Women may be called “pastor” or “reverend” in the United States Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) as of June 2023; all women and men who meet denominational criteria are designated “Consecrated and Ordained” pastors, an update from the previous titles of “Ordained” for men and “Consecrated” for women. However, the positions of elder and lead pastor remain open only to men.[1] While women are now allowed to be called “pastors” in the C&MA, ensuring there is no confusion about their credentials to shepherd the church,[2] individual churches can still refuse to consider women for pastoral jobs and eldership on the sole basis of biological sex.
As I learned of this change, I was in the process of preparing a sermon on the “Our Father” of the Lord’s Prayer. Though ordaining women as pastors is a positive step, failure to grant them the respect and responsibility of eldership falls woefully short of the full advancement of God’s truth and purposes for Christian community; to me, it was a baby step, while God calls us to run in step with the Spirit. I grew frustrated with this small step forward as it seemed like the years of denominational focus on this issue and efforts of many attempting to cultivate a space where women’s giftings would be fully acknowledged were futile. But God tempered my response by reminding me that we share a father with Christians with whom we disagree. Now, as I worship with a new church family, I find myself wrestling with how best to move forward in a world where God’s kingdom has not yet fully come.
Lament as a Faithful Option
As I prepared my Father’s Day 2023 sermon on “Our Father” and received word of the C&MA vote,[3] the challenge before me was to preach honestly about the meaning of “Our Father”—the unity it invoked as well as the justice—while struggling with the inadequacy of the C&MA decision. I was humbled by the truth that all Christians are my siblings: Only in the unity of the family of God is the title ‘Our Father’ legitimately invoked—yet “unity” that diminishes gifted image-bearers, pampers falsehood, and bolsters human power systems is a pretense, not a prize.
In worship, we are invited to bring our whole selves into God’s presence; sometimes the best that we can do is bring our sighs and our tears. The new C&MA policy left me in a state of lament—a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.[4] Below are the steps that brought me to lament, and I hope that other women and men will benefit from them as they too heal from spaces that diminish women. I hope that they will see, as I have, that lament is a faithful response.
1. Being Open to Scripture and the Spirit: Rick Warren demonstrates the need for openness to Scripture in his recent apology for his past restrictions on women. His message speaks volumes:
When I finally did my proper ‘due diligence’ [of personal research into Scripture on the matter], laying aside 50 years of bias, I was shocked, chagrined, and embarrassed. . .I think maybe it was because I didn’t WANT to know anything that might challenge the view I WANTED to believe for 50 yrs. But eventually, integrity required that I read over 70 commentaries by INERRANTIST scholars that blew apart my comfortable, traditional, and culture-based interpretation. No seminary told me that those commentaries even existed and Baptist Bookstores refused to carry them. . .So I accepted the interpretation that was most comfortable for me as a man with my background. Then reading over 100 books on the early church and the history of the Great Commission. . .demanded my repentance. That journey was both painful and humbling.[5]
It is also an openness to Scripture and the Holy Spirit that guides my response to the C&MA decision. The Bible says, “Love the Lord your God with everything you are” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37–39). These commandments inform my approach to responding to those who are unopen to women’s Biblical equality. My love for God, for Scripture, and the women whose dignity is harmed and whose gifting is constrained by the current policy also compels me to press on for women in eldership and lead pastor positions. My love for those who value the unity of the denomination yet do not understand this issue grants me patience. My trust in God’s Spirit to instigate justice grants hope. Scripture should guide our every action, but it cannot guide us if we do not seek it with an openness to the Spirit. (Note: There is not space here for in-depth exegesis on women as pastors and elders, but I provide resources in a footnote.)[6]
2. Seeking Truth and Justice: Justice requires truth. More still needs to be done to educate church members about egalitarian exegesis, to dispel common myths such as a hermeneutical “liberal slide,” or to explore a comprehensive history of women in Scripture and church history.[7] History is a witness to God’s faithful work through women in church government.[8]
Seeking truth includes diligently examining the biblical texts in their original languages. The key passages that outline the requirements for eldership, 1 Timothy 3:1–13 and Titus 1:5–9, include both women and men with the use of neutral pronouns in the Greek texts but have been translated with male pronouns added into many English versions.[9] Ignoring this fact is enormously detrimental and misleading. Churches teach that only men can be elders because of adherence to an inaccurate translation. Scripture regularly advocates for truth and justice. “Truth is lacking, and whoever turns from evil is despoiled. The LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice” (Isa. 59:14–15, NRSV). It was an acknowledgment of both truth and justice that led me to leave the C&MA and come to a place of lament.
