A Pastoral Look at Char Brodersen’s Teaching on Women in Pastoral Ministry

You know, I’ve always tried to just open the Bible and let it say what it says. Not what I want it to say. Not what the culture around us wants it to say. Just what the Holy Spirit wrote through the men He chose. That’s been the simple way we’ve walked at Born Again Christians (bornagainchristians.org) for all these years, keeping Bible-Strong. When we start rearranging the plain words so they fit a new idea, we’re in big trouble, even if the person doing it is sincere and gifted.

At the beginning of the month of November 1, you will have heard different pastors blowing of steam and rightly so. So, Char Brodersen stood before the people at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa and read a statement. He said the church “believes and practices the ordination of both men and women to pastoral ministry as a recognition of the priesthood of all believers and the unique gifting of individuals by the Holy Spirit.” He told them this has already been happening for nearly a decade and that women are already leading “in every echelon.” Then he called the whole subject a secondary issue, something flippant open-handed where we can just agree to disagree. A week later he turned to 1 Timothy and treated Paul’s clear words as a local problem with the Artemis cult in Ephesus rather than a pattern for the whole church.

There is a lot in what he said that is true and beautiful. Men and women are both made in the image of God. Genesis 1:26-27 says so. Both are essential in the work of the gospel. The Holy Spirit gifts both for service. Women have served powerfully all through the Bible—Deborah, the women who followed Jesus, Priscilla, Phoebe, and so many others. The priesthood of all believers is real. Every believer has direct access to God through Jesus. These things should be celebrated. We must never diminish the dignity or the gifts of our sisters in Christ. The problem comes when those true statements are used to set aside other clear statements in the same Bible.

What Paul Actually Wrote

Let’s look at the text itself. 1 Timothy 2:11-12 (NKJV): “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.”

David Guzik a Calvary Chapel guy, in his commentary on the Blue Letter Bible, says Paul’s meaning “seems clear. Women are not to have the role of teaching authority in the church.” That is the simple reading. The Greek helps us see it more clearly.

The word “teach” is didaskō (διδάσκω). It is the ordinary word for teaching doctrine. It is what a pastor or elder does when he opens the Word and explains it to the whole congregation. Paul is not talking about a private conversation or a women’s Bible study. He is talking about the public teaching of the church.

The phrase “to have authority over a man” uses the rare Greek verb authenteō (αὐθεντέω). Scholars have studied every use of this word. It means to exercise authority, to act as the one in charge, to dominate or to take the position of rule. It is not just “domineering” in a negative sense; it is the act of holding authority. Paul pairs it with teaching. He does not permit a woman to teach or to exercise that kind of authority over a man in the gathered church.

The word for “man” is anēr (ἀνήρ). It specifically means a male, not just a person in general. And the word translated “silence” is hēsychia (ἡσυχία). It does not mean absolute silence with no sound. It means quietness, peaceableness, a spirit that is not hostile, contentious or disruptive. Paul uses the same idea in verse 2 for living a quiet and peaceable life. Women are to learn with a quiet, submissive spirit, not fighting for the place of authority.

Paul does not leave the reason hanging, he goes back to the creation order, we see in the very next verse he says, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve” (1 Timothy 2:13). He grounds the instruction in creation order, not in the local culture of Ephesus. The Artemis cult was real, and there may have been problems with false teaching in that city, but Paul does not say “because of the Artemis cult.” He says “because Adam was formed first.” Creation order is not temporary. It is how God made things from the beginning.

The Office of Elder and Overseer

Right after this, in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Paul gives the qualifications for an overseer (episkopos, ἐπίσκοπος—the same office as elder or pastor). He says the overseer must be “the husband of one wife.” The Greek is mias gynaikos andra—literally “a one-woman man.” The language assumes a male. Titus 1:5-9 repeats the same pattern. The priesthood of all believers does not erase these qualifications. Every believer is a priest before God (1 Peter 2:9). Not every believer is an overseer of the flock. Gifts are real and are to be used. But the authoritative teaching and oversight of the whole congregation is reserved for qualified men.

Calling this a secondary issue does not make the texts go away. It is not a salvation issue. We must not treat one another as enemies over it. But church order is not a small thing. When we set aside the plain qualifications the Spirit gave, we are no longer simply reading the Word. We are adjusting it.

What Faithful Teachers Have Said

David Guzik’s notes on the Blue Letter Bible walk through these verses carefully. He points out that the restriction is about the role of teaching authority in the church, not about a woman’s value or ability. Women can pray, prophesy, teach other women, and serve in countless ways, as long as it is done in submission to the men God has appointed to lead (see 1 Corinthians 11). The principle is order under authority. The application is that the church does not recognise women as those who hold doctrinal authority over the congregation.

Chris Quintana, a longtime Calvary Chapel pastor worth following, has spoken openly about the leadership changes at Costa Mesa. He has noted that the direction being taken would not have been recognised as consistent with the distinctives that shaped the movement under the original teaching. The concern is not about personalities. It is about whether we still let the Bible speak for itself or whether we lay a new story over the text so we can do what we prefer.

A Simple Path Forward

The way I have always walked is simple; I am not an intellectual, and with dyslexia, I have challenges. I just open the Bible. Read it carefully. Let it say what it says. 1 Timothy 2 and 3, Titus 1, and the creation order Paul cites are not hard to understand. We can honour the full dignity and gifting of women and still obey the specific instruction about the eldership. That keeps us faithful without becoming harsh or unloving.

Open the Blue Letter Bible. Look at the Greek. Read Guzik’s notes. Read the text itself in your Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit for a clear mind and a gentle heart. The Lord is still building His church. Our part is simply to stay true to what He has written.

Keep Bible-Strong.

Peter

References and Further Reading

• Read David Guzik, Study Guide for 1 Timothy 2, Blue Letter Bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/1-timothy/1-timothy-2.cfm
• Myself Peter I have some written articles on women in ministry at Born Again Christians: https://bornagainchristians.org/?s=women
• Chris Quintana on leadership changes at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa (various interviews and messages available on YouTube and podcasts).
• Key Scriptures for you Bible-Strong folk: Genesis 1–2; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; 1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Corinthians 11; 1 Peter 2:9; 5:1–2 (NKJV).
• Greek terms drawn from standard lexicons and the Blue Letter Bible interlinear tools: didaskō (to teach), authenteō (to exercise authority), anēr (man/male), hēsychia (quietness/peaceableness), episkopos (overseer).