In Honor of Aunt Ruth

By Bishop Matt Whitehead

Each summer when I was in junior high and early high school, I spent a week in Pennsylvania with my dad’s aunt, Ruth Whitehead. Aunt Ruth pastored four Free Methodist churches with her co-laborer, Rev. Sue Jackson, in the Oil City (now Keystone) Conference. Prior to her ministry in Pennsylvania, Ruth and her sister, Grace, were missionaries in the Kentucky mountains.

Aunt Ruth had the reputation of being a gifted preacher, pastor, and leader but she lacked one thing. She could not be an elder in the Free Methodist Church.

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“It was clear this was the source of some heartache for her.”

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Aunt Ruth passed away in 1974, the same year that the General Conference made the decision to ordain women as elders in the Free Methodist Church. In the final years of her life, my dad, Rev. Leslie Whitehead, had a conversation with her about never being ordained elder. It was clear this was the source of some heartache for her. She told the story of being in prayer and pouring her heart out to the Lord about a church that would allow her to be a missionary and pastor but would not ordain her as an elder. In that moment, she sensed God speaking to her the words of Jesus, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit — fruit that will last — and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you” (John 15:16). In that moment, God confirmed not only her call to ministry but her value as a servant in God’s kingdom.

Even though the Free Methodist Church didn’t fully ordain women until 1974, women have had key roles in our denomination since the beginning. Women were appointed as evangelists, missionaries, local preachers, and deacons. The Keystone Conference (where Aunt Ruth ministered) is 125 years old this year and has never had a single year without women being appointed.

We know the passion of our founder, B.T. Roberts, for the full inclusion and ordination of women. His book, “Ordaining Women,” published in 1891, lays out a biblical and reasoned case as to why women should be ordained. But, early in the history of our movement, some leaders renounced this key value, which set us back for generations. This created a male-oriented environment that not only curtailed the use of all the gifts available but also robbed the church of being able to benefit from the full contribution of both men and women.

In the Distinctive Principles section of our Book of Discipline, we declare our unqualified support for women in ministry:

“Free Methodists recognize that God gives spiritual gifts of service and leadership to both men and women. Since male and female are both created in the image of God, that image is most fully reflected when both women and men work in concert at all levels of the church. Therefore, all positions in the church are accessible to any whom God has called.”

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“Why is it that we passionately hold to this theological position and see it as foundational to what it means to be Free Methodist?”

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As with previous Boards of Bishops, Bishop Linda Adams, Bishop Keith Cowart, and I want to take this opportunity to lift this important aspect of what it means to be Free Methodist. We believe in the full empowerment and leadership of women in the Free Methodist Church. This is not a debatable issue in our denomination. Why is it that we passionately hold to this theological position and see it as foundational to what it means to be Free Methodist?

Our Wesleyan Family Believes It

The members of our theological family have weighed these issues carefully and have come to the same conclusion we have: God calls both women and men to serve at all levels of leadership in the church. We join our sister Wesleyan evangelical denominations in the full inclusion of women at every level of the church. The Church of the Nazarene, Wesleyan Church, Church of God (Anderson), and Salvation Army — to name just a few — embrace this understanding as well.

Scripture Confirms It

The Scriptures do not prohibit women from leadership in the church. The two passages from Paul (1 Corinthians 14:33–34 and 1 Timothy 2:11–12) most often quoted by opponents to the leadership of women in the church — understood in their historical and cultural context — do not prohibit women from leadership in the church.

I highly recommend Bishop Emeritus David Kendall’s excellent article, “A Biblical Case for Women in Ministry Leadership,” for those desiring a deeper understanding of the biblical texts and the role of women. This statement from Bishop Kendall’s article eloquently summarizes the FMC perspective:

“I have had people tell me they just cannot ‘get past’ what Paul says in these two passages. For my part, and the understanding of the FMC, we cannot get past what the whole story seems to suggest, namely, that the limitations on women in human history are mostly the result of sin and its brokenness, that in the beginning God created the man and woman as co-stewards and co-trustees of the world He created, that sin messed up these and all other relationships resulting in horrendous woe and evil — not least on women at the hands of men who lord it over and abuse them, and that redemption in Christ Jesus undoes this sin and its damage.”

Experience Proves It

Seeing gifted women minister and lead is another real-time example that God has poured His Spirit on all flesh. Serving on ministry teams with both women and men has not only been a privilege, but I’ve seen that we’ve accomplished so much more than a single gender team could achieve.

B.T. Roberts implores both women and men to work together for the expansion of God’s kingdom while reminding men of not circumventing God’s call. “Men had better busy themselves in building up the temple of God, instead of employing their time in pushing from the scaffold their sisters, who are both able and willing to work with them side by side” (Ordaining Women).

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“We attest that the Board of Bishops is better and stronger because we have both female and male voices at the leadership table of the Free Methodist Church.”

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Being a part of this Board of Bishops with Bishop Linda Adams has been incredibly rewarding. Bishop Adams is a gifted, wise, and discerning leader. We attest that the Board of Bishops is better and stronger because we have both female and male voices at the leadership table of the Free Methodist Church.

Proclamation Demands It

The gospel is too precious, and eternity is too great to exclude half the population simply because they are female. Mary Magdalene has been called the first apostle because Jesus told her to go and tell the disciples that Jesus was alive:

Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (John 20:17-18)

Pastor Rick Warren, founder of Saddleback Church and author of “The Purpose Driven Life,” recently issued a proclamation and an apology to women because of his past opposition to the ordination of women. In his remarkable statement, Warren wrote:

“I PUBLICLY APOLOGIZE to every good woman in my life, church, and ministry that I failed to speak up for in my years of ignorance. What grieves me is that I hindered them in obeying the Great Commission command (And Acts 2:17-18) that EVERYONE is to TEACH in the church. I held them back from using the spiritual gifts and leadership skills that the Holy Spirit had sovereignly placed in them. That breaks my heart now, and I am truly repentant and sorry for my sin. I wish I could do it all over. Christian women, will you please forgive me?”

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“God confirmed her call and reminded her that she was chosen by God.“

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I don’t believe that anyone ever apologized to my Aunt Ruth that the Free Methodist Church was willing to use her incredible giftedness but not willing to ordain her as an elder. Thankfully, God confirmed her call and reminded her that she was chosen by God.

We must continue to proclaim this foundational value of the equal role of women in our church. We will encourage young women and girls that God is actively calling both women and men into God’s service. May God help us to be faithful to the Aunt Ruths of our day and the passion of our Free Methodist founders.

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