[18]  The Role of Women in the Administrative Structure of the Christian Church

People falsely believe that if they cannot understand something then it cannot hurt them  - Scott Magnuson

This understanding is around 1,979 years too late, but better late than never! 

The heavens are run on the family model

The whole heavens are run by the holy family. God is the father, the 2nd Holy Spirit (144,000 holy angels as a group) is the mother, and all the angels individually are the children, and we, the humans, are the grandchildren. For the human body is the second generation vehicle for the living spirit of an individual, whereas the angelic body was the first such vehicle for life. The holy spirit is made up of a select few holy angels, who have effectively agreed to act collectively as a mother to the rest of the angels and to us...

14 Yes, the seventh one [in line] from Adam, Enoch, prophesied also regarding them, when he said: Look! the Lord came with his holy myriads (Jude 14).

53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father to supply me at this moment more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26).

So there are at least 12 legions (72,000) and at least two myriads (20,000) of angels in the holy spirit. But the holy spirit is by no means all of the angels who are not demons. Whereas there are at least 404 million non-demonic angels...

11 And I saw, and I heard a voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands (Revelation 5).

A myriad is 10,000 angels, a legion is 6,000 men.

The family, is how the entire universe is run. The holy family is the government of the entire universe and beyond. Then at the other end of the spectrum, the family, the individual human family is how human children should be brought up. So it is not hard to see that the church, which is somewhere in the middle of these two extremes of power, should also be run like a family is run. For God has this one and only way of administrating everything. In fact taking this connection, this template, one step further, in a manner that lamentably no one appears able to do, we see that every country should be run like a family, not like a democracy, and the United Nations should be run like a family and not like a democracy. In a family, there is a head, the father, whereas in a true democracy there is no true head person, no physical head, there is instead a multi headed beast, a huge committee, working on popularity and status. 

So democracy is basically the kids running the family. And the electorate as a totality, behaves just like an abused woman, more like Satan's wife than the holy spirit. She responds to flattery, and forgives incessant abuse. Buy her a box of chocolates before the election and talk to her softly for hours promising her the moon and the stars and she is yours. Then, once you have got her for another term, you can start abusing her all over again and failing to keep any of your electoral promises.

Running a good administration is about getting the basics just right, no more and no less. In this imperfect world that means incessant prioritising and disregarding of lighter matters and refocussing on the basics. One of these basics is the role of women in a church. Most churches give no authority to women whatsoever. And the rest of them, such as the church of England, give them the same authority as men. But they are women, they are not men. Men cannot give birth physically and likewise women cannot give birth spiritually. Women cannot baptise anyone, they cannot be priests in that sense. 

The Hierarchical Structure of Men in the church

Here now is the hierarchical structure of men in the church. It is deduced from the following scriptures...

21 But you yourself should select out of all the people capable men, fearing God, trustworthy men, hating unjust profit, and you must set these over them as chiefs over 1,000s, chiefs over 100s, chiefs over 50s and chiefs over 10s.
22 And they must judge the people on every proper occasion; and it must occur that every big case they will bring to you, but every small case they themselves will handle as judges. So make it lighter for yourself, and they must carry the load with you (Exodus 18).

14 And Moses grew indignant at the appointed men of the combat forces, the chiefs of the 1,000s and the chiefs of the 100s who were coming in from the military expedition (Numbers 31).

48 And the appointed men who were of the thousands of the army, the chiefs of the 1,000s and the chiefs of the 100s
proceeded to approach Moses (Numbers 31).

So some chiefs of 100s operate independently from chiefs of 1,000s. This has to do with the minimum and maximum size of Christian congregations. 1,000 is the max size and this limit, when exceeded, should result in a split into 10 congregations all of 100. If you like the 1,000s are the notes and the 100s are the change.

19 So that from Jerusalem and in a circuit as far as Illyricum I have thoroughly preached the good news about the Christ (Romans 15).

23 When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. For truly I say to you, you will by no means complete the circuit of the cities of Israel until the Son of man arrives (Matthew 10).

11 Let a woman learn in silence with full submissiveness.
12 I do not permit a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over a man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 Also, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was thoroughly deceived and came to be in transgression (1 Timothy 2).

