Dear Joe,

but I think you grant my point. You allow a woman to apportion coffee under the oversight of a male deacon. I allow a woman deacon to function under the oversight of a male elder.

In any case I think we disagree about the meaning of authority in the Timothy verse. It is authority over men that is in view, not the simple exercise of authority.

In any case your missions example is moot in the church I serve since it is a congregational church and all expenditures are approved by the congregation as a whole.

In any case your point in your previous post was that authority in the church delegated from a male officer was authority nonetheless and was forbidden to women. I was simply pointing our that your notion of delegated authority as unbiblical for women was too broad and my coffee example was a reductio ad absurdam to show this point. I wasn't suggestion that we call a coffee portioner a deaconess, merely that subordinate authority to act is not an authority falling within Paul's prohibition. This is true even though the decision of the woman making coffee determines the strength of the coffee men drink in the church.

Hope this helps!

James.