No Barriers Symposium: Women and Pastoral Leadership

In 2017, we held a symposium called ‘No Barriers’, where our keynote speaker, Dr Lynn Cohick, Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College in Chicago, presented a biblical perspective on the topic based on Apostle Paul’s writings in 1 Tim:2. Lynn has written two recent books exploring the stories of women in the formative centuries of the church, as well as commentaries on Philippians, Ephesians, and Romans. She is also part of the Langham Partnership International, a fellowship started by John Stott that seeks to train pastors, leaders and scholars in more than 70 countries. Lynn’s paper from the symposium is available below.

We were able to hear from some women in our movement alongside Lynn sharing their experiences of being in pastoral leadership and some of the unique challenges this can bring. It was a very special space in which members of our churches contributed with their stories to us all better understanding and embracing the position of women in ministry and pastoral leadership roles and why we do what we do in this space. We hope this will help us listen to one another well and recognise some of the unseen barriers that women in ministry can face.

The symposium also included a panel discussion and Q & A with leaders in our movement including State Executive Minister Mike Mills, President Jason Hoet, and Director of Ministry Accreditation Melinda Cousins. It was a great opportunity to explore how we have been and are continuing to address this topic, to respond to questions, and to share ideas for the future together.

We continue to seek to listen to one another well and recognise some of the barriers that women in ministry face.