6.24.2026

When the Bible says that Jesus turned water into wine and Paul told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach’s sake, I hear a lot of preachers twisting themselves into pretzels trying to explain the context of these passages and turn wine into Welch’s. But these same preachers will read phrases like “women should stay silent in church” and “I do not allow a woman to teach” and declare they are the clear, plain and obvious word of the Lord – no context needed. 

Stuff like this was settled in my church tradition nearly 150 years ago, so what I’m advocating isn’t influenced by contemporary culture. However, I am amazed that in 2026 women in ministry are still being challenged, and frankly, I believe it is an embarrassment to the Body of Christ. The men who keep insisting on silencing women only succeed in making themselves more and more irrelevant.  
 

There’s an old Arabic saying, “the dogs bark but the caravan passes.” Until Jesus returns, women will live out their giftedness regardless of how many men afraid of losing power vote against it.

The subjugation of women was the result of the Fall, not the will of God. When God created the first woman, she shared equally with the first man in his responsibility of having dominion over creation (Genesis 1:26-27). It wasn’t until after the Fall the woman’s “desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” 

And for centuries humanity lived up to that just fine on their own.  

Then along came Jesus. 

Jesus allowed women to learn. Jesus spoke with an unclean, immoral, shunned, Samaritan woman and her testimony (to the men) brought her entire village to Christ. When he was resurrected, the angel told Mary to take the message of the resurrection to the men (who were nowhere to be found). 

 Acts 2 was the fulfillment of a prophecy where “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy . . . Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”  There’s no distinction there: sons and daughters, men and women. And so we’re not surprised when we read that, in Acts 18, Priscilla and her husband taught Apollos (a man) and since Priscilla’s name is always mentioned first, she most likely was the pastor of their home congregation. Phoebe was a Deacon (a masculine term in Greek) and delivered Paul’s letter to the Romans and probably read it to them and  answered their questions. Phillip the evangelist had daughters who prophesied. Women were busy working in the early church. 

Not only that, but in any of the lists of the spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6–8, 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and Ephesians 4:11) there is nothing that indicates some are restricted to men. In fact, it's just the opposite: “it is the same God who activates all of [the spiritual gifts] in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (I Corinthians 4:6-7).  I’m assuming, of course, that “everyone” means “everyone.” 

And then there’s the key verse from Galatians 3: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” 

As I said, humanity did a fine job “keeping women in their place” before Christ. They don’t need that perspective bucked up by Christianity. Which is a good thing . . . 

Because it’s not Christian. 

But what about the TWO passages in the New Testament that male religious leaders hang their hopes on? The TWO (and only two) passages that SEEM, without any real thought, to contradict the idea that women can exercise spiritual gifts in worship? 

The same book, I Corinthians, in which Paul writes that God gifts everyone, Paul gives instructions to women about praying and prophesying (I Corinthians 11:13). That’s praying and prophesying ALOUD. In worship. Then, in just a few chapters later (ch. 14), when writing about disorder in worship, Paul says that “women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in subjection . . .” 

Is Paul contradicting himself?  Of course he’s not. But what he is saying, though, is that women, many of whom are coming into public worship spaces for the first time, are creating disorder (I Corinthians 14:33) by chattering or babbling (the Greek word is laleo) or asking questions while others are speaking. The words for silence is a voluntary silence and the word for subjection is a voluntary seeking after the needs of others . . . in other words, Paul calls on them to sit quietly and save their questions for later. As disappointing as it might be for some, Paul  is not muzzling women — there is a perfectly good Greek word for that, phimao. Paul doesn’t use that word. 

The other passage is II Timothy 2, where Paul is advising Timothy, a young pastor, on how to deal with specific situations in Ephesus, which was the center of female-led Artemis worship. These women were coming out of that cult and Timothy had to remind them not to dress like Artemis worshipers (that’s the not wearing gold, pearls and braided hair part in 2:9). Furthermore, these women needed to learn before they could lead. “Let a woman learn” was a radical statement at that time, and we’ve lost sight of that. That she was to do it in silence was again a call of voluntary silence on her part while she learned.  These verses need to be read in the same spirit of 3:6, where Paul writes that a bishop shouldn’t be a recent convert. People have to learn before they can lead.

Christ’s resurrection was the dawning of a New Creation, a day heralded by the voice of a woman who was the first human being to proclaim, “The Lord is risen!” God has used women ever since. The subjugation of women was part of the Old Creation . . . but “everything old has passed away; behold! everything has become new!” God’s church is an equal opportunity church and whom God calls, God qualifies, regardless of race or gender. 

Blessings,
Pastor Terry