Women Leaders

Founding Visionary Pastor Roney Smith and Anointed Believers Baptist Church's
Position on Women Leaders within ABBC and any other Church

January 2002

When you explore each aspect of life, religion, and faith that you are familiar with, there is a critical difference found in Christ Jesus versus your past Christian denomination, other faiths and religions, and cultural experiences.

Christ recognized all of the women as His followers with the same rights, privileges, and benefits as Peter, John, Paul, and the others even today.

While the orthodox Jewish Christians were not led to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, it was Paul's mission to do so.

Christ Jesus came to minister to the lost sheep of Israel, but healed and was amazed at the faith outside of his primary audience. Christ commissioned and ordained Paul for Paul's mission.

The Great Commission and Great Commandment do not exclude women from any
perspective: servant or sinner or disciple.

Paul's mission did not include women from his own messages, but who are we to say that God is just as limited and restricted in using women in different roles and capacities.

It is not only possible, but likely and guaranteed that God is still expanding His kingdom in the Way that He wants it to be expanded;)

We must take our limitations and resulting handcuffs off what God is ready, willing, and able to do.

God can do whatever He wants to do regardless of how we feel that it should be done.

We were reminded by Christ not to be offended at what He does.

However, it is Christian mankind's prerogative to determine through the leading of the Holy Spirit what the individual believers, congregations, and church believe to be right, just, and true while acting upon our measure of faith.

This is our situation regardless of our understanding of His Holy Word.

When we look at the Word of God, Christ told us to love one another.

If loving one another means sending and empowering someone that past teachings and doctrine would find invalid to do so, then the example of Christ Jesus indicates that He would and did so.

My explicit analogy on this is if a male leader within any church found it necessary to withhold love and ministering to anyone anywhere because the only available resource of love and ministering was a woman, then the male leader is lacking in understanding of the Spirit and intent of Christ Jesus.

We know that God did not find anyone available on earth to save the world, so He sent Himself in the form of His Son Jesus Christ to do it.

We cannot do anything outside the will and power of God in demonstrating His love of the world.

While Paul's letters did not include women, the spirit of Paul's words did not SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDE women although this may be debatable among various believers.

So from my perspective, it appears that there are more elements and conditions to your quest for answers regarding this topic than meets the eye.

I, Pastor Roney Smith, ask that you seek answers and act in harmony to your convictions and beliefs according to the following components of your original questions:

1. Are women entitled to minister and/or lead congregations as pastors under the direction of any bishop or leader of a spiritual jurisdiction period?

Our position: Yes!

2. Are women entitled to minister and/or lead congregations as pastors under the direction of any bishop or leader of a spiritual jurisdiction when there are men ready, willing, and able to minister and/or lead congregations as pastors?

Our position: Yes, while reserving the right in being led by God to place the most suitable leader for the given congregation regardless of gender!

3. Are women entitled to minister and/or lead congregations as pastors without the direction of any earthly bishop or leader of a spiritual jurisdiction and depend totally upon the understanding, conviction, and leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God period upon the woman and the people that are to be led?

Our position: Yes!

Our position: Yes, while asking the women to understand that gender does not confirm nor deny the opportunity in being the most suitable leader for the given congregation. If God has a predestined choice of a leader, then that person shall ultimately lead regardless of gender or existing traditions!

I believe that you will find that most believers will give their answers according to the conditions that they find themselves.

Please understand that servant leadership does not impose itself upon anyone. It wins by leading from the inside out, bottom to the top, and last to first.

From a historical perspective and context, the world has always been primarily governed by men. This is the way that it is and has been regardless of how we feel about it. Although it may change, it does not invalidate the Word of God one way or another.

While we see that God did give Adam a help mate, we see how the world has progressed while not following the Word of God.

Men should still love their wives as Christ loved the Church.

Christ told us that the servants would be the greatest while the disciples were arguing over which one would be the leader in Christ's physical and earthly absence.

This occurred while the women were actually washing feet, cooking, and serving them all:)))

Christ even served the disciples food and fed many others!

So who is to say Christ Himself excluded women from leading local congregations?

I believe that Christ knew and said exactly what He meant.

The record of women's pain, unfulfillment, and not being fully recognized and used to their full potential comes to my spirit most of all and I wish to leave the following prayer for you and your family.

Heavenly Father, please bless any woman believer, their family, household, and men and women everywhere at all points in time who have been held in captivity through the lack of understanding of Your Will, Word, and Way.

Strengthen their spirits to know that You are a loving God without any conditions outside of Your Word. God please bless the men who have failed to receive Your love because of other men who failed to understand Your love.

God please bless the women who were not empowered to love according to past traditions and standards. Show them that they are not forgotten and Your strength is still made perfect in their weakness.

God please bless the women who are recognized and empowered to minister with Your love. Bless them with the understanding of Your love to not repeat past failures of both men and women.

Bless each leader male and female alike to grow more in Your lovingkindness, tender mercy, and grace. Bless Your kingdom to grow in peace while taking the world by force.

In Your Name Christ Jesus, we pray.

Amen!!!

We love you with all that we have and all that we hope to become.