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Women and Ministry: What the Bible Teaches
In the midst of a raging debate about the role of women in the church, Dan Doriani offers credible and concrete guidance for mobilizing women for ministry. He combines biblical teaching and practical counsel in this comprehensive and accessible book.
Doriani begins by explaining his own personal interest in the topic as a husband and a father of three daughters. Much of the book consists of analysis of the essential biblical data regarding the roles of men and women in the church. This analysis doesn't simply show what women can't do; it discusses all the ways in which women have effectively served in Israel and the church. He gives a biblical theology of gifts and calling and offers practical guidance about the many roles women can fill in the church today. This will prove a helpful guide for pastors, church leaders, and especially women who wish to use their spiritual gifts to advance God's kingdom.
Doriani begins by explaining his own personal interest in the topic as a husband and a father of three daughters. Much of the book consists of analysis of the essential biblical data regarding the roles of men and women in the church. This analysis doesn't simply show what women can't do; it discusses all the ways in which women have effectively served in Israel and the church. He gives a biblical theology of gifts and calling and offers practical guidance about the many roles women can fill in the church today. This will prove a helpful guide for pastors, church leaders, and especially women who wish to use their spiritual gifts to advance God's kingdom.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
4 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Daniel M. Doriani
32 books19 followersAfter a decade as senior pastor of Central Presbyterian church in Clayton, Missouri, Dr. Doriani returned to Covenant Seminary full time in October 2013 to serve as vice president of strategic academic projects and professor of theology.
In this role, he teaches two core courses for the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program—Christian Ethics and Reformation and Modern Church History—as well as some elective courses on exegesis and church life. He also speaks in churches and conferences on behalf of the Seminary in ways that advance the mission of Covenant.
Dr. Doriani previously served in various roles at the Seminary from 1991 to 2003, including professor of New Testament, dean of faculty, and vice president of academics. While pastoring at Central, he continued teaching as adjunct professor of systematic theology. He has extensive teaching and pastoral experience as an interim, assistant, associate, and solo pastor, and has been involved in several planning and study committees at the presbytery level in both the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). He was chair of the PCA’s Theological Examining Committee from 1999 to 2000. Among his many books are Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible (P&R, 1996); Putting the Truth to Work: The Theory and Practice of Biblical Application (P&R, 2001); The Life of a God-Made Man (Crossway, 2001); and commentaries on Matthew, James, and 1 Peter in P&R’s Reformed Expository Commentaries series. He is also a contributing blogger for The Gospel Coalition.
Dr. Doriani and his wife, Debbie, live in Chesterfield, Missouri, and have three grown daughters.
In this role, he teaches two core courses for the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program—Christian Ethics and Reformation and Modern Church History—as well as some elective courses on exegesis and church life. He also speaks in churches and conferences on behalf of the Seminary in ways that advance the mission of Covenant.
Dr. Doriani previously served in various roles at the Seminary from 1991 to 2003, including professor of New Testament, dean of faculty, and vice president of academics. While pastoring at Central, he continued teaching as adjunct professor of systematic theology. He has extensive teaching and pastoral experience as an interim, assistant, associate, and solo pastor, and has been involved in several planning and study committees at the presbytery level in both the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). He was chair of the PCA’s Theological Examining Committee from 1999 to 2000. Among his many books are Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible (P&R, 1996); Putting the Truth to Work: The Theory and Practice of Biblical Application (P&R, 2001); The Life of a God-Made Man (Crossway, 2001); and commentaries on Matthew, James, and 1 Peter in P&R’s Reformed Expository Commentaries series. He is also a contributing blogger for The Gospel Coalition.
Dr. Doriani and his wife, Debbie, live in Chesterfield, Missouri, and have three grown daughters.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 27, 2015
I have listened to Dr. Doriani's sermons in person and online, and I have both liked and learned from them. I believe he means well, and I can appreciate what he is trying to do in this book.
However, I was really shocked by how poorly this book made the case he's trying to make. Considering the community in which I live and work, I wanted to agree with him. Instead, I found his arguments and citations full of errors both logical and technical. I do not understand how this book has continued to be read and used by educated complementarians - particularly seminarians. The only explanation I can imagine is that they have assumed based on his excellent credentials that the book would be as rigorous - and have not read with a Bible open to check the references he makes.
If you're looking for a rigorous biblical understanding of gender, I recommend "Men and Women in the Church" by Sarah Sumner.
