Are women allowed by Scripture to serve as pastors of a local church? This topic is touchy, largely because of the sins of the church's past and the effects of feminism on culture and the church. One example given by Michael Haykin would include when the Calvinistic Baptist churches in the Western Association in 1645 decided that “a woman is not permitted to speak at all in the church” and added even “by way of praying, prophesying, or enquiring.”1 Ten years later, the Midland Association defended the same restriction by appealing to the “inferiority of their sex.”2 At the end of the day, what matters most is what God’s Word teaches. That’s what makes us Protestant after all, right? Scripture is our highest authority and only infallible rule for governing the church. We should be excited about what Scripture teaches, even when it pushes against our fleshly feelings. You know why? Because, as you grow in faithfulness and biblical fidelity, you too become a man or woman after God’s own heart like King David. That should be our goal. To be men and women after God’s own heart. We ought not to chase our own fleshly desires, not after our friends, not after our family, not after society, but after God’s own heart. So, let’s exegete what God’s Word teaches on this topic, and joyfully submit to our loving and merciful Creator. This isn’t about winning an argument, women-bashing, dopamine-grabbing, or anything of that sort. This is about aligning our practices with God’s perfect Word.

The Southern Baptist Convention recently voted by a super-majority to adopt the Truth and Unity amendment to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BF&M2000). This amendment was presented by Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler, along with many Southern Baptists, saw an issue within our convention. The BFM.2000 already says that “while both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Case closed, right? What’s the problem? The current wording of Article III in the BFM.2000 leaves wiggle room for interpretation. Some of the people who worked on it are still alive, including Dr. Mohler, and those people claim the intent of Article III was not to have the wiggle room that it has today. Dr. Mohler wanted to make this article explicit and definitive. The proposed amendment states that “a church in friendly cooperation” with the Southern Baptist Convention “does not act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.”3

Dr. Mohler has fought the fight against egalitarian theology for a long time. You can look up old videos of women yelling at him about his oppressive views as young Al Mohler stands on stage and looks down at the podium. He has seen how, since then, language has been used in a fast and loose manner. Opponents of complementarianism do this so they can push egalitarian theology within a complementarian denomination. Those who subscribe to a liberal theological framework began to make the argument that the BFM. 2000 doesn’t forbid women pastors; it simply forbids women senior pastors. Some are against this amendment, who would consider themselves to be theologically conservative and to them, I would argue the fruits of their egalitarian theology ultimately lead to liberalism in future generations. Wayne Grudem writes, “I realize that many of you have not personally moved along the path toward liberalism,” but argues the danger lies in “the nature of the arguments used by evangelical feminists.”4 Ultimately, the argument comes from outside of Scripture, thus undermining the sufficiency of Scripture. So, what’s lost in this generation might be biblical complementarity because of the culture, but as that cultural battle continues, what could easily be lost in the next generation is full-blown biblical sexuality. The common argument claims, “The office of pastor is restricted to men, but the gift is for both men and women, so women can still serve as functional pastors, but without the title.” The problem with this is that it’s a position with no teeth. We either believe that the Bible teaches that women can serve as pastors/elders/overseers or they cannot. Whatever the biblical texts assert, we need to practice in our local churches and hold to that standard as a convention. But enough on the BFM.2000… What does the Bible have to say on the topic?

In 1 Timothy 2:12, Paul writes, “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man; rather she is to remain quiet.” 1 Timothy is written by the Apostle Paul to a young Pastor, Timothy. That’s why this book is known as a pastoral epistle. Paul is giving Timothy explicit teaching on the local church in this book. In chapter one, he gives warnings against false teachers in the local church and charges Timothy to rebuke them and to teach sound doctrine. In chapter two, he instructs the local church on what to pray about and charges them on how to do it orderly, and in chapter three, he gives the qualifications for pastors in the local church. So, given the immediate context, Paul’s charge that “a woman should learn quietly with all submissiveness” and that he does “not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:11-12) occurs within his broader instructions for “the household of God, which is the church of the living God (1Tim. 3:15). This would tell us that Paul is not prohibiting every possible setting in which a woman might speak or instruct, but the ordered life and worship of the gathered church. Before we jump into how this verse explicitly ties to the office of elder/ pastor/ overseer, we must correct false teaching on this passage.

