Cheryl

I think I would add to point #1 that we do not want to see men usurp authority over women either.

I have asked the same question of those who believe that certain men in the church have an authority over other believers. I ask them the same question – what is that authority and where is it found? One fellow said that the authority is God’s authority to tell people that the interpretation of the Bible that the Pastor gives to the church must be accepted as God’s truth. If that is God’s “authority” given to a man, then the church has no right to question the Pastor’s interpretation. But Paul has told us that we need to test all things. He was glad that the Bereans tested his own teaching by scripture. Anyone who says that their interpretation is not to be tested and must be accepted as truth without checking it against scripture is not following scripture. I have yet to hear any other “authority” that God has given to those in leadership that would give them permission to take authority over those in the church.

However those who are complementarian somehow think that those who believe in biblical equality are trying to put women into a position of authority over men i.e. taking an authority that belongs to men alone. Where is this “authority” in scripture? Jesus said that the one who wanted to be the greatest was to be the servant of all. He also said that the disciples were not to lord it over the church as the worldly leaders exercise lordship. The only “authority” I see is the authority that everyone has to test teachers by the word of God and the “authority” to use their God-given gifts for the good of the entire church.

I am still waiting for someone to tell me where in scripture any leader in the church is ever told to take authority over another believer. Servanthood, yes; “authority over”, no.