06/11/2026
Who Gets to Proclaim the Gospel?
The recent vote by the Southern Baptist Convention to further restrict women from preaching has sparked celebration in some corners of the church and disappointment in others. I find myself among the disappointed.
My concern is not rooted in modern culture, secular politics, or a desire to conform Christianity to the spirit of the age. It is rooted in Scripture itself. The more I read the Bible, the more I struggle with attempts to silence voices that God has repeatedly chosen to use.
Those who support restrictions on women preaching often point to passages such as 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 14, and the qualifications for overseers in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These are important texts, and faithful Christians have interpreted them this way for centuries. We should not dismiss them lightly. Yet neither should we read them in isolation from the broader witness of Scripture.
The Bible tells a larger story, and it is a story in which God repeatedly calls women to speak, lead, teach, and proclaim.
Consider Miriam. After God delivered Israel through the waters of the Red Sea, Miriam led the people in song and praise. She was not merely standing in the crowd. She was a leader among God’s people. The prophet Micah later places her alongside Moses and Aaron as one of the leaders God sent before Israel.
Consider Deborah. During one of the darkest periods in Israel’s history, God raised her up as both prophet and judge. Men and women alike came to her for wisdom and judgment. She exercised authority over the nation, not because society was enlightened, but because God chose her.
Consider Huldah. When the Book of the Law was rediscovered during the reign of King Josiah, the king’s officials sought out a prophet to interpret God’s word. They went to Huldah. Priests, scholars, and royal officials listened as God spoke through her.
Again and again, Scripture presents women as instruments through whom God addresses God’s people.
The ministry of Jesus continues this pattern.
Jesus lived in a deeply patriarchal society. Women were often marginalized, excluded from formal education, and denied positions of influence. Yet Jesus consistently treated women with dignity and respect. He welcomed them among his followers. He taught them. He received their support. He spoke with them publicly when others would not.
Most importantly, when the decisive moment in human history arrived, God entrusted the first proclamation of the resurrection to women.
That fact should stop us in our tracks.
On Easter morning, it was not Peter who first announced that Christ had risen. It was not John. It was not any of the Twelve. The first witnesses to the empty tomb were women. The first messengers of the resurrection were women. The risen Christ himself commissioned them to carry the good news to the disciples.
The first Easter sermon was preached by women.
For those who believe women should never proclaim the gospel publicly, this presents a profound challenge. The central message of Christianity was first entrusted to women by Jesus himself.
The story continues in the early church.
Priscilla helped instruct Apollos, one of the most gifted preachers in the New Testament. Phoebe is commended by Paul as a deacon and trusted representative of the church. Junia is identified as prominent among the apostles. Philip’s daughters are described as prophets. Women prayed and prophesied within the worshiping life of the church.
The evidence is not incidental. It appears throughout Scripture from beginning to end.
Of course, supporters of the SBC decision would argue that these examples do not erase passages such as 1 Timothy 2. Fair enough. But neither should a handful of difficult passages erase the many examples of women exercising significant ministry.
The question is not whether those passages exist. The question is how they should be interpreted.
Were Paul’s restrictions intended as universal prohibitions for every church in every culture for all time? Or were they responses to specific circumstances facing particular congregations?
Christians answer that question differently. But we should be cautious about building an entire theology of ministry upon a few disputed texts while overlooking the larger biblical pattern.
We must also remember the historical world in which Scripture was written. The biblical authors lived in societies shaped by patriarchy. Men held most positions of social, political, and religious authority. Yet what is remarkable is not that traces of patriarchy appear in the Bible. What is remarkable is how often God works through women despite those cultural limitations.
God repeatedly raises up women to accomplish divine purposes.
God repeatedly places words in the mouths of women.
God repeatedly calls women to bear witness.
That pattern reaches its fulfillment at Pentecost. Quoting the prophet Joel, Peter declares that God’s Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh.
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”
Not just sons.
Not just men.
Sons and daughters.
The gift of the Spirit is not distributed according to gender. The Spirit blows where the Spirit wills. The Spirit calls whom the Spirit wills. The Spirit equips whom the Spirit wills.
The church’s task is not to restrict those gifts but to discern them faithfully.
I do not question the sincerity of those who supported the Southern Baptist amendment. Many are seeking to be faithful to Scripture as they understand it. But I believe they are mistaken.
The church should not silence voices that God has chosen to use.
The church should not restrict gifts that God has chosen to give.
The church should not close doors that the Holy Spirit has opened.
If Miriam could sing God’s victory, if Deborah could judge Israel, if Huldah could interpret God’s word, if Mary Magdalene could announce the resurrection, if Priscilla could teach, and if Phoebe could serve as a leader in the early church, then surely the modern church can make room for women called to preach the gospel.
The question before us is ultimately quite simple: When God calls someone to proclaim the good news, do we have the authority to say no?
I do not believe we do!
Pastor Richard Hair