If you have ever conversed with an egalitarian on this passage, they will tell you that this charge was specifically for the Ephesian Church because of a cult prostitute issue that they were dealing with. They will claim that it doesn’t hold for all churches of all time. The first major issue with this position is that the text gives us the reason, and it’s not because of cult prostitutes. In verses 13 and 14, Paul tells us the ‘why’. He says, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” You see, the Bible itself tells us that this isn’t just for one specific context but is rooted in creation order, which spans many different contexts over thousands of years. Making a historical contextual argument or a philosophical argument prior to making the immediate contextual biblical argument is the same thing liberal theologians try to do to push the LGBTQ agenda, trinitarian heresy, and gospel distortions. Why do some who consider themselves to be conservative see this issue differently? I believe it’s because their culture has shaped them. You see, we live in a feminist age shaped by a movement that claims men and women are no different. We have heard songs such as “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” sung by a woman about men, and men playing in women's sports because they feel like they are women.5 People have bought the lie that authority equals better or more important, and so they claim anyone can have any authority to the point that there are no distinctions at all and thus no order. Now, how does this passage specifically relate to the office of pastor?

For starters, it’s within the immediate context of the qualifications for a pastor. These verses are at the end of chapter two, and the qualifications to be a pastor are at the beginning of chapter three. Let’s not forget, this was originally on a papyrus without chapters or verses. To clear up any confusion I may have caused by using the word “pastor”, I want to say that the office of pastor, elder, and overseer are all one office used interchangeably in Scripture. Collin Smothers has a wonderful graph showing this, if you want to check it out.6 So, Paul tells Timothy that a woman can’t teach or lead over a man and then jumps straight to the qualifications to be a pastor, and a few of those qualifications should stand out to you. Those qualifications are the husband of one wife, able to teach, and leading his household well SO THAT he can lead the local church well. (verses 1-5). You see, the very things Paul has just prohibited women from doing, he has said men must be able to do in order to be qualified to be a pastor. But that’s not all. There are other passages in the Bible that address pastoral leadership.

In Acts 20:17, Paul addresses the elders, and in verse 28, he tells them to “Pay careful attention to themselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made them OVERSEERS, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with His own blood.” This is one example of many. You can also check 1 Peter 5, Hebrews 13, 1 Timothy 3, and so on. Ultimately, the only reason that we should take this position is that it’s what Scripture teaches. When you hear the arguments against complementarianism, you will often hear what they say Scripture doesn’t teach, but very rarely what it does. It matters that the teaching we get is from the text and not from culture. I’m fully convinced that Scripture restricts the office function of a pastor to biblically qualified men. Does that mean women are less than men? Absolutely not. They are the crown of man. They are to be protected, cherished, and washed with the Word. God chose women to bear eternal souls within their wombs. This is especially significant because immediately after Paul prohibits a woman from teaching or exercising authority over a man, he adds, “Yet she will be saved through childbearing, if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control” (1 Tim. 2:15). Paul absolutely does not move from male headship to the degradation of women. They are created in the image of God and have just as much value as any man. This, my brothers and sisters, is about creation order. We serve a God of order, and biblical complementarity practiced the way Scripture teaches in the church, in marriage, and in culture is good, beautiful, and true. Let’s not define complementarianism by its abuses, and let’s march ever onward towards biblical faithfulness, trusting God to bless that faithfulness instead of letting the culture define Christian doctrine. Soli Deo Gloria.

Notes

1 Michael A. G. Haykin, Eight Women of Faith (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016), 16.

2 Haykin, Eight Women of Faith, 16, 17.

3 R. Albert Mohler Jr., “Update on the Truth & Unity Amendment,” AlbertMohler.com, June 2, 2026, https://albertmohler.com/2026/06/02/update-on-the-truth-unity,who-amendment/.

4 Wayne Grudem, quoted in Justin Taylor, “An Open Letter to Egalitarians about Liberalism,” The Gospel Coalition, June 12, 2013, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/an-opendistinctions-letter-to-egalitarians-about-liberalism/theredistinctions.

5 Irving Berlin, “Anything You Can Do,” in Annie Get Your Gun (New York: Irving Berlin Music Company, 1946).

6 Colin J. Smothers, “Pastor, Elder, and Overseer: A Baptist View,” Anchored, May 13, 2012, updated July 9, 2025, https://colinsmothers.com/2012/05/13/pastors-elders-and-bishops-a-baptist-view/.