The goal of this page is to amplify voices and resources in support of gender equality, specifically vis-à-vis women in ministry both in the church and the academy. The first section of this page is an introductory bibliography focused on explaining the biblical support for gender equality. The second section amplifies both individual and collective groups of women in ministry, in both the academy and the church. A more general bibliography on Feminist Theology as an academic discipline can be found at BibTheo.com/FeministTheology.

On Gender equality in the BOdy of Christ

“Women in Ministry,” Fuller Theological Seminary landing page for articles, videos, and other resources that reflect a commitment to gender equality.

“Was Paul For or Against Women in Ministry?,” Dr. Craig Keener for the Assemblies of God Enrichment Journal, Spring 2001, article now reposted with permission at SeedBed.com. The entire Spring 2001 edition of the journal is entitled, “Women: Embracing the Ministry Call,” and is devoted to affirming an egalitarian view of women in ministry.

“How to Talk about Women in Ministry and Why,” Joy Qualls, Influence (June 21, 2019).

“A Biblical Basis for Equal Partnership: Women and Men in the Ministry of the Church”, Dr. David Scholer (PDF). Originally published in Covenant Companion, December 1 & 15, 1983, and January & February, 1984 issues. Adapted and published by Fuller Theological Seminary at Fuller.edu/WomenInMinistry.

“Yes, Churches Need Women Who Teach, Lead and Preach,” Kat Armas, Relevant Magazine (Oct. 21, 2019).

“The Evangelical Debate over Biblical ‘Headship,'” Dr. David Scholer. Hosted at GodsWordToWomen.org, this is slightly revised paper that Dr. Scholer presented on April 16, 1994 for the “Women, Abuse, and the Bible” consultation sponsored by Christians for Biblical Equality.

“What Paul Really Says About Women in Ministry, Part 1,” “Part 2,” and “Part 3,” by George P. Wood, in which he discusses the complementarian & egalitarian positions on Pauline texts.

“Top 10 Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Pastors” Dr. David Scholer’s satirical Top 10 List originally took shape in an email conversation with an overseas colleague. The purpose was not to tear down men, but to show how popular arguments against gender equality in the Body of Christ would sound if the same reasoning were applied to men.

Articles on Women in Ministry, written by ministers in the Assemblies of God Network of Women Ministers.

“The Role of Women in Ministry as Described in Holy Scripture” Assemblies of God Position Paper in which the AG advocates for an egalitarian view of women and men in ministry. [English Text Download] [Spanish Text]

Megan Briggs, “N.T. Wright: the New Testament is Clear on Female Preachers.” ChruchLeaders. http://www.ChurchLeaders.com

N. T. Wright, “The Biblical Basis for Women’s Service in the Church” [pdf dowload]

For Further Reading

1. Barr, Beth Allison. The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Biblical Truth. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2021.
2. Beck, James R., ed. Two Views of Women in Ministry. Revised edition. Counterpoints: Bible and Theology. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010.
3. Bird, Michael F. Bourgeois Babes, Bossy Wives, and Bobby Haircuts: A Case for Gender Equality in Ministry. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.
4. Cohick, Lynn. Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2009.
5. Creegan, Nicola Hoggard and Christine D. Pohl. Living on the Boundaries: Evangelical Women, Feminism, and the Theological Academy. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2005
6. Karaman, Elif Hilal, Ephesian Women in Greco-Roman and Early Christian Perspective. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament, 2 Reihe. 474. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018.
7. Keener, Craig. Paul, Women, and Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
8. Lederleitner, Mary T. Women in God’s Mission: Accepting the Invitation to Serve and Lead. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2018.
9. Lee, Dorothy. The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision for Church Leadership. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2021.
10. Stackhouse, John G., Jr. Partners in Christ: A Conservative Case for Egalitarianism. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2015.
11. Westfall, Cynthia Long. Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016.

women in ministry

“Logia Scholars Database,” Logos: Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology. University of St. Andrews. “A categorized list of women scholars from across the Divinity disciplines spanning the 19^th-21^st centuries. This list is not exhaustive but includes over 500 women who have published full-length books or book chapters within one of these areas (though some have published in more than one area)” (from the website).

“There are no women on my theology bookshelf…,” Maggi Dawn. The list at the end of this article is an excellent and ever-growing list of “women authors – both academic and devotional, theoretical and practical, in every area of the theological landscape” (from the website).

“Index of Scholars,” WomenBiblicalScholars.com. A categorized list of women biblical scholars. “A biblical scholar includes not only those specializing in Old Testament/Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, but also those in fields that advance the knowledge of the scriptures (e.g. archaeology, reception history, hermeneutics, or the ancient cultural contexts of the biblical texts)” (from the website). The list of Today’s Scholars is particularly notable because the threshold for inclusion is agreeing to an interview with the website, which is then linked to their name in the index.

Women Biblical Scholars This website “includes profiles, interviews, book reviews, and other means to spotlight biblical scholars who are women. Of particular interest are scholars whose work contributes to the thriving of faith communities and advances helpful discussion of religion in our contemporary world” (from the website). The aforementioned Index of Scholars is just one part of this valuable resource.

SBL Women Scholars, SBL Facebook Group

Women Scholars on Twitter, WomanBiblicaScholars.com

Network of Women Ministers, Assemblies of God

Baptist Women Ministers, Facebook Group

Christians for Biblical Equality “CBE International (Christians for Biblical Equality) advances the gospel by equipping Christians to use their God-given talents in leadership and service regardless of gender, ethnicity, or class” (from the website).

