Women in Theology: Why the Church Needs Female Theologians

woman studying theology

Since the first century, women have been active in the theology and mission of the Church. Luke–Acts reveals how Jesus and the apostles cared for women and enlisted them in kingdom service, and John contains the astonishing tale of how Jesus carried on a full theological conversation with a scandalous Samaritan woman, which would have been unthinkable at the time for two reasons: because she was a woman and a Samaritan. 

As the Church grew throughout the world, women flocked to Christianity because of the ways it gave them more dignity than the male-centric Greco-Roman and Jewish cultures. In fact, the office of deacon was established to provide care for the large number of Christian widows, which led to more conversions (Acts 6:1–7).

In the 2,000 years since Jesus’ incarnation, women’s work and voices have been essential to the Church’s growth. That hasn’t changed—we in the body of Christ need female theologians as much now as we did when Priscilla instructed Apollos (Acts 18:24–28).

This year, during Women’s History Month, we want to highlight some of the women who have played vital roles in Christian history as well as encourage the women who are currently serving or who sense a call to serve God’s people.

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Roundtable: Women in Theology: Why the Church Needs Female Theologians

Watch the roundtable in the embedded section below or on YouTube to hear a conversation on women in theology with Sharon Hodde Miller, Trillia Newbell, and Wendy Widder.

About the Speakers

Sharon Hodde Miller leads Bright City Church in Durham, NC with her husband, Ike. She has a PhD on women and calling, and she is the author of two books: Free of Me and Nice. She is also a mom to three young kids, aged 3, 6, and 8. Find her works in Logos here.

Trillia Newbell is the author of several books, including A Great Cloud of Witnesses, Sacred Endurance, If God Is for Us, Fear and Faith, and the children’s books Creative God, Colorful Us, and God’s Very Good Idea. When she isn’t writing, she’s encouraging and supporting other writers as an Acquisitions Editor at Moody Publishers. Trillia is married to her best friend, Thern, and they reside with their two children near Nashville, TN. You can find her at trillianewbell.com and follow her on Instagram at @trillianewbell. Find her works in Logos here.

Wendy Widder is an author and educator who loves teaching the Bible to people who just want to learn more. She has a PhD in Near Eastern studies, an MA in Hebrew and Semitic Studies, and an MDiv with an emphasis in educational ministries. She has spent much of her career in the classroom, beginning with fifth graders and then making her way into adult education in college, seminary, the church, and online environments. Wendy wrote the entry on Daniel in two Zondervan commentary series (The Story of God; Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament), and she has contributed several resources on Daniel to Lexham Press. Her greatest passions are writing biblically and theologically solid materials for laypeople, as well as teaching the Bible in an engaging way. She blogs occasionally at wendywidder.com. Find her works in Logos here.

Bible resources by women in theology

The list below is only a sample of the woman-penned Bible resources available in Logos. We will continue adding to it, so check back occasionally!

Old Testament commentaries and courses

New Testament commentaries and courses

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Jennifer Grisham

Jennifer Grisham is Content Marketing Manager at Faithlife. She previously served on church staff as director of administration and managing editor and administrator for Doxology & Theology. Her work has been published by The Gospel Project and The Gospel Coalition, to name a few.

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