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    The Office of Widow on the Early Church

    As I’ve done some speaking and writing about 1 Timothy 5, I’ve received requests for sources relating to widows as an office in the early church. Below is a short bibliography in chronological order by publication date. I recommend that you read the books in this order so you can see the development of the research: Gryson, Roger. The Ministry of Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1976. Martimort, A. Georges. Deaconesses: An Historical Study. Translated by K. D. Whitehead. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986. *Thurston, Bonnie Bowman. The Widows: A Women’s Ministry in the Early Church. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989. 117 pages. Elm, Susanna. Virgins of…

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    Can a Woman Be a Pastor? Looking at the New Testament

    Recently someone raised this question: Were there any mentions in the New Testament of men/women who were actually titled “pastor”? I keep hearing arguments that there were no women pastors in the Bible, but I can’t find any men called “pastor” either. The observation that no one, male or female, is called “pastor” is absolutely correct. We don’t see “Pastor Paul” or “Pastor Mark” or “Pastor John” in the Bible. Or “Pastor Phoebe” for that matter. In the same way that no one person is ever referred to as the giver (imagine “Giver Aquila”), the exhorter (Exhorter Priscilla?), the evangelizer, the teacher, the mercy-shower…there is also no one in the New…