Based on 1 Timothy 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet,” many churches and Christians believe that Paul mandated that women not be allowed to be pastors or to teach or lead men in church.  On the surface that seems indisputable.

But when one realizes that Paul assumed women would lead in prayer and prophecy (preach) in church with men present (1 Corinthians 11) and how many godly women teach men in church throughout the written Scripture (see below), one must conclude that either Scriptures contradict each other or else we’re not interpreting something correctly.

Proverbs is replete with the instructions from women. For example, think of the numerous passages which are specified to be the instructions of the author’s father AND MOTHER — written for the sons. In Glenn Pemberton’s excellent book on Proverbs (A Life That Is Good), he asserts that “over half of Proverbs 1-9 is placed in the mouths or hands of women,” and he backs his statement up with the text. At the Christmas season we stand in a long line of men who have been and are being instructed by the words of  two women: John the Baptizer’s mother Elizabeth (Luke 1:41-45) and Mary, mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-56). These women teach men in church through their words embedded in the Scriptures.

In chapter 11 of my book, I follow the long parade of many godly Bible women who led, judged, ruled, prophesied, taught, mentored, deaconed, and pastored men and who are models for Christian women throughout all time.

Back to 1 Timothy 2:12: when one digs deeply into the original Greek language in which Paul wrote, they will discover that a far better translation could read (expanded for clarity because going from one language to another often requires more than a single one word for one word translation): “I permit no woman to be teaching or to be seizing a leadership role in a forceful, domineering manner, but rather to be teaching and leading with a peaceful, non-combative spirit.”. Correctly translated and interpreted, 1 Timothy 2:12 absolutely does NOT prohibit women from teaching or leading men in church. It only specifies the manner in which they should teach and lead (see chapters 9 and 10 of my book about the Bible on gender roles for an extensive presentation on 1 Timothy 2).

After 45+ years of assuming that those verses were undeniably clear in prohibiting women from leading men in church, a five-year intensive study of 1 Timothy 2 and all the relevant gender role passages forced me to understand 1 Timothy 2:12 very differently — in a way that also makes it possible to harmonize other parts of the chapter which are very challenging, and which fits the triple use of the Greek word haysuxia in 1 Timothy 2 which is a key to the interpretation and central to the theme of the chapter: living peacefully without disruption or conflict in the world and in the church.

“Should Women Be Pastors and Leaders In Church? My Journey to Discover What the Bible Says About Gender Roles” is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Westbow Press, or me. See more at pastorbillrudd.com.

Here are a few reviews I’ve received:

“My wife and I have started reading your book. Wow! What an eye opener!”

“However you land, you would be well served by reading this book. It does a good job of laying things out, and would be especially helpful for those complementarians who reflexively dismiss all egalitarians as not wanting to obey the Bible or just bowing senselessly to political pressure. The author himself was a confirmed complementarian through the vast majority of his ministry life.”

“An eye-opener, but also confirmation about the conflictedness I have felt about the topic over the years.”

“Glad to see a book exploring this topic so thoroughly!”

“Dr. Rudd presents a compelling case with humility and wisdom.”