A plea for recognition

The battles of women in ministry

Salatiel Palomino López

In this article I want to share one chapter in the long struggle women have faced within the church of the Lord in order to be recognized as full persons. It is a chapter that tries to capture at least two decades in the life of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, which until now has refused to grant women ministers the same status and privileges it generously bestows on men. Here I deal, not with scholarly research or arguments, but with popular notions that have determined the current state of discrimination against women in our church and the continuing efforts to change an unfair situation.

Unofficial women ministers

Women traditionally constitute the "backbone" and the "soul" of the life and mission of many local parishes; they are also a majority in the constituency of the Presbyterian Church in Mexico.

Our sisters have served the Lord for many years and in many ways in the churches and mission posts of the denomination. In some cases they have pioneered the preaching of the gospel, in large cities as well as small remote villages; they have started new churches or supported the life and mission of existing churches through their faithful service and witness, continuous prayer and generous offerings and gifts; they have contributed to the edification of the people of God, acting as lay leaders, animators, liturgists, preachers, Christian educators, counsellors, administrators and unofficial pastors. All of this work has been undertaken out of love for the Lord, with a deep sense of mission, commitment and calling, and without expecting to be publicly recognized or officially ordained.

Women devoted to full-time ministry in the local churches or other ecclesiastical groups or activities have been called obreras (lay workers) or misioneras (missioners), but they have never received the same recognition or privileges as male ministers discharging similar ministries, nor have they been admitted to the ordained ministries of deacon, elder or minister of word and sacrament.

Such resistance to the recognition and ordination of women is said to be based upon biblical teaching; but one can also detect certain underlying cultural and personal prejudices, as the following stories will show.

Humiliating experiences in the lives of God's daughters

After the prayer meeting of a group of women at a Presbyterian Church in Mexico City, they moved from the sanctuary to the social hall for a moment of friendly fellowship. One of them forgot her Bible in the sanctuary. When she later went back to get it, she found that the guardatemplo (janitor) had put it on a shelf in the pulpit, where all lost objects were kept. But she was not allowed to go up the chancel, where the pulpit was, since she was a woman. As it was getting late and the women could not find the janitor, they finally allowed her to go up the chancel and get her Bible from the pulpit... on condition that she did it on her knees! And so she did. Something the male janitor didn't have to do.

A female Seminary student was sent by her Presbytery in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, to work among some small rural churches in far away towns during the Summer recess at the Seminary. When she later reported back to the Presbytery, she referred to her work of preaching, evangelizing and pastoral leadership during those days. The young woman had worked faithfully and efficaciously; however, a male pastor objected to her report at one point: she should not say that she had "preached"; instead, she should simply say that she "gave talks" or "meditations", since preaching is for male pastors.

At a Presbytery meeting, women's ordination was discussed. One of the pastors objected to women in the ministry by asking in wonder, almost in horror, how could a pregnant or menstruating woman dare to stand behind a pulpit and preach the holy word of God!? And in the same line of thought another pastor wrote: "What would we think if a seven-month pregnant woman went up the pulpit to preach? The truth is that we would judge it anti-aesthetic, anti-biblical, anti...everything."¹

Another female Seminary student was regularly serving a small urban congregation as part of her field education. She was asked to preach every Sunday, but not from the pulpit; she had to preach from a small lectern placed below the chancel. For a special service, the leaders of the congregation asked her if she could find another student who could play the organ and provide the music for the occasion. She invited along another female seminarian, who was enrolled in the field of church music; but she was not allowed to play the organ, because the instrument was located in the chancel, where women were not allowed. So a whole complicated manoeuvre was executed in order to bring the organ down from the platform and install it at floor level where the congregation was.

Women's ordination was brought up at another Presbytery. An elder opposed the idea of women discharging public official ministries on the ground that their presence in the chancel would be a temptation for men sitting in the pews, in whom sinful thoughts would be aroused by the mere presence of a woman.

