Stained glass window formed of multiple colors of the Church of Santa Cruz, Cadiz, Spain.

Watching the Southern Baptist Convention news unfold over the past weeks, I realize I have no direct experience with what my SBC sisters face. Growing up between the UMC, UCC, and ABC churches, I have always known a world that included women in ministry. I am a second-generation ordained woman—my father and mother met and married in seminary, and I was born shortly before my mom’s ordination. And so, I had the luxury and privilege of growing up fully entrusted with the grace of soul competence in discerning my call in life. I remained relatively isolated from the voices of those who would question God’s ability to call my sisters or me into service until I entered the world of Twitter. Until that point, I thought that the question of women’s ordination raised in other denominations was quaint, yet not my business. However, Revda. Laura Ayala-Alvarez encouraged us to speak up for our people “in such a time as this” at our Biennial Mission Summit in San Juan this year. Among the many I count as “my people” are my siblings who are called to serve and disbelieved.

Those called to ministry understand that we cannot simply ignore God calling our names. I know this personally because I tried. As the daughter of two ordained ministers, I knew church life too well—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I knew that a career in Christian ministry was not a viable path to economic success. So, when God called me in my early 20s, I boldly said no. I am not doing that, I told God. I will sing your praise, teach, study education, and try to help your people that way, but I am not going into the ministry! I almost got away with it, too—until after I completed my PhD in education, I got called to preach one Sunday while our pastor was away…then invited to copastor…then asked to be the transitional minister, and eventually ordained. When I responded to God’s call, other parts of my life that had been challenging started to fall into place. My life tangibly improved when I stopped resisting the path God placed in front of me. I could no more say no to the call than Jonah could say no to Nineveh. I may not have wound up in the belly of a giant fish, but life grew easier when I said yes to God.

And yet, not all my SBC siblings in Christ are entrusted with having the same level of soul competence to discern God’s call. Imagine hearing God calling in the night but the powers that be responding that it is impossible because of your gender. If only males are entrusted with the ability to discern God’s call, women are considered “less than” competent regarding matters of the soul. Frankly, a realm where women are considered less than fully competent souls doesn’t sound much like the Kingdom of God to me.

One curious notion espoused by those who don’t believe God would call women is the equation of the role of the pastor with “authority.” They claim that non-men who respond to God’s call are doing so to have power and authority over men.[i] They draw this conclusion based on the word αὐθεντεῖν (authentein) in 1 Timothy 2:12. Relying on this word alone to determine anything about the role of a pastor is problematic for many reasons. First and foremost, the role “Pastor” is never mentioned in the New Testament, as that role in the church developed later, so interpreting these texts as instructions specific to the contemporary concept of clergy is eisegetical. The letters to Timothy and Titus were not widely referred to as “pastoral letters” until the 1700s. Next, the assumption that someone serving as a pastor exerts authentein is troubling. The word implies “domineering,” “usurping authority,” and “having full power over.” Do we want ANY pastor—male, female, or third gender—to “have full power over” or “dominate” our lives? I wholeheartedly believe that this kind of authority solely rests with God. To say that the role of pastor grants this level of authority to anyone—male, female, or any other gender—grossly misses the mark regarding the duties and responsibilities of a pastor.

Many of us have read pastoral job descriptions, whether as clergy seeking employment or participating on a church search committee. Glassdoor.com offers: “A pastor is a leader responsible for shaping the vision and direction of their religious organization.” Among the responsibilities, this sample job description includes “prepare and deliver sermons,” “conduct personal and premarital counseling services,” “work with church boards and advisory councils to determine the direction of the organization,” and “carry out community support initiatives such as trips and activities.” Nothing in this description is like what is implied in the word authentein. Rather, a pastor gently guides and leads, walking with people rather than having power over people. People who truly hear God’s call understand that they are to serve, teach, and guide—not to dominate. Honestly, I steer clear of anyone claiming that their pastorate gave them “full power over” others, including those who claim to know better than God whom God will call.

Women who are called to pastoral ministry, please be assured that you are not excluded from gently leading the flock based on your gender, neither by this verse, this specific word, nor by God. We cannot ignore verses that declare there is neither male nor female in Christ (Galatians 3:28) and that our “sons and daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17) for a solitary word about dominating others ascribed to the role of the pastor centuries later. Your soul is competent and free to follow God’s guidance in your life.