Tag Archives: Women in Ministry

Devotional

God’s People, part 265: Priscilla and Aquila

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Read Acts 18:1-3

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.” (Romans 16:1-2, NRSV)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 265: Priscilla and Aquila. In our passage today, we are told that Paul became aquainted with a disapora Jew in Corinth, named Aquila, and his wife Priscilla. They were actually from Italy, but had moved to Corinth after the Emperor Claudius deported all Jews from Rome. This much debate as to why Claudius deported the Jews. The Ancient Roman historian Seutonius, as well as Acts 18:2, are two sources, independent of each other, that mention the event. Seutonius states that this was because of multiple disturbances caused by Jews in Rome at the instigation of Chrestus.

Scholars debate that Seutonius might have been mistaken in his hearing and spelling of Chrestus, as that word is awfully close to the word Christus, or Christ. In other words, Jews in Rome might have been angered by Christian missionaries claiming that Jesus was the Christ, and this caused a disturbance of the peace. We really cannot be sure exactly what happened; however, whatever caused Claudius to expel the Jews from Rome, it led Aquila and Pricilla to Corinth, where they met Paul.

The couple, like Paul, were tentmakers and carried that vocation out in Corinth. That is how Paul met them. In order to support himself and his mission, Paul worked as a tentmaker. In other words, Paul was a bi-vocational minister. He served Christ as the Apostle to the Gentiles, but he was only able to support that mission by working as a tentmaker. Working alongside of Paul in tentmaking, Pricilla and Aquila got to know him and join with him in Christian ministry.

There is also something else that is noteworthy about this couple and that is how Paul referred to them. In Acts they are first introduced as “Aquila, and his wife, Priscilla”. This was done because that was the social norm; however, Paul referred to them differently. In Romans 16:3, he wrote, “Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Jesus Christ.” In 2 Timothy 4:19, Paul wrote, “Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and those living in the household of Onesiphorus”  (2 Timothy 4:19, NLT).

Paul almost always put Priscilla’s name first, followed by her husband’s name and, truth be told, despite his intial introduction of the couple, Luke followed suit throughout the rest of Acts. This is no accident as name placement was a way of bestowing authority and honor. The fact of the matter is that Priscilla was an important minister and co-worker of Pauls, as was Aquilla. This is further evidence that Paul had a favorable view of women in ministry.

This should challenge us. For those who are opposed to women in ministry, a few select verses are always brought up to support that position; however, if we look at the totality of Paul’s ministry, we see that he worked alongside of women, even benefited from some of the, and he was quite comfortable to admit that. Women such as Priscilla was someone that other churches new and so Paul sent them her greetings as well. This is not a woman who was sitting quitely in the back of the church, but one on the frontlines of the mission of Jesus Christ among the Gentiles.

Let us, like Paul, not oppose people who desire to enter into ministry. Regardless of whether one is a male or a female, God created us and calls us all into ministry. Some of the best ministers/pastors/clergypeople I know are women. In fact, I am the pastor I am today because of the women who taught, mentored, and encouraged me. Let us be a people who encouarage all people to answer the call that God has placed on their lives. Amen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Help me, Lord, to remember that religion is not to be confined to the church… nor exercised only in prayer and meditation, but that every where I am in Thy Presence.” – Susanna Wesley

PRAYER
Lord, help me to see value in all people answering the call you have placed on their lives. For who am I to deem unworthy whom you have deemed them worthy. Amen.

Devotional

God’s People, part 262: Lydia

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Read Acts 16:11-14

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“After leaving the prison they went to Lydia’s home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.”  (Acts 16:40, NRSV)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

Part 262: Lydia. Now we get to a character that I’ve been longing to talk about. Lydia is the start of a pattern that comes to be an uncomfortable truth among Paul-loving misogynists throughout the history of Christianity. Lydia, who lived in Philippi at the time, was a gentile convert to Christianity. In Acts 16:11-14, we are told that Philippi was a Roman colony in Macedonia (aka Northern Greece). Lydia was originally from Thyatira, which was located in the western-most part of what is now modern day Turkey, on the coast of the Aegean Sea. The city is geographically situated in what was ancient Lydia (700-200 BC) and the name, Thyatira, was of Lydian origin.

While that may or may not be one gigantic historical/geographical coincidence, Lydia was a woman of prominence in Philippi, where she ended up settling down. In fact, we are told that she was a successful merchant of expensive purple cloth. Purple, of course, was the color of royalty and the reason the cloth was so expenisve was because of the dye used to make it.

Originally, from the city of Tyre, the dye that was used to make purple cloth averaged at an equivalent of what would today be $100,000 an ounce in U.S. American Dollars. The cloth was so expensive that, literally, only the ruling class could afford it, which is how purple became associated with royalty. Thus, it goes without saying that Lydia was extremely wealthy and powerful in her community.

Because of her wealth, she was a prominent figure in her community. This can be seen by the way she is written about in the book of Acts. She is the only one in her family that is named. The passage states that she was a “God Worshiper” or “God-fearer”, meaning that she was one of those Gentiles who believed in the Jewish God and worshipped in the synagogue, though she was not necessarily a full-on convert to Judaism.

Again, the passage states that LYDIA and her household were baptized by Paul into the Christian faith because the Lord opened her heart and she believed what Paul was teaching. The word household did not just mean her family; rather, it also includes any servants and/or slaves that might have been living and serving in her house. As a wealthy person, there is little down that Lydia had servants and/or slaves working for her. This was an accepted and common practice in the Roman Empire and ancient world. As we will see later on, Paul does challenge that common practice among Christians; however, that is not our focus here.