The Junia Project “We provide a multi-author platform for those exploring and committed to the inclusion of women in leadership in the Christian church and for mutuality in marriage. This is sometimes called the biblical egalitarian position” (from the website).

Taylor, Marion Ann, and Kira Moolman. “That’s What She Said…About the Bible.” Wycliffe College. Podcast. WycliffeCollege.ca/podcast.

2019 General Council – Melissa Alfaro from Assemblies of God USA on Vimeo.

For Further Reading

1. Bauckham, Richard. Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
2. Beavis, Mary Ann, Irmtraud Fischer, Mercedes Navarro, and Adriana Valerio, eds. The Bible and Women: An Encyclopaedia of Exegesis and Cultural History. Series. Atlanta: SBL, 2011-.
3. Bendroth, Margaret Lamberts and Virginia Lieson Brereton, gen. eds. Women and Twentieth-Century Protestantism. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2002.
4. Benckhuysen, Amanda. The Gospel According to Eve: A History of Women’s Interpretation. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2019.
5. Clark-Soles, Jaime. Women in the Bible. Interpretation: Resources for the Use of Scripture in the Church. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2020.
6. Cohick, Lynn and Amy Brown Hughes. Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017.
7. DeRusha, Michelle. 50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from the Heroines of the Faith. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2014.
8. Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories. New York Random House, 2002.
9. Gupta, Nijay K. Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church. Downers Grove: InterVarsity. (Forthcoming in 2023)
10. Hari, Albert. Découvrir toutes les femmes de la Bible. Ottawa, Canada: Novalis, 2007.
11. Hylen, Susan E. Women in the New Testament World. Essentials of Biblical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.
12. Kelen, Jacqueline. Les femmes de la Bible: Les vierges, les épouses, les rebelles, les séductrices, les prophétesses, les prostituées... Paris: Relié, 2007.
13. Kwok, Pui Lan, ed. Women and Christianity. 4 vols. London: Routledge, 2000.
14. Lee, Dorothy A. The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision for Church Leadership. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2021.
15. Legrain, Michel. Dictionnaire des femmes de la Bible: suivi de quelques parcours thématiques. Paris: Cerf, 2015.
16. Magness, Jodi. The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
17. ———-. Stone and Dung, Oil and Spit: Jewish Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011.
18. ———-. The Archaeology of the Holy Land: From the Destruction of Solomon’s Temple to Muslim Conquest. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
19. McGrath, James F. What Jesus Learned from Women. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2021.
20. Meyers, Carol, ed. Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
21. Mitchell, Ella Pearson and Valerie Bridgeman Davis, eds. Those Preaching Women: A Multicultural Collection. Valley Forge, PA: Judson, 2008.
22. Schottroff, Luise, Silvia Schroer, and Marie-Theres Wacker. Feminist Interpretation: The Bible in Women’s Perspective. Translated by Martin and Barbara Rumscheidt. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998. Feministische Exegese: Forschungserträge zur Bible aus der Perspektive von Frauen. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 1995.
23. Schottroff, Luise, Lydia’s Impatient Sisters: A Feminist Social History of Early Christianity. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1995.
24. Schroeder, Joy A., and Marion Ann Taylor. Breaking the Silence: Women Biblical Interpreters through the Centuries. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, forthcoming.
25. Schroeder, Joy, and Marion Ann Taylor, guest eds. “Female Biblical Interpreters in the Middle Ages and the Reformation.” Theologische Zeitschrift 75/1 (2019), themed issue.
26. Soskice, Janet. Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels. New York: Vintage Books, 2010.
27. Soupa, Anne. Douze femmes dans la vie de Jésus. Paris: Salvator, 2014.
28. Storkey, Elaine. Women in a Patriarchal World: Twenty-five Empowering Stories from the Bible. London: SPCK, 2020.
29. Taylor, Marion Ann, ed. Handbook of Women Biblical Interpreters: A Historical and Biographical Guide. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012.
30. Taylor, Marion. “Bringing Miriam Out of the Shadows: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Phyllis Trible.” Pages 263-272 in Babel to Babylon: Essays on Biblical History and Literature in Honour of Brian Peckham. Edited by Joyce Rilett Wood, et al. New York: T&T Clark, 2006.
31. Taylor, Marion Ann, and Christiana de Groot. Women of War Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 2016.
32. Taylor, Marion Ann, and Heather E. Weir, Women in the Story of Jesus: The Gospels through the Eyes of Nineteenth-Century Female Biblical Interpreters. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.
33. Taylor, Marion Ann, and Heather E. Weir, Let Her Speak for Herself: Nineteenth-century Women Writing on Women in Genesis. Waco: Baylor, 2006.
34. Tilford, Nicole L., ed. Women and the Society of Biblical Literature. Atlanta: SBL, 2019.
35. Tucker, Ruth A. Extraordinary Women of Christian History: What We Can Learn from Their Struggles and Triumphs. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2016.
36. Yong, Amos and Estrelda Y. Alexander. Philip’s Daughters: Women in Pentecostal-Charismatic Leadership. Princeton Theological Monographs Series 104. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2009.

• See BibTheo.com/FeministTheology for more complete reader’s bibliography on Feminist Theology .