3. Loving with Mercy: Mercy means compassion in place of harm. Compassion brings me to celebrate that soft complementarian environments are sometimes uplifting. The more people practice equal respect, the better the culture; the more people ardently follow complementarian precepts, the more destructive the culture becomes for women.[10] But, rather than simply denounce, loving with mercy compels me to teach that a worldview that restricts eldership from women influences their treatment across many interactions—not by ill intent but by the implicit idea of rank.[11]
The vote over “pastor” as opposed to “elder” was one of the “straws” that weakened my seven-year resolve to be a voice for biblical equality and mutuality from inside the system.[12] Painful stories from women who had gone down the consecration path while understanding God’s mutual call—even in the most women-welcoming C&MA churches—taught that I did not need to walk that road myself. Yet those maintaining a hierarchy of man over woman, a common misunderstanding of complementarity,[13] are my brothers and sisters in Christ. Mercy breeds patience.
I have both observed and experienced the contrast in respect and opportunities afforded to women under the two worldviews. Defeat overshadows teen girls’ eyes when they struggle with mixed messages over their worth and capabilities; vibrant, humbly confident women shrink as they fit themselves into a church culture with restrictions on their personhood or make excuses for tolerating a stance that does not align with God’s call on their lives. The belief that men are designed to exercise authority over women distorts leaders’ perceptions of reality.[14] So loving with mercy also compels me to advocate for correct understanding and full respect—in both theory and practice—for women.
4. Walking Humbly: As the church, we should recognize that we have not gotten everything right and do not see all things clearly (Rom. 3:23; 1 Cor. 13:12). My complementarian brothers and sisters are on a journey of growth like my own, which nurtures camaraderie despite angst. I must keep an open palm to God for continued guidance, for “wisdom is with the humble” (Prov. 11:2b, NRSV).
Humility includes acknowledging God’s gifts and submitting ourselves to God to use them. The worldview of male seniority that engenders male-only eldership is one in which women’s giftings are undermined and their impact for God’s kingdom diminished. Individual background and resiliency influence each person’s way forward. Many women and men have desired to stay but have left the denomination due to its limited respect for women; many others stay to implement change. Humility undergirds both options.
Putting It All Together
The recent partial change is a step in the right direction, but there is much still to do before mutuality is lived out between women and men in the C&MA. It is not yet the time to celebrate. It is time to lament. After all, we are siblings with one Father, and we should yearn for unity in a mutuality that sees both women and men as God does. Each person must trust God’s lead when deciding to stay and work for continued change—or to leave for healing and opportunity. As for me, after seeking Scripture and the Spirit, truth and justice, love with mercy, and humility, I have chosen to faithfully lament.
To my dear friends and acquaintances in the C&MA who seek to follow the God of Scripture—and particularly to denominational leadership—I implore you to research more widely, to pursue justice and mercy, to listen humbly, and to follow as God leads. May we all continue to be conformed to more of Christ. Though I wish I could celebrate baby steps for the denomination, the posture I come to that holds all these factors faithfully is lament, with a sincere cry that God’s kingdom come and God’s will be done, here as it is in heaven.
Photo by Doidam 10 on Shutterstock.
[1] Kim Roberts, “Christian and Missionary Alliance Denomination Votes to Ordain Women,” Ministry Watch, June 9, 2023, https://ministrywatch.com/christian-and-missionary-alliance-denomination-votes-to-ordain-women/.
[2] Daniel Silliman, “Christian and Missionary Alliance will Ordain Women,” Christianity Today, June 5, 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/june/cma-christian-missionary-alliance-ordain-women-title-pastor.html. Prior to this change, women were already doing the work of a pastor but not given the title.
[3] Daniel Silliman, “Christian and Missionary Alliance will Ordain Women,” Christianity Today, June 5, 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/june/cma-christian-missionary-alliance-ordain-women-title-pastor.html.
[4] This is very similar to the Gospel Coalition’s lament for racial injustice. See Julius Kim, “Prayer Guide for ‘A Night of Lament for Racial Justice,’” The Gospel Coalition, https://web.archive.org/web/20221006015540/https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/prayer-guide-lament-for-racial-justice/.
[5] Rick Warren (@RickWarren), “My Apology to Christian Women,” Twitter, June 10, 2023, https://twitter.com/RickWarren/status/1667620086251925505. Public apology is one of the necessary factors in healing for the victims of widespread harm. This is an indisputable fact I learned when studying massive international violence in War, Peace, and Peacemaking class in seminary. What is true for ethnic, national violence is true for institutional violence such as the subjugation of women. Nicely phrased restriction is subjugation nonetheless, and explicit motive does not change impact.
[6] See Cynthia Westfall, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostles Vision for Men and Women in Christ (Baker Publishing Group, 2016) to understand Paul’s views of women amid first century culture.
See Philip Payne, Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters (Zondervan Academic, 2009) for extensive exegesis from the Greek that examines all major views on Pauline texts of this issue. Payne’s strong adherence to biblical inerrancy demanded he change his own position on the matter through the course of his research.
For a more reader-friendly version of the same see Philip Payne, The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood: How God’s Word Consistently Affirms Gender Theology (Zondervan, 2023).
