RR speaking here: As I believe that the Lord allows women to pastor, I also believe that they are to have a MALE COVERING, be it their husband or spiritual authority that they come under, most likely a bishop.
From browsing this commentary, it appears that such restriction was put on the SOME of the women in this particular church because they were being DISORDERLY. OUT OF ORDER... WRONGFULLY USURPING AUTHORITY. A woman can pastor in PROPER ORDER, as she willfully comes under the authority of her covering, e.g., her husband or other appropriate spiritual authority.
Entire commentary at this link:
http://www.biblegateway.com/resourc...etCommentaryText&cid=10&source=1&seq=i.61.2.3
The woman-man relationship in the worship service (2:11-15). Today, among those who take the Bible seriously, two main positions have emerged in the discussion of this passage and its implications. As the following brief outline of each position will show, the passage needs to be considered as a whole, for the instructions of verses 11-12 (and also vv. 9-10) are grounded in some way by verses 13-15.
One position (here called position 1) generally maintains that verses 11-12 prohibit women from teaching and holding authority over men. Within the worship setting their appropriate role is that of the learner.
Women will be quiet during the teaching portion of the service--that is, they will not teach or question. And they will be fully submissive to men's authority. Furthermore, on the basis of the Genesis material in verses 13-14, the arrangement sanctioned by Paul is held to be permanent. Verse 13 grounds the subordinate position of the woman in the order of creation, the man having been created first. The allusion to Eve's deception in verse 14 presents an illustration of the negative consequences that result when the divinely willed structure is disturbed. In one way or another verse 15 then refers positively to the acceptable role of women.
The second position (which I shall call position 2) insists that the passage contains a temporary restraining order issued to curb the activities of a group of women who (most argue) were teaching the heresy in Ephesus. Thus the relegation of women to the role of learners, who must be quiet and submissive to the imposed (male) authority structure, represents
a local rather than a universal rule. Similarly, the prohibition from teaching in verse 12 was a
stopgap measure, and the reference to holding authority over a man is better understood as
"wrongfully usurping" his authority. As far as Paul's use of Genesis goes, verse 14 provides an example or explanation, showing how just as the deception of Eve had drastic results, so also did the deception of some women in Ephesus. Verse 13 is somewhat problematic for this position.
Teach and
have authority over a man (v. 12) may be references to separate activities that Paul restricted to men. Or the first term might represent a specific example of activity that falls under the general rule that follows: women's teaching in the public assembly would violate the given authority structure.
In either case, we should notice that Paul did not employ his usual term for "the normal exercise of authority" (exousia). He chose an unusual word (authenteo) that could carry negative connotations such as "to usurp or misappropriate authority" or "to domineer." The unusual term probably signifies an unusual situation. In the Ephesian context at least,
women had misappropriated authority by taking upon themselves the role of teacher.
Thus verses 11-12 aim to restore peace in the worship service by placing certain limits on the role of women. Probably as a result of the influence of the false teaching,
some women had assumed the role of teacher. This step led Paul to invoke a subordination rule; it seems to have precluded women from teaching men, since to do so constituted
authenteo--that is, the wrongful appropriation of authority over men.
and some have NO problem at all hollering from the pew to the pulpit asking the Pastor to repeat himself
You have one side saying that women can't do anything, and then the other side where domineering women run everything with not a male leader anywhere in sight. It's enough to make you crazy!
You have one side that totally ignores and disregards the scriptures that speak against a woman having ultimate authority, and then the other side that blows off all the women mentioned by Paul, John, Luke, & Peter in the Apostolic letters...where's the love people!
