Women as Pastors or Elders

 Many Christians dogmatically teach that there were no woman pastors in the New Testament. They also claim that the New Testament forbids the ordination of women to the office of pastor.

Such dogmatic teachings require strong biblical evidence. However, it is very difficult to find unambiguous evidence to support this belief.

In Ephesians chapter 4, we find the one and only text which is considered the basis of the Five Fold Ministry.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers,
to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up
until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph 4:11–13 NIV

There is no mention here of any qualifications or requirements for a person to be a pastor. Nor is there any hint of what the leadership position of pastor involves or how pastors relate to Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists or Teacher.

The office of pastor in churches since the Reformation is based on the office of priest in the Roman Catholic Church of that time, but this is not in any way derived from Biblical teaching or practice,

Protestant theologians typically teach that a pastor is the presiding elder in a congregation, but this is not based on any biblical text. It is pure speculation. The bible simply does not give us any definition or description of the authority or leadership position of a pastor.

Not one minister, preacher or leader in the NT is referred to as a pastor. Not one.

So how can church leaders dogmatically declare that a woman cannot be a pastor?

Conservative bible teachers commonly equate the office of pastor with a senior eldership position. There is also uncertainty about the meaning and role of elders. There are two Greek words which seem to be interchangeable.

EPISCOPOS, which is translated as overseer or bishop.
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 1 Tim 3:2 NASB95

Does this mean an overseer must be married? Then Paul and Jesus would not qualify.

Does it also mean that an overseer must be a man? An important source of information on this question is the teaching of John Chrysostom, the eminent Patriarch of Constantinople around 400 AD. He was certainly no feminist, but his understanding of the NT Greek text was unsurpassed. His mother tongue was Greek, which had changed little since the time of Paul.

John Chrysostom asserted that 1 Tim 3,2 did not imply an overseer could not be a woman.

In 1 Timothy chapter one, dealing with qualifications for ordained leadership, women are only referred to as wives of overseers of deacons in conservative translations.

Likewise, their wives must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, faithful in all things. 1 Tim 3:11 NKJV

Actually, this is not what the NT Greek text says at all. Some modern translations are literally accurate.

In the same way, the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. 1 Tim 3:11 NIV

This can either refer to wives of ordained ministers or to women who are themselves ordained ministers of the gospel. There is nothing in the text to exclude women from ordained preaching ministry.

PRESBYTEROS, which is translated as elder.
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 1 Tim 5:17 NIV

The Greek words for older men or older women can also mean male or female ordained leaders, so the Greek NT text cannot be used to exclude women from ordained eldership.