And Daughers

“Your sons and daughters will prophesy” Joel 2:28, Acts 2:17

Christ affirmed women. As a teacher, He invited Mary (the sister of Lazarus) to sit down and learn at his feet, the place of the honored and dedicated disciple. He broke societal expectations by having His longest conversation on record with a samaritan woman. He broke rabbinical law when a woman who was menstruating touched him. In Galatians it’s clear that, in Christ, the religious hierarchy differentiating men and woman has been abolished. The scriptures are packed with powerful women prophets, leaders and disciples. Women are in the center of the Gospels.

The first evangelist was a woman.

Some of the most significant disciples are women. When all the guys left, the women followed Christ to the cross. Historically it’s clear that women quickly rose to key leadership in the early church. Romans 16 shows us a husband and wife pastoral team. Acts gives us Priscilla and Aquila, a first century married couple who Paul describes as his "fellow workers in Christ Jesus” with Priscilla (the woman) often understood as holding the office of presbyter. Women share in the speaking and praying in 1 Corinthians 11. In Romans we see women were deacons. Paul and the other apostles appointed women to leadership in Philippi. And in acts 21 we read that three of Phillip’s daughters were prophetesses (which means they were preachers).

Undoubtedly, scripture has been weaponized to to hold women hostage in and out of church, just as scripture has been weaponized to justify slavery, racism, war, injustice, and all forms of bigotry.

But the truth is that women play a crucial role in church history. Ministry is a matter of calling and gifting not gender and genitals, and it’s a disgrace to loose half of our gifted leaders in the church simply because we misread a few text. It’s crazy that we can trust women with the vital role of raising our leaders, but refuse to entrust them to be our leaders. Some of the church’s hypocrisy is that it allows women to teach the bible in Sunday School class, the mission field, the streets, and in every office and function... but not the pulpit simply because they don’t have the right genitalia. The reality is that women are as fully human as men are. When God made the first humans...both were made in His image. Gen 1:27 “in the image of God he created them; male and female”. Someone once said, yeah but the woman was made from man’s side...to which we respond, yeah and man was made from dirt!

We celebrate, affirm, and insist upon women clergy! To not ordain women is unjust and unfaithful. We celebrate the transition of gender equality in the gospel. Where jewish men used to offer the morning blessing by saying “Blessed are you, Lord, our God, ruler of the universe who has not created me a woman, a gentile, nor a slave.” Paul would come along and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would pen the scripture that declares, “ In Christ Jesus, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female.” In the ancient temple there was a dividing wall that separated the gentiles and women from worshipping with the men in the inner court....but Ephesians 2:14 tells us that this wall of separation has broken down by Christ. We do not see this as liberal or as a progressive, but simply Christian. A follower of Jesus Christ who views and treats women as second class citizens, is not following Jesus. That old world is gone, revolutionized by Easter, the center of the good news we preach…which was first delivered by a woman, Mary Magdelene. This is the Kingdom of God, and in this Kingdom our sons and daughters equally prophesy! The highest calling a woman can have is not to be a wife or mother, but a disciple of Jesus Christ who carries on the great commission.

As followers of Jesus, our foundation is built upon strong women and men who were prophetic. Women and men who got into some holy mischief. We know that women were leaders in the early church movement because like Stephen, we read in Acts 8:3 that Paul (Saul) dragged off both men and women and put them in prison! Men and women! Scholars tell us, that Saul targeted the leaders of the movement. This means that since the beginning, the church has been filled with women who had a prophetic voice. Today we continue to affirm and celebrate those daughters with a prophetic voice, and we join them in their work. “Eshet Chayil,” Woman of valor! Carry on, warrior.