1 That statement is faithful. If any man is reaching out for an office of overseer, he is desirous of a fine work.
2 The overseer should therefore be irreprehensible, a husband of one wife [if they are married at all], moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly, hospitable, qualified to teach,
3 not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, but reasonable, not belligerent, not a lover of money,
4 a man presiding over his own household in a fine manner, having children in subjection with all seriousness.
5 If indeed any man does not know how to preside over his own household, how will he take care of God's congregation? [So much for the celibacy of Roman Catholic Priest, you need to be married to have your own household]
6 not a newly converted man, for fear that he might get puffed up [with pride] and fall into the judgment passed upon the Devil.
7 Moreover, he should also have a fine testimony from people on the outside, in order that he might not fall into reproach and a snare of the Devil [Therefore monks and those who limit interaction with the world are ineligible].
8 Ministerial servants should likewise be serious, not double-tongued, not giving themselves to a lot of wine, not greedy of dishonest gain,
9 holding the sacred secret of the faith with a clean conscience.
10 Also, let these be tested as to fitness first, then let them serve as ministers, as they are free from accusation.
11 Women should likewise be serious, not slanderous, moderate in habits, faithful in all things.
12 Let ministerial servants be husbands of one wife, presiding in a fine manner over children and their own households.
13 For the men who minister in a fine manner are acquiring for themselves a fine standing and great freeness of speech in the faith in connection with Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 3).

5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might correct the things that were defective and might make appointments of older men in city after city, as I gave you orders.
6 if there is any man free from accusation, a husband of one wife, having believing children that were not under a charge of debauchery nor unruly.
7 For an overseer must be free from accusation as God's steward, not self-willed, not prone to wrath, not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, not greedy of dishonest gain,
8 but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sound in mind, righteous, loyal, self-controlled,
9 holding firmly to the faithful word as respects his [art of] teaching, that he may be able both to exhort by the teaching that is healthful and to reprove those who contradict.
10 For there are many unruly men, profitless talkers, and deceivers of the mind, especially those men who adhere to the circumcision.
11 It is necessary to shut the mouths of these, as these very men keep on subverting entire households by teaching things they ought not for the sake of dishonest gain.
12 A certain one of them, their own prophet, said: Cretans are always liars, injurious wild beasts, unemployed gluttons.
13 This witness is true. For this very cause keep on reproving them with severity, that they may be healthy in the faith,
14 paying no attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn themselves away from the truth.
15 All things are clean to clean [persons]. But to [persons] defiled and faithless nothing is clean, but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
16 They publicly declare they know God, but they disown him by their works, because they are detestable and disobedient and not approved for good work of any sort (Titus 1).

1 You, however, keep on speaking what things are fitting for healthful teaching.
2 Let the aged men be moderate in habits, serious, sound in mind, healthy in faith, in love, in endurance.
3 Likewise let the aged women be reverent in behaviour, not slanderous, neither enslaved to a lot of wine, teachers of what is good,
4 that they may recall the young women to their senses to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be sound in mind, chaste, workers at home, good, subjecting themselves to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be spoken of abusively.
6 Likewise keep on exhorting the younger men to be sound in mind (Titus 2).

Christianizing Exodus 18 using 1Timothy 3 and Titus gives us the table below. The chiefs of Moses become the ministerial servants and the elders of Paul.

Unlike the situation in the Watchtower at present, the Ministerial Servant in the LWs is a chief over 10. He is chief over a specific 10 spiritual children who are his family. There is no rank without responsibility. Every child must have a ministerial servant. So once every ministerial servant has 10 children, the next spiritual child to be baptised is placed under a new ministerial servant who must be appointed by the congregation, which means by the head of the congregation.

The first Ministerial Servant in any congregation must be externally appointed as he is the head of the congregation until the first Elder is externally appointed. All other Ministerial Servants are internally appointed. 

Before or soon after the 5th Ministerial Servant is appointed (internally), the first elder is appointed (externally). He becomes the head of the congregation until a Presiding Overseer is appointed from the Elders.

Elders and Presiding Overseers are all external appointments to avoid nepotism and in accordance with Titus. Ministerial Servants can sit on judicial committees, but these are not democratic. The highest ranking Elder on the committee makes the final decision, everyone else is his advisor, subject to his persuading one other committee member in cases of low importance and 2 others in cases of high importance, so that when 2 or 3 are in agreement that matter is established. An elder should not look after more than 10 ministerial servants. Once an Elder has 10 ministerial servants, another Elder is externally appointed and they split the servants 5 each, until a congregation has 10 Elders. No Presiding overseer can manage more than 10 elders. If the Presiding Overseer cannot manage all the Elders underneath him and all the Ministerial Servants underneath his Eldership then he must be helped to do so or he must resign and another Elder must be externally appointed..

Now that we have the proper understanding of the role of the Ministerial Servant, namely to look after a family of 10 children, we realise that he is the head of a single parent family! It is a family with a father but with no mother - Woops. This is not how God runs things. Every physical child has a right to a father and a mother, and so does every spiritual child. So plainly we need women Ministerial Servants too!

