HEY, YOU PREACH LIKE A GIRL.

One of my Facebook friends posted something like:  The other day, someone told me that female preachers should preach like women and not like men.  I asked him to unpack that statement.  I’m still waiting. 

I can’t remember who posted that status, but I was moved to respond.  So, here is my answer to the question

What Does It Mean to Preach Like a Woman?

I don’t know who said this you, but maybe I can unpack it for you.

Maybe the brother who said this meant  that you should preach like Miriam (Exodus 15) who stood shoulder to shoulder with her little brothers Aaron and Moses, leading the nation of Israel.  Maybe he meant preach like Judge Deborah (Judges 4) who inspired an army and mentored a general, just like the male judges who led Israel. 

Could be that he meant preach like the Prophetess Huldah (2 Kings 22) to whom the king sent priest, and scribe, and royal advisors to ask how they could revive the nation according to the long lost Word of God.

Maybe he meant that sisters should preach like Isaiah’s wife and partner in prophetic ministry (Isaiah 8) whose children were a witness and testimony for the Lord and to the nation. 

Perhaps he meant preach like Anna (Luke 2: 36-38), the senior citizen prophetess who served full time in the temple and testified with her co-laborer Simeon of the infant Messiah Jesus.

Maybe he meant that women should preach like the 4 prophesying daughters of Deacon Phillip the evangelist (Acts 21: 6, 7).

I’m sure the brother who said this DID NOT mean that women preachers should preach like Noadiah (Nehemiah 6: 14) who along with several men sold out to the enemy and tried to undermine Nehemiah’s mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
I’m sure he didn’t mean preach like Miriam did when in a moment of ego and bigotry, she and her other brother Aaron let their ambition override their anointing and tried to usurp Moses’ place.
 
Like genuinely called male preachers, genuinely called female preachers are powerful, purposed, anointed and human.  They are as capable of greatness or of corruption as men.

No more so.  No less so. 

Even in the patriarchal ancient world, the Bible placed sisters in just about every ministry that men held.  The Bible records women preaching, prophesying, leading, and ministering with equal power and with the full support of the Holy Spirit.   

Huldah’s harsh condemnation of the king, priests, and culture is no more softly dressed than Haggai’s indictment of the nation.   Anna’s proclamation of Jesus is not described as dainty or demure compared to Simeon’s testimony.

Women preached with power.  Women preached under their anointing.  Women preached what, when, and how God told them to.  Women preached AND they had strong marriages and families.

Maybe, just maybe this is what the gentleman meant by “preach like a woman.”   

Funny thing is that it’s also exactly what it means to “preach like a man.”

Galatians 3: 28

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama.

Call  334-288-0577
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To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme@blogspotcom.

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