Women… in ministry? What?!

This week I was posed a question.  What is women’s role in ministry?  Is it right that women should be preaching? Teaching?  What is their role?  Are they worth more than cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids?

These questions rolled through my head.  How in the world could God create a “partner” for man whose role was simply that, where a man’s was so much greater- they get to conquer and rule out in the world… and we have to stay home and bake cookies all day and make sure everything is perfect for our husbands when they return from battle??

I have to admit.  I sometimes can lean on a feminist viewpoint BUT I still know what I will be doing when my future begins to roll out.  It’s interesting really.  I found that in my research, I already knew [or had a basic understanding of] all of the answers.  I just didn’t want to be told that that was what I was supposed to do.  Make sense?

Well, I’ll tell you a bit of what I found.
I found that in Genesis, after Eve ate the apple… or whatever fruit it may have been (that’s beside the point), it says that then as part of the curse, man would rule over her.  CLUE #1: it’s part of a curse.  so i guess it’s okay that i don’t like it all the time eh?
Next, I found that in many of the passages in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy, Paul was writing to specific churches during specific times in history.  You must know the background of why Paul writes these things to truly be able to interpret.  I’m not saying I’m any expert on this BUT during the time and at the place that Paul wrote in 1 Timothy, Paul was specifically writing that women should not have authority because of the rise of a goddess Artemis where women were given the authority over the worship of her.  I guess that when you think about it, it’s just like someone warning a certain church now of certain types of people because THEY were actually dealing with it.  [possibly] Paul would have written something more along the lines of “To all churches of all times, never let women be in any place of authority at all.”  Wouldn’t that have been a little more clear if that was what he wanted to come across?

There are a few specific women in the Bible that I think are worth mentioning.  Miriam was a prophetess.  Rahab was an innkeeper who helped save the spies in Jericho from the King’s men.  Deborah was a prophetess and judge.  The list keeps going on.  God used women in great ways.  Think of Mary.  Come on.  Without women, yes mankind would have ceased to exist but even moreso–they had to be hearing the voice of God and not just submitting to their husbands [which the Bible does command us to do, as they submit to God and to us (Eph. 5:21)] but even going beyond what they maybe were expected to do, maybe even go against the “rules” to obey what God has said.  Look at Esther.  If she had not gone before the king even when she could have risked death, her people would have died.

So.  You may be asking yourself, “what is Ashley’s conclusion after all of this?”  WELL I don’t think I’ve studied enough.  BUT I do believe that a woman’s primary  ministry is in her home.  She must firstly take care of her household–the kids, feeding her family, keeping it nice [a woman is specifically made to be more capable of this than a man]– but when this is all taken care of, and in order THEN if she has spare time or is able to work it out in her schedule and life, ministry is possible.  God gives gifts to all, man and woman alike.  God may give a woman the gift of teaching, another the gift of prophecy.  Others hospitality and others administration.  It’s bible.  Why would God keep these gifts just for man?

Well, as you can see, there is much more research to be done.  BUT these are my thoughts thus far.  When I have done more lengthy research I will post a follow-up blog.