In fact in 1 Timothy 3, we have the criteria for elders, and ministerial servants and for 'women'. But no criteria for men who are not overseers! Why are we being given criteria for women in a chapter that is exclusively about overseers as regards men? Furthermore why is the criteria for male ministerial servants split into two parts, which parts are separated by some criteria for women? Well the answer is that women are also to be ministerial servants. The proof of this is that if you consider all the criteria in 1 Timothy 3 and in Titus that 'old women' and women should obey, they have to obey everything that male ministerial servants obey (other than headship conditions).

8 Ministerial servants should likewise be serious, not double-tongued, not giving themselves to a lot of wine, not greedy of dishonest gain,
9 holding the sacred secret of the faith with a clean conscience.
10 Also, let these be tested as to fitness first, then let them serve as ministers, as they are free from accusation.
11 Women should likewise be serious, not slanderous, moderate in habits (so not greedy), faithful in all things (so not double tongued).
12 Let ministerial servants be husbands of one wife, presiding in a fine manner over children and their own households (1 Timothy 3).

3 Likewise let the aged/elder women be reverent in behaviour, not slanderous, neither enslaved to a lot of wine, teachers of what is good,
4 that they may recall the young women to their senses to love their husbands, to love their children [physical and spiritual, husbands and children],
5 to be sound in mind, chaste, workers at home, good, subjecting themselves to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be spoken of abusively (Titus 2).

Further proof comes from Paul's words about Phoebe...

1 I recommend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a minister of the congregation that is in Cenchreae,
2 that you may welcome her in [the] Lord in a way worthy of the holy ones, and that you may assist her in any matter where she may need you, for she herself also proved to be a defender of many, yes, of me myself (Romans 16).

This could just mean that Phoebe ministered to the congregation from her belongings as did the women who accompanied Jesus on his ministry. But it could also mean that she was a ministerial servant to that congregation.

Now Paul says that he does not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. But he then says that women should teach young women. Hence one can deduce that they should also exercise authority over women, and so they should have authority in the church. They have the authority of a mother of 10 in the case of a female Ministerial Servant and the authority of a Grandmother in the case of a Female Elder. Ministerial Servants and Elders have a singular female wife whom they choose themselves subject to the woman agreeing and subject to the conditions of Timothy and Titus. Presiding Overseers have a body of Elders for a composite wife, and they have the wife they picked up when they were first appointed as ministerial servants. The Governing Body of a congregation should have aim to have 10 Elders at most and certainly  no more than 12 male Elders (in addition to the Presiding Overseer) following after the model of the apostles.

Let us be very clear about all of this. A male ministerial servant and his female ministerial servant aim to have a family of up to 10 brothers and up to 10 sisters (max is 12 of each). These are their rather short term family. This arrangement is independent of who baptised whom. Baptism genealogy does not come into this family arrangement. Then when one of the 10 brothers himself becomes a ministerial servant and finds a pastoral wife, they both leave their families and start their own family. Then 10 brothers and 10 sisters can be given into their care.  

Their original families can now look after a new child each. If a ministerial servant with a family of 10 brothers is promoted to be an elder, then as an elder he is running a family of 10 brothers and he has a body of ministerial servants underneath him as the governing body of his eldership. Women are only ever appointed as ministerial servants. Hence Paul does not describe any criteria for female elders. The men must satisfy those criteria and their pastoral wives go with them.

So the family stays together until male or female ministerial servants are promoted out of it.

Ideally, a new believer would study with one brother for a few weeks and then be baptised by that brother and then join his family. That is join the family that his teacher is himself in (so long as that family has room). But this will not always be the case. We could make a rule that any family can be stretched to 12 sons and 12 daughters short term. But the aim is to keep is to 10. That might help..  . 

Pastoral wives of Elders are not female Elders. There is no such appointment. They are ministerial servants who are partners to a male Elder. .A judicial committee to discuss the sins of a woman cannot therefore consist entirely of women, since it must contain at least one Elder. A judicial committee to discuss the sins of a man could contain women, for we must obey the law of our mother. But since women cannot directly exercise authority over a man, there would need to be a male head to the judicial committee who made the final decision in the case of a man, on the advice of the other members of the committee

12 Let ministerial servants be husbands of one wife, presiding in a fine manner over children and their own households [i.e. their children] (1 Timothy 3 NWT).

So they must preside in a fine manner of their children and over their children. These being both their physical children and their pastoral children. So a man who is physically married cannot have a different congregational marriage. In fact he can only become a MS if his wife is in the church and eligible and willing to become a MS. AHA !!

