Ask Your Preacher - Archives
“Mrs. Pastor?”
Categories: MEN & WOMEN, RELATIONSHIPS, THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHCan a woman be the head pastor of a church? In the Bible, it says just the man.=Sincerely,
His And Her Roles
Dear His And Her Roles,
No. Pastors (Eph 4:11) – also known as elders or bishops (Tit 1:5-7) – are always men. The qualifications for pastors are given in 1 Tim 3:1-7 and Tit 1:5-9. One of those qualifications is that he must be “a husband of one wife” (1 Tim 3:2, Tit 1:6) – that clearly rules out females from becoming pastors.
Furthermore, the Lord never designed the church to be led by one man… there is no such thing as a “head pastor” in the Bible. In every New Testament congregation, the church is led by a plurality of elders (also known as pastors). Pastors lead the church together. Paul wrote to the elders in Philippi (Php 1:1). He met with the elders in Ephesus (Acts 20:17). Every congregation had elders to lead them (Acts 14:23). There is no example of a single elder/pastor leading the church. Multiple pastors shepherding the church avoids all the power being placed in the hands of one man.
