Taylor Turkington begins the conversation by highlighting that both men and women in the church can have the gift of teaching the Bible, and because of this, it is important to equip them—just like all the saints should be equipped for the work of the ministry as described in Ephesians 4:12-14.
Jen Wilkin says that she notices churches have a lot of pathways for men to teach but not as many of those for women, often leading to an imbalance due to access to tools and resources. Wilkin wants to see churches develop a category of training specifically to equip women to teach the Bible with excellence and precision, understanding the weight of what they are teaching.
Wilkin and Turkington both agree that teaching the Bible comes with a certain weightiness and, as Wilkin argues, the cost for teaching the Bible incorrectly is high. Because of this, Turkington says the church should help both men and women excel at both their interpretation and communication of God’s Word.
Wilkin says she believes women in the church want to get trained on teaching the Bible, they just don’t always know where to go. Wilkin suggests women need to see an example in the church of other women who are properly teaching the Scriptures. Ultimately, they need permission and tools to do so. Turkington agrees and adds that it is essential for women to see a model of what it looks like for a woman to teach the Bible.
For women who are wanting to grow in teaching the Bible, Wilkin recommends reading books that explore the metanarrative of the Bible, explaining what the bigger story of the Scriptures is. Wilkin also suggests delving into a systematic theology text and trusted commentary texts. Lastly, Wilkin recommends the yearly conference in Dallas, Texas, called Proclaim Truth that gives women leaders at all levels an opportunity to learn the mechanics of Bible teaching and studying the Scriptures in the local church.
Turkington ends by pointing women to The Gospel Coalition’s Women’s Training Network that seeks to train women to use the Scriptures for their own growth and for service in God’s kingdom. Turkington also recommends the Charles Simeon Trust organization that trains the next generation of Bible expositors.
Credits
Thanks to Cedarville University for sponsoring this episode. To learn more, visit cedarville.edu/TGC
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This episode was produced by Heather Calvillo and Steven Morales.