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All (204) Mike Winger (204)
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Three egalitarian claims from women prophesying: (1) women could speak publicly, (2) prophecy is similar to teaching, (3) prophecy carries authority rivaling eldership

Mike outlines three sub-arguments egalitarians derive from women prophesying.

Craig Keener prophecy argument prophecy and authority
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Prophecy is NOT teaching — the Bible consistently keeps them in separate categories

Mike's key pushback: while prophecy may involve elements of teaching, they are distinct categories in Scripture.

eldership prophecy and teaching biblical categories
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Important qualifiers: context, frequency, and whether a woman is functionally serving as an elder matter

Mike adds nuance about when teaching from a woman might cross a line.

functional eldership women teaching
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

The egalitarian move 'prophecy involves teaching, therefore all teaching is acceptable, therefore prophecy equals eldership' blurs God-given distinctions

Mike warns against the slippery-slope reasoning some egalitarians use.

1 Timothy 3 soft complementarianism 1 Timothy 3 prophecy argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Claim 3 analysis: Craig Keener argues prophecy carries authority that rivals eldership

Mike examines the third and strongest form of the prophecy argument.

Craig Keener influence vs. authority prophecy and authority
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Do not be allergic to women having influence — that is what gives complementarians a reputation for insecurity

Mike addresses complementarian men directly.

complementarian correction women's influence
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Influence is not the same as eldership — a governor has massive influence but is not your church elder

Mike uses analogies to distinguish influence from the specific authority of eldership.

eldership influence vs. authority
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Eldership is radically different from prophecy: anyone could prophesy instantly, but elders must meet extensive qualifications

Mike begins a detailed list of differences between prophecy and eldership.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 1 Timothy 3 eldership qualifications Titus 1
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Elders govern the church; prophets do not — prophets are not appointed to an ongoing office

Mike contrasts the governing authority of elders with the non-governing nature of prophets.

church governance prophet vs. elder office Bethel Church
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Prophecy is tested; the prophet has no authority over the evaluation of their own prophecy

Mike explains the testing process for prophecy per 1 Corinthians 14:29 and 1 John 4:1.

1 Corinthians 14:29 1 John 4:1 prophecy and authority 1 Corinthians 14:29 1 John 4:1
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

With elders, you test the man so the teaching will be pure; with prophecy, you test the prophecy because anyone can give one

Mike draws the fundamental distinction in how authority works for elders vs. prophets.

prophecy and authority testing the man vs. testing the word eldership authority
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Keener himself acknowledges prophets had 'no authority outside of their message'

Mike uses Keener's own words to push back on other egalitarians who argue prophecy equals authority.

Craig Keener prophecy and authority Nathan
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Prophecy and eldership are very different: prophecy is passive, requires no qualifications or appointment, and the prophet has no ongoing authority

Mike summarizes the key differences that undermine the prophecy-equals-eldership argument.

prophecy vs. eldership
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Conclusion on prophecy: it pushes back against banning women from public speech but does not support removing all eldership restrictions

Mike gives his balanced conclusion on the prophecy argument.

soft complementarianism prophecy argument complementarian correction
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Ephesians 4:11-12 is about offices (apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds/teachers) not about gifts applicable to the question

Mike examines Ephesians 4 but determines it is about offices, not gifts.

Ephesians 4:11-12 offices vs. gifts Ephesians 4:11-12 pastor-teacher
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Mike's personal example: he served as youth pastor for 13 years and never functioned as senior pastor, yet his gifts were not limited

Mike uses his own ministry experience to show that gifts can be fully expressed outside the senior elder role.

Calvary Chapel youth ministry gifts expressed outside eldership
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Most Christians gifted in teaching are not elders — you can teach without being an elder

Mike challenges the assumption that having a gift requires the highest office to express it.

eldership teaching gift offices vs. gifts
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Titus 2:3-5 — older women are to teach younger women; a biblical case for women's teaching ministry outside eldership

Mike provides a scriptural example of women teaching in appropriate contexts.

Titus 2:3-5 Titus 2:3-5 women's ministry women teaching
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Not everyone who teaches is an elder — an elder must be able to teach, but ability to teach does not require eldership

Mike makes the logical distinction between necessary and sufficient conditions.

Colossians 3:16 Colossians 3:16 teaching gift necessary but not sufficient
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Colossians 3:16 — mutual teaching applies to all believers including women; Priscilla corrected Apollos

Mike argues that general mutual teaching and admonishing in the church includes women teaching men.

Colossians 3:16 Priscilla Apollos Colossians 3:16
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Egalitarian claim that women are 'kept from serving God according to their gifting' is wrong — most gifted teachers are not elders

Mike rebuts the claim that restricting eldership means restricting women's gifts.

spiritual gifts argument gifts expressed outside eldership
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 — there are 'varieties' of gifts, service, and activities; not all gifts are expressed the same way

Mike uses Paul's own language to show gifts are meant to be expressed in diverse ways.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 1 Corinthians 12:4-6 varieties of ministry
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Grenz presumes (1) teaching and leadership can only find true expression in eldership — Mike disagrees

Mike identifies the first false premise in Grenz's argument.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 Stanley Grenz gifts expressed outside eldership 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Grenz presumes (2) gifts are the ONLY requirement for eldership — Scripture clearly gives additional requirements including gender

Mike identifies the second false premise.

