Before we start our careful study of male and female roles in the church, we must understand that every biblical command has been misused. But when people abuse God’s commands, that doesn’t mean the command is wrong. It means the person is wrong.
Some people are unfaithful to their spouses, and some parents mistreat their children. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on God’s design for marriage or parenting. Some church leaders are abusive, manipulative, predatory, or selfish. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on God’s design for church leadership.
God sets high standards for leaders. Ungodly leaders should be removed, and anyone who remains silent about an abusive leader is a partner in his crime.
Furthermore, no one (man or woman) should obey an ungodly request. Never!
Scripture explains that a leader must be “above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect.” (1 Timothy 3).
Detailed qualifications are also found in Titus 1:6-9, and God judges teachers more strictly than others (James 3:1).
So let’s continue our Friday discussions with this foundation: God’s commands are not the cause of abuse. Sinful men are the cause of abuse.
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For more insights, see When to Disobey Authority and Sexual Abuse in the Church - Placing the Blame Where It Belongs. And check out Limits to Submission: Abuse and Limits to Submission: Immoral or Illegal Requests. I wrote these last two devotions specifically regarding abuse in marriage, but the principles apply to church leadership as well. However, as we'll discuss in future posts, submission in marriage is very different from submission to church leadership.
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