Theology & Culture

12 Reasons Why Being a Male Pastor is Better

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priestA few days ago I wrote about the issue of women in ministry. While I don’t think I have ever hidden my views on the topic (I married a female colleague, after all), I also have never written about it on the various blogs I have maintained over the last few years. And maybe recently, I didn’t see it as my place to comment on women in ministry. I am still not sure… I don’t see it as my place to comment on anyone’s “right” or “place” to be a pastor. If anything, I think it is my place to talk about my experience of being a Lutheran pastor or a millennial pastor or a Canadian pastor. It is also to my place to talk about being a male pastor.

So let’s talk about that.

Being a male pastor is kind of like Louis C.K.’s description of “Being White”. (Warning: The video contains offensive language).

Like Louis C.K. says, male pastors aren’t better. But being a male pastor is clearly better.

Like all the advantages of being white and male in North America, there are advantages when it comes to being an ordained pastor. Here are some of the obvious ones:

  1. No one ever defines my ministry by my gender. No one says, “wow a male pastor or a man in ministry, good for you.” I always get to be just a pastor. I don’t have to constantly live with a qualifier in front of “pastor”, and I am not forced to bear someone’s inappropriate shock that I am my gender and I am a pastor.
  2. People expect me to be direct and tell them what I think. They want me to lead them somewhere. I am rarely challenged or expected to defend or make a case for my ideas. I don’t have to apologize for having strong opinions or constantly defend my ideas.
  3. People think twice about fighting with me. I always have a leg up in conflict, bullies find it harder to push my buttons because I have fewer to push. I am never automatically second class because of my gender, so conflict is on equal terms or tipped in my favour. I don’t have to suffer being called “boy” or “son” as way of dismissing my point of view, and I am not accused of being divisive if I disagree with something or anything.
  4. People are used to pastors of my gender. There are no congregations that are unsure of male candidates for ministry, no parishioners who think it is alright to say something like, “I will never be buried by a man.” I don’t have to endure questions about whether I will take paternity leave, or what will happen when I have kids.
  5. People almost never assume that I have a particular gift for ministry before they know me. They don’t automatically think that my gender is suited to particular areas of ministry like preaching or administration. No one assumes that I am not good at pastoral care or being nurturing. People don’t say that I have the gift of speaking with a voice that men can relate to.
  6. I don’t have to worry about my safety. I don’t think twice about being alone in the church or if I am safe on my own. If a man asks to meet with me one on one, I don’t have to question my physical safety or his motives. Men don’t try to share the peace with me by hugging me (or grabbing my ass).
  7. No one assumes that I am the church secretary or the pastor’s spouse. I am never told, “You don’t look like a pastor or you are took young to be a pastor” even thought I am built like a football player and at times have had long hair and a beard like a hell’s angel. And I have a tattoo. And I am 30 (two decades younger than the average age of pastors in our denomination).
  8. Churches are built for men. Pulpits, altars, pastor chairs, vestments are all designed my size and body type in mind. I don’t look ridiculous because the standard garb of my profession is made for my gender, and I don’t look like a cross dresser in a clergy shirt.
  9. All the pronouns are for my gender. God is a he. Jesus is a he. Pastors are almost always referred to as he or him or his. I don’t have to correct people because they never use the wrong pronoun to refer to me.
  10. Being male is the norm in the church. I didn’t have to take classes in seminary about men’s issues, there is no post-modern male theology, male pastors where never brought in to speak about being male pastors as if it was special or odd or a novelty.
  11. I could join the Old Boys Club if I wanted to. Leadership in the church is still overwhelmingly male, and there are no glass ceilings for male pastors in the church. No one pretends it is, “all in good fun” to make sexist jokes about my gender, and none of my colleagues treats me like I am second class because of my gender.
  12. I don’t have to walk on egg shells in ecumenical situations. I don’t have to justify my position and call to my conservative colleagues, because they all have male pastors in their denominations. I am not an oddity or the token male at ministerial events.

All the advantages of being a male pastor are only advantages because women suffer the opposite. So many of my colleagues have to contend with these annoyances, insults, and frustrations each day because they are the reality of life in the church. This fact makes me very angry. I pray for the day when these will not be male-pastor advantages, but the reality for all pastors, regardless of gender.

