Does the NT allow women to pastor and teach?

Is the role of pastor and teacher open to both sexes, or has God ordained that men alone occupy these positions? I have remained silent on this issue for 30 years. I’ve never published anything on it, and never taught on the issue…until now.

I’ve been doing a podcast series titled Answering God’s Critics. Recently, I’ve been answering the criticism that the God of the Bible is sexists and misogynistic. I started with the Old Testament data and worked my way to the New. What the New Testament has to say regarding women in ministry, however, is a series in its own right. To that end, I’ve started a sub-series on the topic of women pastors/teachers.

The first episode is live. It’s what I call a 1-N-Done episode. It’s a highlight reel, if you will, of my argument. In the weeks that follow, I will explore this issue in more depth.

Where do I land on this issue? I am a complementarian. That means that while men and women are equal in worth and dignity – and spiritual equals in the kingdom of God – God created the sexes differently, and assigned different roles to each sex. God has ordained that men be the spiritual leaders of their home and the spiritual leaders of the church. As such, the role of pastor and teacher should only be occupied by men. This does not mean women cannot be involved in ministry. They can, and we see them doing so in Scripture. They prophesy, evangelize, serve, support, etc., but none occupied the position of pastor or (theology) teacher.

I like to say that I am a “reluctant complementarian.” I would prefer that complementarianism not be true. On a personal level, I have no in-principle objection to women pastoring and teaching. And I know there are women who are fully capable of doing so. My personal bias, then, is toward egalitarianism and against complementarianism. When I read Scripture, I would prefer to find that God agrees with my perspective. But He doesn’t. Passages like 1 Timothy 2:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 are sufficiently clear on this matter. Many have sought ways to reinterpret these passages in a way that conforms to our cultural views on gender, but I think all of them falter on Biblical and logical grounds. It’s our cultural perspective, not the Word of God that needs to change.

Listen to the 1-N-Done episode (#201) at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1958918/episodes/19106589, or wherever you get podcasts. Follow my podcast to be notified of future episodes, or check back at https://thinkingtobelieve.buzzsprout.com every Friday.

I expect that this will engender debate, but if you want to engage me in debate on this issue on this blog, please listen to the 1-N-Done episode first. If you do not begin your post by affirming that you listened to the episode, I will not respond. If you care enough to debate me on the topic, then you should first be clear on what I believe and why. That information is contained in the episode, not in this post.

wisegoverning Says:

May 7, 2026 at 12:31 pm

Hello Jason,

I listened to the episode. First, I would like to say that I have been following your work for quite some time now and have enjoyed your writing both here and at onenesspentecostal.com. You write with the kind of clarity and intellectual honesty that I appreciate and that is desperately needed in our movement. I have long felt that your views have been downplayed/ignored by others, and I regard that as an unfortunate mistake. On this issue in particular, I appreciate you tackling the issue head on and being willing to share your views. I will reserve any comments on your exegesis, historical analysis, or reasoning until you release the planned full series on women’s ordination. However, there are a few questions in the upcoming series I would like to see addressed:

Why is it that women were permitted to preach in Wesleyan/Holiness/Pentecostal circles, when it had generally been forbidden in virtually all ecclessial contexts throughout history? How did this tradition develop, and how does it interact with/distinguish itself from more modern justifications of women’s ordination in liberal Protestantism?
What do you believe are the consequences of getting this issue wrong? How does this issue affect other issues like Anthropology, Ecclesiology, and Hermeneutics? How does this doctrine (Complimentarianism) rank amongst other issues in order of importance?
What should a person do who becomes convinced of your exegesis and that church permits women to preach? Should he keep his views to himself for the purposes of unity? Should he leave his church? His denomination?
Can you interact with the arguments of specific people within the Oneness movement i.e. Jason Weatherly, David Bernard, Marvin Sanguinetti? It’s important to interact with voices who are promoting a different message, so that people can see the antithesis and make a decision for themselves.

All in all, I wish you the best of luck on this series and with all the other work that you do.

Thank you,

Jachin

LikeLike

Jason Dulle Says:

May 14, 2026 at 12:55 pm

Hello Jachin,

I like your name. Very cool!

I’m glad you’ve been enjoying my work. Spread the word!

1. Other than my comments on why I think the traditional understanding has come to be challenged in recent times (feminism, Pentecostal resurgence), I won’t be addressing anything historical in this series. I can’t really say why the Wesleyan/Holiness/Pentecostal movement allowed it. My guess is that it was because they held up their experience as an authority. I still see this in modern Pentecostalism. A woman claims to be called by God, and then she begins to pastor/teach and bears fruit while doing so, and people conclude that God must have truly called her. Then, they reinterpret the Bible in that light. As for modern liberal Protestants, I think the reason there is simply their embrace of feminism.

2. People will differ on how important they rank this issue. Personally, I don’t rank it very high. That’s why I have felt the freedom not to address it for so long. There are many other issues that are far more important. As for how this affects different areas of theology, it definitely impacts anthropology. Egalitarians want to read Scripture as if authority and submission were only introduced in the Fall, rather than in creation itself. That’s an anthropological misunderstanding. Obviously, our ecclesiology is impacted by this. It determines whether leadership is male-only or a mix of male and female. As for hermeneutics, it does not affect our hermeneutical principles, but I do think it is a bad application of hermeneutical principles. I can almost guarantee you that if any of these egalitarians were writing in the 1600s, they would not interpret these passages the way they are today. Egalitarianism is not in the text. It is being forced onto the text like Cinderella’s slipper was forced onto the stepsisters’ feet.

3. I would distinguish between a church that lets women preach from time to time from a church that is pastored by a woman. I don’t think anyone should attend a church pastored by a woman. What about larger churches that have a female pastor on staff? It depends on what she is doing. After all, the term “pastor” is thrown around so loosely these days. There are “music pastors,” administrative pastors,” “children’s pastors,” etc. So long as she is not dealing with doctrine and not exercising spiritual authority over men, I would be ok with it.

I’ve been part of several churches that think its fine for women to pastor/teach, and have had women preach from time to time. I never voiced my opposition. It wasn’t worth it to me. You have to pick your battles sometimes, and I don’t think this issue is a primary or secondary issue in the church. I have always been part of denominations/movements that permitted women to preach and pastor. I was more concerned about my local church than the larger denomination.

4. I have not read any of those authors on this topic. My guess is, however, that I’ll be addressing many of their arguments in the course of this series since most egalitarian arguments are fairly common.

Jason

Thinking to Believe