To most Christians, these cases might seem ridiculous and even offensive, the outcome of sheer ignorance, prejudice and sinful attitudes, yet they are pervasively present in the mind and the life of many lay and ordained people, congregations and judicatories; moreover, they are obviously considered to be correct by many well-meaning believers. Why? Because they think these customs and church policies are in accordance with the word of God. Let us, then, examine some of the main biblical arguments that have been invoked in support of such behaviour.

The Arguments "from Scripture" against women's ordination

I will here review in some detail a brief, prejudiced but influential booklet which has circulated extensively among Presbyterian churches in Mexico; it sums up the arguments against women's ordination that are most pervasive in our churches. I have included some of its comments and its rhetoric to show how the biblical argumentation is inextricably intertwined with personal and cultural sensitivities, emotions and prejudices.

The basic line of reasoning feeds on the fact that throughout the biblical story God always chose men, and men only, for all leadership positions. God chose a male (Abraham) to be the father of the people of God. "It was not from Sarah [that God formed the chosen people], much less from Hagar or from any other woman (Gen 12)."² The first human beings who officiated at the sacrifices to God, the patriarchs, "all of them were males (Gen 8.20 and elsewhere)."³ When God's people grew, again God called men to be the leaders; such was the case with Moses, Joshua and the rest of the caudillos. When God later split the civil and religious offices, a man, namely Moses, remained in charge of civil affairs, while another man, Aaron, was called to be the priest; later on, men also were Aaron's successors (Lev 8). Deborah was the only female judge, but "the exception confirms the rule" in the sense that God chose males.⁴ That is also the case with the kings; all of them were males except for Athalia, who usurped the royal power. Esther, again, represents an exception: "she was used by God for a special mission."⁵ Although in special circumstances God used Huldah and Hannah, the fact remains that all of the real permanent prophets were males.

In the New Testament we have the "supreme example: Christ" who, from among all his male and female disciples, chose "twelve men".⁶ The seven deacons elected in Acts 6 were all men; and when the need arose to ordain evangelists, Saul and Barnabas (men, of course) were elected from among the male prophets and teachers only (Acts 13). It was men only who were chosen as elders in the churches (Acts 20.17,28 and elsewhere). Finally, when the Book of Revelation refers to the seven churches in Asia, "it speaks of males; no little female angel is mentioned, only "angels" [males]." In the Book of Revelation the word "'angel' is used to represent the pastors."⁷

As for the possible biblical arguments in favour of women's ordination, the author says that "a wholesome exegesis and hermeneutic will confirm that none of the passages frequently used by those who favour women holding official positions, are in the truth"(sic).⁸

Rom 16.1 does not mean that Phoebe was a deaconess, since the term diakonon (accusative, singular masculine) must be translated in the sense that "Phoebe... who is at the service of the church at Cenchreae."⁹ She could not have been an official deaconess because there were 1,000 women priests of Aphrodite and 100 more of Artemis in Corinth (the city of which Cenchreae was the port), and a woman official would have created confusion among new believers in the church. Thus, Phoebe was at the service of the church just like any other female believer.

In similar fashion, Gal 3.28, another text frequently quoted in favour of the ordination of women, cannot mean that since there is no difference between man and woman both can be ordained. The text must be interpreted according to its context, and the context here does not say that we can ordain women and men alike. It rather refers to the fact that through faith we all are heirs of the promise without distinction as to nationality or sex.¹⁰

1 Tim 3.11, where we read of the duties of the deacons and then it speaks of women, is not to be understood as if it spoke of women deaconesses, but simply of non-ordained women in general. No reference can be found in the original Greek to deaconesses.¹¹

Finally, there are those passages of Scripture that implicitly or explicitly deny that women can carry out official positions in the church.

The author believes that Col 3.18, which demands that women be subject to their husbands, implies that a woman cannot hold an ordained office in the church, because that would set her in opposition to her husband since she would not be able to subject herself to him.