*** Special thanks to my wife, Courtenay, for helping me write this post, since she knows much more about the struggles women in ministry face than I do. You can follow her on twitter @ReedmanParker ***

Read a Christmas Post here:

I am at War with Christmas

See some more posts:

Putting My Jesus Feminism to the Test

10 More Reasons Why Male Pastors are Better,

So what do you think? Are these true? Are there more advantages to being a male pastor? Share in the comments.

Follow me on Twitter: @ParkerErik

168 thoughts on “12 Reasons Why Being a Male Pastor is Better”

      1. What about obesity? Do people think that you’re unbelievable when you preach against gluttony or ask for more money because you obviously eat well?

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    2. Thank God i read it all because i was getting mad. And btw I don’t care what people think of me in my CLERICAL BLOUSE i look like a beautiful called woman. Greetings from ELCA Caribbean Synod.

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    4. Thank you for your post. I am a young woman discerning ordination. Sometimes I think about the safety issue and I wonder, “Who am I kidding? If I can’t protect myself from being raped, etc, how can I see myself as defender of the sheep, or a ‘real leader’? There is nothing but my husband and police separating me from deranged men who would attack me, because that is the world we live in.” But is that bad, to be dependent on others? Did it make Deborah less of a leader because she had an army protecting her? And sadly, I have to find inspiration in things like Battlestar Gallactica. There is nothing physically strong and commanding about a middle aged woman with cancer like Laura, and yet she carries her authority as president and is an amazing leader. And yes, the military is there to protect her so she can do her job. Does that make her less of a leader, because she is dependent on others for physical safety? Not necessarily, because we aren’t cavemen anymore, and we are an organized society. Was FDR less of an amazing leader because he couldn’t walk, because he could have never won at a fistfight? No, we live in a world where you can lead with your personality and your brain and your vision and character. And physical power is not how the church leads anyway, in fact we reject using force of any kind. These are just some of my thoughts lately…

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      1. Thank for posting Megan. I am an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene and I would encourage you to check out the Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy Facebook page and website. If you know you are called-It is time to prepare to be the leader God has called you to be. God will not call you where grace will not take you-Blessings and Peace-Aimee Mulder
        Thank you Erik-sharing this all over the place

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  2. Wow. This is a very eyeopening post. (awesome title, btw). Nicely done, it’s refreshing to hear your opinion, and you’ve conveyed it so clearly and powerfully.

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  5. sometimes men as well as women must be aware of their safety. ALSO, I have encountered several male church secretaries and everyone knew him and assumed……of course these are the exceptions to the generalities…..

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  6. Thanks for this very accurate reflection, Erik. I think if I had really understood what I was in for as a woman pastor, I would have given up my dream and not gone to seminary. But I didn’t understand, went to seminary, and spent 20 years of work in a church environment full of what you describe. I left 9 years ago, and my life is so much better now. I wish all of this wasn’t true, but it is. Even with a growing acceptance of women in leadership, we are still a male-centric culture when it comes to leadership. It’s exhausting to swim against that current. I’ll say it completely exhausted me.

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    2. Religion is rapidly becoming a majority female profession; of course, that’s because it’s increasingly marginalized and irrelevant-the people who matter don’t care if a disproportionately large percentage of clergy are female or gay, just as they don’t care if that’s the case with librarians, social workers or nurses.

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        1. Why? Is it inaccurate? What about it do you dispute? Professions that have more men in them have more money; female professions don’t.
          Clergy, librarians, nurses, social workers vs. engineers, mathematicians,surgeons.
          Which set of professions is more male? Which gets more money?
          Stop scolding-that’s so pathetic!

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            1. “The value of professions isn’t measured by money”-just not even close to accurate. Or what you pastors truly believe-you’re always trying to get to a “tall steeple” church.

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  10. I was at the Justice Conference several years ago and during the Q&A at one of the workshops, a male participant asked the speaker what he could do to help the “female pastor” who was new at his church, knowing (or maybe seeing) some of the difficulties that she was already facing. The speaker’s reply was less than fulfilling, so when the group broke up, I, as a woman in ordained ministry for 13 years, shared this with him:
    1) Please do not call her the “female pastor” or “woman pastor”. Just call her your “pastor”. If somebody presses for more clarification, you could say, “my pastor who is a woman”. (I particularly cringe at “female pastor”. Ugh.);
    2) Know that she will be experiencing all kinds of unfairness and criticism, and you will likely hear it. Do not participate, nor let those kinds of words pass without addressing the stereotype and/or discrimination that is inherent in those comments;
    3) Support her ministry. If there is something to appropriately critique, then do so in a healthy way. Neither assume that her ministry needs your correction, nor that she’ll never do anything that calls for re-thinking.

