The wife should always be tied to the husband: The Wilson Saga P/13

                                                      Read Part One HERE

In this post I will continue to share on Nancy Wilson, wife of Pastor Dough Wilson of Christ Church, Moscow, Idaho, US.

Nancy Wilson has made the following statement
Scripture teaches that the husband is the head of the wife, therefore a Christian woman in ministry should be seen under her husband's visible headship. In other words, her ministry should be visibly connected to him. This can be a real help to him, for her teaching can be a complement to his work.

Nancy explains how these ideas work in her own ministry as follows:
"When people listen to or read a woman's teaching, it is organically connected to the head God has placed over her. This is obviously difficult if her husband is always across the country, or if is his name is merely listed in the book she has written with the other "credits" in fine print. That is why I (Nancy) rarely travel to speak at women's conferences, but rather teach where my husband is speaking. Not only does this keep us together, working as a team, but he is then available to continue to lead me and protect me in ministry settings. My teaching role is a support and complement to his, not the other way around. This way my ministry is visibly connected to my husband's and is not seen as a separate work.

My Comment
In Ephesians 5:23 we read
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the Head of the Church, of which He is the Saviour.

The husband's function as "head of his wife" is a loving, ministering, nourishing, self-giving, sacrificial function without even a hint of authority attached to it just as Christ is "the Head of the Church of which He is the Saviour." No wife is, therefore, placed under the so-called "headship" of her husband and, likewise, no woman's ministry has to be seen under her husband's visible "headship."

In the Old Testament women functioned independently of their husbands as called by God.
Examples are:
Miriam (Exodus 15:20; Micah 6:4. She was a prophetess and a leader).
Deborah (Judges 4:1-16. She was a prophetess and a judge).
Hulda (II Kings 22:11-20. She was a prophetess).


Likewise, in the New Testament women functioned independently of their husbands as called by God.

Examples are
Anna (Luke 2:36-38. She was a prophetess).
Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2. She was a diakonos or a deacon, a minister in Cenchrea, who delivered Paul's letter to the church in Rome).
Mary (Romans 16:6. She was one of Paul's co-workers).
Tryphena (Romans 16:12. She was one of Paul's co-workers).
Tryphosa (Romans 16:12. She was one of Paul's co-workers).
Persis (Romans 16:12. She was one of Paul's co-workers). 

 

Read Part Fourteen HERE