“ WOMEN IN THE CHURCH ” Special Seminar for Holiness Women Ministries 성결 교회 여성 교역 특별 세미나 : [ 교회 에서 의 여성 ] 2013 년 5 월 27 일 오후 1 시 서울 신학 대학교 ( Seoul Theological University ) 우석 강당 에서 By Dr . Jo Anne LyonSeoul Theological University , Graduate School of TheologyMay 27 , 2013 1 : 00 pm at Woo Suk Memorial Hall 조 앤 라이언 박사 Dr . Jo Anne Lyon 소개 : 미 웨슬리언 교회 교단 총회장 , 미국 중진 교단 들 의 총회장 중 유일 한 여성 총회장 지도자 * 가정 : 남편 웨인 과 함께 인디애나폴리스 시 소재 연합 가족 웨슬리 안 교회 담임 목사 요 4 명 의 자녀 들 과 8 명 의 손자 들 이 있 다 . * 사회 경력 : 인디애나 웨슬리언 대학교 와 애스베리 신학교 교단 지정 교회 와 사회 분야 교수 역임 . 교단 산하 대학교 들 인 뉴욕 휴 프 턴 대 , 인디애나 웨슬리 안대 , 킹스우드 대 , 오클라호마 웨 스리 안대 , 남 웨슬리 안대 학교 이사 . 세계 희망 회 창립 국제 총재 ( 미 버지니아 주 앨릭 잰 드리 아 시 소재 -- 세계 30 여 개국 구제 와 개발 사업 ) . 미 전국 복음주의 연합회 ( NAE ) 집행 위원 . 미 복음주의 재정 책임 평의회 임원 . 미 전국 환경 파트너 십 협회 임원 . 미 성경 / 신학 대학교 인가 / 인증 협의회 임원 . * 학력 : 하나님 의 성서 대 고등학교 와 대학 , 신시내티 대학교 졸업 , 상 담학 석사 , 역사 신학 대학원 졸업 , 5 가지 명예박사 학위 소지자 . * 저술 : 많 은 논문 들 과 출판물 저자 , 책 [ 궁극 적 복 ] WOMEN IN THE CHURCH To give a fully informed view of Women and Church through scripture , church history , culture and contemporary issues would require many more lectures than are possible in this short period of time . Therefore , I will attempt to give some examples from both the Old Testament and New Testament as well as a few from Church History in the Wesleyan tradition . Perhaps it would be good to look at scripture through the lens of a drama Act 1 … . . CreationAct 2 … . . FallAct 3 … . . RedemptionAct 4 … . . Pentecost Act 5 … . . Second Coming To look at the issue of women in leadership in the church we must first go to the story of Creation . Here we find God created both male and female in HIS image . one is not less than the other – but BOTH in His image . ( Gen . 1 : 27 ) Questions seem to arise surrounding the FallandGod ’ sintentionforwomen . Did God shrink back from his creation plan and place women in another category ? Are women subjugated forever because of Eve ’ s disobedience ? Therefore , the troublesome passage of Gen . 3 : 14 - 19 gives some pause . In fact , the text “ Your desire will be for your husband , and he will rule over you ” has caused considerable debate . But one needs to look at this entire passage as descriptive not prescriptive . In other words , this is not what is going to happen , it is what is now and how Adam and Eve will have the opportunity to make things better . As one looks at this passage we see that yes , childbirth is painful , but we are always working at ways in which to reduce the pain and make life better . Yes , weeds and thistles grow but we are always working at ways in which to reduce the weeds and thistles . Yes , the ground needs to have nutrients added , but we are always working on ways to increase the production from the soil . Yes , we work hard on the soil but we are always working on new types of machinery to make it easier … … and the list goes one . At the same time we see the great prophecy of Jesus and redemption . ( v . 15 ) Some examples throughout the Old Testament where God honors women and we see His image in them .  Jocabed – Mother of Moses – She was a woman whom God had informed of a special purpose for her son . She took enormous risks against all cultural barriers to obey God .  Miriam – Moses sister . She is described as a prophetess , leader of praise . She was one of the first Biblical women who had interests beyond the home . She led the people as they crossed the Red Sea . In many instances she and Moses were partners in the leadership of the people .  Huldah – In 2 Kings 22 : 13 we find tucked away a very powerful story of a woman again in the image of God . In the midst of idolatry , Huldah remained steadfast in her worship of God and was able to redirect a nation . She was noted as a prophetess . In response to the command “ inquire of the Lord ” the priest and the others went to the prophetess Huldah . Foremost as an authority of the Lord was Huldah . The text implies that it was believed she could speak with authority for the Lord , for she had the Holy Spirit , meaning she was one to whom God ’ s truth had been revealed . She could speak for God and King Josiah knew it .  Deborah – Selected by God as a Judge for Israel . Judges 4 : 4 … . ” Deborah , a prophetess , the wife of Lappidoth was leading Israel at that time . “ She was leading and holding court under the Palm Trees when an eruption in the nation happened . She did not hesitate to call for 10 , 000 troops to handle the issue . It is interesting tht Barak , the commander said to Deborah , “ If you go with me , I will go , but if you don ’ t go with me , I won ’ t go . ” V . 