Review: Called to Serve, Gifted to Lead: A Biblical and Practical Case for Women in Ministry by Dawn Gentry (Cloverdale, IN: Dialoge Press, 2026).

In Acts 18, we are introduced to Priscilla, the wife of Aquila and an early missionary. We do not know much about Priscilla or her and Aquila’s ministry, other than they served alongside Paul in Corinth and “explained the Way of God…more accurately” to Apollos (18:26, NRSV). What we do know, however, was that Priscilla was clearly called to serve and gifted to lead in ministry. When I think of modern-day Priscillas, Dawn Gentry is one name that comes to mind. I have had the pleasure of knowing Dawn for a number of years and drawing deeply from her tremendous experience and passionate faith. Her story is the story of many who have been called by God to serve yet found the door shut to them for various reasons. Yet, the conversation provided is not one of dissension or derision, but one of embodied engagement.

As I “sat down” with Dawn (at a table over a cup of tea, no less), two words kept rolling around in my mind—and they were not “egalitarian” or “complementarian” (although they were definitely discussed). One word was perspective, or, perhaps, worldview. In many ways, this book is not so much advocacy for equality of women in ministry as much as it is a discussion on embodied hermeneutics, the process through which we develop our doctrinal positions that become our theological perspective or worldview. This book drinks deeply from the sweet water well of scripture, encouraging the reader to prepare for each chapter by reading the relevant scripture before exploring that chapter. This conversation places itself under the authority of scripture, yet is not beholden to archaic traditions but rather embraces a redemptive tone that seeks to restore the created order as God intended it.

This leads to the second word—risk. Engaging in this work is risk. Opening oneself up to the possibility of change is risk. Embracing God’s plan and committing to following the Spirit is risk. Accepting a new perspective is risk, which is also what this book is about. Something that I deeply appreciate about Dawn is that she is not pushy. As she notes, her focus is not on “women’s rights” but on how men and women can serve together as they have been gifted by God (p. 33). This is a risk because it means opening up spaces once dominated by men for all who have been called by God to serve and have been gifted to lead. Yet, to be the church that God intends, it is absolutely a risk worth taking.