CBMW, and the Perpetual Infancy of the Body of Christ

On CBMW's website we find an article that attempts to explain how women can serve in the church without teaching men or having authority over men. The article lists a few problem areas, such as music, and children's ministry, for the Bible doesn't talk about these in detail.

"For a woman to serve as a worship leader or music minister in a church is a more difficult issue. Part of the difficulty in making application here lies in the lack of uniform agreement among various church traditions regarding the role and function of one who serves in such a ministry. It is certainly possible for a woman to serve in a position in which she leads in congregational singing during a church worship service. However, it would depend on how that particular church understands the degree of authority that she holds over the assembled congregation and the extent to which she provides instruction."

(Read the whole article at, http://cbmw.org/uncategorized/women-in-ministry-practical-application-of-biblical-teaching/)

Can a woman lead worship?
 
It depends on how the particular church understand the degree of authority. 

In other words, it is no longer about the Bible, or what the Bible says about men and women, but how we as believers understand authority.

We all know that everyone has an opinion, but that opinions aren't facts. If we cannot go to the Bible to find the facts, are we then allowed to resort to opinions? And whose opinions?


Here we must assume that it is the men in charge whose opinion holds sway, for are they not given authority in the church? But this begs the question, if men are given authority to make such decisions, what about Jesus? What place does Jesus have in the church? Should we not consult the Gospels to find what Jesus would have done in such a situation?

And what about children's ministry?

"Paul speaks commendably of Timothy's mother and grandmother who taught him the Scriptures and passed their faith on to him (2 Tim 1:5; 3:14-15). This does not conflict with the biblical prohibition against a woman teaching doctrine to men or exercising authority over them in the church, because young boys do not relate to women teachers as man to woman. Thus, there is nothing inappropriate with women teaching or exercising authority over young boys who are under their mother's authority at home."

Ok, so a mother can teach her children, should teach her children. A mother who neglects to teach her children is a bad mother. But why does a woman who is considered godly for teaching the principles of God to her children, suddenly ungodly when she teaches those same principles to a man? How can that possibly be? 

Young boys do not relate to women as man to woman. Granted. So the problem is in the man, not the woman. It is the man who does not want to hear a woman teach him the principles of God, because in the church teaching is viewed as a position of power (falsely so, but that's material for another blog). It is the man who refuses to submit to his sister, as another member of the Body of Christ. And although hierarchical theology considers this right and proper it goes against the Bible in every possible way.
 

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines" (1 Cor 12:4-11, NIV).

Teaching is a gift from the Holy Spirit. A man who refuses to listen to a sister who is teaching is causing the Body of Christ to cease from growing, and becoming perfected and mature in knowledge.
 

"(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:9-13, NIV).

Teachers help us grow into maturity, until we attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. As long as we remain infants, we are easily deceived and become disconnected from the head (Col 2:19). The hierarchical model assumes that the pastor will keep these infants from trouble, but it is an impossible task. As in the natural world, an infant needs a caregiver; one person cannot care for hundreds of infants at the same time. And as in the real world, an infant is supposed to grow and become a mature grownup. But as long as half of the church believes they already have enough knowledge, and are therefore free to ignore the other half, the church remains in the cradle, unable to do the works of service that are required to build the Body of Christ until it stands complete and perfected.