8 In Jesus , we find of course all of the attributes of God lived out . We then find in his ministry his breaking of cultural barriers especially as it related to women and children . The culture was that of male power which gave rise to abuse of women and children without hesitation . One of the first things we see is Jesus paying attention to children . The disciples could not comprehend this and wanted to hurry him on – his words of “ let the children come to me ” still ring in our ears centuries later . Then the words with even greater understanding and love … . ” if anyone tries to harm these children it is better that a millstone be hanged around his neck and he be placed in to the sea . ” Jesus meant business regarding our care for children . It is interesting to note that the first person he revealed his messiahship to was the Samaritan woman at the well . ( John 4 : 26 ) “ I who speak to you am he . ” She became the first evangelist for Jesus . She returned to her town told the story of Jesus and many believed . In fact , Jesus ended up staying 2 more days . The woman with the issue of blood ( Mark 5 ) gives another example of crashing cultural barriers . Not only were women held at a lower class but women who were bleeding were highly stigmatized . They were not to even be in public or to be touched in anyway particularly by a man . In addition , men were not to talk with them nor were women to speak in public . We find in this story told in 3 of the 4 gospels Jesus touching the woman , speaking with the woman asking the woman to give her testimony to the entire crowd . He then calls her daughter – an unheard of ｅxpression to a woman from a “ Rabbi ” in public and gives her instruction to “ go in peace “ and also affirms her leadership that her “ faith has made her whole . ” Jesus ’ death and resurrection brings about R E D E M P T I O N w h i c h m e a n s t h a t a l lthingsareheadedtowardGod ’ sintentionatCreation . Jesus was living this out and throughout his ministry we can see Redemption coming . Yes as we look at the Old Testament struggles we see the redemptive nature of God through Jesus with Grace and Hope . Pentecost then brings about the power to live a life grounded in Redemption . The day of Pentecost is opened with the great prophecies from Joel … … ( Acts 2 : 17 - 21 ) “ In the last days God says , I will pour out my Spirit on all people . Your sons , and daughters will prophesy , your young men will see visions , your old men will dream dreams . Even on my servants , both men and women , I will pour out my Spirit in those days , I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below , blood and fire and billows of smoke . The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord . And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved . ” Paul reiterates this in his words to the Galatians 3 : 28 – “ There is neither Jew nor Greek , slave nor free , male nor female , for you are all one in Christ Jesus . ” One of the first examples of this are the 4 daughters of Philip . All four of his daughters were preachers and proclaimed the Good News of Jesus and the power of the resurrection . I personally have been to the graves of these four great women of God . They are buried in Turkey what was known in Biblical Times as Asia Minor where the Christian Church spread through the ministry of Paul . Romans 16 where Paul sends his special greetings to many leaders who have labored with him we find half the group are women . The joyful church at Philippi of which Euodia and Syncthe lead , Paul affirms their leadership and also calls for reconciliation . Phoebe was a great leader of the one of house churches in Rome . In fact , Paul instructs the people of Rome to “ do whatever she asks of you . ” ( Rom . 16 : 1 ) In addition Chole is the leader of one of the churches in Corinth . ( I Cor . 1 : 11 ) The words spoken by Paul in 1 Timothy 2 tend to cause a great deal of question regarding the role of women in the church and have carried on down to this time . It is important to look at the long line of scripture before picking a few verses . We have seen from Creation God ’ s desire for women to be living in His image . This particular text was written to the church at the height of cult worship and practice . Many now Gentiles were coming into the Christian faith bringing with them their worship practices . It is also important to realize that many women were uneducated at this time . Therefore were illiterate and unlearned . A very popular cult at this time was the Cult of Dionysius . He was known as the God of Wine . People would worship in the forest and would drink much wine and get drunk . The women made a shrill sound in the worship experiences as well . one of the rites of initiation to get into this cult was to skin a wild animal live and eat the quivering flesh . Another part