Another article goes through scriptural gymnastics to support christo-feminism.

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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)

As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. -- 1Corinthians 33-35 (ESV)

https://relevantmagazine.com/culture/actually-need-women-teach-lead-preach/?fbclid=IwAR057gR7_OvLaC_UvoHfNH8ZGCWWkakCcYoXJN4xE58pVxxFw8Cs8TPOE_A

Beloved, as I have written before, this subject brings me no joy. I have no dog in this hunt. I know women who have genuinely tried to serve God within this plane of disobedience. They are friends. I am compelled however to say what the bible says and too many ask me to weigh in on this ongoing struggle to beat back Christo-feminism within the church. A Christo-feminist simply believes that women should be in all church leadership positions, including leading men in teaching and preaching, which the bible clearly forbids. It is an outgrowth of the worldly system of women's liberation. In order to prop up their positions they have to either read the minds of people who lived thousands of years ago, infer things from the text that are simply not there or turn Paul into a rogue anti-woman apostle. Remember however that we believe in divine inspiration, which means we believe God wrote the entire bible. That includes the parts we may not like nor understand. Our job is not to scour the bible for verse fragments and historical narratives we can twist but to simply be obedient to what God has clearly said. The above link is from a seminary student who is furthering the case of Christo-feminism in the church. So let us reason again as we sift through the usual arguments that disagree with what God has already said.

"There's been a lot of buzz surrounding women lately. From Hollywood and #MeToo to Christians and #ChurchToo, women are demanding their voices be heard " and many are listening. Women everywhere are echoing Oprah's famous line--"A new day is on the horizon!"--from her empowerment speech during Golden Globes." -- Kat Armas

Quite the mixed bag of carnality and sleight of hand to open up this piece. The me too movement had to do with sexual assault against women, not that women need to be in leadership. Are we really willing to change what God has said for Oprah? Who cares what Oprah says? Beloved, let's lay this case out simply. I did not say women could not exercise authority over men in teaching and preaching -- God did. What we have in the key verses are two distinct passages from two different books. These are directive passages beloved. They contain no ambiguity at all. They use definitive language such as "I do not permit" and "As in all the churches." God even provides the reasoning behind his decision -- because Eve was the transgressor. Yet despite these clear instructions, Christians are willing to ignore them because Oprah Winfrey thinks there is a new day on the horizon? Let's remember these verses as we progress through this article.

"But naturally, just like everything else in culture, not everyone agrees--particularly when it comes to women's role in the Church. After John Piper came out with a response stating women should not pastor (or teach), Twitter users took it as an opportunity to promote, encourage and affirm the women who have impacted them in their faith and in their theology. Names of women rolled in for hours and with reason. Historically, women have been crucial aspects of the Church's growth and spiritual formation. It's apparent women belong in leadership. Here are five reasons why" -- Kat Armas

Well, if Twitter users say so I guess it is ok to ignore what God has said? Of course not. What is interesting here is the illogical leap Armas makes, which is often the argument from people who wish to be disobedient to these scriptures. She is right to say that plenty of women have been crucial to the church's growth and spiritual formation. No one is arguing otherwise. Women have been great missionaries, prophets, and helpers in ministry over the millennia. Armas takes this fact and leaps to the conclusion then that we can disobey God. She is mistaken. Now onto her five reasons:

"1) Women were foundational to the spreading of Jesus' message. Not only was "the woman at the well" the first evangelist to Samaria, and the women at the tomb the first witnesses and proclaimers of Jesus's resurrection, but Mary of Bethany was affirmed by Jesus as "doing the right thing" in "sitting at Jesus' feet." In antiquity, "sitting at the feet" literally meant "being a disciple." Even Paul, during his ministry made mention of several leading women in his salutation to the Roman Church (Romans 16). Among these were Junia the apostle and Phoebe, Paul's emissary and the translator of the letter. We also know of several house-church leaders like Chloe and Nympha (1 Corinthians 1:11, Colossians 4:15), and Priscilla, who also taught Apollos "the more accurate way" about Jesus. If women were crucial in leading Jesus's movement in the very beginning, why wouldn't they be as crucial in doing so now?" -- Kat Armas

