A Female Leader

Acts 16:13-15 (NAS) – On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled. A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

One of the most controversial questions in American Christianity today is the place women should have in leadership. Two passages in Paul’s letters (I Corinthians 14:34-35 and I Timothy 2:11-15) have led many well-meaning Bible believing Christians and some entire denominations to assume Paul wrote these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to restrict all women in all churches in all times and all places from senior leadership in the church. Yet, a review of the entire New Testament’s dealing with the question shows that those two passages are best understood as restricting certain individual women who were divisive, distracting, and undermined the health of the churches in Corinth and Ephesus. Both of those books actually speak of women in public leadership and teaching roles in other passages. (See I Corinthians 11:5 and note than women spoke publicly and I Timothy 3:11 where Paul describes character traits necessary for church leaders and specifies “women” in that list in verse 11. Some translators chose to make this “deacons’ wives” instead. Although gunaikos can mean either woman or wife, there is no compelling reason to go with the latter and there is no “deacons’” in that verse explicitly or implicitly. These women led.)

A strong argument against prohibiting women from leading is the positive example of many female leaders throughout the New Testament. Lydia is one of those. Although we only read about her in three verses, in his insightfully efficient way, Doctor Luke tells us a lot about her in these few words.

1. Lydia’s name was Greek and not Hebrew - It meant “beautiful” or “noble” and traced its roots to the name of the Empire of Lydia that dominated what is now Western Turkey from about 1100 to 543 BC, when it was conquered by the Persian Emperor Cyrus. This was an appropriate name, given the location of her hometown in the land of that former empire.
2. She was away from her homeland – Thyatira was on the far side of the Aegean Sea from Philippi, and Lydia was on a working trip.
3. She was a successful businesswomen – Archeological findings substantiate Thyatira as a leading center of the dye trade in the Roman Empire, and purple was the most expensive and luxurious dye of all. The dye was historically derived from shellfish shells only found near the city of Tyre. It was so expensive that wearing purple cloth became a way to demonstrate wealth and power. To be traveling as a saleswomen of these expensive products and owner of a household indicates she was likely a woman of wealth herself.
4. She sought God – It seems Lydia was a God-fearing Gentile hungry to meet her creator. She had already been coming to the Jewish prayer gatherings by the river outside of Philippi.
5. She was open to learn more – She did not need to become a Jew or a Christian to enhance her business. She came because she sought a greater purpose for her life than any amount of wealth could provide.
6. She responded to the Gospel of Jesus with full commitment – As Paul spoke, “God opened her heart,” and she and her whole household (likely children, servants, and, perhaps, her husband) believed in Jesus and were baptized (Acts 16:14-15).
7. She led – Note that verse 15 stresses her whole household was baptized but verse 13 implies only women heard Paul’s first message. The best explanation is that after Lydia’s conversion, she led those in her influence to hear the Gospel from Paul, as well, and they responded for themselves. Verse 15 goes on to use specific leadership-oriented words to describe how she even led Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke to do something other than what they had planned: She “urged” (parekalesen) and “prevailed upon” (parebiasato) them to stay in her house.
8. She is the first named leader of the church Paul founded he seems to have treasured the most – As you read all the letters Paul wrote to the churches he founded, note their tone and the overall health of the churches, as well as Paul’s relationship with them. None has the depth of tenderness and appreciation as the Letter to the Philippians. Although that church had some struggles (as all still do today), there is a true sense of maturity and commitment to Christ of the first readers. Although she was not mentioned in that letter, Lydia’s leadership was likely part of setting that tone. She may have returned to Thyatira by that point, but her legacy lived on, and the Letter to the Philippians mentions two or three other female leaders by name, as well (Philippians 4:1-2). 

In my role as dean and professor at Southeastern University, I have seen hundreds of women God has gifted and called to lead step out and fulfill their callings in life changing ways. God’s mission is far too large to be limited to half of his team.