The Bible speaks of presbyters who served as pastors, evangelists, apostles - those who were directly commissioned by Jesus Christ face-to-face - as well as deacons, and local church elders. Depending upon the branch of the church there may be two offices or three offices. There is a possible side path that we are tempted to take and that is the matter of 'ordination.' Is there a discernible 'theology of ordination' in the Bible? Many believers, in fact most of the global church, answers that question by saying 'yes.' Yes, there is a discernible doctrine of ordination: the recognition of gifts and graces and calling to God ordained offices of the church.

Does the Bible actually speak to the issue of the ordination of women? The first of these questions is always the right place to start:ġ. The necessary limitations of this article will require us to focus on only a few of the questions. But with that being said let us go forward and follow the Lord's will as best we can.

It is important to also state that we do not ordain every male candidate to these offices. I am an ordained minister in a Bible believing, evangelical denomination that does not ordain females to the offices of the church. I do believe that a delimitation is in order. God has condescended to us by allowing branches of his church to exist where polarized positions may be expressed with love. We must not break our faith in bonds of unity even if we are convinced and convicted that our position is the right one.

We will also need to recognize that men and women of good will disagree over this. But as with any valuable treasure we must approach our task with humility, patience, understanding of each other, and the willingness to speak honestly about the revelation of God in Scripture. In order to get at the fruit of truth, we're going to have to use our best biblical, interpretive shears to snip away the unkept vines.

Women not permitted to usher in church