Date of Award

3-6-2025

Document Type

Project Portfolio

Degree Name

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Department

Seminary

First Advisor

David McDonald, DMin

Second Advisor

H. Colleen Butcher, DMin

Third Advisor

Leonard I. Sweet, PhD

Abstract

The need for "Reimagining the Role of Women in the Church of Tomorrow" has come from my experience serving as a Pastor in two non-denominational churches in Mid-Michigan over the last seventeen years (approximately 15 years in Saginaw, 2 years in Frankenmuth). In Saginaw, it became clear the advancement of the Kingdom was limited when women were not eligible to act on their spiritual gifts within the leadership hierarchy of the church. Practically, this meant women were not allowed to serve as Pastors, Elders, or preachers/teachers to the congregation at-large. Attempts from myself and others to illuminate the ways this hindered our collective mission fell on hard hearts. For years, I faithfully and respectfully told stories and shared metaphors to illustrate the possibilities of a better, more biblically faithful way for church leadership to be expressed, but it was to no avail. I could no longer Pastor in an environment that fought to maintain a status quo that restricted the Spirit of Jesus in others.

In Frankenmuth, I experienced a brief stage of openness to the conversation about unrestricting women, but it was short-lived and unembraced. I now realize that the voice of change must come from the outside as it assists those on the inside who desire it. The result of this doctoral project is a framework for entering into an exploratory conversation with male-only Elder Boards that restrict women from their leadership hierarchy. My hope is to help them discover how these outdated, cultural restrictions from the past are limiting their expression of the Kingdom to their community today. If they are open to reimagining the role of women in their church, I will help navigate them through the biblical, historical, cultural, and practical aspects of change as they transfigure into a more beautiful, unrestricted Body of Christ.

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