Chuck Smith’s Position on Ordaining Women as Pastors

Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, did not believe women should be ordained to serve as senior pastors or occupy the governing pastoral office over a congregation of men and women. He understood 1 Timothy 2:11–15, together with 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus 1:5–9, as establishing a biblical distinction between the ministries women may exercise and the pastoral authority entrusted to qualified men.

Chuck also did not believe that women were prohibited from teaching Scripture, evangelizing, discipling believers, leading women’s ministries, or exercising spiritual gifts. The distinction was between women participating in ministry and women occupying the authoritative office of pastor or elder over the congregation.

This was not merely a theoretical position. It influenced how Chuck structured ministry and pastoral leadership at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.

The Following Was My Personal Response To Char Brodersen’s Announcement:

Chuck’s Own Words Reveal An Important Qualification

Chuck Smith’s actual teaching on 1 Timothy 2:11–12: PRIMARY SOURCE — THROUGH THE BIBLE, 1 TIMOTHY 1–2

Chuck interpreted Paul’s prohibition as applying to spiritual teaching and authority over men. He distinguished that restriction from the many legitimate opportunities women have to minister.

In the recorded exposition, Chuck stated:

“The only thing that is prohibited here is the teaching of men and usurping authority over them in spiritual things.”

He also said:

“He is not prohibiting a woman sharing with men.”

There is a relevant statement from Chuck himself, preserved in a December 2025 letter by his son-in-law, Pastor Brian Brodersen. Brian reproduced Chuck’s answer to a question about women pastors on the radio program Pastor’s Perspective.

Chuck spoke approvingly of a sister-in-law who had pastored a church for years. He said she had been more effective than many male pastors he knew, that people had been saved and nurtured through her ministry, and that God had used her. Chuck then explained that sometimes men are unwilling to serve, and a woman steps into the ministry.

His conclusion was that he would leave the judgment of such circumstances to God.

This is a significant qualification to the traditional Calvary Chapel position. Chuck could maintain that male pastoral leadership was the biblical pattern while also recognizing that God had used women serving as pastors in other churches. He did not treat every disagreement about pastoral roles as grounds for condemning another Christian’s ministry.

That does not establish that Chuck approved ordaining women as senior pastors at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. His comments addressed the legitimacy and fruitfulness of ministry in other circumstances, not a formal change in his own church’s ordination policy.

How This Relates to Calvary Chapel’s Historic Ordination Practice

The Calvary Chapel Association’s published philosophy, in its section Male Leadership in the Pulpit, states that pastoral authority and doctrinal teaching leadership belong to qualified men. It specifically connects this position to 1 Timothy 1–3. That is consistent with the pastoral leadership structure Chuck established.

Why this question has become particularly important in November 2026

On November 1, 2026, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa publicly affirmed its practice of ordaining both men and women to pastoral ministry. Chuck’s grandson, Char Brodersen, presented the statement. The church described its position as recognizing the priesthood of believers and the gifts given by the Holy Spirit to both sexes.

The announcement has prompted objections from Calvary Chapel Association pastors who believe Costa Mesa is departing from the biblical convictions Chuck taught and modeled. There is also an important distinction concerning the precise office involved.

In a December 2025 letter, Brian Brodersen stated that Calvary Global Network permitted women to hold pastoral titles and teach under the oversight of senior pastors or elders, but did not ordain women to the senior pastor role.

Consequently, some view the term ordination of women pastors as requiring clarification. Ordaining a woman to a ministry role under male elder oversight is not necessarily the same policy as appointing a woman as the senior governing pastor of a congregation.

What Was Chuck’s Actual Position?

The historical evidence supports three conclusions:

1. Chuck maintained male pastoral leadership as the ordinary biblical pattern, consistent with his understanding of 1 Timothy 2–3.

2. He encouraged substantial ministry by women, including biblical instruction and spiritual exhortation, without treating all teaching as equivalent to exercising pastoral authority.

3. He acknowledged that God had used women who pastored churches, and he was unwilling to condemn every such ministry simply because its leadership arrangement differed from his own convictions.

The evidence does not establish that Chuck would have endorsed Costa Mesa’s November 2026 decision.

The most precise distinction is between Chuck’s conviction about the biblical pattern for church government and his gracious treatment of Christians who differed with him. For documentation, the most useful primary-source material is Brian Brodersen’s letter containing Chuck’s recorded remarks: Dear Pastor and Church Leaders — December 2025.

My conclusion is that Chuck would have wanted the question settled by a careful interpretation of Scripture, particularly 1 Timothy 2:12–14 and 3:1–7, while maintaining grace toward those who reached a different conclusion. That final assessment is an inference from his documented teaching, not a quotation or a claim to know how he would have responded to the recent announcement.

What Chuck would not have wanted is a Church Split that is now taking place.

Why Is The Decision of Char Brodersen of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa Concerning to Calvary Chapel Pastors?

With the global infusion of the Progressive Christian Church that denies the historical teaching of the Bible, verse by verse, the concern is that the ordination of women, a current practice of Progressive Christianity, this change by Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa will be the beginning of further Progressive Christian Doctrine permeating the Calvary Chapel Church Movement.

What Chuck wrote in “Calvary Chapel Distinctives”

PRIMARY SOURCE — CHAPTER 2, “CHURCH GOVERNMENT”

In his book, Chuck describes the government of the church as a theocracy under Jesus Christ, with the pastor leading the congregation and a board of elders assisting him.

He writes:

“As pastors, we need to be like Moses, in touch with Jesus and receiving His direction and guidance.”

He also describes the appointment of elders as a matter requiring spiritual discernment, prayer, and the recognition of God’s calling.

His instructions consistently describe pastors and elders as men. The importance of this passage is that Chuck was not merely discussing whether a woman could occasionally address a congregation. He was describing the actual structure of pastoral government he believed should operate in Calvary Chapel churches.

See The Essay: Understanding 1 Timothy 2:11–15: Why Did Paul Prohibit Women From Teaching Men?

A Humorous Illustration by Chuck Smith Regarding Spiritual Authority

(Chuck Smith) “Jesus had a real problem with the Gentiles who loved their authority. But Jesus said, “It shall not be among you. Whosoever would be the chief among you, let him become the servant of all.”

And so Jesus put down this bit of wanting authority, wanting prestige, wanting people to look up to you, wanting to have a position over people, lording it over people. Jesus said no, it shouldn’t be.

I heard the Pope, when he arrived in New York, was late for the appointment, and the limo picked him up, and they were trying to get through the New York traffic, and he felt the driver was just not making good time, and he kept saying, ‘Can you hurry? 
I’m late for this appointment. They’re gonna be thousands of people waiting for me. Now hurry.’

And finally, the limo driver got so frustrated, he said, ‘Would you like to drive?’ And the Pope said, ‘Sure.’ And so he got out and got into the driver’s seat, and he was racing as best he could through the streets of New York, with a chauffeur sitting in the back.

A police officer saw him weaving into traffic and pulled him over. And when he walked up and said, May I see your license? He said, ‘I’m the pope,’ you know? 
And he had his royal vestments on, and the police went over to his motorcycle. They called in. He said, ‘I’ve got a real problem here. He said, I’ve got someone who’s really important. I just pulled over. 
And I don’t know what to do.’

‘This guy’s really important.’ He said. The dispatcher said, ‘Well, well, really important? 
How important?’ ‘Really important.’ ‘Is he more important than Billy Graham? 
Yes, more importantly, more important than Bill Clinton? Yes, it’s more important than Bill Clinton. Well, who is it?’

He said, Well, I really don’t know, but he’s got the Pope as a chauffeur.”

Sources and Citations

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson