A Well-Known Pastor Changes His View About Women Pastors - because the Great Commission was given for all Christians, women can be pastors. Because the Holy Spirit caused both men and women to speak in tongues and prophesy at Pentecost. Because Jesus told Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples about his resurrection in John 20, he "chose her to be the first preacher of the Gospel." It’s true that both men and women are commanded to share the Gospel. It’s true that God’s Spirit caused both men and women to speak in tongues at Pentecost. It’s true that Mary told the disciples that Christ was alive. Women are every bit as valuable and capable as men. But certain leadership roles are reserved for men

Recently Rick Warren explained why he has changed his beliefs and now affirms female pastors in his church 

According to Warren:

1. Because the Great Commission was given for all Christians (Matthew 28:19-20), women can be pastors. 

2. Because the Holy Spirit caused both men and women to speak in tongues and prophesy at Pentecost (Acts 2; Joel 2:28), women can be pastors. 

3. Because Jesus told Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples about his resurrection in John 20, he "chose her to be the first preacher of the Gospel." 

Therefore, women can be pastors.  

It’s true that both men and women are commanded to share the Gospel. 

It’s true that God’s Spirit caused both men and women to speak in tongues at Pentecost.

It’s true that Mary told the disciples that Christ was alive. 

But none of these passages say anything about church leadership and other passages directly address church leadership. 

Scripture specifically explains the different roles of men and woman in the church. 

Women are every bit as valuable and capable as men (Galatians 3:28; Philippians 4:3).

But certain leadership roles are reserved for men (1 Timothy 2:11-15; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3).

We may not fully understand the purposes behind these roles, but we can trust God to know what's best for us.

----------------

Note: Warren's conclusions are based on what theologians call “eisegesis.” This means a person starts with a belief and tries to find Scriptures to fit that belief. This is the opposite of “exegesis” which means we start with Scripture and formulate our beliefs according to what it teaches.

Conclusions reached by eisegesis usually contradict the straightforward messages in Scripture. This is certainly true in Warren's case (1 Timothy 2:11-15; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3). 

Eisegesis typically involves reading something into the text that's not there: e.g. If the giving of the great commission and the giving of the Spirit to both genders means both genders are supposed to be pastors, then we could say that since only men are mentioned at the Last Supper, women are not supposed to take communion (Matthew 26:17-30).

Eisegesis often creates doctrine from situations not meant to create doctrine. If Jesus asking Mary to tell the disciples He was alive creates a doctrine affirming female pastors, we might just as logically claim that men who follow Christ are supposed to get their tax money from fish mouths because that's what Christ told Peter to do (Matthew 17:24-27).

For another example of eisegesis see False Teachings about Sodom and Gomorrah. 

For one-minute devotions about God's design for men and women:

Let’s Step Up to the Plate 

It's time for Christian men and women to acknowledge God's purposes and reject cultural values! Understanding and Appreciating Titus 2:3-5 

Let’s appreciate the blessing of being a women according to God’s design! 

3 Bad Arguments for a Female God 

Why these 3 Feminist Arguments fall flat on their face. 

Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California and earned a Bachelor of Arts from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. He and his wife Kay founded Saddleback Church when he was just 26 years old and he continues to serve as the senior pastor. To many, he is Pastor Rick, but to his church, he is Papa Rick—a voice of wisdom, hope, encouragement, and vision.

Hi!  I'm Gail Burton Purath. I started Bible Love Notes to give people a minute of scriptural encouragement in their busy day.

I don't have all the answers, but since I asked Christ to be my Lord and Savior in 1974, I've been learning from the One Who has all the answers! 

biblelovenotes.blogspot.com

You might also like:

Women Preachers In Church - if God endows women with Spiritual gifts, then are we going to forbid God to use these women in pulpit ministry? What God has called, let us never un-call. Pentecostals were forerunners of liberation because our elevation of women to the pulpit is not based on any societal rebellious bandwagon with no concern for God's plan for the world. When many men continue to wallow in self-pity and visionless missions, let the women arise from out of their quietness and shout from the housetops. When men still refuse to answer God's call to the home church pulpit or the foreign fields, let the women arise and forever proclaim, "Here am I, use me"

Streams in my desert: The Unchanging Message - the message of the gospel has always been the same. Jesus is fully God as the second person of the trinity. He became fully man and lived a perfect life. He humbled himself and walked among us so that we might know him and to die for the sins of mankind. He died a brutal death and rose again. That is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is what all of our lives are hitched to. The message of the gospel has always been the same. "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God”

Streams in my desert: God is reaching all people - and you are part of His plan - our God desires all people throughout the world to hear His message. His providence is such that anywhere His servants find themselves becomes a place and a moment of opportunity for Him. Even Jonah's gross disobedience didn't stop the Lord from using him as a testimony. We need to be aware of who we are and what we carry for Yeshua (Jesus). His love and faithfulness to us is such that even our discipline can become a vehicle for expressing His love to the world

Streams in my desert: Ready in Season - if you make a god out of your best moments, you will find that God will fade out of your life, never to return until you are obedient in the work He has placed closest to you. If you say you will only be at your best for God, as during those exceptional times, you actually become an intolerable burden on Him. It is perilously possible to make our conceptions of God like molten lead poured into a specially designed mould, and when it is cold and hard we fling it at the heads of the religious people who don’t agree with us

Streams in my desert: The Lord's gifts and callings are irrevocable - sometimes the Lord needs to put us in a difficult position so that we can be restored to Him and remain faithful to our calling. Jonah ran from what he considered a difficult and abhorrent assignment from God, thinking he could escape to a place where he couldn't be found. But the Lord's irrevocable gifts and callings were faithfully resting upon him and He provided the drama needed to bring his man around

Streams in my desert: Treasure in Jars of Clay - God is sovereign even when the world seems destined to fall apart. We are fragile. We have limits. We will be imperfect. This matter of being jars of clay is to demonstrate "the surpassing power" of God. We must rely on the light of Christ within us and the power of the Holy Spirit, not on our own strength. We do not lose heart because Christ is with us. He remembers that we are "but dust." The Bible is as relevant today as it was when it was written and can help us "jars of clay" shine with the light of Christ even in the darkest times

Streams in my desert: The Latter Rain - on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit poured like a flood into the Upper Room in Jerusalem, and it has steadily continued throughout the centuries. The Holy Spirit’s work is always focused on the harvest of precious souls. Down through the generations, God’s desire is to redeem us back to him, as many as will come

Streams in my desert: Sometimes People Collapse in the Presence of God - the Old and New Testaments tell of those who fell to the ground when they encountered the strong presence of God. If you hear of someone crumpling to the floor in the presence of God, don’t be too surprised. There are a lot of scriptural examples for people falling or collapsing when they come into contact with God’s supernatural power. If you’re standing in a prayer line to receive prayer and you feel the strength go from you — surrender to it and let the Holy Spirit perform a divine operation