Authority of Women

I came across a recent post on a discussion forum stating that women can obviously not serve as pastors because they are forbidden from holding authority over men.... I replied:

If a women being gifted and called to serve as a pastor becomes a side issue to some "authority hierarchy", we are saying that the legalistic view of authority vetoes or trumps the work of God and the Holy Spirit. Does God call some people into forbidden callings? If no, then there is nothing to worry about. If yes, then I would rather let God decide than someone trying to defend some questionable legalism.

If women are forbidden from instructing men from a position of authority what happens to a mother's authority over male children? Is it less than her female children? Does a mother have less authority over her 18 year old boy compared to his twin sister? Can women be teachers at all? How about professors? Should all men refuse to acknowledge the authority of their women managers? How does stifling the potential of half the population show that we love unconditionally?

Maybe we should look at being imitators of Christ rather than merely occasional followers. Jesus refused all earthly authority, choosing instead always the role of the suffering servant. I believe we would be well served to use this as our Christian model of authority as we could use more servant hearts and attitudes.