1 Tim 3 is a collection of arguments for incontestable absolute male authority in the church according to this author: v.1: "any one" refers to a male (gk. tis, masculine because of its object); v.2: "bishop" is also a masculine noun; "husband" is of course a reference to a male; in vv.2-7 all the adjectives are masculine; v.8: "deacons" (gk. diakonous) are again masculine. "Do we have any doubt left?"¹²

That "God certainly wanted men, not women for these positions" is clear from Titus 1.5 which says "...appoint elders" (gk. presbuterous), using again a masculine noun - it does not use presbuteras.¹³

A conclusive passage is that of 1 Cor 14.34: "women should be silent in the churches." Without much exegesis one can see the overwhelming evidence that shows how "God did not permit that ladies might have special authority over men; that is why God prohibited women to lead the spiritual 'destinies' of the church."¹⁴

Another demolishing text is given in 1 Tim 2.11-15. It clearly teaches us that: a) a woman must not make any proposals in the public assembly; she must only "learn"; b) such learning must be done "with all submissiveness", "without usurping the authority that the Lord has not granted her"; c) the church should not allow the taking over of authority by women: "I permit no woman... to have authority over men" (ouk epitrepo oude authentein andros). ¹⁵

Following the logic of this kind of exegesis and hermeneutical approach, the author vehemently concludes:

If it is true... that God granted woman many privileges, it is also true that God set her limitations. That is why I categorically assert that the word of God, history, psychology, reason, and the Mexican national character do not allow women to hold any official position (as pastors, elders or deaconesses) within our Presbyterian churches.¹⁶

Attempts to discuss women's ordination

The little booklet we have been reviewing was written for the women's unions of three Presbyteries in preparation for the national meeting of Presbyterian Women in 1988. The meeting included a theological pre-conference, where the theme of women's ordination would be presented and discussed. The booklet originated in opposition to that conference; the author says that the issue was going to be presented by "some foreign women with a mentality and a temperament alien to the Mexican context, and by Mexican women who share the anti-biblical view that women may be ordained, following the guidelines of liberation theology."¹⁷ As a result of this opposition, women in the Presbyterian Church in Mexico are divided over the issue.

There is, nevertheless, a growing awareness of the need to study and reflect further on the need for women to participate in the church on the same level as men. This was reflected in the more positive attitude seen at a later event held by Presbyterian Women in June 1994. Celebrating an anniversary of the Central Bible School (an institution for the training of female missioners run by Presbyterian Women), they were able to listen to the testimonies of their graduates as well as to other presentations that acted as eye-openers for the women.

But female ordination has also been officially discussed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Mexico, at least since 1977, in the context of a thorough revision and amendment of its Constitution. At that time, the Assembly voted overwhelmingly against a formal motion giving women equal status in ministry with men and, therefore, allowing them to be ordained. This is the formal current status of the issue. Nevertheless, other voices and movements have contributed to the discussion.

A space for reflection

A good example of what has been done to promote the ministry and, hopefully, the ordination of women, is the yearly congress on women and ministry organized by the Presbyterian Seminary in Mexico City. Although the Seminary has always been willing to enrol women, in the past only very few of them had known about or considered this possibility. However, starting in the late seventies and early eighties, a growing number of women began to enter our Seminary as a way to get formal theological training and thus to respond to God's calling.

About the beginning of this decade, the Seminary had to deal with the fact that some of the female graduates were not actively engaged in ministry because some Presbyteries or Sessions refused to give them the opportunity to serve the Lord in the churches. Faced with this question, the Seminary decided that it was a matter of faithfulness to the gospel and to its own ministry to continue providing theological training for all members of Christ's body regardless of gender. But it also found it necessary to provide a space and opportunity for reflection on this subject as well as some materials for study and discussion for the church at large. With some help from WARC and other sources, the Seminary has been able to hold the congress for three years; it has also published an occasional magazine¹⁸ and a book containing the papers and materials from the first congress.¹⁹

Arguments in favour of the ministry and ordination of women

In 1993, a Presbytery in Mexico City started a study about the ministry of women among its member churches. Two documents were circulated, arguing for the loving acceptance, due recognition and sympathetic support of women in ministry. Their ordination was only indirectly and very cautiously and respectfully addressed as a consequence of the acceptance and recognition of women as persons and as co-participants in ministry along with men. The basic arguments from those documents can be summarized as follows.

Two perspectives

These documents offer two different but complementary hermeneutical guidelines. The first advocates acceptance and respect for both men and women before God; the investigation must avoid an attitude of competition between men and women, a power struggle, a search for a position of dominance, or mere war between the sexes. On the contrary, the Bible and the dialogue must be approached asking how can we all, women and men, obey together the will of God and participate in the upbuilding of God's kingdom according to God's word? Consequently, the study must be orientated toward "cooperation, mutual support, fraternal love, the interdependence we all experience from one another, and our dependence on God."²⁰ From this perspective, we can say that, in the study and discussion of biblical teaching regarding the subject of women's ordination,

An argument, no matter how "logical" it might seem, that deviates from the biblical values of equality, mutual respect, the dignity of persons, interdependence between human beings and dependence on God, in order to emphasize the superiority and dominance of a group of persons over another, is neither biblical nor valid.²¹

The other perspective takes a more pointed outlook regarding how we have traditionally read Scripture. It acknowledges that the Bible has always been "read and interpreted by men; that is, it has been an androcentric and therefore machista kind of reading." In this way of reading the Bible, man appears as dominant; woman is seen as an object, "unable to think, unable to participate creatively in the tasks for the transformation of society."²² In contrast, the Gospels present Jesus subverting the established order against the male-orientated pharisaic and rabbinical traditions. Therefore, avoiding both macho and feminist readings, we must approach these texts with a new perspective, "neither from the point of view of women nor from the point of view of men, but from the point where both meet each other and are mutually identified with each other as the basic social nucleus: in the family."²³

Major scriptural motifs

Apart from referring to specific biblical texts, several general notions in the Bible have been advanced as guiding principles in the discussion of female ministries. One of them is the doctrine of the universal priesthood of all believers (1 Pet 2.9-10), a very appealing theme among Reformed Christians. According to this doctrine, Christianity is revealed as essentially an inclusive faith; "it includes women as well as men, people of all races, of all ages, healthy people as well as sick ones, the uneducated and the well-read... as God's sons and daughters, we all are sinners redeemed by divine grace and justified through faith in Jesus Christ."²⁴ In calling us all to salvation, in joining us all into the body of Christ, in granting us all the gifts of the Spirit, in summoning us all to be God's servants, in sending us all to proclaim the Gospel - God has not made any distinction as to gender. Christian ministry, therefore, whether ordained or not, has to be carried out by all believers on behalf of this world. To limit ordained ministry on the basis of sex is contrary to this biblical teaching.

Another line of thought closely related to the previous one draws from Heb 6.20-7.28 the notion of the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. Jesus Christ is our High Priest, but he was not a levitical priest. Aaron's order was hereditary, limited to masculine levitical lineage (limited even to physical perfection; they had a list of 42 physical defects which excluded a levite from carrying out the priesthood); there were no women priests. But Jesus Christ annuls and transcends the limits of aaronite priesthood, opening it up to inclusivity even beyond the national or ethnic limits of the Hebrew people. A new priest (and a new form of priesthood) is inaugurated "not according to a legal requirement concerning bodily descent" (7.16). This biblical teaching sets our concept of ministry in a different light, full of promising hopes for those who have been systematically excluded from drawing near to God, women especially.²⁵

The kingdom of God constitutes another rich motif that broadens our understanding of ministry. The kingdom has inaugurated a whole new order of things in which all human relations are seen in a different perspective, orientated to service, community and fellowship, where traditional barriers and hostilities are transformed into possibilities for love and mutual support, where people are given back their dignity and true humanity. The kingdom brings about an overturn of social relations in which those in power are dethroned and the weak exalted (Lk 1.52). According to the new set of values, the very notion of power is transformed into service and humility; accordingly, offices among the members of the kingdom are not intended to provide opportunities to lord it over others but to serve them (Mk 10.42-45). In Jesus' modelling of the kingdom there is a restoration of those excluded from the sacred places and liturgical privileges to their God-given blessings (Mt 21.14).

