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. 

When God Says, “No”

Acts 16:6-7 (ESV) – And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

Have you ever received a “No” from God without any idea what his “Yes” is? Perhaps you were doing what you thought he wanted you to but something was preventing you from moving forward. Maybe your leaders have told you they will not allow you to implement your new ideas. You may have run into a financial or relational barrier. There are also times we have a transcendent lack of peace that seems like it could be God’s way of saying, “No.”

If you have experienced any of those, you are in good company. After the apostle Paul, along with his new protégés Silas and Timothy, visited the churches of Lycaonia he and Barnabas planted on their first journey, it made sense they would keep going down the road to the largest city in the region – one of the largest in whole Roman Empire: Ephesus. It would make sense they would start a church in such an influential location. That could maximize efficient and effective growth of the Christian church. Yet, God said, “No.” We do not know if the “No” was a prophetic word, an internal sense of God’s direction, or something physically preventing the team from going to Ephesus, but they interpreted it as the Holy Spirit forbidding them to speak in the province of Asia, of which Ephesus was the capital. They had a similar experience as they tried to go north. This time, Luke wrote, “The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.” They got two “Nos” from God without a “Yes.” That had to be frustrating. I don’t know about you, but I always want a “Yes” from God, but it doesn’t always come as I would prefer.

1.  Sometimes God’s “Yes” is clear and immediate – As we see throughout Acts and Paul’s letters, God often did give clear direction, sometimes through a vision, a dream, a prophetic message, or even an appearance of Jesus. In my book, I tell the story of how God clearly and unmistakably called us to leave the Pacific Northwest and move across the country to Southeastern University. God may speak clearly to you, as well. Be sure to do what he says.
2. Sometimes God will allow us to do what we want – We saw earlier that Paul took Timothy with him as a protégé because he “wanted” to (Acts 16:3). God confirmed that decision with a spiritual gift and fruitful ministry, but Paul’s personal desire seems to be the reason God said, “Yes.” I never received a prophetic message or divine visitation before proposing marriage to Keira, but I am sure glad I did. For over thirty years we have experienced God’s blessing on choosing what I wanted within the boundaries of clear biblical instruction.
3. Sometimes it takes a journey to get to “Yes” – Paul and crew kept walking even when they got the “No.” Note that this “No” was a “Not Here,” not a “Stop Your Mission.” Paul received a life mission on the Road to Damascus (Acts 9) many years before that included a call to share the message of Jesus. He kept doing what he knew he was called to do but did not do it where God said, “No.” Eventually, they came to Troas, and there, after a 400 mile journey on foot, God finally spoke to Paul through a night vision (Acts 16:9).
4.  Sometimes we need help from others to understand the “Yes” – Acts 16:10 is significant because, for the first time, Luke wrote himself into the story, as we see a pronoun shift from “they” to “we.” Notice what Luke, Timothy, and Silas did. They helped Paul interpret the vision he received of a man calling from Macedonia, across the Aegean Sea. There have been many times in my life someone I trusted helped me discern more clearly what God was calling me to do. Be open to the input of others.
5.  Sometimes today’s “No” can be a “Yes” on another day – Paul did get to stop at Ephesus at the end of this second journey, about two years later (Acts 18:11 & 19). He ended up spending over two years there on his third journey (Acts 19:10) and that church became one of the strongest and most influential churches in Christianity for the next couple of centuries. Why didn’t Jesus allow them to go sooner? We do not get to know. All we know is that the “Yes” did come in an incredible way later than Paul may have initially thought best.

Be open to any “Yes” God sends your way, but realize whatever kind of “No” God gives you means a much better future is in store if you will stay on the journey with Jesus.