What Do You Say to a Woman Who Believes She Is Called to Be a Pastor?

These types of conversations are always tough! In our day and age, any discussion that relates to gender roles can be uncomfortable. I believe that God’s Word, however, is good news for women, and my hope is that any woman who believes she is called to be a pastor would understand that God never calls us to do something that violates His Word.

If I immediately launch into telling a woman why I believe she is wrong, two things happen: she stops having ears to hear me, and her defenses go up—neither is helpful for a productive discussion. Instead, I work through a paradigm I first learned from a former pastor of mine: Identify, Care, Clarify, Probe, and Teach.

Identify: I try to relate to where she is, so I may share briefly how I first sensed God was calling me into full-time Christian service.

Care: Since she has been vulnerable enough to share, I thank her for trusting me enough to open up and let her know I care about her walk with the Lord.

Clarify: Then, I ask her to describe her journey to understand why she believes God is calling her to be a pastor, asking clarifying questions when appropriate. If you start with these three steps, you open dialogue instead of shutting it down.

Probe: Once I hear her story, I will start asking probing questions to try to discern what her ultimate authority is for determining God’s leading in her life. It should be God’s Word, but it may not be. I am trying to determine if anything “trumps” Scripture in her life.

Teach: Finally, I will ask her if we could look together at the passages that help us understand God’s plan for how women serve in the church (see Genesis 1–2; 1 Timothy 2:9–15; 1 Corinthians 11:2–11; Titus 2:3–4). The goal is to let the Word of God teach her so she is convinced by Scripture and not by cleverly worded arguments.

So, What Does the Bible Say?

God made each one of us and fashioned us (Psalm 119:73). Like any good designer, God has blueprints (found in Scripture) for how we fit together as the church. When it comes to how women serve in the church, I have found it helpful to remember some foundational truths as you approach this sometimes-heated topic:

1. True Christianity has raised the dignity of women. Where societies or even some other religions have treated women as simply property, true Christianity teaches that women, as well as men, are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26–31).
2. God has designed each of us and equipped us as He has pleased—it’s not about us; it’s about Him (1 Corinthians 12:18). We can and should trust Him (Isaiah 40:28–31).
3. Women and men are called to be a living witness of the goodness of God’s design by living obedient lives (Ephesians 4:1).
4. The Church needs each member of the body—men and women, boys and girls—working together in biblically appropriate ways to build each other up (Ephesians 4:12).
5. Despite the fact that there are some distinctions between men and women in terms of their roles within the church, the Bible is clear that both are equal in terms of their worth before God and in terms of the inheritance they have in Christ (1 Peter 3:7; Galatians 3:28). Neither sex is more loved or more valued or more important than the other.
6. While women have been given two boundaries within ministry (not to teach men in the church nor have authority over men in the church; 1 Timothy 2:12), there is a vast field of ministry women can and should do (Titus 2:3–5).

At the end of the day, God’s design for the church will be accomplished whether we choose to be obedient to Him or not. Isn’t it cool, however, that He wants to use us? And, doesn’t it just make sense to do things His way? He is, after all, the Master Designer.

In this special Light the Way Q&A series, we ask our world-class faculty to shed biblical light on a wide assortment of questions that you and your church might encounter in life and ministry. Each answer is shaped with a biblical worldview and aimed at helping you apply God God’s Word to real-world issues. This article was originally published in the Winter 2025 edition of the Mid-America Messenger.