Who should read the Scriptures in a church service? This was a controversy which arose in the church I served as an elder in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Is this a duty which is limited to the pastor? The elders? Laymen? Women as well? Lanier looks at the relevant Scriptures (1 Timothy 4.13, 1 Corinthians 14.26-37, 1 Timothy 2.11-14) and testimony of the early church.
In 1 Timothy 4.13 Timothy is to "provide for" the reading of the Scriptures. This does not indicate that Timothy is the one who must do all the reading. It indicates that someone is to be in charge of making sure it happens.
Justin Martyr indicates that there is a reader to proclaim the Word of God, as well as a pastor who would instruct and exhort. This was apparently a quite common situation by the beginning of the third century with Tertullian.
According to 1 Corinthians 14.26-37 it seems quite clear that people other than the pastor would be involved in bringing psalms, teachings, revelations, tongues, and interpretations. These activities were not restricted to the pastoral office. That is clear. It appears also from this passage that women were not to be involved in the theological discussion and bringing the psalms, teachings, etc. Lanier indicates that 1 Corinthians 11.3 indicates women praying and prophesying in a non-congregational setting. This would appear to be very consistent with 1 Timothy 2.11-14 where the woman is not to instruct or hold authority over a man.
Nobody is going to say that women are not perfectly capable of reading aloud, or even explaining theological concepts. Yet we see that the Scripture does place limitations on the roles of men and women in the setting of a corporate worship service. As far as the reading of Scripture is concerned, it should be done by men, both pastors and responsible lay men, who can be relied upon not to bring distortion into what the Spirit would say to his Church through the Scripture.
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