The Alabaster Jar

In this conversation, Dr. Lynn Cohick and Kelly Dippolito are joined by Dr. Beth Allison Barr as they unravel the complex history of women's roles in church leadership. Through compelling research and powerful stories, Dr. Barr challenges the contemporary notion of the "pastor's wife" by exploring historical evidence of women's significant ministerial contributions from the early church through medieval times. From the influential Queen Bertha who helped convert an entire kingdom to the medieval women who held Episcopal authority, this episode reveals how women have been active spiritual leaders throughout Christian history. Dr. Barr also dismantles myths about women's roles, exposes problematic theological constructs, and offers a liberating vision of ministry that celebrates how God gifts individuals regardless of gender. You will be inspired by untold stories of female leadership, challenged to reconsider traditional church structures, and encouraged to embrace a more biblically authentic understanding of women's spiritual calling.

Resources Mentioned:

2025 Visual Museum Symposium: Believe Her Story – Learning to Listen to God Through Women

The Visual Museum of Women in Christianity

Holy Curiosity with Kat Armstrong

The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth by Dr. Beth Allison Barr

Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry by Dr. Beth Allison Barr

The Hidden History of Women's Ordination: Female Clergy in the Medieval West by Dr. Gary Macy

Episode Sponsor:

The Alabaster Jar is brought to you by The Center for Women in Leadership, a newly formed 501©3 nonprofit organization whose purpose is to equip women in a context that is biblically rooted, theologically robust, and ethnically diverse to thrive as leaders in the academy and the Church. Follow them on Instagram @leadershipwithoutapology.