“Why can’t women serve in church?”
The Sunday morning gathering is typically the overwhelming focus of church life. The bulk of the expected education and transformation falls at the feet of the sermon and the Bible class. Much of our fellowship occurs at the building in between those services, along with the occasional pot luck or small groups (depending on the congregation). Because of that, much of our opportunity to “encourage one another” (Heb. 3:13) and “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2) occurs on Sunday as well.
One could even make the case that the majority of our evangelistic efforts are based in the worship service, as we invite visitors, preach an invitation aimed at them, and hope they enjoyed the worship and fellowship experience enough to come back.
The point: when we think of the functions of the church, what happens at the building gets a lion’s share of the emphasis, and what happens on Sunday morning gets the lion’s share of that lion’s share. And, in that time, women are limited in their participation. It’s no wonder so many claim women aren’t allowed to do anything in the church, and if I’m being honest, I have to agree to an extent.
The answer, however, isn’t removing the boundaries to their participation there, as many have proposed in this day of egalitarianism.
Instead, we should continue to work to expand “church” beyond the building.
When “church” is 90% or so focused on what happens on Sunday, and women aren’t allowed to participate there, then it’s not unfair to say that women are second class citizens of sorts. If, on the other hand, the Sunday gathering is just one part (an important part, but still one of many) of what the church does, we can meaningfully say, “Women are allowed to do nearly everything but that.”
Spiritual-minded, older Christian women are commanded to share their wisdom with younger Christian women (Titus 2:4), and the younger women would be wise to seek them out. No, it’s not a sermon… but the impact of discipling a woman and thereby impacting her husband, children, and even grandchildren could be far greater. They might not be preach sermons or teach men’s and women’s Bible classes, but their teaching is still desperately needed.
The Bible shows how the power of praying, worshiping women with the examples of Miriam, Hannah, and Anna, along with Mary’s “Magnificat.” They might not be allowed to be worship leaders, but their worship and prayer matters.
The women who followed and ministered to Jesus throughout the Gospels played a vital role in His ministry, despite the fact that they weren’t chosen in the Twelve. God’s work can be wonderfully administered by faithful women in a number of ways that don’t have to include the Sunday gathering. So, though women might not be able to hold the title of “Deacon,” they are certainly needed servants of the church.
Therefore, it’s vitally important that we create opportunities for the spiritual women of our churches to be active and involved in the lives of those in their congregations. In the age of Google searches and Facebook groups, it’s easy for all of us to look to internet strangers for advice and spiritual encouragement, and young women are no exception.
But what they need more than anything is to have women in their own congregations who care for them and are intentional about being in their lives. Women might not be able to be elders, but they can still guide and care for souls.
If you’re a woman who has served God for a number of years, find a younger woman or two to take under your wing to pray with them, study with them, and encourage them. If you’re a younger woman, seek out the friendship of an older, godly woman or two at your church. It might be awkward for both sides at first, but the relationship will be invaluable as God always works in us as we serve and encourage one another.
I’m certainly not naive enough to think this will solve the debate entirely. Some will always insist that anything less than full participation is oppressive (though they remain oddly silent in chiding God for similarly denying non-Levitical Jews the right to serve as priests, but that’s another article for another day).
However, I do think it would go a long way. We as churches are doing ourselves a disservice if we fail to put the wisdom and talents of our women to work. Faithful, God-fearing, praying women are a powerful asset in God’s kingdom. As long as we leave “church” at the building and rarely see each other outside of Sunday, we’ll never make full use of their talents.