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  11. Not at all facetious. A great articulation of “male privilege.” One doesn’t know about one’s own privilege (I have white privilege) until we hear from folk who don’t have it. Apparently, you’ve been listening. Thanks.

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  12. I would add two more.

    (1) Many will treat men as smarter / better read / more professional than women. A male Pastor doesn’t have people question his scholarship or intellect – “Does the Bible really say that?” “Where did you read that?” Women hear these questions but not men.

    (2) Men have permission to get angry but women often don’t. It is much easier to for a man to denounce something from the pulpit while women get accused of being angry or divisive.

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  14. Why limit GOD? If GOD calls men into the ministry, He can certainly call a woman into the ministry. This is from a Southern Baptist woman

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    2. One of the main reasons I went from Baptist to Quaker…. could never identify with (or believe) the inequality purported to be from ‘God’ when I wasn’t getting that at all in my communions with Him.

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  15. Can’t say that I support your view. I will only accept that which is written in the Bible with regards to this. If you wish to discount the words of the Apostle Paul, that is your choice, but in doing so, you are at risk of denying scripture itself. There is a place for women in the church, but I don’t believe it is the pulpit. I would argue more time reading the Bible and less time with limited human opinions.

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    1. I’m sorry you can’t understand that a woman and a man are of equal worth in the eyes of God, and can both be called to serve in any number of ways, including behind the pulpit. I do not mean to cause an argument, but it is my opinion that each and every person can be called by the Lord to ministry.

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        1. If we are talking about the New Testament church, the role that pastors play today was set up by men and not by God. Jesus did not give that kind of authority to any one of His disciples. He is the only Pastor/Shepherd (Deut 18:15-19;Mark 9:1-8; John 10; John 12:48). He did not set up one man to be behind the pulpit, that is a man-made system. He left the Holy Spirit to lead and to guide us, and to remind us of His teachings. He gave us all various gifts and abilities and commanded us to collaborate and share His gospel across the world. Just as He trained His disciples; empowered them to do what He did and more; and sent them out, He expects us all to do the same with every new believer. He told Peter to feed and not to lead. Jesus hates systems on hierarchy among His people.(1 Corinthians 12 & 14; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2:6,15) Do a thorough word search on Nicolaitans. Use several versions of the Bible and notice how some words were also added or omitted. We must follow the template that Jesus has left us because He will be our judge and He will determine if we should see God.

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    2. Christopher: I am sorry to hear that. I would argue more time reading the bible, with a serious eye to context, textual issues and the over-arching theology of the New Testament would help to deepen your understanding of scripture.

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    4. Does it not bother you that views like yours are driving people away from Christianity?

      I used to be a Christian. I could talk about Junia and quote Galatians on ‘neither male nor female.’
      But now I have the freedom to know that sexism is wrong regardless of what the Bible says. Yes I deny scripture. I have a better morality, one based on consideration for others rather then following rules.

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  16. I am comforted that you say at the end that the sexism makes you angry. Thank you.
    I was beginning to get very angry as I read through your list, though I have been aware of all of these things and experienced all of these things, seeing them put together in this way opened up all the suppressed wounds I carry.

    I also am exhausted by the injustice of it all, but am heartened that there are still some who have the energy to fight the good fight. So thanks again.

    I would add to this list that you and probably most men never have been judged by your parenting skills and how you balance the working world and family life
    Or by what you wear and (in florida we rarely wear robes nor panty hose) and how you you sit while on the chancel
    Or by how clean you keep the manse

    And it probably endearing when you invite your children up beside you at the pulpit rather than an agenda ( I did this long before Pope Francis)

    And you would likely never be called a prude for asking members not to come over unannounced at seven in the morning while you were still in your night gown or whatever you wear – likely your modesty or lack thereof has never been considered acceptable conversation at a church committee meeting

    Sadly, all of these things happened to me and like many other women the shame wore down my passionate calling.

    Thank you, again, for saying what needs to be said.

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  17. Wow, maybe your wife wouldn’t suffer those things if only she would be faithful to the Scriptures! I am for equality of men and women as to most or all other “jobs” out there: same pay, same respect, same expectations, but Scriptures are pretty clear as to who can be an overseer. Yup, another silly conservative here, as you might have known already from my comment. 🙂

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    1. Yes, the scriptures are clear that we are all equal before God, and that women were preaching and leading churches right from Easter Sunday. And that men didn’t like that because they wanted to fit in with the rest of society – a very conservative way of doing things.

