When The Spirit Speaks Through Every Voice

It's easy to assume that some theological arguments have been widely settled when you are part of a church or denomination that has ostensibly settled them within its own body politic. It's also easy to see those "settled" arguments as signs of progress in the wider Church. 

But the reality is, within our current culture, those who long for a return to more literal and traditional views of Scripture and church governance have become emboldened to harden their stances on issues like gender and who is allowed to lead.  

For example, I've been an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) for over twenty years, and the ordination of women as elders and ministers has been a part of our community life for nearly half a century.  

But the majority of Christian communities and governing bodies still refuse to ordain women as leaders, denying their gifts and essentially reducing them to second-class citizens.  And in recent years, they've doubled down on this wrong-headed notion, which is more about social worldview than it is about the Bible.  

The late author Rachel Held Evans once wrote:

“I’ve watched congregations devote years and years to heated arguments about whether a female missionary should be allowed to share about her ministry on a Sunday morning, whether students older than ten should have female Sunday school teachers, whether girls should be encouraged to attend seminary, whether women should be permitted to collect the offering or write the church newsletter or make an announcement . . . all while thirty thousand children die every day from preventable disease. If that’s not an adventure in missing the point, I don’t know what is.”

Her words are as piercing as they are prophetic. 

For too long, churches have been mired in debates over who is “allowed” to lead, preach, teach, or serve, while the very heart of the gospel—proclaiming good news to the poor, liberating the oppressed, healing the sick, and bringing God’s justice—goes unattended.

Scripture itself bears witness to the Spirit’s liberating power. Deborah judged Israel (Judges 4–5). Huldah prophesied God’s word to kings (2 Kings 22). Mary Magdalene was the first to proclaim the resurrection (John 20:18). Priscilla, alongside Aquila, taught Apollos the way of God more accurately (Acts 18:26). Phoebe was a deacon entrusted with carrying Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 16:1). 

These women didn’t wait for permission; they simply responded to God’s call and used their gifts.

Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 12 that the Spirit gives a variety of gifts, and each gift is for the building up of the body of Christ. To silence half the body because of gender is not only unjust, it is spiritually self-destructive. It is like cutting off our own limbs while the world cries out for healing.

And it needs to be said that the few places where some letters purported to be written by Paul speak to women, "being silent," or not being fit to teach a man, are egregiously not in line with what Paul writes in the majority of the letters where his authorship is not in question.   

The arguments about women’s leadership distract us from the greater work God has placed before us: loving the least of these, confronting injustice, and embodying hope. The church cannot afford to squander its energy on outdated debates while children go hungry, wars rage, and communities long for peace.

If you find yourself in a place where your gifts—or the gifts of others—are ignored because of gender politics, hear this: the Spirit has not forgotten you. Seek communities that celebrate the Spirit’s gifts in all people, communities that refuse to miss the point, and that boldly choose life, justice, and love over division.

Prayer

God of all gifts, open our eyes to see your Spirit at work in every person. Free us from the distractions of division and empower us to focus on your mission of love, justice, and healing. May we honor every gift you have given, and may your church rise up united in Christ. Amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What gifts has the Spirit given you that you may have hesitated to use because of fear or discouragement?

2. How has your community affirmed—or silenced—the gifts of women and others?

3. What might it look like for the church to focus less on arguments and more on confronting the real problems of our world?