When The Spirit Says, “move!” - Women Preachers In New Denominations

In times of spiritual awakening, more women become preachers. This is an observable phenomenon of history, going back to the third-century Montanists and extending to the twentieth-century Pentecostals. It was also seen in the Quakers of the 1600s, the Methodists of the 1700s, and various Holiness groups of the 1800s. Revivals seem to call people of both genders (and all races, ages, and social classes) to use their Spirit-given abilities in every way possible, casting off traditional restrictions.

We recognize that this issue—the biblical role of women in the church—is a hot one. Christians have debated it for centuries, and it has split some denominations. We’re not going to provide easy answers in this devotion, but we do want to document this phenomenon. Churches need structure, and the New Testament provides some guidelines, but the church is also a Spirit-powered organism. From day one, exuberant Christians were waving the flag of Joel’s prophecy: “Your sons and daughters will prophesy” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17). The Spirit has a way of blowing open our closed doors.

In the 1660s, one of the early Quakers, Margaret Fell, wrote a booklet defending the work of women preachers. She concluded, “And so let this serve to stop that opposing Spirit that would limit the Power and Spirit of the Lord Jesus, whose Spirit is poured upon all Flesh, both Sons and Daughters.”

Many commentators have focused attention on a few New Testament passages where Paul discourages or prohibits women from teaching men. But the conflict is larger, between two very different visions of how God works in the world. Some see God ordaining a structure in which men and women have distinct roles and the role of leadership falls to men, not women, in the home and the church. Others see God freely dispensing all spiritual gifts to be used by men and women alike, as both are made in his image. Historically, different church groups have emphasized structure at some times and spiritual gifts at other times.

But this struggle should not be about power (though, too often, it is). Followers of Jesus should understand that leadership means service, not prestige. Christian men and women alike need to submit to God’s calling—wherever that might lead.

[Jesus said,] “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

Mark 9:35