For the material presented as a conversation between a loving uncle and a hesitant but curious nephew see Philip Payne, Why Can’t Women Do That? Breaking Down the Reasons Churches Put Men in Charge (Viti Press, 2021).
See Andrew Bartlett, Men and Women in Christ: Fresh Light from the Biblical Texts (SPCK, 2019) if you would like an international arbitrator’s legal-minded approach to the topic.
In Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfall, and Christa L. McKirland, eds., Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives, 3rd Edition (IVP Academic, 2021), find the most up-to-date, comprehensive teaching on roles women have held throughout church history, egalitarian exegesis, and practical application.
See Rob Dixon, Together in Ministry: Women and Men in Flourishing Partnerships (IVP Academic, 2021) for guidance in how to implement mutual leadership in your churches.
For more resources visit CBE Bookstore, https://cbeinternational.christianbook.com/. Find all of CBE’s popular to academic publications free online at https://www.cbeinternational.org.
[7] In the article below, Sandy Rose voices caring “biblically” about this issue but seems unaware of the strong biblical basis for egalitarian beliefs. Dylan Valliere calls attendees to consider the “overwhelming consensus” of the historical church and thus appears unaware of the women active in church leadership throughout history. Jessica Lea, “Women in the Christian and Missionary Alliance May Now Be Ordained as Pastors—But Not as Lead Pastors,” Church Leaders, June 7, 2023, https://churchleaders.com/news/452530-women-christian-and-missionary-alliance-ordained-pastors.html/2.
In this next response article, Pastor Doug Birr finds growth in understanding Scripture from its original language and culture to insinuate that previous generations were “less spiritual women haters.” But rather than see past Christians negatively, I find it more helpful to recognize in them the human propensity to be purely motivated yet still mistaken. Don Wiggins genuinely intends to honor women’s gifting and calling but seems unwilling to see how this does not happen without the respect of title and authority equal to men who are similarly gifted and called. With John Stumbo, I do not assume that those who differ from me on this issue do not love God’s Word or honor its authority. I do, however, know that there are significant gaps in understanding apart from honest research into the egalitarian foundation in Scripture and that even correct head knowledge is not always enough to overcome internal biases and pressure from peers. Daniel Silliman, “Christian and Missionary Alliance will Ordain Women,” Christianity Today, June 5, 2023, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2023/june/cma-christian-missionary-alliance-ordain-women-title-pastor.html.
[8] Mimi Haddad, “History Matters,” Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Cultural and Practical Perspectives, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2021), 11–35. See also Beth Allison Barr, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth (Brazos Press, 2021). See also Mimi Haddad, “The Bias of History and the SBC,” Mutuality, June 22, 2023, https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/the-bias-of-history-and-the-sbc/?fbclid=IwAR2xg3lcjF-_PCB9mRcAcUVmQ2_dbicx7BZzoaehxmTtHv6mYer3JBW5OyU.
[9] Philip B. Payne, “The Bible Teaches the Equal Standing of Man and Woman,” Priscilla Papers 29, no. 1 (January 21, 2015): https://www.cbeinternational.org/resource/bible-teaches-equal-standing-man-and-woman/.
For a shorter and less technical article see James Pruch, “1 Timothy 3:1-7: For Men Only?” James Pruch, August 26, 2021, https://jamespruch.wordpress.com/2021/08/26/1-timothy-31-7-for-men-only/.
[10] Sheila Wray Gregoire and Joanna Sawatsky, “Do complementarian men do better? A response to Nancy Pearcey,” Baptist News Global, September 13, 2023, https://baptistnews.com/article/do-complementarian-men-do-better-a-response-to-nancy-pearcey/?fbclid=IwAR2W3abfNBVID9pvwKlkMn3cTAZHyvOHbdwLoxAWysFHKfew0vfTa7Gs8TY.
[11] For more see my blog post: “To See or Not to See (and How That Relates to Porn),” Coffee with Kristin: Shalom and the Real World, March 13, 2023, https://coffeewithkristin.wordpress.com/2023/03/13/to-see-or-not-to-see-and-how-that-relates-to-porn/.
[12] Daniel Silliman, “Christian and Missionary Alliance Considers Calling Women ‘Pastors,’” Christianity Today, May 5, 2021, https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2021/may/cma-women-pastor-consecration-ordination-change.html.
[13] Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity Without Hierarchy, ed. Gordon Fee, Ronald W. Pierce, and Rebecca Merrill Groothuis (IVP Academic, 2005) 15–18.
[14] Kristin Lassen, “My Experience in Two Worldviews,” Coffee with Kristin: Shalom and the Real World, August 8, 2020, https://coffeewithkristin.wordpress.com/2020/08/08/experience-in-two-worldviews/.
Related Resources
Complicity and Silence: How Lament Could Lead Us Toward a Better Place
The Gift of Lament
Celebrating Sojourner Truth as Extraordinary Also Means Lamenting Why She Had to Be