Question: Dear Mr. McLemore, I think homosexuals and women should be ordained to the ministry like anyone else. What is your view?

Answer: A Christian may experience homosexual urges without giving in to temptation and committing sin (see James 1:13-16), but can a Christian willfully practice homosexuality and be pleasing to God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)? One might as well say, "I think idolaters, thieves, greedy persons, drunkards, revilers, and robbers should be ministers." Some Christians had been guilty of (but were no longer practicing) such sins. No longer practicing them meant resisting strong urges. No one committing such acts willfully and as a way of life could be a minister. As for women preachers, there is simply no scriptural authority for it. For women to be preachers violates several clear directives which are based upon firmly established principles and precedents (1 Corinthians 14:33b-35; 1 Timothy 2:8-15). Ministry means service, and there are many ways women may serve besides being preachers. (See Titus 2:3-5).