On Women Preaching

Five or six years ago, I had a young man interview me for his paper on women in preaching. I thought some of you might be interested in the topic. Here are his questions and my answers:

1. What schools have you attended, and what types of degrees do you have?
I have a B.A. degree in Molecular Biology from Vanderbilt University. I have a MTS (Master of Theological Studies) from Perkins School of Theology at SMU and a PhD in Hebrew Bible from SMU



2. What led you into the ministry?
I think that I always was led to do ministry. When I was in 6th grade I was on the Missions Committee at church. I helped teach Sunday School and helped out with Vacation Bible School when I was in youth and I was involved in everything the church did.

What led me to enter seminary was Disciple Bible Study. At the end of this study, each member of the class is asked to reflect on what gifts they have for ministry (in the United Methodist Church we believe that everyone has gifts for ministry, though not everyone has gifts for ordained ministry). I wasn’t really sure at the time what my gifts were, but I thought probably teaching. I volunteered to help with the Disciple class the next year and by the end of that year I had felt a call to professional ministry. At first I thought I would go into Christian education, but I finally accepted the fact that God was calling me into ordained ministry, i.e. preaching.


3. What led you to become a pastor?
In the United Methodist Church, we have to go through a long process of discernment to determine just what our call is. At the same time that I entered seminary I also began the Ministry Inquiry process. I did Bible study with a Mentor pastor, interviewed four or five pastors in different kinds of ministries (large churches, small churches, hospital chaplains, etc.). I went before our District committee on ordained ministry and interviewed with them. I went before my home church and they had to vote to recommend me for the process. In other words, a long process.

I didn’t like a lot of the process at the time, but it did help me understand and articulate my call and helped me understand that I am definitely called to pastoral ministry and not to a specialized ministry such as teaching or chaplaincy.

Basically I am a pastor because I feel called to share the Word of God in preaching and teaching. I feel called to administer the Sacraments. (The sacraments have always been very important to me; I memorized the communion service when I was twelve just because I wanted to be able to remember it.) I also feel called to provide leadership for the church.

I tried to ignore my call for a number of years because I was very shy and did not like to speak in front of people, but God was very persistent!

4. How do you feel about the controversy of women in the pulpit?

I understand and respect those who are opposed to women in the pulpit, but I think that they are ignoring important parts of the Bible. For instance in the Old Testament one of the judges of early Israel was Deborah. In fact she is the only judge about whom the Bible says that she actually made judgments for the people (Judges 4:5). Then there was Huldah, a prophetess to whom King Josiah sent the manuscripts found in the temple. She is the one who proclaimed them authentic and warned the King to obey what they said. Since she was called a prophetess, by definition she spoke the word of God. (2 Kings 22:14-20)

In the New Testament, several women around Jesus clearly did preach. For example in the Gospel of John, where Jesus speaks with the Samaritan woman at the well, after the conversation, the woman goes back to the village and witnesses to the villagers who then come to Christ (John 4:28). This seems to me the definition of preaching – sharing the Good news in public so that people come to know Jesus.

Also the first person in the Gospel of John to whom Jesus speaks is Mary Magdalene. Peter and John have been at the tomb, but Jesus chooses to speak to the woman and says to her “Go and tell,” thereby commanding her to preach to the other disciples of his resurrection (John 20:17).

Paul has often been thought to deny women the opportunity to speak and certainly some texts do seem to indicate that, specifically 1 Timothy 2:10-12. However, a number of scholars dispute that this is truly written by Paul (for reasons that are too complex to explain here). Regardless of whether or not Paul wrote this, it is in the scriptures, so has to be taken seriously. I believe that this text is referring to a specific situation in a specific church where women speaking would have offended people in the surrounding culture.

One reason I don’t believe that this was Paul’s general attitude is because in other cases Paul clearly regards women as fellow workers; for instance Phoebe (Romans 16:1-2) and Priscilla (Romans 16:3, see also Acts 18:26 where she helps to instruct Apollos). And certainly Paul never distinguishes between gifts for women and gifts for men in his lists of gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In summary, there is some evidence in the Bible that argues against women being preachers, but I think the weight of evidence is in favor of women being called as well as men.


5. Does any of the controversy directly affect you, and how do you handle it?

Very little of the controversy directly affects me. Occasionally in my early ministry I would encounter folks who were not happy about having a woman pastor (these were very small churches in rural areas), but after hearing me preach for a while and experience my pastoral care, they usually came around. Since my name is on the sign outside the church, most people know when they come to Oak Grove that a woman is the Pastor and if they don’t like that they just don’t visit. I have had a number of people who come to weddings and funerals here say that they were not sure what to expect, but that they realized after they heard me that women can preach about Jesus just like men do! I think that when people realize that I am not a rabid feminist and that I just want to be a faithful and competent pastor, they get over the “woman pastor” thing.

I never try to argue with those who think I shouldn’t be preaching (other than simply laying out my point of view as I have done here). I don’t think such arguments further the cause of the kingdom. I know that I am called and that people are coming to Christ through my ministry and that is all I care about . I cannot control the judgments of others; I answer to God.


I know this is long. I hope that is sufficiently answers your questions. Good luck on your paper.

Blessings,
Pastor Martha