Male Headship in the life of the Church

Our current sermon series in 1 Timothy is raising a lot of discussion about church life and conduct - which is a good and healthy thing. One issue that seems to be causing considerable debate - concerns the roles of men & women in the church as taught in 1 Timothy 2.11-15.

If you haven't heard my sermon on this passage then you might like to go and listen to it as a first point of call. In essence - what I said was, I believe that scripture and Paul teach male headship in the family and in the church. And that God in his infinite wisdom sees it as normative for men to exercise the role of teaching and preaching in the church community. There may be occasions when women could preach to a mixed congregation of men and women but it would be rare. I also affirmed, that men & women are equal in creation (Gen. 1.27) and in redemption (Gal.3.28). My conclusion was that I believe this teaching is very clear in principle - but what is not - is how we work it out in practice!
My reasons for this are outlined in the sermon.

However, if you are struggling with that position and wish to do some further reading on the matter then the following articles will - I hope - be helpful and if nothing else they will stretch your mind.

1. Dr Dan Wallace (NT Greek scholar - he is the Greek scholar of our generation - literally having "written the text-book" on biblical greek)
These two articles do well to outline the differences in the different positions of egalitarian and complementarian
http://bible.org/seriespage/biblical-gynecology-part-1
http://bible.org/seriespage/biblical-gynecology-part-2

2. Dr Andreas Kostenberger (NT scholar)
A hugely prolific scholar - especially in the area of men and women - defends detailed scholarly work against the likes of Bishop Dr. Tom Wright who have a negative reading of "to have authority over".
http://www.biblicalfoundations.org/the-church/52

3. Dr Wayne Grudem (theologian)
In this article he addresses the understanding of "head' - as 'source" - it is one of the most thorough reviews of a word you are likely to find!
http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/tj/kephale_grudem.pdf

In the end the best thing we can do as a church community - is not pretend - if there are differences on such matters but continue to engage in genuine dialogue in a spirit of grace and humity as we wrestle with the truth of God's word. Michael