CG7 Position: Women Not to Be Elders

In the latest issue of its The Bible Advocate, CG7-Denver has the following from its former President, Elder Calvin Burrell:

Do you allow women to serve on boards —as pastor, leader, elder, or deacon? Are there Bible verses for this? The Church’s position is a moderate one:
Women serve in various leadership positions, but not as elder or pastor. Many texts relate to this complex issue.

We find the many Bible examples of women in lead roles: Miriam, a worship leader (Ex. 15:20, 21); Deborah, a judge (Judges 4 and 5); Esther, a queen; Huldah, a prophetess (2 Kings 22:14;
several more prophetesses in both testaments); Priscilla, a teacher (Acts 18:26); and Phoebe, a deaconess (Rom. 16:1, 2).

We find general reports of women active in worship and other forms of service. In the New Testament, women were last at the cross, first at the empty tomb, first to evangelize Samaria, and
first to convert in Europe. The Holy Spirit inspires both men and women to dream and prophesy for the Lord (Acts 2:16-18; 1 Cor. 11:5a).

Leading women labored in the gospel with Paul (Phil. 4:2, 3), who cited several feminine names for recognition in Romans 16:1-16. Phoebe (v. 1) is called “deaconess” (RSV) — a female servantleader of the church. Deacon and servant translate from the same Greek word, diakonos.

On the other hand, we also find Paul’s restrictions on women’s teaching and preaching (1 Cor. 14:34; 1 Tim. 2:11-15). Reading these as firm church policy for all times and places can be problematic, since that would conflict with the examples and general statements reported above. In an effort to deal fairly with these diverse strands of truth, CoG7 encourages women to
serve in a variety of congregational and denominational roles: teaching, music and worship leading, boards and committees, children and youth work, and many more — while the roles of elder and pastor are restricted to men.

CG7’s position on women’s roles are similar to my position as well as the Living Church of God. LCG will ordain women as deaconesses, but does not ordain them as elders or pastors.

Of course, after the resurrection, there appears to be no difference in roles that God has for those who were male or female in this life.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Women and the New Testament Church Were women important in the New Testament Church? Which women and how were they involved?
Mary, the Mother of Jesus and the Apparitions Do you know much about Mary? Are the apparitions real? What happened at Fatima? What might they mean for the rise of the ecumenical religion of Antichrist? Are Protestants moving towards Mary? How do the Orthodox view Mary? How might Mary view her adorers?
Priscilla and Aquila An early Christian married couple from Rome who moved to Asia Minor.
Church of God, Seventh Day: History and Teachings Nearly all COG’s I am aware of trace their history through this group. Whaid Rose is the president of the largest CG7 group (Denver). Do you know much about them?