Women Who Preach
I sat in the class glancing around at my classmates.
Yet another seminary class where I was the only woman in the room.
As I listened to the professor walk us through the syllabus, I was fighting the lies swirling in my head that I didn’t belong in a Master of Divinity program, much less in this Intro to Preaching class.
“You will each listen and analyze six sermons throughout this class. You may choose any sermons available online, but at least two must be from a different ethnic background than you and at least two must be from a person of the other gender.”
I felt like the elephant in the room just sat on my lap. Being the only woman in the class, I knew it would be easy for me to find sermon’s to listen to, but the men would have a harder time finding sermons online given by women. I had already tried to find them!
Sure enough, the men came back the next week complaining about the difficulty they were having finding the voices of women who preach.
My professor, who had meant well, had not researched enough to give more than a couple names of women whose sermons were online. The women who preach were out there, just so beneath the surface it was very difficult to find them.
It’s been over 10 years since I was a student in that classroom.
I went on to take 5 more preaching classes and focus my Master of Divinity on Biblical Communication and Preaching. I was relieved to have other women in those classes and also to experience most of the men as supportive or at least neutral to my call as a preacher.
I have also discovered many women who preach who I deeply admire – Brenda Salter McNeil, Christine Caine, Jo Saxton and now so many more who have become good friends!
At this point, I have worked with seminary students for the last decade as an internship supervisor, professor, and program director.
Nearly every male student I have led has assumed they were called to preach.
Nearly every female student has assumed they were not.
Some of both genders are wrong.
I am working to redevelop the preaching classes at Bethel Seminary where I will teach Intro to Preaching this Spring. With my first day of Intro to Preaching still vivid in my mind, I vow to change the experience for the women and men who will sit in my class.
I will make sure my students experience not just my thoughts on great preaching, which are quite limited based on my experience and the context in which I preach regularly.
Instead, I will be sure to introduce them in person, or online, to men and women of various ethnic backgrounds.
I will give them access to those who have experience teaching in large mega-churches, to small urban churches, and even to the rural pulpit experience. Most importantly, I have decided to make a distinct effort to make sure there is no shortage of opportunities to listen to women who preach.
A decade later there are many more women preaching as well as many more ways technology has grown in order to hear them online.
Here is the beginning of the list of women who preach that I will have at the fingertips of my students and also to you!
CLICK FOR LIST OF WOMEN WHO PREACH
I welcome submissions from anyone who knows of a church podcast or sermon page where a woman preaches once a month or more (form at bottom of list).
God has used gifted men and women and their sermons to change my life.
By sharing this list and adding to it, you can give many others the opportunity to be shaped by God’s leadership through women who preach!
To hear more about the Masters Programs at Bethel Seminary or to take a class with Pastor Steph or other professors to see if Seminary might be for you, visit: bethel.edu/seminary
I sat in the class glancing around at my classmates.
Yet another seminary class where I was the only woman in the room.
As I listened to the professor walk us through the syllabus, I was fighting the lies swirling in my head that I didn’t belong in a Master of Divinity program, much less in this Intro to Preaching class.
“You will each listen and analyze six sermons throughout this class. You may choose any sermons available online, but at least two must be from a different ethnic background than you and at least two must be from a person of the other gender.”
I felt like the elephant in the room just sat on my lap. Being the only woman in the class, I knew it would be easy for me to find sermon’s to listen to, but the men would have a harder time finding sermons online given by women. I had already tried to find them!
Sure enough, the men came back the next week complaining about the difficulty they were having finding the voices of women who preach.
My professor, who had meant well, had not researched enough to give more than a couple names of women whose sermons were online. The women who preach were out there, just so beneath the surface it was very difficult to find them.
It’s been over 10 years since I was a student in that classroom.
I went on to take 5 more preaching classes and focus my Master of Divinity on Biblical Communication and Preaching. I was relieved to have other women in those classes and also to experience most of the men as supportive or at least neutral to my call as a preacher.
