20 Free A/V Resources on Biblical Gender Equality

Here are 20 free (or nearly free!) audio (A) and video (V) resources that present biblical gender equality (egalitarianism) in a clear, compelling way, have high production quality, and are available for free online. (Updated 5/2021)

1.  Refuting Objections to Ordaining Women (V)

In this Seven Minute Seminary video, “Should the Church Ordain Women?“ Professor Ben Wayman responds to common objections that would limit ordination to men. He argues that this is a core issue for the church, and shouldn’t be relegated to “women’s issues.”

2. Empowering Women Leaders (V)

Tony Morgan|Empowering Women Leaders: An Interview with John Ortberg Addresses Ortberg’s personal journey to an egalitarian perspective, barriers for women in church leadership, the steps men need to take, and the status of women in the church today for mentoring and leadership development, how to develop a church culture that welcomes shared leadership, and the need for teaching from the pulpit (15-minute video).

3. General Overview (V)

Ben Witherington III| Women and Ministry from Scripture and History, Part 1 and Ben Witherington III| Women and Ministry from Scripture and History, Part 2  Part 1 is on women’s roles in the first century, how that changed once Jesus came along, and what this means for interpreting Scripture today. Part 2 addresses  “problem passages” and leadership in the church. Both are just 7 minutes each. Brilliant! Witherington is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky.

4. Inspirational Address (V)

Kate Wallace Nunneley| Why Talk about Faith, Gender, and Culture? This 24-minute student chapel message given by The Junia Project’s co-founder gets at the heart of why biblical gender equality is important for the future of the church. Also see Kate’s iTunes podcast from Greenville College Chapel Service, 2015-2016, #30.

5. Panel Discussion (V)

Ron Pierce, Joy Qualls, David Talley| Discussion on Diverse Theological Perspectives A 35-minute dialogue between two professors at BIOLA University/Talbot School of Theology with differing views. Excerpts could be used for discussion.

6. Academic Lectures (V)

Ron Pierce|Introduction to the Contemporary Gender Debate This 50-minute classroom lecture explains the complementarian and egalitarian positions in detail. Dr. Pierce is one of the editors of Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy (a classic egalitarian text) and a faculty member at BIOLA/Talbot School of Theology. More lectures are available on YouTube (look for course BBST 450). See also Male and Female in Creation and Fall in which Dr. Pierce looks specifically at Genesis 1-3.

7. CBE YouTube Channel (V)

Christians for Biblical Equality is the most comprehensive resource for egalitarianism and you will find a wide variety of videos on the CBE YouTube channel. Because these come mostly from conferences/events they are not professional quality, but the content is excellent. One of our favorites is Eugene Cho’s address on Misogyny in the Church.

8. Home-Produced Series (V)

Haley Lee|Complementarianism & Egalitarianism  Lee gives a 5-minute overview of the positions, then expands on them in other segments, including 1 Timothy 2:12: Can Women Teach?, 1 Timothy 2:15: Saved by Babies?, and Can a Woman Be a Deacon? Each segment is under 10 minutes.

9. Short Answers (V)

Bruxy Cavey|Why Was Eve More Easily Deceived? and Bruxy Cavey |Why do some churches not let women lead? The first clip (3:41 minutes) would be a good discussion starter for a study of Genesis or 1 Timothy. The second clip (1:40 minutes) is a reasoned response on how churches come to their differing positions on women. Cavey is the Teaching Pastor of The Meeting House in Canada. See also Cavey’s 4-pt series “Being Male & Female”.

10. Workshop Presentation (A)

John Ortberg| Scripture, the Church, and Women Ortberg is a well-known author and the senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. This audio is from his 70-minute workshop at the 2006 Global Leadership Summit.

11. Compelling Vision for Biblical Gender Equality (A)

Mary Kate Morse| Living Your Resurrectional Gender Identity  This 23-minute keynote from the 2015 Missio Alliance conference presents a clear and compelling vision for equality as a condition of being “truly human”. Morse is an author, church consultant, and professor of leadership and spiritual formation at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. The only one on the list that isn’t free, but worth every penny. Find other low-cost Missio Alliance resources from the She Leads and Church Together conferences on women in leadership here.

12. On Changing One’s Mind on Women in Church Leadership (V)

Mitch Little| We All Wear Crimson In this 8-minute excerpt from the service in which the leadership of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX announces they are removing all restrictions on women in leadership, elder Mitch Little shares how studying scripture and the moving of the Holy Spirit caused him to change his mind. Stop at 17 minutes.

13. Great Sermon on Egalitarian Biblical Interpretation (V)

Pete Briscoe| The Future of Leadership at Bent Tree This is a video of a service in which the elders and lead pastor of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX share their new commitment to shared leadership. Starting at 18:31 Briscoe gives an overview of egalitarian interpretation and at 28:45 he unpacks six reasons women are free to lead at any level in the church. Difficult passages (1 Cor 14 and 1 Tim 2) are discussed at the 1:00 mark.

14. Short Take on Defining Christian Feminism (A)

Charlie and Ashley| What is Christian Feminism In this 5-minute podcast two millennial Christians explain their perspective on what it means to claim the feminist label. Check out the entire series.

15. Short Take on Gender Inequality in the Church (V)

Rose Madrid-Swetman| Missing Half of What God Has to Say How gender inequality robs men and women of true personhood and misrepresents the image of God (4-minute video).

16. On Domestic Violence Prevention (V)

Nancy Murphy| Recycle Your Faith: Domestic Violence and the Church an 8:34 minute clip outlining an appropriate response to domestic abuse that includes a powerful testimony from a couple who received poor advice from a church. Great for churches.

17. Gender Reconciliation (V)

Brenda Salter McNeil| Reconciliation with Gender A 9:38 minute excerpt from a sermon at Quest church on the need to rethink narrow prescriptions for gender roles.

18. Theology Podcast (A)

The Split Frame of Reference podcast by Allison and Nick Quient has 42 episodes worth of intriguing content with a variety of articulate guests (scholars, theologians, activists) on various topics related to biblical equality, including. Episodes are on the longer side but worth a listen.

19. Podcast on Sexuality in Marriage (A)

The Bare Marriage podcast by Sheila Wray Gregoire, addressed sexuality in marriage in ways not typically seen in the Christian world. Something for everyone here!

20. Podcast on Women in the Bible (A)

#SheToo is a seven-part podcast series produced by the Bible Society that explores some of the texts that include violence against women in the Bible. Six scholars share their academic and personal approaches to these texts, and what they might have to say to 21st century readers. (Disclaimer: We haven’t listened to all of these yet. Always vet material before you present it at your church or in a group!)

Updated 5/17/2021