However, I was really shocked by how poorly this book made the case he's trying to make. Considering the community in which I live and work, I wanted to agree with him. Instead, I found his arguments and citations full of errors both logical and technical. I do not understand how this book has continued to be read and used by educated complementarians - particularly seminarians. The only explanation I can imagine is that they have assumed based on his excellent credentials that the book would be as rigorous - and have not read with a Bible open to check the references he makes.
If you're looking for a rigorous biblical understanding of gender, I recommend "Men and Women in the Church" by Sarah Sumner.
January 14, 2022
There were some things about this book I liked. One was the very respectful tone Doriani takes. He doesn't bash those who think differently than him, or accuse them of not believing the Bible. This was a great example of the tone that I wish more people, on both sides of the egalitarian/complimentarian debate would practice. Too often, people in the debate seem to either act condescending, or hysterical.
He does a reasonable job of laying out and explaining his view, which is definitely firmly in the complimentarian camp, though not on the extreme, patriarchal side. However, in the end, I found too many instances where he took logical leaps or seemed to be reading things into the text instead of building his view out of them. Of course, I suppose everyone does this to some extent, but to me, there were just to many obvious examples. Such as:
He tries to demonstrate that women only "led" in scripture "alongside" a man. So he claims that Anna was somehow a team with Simeon, in the temple, when the scripture never indicates they were a ministry team. They don't even approach Mary/Joseph/Jesus together!
He cites Deuteronomy 17 to say that God requires Israel's ruler to be male. But that passage isn't an instruction/requirement, it's just a response to people who were already demanding a "king like the nations". Of course the response to that demand would automatically be discussing a king/male! But the passage never says "You ruler must be a man."
He tries to prove women should only prophesy privately by pointing out that Huldah was visited at her home. But it was perfectly normal seek out a prophet in their home when you had a specific question! Naaman went to see Elisha at his home, Jeraboam's wife visits Ahijah at his home, etc. But both those prophets also prophesied in other places! We only have one short story about Huldah, and it happens to be one where somebody visits her home, but that doesn't prove she didn't prophesy in other locations too.
And then this one, that really got me:
He repeats, over and over, that elders MUST be male, because of the requirement of "husband of one wife" (he disregards the fact that all the Greek pronouns in the passage are neuter as irrelevant). This would be logically consistent if he really believed all elders had to be the husband of one wife. However, near the end, he casually brushes off that requirement for males, and says they don't actually have to be married! I'm sorry, but if you're going to disqualify women because they can't fulfill that word-for-word requirement, then you must use the same standard to disqualify single men. Conversely, if you're going to say "husband of one wife" is just a shorthand way of describing a person of sexual fidelity, then you can't use it to disqualify a woman (provided she displays that character trait). You simply can't have it both ways.
He does a reasonable job of laying out and explaining his view, which is definitely firmly in the complimentarian camp, though not on the extreme, patriarchal side. However, in the end, I found too many instances where he took logical leaps or seemed to be reading things into the text instead of building his view out of them. Of course, I suppose everyone does this to some extent, but to me, there were just to many obvious examples. Such as:
He tries to demonstrate that women only "led" in scripture "alongside" a man. So he claims that Anna was somehow a team with Simeon, in the temple, when the scripture never indicates they were a ministry team. They don't even approach Mary/Joseph/Jesus together!
He cites Deuteronomy 17 to say that God requires Israel's ruler to be male. But that passage isn't an instruction/requirement, it's just a response to people who were already demanding a "king like the nations". Of course the response to that demand would automatically be discussing a king/male! But the passage never says "You ruler must be a man."
He tries to prove women should only prophesy privately by pointing out that Huldah was visited at her home. But it was perfectly normal seek out a prophet in their home when you had a specific question! Naaman went to see Elisha at his home, Jeraboam's wife visits Ahijah at his home, etc. But both those prophets also prophesied in other places! We only have one short story about Huldah, and it happens to be one where somebody visits her home, but that doesn't prove she didn't prophesy in other locations too.
And then this one, that really got me:
He repeats, over and over, that elders MUST be male, because of the requirement of "husband of one wife" (he disregards the fact that all the Greek pronouns in the passage are neuter as irrelevant). This would be logically consistent if he really believed all elders had to be the husband of one wife. However, near the end, he casually brushes off that requirement for males, and says they don't actually have to be married! I'm sorry, but if you're going to disqualify women because they can't fulfill that word-for-word requirement, then you must use the same standard to disqualify single men. Conversely, if you're going to say "husband of one wife" is just a shorthand way of describing a person of sexual fidelity, then you can't use it to disqualify a woman (provided she displays that character trait). You simply can't have it both ways.