I have also discovered many women who preach who I deeply admire – Brenda Salter McNeil, Christine Caine, Jo Saxton and now so many more who have become good friends!
At this point, I have worked with seminary students for the last decade as an internship supervisor, professor, and program director.
Nearly every male student I have led has assumed they were called to preach.
Nearly every female student has assumed they were not.
Some of both genders are wrong.
I am working to redevelop the preaching classes at Bethel Seminary where I will teach Intro to Preaching this Spring. With my first day of Intro to Preaching still vivid in my mind, I vow to change the experience for the women and men who will sit in my class.
I will make sure my students experience not just my thoughts on great preaching, which are quite limited based on my experience and the context in which I preach regularly.
Instead, I will be sure to introduce them in person, or online, to men and women of various ethnic backgrounds.
I will give them access to those who have experience teaching in large mega-churches, to small urban churches, and even to the rural pulpit experience. Most importantly, I have decided to make a distinct effort to make sure there is no shortage of opportunities to listen to women who preach.
A decade later there are many more women preaching as well as many more ways technology has grown in order to hear them online.
Here is the beginning of the list of women who preach that I will have at the fingertips of my students and also to you!
CLICK FOR LIST OF WOMEN WHO PREACH
I welcome submissions from anyone who knows of a church podcast or sermon page where a woman preaches once a month or more (form at bottom of list).
God has used gifted men and women and their sermons to change my life.
By sharing this list and adding to it, you can give many others the opportunity to be shaped by God’s leadership through women who preach!
To hear more about the Masters Programs at Bethel Seminary or to take a class with Pastor Steph or other professors to see if Seminary might be for you, visit: bethel.edu/seminary
My church – probably average 3 out of 4 weeks (Female senior pastor)
In Australia
http://cornerstonechurch.org.au/sermons
I will add you! 🙂
I preach at Real Hope Community Church. My name is Jenny Jones, I am the Executive Pastor and the website is http://www.realhopecc.or/messages
Thank you for this list, such a great resource!
Great! I will put you on the list!
You’re teaching at Bethel? It’s been a long time since I sat in their first preaching class and explained why the text was not appropriate for a class with women in it! So happy to see this. Added to the list.
Yes, I am! I am teaching Preaching and Discipleship.
This is so wonderful. I was the only female religion major in my class in college, and only one of two earning an M-Div in my graduating class in Seminary. I will never forget my Intro to Preaching class where one of the women was told she should wear a jacket over her dress because the men were distracted. ? I was one who knew I was not called to preach…not because I ever prayed about it, but because I was told that God didn’t call women to serve in that position. So, thank you for this. I still don’t “preach,” but I do teach an original, in-depth, expository, exegetical lesson every Sunday morning to a group of adults. I’m the very first female they have ever allowed to teach the Bible to adults at this church. In 2017, I’m still amazed at the narrowmindedness of many followers of Jesus who, Himself, gave the message of the Resurrection not to men, but to women.
I preach at Sacred House of Prayer, I am the founder/Pastor. Our website is sacred-house-of-prayer.com.
Great! I will add you!
Stephanie! I am a preaching pastor at a church in Peabody, MA, down the road from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Just last week I went to a national homiletics conference which was mostly men – 150 men, 3 women. I would LOVE for there to be more female homileticians there next year, would you consider joining us? It is the Evangelical Homiletics Society http://ehomiletics.com/conference/current/ Get in contact with me!! I love to speak to anyone who is passionate about women preachers!
For many years in now I’ve been involved with the women’s ministry of Queensland Baptists and been the male out of place. They have some excellent preachers. Elissa Macpherson is a good friend and great speaker. Should be able to contact her through http://www.sheis.net.au
Correction http://www.sheisconference.org
Hi Steph! I met a wonderful pastor last week named Erin Rose who preaches monthly at her church East End Fellowship in Richmond, VA http://www.eastendfellowship.org/resources/
I asked if she was cool with me passing her name to you and she said “Of course!”