Can Divorcees (or Women) Teach?

Question: "I have questions about divorced leaders teaching the youth. I have objections about this practice based on Biblical understanding of how God hates divorce, the marriage relationship being symbolic of the relationship of Jesus and the Church, very specific Scriptures that state re-marriage is an act of adultery, and the Biblical qualifications of an elder. Does the ministry remove this person from their position?"

This is not a complete study. These verses respond to the issue whether a divorced person (or a woman) can teach.

As an individual believer, I also see divorce as breaking God's image of the family, and yet, under certain circumstances, beyond the control of the believer, a divorce can occur without penalty to the believer's role in the church. One is infidelity (Jesus says so in Matthew 5:32) and the other is Paul's policy I Cor.7 that if an unbelieving spouse leaves the believing spouse without cause, the believer should let him/her go. In these two cases, the divorced believer is upheld by Jesus and Paul without reproach (I Cor. 7:15)

Such blameless individuals thus may hold church positions. If Paul were here, he would also say, if at all possible, follow God within whatever state you happen to be when you become a believer (I. Cor. 7:20)

I and II Timothy refers to the qualifications for a Bishop and Elders and Deacons ... these were not to be polygamous (like the Greeks and pagans) ... hence, one wife. The implication is that the leader had ONLY been married once, but the verses do not explicitly state no prior divorce. Churches, including myself, rightly read into that text that a divorced man was unable to run a small household, how could he thus shepherd a larger community? But Paul only says to be husband of one wife for those positions.

The rest of the roles in the church do not have such requirements because, as Paul says, many of us came from a pagan background with a sinful lifestyle before becoming a believer. He reminds his flock when he lists the sins saying "and such were some of you", but "now you are washed clean". (I Cor. 6:11). That is, no one could ever be a church leader if their pre-Christian sins were a criteria. Paul comes down hard upon those after believing, who then use their freedom for libertine activity, up to and including removal.

Paul calls Teachers to account when they do not practice what they teach. Jesus did the same with the Pharisees and "Teachers of the Law".

Some churches combine the pastor-teacher role as a single role ... and therefore extend the criteria for a Bishop/Elder/Deacon to the teachers too. Some churches only allow their deacons to teach (which is explicitly contrary to scripture), and thus hold the teachers to the criteria of the deacons. Still others, use I Timothy 5:17 to show that while some elders can also teach, all teachers must be elders .. and therefore held to the criteria of an elder applies to the teacher.

Some churches do not allow women to teach (at all) ... based upon 1 Tim.2:12 ... including in home schools, if they were consistent with their doctrine. Some churches limit women teachers to just teaching younger women/girls also based on Titus 2:4. Others, allow women in leadership if they are under the leadership of a man ("not usurping"). And then, you have Priscilla (with her husband) in Acts 18:26 and Romans 16:3. I add this paragraph into the discussion about divorce because earnest Christians have different strongly held interpretations about who may teach. It is one reason we have 3000+ denominations, and each of them claim the "right" interpretation about teachers.

We should pray for strong temptation-resistant marriages for our leaders at all levels within the church. Satan is attacking the church exactly at this point. He gets a man pumped up against adultery, and then brings that man down into adultery himself (Romans 2:22) and God's name, plus the institution of marriage, is blasphemed among the unbelievers (Romans 2:24).

Divorce should never happen in any Christian family, but it does in 50% of the marriages, and I see it especially occur after kids reach their teen years. Year # 19 was a dangerous one as our teens played us off one another. We are now in year # 33. Only by facing the facts head on did we get through that rocky year. We were so proud that we had made it to year # 18 and that the typical marriage-breakers were long behind us. None of the marriage books warned us about year # 19 and we had let our guard down ... just coasting into the jaws of disaster. Couples get too angry to admit defeat right when they need the church more than ever to pull them past the rocks. The problem is that I keep hearing about a divorce AFTER it occurs. It could have happened to us.

In summary, divorce is brokenness. Divorce is an epidemic in the world (one systemic problem among many). Jesus himself railed against "no-fault" divorce of his day. He would do the same today. Leaders should model working marriages under God's power (versus under their own strength). Those that flaunt their divorce, or were to be blamed but claim it was no big deal, should relinquish their posts. For the penitent ones (and there are a few), each denomination or agency must evaluate and decide those individual cases.