I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. -- 1Timothy 2: 12-14 (ESV)
The title of the article is what grabbed my attention. "The Priscilla Challenge: When the Wife Is Called to Be the Pastor." It grabbed my attention because anyone who understands the Bible knows that there is never a time when God would call the wife in a relationship to be a pastor. That's right -- never. I know it is a hard lesson to learn but the Bible says what the Bible says, even the parts that we may not like. As I have said before this topic brings me no joy because I know many gifted women serving God with their whole heart and the object is to not discourage but to teach. The author of this article on Charisma News opens by claiming that there is an unhealthy preoccupation with male authority within the church. I found this amusing since it seemed that Eddie Hyatt has an unhealthy preoccupation with ignoring the Bible on this one subject as this is the third such article he has written in the past few months regarding it. Then I realized why. He has written an entire book pushing back against God on the matter! No wonder then he is trying to stir up so much nonsense regarding this subject like speculating that Priscilla, who is mentioned in all of six times in the entire canon of Scripture, was actually Paul's pastor. Obviously, this is not true but when you are trying to sell books, why let a little thing like biblical truth get in the way? To establish his groundwork, Hyatt does not go to Scripture because he knows he cannot. Instead he spins a yarn about meeting a man on a tour of Israel who handed him his business card, which was from a Pennsylvania church. The card listed the man's wife as pastor and himself as Assistant Pastor. From this exchange, Hyatt jumps the shark:
"Because of an unhealthy preoccupation today with male authority, many in the church will not stomach such an arrangement in which the woman is the out-front teacher and pastor. The Bateses, however, were merely functioning according to their gifts. She obviously had teaching and pastoral gifts, while his gifts were administrative. Her gifts required her to be publicly out front, while his gifts were most effective behind the scenes." -- Eddie Hyatt
This may come as a shock to Mr. Hyatt but just because someone fancies themselves as stronger in one area than another does not equal "gifting" or "calling." Many have noted that Paul was not a strong orator at all and he in fact bragged about it because human eloquence often detracts from the Gospel. We see that rampant throughout the church today with a cult of personality type leader who people worship over God. When Moses said he could not speak for God the Lord assured him that He would give him the words. It is the word of God that matters, not our human abilities. The reality is that Mr. Bates abdicated his God assigned role within his marriage and his ministry and to Eddie Hyatt that is a point of celebration. That is assuming his conclusions are even valid! He did not know these people. He is assuming her gifts and his gifts. He is assuming she was a great teacher and he was great at stuffing envelopes. Based on what? Empirical evidence? Proof based on research? No beloved. Based on a business card that fit his pre-conceived opinions. Hyatt now tries to leverage Scripture but we will see this pattern of absurd assumptions will continue:
"In Romans 16:3-5, Paul greets such a couple named Priscilla and Aquila. This couple is always mentioned together and always referred to with the plural pronouns "they" and "them." They obviously functioned in a close partnership for they are never mentioned separately. There is also evidence that Priscilla was the out-front one in ministry and the pastor of the church they hosted in their home. While in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos, a convert of John the Baptist, speaking in the synagogue in Ephesus. Realizing that he was deficient in his understanding, "they" took him aside, and "they" explained to him the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:24-26). Luke makes it very clear that both were involved in the instruction of Apollos." -- Eddie Hyatt
Yes this couple was always mentioned together. Yes Priscilla maintained a prominent spot and role in ministry -- as can any woman today. They did serve in close partnership and are never mentioned separately. Then Hyatt starts drawing assumptions that fit his narrative. There is zero evidence that Priscilla was the out front one in their ministry. There is even less than zero evidence that she was the pastor of the church. This is only made up in the wickedly deceitful heart of Eddie Hyatt who is looking to increase his book sales. As for the correction to Apollos, it is true that Luke uses the plural to infer that both Priscilla and her husband Aquila gave him deeper insight from their time with Paul. Does this mean that if Aquila had a business card that Priscilla's name would be listed as Pastor? Of course not. Mind you, the scripture clearly says that they took Apollos to them in order to provide him with more in depth knowledge to add to his zeal. This was not correction as much as illumination. It also happened in private. No one is arguing that a wife cannot provide valuable insight within such a context. That does not however mean the wife should usurp the role God has ordained would belong to her husband. Beloved, Paul only states two things as being not allowed for women. One is to exercise authority over men and another would be to preach/teach men. He even gives us the reasoning in the key verses today. Because it was Eve who was deceived. I know even this biblical truth is under fire from Christo-feminism that claims Adam was somehow right there and knew what Eve was doing and therefore he was equally deceived. No he was not and the key verses clarify any confusion we might have regarding that matter. Hyatt continues:
