The Church is Stronger When Women Lead

A Recent Grief
In recent days, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to move forward with a constitutional amendment that would further restrict women from serving as pastors, elders, overseers, or preaching to the gathered congregation. The amendment still requires another vote next year before it would become part of the SBC Constitution, but the direction is clear enough. A large part of the American church is choosing to draw a firmer line against women serving in pastoral leadership.

That news grieved me. Not because I am interested in denominational scorekeeping. Not because I think United Methodists have always gotten everything right. And not because I believe everyone who disagrees with me is acting in bad faith.

It grieved me because I have seen too much evidence of God’s calling, gifting, and fruitfulness in the lives and ministries of women to believe the church is healthier when those gifts are restrained.

A Cradle Methodist Perspective
I should say from the beginning that I come to this conversation as a “cradle Methodist.” I was raised in a tradition where women preached, taught, pastored, administered the sacraments, led congregations, and served as faithful shepherds of God’s people. Because of that, women’s leadership in the church was never a deeply conflicted issue for me personally. I did not have to unlearn a tradition that told me women could not preach or pastor. I grew up seeing women serve in ministry, and I learned to receive their leadership as a gift to the church.

This year our Methodist tradition is also marking an important anniversary. Seventy years ago, in 1956, the Methodist Church granted full clergy rights to women. That decision did not mean women suddenly became called by God. Women had already been preaching, teaching, evangelizing, organizing, leading, serving, and carrying the mission of the church long before the institution fully recognized their call.

That is worth celebrating, but it is also worth remembering with humility. Like much of the church, Methodists often saw God’s work clearly only after women had already been faithfully doing it for generations.

A Methodist Witness That Was Not Always Easy
One important example from the wider Methodist family is B. T. Roberts, the founder of the Free Methodist Church. In the late 1800s, Roberts argued passionately for the ordination of women. In 1890, he proposed that no person called by God and duly qualified should be refused ordination because of “sex, race, or condition.” That motion failed by a vote of 37 to 41.

So Roberts did what faithful Christians have often done when the church was slow to recognize the work of God: he kept making the biblical case. In 1891, he published *Ordaining Women*, arguing from Scripture and Christian history that women should not be barred from ordained ministry. He died in 1893 without seeing the full fruit of that witness.

That part of the story matters because it keeps our celebration honest. Even within the Methodist family, some saw the biblical case for women’s ordination clearly and courageously, while others resisted it. So I do not write from a place of denominational superiority. I write from gratitude, conviction, and concern.

Taking Scripture Seriously
I also write as someone who holds a high view of Scripture. I believe my life, my ministry, my preaching, and the teaching of the church must be brought under the authority of the biblical witness. For that reason, I have genuine sympathy for good-faith, Bible-believing Christians who were raised to believe that Scripture clearly limits women’s leadership in the church. I also have sympathy for those who have arrived at that conclusion through sincere study, prayer, and interpretation. I gladly call such people sisters and brothers in Christ. I also believe they are mistaken.

I know there are people smarter, more learned, and more technically trained than I am who would strongly disagree with my understanding. I also know there are faithful, careful, and deeply learned scholars who have helped me understand why the full inclusion of women in pastoral ministry and church leadership is a faithful reading of Scripture’s larger witness.

I have recently found Preston Sprinkle’s book *From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership* helpful. More broadly, I am grateful for years of learning from scholars such as Sandra Richter, Ben Witherington, and others whose teaching has shaped the way I read Scripture. During my theological training at Asbury Theological Seminary — where I first encountered some of these teachers in person — I learned to take Scripture seriously while also appreciating that the biblical witness concerning women in ministry is deeper, richer, and more expansive than many restrictive readings allow.

So my purpose here is not to win a debate by diving into every contested passage. Others have done that work more carefully than I can in a short reflection. My hope is simply to say that affirming women’s leadership in the church does not require setting Scripture aside. It can grow out of careful attention to Scripture itself.

That matters to me because the case for women’s leadership in the church is sometimes dismissed as little more than left-wing theology, cultural compromise, or a so-called “woke” disregard for Scripture. I do not believe that is fair, and I do not believe it is true.

Many of us affirm women in every area of ministry and church leadership not because we take Scripture less seriously, but because we are trying to take the whole witness of Scripture seriously.

The Forest and the Trees
One analogy that has helped me think about this conversation is the difference between reading the Bible from the perspective of the forest and reading from the perspective of the trees.

Some students of Scripture begin with the *forest*. They ask, “When we consider the whole scope of the biblical witness — creation, covenant, Christ, Pentecost, the early church, and the new creation — what larger pattern emerges?” Others begin with a particular *tree*. They study a specific verse or passage, and once they believe they understand it, that passage becomes the lens through which the rest of the biblical witness is interpreted.

Of course, faithful biblical interpretation needs both. We dare not ignore individual passages. But we also dare not isolate them from the full story Scripture tells. The *forest* must keep the *trees* in context, and the *trees* must keep the *forest* honest.

In the conversation about women’s leadership in the church, I have become increasingly convinced that the whole *forest* matters.

The Wider Biblical Witness
The biblical story begins with women and men together bearing the image of God. Before sin distorts human relationships, Genesis gives us a picture of shared dignity, shared vocation, and shared responsibility before God. Together they are blessed. Together they are given work. Together they are called to reflect God’s rule and care in the world.

As the story continues, God speaks and leads through women. Miriam is a prophet. Deborah judges and leads Israel. Huldah speaks the word of the Lord to a nation in need of truth. These are not small details tucked away in the margins of Scripture. They are signs that God has never been reluctant to speak through women, lead through women, or call women for the sake of God’s people.

Then we come to Jesus. Jesus’ treatment of women was striking in his own context. He received women as disciples, taught them, defended them, welcomed their faith, and honored their witness. Mary sat at his feet as a disciple. The Samaritan woman became a witness to her village. Women remained near the cross when many others had fled. And on Easter morning, the first announcement that Christ is risen was entrusted to women.

That should matter to us. The church’s proclamation of resurrection began, in part, through their witness.

Then comes Pentecost. When the Holy Spirit is poured out on the church, Peter reaches back to the prophet Joel to explain what is happening: sons and daughters will prophesy. The Spirit is poured out on women and men, young and old, servants and free. The gift of the Spirit is not restricted by gender. The Spirit gives voice. The Spirit gives witness. The Spirit empowers the whole people of God.

And when we read the letters of Paul, we find women active in the mission of the early church: Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, Lydia, Euodia, Syntyche, and others. They are not merely present in the background. They are coworkers, teachers, patrons, witnesses, and leaders in the mission of the gospel.

The Difficult Passages
Of course, that does not make the difficult passages disappear. 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 11, and 1 Corinthians 14 deserve serious attention. They should not be waved away. Christians who hold a high view of Scripture must wrestle with them honestly.

But I do not believe a few difficult and contested passages should be allowed to cancel the larger biblical witness of God calling, gifting, sending, and speaking through women.

That is where the *forest* and the *trees* matter. If we begin with one or two restrictive passages and then use them as the controlling lens for the whole Bible, we may end up explaining away the many places where women are clearly leading, speaking, prophesying, teaching, witnessing, and serving in ways that build up the people of God.

But if we begin with the whole biblical witness, then we can return to the difficult passages with better questions. Are we interpreting these passages accurately? Are they as clear and universal as some have assumed? Do they establish permanent restrictions for all women in all churches for all time, or are they addressing particular situations, problems, abuses, or cultural circumstances in the life of particular congregations?

Faithful scholars do not all answer those questions the same way, which should at least make us cautious about using a small number of contested passages to silence the broader biblical witness.

I know faithful Christians answer that question differently. But I am persuaded that the whole biblical witness points toward recognizing the leadership of women whom God has called, gifted, and made fruitful.

