated,
speaker bureaus are created, business meetings are held, and
funds are solicited. For example, the Council on Biblical Manhood
and Womanhood (CBMW) was formed and the Danvers
Statement formulated in 1987 in reaction to the egalitarian view
espoused by participants at the “Evangelical Colloquium on
Women and the Bible” held on October 9–11, 1984, in Oak
Brook, Illinois. Moreover, there is little room for dialogue on the
issue. Only the publications that fully follow the party line are
referenced. Bible translations are judged by the presence or
absence of gender-inclusive language. Books are either wholly
in or wholly out.11 And organizations, denominations, and
churches are either entirely affirmed (e.g., Southern Baptist Convention,
Presbyterian Church in America, Bethlehem Baptist
Church) or completely rejected (e.g.

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