Why Are We Talking About Gender in Ministry When the World Is Dying?

I am a missionary evangelist. In the course of my travels around the world, I see so many lost and hurting people. It is glaringly obvious to me that we need everyone working in this harvest—that is, every man and every woman.

The Scriptures make it very clear in the book of Acts, Chapter 2, that God is going to pour out His Spirit on all of us, so that all people will prophesy of the glory of God and declare the truth of the gospel (Acts 2:16-17). Yet in spite of observable need and scriptural precedent for women in ministry, once again we are being drug back into the dark, dingy caves of people saying that the pulpit is only for men. It doesn’t make any sense.

As far as I’m concerned, the issue of women in ministry is less a matter of interpretation and more one of desperation. Consider an example with me.

When you can’t breathe because you’ve gotten the wind knocked out of you, do you not need someone to breathe life into you to keep you from dying? In that moment, salvation has nothing to do with gender, race or age; it’s about time. You are running out of time, and you need one thing: someone, anyone, to care enough to bend over and breathe life into you.

If I am on the ground dying, in need of fresh breath, and a woman reaches over to breathe into me the breath of life, please no one tell her she doesn’t qualify. Regardless of whether the person is red, yellow, Black or white, please no one tell her to “Go home.” Tell her to breathe into me the only thing that gives me hope for tomorrow, for a future. I believe the world is gasping, longing for the power to be set free, and instead of serving them, so many are distracted with trying to figure out who’s qualified and who isn’t.

It is obvious throughout the Bible that the Spirit of God uses both men and women to proclaim the good news publicly and privately. After all, was Mary Magdalene not the first person on earth to proclaim that Jesus had risen from the grave (John 20:17-18)? In both the Old Testament and the New Testament, the first prophetic words were given to women. And if we take an honest look at John 4, it’s easy to see that if the fate of the Good News had been left up to the 12 disciples, Samaria would have remained lost.

God openly used a woman of questionable reputation to turn a city upside down. Nowhere did Jesus ridicule her for her actions. He only corrected the disciples, who had failed to discern the harvest that God intended for the city.

The harvest is no less imminent today. The Holy Spirit is hovering over every city in the world, looking for men and women who are full of faith. The Spirit is searching for anyone who believes all things are possible with God, who will change the atmosphere by speaking out the Word of life, and who will release the prophetic that God promised in Acts 2.

When God begins to use the flesh of all people to speak into the lost the breath of life, there is only one valid question to be asked: Are they preaching the whole truth of the Word? That is, are they declaring Jesus as our risen Lord and Savior?

If the answer is yes, that should be sufficient enough for us. It certainly seems to be good enough for God, who equips us not based on our gender, race or age but on our desire to serve Him and see to it that the reality of His forgiving, loving and healing nature becomes alive to every living person.

The world is out of breath. It’s dying, and in my opinion, it’s running out of time. We must ask ourselves what is more important: the eternal fate of lost souls, or who it is God uses to breathe His life.

You’re beautiful. I see Jesus in you.

Have a great week! {eoa}

Mikel French has challenged spiritual awakening all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with the Book of Hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide soul-winning celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor’s conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia’s 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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