Defining and Applying Complementarianism in the Christian and Missionary Alliance

Introduction
If views on the roles of men and women exist on a spectrum between full complementarianism and full egalitarianism, the Alliance has placed a limit on how far workers and churches may express and apply their egalitarian convictions.  While full egalitarians are welcome in the Alliance, workers and churches are prohibited from electing female elders and Lead Pastors.  This places some boundaries on how a worker or church may express or apply egalitarianism.  

As a complementarian myself, I agree with that conclusion.  But as someone who values consistency, I struggle with the fact that there is no corresponding limit to how far a worker or church may carry out their complementarian convictions.  We should take steps to prevent extremes and abuses from developing among those who are complementarian (myself included).  We need to define complementarianism for the Alliance further - and here's why: if we don't define complementarianism, we can't identify the abuses.  We need to provide clear guidance on what complementarianism is and is not.

Definition
When John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and others coined the term “complementarianism” in the 1980’s they used it to identify the following conviction: "Complementarianism suggests both equality and beneficial differences between men and women."

Grudem goes on to define complementarianism in Systematic Theology: "The view that men and women are equal in value before God but that some governing and teaching roles in the church are reserved for men."

Both of these definitions leave out references to the household.  I would suggest the following definition of complementarianism: The belief that men and women are equally created in the image and likeness of God, and that men and women complement one another by carrying out unique roles in marriage and the church.  In a marriage, the husband is to relate to the wife as Christ does to the church, and the wife is to relate to the husband the way that the church relates to Christ.  In the church, elder oversight should be provided by qualified male elders.

Application
Based on this definition, I will provide examples of what complementarianism does, may do, and doesn’t do.

Complementarianism Does:

• Celebrate that men and women alike are equally made in God's image (Gen 1:27).

• Recognize that men and women bear God's image in unique and distinct ways based on gender. 

• Celebrate that men and women complement ("complete") one another in bearing the image of God. 

• Affirm that there are both masculine and feminine ways to bear God's image.

• Recognize that “...in the Lord, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” (1 Cor 11:11)

• Recognize that “it is not good for man to be alone.” (Gen 2:18)

• Affirm the role of the husband as the head of a household and assign the primary (though not necessarily sole) responsibility of spiritual leadership to the husband.

• Affirm the need for qualified men to exercise oversight of local congregations as elders. (1 Tim 3:1-7, Tit 1:5-9)

• Reserve teaching with elder authority to qualified male elders.

• Recognize a unique female/feminine perspective that should be considered in the local church.  (Providing for a “women’s perspective” is inherently complementarian.) 

Complementarianism May:

• Require churches to equate "pastor" to "elder."  This is a separate, ecclesiological issue which may intersect with complementarianism, but on which there is room for disagreement.  In cases where “pastor” and “elder” are seen as synonymous, pastors are qualified male elders.  In cases where “pastor” and “elder” are differentiated, women may serve as pastors under a qualified male Lead Pastor.   

• Prohibit women from ministering in various capacities when not under qualified male eldership.  

• Permit/Prohibit women from preaching, depending on a church’s understanding of the role of elder authority in preaching.

Complementarianism Does Not: (Anything in this category would be considered a misapplication, misunderstanding, or abuse of complementarianism.)

• Require ALL women to submit to ALL men.

• Give male elders the right to exercise spiritual authority over men or women who are not members or adherents of the local church for which they exercise oversight.

• Permit a man/husband to operate as the “head” of a woman who did not voluntarily enter into a marriage covenant with him.  

• Prohibit men from reading books or listening to podcasts by women.

• Prohibit female Bible professors at colleges and universities. 

• Prohibit women from giving announcements, praying, testifying, serving on a worship team, or conducting other ministries that do not operate with elder authority during a church service.  (If a male non-elder can do it, a woman can do it). 

• Prohibit a licensed worker from participating in various polity-related  (elections, discipline committees, Dexcom, LO&CC, etc) activities with women present.

• Provide an excuse to disrespect men or women who have differing opinions. 

• Prohibit women from having keys to church facilities solely on the basis of their gender.

• Prohibit women from praying for the sick.

• Prohibit women from baptizing people.

• Prohibit women from praying for men in private or public settings.

• Prohibit women from performing weddings or funerals.

• Prohibit women from serving as deaconesses.

Implementation
Each Alliance church can provide clarity for its congregation by taking the following steps:
1) Identify (in writing) what ministries require elder authority based on the congregation's scriptural convictions. 
2) Consistently applying those standards to all non-elders, male and female alike.  Any ministry that does not operate with elder authority is available to men and women alike.