Warren Shares Three Scriptures Changed His Mind on Women in Ministry
Warren told Moore that he understands why people get upset regarding the issue of women pastoring because he believed in that interpretation of the Bible until three years ago.
The Purpose Driven Life author made it clear that neither culture, anecdotes, nor peer-pressure changed his mind on the issue of women pastors. Scripture is what changed him. “What changed me was when I came to confrontation with four scriptures nobody ever talked about that I felt had strong implications about women in ministry—[scriptures] nobody had ever shown me.”
“I knew the Titus passage. I knew the Timothy passage. I knew 1 Corinthians,” Warren said. “Every time people say, ‘Why don’t you have women pastors?’ I’d tell them show me a verse. You give me one verse [and] I’ll consider it because I’m a Bible guy. I can’t just say, ‘Well, everybody’s doing it,’ or ‘I’ve been to 165 countries and I’ve seen churches that 30, 40, or 50,000 people led by a senior pastor who’s a woman. That’s not enough for me. I have to have a biblical basis.”
During the pandemic, Warren shared that he started reading all the books he could find on the Great Commission, saying that he read over 200 books pertaining to the topic. While doing so he asked himself two questions: “Why did the church grow fastest in the first 300 years,” and “Then in next 1700 years, I was asking, what went wrong?”
Warren’s study changed his view regarding women preaching and being called pastors, he said. Warren listed The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) as the first passage where he concluded women are allowed to teach.
“Now Southern Baptists like to call ourselves Great Commission Baptists, and we claim that we believe the Great Commission is for everybody. Both men and women are to fulfill the Great Commission,” Warren said.
He then pointed out, “Well, not really, you don’t believe that.” Warren explained that in Jesus’ command there are four verbs: go, make disciples, baptize, and teach. “Women are to go, women are to make disciples, women are to baptize, and women are to teach. Not just men.”
“Who authorized women to teach?” Warren asked. “Jesus.”
Warren used Jesus’ words to back up his answer, saying, “All authority is given to me, therefore teach. All authority is given to me, therefore baptize.” Warren alluded that those who don’t believe women are biblically permitted to teach have a “problem with the Great Commission.”
“I had to repent when I actually looked at the Great Commission. I had to say, ‘It’s not just for ordained men. It’s for everybody,'” Warren admitted.