If a couple is married spiritually and the man goes off and becomes married physically, then he must divorce his spiritual wife before he marries his physical wife. He keeps his spiritual children if his new physical wife is an MS and she loses her spiritual children and her spiritual husband remarries. If his physical wife is not yet an MS but is eligible then she is made into an MS and he keeps his children. If his new wife is either ineligible to be an MS or not in the church at all, then he loses his spiritual children to his spiritual ex wife who remarries. The physical marriage takes precedence over the spiritual marriage. And the husband owns the children. So the first claim upon the spiritual kids is the husband's and the second claim is the wife's.

If a couple is married spiritually and the woman goes off and becomes married physically, then she must divorce her spiritual husband as no woman can have two heads. She loses her spiritual children and her ex spiritual husband finds another MS to become their step mother.

For the wise man Solomon said:

8 Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother [this applies to any family including a congregation - which is a pastoral family rather than a baptism family or a genetic family] (Proverbs 1).
20 Observe, O my son, the commandment of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother (Proverbs 6).

So all the men in authority as a group are the father of the LWs and all the women in authority as a group are the mother of the LWs. But of course the father has more authority than the mother. But of course the work of the mother is precisely as important as the work of the father. And these two composite parents are married to each other. 

The pastoral husband and wife are not in a permanent pairing. They are in a temporary pairing for as long as both parties wish to continue that pairing. And now, for the first time in the history of any church as far as we are aware, the whole congregation does not consist of bastards! Everyone has two parents, both a father and a mother, as it should be.

Pastoral Wives and Physical Wives

A ministerial servant of the church cannot have two wives. So he does have to choose his physical wife to be his pastoral wife if she is in the church. If his wife is not in the church or does not meet the criteria to be a ministerial servant then he cannot himself be a ministerial servant. Each man can have one wife and two sets of kids, one physical and one spiritual. But no man should have a pastoral wife and a different physical wife. 

Single brothers, please do not pick the sexiest sister to be your pastoral wife. Pick the girl who will be the best for your 10 spiritual children period. If you fancy or better still love an unmarried sister then go our with her, do not make her your pastoral wife.

So the whole hierarchical structure now looks like this...

Even in the law women had a role at the temple...

8 Then he made the basin of copper and its stand of copper, by the use of the mirrors of the women servants who did organized service at the entrance of the tent of meeting (Exodus 38).

This would have been a hospitality or reception type service. So just like in a large company or government department, brothers should be received at first by women into any meeting tent! These women do not have any special authority and so can be any sister willing to show hospitality to the congregation. So now we can perhaps understand these words of Paul

11 Besides, in [the] Lord neither is woman apart from man nor man apart from woman.(1 Corinthians 11 - LWT)

In the church men and women work together as a pair. They are not separated. They act as spiritual foster parents to groups of around 10 male and 10 female children. Even the President of the Lords Witnesses runs a family of around 10 brothers and 10 sisters in his local congregation with his pastoral wife. So that the top understands what is going on at the bottom. The pastoral wife of of an Elder is the mother of the pastoral children. She is not a female elder. She is a ministerial servant. She is not the elders personal assistant. She is the pastoral mother of the kids.

Choosing Elders

Now when elders are picked there are these three things to be considered:

[1]    The criteria of Timothy and Titus

[2]    Physical age and Spiritual age

[3]    Representativeness with respect to the congregation. The body of elders should not be chosen so as to represent the cultures of the congregation, the ages of the congregation, the backgrounds of the congregation, the different social standings of the people within the congregation etc. There is to be no form of positive or negative discrimination on racial, socioeconomic, or status grounds in these appointments. 

All the apostles were Jews, in fact they were all Jews from Galilee except Judas Iscariot who was from Kerioth in Judah (if Iscariot means man of Kerioth).. In Acts 2, we see that all 120 in the upper room at Pentecost were Galileans. So from a Christian standpoint, a mainly black congregation could have entirely white elders and a mainly white congregation could have entirely black elders. Christianity must transcend all divisions of power wealth status race, class, etc. If not then we are in trouble. The LWs are not politically correct. We aim to be theocratically correct period. We must be truly blind to race and position. 

When a woman does have authority over a man's body!

2 yet, because of prevalence of fornication let each man have his own wife and each woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render to [his] wife her due; but let the wife also do likewise to [her] husband.
4 The wife does not exercise authority over her own body, but her husband does, likewise, also, the husband does not exercise authority over his own body, but his wife does (1 Corinthians 7).

So in respect of the physical priesthood of the woman over physical life, she carries the baby, but she is still one flesh with the husband who is her head. So they both have to agree to have a kid. However Jesus has already advised against having kids during the Great Tribulation...