1 Timothy 3 Titus 1 1 Timothy 3 Stanley Grenz eldership qualifications
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Summary of gifts argument: women likely have teaching/leadership gifts, no scripture limits those gifts by gender, but limitations are on who can be an elder specifically

Mike summarizes his conclusions from the gifts argument.

eldership spiritual gifts argument
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Why gifts do not translate to eldership: (1) one can teach and lead outside eldership; (2) the restriction is gender-based, not gift-based; (3) gifting alone cannot be sufficient for appointment

Mike gives three reasons why the gifts argument fails to establish women as elders.

spiritual gifts argument eldership qualifications gender-based restriction
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Video summary — Argument 3: Universal priesthood is true but priesthood is not the only factor in eldership

Summary of the universal priesthood argument.

universal priesthood of believers complementarian correction husband as priest
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Video summary — Argument 4: Women can prophesy in mixed gatherings but prophecy is radically different from eldership

Summary of the prophecy argument.

soft complementarianism prophecy argument complementarian correction
Mike Winger idea 2022-05-30

Video summary — Argument 5: Women can teach and lead but should find expression outside the role of elder

Summary of the gifts argument.

eldership spiritual gifts argument women teaching
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Definition of the two sides: complementarian and egalitarian

Mike defines the two major positions in the women in ministry debate for his audience.

women in ministry complementarianism egalitarianism
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Series recap: Videos 3-4 and Mike's assessment of egalitarian scholarship

Continued series overview with editorial commentary on the quality of egalitarian biblical scholarship.

Deborah priesthood women in Old Testament
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

The whole debate hinges on how far 'sonship status' can be stretched

Mike identifies the crux of the disagreement.

eldership sonship status marriage submission
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Key principle: whatever is inherent to being in Christ, all believers share — but is eldership inherent?

Mike establishes a test for what Galatians 3:28 covers.

eldership in Christ benefits necessary vs. sufficient conditions
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

The egalitarian challenge: stretching sonship status to include eldership

Mike frames the core question the egalitarian position must answer.

Cynthia Long Westfall salient identity intersectionality
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Can egalitarians extend Paul's concerns to eldership status for women?

Mike frames the central challenge for the rest of the video.

eldership scope of application one in Christ
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Westfall's expansion: men cannot have primogeniture status over women based on creation order

Mike critiques Westfall's application of Galatians 3:28 to inter-human relationships.

1 Timothy 1 Corinthians 7 Ephesians primogeniture 1 Timothy 1 Corinthians 7
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Does the silver bullet argument challenge the very idea of eldership itself?

Mike presses the egalitarian position to its logical conclusion.

logical consistency eldership authority
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Westfall's 'out-group status' argument: excluding women from eldership communicates they are outsiders

Mike engages Westfall's use of sociological language about out-grouping.

Galatians 2 eldership Galatians 2 Cynthia Long Westfall
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Equivocation in the term 'out-group': from 'not in Christ' to 'not eligible for eldership'

Mike identifies what he sees as a crucial logical fallacy in the egalitarian argument.

Galatians 2 equivocation fallacy Galatians 2 out-group status
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Eldership as necessary but not sufficient condition of being in Christ

Mike uses logical categories to analyze the relationship between sonship and eldership.

eldership Cynthia Long Westfall necessary vs. sufficient conditions
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Church leadership is service, not a prize for personal fulfillment

Mike addresses a pastoral concern about how leadership is framed in the debate.

servant leadership eldership pastoral theology
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Galatians 3:28 does not prove complementarianism right either — it is simply about a different topic

Mike qualifies his argument to avoid overreach.

1 Timothy 2 Galatians 3:28 1 Timothy 2 Galatians 3:28 hermeneutical method
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Critique of Westfall's claim that complementarians make gender the 'salient identity' in the church

Mike responds to a misrepresentation of the complementarian position.

Cynthia Long Westfall salient identity misrepresentation of complementarianism
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

The egalitarian exaltation of eldership: making it an all-or-nothing test of Christ-status

Mike identifies what he sees as a major problem in the egalitarian framework.

eldership reductio ad absurdum Christ-status
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Male/female distinctions parallel the other pairs: differences in marriage and eldership continue

Mike applies the pattern from all three pairs.

Galatians 3:28 creation order eldership Galatians 3:28
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Rhetorical challenge: if 'no Jew or Gentile' means Gentiles can be elders, why can't women?

Mike presents the strongest version of the egalitarian argument and attempts to answer it.

1 Timothy 2 Titus 1 Timothy 2 Gentile eldership rhetorical challenge
Mike Winger idea 2022-06-20

Hypothetical: if Scripture required Jewish elders, would you accept it?

Mike uses a thought experiment to test whether people are truly following Scripture or presuppositions.

1 Timothy 2 Galatians 3:28 thought experiment 1 Timothy 2 elder qualifications
Mike Winger idea 2022-07-18

Church history conclusion: the church has virtually always agreed that headship means authority and that eldership is male-only

Mike summarizes the church history argument.

church history male eldership female deacons
Mike Winger idea 2022-08-15

Why marriage is included in a series about women in ministry

Mike defends covering marriage in a ministry-focused series.

women in ministry eldership marriage
Mike Winger idea 2022-08-15

Callings are mutually exclusive: husband never told to MAKE wife submit

Mike identifies a key structural feature of the NT marriage instructions.

1 Timothy 3:4-5 mutually exclusive callings abuse prevention 1 Timothy 3:4-5