INTRODUCTION:
It is well known that the scriptures contain no explicit teaching about our
topic. Therefore, we must infer frame work for pastor’s wife ministry in area
of Mission and Evangelism from what the scriptures teach about her identity,
role and purpose as a woman, a wife, and a believer.
Pastor’s
wife; who is she?
The pastor’s wife is
first and foremost a woman and a wife. Nowhere does the Word of God intimate
that she belongs to a special class of women. Everything the Scriptures teach
about the identity, role, and purpose of women and wives in general applies
equally to the Pastor’s wife. A thorough understanding of her biblical role as
a woman and wife must be foundational to the way she the reason for her
creation as a woman, she will be able to build upon it as a foundation to
establish her purpose and realize fulfillment in life as she is place in
different roles and positions.
Pastor’s wife as image of God
The climax of
creation came on the sixth day as God created humankind, “male and female he created them.”
– Gen 1:27. Both men and women are created in God’s image, that
is, to resemble and represent Him. Since we do not see bearing image of God as something purely static, such as wearing a
jacket, we are using the expression imaging
God to convey the active, dynamic outworking of resembling and representing
Him. Human beings resemble God by who they are, but also by what they do.
Therefore, a pastor’s wife may image God by feeding the hungry, giving wise
counsel to a wayward person or on a continual basis as displaying unconditional
love and respect to her husband, which invariably expands the work of Mission
and Evangelism.
Pastor’s wife helps her husband
Just as the creation
of humankind in God’s image marked the pinnacle of the creation in Genesis
1, so the creation of woman (Eve)
as a suitable helper for man (Adam) marks the climax of chapter
2. The meaning of the noun “helper” (‘ēzer) in Genesis
2:18 has been much debated. The word
essential refers to a helper, assistant, i.e one who assists and serves another
with what is needed. The majority of its twenty-one occurrences in the Old
Testament depict God helping human beings. Since God Himself can be a “helper”, it is clear that neither the
word ‘ēzer nor
the role of “helper” imply any sort
of inherent inferiority. What it does imply is that the “helper” plays a supporting role, rather than bearing primary
responsibility for a task. Some Churches wrongly conclude that because she is
his “helper”, the pastor’s wife
should serve alongside her husband in the ministry of the Church. However, the
pastor’s wife role as helper does not extend into the area of the husband’s
vocation just as a surgeon’s wife functions as his helper without working
alongside him in the theatre. A pastor’s
wife who responsibly lives to this bill will enhance the work of Mission and
Evangelism.
Pastor’s Wife serves God and family (Prov. 31:10-31)
Proverbs 31:10-31 is a key biblical passage outlining the
responsibilities and roles of a noble wife. The N.I.V’s “noble” when applied to a wife in Proverbs 3:10, the word refers to a woman who is strong in
character, hence virtuous, yet retains the nuance of one who is abler or
capable. Her responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities relating to
her core purposes, which are to image her Creator and to help her husband. Now
that the biblical responsibilities allocated to the wife have been identified,
it must be noted that she is unable to perform her responsibilities outside of
her relationship to God. A pastor’s wife will struggle to meet any of these
responsibilities outside of her relationship with Jesus Christ. In the course
of faithful and selfless services to God, family and community, a pastor’s wife
will accelerate the work of Mission and Evangelism.
Pastor’s wife must find her identity in Christ
A pastor’s wife must
understand her biblical womanhood – the reason for her existence, her purpose,
and her identity in Christ. This knowledge brings her confidence to fulfill her
calling, honouring God by supporting her husband and actively serving alongside
him and within the body of Christ. It is easy for a pastor’s wife to inherit a
set of (undefined) expectations from her congregation and because she lacks the
self-assurance that comes from having a clear sense of her identity in Christ,
she feels duty bound to “just accept”
all the roles she thinks others expects her to play. As a result, she labours
under a burden to heavy for her to bear, and forfeits the joy of serving Christ
in the way He created her to serve which may adversely affect the work of
Mission and Evangelism.
Pastor’s wife should minister in keeping with her
God-given gifts
Every believer is
called to the priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), a priesthood which was ushered in by the events in Acts
2. In His wisdom, God gives each one
of His children spiritual gifts which are complementary to their personality
and calling. The New Testament abounds with examples of women serving according
to their spiritual gifts, such as:
Ø Anna: “prophetess …
fasting and praying” – Luke 2:36-37
Ø Dorcas: “doing good
and helping the poor” – Acts 9:36
Ø Lydia: showing hospitality – Acts 16:15
Ø Priscilla: teaching “the
way of God” – Acts 18:26
Ø Philip’s
daughters: “prophesied” – Acts 21:9
Ø Phoebe: “a servant of
the Church” – Romans 16:1
Ø Widows: serving and interceding – 1
Timothy 5:3-10
The conviction that
each believer, including the pastor’s wife, is equipped with spiritual gifts
from God, endowed and sustained by the Holy Spirit, should be the point of
departure for discovering her God-intended role in the Body of Christ.
Pastor’s wife should mentor and/or be mentored (Titus
2:3-5)
The importance of
the relationship between the older and younger women is significant, especially
when discussing the role of the pastor’s wife in Mission and Evangelism. She is
not only a woman offering advice and guidance to younger women, but she may
also need to be on the receiving end of the same kind of ministry. Very often
Christians tend to look to the pastor’s wife as a role model, and yet in many
ways she requires a role model herself. Her needs should not be overlooked when
seeking to place women in mentoring.
Therefore there is a
biblical imperative for the pastor’s wife to be involved in mentoring
relationships with other women. This does not, however, imply that she must
lead a formal women’s ministry. If she is amongst the more mature women in the
congregation, she should embrace the role of nurturing some of the younger
women. If she is herself a young wife and/or mother, she may need to receive
guidance from more mature ladies.
CONCLUSION:
All pastor’s wives are called to come to terms with the fact that they are
prominent figures within the congregation and are often seen as role models. If
the Church Mission and Evangelism enterprise will work successfully, the
pastor’s wives must join hands with their husbands at forefront to lead the
Church. Every pastor’s wife must adhere strictly to her primary calling which
is to glorify God and be in fellowship with Him. As a wife and mother, her
primary ministry is at home, where she seeks to help and bless her husband, and
nurture her children. Her identity is formed in and through her relationship
with Christ, and she is called to be a faithful minister of God’s grace both in
and out of the Church.
REFERENCES
Leschenne Rebuli
& Kevin Gary Smith: THE ROLE OF THE
PASTOR’S WIFE; WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH? Article that emerge from Leschenne’s
Master’s Thesis entitled, “The Biblical Role of the Pastor’s Wife in Local
Church: A Case Study of Churches in Somerset West, Western Cape, South Africa
for South African Theological Seminary.
Sailhamer J. H: NIV
COMPACT BIBLE COMMENTARY; Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan, 1994.
Frame J. M: MEN AND
WOMEN IN THE IMAGE OF GOD; Crossway Books Wheaton, 1991.
Schultz C:
THEOLOGICAL WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; Moody Press, Chicago, 1980
Zodhiates S &
Baker W: THE COMPLETE WORD STUDY DICTIONARY; AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, 1993
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