19 Woe to the pregnant women and those suckling a baby in those days! (Matthew 24).

Now the word symbolic meaning of the mutual authority over each other's body is equally fascinating. For the husband is equivalent to the presiding overseer and the wife is equivalent to the body of elders of the congregation. Obviously the Presiding Overseer exercises authority over the body of elders. But the body of elders exercises authority over the body of the Presiding Overseer. In other words they can judge him in the flesh. So they can disfellowship him. But who would be the head of the judicial committee? Presumably the most senior elder other than the Presiding Overseer. Also the governing body can disfellowship Gordon. But the Presiding overseer can appeal to the Circuit Servant and Gordon can appeal to 'Jesus', by reference to scripture. That would appear to be the only way he could do it. But Gordon and the Presiding Overseer should be subject to the law that they judge others with, just as God is. The most senior apostle would run the judicial hearing for Gordon. We should not sit in judgment of people under a law that we ourselves are not under. That would by hypocrisy.

Shut it!

Paul gives detailed instructions on how to run a full congregation meeting in 1 Corinthians 14. He states that his advice is Jesus' commandment.

26 What is to be done, then, brothers? When you come together, one has a psalm, another has a teaching, another has a revelation, another has a tongue, another has an interpretation. Let all things take place for upbuilding.
27 And if someone speaks in a tongue, let it be limited to 2 or 3 at the most, and in turns; and let someone translate.
28 But if there be no translator, let him keep silent in the congregation and speak to himself and to God.
29 Further, let 2 or 3 prophets speak, and let the others discern the meaning.
30 But if there is a revelation to another one while sitting there, let the first one keep silent.
31 For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all be encouraged.
32 And [gifts of] the spirit of the prophets are to be controlled by the prophets.
33 For God is [a God], not of disorder, but of peace. As in all the congregations of the holy ones,
34 let the women keep silent in the congregations, for it is not permitted for them to speak, but let them be in subjection, even as the Law says.
35 If, then, they want to learn something, let them question their own husbands at home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in a congregation.
36 What? Was it from you that the word of God came forth, or was it only as far as you that it reached?
37 If anyone thinks he is a prophet or gifted with the spirit, let him acknowledge the things I am writing to you, because they are the Lord's commandment.
38 But if anyone is ignorant, he continues ignorant.
39 Consequently, my brothers, keep zealously seeking the prophesying, and yet do not forbid the speaking in tongues.
40 But let all things take place decently and by arrangement. (1 Corinthians 14 NWT)

11 Let a woman learn in silence with full submissiveness.
12 I do not permit a woman to teach, or to exercise authority over
a man, but to be in silence.
13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve.
14 Also, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was thoroughly
deceived and came to be in transgression (1 Timothy 2).

The result of Paul's advice is that during a full congregation meeting, women are not permitted to say anything at all during the teaching part of the meeting. They cannot speak to the entire congregation. They can of course speak to individual members of the congregation. So if a woman hears any man speaking in the congregation, making a mistake, she cannot herself bring that mistake up. she must go speak privately to a man in the congregation and he must decide whether or not to bring the matter up.. Women must not do anything to lead the congregation. For Women are not permitted to teach men. 

However, we know that Joel and Peter have said...

28 And after that it must occur that I shall pour out my spirit on every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will
certainly prophesy. As for your old men, dreams they will dream. As for your young men, visions they will see (Joel 2).

17 And in the last days, God says, I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams (Acts 2).

So women will prophesy. And Paul says let 2 or 3 prophets speak. So if a women is a prophet Paul instructs her both to speak and to shut up. 

Our present idea to fix this is that women must keep silent during a full congregation meeting except during a research part of that meeting. During the research part of the meeting, women can speak since they too are prophets.

God and the 24 Elders on the 24 thrones

All of God's administrative structures are fractal. They all contain the same fundamental pattern. We know that there are 12 1NC apostles and we know that there are to be 12 2NC apostles and there were 12 sons of Jacob etc..

So there are 12 elders (apostles) who head up the 3rd Holy Spirit (the 1NC Kings) and there will be 12 elders (apostles) heading up the 2nd Holy Spirit. That makes 24 elders running the two wives of the two Gods.

4 And round about the throne [there are] 24 thrones, and upon these thrones [I saw] seated 24 elders dressed in white outer garments, and upon their heads golden crowns. (Revelation 4 NWT)

28 Jesus said to them: Truly I say to you, In the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down upon his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also yourselves sit upon 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. (Matthew 19 NWT)

So 24 elders means two Holy Spirits, two wives, one for Jehovah and one for Jesus,