Whenever defenders of women in leadership try to present their arguments they are forced to read things into scripture that simply are not there. Keep in mind always that they are forced to abandon two sets of clear directive passages to assume nonsense into other verses. For instance the notion that Mary of Bethany was actually a disciple. No she was not. She chose the better thing by prioritizing listening to Jesus over the distractions of this world but that does not make her a disciple. Or the notion that the woman at the well was an evangelist when she clearly was not. Yes she went back to HER town and wondered if He could be the Messiah but the word does not say she ever did anything beyond that. Now let us deal with one of the Christo-feminist favorite butcherings of the word of God -- Junias:

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. - Romans 16: 7 (ESV)

Junia is actually Junias, a man. Do some research and you will see the ONLY people making him a woman are trying to defend the Christo - feminist arguments. Paul even refers to both of them as kinsmen. However, even if you insist that he is a she, all this verse says is that Junias was well known to the apostles. Christo-feminists rely upon muddier translations to try and argue that "she" secretly was an apostle. Phoebe was an emissary and letter carrier and no one is arguing these are restricted by God. Here are the verses in question for Chloe and Nymphas:

For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. - 1Corinthians 1:11 (ESV)

Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. -- Colossians 4:15 (ESV)

Paul makes a reference to "Chloe's people" and those that so desperately want to disobey the directive scriptures found in the key verses today jump on this to claim she led a house church. Where in the world does it say that? It is not even remotely referred to as such. This is what Christo-feminists are forced to stoop to in order to prop up their position. They must assume things behind scriptures instead of simply obeying the key verses. Nympha by the way was Nymphas -- a man. Here is a snippet from Ellicott's Commentary:

"And Nymphas.--There is a curious variety of reading here. Some MSS. have, as in our version," the church in his house;" some, "in her house;" the best reading seems to be "in their house." The second of those readings would make the name "Nympha," instead of "Nymphas," with which the form of the original hardly agrees. The last reading (from which the common reading of our version is probably a correction) must refer, in the word "their," to Nymphas and his family. Of Nymphas we know nothing, except from this passage. He is obviously a man of importance, a centre of Church life, in the Christian community at Laodicea." -- Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

This brings us to Priscilla. Go read Acts 18 and you will see that Priscilla AND her husband instructed Apollos who only knew about John's baptism. This is of course not about leading men in the church structure and yet they still wanted to be deceptive in pretending it was only Priscilla teaching Apollos. The answer to Armas' question -- women are extremely important but that does not mean we casually ignore what God has said.

"2) Women are gifted for ministry in the Church. Nowhere in the New Testament are the Spirit's gifts gender-specific. In fact, Joel the Prophet spoke concerning Pentecost, "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy " Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." Since we are living post-Pentecost, we can be sure God has poured out His Spirit on all flesh--both men and women. This also includes young, old and people in every ethnic group. The Holy Spirit has gifted the Church with the ministries and offices that it needs for its mission, as well as for the purpose of building one another up. In 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses both "brothers and sisters" when speaking of the gifts, claiming some will perform miracles, some will prophesy, some will be teachers, others evangelists and even others pastors. These are gifts distributed by the Spirit to both men and women, as God sees fit. Shouldn't women use the gifts given to them by God to lead the Church, for its uplifting and edification?" -- Kat Armas

Even if we accept her notion that Joel is speaking about events passed, which is not agreed upon by many, no one is arguing that women cannot be gifted by the Holy Spirit and prophesy. This is what the arguments usually devolve into. In order to prove that women can lead men they are forced to muddy the waters with other things women are permitted to do within the church. Many translations have just "brothers" that Paul is addressing in 1Corinthians but I will concede it is probably better translated as "brethren" of which women belong. That does not change however that the Spirit gives the gifts as He wills He has already declared that teaching and preaching by women is forbidden in His church.