Why This Matters
This is not merely an abstract theological issue. It matters for the life and mission of the church.

When the church tells called and gifted women that they may serve only so far and no farther, the whole body is affected. We lose something when faithful preachers are told not to preach, when gifted shepherds are told they cannot pastor, and when wise leaders are told their leadership is out of bounds before their gifts are even tested. Over time, the church can begin to treat the Spirit’s gifts with suspicion, even when those gifts are plainly bearing fruit.

The question is not whether the church can survive without women’s leadership. The question is whether the church is willing to receive all the gifts Christ gives to his body.

A Personal Witness
For me, this is personal.
I have had the gift of serving alongside Brooke in ministry. I have seen her lead with wisdom, compassion, steadiness, and grace. I have seen her care for people in tender and difficult moments. I have seen her help shape worship, lead the church in prayer, teach, organize, protect the vulnerable, encourage the weary, and bring a deeply pastoral presence into the life of the congregation. Across different seasons and ministry settings, I have been blessed not only to be married to her, but to serve beside her.

Her ministry has made me a better pastor. Her gifts have strengthened the churches we have served. Her calling has blessed the people of God.

And Brooke is not the exception that proves a rule. She is one of many women whose lives and ministries have helped me see more clearly that the church is stronger when it receives the gifts God gives.

Over the years, I have been taught by women, pastored by women, and served alongside women whose wisdom, courage, faithfulness, and spiritual authority were evident. Again and again, I have seen the church strengthened because of their leadership.

Gifts to Be Tested and Received
That does not mean every woman is called to pastoral leadership, any more than every man is called to pastoral leadership. The question is not whether women should be placed in leadership simply because they are women. The question is whether women, like men, should be eligible to serve in every area of ministry and church leadership according to their gifts, calling, character, and fruitfulness.

I believe the answer is yes. I believe the church should test every calling. I believe the church should examine character. I believe the church should look for spiritual maturity, sound doctrine, humility, wisdom, and the fruit of faithful ministry. But I do not believe gender alone should disqualify someone whom God has called and gifted.

Listening for the Spirit
So as one part of the American church moves to tighten restrictions, I find myself giving thanks for a Methodist tradition that, however imperfectly and however late, came to recognize the Spirit’s work in the lives of women. I am grateful for the women who led before the church fully recognized them, for those who endured resistance and kept serving, and for those whose preaching, teaching, leadership, and pastoral care continue to bless the church today.

My hope is that the wider church will keep learning to listen for the Spirit’s voice and recognize the Spirit’s gifts. When women preach Christ, shepherd God’s people, teach the Word, administer the sacraments, lead congregations, and bear fruit for the kingdom, the church should not first ask how to restrain them. It should ask how to bless, equip, and send them.

The church is not weakened when women lead. It is strengthened when it receives the gifts God gives.

For Those Who Want to Go Deeper
This short reflection is not intended to answer every biblical, historical, or theological question related to women in ministry. For those who want to study further, here are a few resources you might find helpful:

• * Preston Sprinkle, *From Genesis to Junia: An Honest Search for What the Bible Really Says About Women in Leadership*
  • * N. T. Wright, [“Why Women Should Be Church Leaders and Preachers”]
  • * Preston Sprinkle, [“A Raw Conversation about Women in Ministry” with Dr. Sandra Richter] 
  • * Sandra Richter, [“Women in Ministry with Sandra Richter,” Seedbed] 
  •  Ben Wayman, [“Refuting Common Objections to Ordaining Women,” Seedbed Seven Minute Seminary]
  • * Ben Witherington III, [“Women, Ministry, and Scripture,” Seedbed Seven Minute Seminary, Part 1] and [Part 2] 
  • * B. T. Roberts, [*Ordaining Women*](https://www.amazon.com/Ordaining-Women-New-Introduction-Notes/dp/1498208614/)