Can a woman preach? Can she pastor, lead, or teach men? Sincere Christians land in different places on this. If you grew up in a church that said no, the question can feel loaded.
Here's our answer. Read the whole Bible, and the weight of evidence shows God calling, filling and using women in every kind of ministry, including leadership. That's why Dwelling House affirms women at every level of ministry and leadership. We're part of the Foursquare church family, founded by a woman, Aimee Semple McPherson, in the 1920s. Our senior pastors, Jay and Suzie Genin, are a married couple who lead together. Two passages seem to say otherwise, and we'll look at them honestly.
Start With the Whole Bible
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine" (2 Timothy 3:16). All of it. So we don't build doctrine on one or two verses pulled out alone. The clear, repeated pattern guides how we read the harder lines. And when Paul wrote that, Timothy's Scripture was the Old Testament. So start there.
In the Beginning, Both Were Given Dominion
"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). In the next verse God blesses them both and tells them both to "have dominion" (Genesis 1:28). No ranking. Man and woman were made equal, and made to rule together.
Genesis 3:16 does say the husband "shall rule over" his wife. But that comes after the fall. It describes what sin did to the way men and women relate, not what God designed.
Women God Raised Up to Lead
The Old Testament never treats a woman's leadership as a problem to explain.
- Miriam was a prophetess (Exodus 15:20). God later reminded Israel, "I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam" (Micah 6:4). Not just to the women. To the nation.
- Deborah was a prophetess who judged Israel (Judges 4:4), and "the LORD raised up judges" (Judges 2:16). Barak wouldn't go to battle without her (Judges 4:8), and Israel won.
- Huldah was a prophetess. When King Josiah needed a word from the Lord, his priest and officials went to her (2 Kings 22:14). Nobody in the text questions it.
Why did the Holy Spirit make sure these stories were written down? Because He wanted us to know this is how He works.
Jesus Made Room
When Martha wanted Mary back in the kitchen, Jesus defended her place at His feet, the place of a disciple: "Mary has chosen that good part" (Luke 10:42). Many in a Samaritan town "believed in Him because of the word of the woman" at the well (John 4:39). And on resurrection morning, Jesus sent women to tell the men He was alive (Matthew 28:10; John 20:17–18).
The first people to announce the risen Christ were women.
Your Sons and Your Daughters
At Pentecost, Peter explained what was happening with the prophet Joel's words: "Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy... And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy" (Acts 2:17–18; Joel 2:28–29).
The Spirit wasn't poured out on men in full and women in part. When Paul teaches on spiritual gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4), he never says men get more of the Spirit or more power to minister. Philip the evangelist had "four virgin daughters who prophesied" (Acts 21:9). And Paul says it outright: "there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). That echoes Genesis 1:27. In Christ, what the fall divided is made whole again.
Paul's Coworkers Included Women
Paul gets painted as the apostle who kept women quiet. Yet few biblical writers honor more women in ministry by name.
- Phoebe is "a servant of the church in Cenchrea" (Romans 16:1). The word is diakonos, translated "deacon" or "minister" elsewhere. Paul commends her and tells the church in Rome to "assist her" (Romans 16:2).
- Priscilla and her husband Aquila were Paul's "fellow workers in Christ Jesus," and a church met in their home (Romans 16:3–5). In Ephesus, the couple took a gifted preacher named Apollos aside "and explained to him the way of God more accurately" (Acts 18:26). Remember that city.
- Junia and Andronicus are "of note among the apostles" (Romans 16:7).
- Euodia and Syntyche "labored with me in the gospel," Paul writes (Philippians 4:3), and he calls them "fellow workers," the same word he uses for Timothy (Romans 16:21).
Universal Rule or Pastoral Direction?
So what about the verses that seem to say the opposite? The key question: is Paul giving a universal rule for every church in every age, or pastoral direction for a specific problem in a specific church? Many Christians who love Jesus and honor the Bible answer that differently than we do. We respect them and gladly call them family.
What About 1 Corinthians 14:34–35?
"Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak" (1 Corinthians 14:34). But three chapters earlier, in the same letter about the same gatherings, Paul explains how "every woman who prays or prophesies" should do it (1 Corinthians 11:5). So chapter 14 can't be a blanket ban on women speaking.
Corinth's meetings were chaotic. Tongues with no interpretation. Prophets talking over each other. Paul tells several groups to be silent, with the same word. A tongue-speaker with no interpreter should "keep silent in church" (14:28). So should a prophet when someone else receives a revelation (14:30). Women, who in that culture usually had far less access to education, were most likely interrupting with questions, so Paul says to ask at home (14:35). Then he sums it up: "Let all things be done decently and in order" (14:40). The issue is order, not whether women may minister.
What About 1 Timothy 2:11–15?
"And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence" (1 Timothy 2:12).
Context first. Paul left Timothy in Ephesus to "charge some that they teach no other doctrine" (1 Timothy 1:3). False teaching runs through the whole letter (6:20). Paul even describes younger widows going "from house to house... saying things which they ought not" (5:13). In that church, some women were being drawn into false teaching and passing it on.
Paul's first instruction is "Let a woman learn" (2:11). He says "I do not permit," and he had ministered in Ephesus for three years (Acts 20:31). He's describing his practice in that church, the city where Priscilla had taught Apollos. The word for "have authority," authenteō, appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and the King James Version renders it "usurp authority." That pictures seizing authority, not serving in a role God and the church have given. And Eve, who "being deceived, fell into transgression" (2:14), is held up as a warning to women in Ephesus who were being deceived.
And those who read verse 12 as a rule for all time rarely read its neighbors that way. Few churches ban braided hair and pearls (2:9). No one teaches that a woman is saved by having children (2:15) instead of by grace through faith. Read consistently, this is pastoral instruction for a church under attack.
What This Means at Dwelling House
Your gifts matter, whoever you are. The Holy Spirit doesn't hand out gifts by gender, and we don't limit who serves, teaches or leads by gender either. From serve teams to senior leadership, every role here is open to women and men alike.
Start by discovering your spiritual gifts. Ask God to fill you with the same Spirit He poured out on sons and daughters at Pentecost (here's what that means). Then join a serve team or find a group.
Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn't calling Eve a "helper" make women secondary?
No. God made Adam "a helper comparable to him" (Genesis 2:18). The Hebrew word, ezer, is used most often for God Himself helping His people: "My help comes from the LORD" (Psalm 121:2). It speaks of strength, not rank.
Adam was created first. Doesn't that mean men should lead?
Being made first doesn't establish rank. If it did, the animals, created before people in Genesis 1, would rule over us. Adam needed an equal partner (Genesis 2:18), and together they were given dominion.
What about "the head of woman is man" (1 Corinthians 11:3)?
The same verse says "the head of Christ is God." Yet Jesus is fully equal with the Father (John 1:1; Philippians 2:6). He willingly submitted to the Father, and that never kept Him from teaching or leading. So this verse can't bar women from teaching or leadership.
There's a Place for You
God has been calling daughters as well as sons since Genesis 1. Have questions, or want to talk through what God might be stirring in you? Reach out to our pastors. Read about our leadership and beliefs or watch a message. And you're always welcome on a Sunday at 10am at 3102 Prairie Rd in Madison. Plan your visit.