of their practice was “ cross - dressing ” or as we know today that of transvestitism . There was much sexual activity both heterosexual and homosexual in the religious rites and practices . But as the power of the Holy Spirit would have it many of these people became converted to Christianity . When they would first come to the Christian worship services they brought with them their practices . So Paul is speaking to them to stop and learn . The cult of Dionysius attracted many women and again many women from this cult were coming to Christianity . It is also interesting to note that from this cult is why Paul admonishes men to dress like men and women to dress like women . Another rising belief system along with this was that of Gnosticism . In this , the leaders were teaching that Jesus was not human – only divine and that anything of the flesh or human was separate and always sinful . Therefore , they did what is known as “ upside - down “ stories . So they told the Creation story “ upside - down ” - in the passage Paul is correcting the creation story and later again addresses the issues of flesh in the following chapters . As we come on down through the centuries we find women in leadership through the church . The frescoes painted on the walls of the catacombs in Rome note women as bishops . The Cappadocian Fathers located in Central Turkey living in caves for to preserve their life were at the same time refining the doctrine of the Trinity also worked in conjunction with a group of women scholars . Macrina , the sister of Basil led this group . It is noted that when she died , they covered her with the Bishop ’ s cloak and said , “ Truly she was a Bishop . ” Coming down 1800 years we find great women of faith and leadership in the Holiness tradition . one of them was Phoebe Palmer . She was the wife of a prominent Physician in New York City . After a tragic fire in their home that took her baby she began to long for a deeper walk with God . In that process she was filled with the Holy Spirit and began preaching and teaching about her experience . She began with a Bible Study in her home known as “ The Tuesday Morning Meeting for the Promotion of Holiness ” Soon her home was filled with over 200 people . Many Methodist Bishops came and were sanctified leaving her study to proclaim the spirit filled life . The people attending were varied in class , education and color . Amanda Smith was a freed slave who attended and was filled with the Spirit . From there she went to India and was one of the most effective preachers ever to hit the shores of India as noted by Methodist Bishop Thoborn . Soon Mrs . Palmer began traveling and preaching in large auditoriums in the US , Canada and England . While in England Catherine Booth came under her influence and teaching . It is from this that Catherine Booth increased her preaching , teaching and advocacy for the poor with new power . Some people criticized Mrs . Palmer using the I Timothy 2 passages . She responded with a 459 page booklet entitled “ The Promise of the Father ” which is still in print today . She argued that the promise of the father in Joel 2 : 28 was that in the latter days the Spirit was to be poured out on the daughters as well as the sons and both were compelled to pray , prophesy and preach . In chapter II Mrs . Palmer stated the thesis of her book in terms of a question : Has not a gift of power , delegated to the church on the day of Pentecost , been neglected ? Or , in other words , has not a marked speciality of the Christian dispensation been comparatively unrecognized and kept out of use ? Mrs Palmer also connected the doctrine of Holiness to that of women preaching . Don Dayton states in his Paper , Women in the Holiness Movement – 1974 - “ Mrs . Palmer lauded women for fearlessly serving the church . She discussed Phoebe , deaconess of the church of Cenchrea who propagated the Gospel in foreign countries . She noted the many women whom Wesley encouraged to preach but lamented the present trend to discourage women . She praised the Quakers for allowing women to preach and she described many American women who , after responding to the doctrine of Holiness , became great witness for Christ . She also noted that after men responded to this doctrine , their attitudes changed and they became much more open to allowing women to preach . ” Catherine Booth responded to this pamphlet of Mrs . Palmer with a 32 page booklet on “ Female Ministry ” where she described Jesus attitude toward women and then as Mrs . Palmer argued from the view of Pentecost , in which she says : The Spirit was given to the female as to the male disciple and this is cited by Peter … as the peculiar speciality of the later dispensation . What a remarkable device of the devil that he has succeeded in hiding this … but the time of her deliverance draweth nigh . ” As the Holiness revivals swept across the US , Canada and England so did the rise of women preaching and leading . one of note is Mrs . Maggie Van Cott the first woman licensed to preach in the Methodist Church . She was a faithful Episcopalian but her friends asked her to attend a class meeting . Here she was filled with the Spirit . She began to lead Bible Studies and preach . on one occasion she was questioned on what authority she had to preach . She produced her Exhorter ’ s License . She was then told that she could not preach from a text . She replied : Don ’ t it . . Well , God allows it . I received my commission from him . . and have used texts years before I ever saw Brother Morehouse ( who gave her the license ) and God has honored the work in the salvation of hundreds of souls . I think what God owns and blesses , man has no right to condemn . Shortly thereafter she received her Local Preacher ’ s License . Upon receiving this license she asked , “ Will this make me more efficient I winning souls for Christ ? ” The reply was , “ I cannot say that it will ” in which she answered , “ Well then … I value it but very little . ” Her ministry continued and was held in high respect . Bishop Gilbert Haven stated : She is without doubt , today , the most popular , most laborious and most successful preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church . She has more calls , does more work , and wins more souls to Christ than any of her brothers . ” Not only did women write pamphlets but also men as well . one such holiness scholar was W . B . Godbey a late 19 t h c e n t u r y l e aderintheHolinessMovement . He wrote “ Woman Preacher ” . He argued : It is the God - given right , blood – bought privilegte , and bounded duty of the women , as well as the men , to preach the gospel . The only requirement to preach is that the person be filled with the Spirit . A license or ordination was not necessary for either men or women preachers because they tended to create unnecessary distinctions between clergy and laity . When God made man , he made his out of the dirt . When he made woman , he made her out of man . So woman is a double refinement … Man is physically stronger than woman . . but woman is morally stronger than man . Oh , what a victory Satan won when he so awfully paralyzed the large , truer and more efficient wing of the army . It seems as the Spirit of God moves we also have to let go of cultural beliefs . As we saw it in the New Testament Church so we see it even today . Truly , being a follower of Jesus is counter - cultural . It means that people are placed into positions because of their giftedness not because of their gender . This is truly a God - honoring practice . The church is a body in which every part has a strong , vital interest in the success and maturity of every other part . A leader is not focused on leadership but on the health of every part of the body and comes alongside to empower or enable every member to become all God has designed him or her to be . In fact , as males and females we become interdependent . Paul states it well . “ In the Lord , woman is not independent of man , nor is man independent of woman . For as woman came from man , so also man is born of woman . But everything comes from God . “ ( I . Cor . 11 : 11 - 12 ) It is in this context that the Body of Christ reflects His Glory on this earth . So that as we see a glimpse of the SecondComing , thefinalactofGod … . . “ I looked and before me was a great multitude that no one could count , from every nation , tribe , people and language , standing before the throne and in front of Lamb . They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands . And they cried out in a loud voice : ‘ Salvation belongs to our God , who sits on the throne , and to the Lamb . ’” This is why God is calling all people regardless , of race , ethnicity , gender or class to become leaders in His Kingdom for both earth and eternity . Perhaps the words of Mrs . Palmer are becoming a reality in this day : The church in many ways is a sort of potter ’ s field , where the gifts of woman as so many strangers , are buried . How long , O Lord , how long before man shall roll away the stone that we may see a resurrection . O , the endless weight of responsibility with which the church is pressing herself earthward through the depressing influences of this error ! How can she rise while the gifts of three fourths of her membership are sepulchered in her midst ? “ Daughters of Zion , from the dustExalt thy fallen head ; AgaininthyRedeemertrust , Hecallstheefromthedead . ”