In Asia many churches are lead by women. Here in the United States, only a few denominations have begun to ordain women as bishops and pastors. The question should men be the leaders of Church can be addressed in the Holy Bible. The Apostle Paul makes many references to women pastors, "Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house," (Colossians 4:15), "The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house," (1 Corinthians 16:19), "Give my greetings to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas and all the believers who meet with them," (Romans 16:15), and "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae." (Romans 16:15). From Scripture we see many ways to run a church, some are lead by couples as in case of Aquila and Priscilla, others by solitary woman as in case of Nympha, and onther case a brother and siters run the a church. The Apostle Paul recognized all of these as ligitament churches and commended their leaders. There is no doctrine that specifically ordains men must be the leader of a church, it is whoever hosts the church and who knows enough of the Gospel and Scriptures to lead co-jointly with others. Church in the Biblical days was not like today, where there are stations and a hierarchy of men as in the case of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope, Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops (Elder), Priest, and Presbyter. All men according to Medieval Tradition (see Christ's response to manmade religion Mark 7:7, cross refer Colossians 2:23).
In China many churches are lead by women. As the Apostle Paul makes clear in his epistles, women are allowed to be lead. More importantly, Jesus Christ himself taught women who undoubtly became leaders, Mary and Martha, "As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42). Mary and Martha were good friends of Jesus, to them Christ revealed He is the Resurrection and Life (John 11:25). Here a detail is missed, where it says "Mary sat at His feet," which in Jewish custom of the time was to be a disciple and learn from the Rabbi. Why would Jesus bother to teach Mary if she was not be instrumental as a leader in church (family of Christ, not an institution). She would be an ideal leader like Nympha and Priscila, only she actually falls into qualification for Apostle, she saw Jesus, walked with Him, and learned from Him in the flesh.
Back in the Early Church, being a leader wasn't a title, but a gift. People lead out of love, not to lord over people and control people. The Church met in homes, so usually it was host or hostess, unless of course one of disciples or the Apostle Paul were present to share a special message. We are told how a service usually was conducted, "Let two or three people prophesy, and let the others evaluate what is said. But if someone is prophesying and another person receives a revelation from the Lord, the one who is speaking must stop. In this way, all who prophesy will have a turn to speak, one after the other, so that everyone will learn and be encouraged. Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can take turns. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the meetings of God’s holy people," (1 Corinthians 14:25-33), "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord," (Ephesians 5:20),"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus," (1 Thessalonians 5;16-18), "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 4;6-7), "What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up," (1 Corinthians 14:26), "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers," (Acts 1:14), "And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying," (Acts 12:12), and, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." (James 1:27). It is clear that a church was not this service where one man spoke, but rather people came with their own hymns, songs, prophecies, revelations, and gifts the Holy Spirit had impressed them to share at the house meeting. Real churches behave in this manner, allowed each member of the family, each person in the church to share what Lord Jesus is doing in their lives, giving thanks, sharing a revelation and more. Sadly, most churches today do not allow what was commanded, that each person come with something to share at meeting, a Scripture, a word of prophecy to be evaluated by the rest of the members.
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