There has been a misunderstanding in evangelical culture that women are less valuable than men. This could not be further from the truth. In this video, master storyteller and sought-after Bible teacher and author, Lisa Harper, explains that although men and women function differently in the church, they are each valued the same by Christ.
The entire video is above, and the complete transcript is below.
One of my greatest griefs now as a middle-aged woman that I did not understand as a young woman in ministry is there’s a massive difference between function and value.
I function differently, especially in conservative evangelical culture, because I’m a woman. There’s lots and lots of churches who would say, “Lisa, you can’t be a teaching elder or a teaching pastor based on Pauline epistles.”
And I completely get that. If you’re interested, I actually am complementarian—by the skin of my teeth—in my understanding in that part of Scripture. However, that’s not really the main thing. The main thing is whether we are male or female, slave or free, Jew or Greek, in Christ we have the exact same value salvifically.
I equated, when I was a younger woman, being female with being less than in the economy of God. And that is heresy according to biblical narrative. Biblical narrative does not say you’re less than if you’re a woman.
There are times we function differently in the body of Christ, but our value is absolutely equal to that of a man of God. Jesus looks at us and says, “That is my kid.”
So I’d say, especially for the young women who may be listening to this, don’t for a moment dumb yourself down or think you have to be less than or check your mind at the door if you’re leaning into vocational ministry. You don’t have to be less of you to honor God. You be exactly who God created you and wired you to be and that is more than enough.
