christians only please?

Question

how do you feel about unmarried female pastors that are runing a church. i have been to churches that is run by male pastors and i prefer that better what is your take on female pastors

Answer 1

Wow, like wow.

And Christians claim that Christianity is not anti-woman. This kind of backwards thinking will help the atheist cause.

EDIT

I am stunned once more. After reading the answers, those loving Christians have provided ample evidence that Christianity is anti-woman. The sad thing is all the women who would not support a woman pastor.

Answer 2

Check out the Unitarian Universalist Church next to you. They have more female pastors than male (although many are married, in some cases to their same-sex partners).

The Quakers have had female ministers for over two centuries. Methodist, Mennonite and AoG churches have been led by women. Anglicans have elected female bishops, as have Episcopalians. Even the Mormons have allowed female ministers to be ordained. The Southern Baptists still have over a thousand ordained female ministers (despite their change in policy which means they no longer ordain new ones).

The sentiment that congregations can only be led by men is clearly not universally held amongst christians. Personally, I don't see why a woman couldn't be a spiritual leader. Since you specifically ask about an unmarried female pastor, I assume your discomfort is related to their sexuality? After what we've gone through over the last few decades, I think we can safely conclude that married male pastors can (and sometimes do) cheat on their wives, and that unmarried male pastors can (and sometimes do) stay sexually active, be it with live-in maids, other pastors or choir boys.

Why not go to a church with a female pastor and see how you feel about it?

Answer 3

You have a great question, but I need to research my answer before answering (so I'm putting this in here to locate the question for later on).

EDIT: As a Christian female, I struggle with this concept, but ultimately I go back to the teachings in the Assemblies of God church. When you look at the Bible, and the teachings of Christ, one of the key lessons that Jesus taught was to look at the law and consider the intention of the law and of the heart. The same for scripture, you need to look at the intention behind the verses themselves. In terms of what the Apostle Paul taught about how a woman should not instruct a man, remember that in the time of the Bible, very few if any women were educated in reading or understanding scriptures. So, it would be dangerous in that context to consider that someone who was uneducated could be credible as a teacher to men, especially if the men were trained. That would be like a high school dropout trying to teach a PhD!

In looking at who is called to be a pastor, once again, I go back to the teachings of the Assemblies of God church and other denominations...they believe that a pastor must be called by God to preach. It's a calling and a spiritual gift. And if God were to truly call someone to be a minister, men (or women) should not disqualify someone on the basis of their gender.

Personally, it's been a struggle for me. I'm a preacher's daughter, and have wanted to preach, but in the church I grew up in, they would never consider a woman for a pastorate. Why, if someone is called to minister by God, should gender matter?

Now, as to a single woman as a pastor...I feel that there are some issues that need to be considered. The first and primary issue being the appropriateness of conduct. Let's say a pastor needs to counsel someone, and it happens to be a married man, is it appropriate for the single female pastor and the man to be meeting privately? Especially behind closed doors. It can be fodder for gossip. That's one reason why so many male pastors put precautions in place if they are counseling women. Since the Bible commands ministers to be above reproach, it is imperative that any pastor, (male or female) use common sense when it comes to meeting privately. When a pastor is married (male or female) their spouse often attends as well. Most male pastors I know typically have windows in their office where others can view what is going on, so that people know it is truly professional counseling instead of something immoral.

Answer 4

I don't mind unmarried male pastors, so why should I mind unmarried female pastors?

And, to people who say that the Bible speaks against women being pastors: I would remind you that the people who compiled the Bible selected only the early Christian writings which agreed with their point of view--and they were men. A bit biased of them, I would think, wanting to keep women in 'their place.' Take the Bible with a grain of salt.

There is quite a lot of feminism in the early writings--the apocryphal ones.

Answer 5

if u read your bible u will see that even when jesus was on the earth there was a female pastor call Anna.{ Luke2 verse36}

Answer 6

There is something about the pastoral role that seems to go against the idea of it being well filled by a woman (married or unmarried) Then again, not many men do it well either. Once you leave scripture as a guide, you are headed down the slippery slope.

Answer 7

I do not agree with it al all! I do mind a female getting up in front of a church once in a while and talking, but NOT as a a pastor, especially not a SINGLE female as pastor

Answer 8

Isaiah 8:3...notice the word Prophetess??

Answer 9

I look at the requirements specified in 1st Timothy, Acts 6, and Titus to see what is expected of a church leader. From that, I find that it falls to men to lead the church. Thus, I have a choice; to accept what God says about the subject, or what society as a whole does. I chose to follow God and as such I am part of a congregation that does as well.

Should someone disagree, then they are free to worship at those churches that allow female pastors such as the PC-USA.

Answer 10

Christianity is a joke, a foul-mouthed, hypocritical joke. As are the followers of the faith.

You pass off this bigotry as love? Male/female, what's the difference? It shouldn't matter as it is all God's Word, right?

Answer 11

The Bible states that a woman should not be in a position to teach a man. It is not Biblical to have a female pastor.