Q34 : Women as Deacons

• Church Government
• Deacon

• Elder
• Feminism

• Gender Distinctions

I read with interest Andy Woods article on The Meaning of "The Husband of One Wife" in 1 Timothy 3:2^a. It is by far the best and most thorough treatment I have found on this very complex subject. We have been struggling with the elder/deacon qualification and this helps tremendously.

I wonder if you have any treatments on gender requirements for deacons? When I remove the ruling/governing function from the role of deacon (which many contemporary churches have embraced as a result of the fusing of the deacon and elder role) and examine it in light of its biblical establishment as a servant role which focuses on the practical, active, and helping, coupled with a literal translation of 1 Timothy 3:8, I conclude that woman should be allowed to serve as a deacon. This is contrary to my past belief. Can you point me to any documentation that will assist me in reaching a biblically sound position on this question?

1. Appendix 2 at the end of Dr. Tom Constable's notes on 1 Timothy (www.soniclight.com) where he lists nearly every spiritual role a woman played throughout the entire Bible. I believe he takes the view that women can occupy the office of deacon, which would be different than our Spirit and Truth website doctrinal statement^a. However other items mentioned in his appendix are valuable.
2. n.10 on pg. 2137 of the NET Bible for exegetical arguments supporting the notion that Phoebe of Romans 16:1 was not really occupying the office of deacon but rather was functioning as a common servant. I think the NET Bible is available at www.bible.org.
3. My article length book review of Grady's book Ten Lies the Church Tells Women. The article is available on the Spirit and Truth website^b. I did not deal too much with the deacon issue in this article. However, reading it will give you some good bibliography to draw from.

The following resources may also prove helpful:

• Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood^d, edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem. Also available online^e, and in downloadable Adobe PDF format^f.
• Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth^g, by Wayne Grudem.
• Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood^h, edited by Wayne Grudem.
• A Biblical Theology of the Churchⁱ, edited by Mal Couch.
• Minister of Mercy: The New Testament Deacon^j, by Alexander Strauch.
• Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership^k, by Alexander Strauch.