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      1. Equal yes but different also!
        So, your argument is that men who lead things even in Bible times (like, Acts of Apostles, and NT in general) didn’t like that and wanted to fit in with the rest of society? Isn’t that a very low view of biblical authority and inspiration?

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        1. Not at all. It is a view of scripture that is open to the fullness of the text. To authorship, context, textual issues. A literalist only view scripture is low view of Biblical authority. It assumes that the Bible can’t be open to questions and deeper scholarship, otherwise divine inspiration will be brought into question.

          To clarify, the church of acts and the letters of Paul had all kinds of women in leadership. The church of 1 Timothy 80 years later was trying to fit in with the patriarchal society around it. Thus, they clamped down on women in leadership.

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          1. Erik, it is obvious from your comment why you hold to the possition you hold. Thank you for explaining!

            Saying that 1 Timothy was written 80 years after apostle Paul would mean that God did not inspire 1. Timothy, and therefore we shouldn’t have it in our Bibles because it would in that case be entirely a lie and not Scripture and because it would actually hold to doctrine that would contradict to the true Scriptures.

            But, I have a good news for you: the church of 1. Timothy was the church in Ephesus in which Timothy was serving around AD 63-65, and about whose concerns apostle Paul was writting. Therefore, 1. Timothy is a part of God’s “whole cousel” and in many respects interprets earlier Scriptures.
            If you do not believe this, I’m sorry to tell you that you have a lot bigger problem than feminism: you did precisely what John told us not to do in Revelation 21: cutting and throwing away God-breathed Scripture so it can fit your wishful thinking!

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            1. That is an interesting comment you make.

              Considering the canon wasn’t adopted ecumenically until 393 at the council of Trent… your reasoning would suggest that none of the bible is inspired. But of course the the vast majority of Christian tradition acknowledges the formation of the canon as inspired. It is only a recent, dare I say liberal, innovation to apply this extreme literalism to scripture and these extremely rigid definitions of sculpture. It is a fundamentalist response to a modernist question of biblical scholarship. It is not the position of the early church. St. Augustine for example only became a Christian in the first place because he as assure by his Bishop that parts of the bible were allegorical.

              I think you need to do some serious study of Christian history. You wouldn’t be able to call yourself a reformed Baptist if it wasn’t for Martin Luther and he wanted to chuck James, Hebrews and Revelation from the canon. 1 Timothy was on his list too. None of these books talk about Christ much, but give lots of advice about how we should act. Luther was adamant Christ is the Word… And the bible is the manger that holds the Christ. Meaning that Christ comes first – always.

              So if you don’t like Luther’s view on scripture you better go back to Rome, except they are on board with the traditional understanding of scripture too. As in scripture was formed by the early church and its tradition.

              The problem with holding to such a rigid view of inspiration is that it becomes bibliolatry. We don’t worship or believe in the Bible. We worship and have faith in the Christ that we find in scripture.

              But there is good news, I don’t think God will hold your modernist issues against you because God is very merciful.

              PS 2 Timothy was not talking about itself when it said that all scripture is god breathed. It was talking about the Old Testament. God didn’t whisper words into biblical authors ears… The Bible is a testimony of God’s interaction with God’s people, inspired by the Revelation of God in Christ.

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    2. Joel 2: 28, 29. Most “prophesying” is done in the context of a meeting of a group of people–and most likely these days, within the church. I am so blessed to know that God pours out His Spirit (and isn’t this what each of us should long for passionately?) on both men and women. Perhaps male and female expressions of the life of Christ through His Spirit may differ, but so much the better for the church in order to see the fullness of what it means to be created in the image of God. Why should Christ’s people, His body, lose that fullness?
      It seems to me that every pastor is under authority (whether all choose to believe or accept that) so that every pastor, male or female, exercising his or her gift properly, would never be dominating or seizing control.

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      1. I don’t see how your comment bears anything substantial to the argument.
        Actually, you said: “Perhaps male and female expressions of the life of Christ through His Spirit may differ, but so much the better for the church in order to see the fullness of what it means to be created in the image of God.”
        Exactly! Men and women are equal, but have their own expressions in the body, so that men’s expressions are in leadership.
        One thing that must be clear is that we will be judged by our faithfulness in the realm that God gave us in this life, and not by what we did for Him here.