Obedient living out of the teaching of the kingdom includes a generous and inclusive understanding and sharing of Christian ministry. In this new vision, women and men join in the experience and communication of the gladness and bliss of the new state of affairs made possible by Christ Jesus.

Similar in its outlook is the biblical theme of the new creation as an alternative to domination and competition between man and woman. According to Genesis, God's original creation was not fractured or alienated; there was a perfect communion between Creator and creatures and among the creatures themselves. Being created in God's image means, among other things, being able to love and to relate to one another in harmony on the basis of equality and mutual respect and support.²⁶ The disastrous effects of the Fall can only kindle the vision of recovering God's original intention and hoping for God's new creation in Christ. "...If any one is in Christ, he/she is a new creation" (2 Cor 5.17); he/she is called to a new lifestyle whose central priority is the ministry of reconciliation. Human relationships based upon domination, superiority, alienation, hierarchy, exclusion, separateness or slavery are contrary to our reality as new creation. As ministers of reconciliation, we need to "put off the old nature" and "put on the new nature" so that we may be renewed "after the image of [our] creator" (Col 3.9,10), and this means modelling in our church structures the new creation of cooperation in mutuality and equality between women and men, including ordination to the ministry of reconciliation.

Another source of arguments for women's ordination has been the narrative of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Peter's interpretation of the day of Pentecost makes use of the prophecy of Joel, in which God's presence, God's Spirit, is made available to all sorts of people - not only to the religious professionals, but especially to those who had been traditionally silenced, excluded or kept at a distance from the sacred places, objects and offices, namely, the very young or the very old or women or slaves. It is particularly those who are not adult, healthy, males or with religious power who are now given full liturgical and religious privileges and provided with God's gifts of prophecy, dreams, and visions for the exercise of leadership and ministry in the messianic era inaugurated by the outpouring of the Spirit. The days when our "daughters" would "prophesy" and when even upon our "female slaves" God would "pour out the Spirit" have in fact arrived.²⁷ This is the amazing fact proclaimed at Pentecost through which the minors, the elderly, the women, the poor and humble are given full liturgical status in the eschatological people of God acting as "subjects of their own encounter with God."²⁸

Passages that have been used in support of the ministry of women

Lk 8.1-3: here we find women who were Jesus' "disciples", travelled with him and the "twelve" (very scandalous behaviour, since women did not travel except with their own relatives), and are said to have provided for (diékonoun, served) them out of their means. Here we have women actively participating in Jesus' ministry; the verb describing their activity is the same as the word for deacon. For Jesus, it was more scandalous to exclude women from ministry than to travel in their company.²⁹

Lk 13.10-17: Jesus healed a woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath; he broke several rules: 1) he broke the Sabbath rule regarding work (healing was considered work); 2) he broke the rule concerning sinful, sick persons (he touched a bent over woman; sickness was considered to be punishment for sin); 3) he broke the rule concerning the prohibition of conversation in public between a man and a woman; and, 4) he broke the rule concerning the appropriate place of women and men (Jesus called her to the front of the synagogue, a place reserved for men). Jesus proved that women have a proper place in worship and liturgy, not only men; the woman was restored her right of access to the "sacred" places and to God; she had also restored her dignity by getting health and by being called "daughter of Abraham", thus showing that she was worthier than the animals which were given food and water in the Sabbath.

Lk 8.40-48: Another isolated, rejected, ritually-impure woman was freed from her plight and received affirmation. According to Lev 15.19-30, she committed a grave offence by deliberately touching Jesus; but, instead of punishment, public embarrassment or rejection, she was welcomed, affirmed and liberated. Natural processes or illnesses do not prevent women from getting in touch with the Lord. Exclusion on the basis of physical taboos is contrary to the gospel.

