The Creeping Influx of Female Teachers in the Church

In conservative churches, we know that women are not to be pastors. Most conservative churches will never select a woman as pastor and probably not even youth pastor or any pastor title. Scripture is very clear that pastors or bishops are to be men of proper character and reputation and with the ability to teach because this is their primary role.

1 Timothy 3:1-7 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

Titus 1:5-9 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

Obviously, women cannot fulfill the requirement to be a pastor in the church. There are also many other reasons in scripture that the pastorate is limited to men. However, the official title of pastor is not the only thing limited to men in scripture. The scripture also forbids a woman to teach in the church congregation.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Now, we know that, in context, this is talking about women speaking publicly, in a teaching role of the church, not merely a woman saying anything to anyone in a church building. There were no church buildings in the 1st century. The church is the gathering of believers, not a building. So this is not saying women can’t speak a word in a church building.

Women are also described in scripture as singing, prophesying, and praying in the church gathering, but women are forbidden to take a teaching role in the church gathering—to be the one discerning and teaching doctrine with the authority of the church. One woman speaking to another person in a home or a business or wherever else about what scripture says does not have the authority of the church, and thus she is not forbidden to speak in these situations. All believers, whether male or female, are instructed to share the gospel and to love sound doctrine. However, the teaching role of the church is another level that has a grave authority and responsibility which is to be carried by qualified men.

2 Timothy 2:1-2 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.

The teaching role in the church, according scripture, is to be performed by qualified men, not by women. I don’t see any exception given in scripture if we form a special class of only women. A gathering of the church to be taught doctrine should have male teachers.

Now, the reason that many conservative churches have traditionally allowed women to teach if they’re only teaching women is that it is often believed that the real problem is that women should not be teaching men. It is certainly true that women should not be teaching men doctrine in the church. But scripture doesn’t say that women can teach in the church gathering if it’s an audience of women. It says that women are not to teach, and that the teachers in the church are to be faithful men. In short, both men and women need to be taught by qualified male teachers. I think we have let tradition overshadow the text of scripture in this matter.

So, where do women learn the specific things that relate to women? There is certainly a need for women to be taught things specific to their roles as daughters, wives, mothers, and similarly womanly tasks. The scripture provides for this need.

Titus 2:3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Here we see that the older women of good character are to teach the younger women these specific female-related topics. This is not carte blanche for a woman to teach other women every doctrine of the scriptures. What the older women are to teach is listed for us.

1. To be sober. This could include staying away from alcohol and drugs as well as to be serious rather than emotional or flighty or foolish.
2. To love their husbands. Helping a young woman understand how to love her husband is something we need the more experienced wives to teach because it doesn’t necessarily come naturally. Happily married mentor figures are a huge help in solving marriage conflicts.
3. To love their children. Loving our children, such as applying the loving discipline they need and being the careful nurturers of their hearts and bodies, is something we need to learn. The older women are a valuable resource here.
4. To be discreet. Discretion is a moral skill that needs to be taught. How not to draw attention to ourselves, not to display all of our lives to the world, not to share private matters, when to speak and when to be silent—these are things the younger women must learn.
5. To be chaste. Chastity is hugely important, both before and after marriage. We need older women to teach the younger women to save sex for marriage and to be faithful to their husbands.
6. To be keepers at home. Keeping a home is an important and also difficult task. The knowledge and skill necessary to cook, clean, train children, and make a home a beautiful and inviting sanctuary for our families is something we learn primarily from other women. The importance of prioritizing our calling in the home is something the world won’t tell us, but the church women should.
7. To be good. We all need encouragement to live a holy life, including from older women.
8. To be obedient to their own husbands. It’s not just that a woman is to love her husband, but she is also to submit to his authority as head of the home. This is something older women are to teach the younger women. It doesn’t come naturally. We have to learn it.

Note that all of these topics which the older women are to teach are practical matters about how a woman is to live out God’s will for her life in her home and her family. They are not the overall doctrine of the church on salvation, baptism, morality, and so on. It would be extremely awkward and probably not very effective for a man to try to teach a woman how to be a better woman, so we need women to teach these things precisely because they are practical matters that are learned with experience. We learn from those with more experience who have evidence of godly character.

Also note that the scripture does not say that any woman or group of women should have a position of teacher to women. In the book of Titus, the Apostle Paul is instructing a pastor named Titus on what he is to teach his congregation. One of those things is that the older women (plural) are to teach the younger women these specific things. It doesn’t say Titus should have his wife teach the other women. In fact, the pastor’s wife has a responsibility to the pastor as her husband, but not to the church. She has no position in the church (despite our traditions). She will not give an account to God for guiding or teaching the church. Her husband will because he has the office of pastor.

In general, these female topics to be taught by the older women of the church seem to be the kind of thing a woman might help other women to learn while they’re visiting together, working together in their community, or while one is mentoring the other, not necessarily in an official class of the church. I suppose one could argue that it could be done in a Sunday School class as an occasional thing. Perhaps that is the case. But if so, the class should focus solely on the topics that women are allowed to teach, if it is taught by a woman. The normal teaching of the church on matters of doctrine should be done by faithful men. This doctrinal teaching is needed by both men and women, so women should not miss out on it. Women are not lesser Christians. They need doctrine too.

It has been my experience that these scriptural instructions on teaching in the church are widely ignored in most of the Western churches today. Many churches are letting women be pastors, which is obviously wrong, but even the more conservative churches often have their own women’s groups which form essentially a parallel female church, led by what amounts to female elders. This is not only incorrect in form, but often leads to further problems. I have seen great errors arise from this.

For example, women have a naturally more emotional nature. That’s not a bad thing as we were designed this way to be nurturers and relational helps to our husbands. But when it comes to letting women be the source of doctrinal teaching for the other women, this can lead to all kinds of false doctrine being taught and reinforced in women’s groups because they tend to follow their feelings. Women can also be too nice, which can lead them not to confront false teaching when it occurs. This is one of the many reasons that God gave the role of bishop to men and not to women. We need bold, fearless shepherds to dispel the wolves. I think we must be careful not to fall prey to the comfortable and common errors of our time. Female doctrinal teachers are a scourge on the church today.

There are so many things we women can do in the church. There are so many things that godly women do need to teach other women, as scripture has commanded. But we need to recognize our place. We can discuss any theology with one another as equals, as I am doing with my readers now. We can exhort and encourage one another to live a holy life and to follow the scriptures. We can and should share the gospel with unbelievers. We should teach and disciple our children. We can be prayer warriors. We can do good for our communities. But we are not to have a teaching role or position in the church gathering to teach doctrine with the authority of the church. That is role for qualified men.

This is a topic I have studied carefully, and I believe scripture has given us instructions on this matter that don’t match the way many churches today are operating. Even many well-known, very conservative churches that are otherwise great have slipped in this area. Our culture pushes us toward feminism, and it’s easy to compromise (sometimes without even realizing it). Please consider this prayerfully.