Bible study author, speaker and blogger Michelle Lesley asked several women bloggers this question. My bottom line is that (1) I’m not expositing scripture, and (2) the book of Jude (about contending for truth and doctrinal purity) was written to all believers, not just men.
Now to Michelle’s post:
Complementarian women bloggers and authors are frequently asked this question. Often it’s asked by dissenters looking for a “gotcha” moment. Other times it’s a genuine concern for Christian women who want to write but still be in obedience to God’s word as it speaks to the role of women. But, whatever the motivation for asking, it’s a great question that needs to be answered.
It is true that God has ordained different roles for Christian men and women. Both roles are needed and important, but different. Part of the role for women is outlined in 1 Timothy 2:11-14. Women are not to preach to or teach men in the gathering of the church or hold other positions of authority over men in the church. (If you’d like to read more about the Bible passages pertaining to women’s roles in the church, check out my Rock Your Role series.) But notice that key phrase “in the church.” The context of all of the passages dealing with women refraining from teaching men refers to the teaching of God’s word in the gathering of the body of believers.
That’s not the same thing as blogging in the public square. Yet, most of the godly women I know who blog still seek to be obedient to the spirit of the command even if the letter doesn’t technically apply. I admire their character and their faithfulness to God’s word, so I asked each of them how they would answer this often-asked question. Here’s what they said:
Erin Benzinger of Do Not Be Surprised and Equipping Eve
“A semi-formal ministry such as a blog, book, or podcast must be approached with the biblical mindset of seeking to teach and equip fellow women as per Titus 2. At the same time, a woman blogger cannot know who is reading her blog. Nor can an author control who reads her book, or a podcaster supervise who hits “play.” Might the woman see it as necessary to make clear that she is, in fact, a woman and that her ministry is directed toward fellow sisters in Christ? Of course, this seems a logical and simple safeguard and is in fact my own approach.” (I had to edit Erin’s fantastic comment for length, but you can read it in its entirety in the comments below.) Continue reading
The gifts that Jesus gave to men and women in Ephesians (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers etc) are for the equipping of the church so that it may become mature. It’s clear these gifts are to be outworked in the body of believers who are both men and women. I suggest you do an indepth study with women about the various passages in the Bible that seemingly have been carried over culturally into this century and disqualified women from their God given roles to exercise His gifts freely to all. We are robbing the church of becoming fully mature by not doing this.
this “women have no authoriy over men” is not only un-Scripural and anti- scriptural, but it has been and is, reaching hysterical levels of nuttiness. If a man is on the street ready to be hit with a truck, does a woman have the right to scream “get our of the way”?
General Barak recognized Deborah”s anointing, and insisted she go with him to the battle. I once heard a preacher turn that backward, insisting that it proved Barak was a fearful wimp.and should have ignored her. A man is dying in the hospital, and the nurse gives him the Gospel and prays for him and he gets saved. Do these anti-women- authority people want her to shut up and let him go to hell? I have just learned of Ms Hatmaker. From what I have learned of her, I would not believe her teachings. but that is because she is wrong. Not because she is a woman. Joyce Meyer has taught error in the past. She got her error WORD for WORD from a MAN
ps. Apostle PAUL SAID ANY WOMAN PRAYING OR PROPHESYING————SHOULD SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP———NO HE DID NOT. HE SAID SHE SHOULD WEAR A HEAD COVERING AS A SIGN OF RESPECT FOR HER HUSBAND. THE bIBLE IS FULL OF WOMEN PREACHERS. THERE IS ONLY ONE VERSE , AGAINST——–NOT ALL WOMEN PREACHERS—-ONLY THE ONES WHO ARE TRYING TO BRING IN FALSE TEACHING. SO THE BIBLE SAYS, GO HOME, LEARN FROM YOUR HuSBAND AND THE Holy spirit what God says then come back and preach the truth. If the word of God is in you, sister, God intends you to deliver it. Because t he word is LIFE and God wants men AND WOMEN to deliver LIFE; Do not let any pompous false prophet tell you women should hide their light underqa bushel. It is blasphemy
and I am not shouting. I am having a terrible time seeing and reading because this color type is almost invisible