John 4: The Samaritan woman in conversation with Jesus is another shocking example of Jesus breaking barriers and prejudices against women (even women of ill repute). A woman considered morally and racially reprobate is restored to her full humanity and due dignity. From being the object of male abuse and exploitation, she is transformed into a preacher of the good news, an active participant in ministry.

Lk 10.38-42: Martha and Mary served the Lord in different ways, but Mary's sitting at the Lord's feet and listening to his teaching constitutes the best part. In a culture where the rabbis used to say "If a man teaches the Torah to his daughter, it is as if he taught her lechery and licentiousness" (Mishnah, Sotah 3.4), a woman learning from the Lord is something really unexpected. Here we have Jesus providing formal theological instruction ("to sit at the feet of" is said to be a technical phrase for formal instruction by the rabbis. Cf. Acts 22.3) to a woman and defending her for that, thus opening for women the new horizon of theological studies to better serve the Lord.

Acts 18.26: In this passage we find a woman (Priscilla is named before her husband; and we know she was very active in ministry with the apostle Paul) at least co-teaching theology along with her husband to a male minister. She participated in the theological training of an eloquent preacher.

Controversial Passages

At least two passages have received more detailed discussion, given their weight among members of our churches. They are the passages where there are specific prohibitions against women speaking in the liturgical assemblies.

1 Cor 14.33b-35: Paul here clearly states: "...the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak..." These injunctions are taken very seriously, although literalistically, by our congregations; they seem to preclude any participation of women in official ministry, as we already saw above. Nonetheless, the following clarifications have been made: 1) the context shows that they must be applied exclusively in a liturgical context of confusion and disorder (the frantic charismatic excesses of women from pagan background); 2) the verb (sigao) in this context cannot be taken as an absolute command, but only in a temporary, relative sense; besides, it is also applied to male prophets and tongues-speaking men; one can conclude that 3) given the pedagogical aesthetics of Christian worship, reverent silence must be imposed in the Christian liturgical assembly when untimely, shameful speaking threatens good order in worship of the holy, orderly God; 4) such a silence is urged on both women and men; it is not a norm exclusively directed to women; 5) Paul is dealing here with a purely pastoral problem, not establishing doctrinal principles of universal application; 6) consequently, this rule is corrective, relative to a specific local temporary situation, not prescriptive for all cases and universally enforced; 7) application of this passage must take into account contemporary relevant cultural conditions.³⁰

1 Tim 2.8-15: According to this passage, women should "learn in silence with all submissiveness," and it immediately asserts: "I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent." Disconnected from its context, the passage seems to impose the absolute and permanent silence of women without any qualification. However, it has been argued that the historical and cultural context of Ephesus clarifies the character of this prohibition: it was a context influenced by the worship of mother-goddesses (believed to be creators of males). The prohibition, then, must be taken as relative and limited because it refers specifically to women who were being seduced into a form of gnostic heresy by certain false teachers (1 Tim.1.3,4; 6.3-5; 2 Tim.3.6,7). Weak and vulnerable women were being persuaded to practise asceticism and sexual abstinence, which subverted the patriarchal culture. Within this context of the struggle against a heresy, probably promoted by certain women, it is understandable that the author of the epistle should demand that women be silent. This command, however, only refers to women under those particular circumstances. Once the problem of heretical teaching was solved, the injunction would have to be waived. Likewise, in today's different historical and cultural contexts, the text must not be read and interpreted as an absolute exclusion of women from the teaching and preaching offices in the church.³¹

An unfinished chapter

The battles of women, and against them, are not finished in the Presbyterian Church of Mexico. The chapter has not yet been closed, as a new wave of fierce right-wing conservatism is threatening the efforts of women to speak out with support of a growing number of conscientious men. The chapter will come to an end when these faithful women ministers have acknowledged unto them, by the whole denomination, their God-given right to serve the Lord in full equality with men.

Salatiel Palomino López is currently minister of the El Buen Pastor congregation of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Austin, Texas.

Notes