Show Notes
If you grew up hearing that the gifts of the Spirit ended with the book of Acts, this episode asks what happened in between.
Dr. Karen Murphy, who teaches at Fuller Seminary and was raised Pentecostal, tells us where to look: the monasteries, convents, and margins where women kept exercising these gifts. We meet Brigid of Kildare, Hildegard of Bingen, who had visions and called popes to account, and Julian of Norwich, who insisted “all shall be well” in the middle of the plague.
Karen also traces the roots of modern Pentecostalism to William Seymour and the 1906 Azusa Street revival, and we talk about who is hurt most when we tell people the gifts have ceased. Then we bring the story forward to women living it now. Maria Adkins shares how she found her own overwhelming encounter with the Spirit described in a book about the revivalist Maria Woodworth-Etter, and Pauline describes the quiet, informal prayer ministry she leads.
We close with what Scripture warns happens when a generation stops telling the stories of God’s goodness (Psalm 78, Judges 2, Deuteronomy 4), and why the next few episodes are full of stories from women using their gifts today.
If you liked the episode, please make sure you rate, review, and subscribe anywhere you listen to podcasts, and please share this episode with a friend.
Support our individual work by following @thetheologygirls and @lifeonpilgrimage on Instagram, as well as www.lifeonpilgrimage.com
Thank you to our contributors in this episode, Karen Jorgensen Murphy and Beth Felker Jones — you can find links to their work below. And a special shout out to Maria and Paula for being part of this episode.
Important Links:
“Faithfully Dissident Daughters” by Chelsea Kim Long
https://www.chelseakimlong.com
To sign up for emails and snag a copy of our discussion guide, visit at our website:
www.weirdwomenpodcast.com
More from Theology Girls Podcast
In the first episode of Weird Women, we start in a prayer room in St. Louis and with worship leader Chante Rivers, who tells the story of singing “How Great Is Our God” in the middle of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri in 2014. From there we go back to the first recorded worship leader in Scripture: Miriam, the prophetess who led Israel in song at the Red Sea. Dr. Christopher Hays of Fuller Theological Seminary walks us through the female prophets of the Hebrew Bible, including a scholarly case that Miriam’s song may be older than Moses’.
Today we are sharing the recording from Theology Girls Live on October 2nd with Tara Beth Leach. Tara Beth and Katy discuss what it’s like to be a female pastor, what women’s leadership looked like in scripture and where the church has lost their way. They also discuss challenges female leaders face and Tara Beth offers encouragement for women who feel called to lead.
Today we’re sharing a special conversation with author, theologian, professor, and podcaster, Nijay Gupta. Nijay is the author of many books, including, “Tell Her Story” which released in 2023, as well as upcoming books “Fierce and Faithful” that he wrote with Carmen Joy Imes that launches on October 27th, as well as “God Spoke Through Her” which will be released in the spring. Katy and Nijay chat about his authorship, what it was like to write a book for children as well as lesser known female Bible characters, why soft complementarianism is sometimes counterintuitive and the special call women have on their lives in our current cultural moment.
Today we are sharing a conversation with podcaster, musician, and new author, Savannah Locke. Last year Savannah co-hosted the All the Buried Women Podcast with Beth Allison Barr and now hosts “The Subtext” with Lee C. Camp. Savannah also has a new book releasing in March of 2027 called, “Every Question Jesus Asked”. In this episode Katy and Savannah discuss the research she and Beth Barr did for the All the Buried Women series, the Southern Baptist Church, the powerful questions Jesus asked and how she avoids cynicism.