The Biblical Role of the Pastor's wife - South African Theological ...

CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1. The Research Problem
1.1.1. Background to the Problem
White (1986:23) said “the pastor’s wife is the only woman I know who
is asked to work full-time without pay on her husband’s job, in a role no one
has yet defined”. Dobson (2004:20) completed a study on the role of the
pastor’s wife in the United States of America during the 1990’s through a
survey and found differences regarding the perceived role depending on the
size of the local church.
Although some in-depth study in the USA has occurred regarding the
role of the pastor’s wife there is very little study available in defining or
establishing the role of the pastor’s wife from an African or South African
perspective. Swart (2003) in her Masters thesis discussed the experiences of
fifteen wives married to clergyman within the Dutch Reformed church in South
Africa. She identified ways in which her life and others had been influenced as
a result of being married to clergyman and presented ways in which others
can care for and support such women.
Often those men called to pastoral ministry are already married. Those
wives may have married engineers, lawyers or businessmen, never
anticipating a call into full-time ministry. While a wife may be responsible for
household chores or raising the children or may even be in full-time
employment, she has certain expectations placed on her as the wife of a
pastor.
The role of the pastor’s wife has often been shaped by an evangelical
mindset of a legalistic and traditional view. A preliminary study of the pastor’s
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