There is a role in church leadership reserved only for men, says theologian Dr. Gavin Ortlund, but that does not mean women do not have “absolutely essential and important” ministry roles. It also does not mean that men have grounds to be harsh and domineering in their leadership.
“This is one of the most volatile issues to address in the church today,” Ortlund said in a May 11 video on his channel, where he posts his thoughts on various topics related to Christianity. “I somewhat tremble before wading into it, but I hope you’ll feel the spirit in which I offer this video, hoping that this will serve and that this will bless and that this will edify.”
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Gavin Ortlund: Biblical Headship ‘Looks Like Sacrifice’
Before he dove into the topic, Ortlund said that he is tackling a “second-rank issue” and that he defends “the legitimacy of churches and denominations to have an agreed upon position that they enforce in their doctrinal standards, but also recognizing that there are brothers and sisters in Christ who disagree on this topic.”
“One of the things I emphasize…is that we should not measure each side in this debate by its most extreme expressions,” he said. “Unfortunately, that is very common.”
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“In some circles, if you defend any notion of male headship, you are regarded as abusive and sexist and so forth,” Ortlund explained. “In other circles, we find a sort of hyper-masculine approach that looks nothing like the character of Christ.”
Ortlund said that “the question that comes back to me again and again—and I don’t think I’m the only one who longs for this—is to ask, what does the beauty of the character of Christ look like on this topic?”
“I have no place in my heart for church cultures that are domineering and harsh and so forth,” Ortlund said. “You cannot behold the face of Christ in one moment and then in the next moment demean the dignity and gifting and service of any of his sheep, especially his daughters in the church, who are so important.”
“At the same time,” said Ortlund, “I don’t believe that the biblical pathway to the beauty of Christ is the sort of default egalitarianism that we’re inclined toward in the modern West. And I don’t believe that the Scripture calls us to treat every church office as the same.”
Ortlund explained that he believes only men should hold “the higher office of governance and teaching and authority in the church.” The term he uses for that office is “elder.”
There is a role in church leadership reserved only for men, says theologian Dr. Gavin Ortlund, but that does not mean women do not have absolutely essential and important ministry roles.Click to Post
