Can Woman teach Sunday School

We have a husband&wife team of sundayschool teachers.
To be honest I never pay much attention to how the authority dynamic works between them.

 

I must put in my two cents worth, (and that is al it is worth), Pastor Larry you addresed this issue very clearly, thanks. Dr. Bob, I have to agree with you as well.

It is ashame that too many non-Baptist churches carry the "Baptist" title.

Richard

 

I don't see anything wrong with that Diane. It is perfectly acceptable. Bless you!

AVL1984

 

Woah Buddy! I'd have to definitely avoid this church and the town it was in. I'd always be looking for the fire and brimstone to be coming down. We had some of these kinds of churches in Augusta, GA at one time. Don't know if they are still there or not.

AVL1984

 

If a man chooses to be in a women's class, there should be no debate. But I am all for co-teachers.

 

Saggy, you're right. That would be his choice. As far as co-teachers, I see nothing wrong with this either.

AVL1984

 

Why would the church give someone the option of being disobedient? That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me.

So am I, but not when it leads to disobedience to Scripture.

 

Women can teach women and children in Sunday School, but not men.

 

Scriptural bans on women are not express. However, there some scripture that can be interpreted to imply a ban on women in the pastoring position. Assuming such an interpretation, that ban is easily remedied by having a women in such a position answer to a higher up who is male. In this situation, a woman would not be forbidden from teaching, directing, managing, leading, etc.

There is no scriptural ban on a woman preaching.

 

It seems to me that "women are not to have authority over men" is pretty express, to use your word. There are no legitimate ways around that. All ways around it involving denial of the teaching of the text. Having a male "higher up" means nothing for those under the lady. If she is teaching men, then she has authority over them, no matter who has authority over her. That is a clear example of the lengths to which some will go to get around teh text. It is illegitimate.

Preaching is a position of authority. If preaching the word of God and telling people what to do with it is not authoritative, then authority has no meaning. If you are not preachign with authority, then you should not be preaching.

 

Sounds as clear as can be to ME Pastor Larry.

 

Proverbs 31
26She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

Acts 18
26He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

2Timothy 1
5I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.

1 Corinthians 14
31For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

1 Corinthians 11
5but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is the same as if her head were shaven.

It is not as clear cut as some would like. The position of "teacher" as described in James and the Pastorals is indeed a function of an elder, however, they were not talking about "Sunday School." Such a notion has only been around for the past two or three centuries and was created originally to teach people how to read so that they could study the Bible for themselves. Teaching children how to read was traditionally a woman's job and many (if not most) of the earliest Sunday School teachers were women.

http://www.infed.org/walking/wa-raikes.htm

Even the Puritans, as rigid and legalistic as they were, did not condemn Anne Hutchinson for actually teaching, but rather what she taught.

 

I presume you're referring to I Timothy 2:12 which reads But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

It's very important that we take scripture as it was contextually intended, so as not to end up adding to scripture. To understand this verse in the context it was written, we must look at the Greek. Gunh and Anhr are the words in koine Greek for "wife" and "husband" respectively (not "man" and "woman" in general), and being guided in this verse by the passage which is its wider context, we can see that this context is referring to a home-marriage-family situation, not a church context. Paul is saying that he does not allow a wife to exercise authenteo over a husband in the marriage relationship (authenteo = control in a domineering manner).

This verse has to do with the marital relationship. It was not intended to refer to all men and women in a church setting. Hence, this verse does not apply to women teaching men in the scope of the church.

 

Let us also not forget whom Christ chose as the first Gentile evangelist:

John 4
28So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29"Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"

 

Amen to the last two posts!

 

So, Bob, does this mean you did not see my post regarding this verse, which was 4 posts prior to yours, or did you choose to ignore it?