While we do not know Lydia’s exact role in the Philippian church, there can be no doubt that she certainly helped to support it financially and, more than likely, was a leader in that church. This, among other instances, is the reason that the modern “complementarian” view of the role of women in the church is not a Biblical view. Women, as well as men, were equally valued and treated in an egalitarian manner in the early church. Jesus treated women in the same way he treated men. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both instrumental figures in the earliest Church, and Paul was a benefactor and co-worker with women.

There are some verses in Paul’s writings that people might use to say otherwise; however, those writings may not have even been Paul’s and, even if they were, they were clearly specific to certain communities and not viewed by Paul as universal practice. All of this to say that it is long time that the church and, in particular, men in the church, look to women as co-workers in Christ just as Paul did. To do otherwise, is to fall away from Scripture and Biblical truth.

We ought to let this challenge us to see in what ways we discriminate agains women in ministry. As a pastor, I can’t tell you how many times I have had congregants tell me that they are glad to finally have a “male” pastor. Why is that? Why does my gender make me any more of a pastor than someone else who might be a female? God calls who God calls. Let us, once and for all, recognize that women and men alike are called by God to serve for God’s glory. Amen.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.”  Apostle Paul (Galatians 3:28, NRSV)

PRAYER
Lord, help to steer clear of discrimination and to accept all of those you have called to serve the church. Amen.

Devotional

God’s People, part 182: The Other Women

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Read Luke 8:1-3

ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened.”  (Luke 24:10, NLT)

When we think of God’s people, we tend to think one of two things. We might think of the Israelites who were God’s “chosen people”, or we might think of specific characters in the Bible. Either way, we tend to idealize the people we are thinking about. For instance, we may think that God’s people are super faithful, holy, perform miracles and live wholly devout and righteous lives. Unfortunately, this idealism enables us to distance ourselves from being God’s people, because we feel that we fall short of those ideals. As such, I have decided to write a devotion series on specific characters in the Bible in order to show you how much these Biblical people are truly like us, and how much we are truly called to be God’s people.

bible-films-christ-followers-women-1128908-wallpaperPart 182: The Other Women. One of the truly remarkable aspects of the Gospels is Jesus’ interaction with women. His willingness to teach and engage, let alone permit, women followers distinguishes Jesus from all the rest of the sagely rabbis and philosophers of his day and age. Not only that, but he is honestly distinguishable from all of the teachers and philosophers of years gone by leading up to his age. It was truly unique to Jesus.

Even more remarkable is that the Gospel writers themselves were not scandalized by it; rather, they included that detail in their accounts. I love when people bring up the “inconsistencies” between the Gospel accounts as “proof” that the texts are not reliable historically. Of course, we don’t hold the same standard with differing biographies on JFK or Abraham Lincoln, all of which have discrepancies in them too; however, with the Gospels, modernists like to hold the Gospels to a “higher” standard.

Yet, what makes the Gospel accounts credible to me is that they include things that would be scandalous and even embarrassing for the people they are seeking to account for. For instance, Jesus hanging out with prostitutes and tax collectors would have been a shame on him and an embarrassment to his family, yet that is included in the accounts. What’s more, Jesus having female followers would have been scandalous. Women knew their place in that society and their place was in the home, not learning and debating with sagely teachers. Only men were permitted to do that.

Yet, the Gospel writers include the fact that Jesus had faithful women followers and, even more importantly, that some of them were prominently supporting his ministry financially. On top of that, the Resurrected Christ is first seen and witnessed to by the women and, in a twist of epic proportions, those women become the apostles to the apostles. If the Gospel writers were making up fanciful stories to promote some sort of agenda (as cynical modernists like to imagine), why include those “embarrassing” moments? That makes absolutely no sense at all.

What’s more likely is that women were absolutely VITAL to the spreading of the Jesus movement following his death, resurrection, and ascension to heaven. Jesus had built a culture of inclusion among his disciples that carried on long after he’d gone to heaven, and the earliest Christian writers accounted for that. Some of those women I have already written about, others I will write about in future devotions; however, each of the women (named or unnamed) were vital parts of the Jesus movement. Jesus would have had it no other way.

Unfortunately, we live in a man’s world, and the church fell prey to ideologies that reflected the world’s view of women as opposed to Christ’s view of them. As such, things crept into the Christian tradition and even into the Bible that countered Christ’s acceptance and inclusion of women’s role in ministry. Even to this day there are “complimentarians” in Christianity who are staunchly opposed to the kind of radical inclusion of women in ministry that Jesus first initiated.

As a pastor, in every church I have served at I have had at least some people come up and tell me how happy they are that they now have a man serving as pastor. That always makes me feel uncomfortable and, honestly, offended. What about my anatomy and physiology makes me any better of a pastor than a woman? When one stops and thinks about it, the science is not there to back up any sort of superiority, nor is reason or logic! What’s more, Jesus is not there to back that up as Jesus valued women in ministry and he sent a woman, Mary Magdalene, to  preach the Good News to the Apostles who were hiding in fear of their lives.

The challenge for us is to begin to see things as Christ saw them. The challenge for us is to begin to become more and more inclusive of others. Men and women are equally called to serve Christ and who are we to stand in their way as their adversary? Let us begin to bring the church back to the place where it first started, a place of radical inclusivity and hospitality. In doing so, we will draw even closer to Christ than we already are.

THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“No doubt [women of faith in the past] were reproached for His name’s sake, and accounted mad women; but they had a faith which enabled them at that time to overcome the world, and by which they climbed up to heaven.” – Rev. George Whitefield

PRAYER
Lord, I thank you for the women of faith in my life and for the women who boldly preach your Gospel so that others might turn and be saved. For such women in the past, now and in the future, I give you thanks. Amen.