"3) Women bear God's image, too. In the creation narrative, men and women were both given an equal responsibility to bear God's image, have dominion/"rule" over creation, and be fruitful. In both genders being "made in the image of God," we understand that the fullness of God's personhood is expressed in not only in masculinity, but also in femininity. We were created to be reflections of God--to speak and act for Him in our distinctions. God affirms this when He uses female-specific imagery when relating to His people--like a bear to her cubs (Hosea 13:8), an eagle hovering over her young (Deuteronomy 32:11), a mother comforting and weaning her child (Isaiah 66:13, Psalm 131:2), a nursing woman (Isaiah 49:15) and a woman in labor (Psalm 131:2). Even Jesus compares Himself to a mother hen (Matthew 23:37). If God is reflected in both masculine and feminine terms when nurturing His people, shouldn't both genders be reflected in leadership--when nurturing members of the Church?" - Kat Armas

This may be hard for Kat to swallow but she is simply wrong here. Man is made in the image of God and woman was taken from man. She is confused by Genesis 2:27 but it even clearly says there that while He created them, in His image He created HIM. The beauty of scripture is it confirms itself:

For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. -- 1Corinthians 11:7-9 (ESV)

The other point made here is just silly. You do not throw away directive scripture because God uses imagery we can easily understand to teach certain truths. None of her examples have anything to do with leadership in the church but she uses them to promote such.

"4) Women need women advocates. It's no surprise that men and women are different--each having different experiences and different needs. Because of this, we need a diversity of voices in leadership who can guide and pastor men and women and speak to their particular situations. Diversity in leadership is tantamount to authentic discipleship and foundational for healthy relationships and growth within a community of people. When making important decisions in the Church, female perspectives are necessary to speak into issues that men cannot relate to and don't have firsthand experience in. No one knows the needs of women better than women. Shouldn't leadership in the Church reflect the diversity of its members? Particularly in our current culture, with sexual abuse stories being exposed within the Church, it's more important than ever for women to be represented when it comes to making decisions in leadership on behalf of the community." -- Kat Armas

No beloved. Women need to be obedient -- as do men. Kat Armas is advocating for women to disobey God -- period. Women do not need advocacy like that. They need biblical women to come alongside and speak the truth. That women can serve mightily in the church of God but He has set aside this one thing they are not to touch and like Eve before them, some women still look at the fruit and wonder to themselves, "Did God really say?" Yes beloved He did. What Kat Armas is saying here is that she knows better than God. I assure you, she does not.

"5) When women are empowered, society as a whole flourishes. We know that on a global scale, women are among the most oppressed people. In certain countries, many women have no rights in society, are sold like cattle for a bride price, forced into sex slavery and in some places, not even allowed to show their face in public. However, organizations like UN Women and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), among others, have reported on studies that show how much of a vital contribution--and even complete shift in society--women make when they are educated and empowered. UN Women found that increased educational attainment for women and girls accounts for about 50 percent of the economic growth in OECD countries over the past 50 years. Over half of this is due to girls having had access to higher levels of education and achieving greater equality in the number of years spent in education between men and women. Similarly, a study using data from 219 countries found that, for every additional year of education for women, the child mortality rate decreased by 9.5 percent. These are only a couple statistics among hundreds that prove that women's equality is necessary for human flourishing. When women are empowered, everyone wins. If this is true on a grand and global scale, wouldn't it be true for the overall health and growth of the Church? If women are celebrated, empowered and given freedom to exercise their gifts in leadership as God intends, imagine what it could do for the global Church--God's kingdom on Earth as He intended--a glorious, united and beautifully vibrant people." -- Kat Armas

Unbiblical desperation on the cusp of madness. So because women are treated as lesser in most non-Christian countries we need to ignore what God has said about them teaching and preaching in authority over men in His church? I do not think so. Even the premise is ridiculously carnal. Yes the world believes that the women's liberation movement has caused a flourishing in this country but Christians know it has destroyed the family. Women are fully empowered now and if you think everyone has won go and check divorce rates. Most women are encouraged now to try alternative lifestyles in Middle School and by the time they get into their teen years have been convinced that they do not need a man. I understand why the world views that as progress but the church? I do not have to wonder what will happen if we fully disobey God. We will reap what we sow. Realize beloved at the end of the day we are talking about one thing being forbidden. One thing. The devil whispers in the ears of well-intended Christians and says -- did the Lord really say? Yeah, He did.

Reverend Anthony Wade -February 17, 2019

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.