July 23, 2025
Furious. Such clear eisegesis as early as page 32 when the author intends to interpret the story of Deborah as one where a woman “worked alongside a man” (the commander of the army) as opposed to having any real God-appointed authority of her own… BS!!! Deborah was the judge over Israel at that time and the commander of the army submitted to HER authority. I continued to read another 15 pages until I had enough… DNF ✌🏼
October 19, 2017
I was greatly helped by this book and I commend Doriani for speaking the truth of the Bible.
Few biblical "teachers" take a firm stance on Scripture today, especially on topics that are difficult and/or ruffle feathers.
Regardless, God's design for church leadership (specifically) is perfect. His will is always best: it brings Him the glory and benefits us greatly.
Simply put: Obey God's Word.
Few biblical "teachers" take a firm stance on Scripture today, especially on topics that are difficult and/or ruffle feathers.
Regardless, God's design for church leadership (specifically) is perfect. His will is always best: it brings Him the glory and benefits us greatly.
Simply put: Obey God's Word.
May 21, 2025
A helpful book. While I'm not convinced of everything Doriani said (he allows for women in some ministry positions that would make me uncomfortable and which I'm not sure are biblically defensible), I thought the broad majority of this work was well defended. I'm sure I'll revisit this book if I need to do further thinking about the role of women in ministry.
January 24, 2020
I especially appreciated the discussion on spiritual gifts that are shared by men and women. The end of the book was an absolute slog.
April 22, 2007
I'm kind of biased, because I hold the opposite view of the author. but this book simply made me angry as I read it - I kept having to debrief with my husband as I went through it! If anyone is interested in how a portion of the church views women in ministry, pick this one up. But dont plan on only reading this book - there are a lot of better books out there. A good book to compare this to is Linda Bellville's Women Leaders & the Church (its about the same length, and holds the opposing view).
December 3, 2013
I suppose this book would be considered borderline liberal for the PCA but mostly it just bummed me out. Basically women can do anything a non-ordained man can do in the church. And she can do a number of things in the capacity of unofficial "advisor."
It's not really a book that inspired me to want to serve in the church.
Also, the author seems to completely ignore the cultural overlays that impact what is deemed acceptable and non-acceptable for Christian women - from the selection of Christ's disciples to modern day teaching.
It's not really a book that inspired me to want to serve in the church.
Also, the author seems to completely ignore the cultural overlays that impact what is deemed acceptable and non-acceptable for Christian women - from the selection of Christ's disciples to modern day teaching.
April 10, 2024
Presents a soft complementarity with some fuzzy views of spiritual gifts that seemed more of a detour and distraction than helpful to the topic at hand.
Final chapter (Ch 10) was a helpful introduction to a historical review of the topic. It will introduce you to some of the major historical players, their views, and publications.
I need to return to this book and speed read it as an overview with my many markings in it. The book was not an easy read for me, and I had to slog through it. But I think there is value in it and I need to return to it by means of an overall review.
Final chapter (Ch 10) was a helpful introduction to a historical review of the topic. It will introduce you to some of the major historical players, their views, and publications.
I need to return to this book and speed read it as an overview with my many markings in it. The book was not an easy read for me, and I had to slog through it. But I think there is value in it and I need to return to it by means of an overall review.
March 6, 2012
A very good book that sticks to the right topics for it's size. Of course, everything there is to say on this topic could fill volumes of volumes.
Dan sticks to his guns as a Biblicist and a complementarian. Egalitarians will read this book and be unpersuaded, but conservatives will be challenged by a lot of his recommendations for practice. I found this book very useful, but others may miss an overview of current practice among leading denominations.
Dan sticks to his guns as a Biblicist and a complementarian. Egalitarians will read this book and be unpersuaded, but conservatives will be challenged by a lot of his recommendations for practice. I found this book very useful, but others may miss an overview of current practice among leading denominations.
November 26, 2009
We first launched our Women of Hope with Women's Ministry in the Local Church. However, since we've already launched our ministry, this book may serve as our next foundational study. Well written, easy to understand, and serves as a great tool in understanding the role of women in the church and in ministry.
October 2, 2015
Probably the best book I've read on the subject. Biblical, thoughtful, and charitable. Whether you are complimentarian or egalitarian you will likely enjoy this book and find things both to bolster and challenge your view.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews