The Junia Project

Advocating for Women's Equality in the Church and Home

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About Kelly Ladd Bishop

holds an M.Div, and a B.A. in Biology. She spent seven years working in youth ministry, and has most recently worked as an associate pastor. She preaches, teaches, and writes whenever possible, mentors teens, and is a religion blogger for the Huffington Post. She is passionate about exploring God's word and issues of faith and culture.

The New Testament Case for Women Pastors

June 15, 2018 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

“There were zero women pastors in the Bible and no women apostles. There were no women pastors in nearly 2000 years of church history. Therefore, women cannot be pastors.”

This argument has been thrown at me on a number of occasions. There are a few things to unpack here. What does the New Testament say about pastors? Were there women pastors in the Bible? Were there women apostles in the Bible? Can we determine whether or not the early church had women leaders?

Filed Under: church leadership, Women and the Church Tagged With: Chloe in the Bible, female elders, female pastors, Kelly Ladd Bishop, Lydia in the Bible, Nympha in the bible, Phoebe in the Bible, women elders, women pastors

A Love Letter for Pastor-Moms

November 4, 2017 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

As both a woman in ministry, and a mom, I often feel like I live in tension.

I’m sure all working moms feel this tension. There’s a constant pull between pastor-me, and mom-me. I have moments where I feel like I’m not using my gifts to the fullest, like I’m not living up to my calling, like I’m not doing all that I could be doing. I look at others, and I feel that twinge of jealousy. How are they doing it? What choices have they made? What is different in their lives?

Filed Under: marriage and family, Women and the Church Tagged With: Kelly Ladd Bishop, women pastors

Women in God’s Redemption Plan: An Advent Reflection

December 6, 2016 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

Christmas is coming. We are in the season of Advent, a time of waiting. Advent is the story of women. It is the story of infertility, long awaited hopes, unplanned pregnancy, miracles, labor, birth, redemption, and new life. And this story of women is the story of Christianity, of waiting for the Messiah, and waiting for redemption.

The story of advent begins with Elizabeth, a woman who has been unable to conceive throughout her life, and is beyond her child bearing years. Her experience of infertility, and the disappointment of being unable to conceive is uniquely feminine. She lives the story and struggle that only a woman can know. Then God steps into her world.

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Advent, Elizabeth in the Bible, Kelly Ladd Bishop, Mary in the bible

7 Ways to Practice Gender Equality in Your Church

April 6, 2016 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

At times I have been frustrated by the number of churches that claim egalitarian theology, but are not actually practicing it. I’ve been overwhelmed by example after example, and feeling like the church as a whole would never get anywhere. Then a pastor encouraged me to focus on churches that are doing it well instead, and […]

Filed Under: church leadership, egalitarianism, sexism and gender equality in the church, Women and the Church Tagged With: Kelly Ladd Bishop

We Need You, Brothers

September 18, 2015 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

I used to work for a church that went through the tedious process of changing the church bylaws to allow for the full participation of women in ministry, including in the role of senior pastor. When it came time for a pastoral search, the church sent out a job description containing only masculine pronouns. When I asked why this was the case given that the bylaws allowed for female candidates, I was told that the bylaws do allow for a woman to be hired, but they had decided to hire a man. They were not even taking applications from women.

Recently, I was looking through the website of a friend’s church. The pastoral staff consisted only of men, and all of the numerous online sermons were preached by men. I asked one of the pastors about this, and he assured me that both he and the lead pastor held egalitarian views, and fully supported the equality of women in all levels of church leadership and in the home. He told me some of the logistical reasons for the lack of female presence in their leadership, and said that they have made an effort to have women preach, but haven’t been able to accomplish it yet.

I also went to a worship service at the church of another male pastor I know. He holds to egalitarian theology as well. There was not a single woman present in the leadership of that service. The pastor, associate pastor, scripture readers, and the entire musical worship team were all men. When I asked him about this, he explained some of the logistical reasons for this, and assured me that this wasn’t the case every week. However, it is also true that there is never a week when there are no men up front.

In the case of the first church, they claimed to be egalitarian in their bylaws, but in reality, they are not. They did not even consider a female pastoral candidate, and assured none would apply by the wording of the job description. In the cases of the second two churches, I know these pastors personally, I appreciate both of them, and they have been very encouraging to me and many other people I know.

Filed Under: church leadership, egalitarianism, masculinity, Personal Stories, sexism and abuse in the church, Women and the Church, women in church leadership

Rahab’s Role in Our Redemption

December 26, 2014 by Kelly Ladd Bishop

The story of Jericho is a gruesome one. When the Israelites took the city they destroyed the inhabitants, men, women, children, and animals, and burned it all. When Achan, an Israelite, disobeyed God and took some of the devoted things from Jericho, he and his family were destroyed as well. Sin, destruction, and loss of life abounds. But in the midst of the chaos, destruction, and calamity, the story of Jesus is there – in Rahab.

Filed Under: Women and the Bible, women in the old testament Tagged With: Kelly Ladd Bishop, Rahab in the bible

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