Going further, Wilkin argues that if a church does not utilize a teaching gift a woman may possess, they are essentially wasting a resource God has given them. Additionally, a church may have a men’s program that is teaching men and by all appearances flourishing, but if they are not teaching the women and letting the women teach, neither men or women are truly flourishing. This is because the image of God—male and female—“is not represented in that body.”
Wilkin also suggested that many churches hesitate to allow women to exercise their teaching gift because of fear. The excuse that many churches give is that once they start putting women in roles of leadership, it’s a “slippery slope” that can lead to “unbiblical” practices and roles for women.
An important question today at #SEchapel. @kswhitfield asks @jenniferwilkin: “What do you see as the number one challenge when it comes to developing female leaders in the local church?” pic.twitter.com/2wCyh0256D
— SEBTS (@SEBTS) October 3, 2019
This decades-old debate about the role of women in the church is likely not going to be resolved through these two speaking sessions, but it is clear that more and more thought leaders are weighing in on the topic. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary, said he wishes to create a “kinder, gentler, healthier” complementarianism.
