Marge Mowczko

Masculine & Feminine Leadership (1 Thessalonians 2)

There are Christians who believe that being a leader is a man’s role, and that it is unfeminine for women to be in leadership.  These Christians[1] dismiss female leaders mentioned in the Bible[2] as rare exceptions and anomalies.  They maintain that God does not generally allow women to be leaders in society, in the church or even in their own homes.  Does the Bible teach that leadership is masculine?  Or that leadership is unfeminine?

The Apostle Paul was an impressive and influential church leader.  Interestingly, in 1 Thessalonians 2:7, Paul describes his apostolic ministry (and that of his colleagues’)  using the metaphor of a woman breastfeeding her infant children.

As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle [3] among you, as a nurse [i.e. a breast-feeding woman] cherishes her own children. 1 Thessalonians 2:7

Few images could be more womanly than a mother breastfeeding her baby; yet Paul clearly states here that he ministered in ways that he himself identified with womanhood.

Later in the same chapter Paul speaks about his ministry using the metaphor of a father.

For you know that we dealt with you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God . . . 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12a

If Paul, as a man, can lead and minister in both a motherly and fatherly manner, does it seem unreasonable to suggest that some women can lead and minister in both a motherly and fatherly manner?  Is it only fatherly men who can encourage and comfort believers and urge them to live lives worthy of God?

Generally speaking, men and women are different, and they tend to have different leadership styles.  While there are many exceptions to these generalisations, women tend to be more relational, collaborative and flexible in their leadership than many male leaders.  They also tend to be more sensitive, intuitive and nurturing in their dealings with people.  These qualities are actually seen as advantageous in leaders within post-modern society; especially when leading and mentoring people belonging to Generation Y.

Many women leaders have also clearly demonstrated that they can be assertive and goal-oriented; qualities often associated with male leaders.  Moreover, women have shown that they can be successful, effective leaders without necessarily compromising or losing their femininity (which seems to be a concern of some.)[4]

The church needs spiritual fathers and mothers in leadership.  Just as families benefit when they are led by both a father and mother, churches benefit when they are led by gifted and called men and women, who are able to minister according to their gifts and abilities and are not constrained by traditional gender roles.


Endnotes

[1] Complementarians are Christians who believe that the Bible teaches that only men can be leaders.  They have very narrow and rigid ideas of leadership which do not allow for feminine expressions.   Leading Complementarian, John Piper (2006), believes that all men are designed by God to be leaders; and that all women are designed by God to be submissive followers of all “worthy” men.  Yet, while insisting that leadership is a masculine trait, Complementarians do not seem to have a problem with women who lead (or teach)  women or children.

[2] Deborah is just one of several notable women leaders mentioned in the Bible.  At some point in Israel’s history, Deborah was their leader.  Judges chapters 4 and 5 records Deborah’s leadership and does not mention that there was anything peculiar about her being a leader and a woman.  In fact, her gender does not seem to have been an issue at all.  Deborah was an excellent leader.  She was a prophetess, a judge and a military leader.  In comparison with other leaders (judges) mentioned in Judges, there are no negative words about Deborah; yet Complementarians still assert that leadership is for men only. (There is no hint in Judges that Deborah became a leader because there were no men capable of the task.)

[3] There are some Greek manuscripts which state that in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 the apostles became “infant children” nepioi, rather than “gentle” epioi; however it is unlikely that Paul was saying that he and the other apostles became like children. Epioi may be translated as gentle, mild or kind, etc. (Strong’s number: 2261)

[4] Because Complementarians regard leadership as a masculine domain, they are concerned that women who lead will lose their femininity.  However, women frequently engage in activities that do not enhance their femininity.  What is so feminine about vacuuming carpets, carrying baskets of wet washing, cleaning toilets, or the numerous other domestic chores which the Complementarians have no issue with?


Bibliography

Aland, Barbara, et al (Ed)  The Greek New Testament; Fourth Revised Edition Stuttgart: Biblia-Druck for the United Bible Societies, 1998.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, by Walter Bauer, revised and edited by F.W Danker, University of Chicago Press, 2000.  This Lexicon is known as BDAG or BADG for short; an acronym of surnames of the four editors who have worked on it: Bauer, Danker, Arndt and Gingrich.

Perschbacher, Wesley J., (Ed) The New Analytical Greek Lexicon, Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 1990.

Piper, John, and Wayne Grudems (editors), Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, Westchester, Il: Crossway Books, 2006.

Strong, James, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, McLean, Virginia: Macdonald Publishing Company, n.d.

© 7th of July, 2010; Margaret Mowcz