Ask The Pastor

>Question:
>
> I've read things you've written about the Bible saying women should not
> teach men, or be placed in positions of authority over men. Believe me,
> I have no personal interest at all in doing that - but the wheels are
> turning and I want to understand where the lines are drawn.

Kathie,

The short side to all this is that lines relate to the Christian family and to pastoring roles. This is not an issue of the work-a-day world.

> Although I understand the clarity of, say, a woman not being a pastor -
> or even a SS teacher with men in her class, but - what about being a
> professor at a college with men as students?

A professor at a college has no spiritual authority over students.

> What about a teacher at a Bible School, with men as students?

We use women in our School for Christian Workers. These teachers are not in positions of spiritual authority. They answer directly to myself and Nathan. The materials they work with are given to them. In addition, our School for Christian Workers is a separate institution from the Church.

> What if she is an author (like Kay Arthur), who writes lessons, and men
> take classes where her material is used as the lessons? - - Is it okay
> to use materials written by a woman, as long as the actual teacher is a
> man?

The same rule would apply. One of the best books I have ever read was by Madam Jeanne Guyon, 'Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ.' Charles Hadden Spurgeon had it as required reading for his students. It is among our selection of required reading for our School.

> What if her materials are used as in an "internet school" setting -
> where the man is not in direct contact with the woman author of the
> materials, but there is no male teacher acting as the intermediary
> between the woman author's materials and the adult male student.

I would assume the "internet school" has nothing to do with spiritual authority, which is the actual determining factor. Each person has to decide this issue for themselves.

> Also, what about a woman who has developed expertise on a subject,
> let's say.... parenting - and she writes a book on Christian Parenting,
> and it's read by a man - does that qualify as being the same as
> "teaching" a man?

It would seem to me that the man is simply referencing a resource. We just completed a parenting class in my home with several young couples. The videos were by a man and his wife. It was splendid. (Growing Kids God's Way.)

> Or, is it okay as long as she's not teaching Biblical principles (i.e. -
> teaching parenting classes to men is okay, but not teaching the gospel
> to men?)

To share the gospel is always right. You probably need to reread what Paul is actually teaching. Keep in mind that he is dealing primarily with roles in the marriage, and with spiritual authority in the Church setting.

> If it's not okay to teach ANYthing to men - then do women have to be
> careful what kind of vocation they choose? Do they have to turn down
> promotions that would put them in secular authority over a man? What
> about a woman who becomes an IT expert - is it wrong if she's asked to
> train men at the company in computer skills?

Is the secular world the church or the family? There are plenty of women in business for themselves, who have male employees. This has nothing to do with what the Bible is teaching. Even the Proverbs 31 woman is likened to a 'merchant ship that brings her food from afar.'

> I hope this doesn't annoy you -

This doesn't annoy me at all. Your questions are deserving of answers. I am providing my responses on our Ask the Pastor page for the benefit of others.

> I really want to understand what the intent of the passage/s is/are -
> and I'm stuck with this "big-picture" way of thinking - where I'm
> plagued by seeing the whole thing and how all the pieces fit (or should
> fit) together (maybe I should have been an architect?) - - anyway, help?

Hope I've helped a bit. The picture has to be contained within is own frame. This is why it is so important to understand what the Bible is actually teaching.

Blessings,

Buddy
Bro. Buddy Martin - Ask the Pastor

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
Lawrence "Buddy" Martin
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org

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