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  19. Agree with the article and all the comments, the only exception being that I am (or was!) youthful looking, and until I was 40 years old I got the comment about being too young to be a pastor. That one crosses gender lines, but you articulate well the male privilege that comes of which many pastors who are male are not even aware of, which then helps lead to pastors who are male being the very ones who make insensitive or outright offensive comments about pastors who are women.

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  20. well said! I might add that women also tend to be systemically marginalized by lack of mobility in the job – being married with children makes moving the family around harder – thus we forfeit positions of leadership to maintain balance in our family systems. I continue to hope that our organizations will at some point catch up with the realities of our lives!

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  22. I think something along the lines of “I will never get more comments about my shoes, my hair, my nails, or my makeup than my sermon on any given Sunday. In fact, my physical body is not the first thing used to describe me when my parishioners talk about who I am with their friends.”

    It is getting better, but we’re not there yet. Thanks for writing this.

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  23. For years churches were really getting “two for the price of one” as the wives did so much work in the church and took care of the family and the parsonage. I daresay few female
    pastors have a supportive husband assisting her.

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    1. I am blessed to be the exception to your statement. My husband does Bible magic for the kids, cleans up the pulpit at the end of services, makes a mean pot of industrial size coffee, has manned Coffee Hour, and helps me research sermon material. He also pinch hits to do scripture when we can’t get a reader.

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  24. Thanks -with the exception of a few misguided and misinformed would-be theologians, the comments here are so true…a pastor married to a pastor for 30+ years! (And a daughter in seminary!) When God calls you, you go and trust in God’s love to keep you going!!

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  26. There is a group on Facebook called Things They Didn’t Teach Us In Seminary, and the comments on this post are catching fire. (Also comments on some of the comments. Betcha can guess which ones.) This is a wonderful post. Thanks for “getting it.” And especially, thanks to your wife. 🙂

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  27. Reblogged this on Seth Gibson and commented:
    Great read and great perspective.

    I am most certain that there are times, for better or worse,I take for granted that I am upper middle class white male in a world (and in some cases profession) geared toward white male privilege.

    I pray that one day gender identity, sexual identity, marital status, nation of origin, etc. wont be something that divides but binds. We are ONE in Christ! This is a great read… enjoy!

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  28. I try so hard to stay out of the female pastor arguments, but I can’t keep my fingers from typing this time. Paul’s words are always used to support the idea that women should not be leaders in church. What about Phoebe? What role did she play? Surely all must agree that Paul had great respect for her and gave her great responsibility…great responsibility in the church at that! I am so grateful for the wonderful women I’ve met in my lifetime who have proven that women are indeed called by God to be pastors. I pray that I leave people thinking the same way because of my service. I fought my call for years making every excuse I could think of, sadly including the thought that women can’t be pastors, but God wouldn’t accept my no. I was ordained in 2006 and have been blessed with the call to Word and Sacrament. Gasp! What is God thinking?!?! I still ask that question, but not because I am a woman. I ask the question because I am a mere sinner who has made many mistakes and often falls short, but by the grace of God I am forgiven. That is one of my favorite teachings to people. I am blessed to have had women teach me that same message.

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  30. Thank you for this – it needed to be said – and I for one feel it is more meaningful having come from a man! I, like so many others (as evidenced by previous comments), have experienced most, if not all, of these issues! Kudos to you, Erik. By the way, another possible item: I have been criticized for not being a “gourmet” cook – I’m not even a very good cook. When my 3 children were growing up, for most of the formative years I was a single parent, working two jobs. Never really had the time to polish my culinary skills. You would not believe the comments! Blessings –

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  31. Thank you! And two more to add to your list. Men don’t get judged by the clothes they wear. and they don’t get told, “nice legs”

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  33. The Christmas song “When the Baby Grew Up” has a stanza that, as a female pastor, makes me cry:

    Christmas time, I can feel it
    See the pastor shed a tear
    As she reads from the gospel
    The angels to the shepherds: “Have no fear”

    It’s the only time I have ever heard myself affirmed in a song.

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  34. Where are you serving??? No one ever fights with you??????? People expect to be led and are glad to hear it from you??? Conflicts are tipped in your favor???? The rest of the way I can smell what you are stepping in….

