Is it Biblical to ordain women pastors?



Star actress Ucharia Anunobi recently ordained as pastor

 Controversial Overseer of Elijah Faith Assembly, Prophet Chinonso Aniebo, ignited a ripple of opinions recently, when he described as unbiblical ordaining of females as Pastors. Consequent upon this, your favourite Sunday Mirror sought the opinion of other ministers and Christians alike on the issue. Their views are presented here by Tai Anyanwu
 Pastor Ugo (Household of Love Church, Lekki)

In the first place, when Jesus was talking to us, he said that we are the ones that make the distinction.
He was teaching about the woman that was caught in adultery and the disciples told him that Moses said if a woman is caught in adultery she should be dealt with. And Jesus said that Moses wrote that law for people of his generation because of the hardness of their hearts. Before God, we are all the same. When we stand before God, he doesn’t see us as distinct per se by gender. The Bible tells us of women ministers, we have them in the Bible. And when Paul began to talk about controversial issues that everybody seems to be standing on, that is regarding the Corinthian Church, it was a peculiar thing. It was peculiar because the Corinthian Church was a church located within a seaport town; and the women were the ones that ruled the men. It was as if they were usurping authorities. That is why he said no woman should speak in church. If you read that scripture in context, you would notice that he was actually talking about them having a covering; the covering he was talking about is the husband.
So, I believe women that are called by God should be ordained and allowed to function in church. Let’s go back through history, we had great women of God like Catherine Coalman that were greatly used by God. In fact, she had a very strong understanding with the Hoy Spirit. That woman’s ministry has touched lives that people are still functioning by the grace that God released upon her that she transferred unto generations. So, if such people should not be allowed to speak in church, I believe that we are limiting the move of the spirit of God; because God can choose to call who he will and empower them to function in the church. Those who argue against ordination of women ministers would tell you that the Bible says they shouldn’t speak in the church.
In fact, some say they should not even speak in public and that they should sit down and when they get home, if they have any question they should ask their husbands. But the question I also want to ask them, scripture talks about Simon that has seven daughters that prophesy. It is there in the Bible. Who gave them the gift of prophecy? If you read the book of 1Corinthians where the Bible talks about the gift of the Holy Spirit, God is the one that enables gifts. So, if they are gifted, does that mean that we should now limit them and not allow them to function in the church?
If you read the book of Ephesians, the Bible makes us to understand God’s gifts for the edification of the body, for the building up of the saints. That means that the gifts are put in the body of Christ to build the church to maturity.
Pastor Victor Mukwuzie (St Joseph’s Church, Lekki)

The issue of women and the gospel has always been a controversial one; even prior to the ordination problem. Some churches don’t ordain women pastors; some do depending on the leading they got. One thing about God is that we know in part we prophesy in part. So, if a church receives a revelation to ordain female ministers, I don’t have any problem with that. We have seen women of God that did us proud in the Bible. Even in our world today, we are seeing women of God, God has used mightily. So, if God leads any minister to ordain female ministers, why not? I don’t have any problem with that, as far as it is Godly ordained. I see the argument against female ministers as just a gender thing. It is just a gender superiority kind of take that women should be left to play their womanly role of being supporters, help mates and not to take the leadership position. I see it as just a gender kind of thing than even spiritual. They look at it more from societal perspective of the role of a woman than what God is saying.
When God poured his spirit he poured it on both male and female. He did not say because you are a man you will have higher grace than a woman. We have seen women manifest even greater grace than men. It is all about this gender talk and men’s superiority complex; and I see most men that are too critical about it as being scared of the challenge the women pose if they should be allowed to take their position. The portion in the Bible where men usually claim that women should not speak in church has been misinterpreted and wrongly applied. But my question is when God poured his spirit, did the Bible record anywhere that God poured more spirit on men than on women? On the day of Pentecost, they all spoke in tongues; they prophesied alike.
And if you look at Christianity itself, you discover that there are more women in the church than the men. And so, if women are more in the church why should we deny them the opportunity of speaking at the highest ground. It is just male chauvinism; they don’t go too spiritual; it is more of what the society expects.
Pastor Oloruntimilehin Daramola (JP) (Founder of Omnipotence Mission of God)
The Bible says that no woman should speak in the church. A woman can be a pastor but, I do not agree that a woman should mount the altar to speak in the church. We don’t agree that women should minister from the altar; because the Bible says so. When we say that, many women would condemn, tackle you and refer to Debora in the Bible. They have not understood that portion of the Bible well. Debora was chosen to lead not as a warrior. There is a difference between the President of a country and the Chief of the Army Staff. She was appointed as honorary leader; go to the Bible.
Evangelist Helen Dimaku (Grace and Glory Church)
Women should be ordained as pastors if they are called by God. But they must be authorised by male pastors according to God’s leading.
Stella Majomi (Redeemed Christian Church of God)

These days, women are coming out to do it. I think it is okay; so far as it is in line with the word of God, and they are not there to compete or see themselves as equal to men. If it is about the word of God I think it is okay. They should be encouraged. Maybe those people that are against women serving on the altar of God are still following the Old Testament that expects that women should be inside. That they majorly count men and see the women as minority but it is no longer like that again.