Did You Know We’ve Neglected to Highlight & Reflect on Half of Church History?
“Hmmm, no, I’ve never heard of Huldah,” he replied. I was talking with my attorney friend and gifted teacher, who has taught the Bible at church for three decades. In his spare time, he studied Koine Greek and Hebrew. I could hear the ruffle of pages through my phone as he looked her up. Another avid Bible-reading friend recently said she’d never heard of Huldah either. Do you know that we’ve neglected to highlight and reflect on half of church history?
Many church-going folks who read the Word do not know the Bible stories of women. When has your church preached a sermon series on the women of the early church? Few seminary church history courses include the histories of women—mine didn’t. Dr. Sandra Glahn, seminary professor, and author noted, “If we talk only of what the church fathers were doing without including what the women were doing, we are talking only about ‘men in church history,’ not ‘church history.'”[1] Most Christ-followers are unaware of the histories of faithful women—both in the Bible and throughout the church’s history—who championed the cause of Christ. Women whose lives would encourage us, if we knew their stories, and serve as role-models for us today.
Jen Wilkin, a well-respected author and women’s Bible teacher, led a session at a 2017 conference for church planters. In her address, she encouraged the male audience as they make church staff decisions to remember:
“The contributions of women in the advancement of the kingdom are essential and indispensable. The kingdom does not advance without their contributions. So, if we’ve crafted a vision for the church in which women are extra—in which women are nice, but not necessary—we’ve crafted a vision for the church that is foreign to the Scriptures.”[2] —Jen Wilkin
In a blog post, Beth Allison Barr, a history professor, described a favorite coffee mug with the slogan, “Write Women Back into History.”[3] We need to write women like Huldah back into history. She was a prophet, and wife of Shallum, who spoke the Word of the Lord to an all-male entourage sent to her by King Josiah, King of Judah. She lived in Jerusalem and other prophets living at the time were Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Nahum, and Zephaniah.[4] Her fascinating account is recorded in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (2 Kgs 22:14–20; 2 Chr 34:22–28). And, I have written on Huldah here and here.
Jen Wilkin, Sandra Glahn, and Beth Allison Barr are right. Throughout the Bible and history, women are and have been instrumental in accomplishing vital kingdom work. Over and over, God has chosen to work through men and women to achieve his purposes. Sadly, in our churches and schools, we’ve neglected to highlight and reflect on half of church history. It’s time we “write women back into history.” In my next series of posts, I will write about selected women of the faith and their ministry endeavors. Stay tuned for next week’s first in a series on “Historic Women of the Faith.”
Are you interested in learning more about women and the church but are unsure what to study? Grab my complimentary resource guide here.
[1] Sandra Glahn, “Church History: What Do We Learn About Women in Public Ministry.” Bible.org, October 27, 2020. https://blogs.bible.org/church-history-what-do-we-learn-about-women-in-public-ministry/
[2] Jen Wilken, “Women in Church Planting.” Acts 29, Advance Church Planting Conference, 2017. (Vimeo link has been removed.)
[3] Beth Allison Barr, “How Evangelicals Forgot Women’s History.” Anxious Bench, August 7, 2019. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/anxiousbench/2019/08/how-evangelicals-forgot-womens-history/
[4] Linda Belleville, “Women Leaders in the Bible.” In Discovering Biblical Equality,” (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 113.