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    1. Well I wouldn’t go so far to say that no one fights and people are glad to always get behind my leadership. But it is the comparison between my wife and I, she encounters so much more resistance to the same ideas that I try to implement.

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  35. WOW! As a lay person, I found this most interesting and enlightening. Our ‘fairly new’ full-time pastor is, not only female but, fairly new to the ministry. After five years, she still struggles for acceptance. Fortunately, she is strong and has handled this so-called disability (by the older folks) very well. Still, I worry about her sensitivity and the wearing effects of this struggle. It’s common for the older, more staunch members to reject change, but, for the most part, they are trying. Our Pastor, though also strong-willed, has become more bendable and accommodating. Thanks for your ‘spin’. I will share this with many who may benefit from your views.

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  36. Thank you, Pastor Erik, for acknowledging what you will probably never experience. And for all these comments. Along with Shelley, I mostly stay away from this conversation. As I’m reading through this, though, I’m wondering why. I ignore all those true things about being a woman and a priest now, I guess because I’ve become desensitized to it. Or just tired of hearing it. We ALL need to weigh in I think — the RCL gospel this morning has Jesus telling the disciples about how hated they’ll be because of him — he also said that their hardship would be an opportunity to testify. So, I appreciate hearing even from the folks who follow what ONE man said over 2,000 years ago about the leadership of women in churches trying to form identity, leadership HE supported no matter what he was writing, IF he actually wrote that. Paul was an apostle, yes, authoritative, but also fully a man of his time and culture. And only one man. And not, in fact, Jesus. Heresy? Perhaps those reading scripture shouldn’t assume the rest of us liberal yahoos, ordained or not, aren’t spending enough time with it. All y’all women looking for a better fitting shirt…..WomanSpirit 🙂 Thank you, Erik and wife!

    Rev. Christie Olsen

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    2. Thanks for your encouragement, Christiana. I think I am guilty of growing tired and just wanting to do my job, but my silence is not doing the church any justice. It’s definitely difficult to judge when to speak up and when to remain quiet.

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  37. Thank you for this article! It affirms so many, although not all experiences I have had as an Anglican Priest. I am celebrating my 25th Anniversary of ordination this year by the grace of God:

    “23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

    26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
    (Galatians 3:23-29)

    The Rev. Dr. Linda Lowry, FOCD
    Chaplain, Major, USAF Retired
    .

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  40. In high school I wanted to be a Methodist minister and the guidance counselor said there ‘were no women pastors.’ Of course, there were… but I didn’t know that then. In later years I became totally disillusioned with organized religion on so many levels. I’m saddened to see that in many ways, little has changed. I stay away. Thank you for sharing your perspective and concerns.

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  41. Pingback: 10 More Reasons Why Being a Male Pastor is Better | The Millennial Pastor

  42. You’ll never be asked “What do we call you?”

    In the Episcopal Church, “Father” has been an acceptable title for the priest. Obviously, that isn’t a problem for you.

    Oh, and you’ll never have an elderly female parishioner refuse to call you “Mother” because you’re “too young” but who thinks nothing of referring to a male colleague as “Father” … even when your colleague is young enough to be your son.

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        1. Oh, that’s strange. Because they’ve been calling themselves “Protestant” since Elizabeth I.
          And the title “Father” is only about 100 years old and pretty much a pre-Raphellite affectation from the Oxford/Ritualist movement.

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  43. Pingback: Sexism is alive in the Church | Reverend Joshua King's Blog

  45. Check out Christians For Biblical Equality–their web site has a wealth of wonderful resources that support women in ministry. Love them!

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  46. 1ST QUALIFICATION FOR BEING A DECON, OR ELDER IS TO BE THE HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE… HE MUST NOT BE A BRAWLER,..MUST HAVE HIS HOUSE IN ORDER.. HE MUST NOT BE OF STRONG DRINK..MAYBE THATS WHY IT SEEMS AWKWORD WHEN A WOMEN STEPS INTO THAT CALLING..
    (WITH HIGHEST RESPECT AND REGAURD FOR WOMEN..)

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    1. Have you told the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox that many of their priests and all of their bishops (and patriarchs, popes, etc.) need to find other work?

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  49. Pingback: Links that Matter – Weekly Update |

  50. Thanks! This is so true! I am a female pastor in a latin country (double whammy). Things are slowly changing, but people always assume I am the “real” pastor’s wife or secretary, so I chuckled!

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