I've watched a lot of Joby Martin over the years. And I mean A LOT. This guy doesn't just preach sermons at The Church of Eleven22. He is everywhere. Podcasts. Interviews. Long-form conversations. Q&A sessions. Roundtables. You name it. There may not be another megachurch pastor in America who has put more of his unscripted theological thinking out there for public consumption. And that matters, because when somebody talks that much, eventually you find out what they really believe.
With Joby, there isn't much mystery. Nobody seriously listening to this guy could mistake him for some squishy theological liberal. Eleven22's own statement of faith is thoroughly evangelical, and Joby's preaching and countless public conversations make his theological orientation unmistakable. He has spoken plainly on abortion, marriage, sexuality, trans'ing the kids, and a host of other cultural and theological issues. He isn't afraid of controversial subjects, and he isn't particularly interested in tailoring his theology to whatever happens to be culturally fashionable.
Which is precisely why what happened at Saturated this year is so interesting. Joby Martin invited Jennie Allen to preach. Not to lead a women's breakout session. Not to come talk to the ladies on Saturday morning. She was one of the featured speakers at Saturated 2026. Look at the lineup: Pastor Robby Gallaty. Jennie Allen. Pastor Jonathan Pokluda. Pastor Jason Shepperd. Pastor Joby Martin. That's the official lineup published by Eleven22. Allen preached Thursday evening, September 17, at both the 5:22 and 7:22 services. Eleven22 describes her as a "Bible teacher, bestselling author, and founder of IF:Gathering." The church itself describes Saturated as five days of "worship and preaching."
And preach she did. The response that evening was extraordinary. During Allen's message, people began openly confessing sin and repenting. Allen later described what she witnessed as one of the most remarkable things she had ever seen in ministry. And apparently Joby Martin didn't feel the need to hold a theological press conference beforehand to explain why a WOMAN was standing up there teaching the Bible to MEN.
Good for him. Really, really good for him.
Because for decades a certain segment of conservative evangelicalism has taken a handful of New Testament passages concerning women and turned them into an elaborate system of restrictions governing when, where and to whom a woman may teach the Bible. Can she teach women? Yes. Teenage boys? Well, how old are the boys? Can she speak on a stage if a man introduces her? Can she "share" but not "preach"? Can she give a "testimony" but not a "sermon"? Can she teach men on a podcast but not from behind a pulpit?
After I left FBC Jax 20 some years ago, I never bought it. I absolutely do not believe the Bible requires Christians to conclude that women are categorically prohibited from serving as pastors or teaching men. Wade Burleson and others have made substantial biblical arguments against the restrictive complementarian interpretation, and I believe conservative Christians can affirm the authority of Scripture without arriving at the most restrictive conclusions concerning women in ministry.
But here's what makes Joby's move particularly significant. Joby isn't some progressive pastor trying to move evangelical Christianity to the left. Quite the opposite. This is Joby Martin. And he simply invited a gifted Bible teacher to teach the Bible. Period.
Perhaps even more interesting is what Jennie Allen said afterward during a Saturated podcast conversation. Allen said that she herself holds a conservative theology regarding male elders. She wasn't trying to launch some feminist revolution at Eleven22. But she also talked about something the church desperately needs to recover: Christian men and women treating one another as brothers, sisters and co-laborers in the gospel. And then she pointed directly to Joby. She described him as her friend, the pastor who had invited her to speak, and someone who treats her as a co-laborer for the gospel.
There it is. No theological panic. No apology. No 14-part sermon series explaining why Jennie technically wasn't "preaching" even though everybody with eyes and ears knew perfectly well what she was doing. She knows the Bible. She can teach. Joby invited her. She preached. People responded. Praise God. Maybe Joby will address this topic on a future podcast, as I'm sure he will be asked about it by one of the many podcasters he engages with week to week. I'll be watching and will report back.
And whether Joby intended it or not, I think he kicked down a door. He demonstrated that a pastor can be unapologetically conservative on Scripture, abortion, marriage, sexuality and the gospel and still recognize that God has extraordinarily gifted women who can stand before a congregation containing both men and women and teach them the Word of God. The sky did not fall. The Bible did not burst into flames. Eleven22 did not suddenly become a liberal church. People heard the gospel and repented. Imagine that.
Now here's another interesting wrinkle. In his sermon following Saturated just tonight, Joby mentioned the remarkable amount of hate mail he had received since the end of Saturated, some from people he said were his friends. That's odd. He didn't say, at least that I heard, exactly what people were angry about. So let me be very clear: I don't know that the hate mail was about Jennie Allen. But I have my suspicions. After an enormously successful Saturated week, what exactly had Joby done that would suddenly send conservative Christians to their keyboards? Maybe there is another explanation. But I wouldn't be surprised in the least if some of it came from the theological hall monitors who saw Jennie Allen standing on that stage teaching men and immediately reached for 1 Timothy 2:12 and gave Joby grief for it. And if that's what happened, I hope Joby doesn't budge an inch. I'm sure he won't and I'm sure he'll have another woman in to preach soon.
One of the things I've increasingly appreciated about Joby Martin is that he seems remarkably comfortable in his own skin. He doesn't come across like a guy constantly looking over his shoulder to see whether the evangelical gatekeepers approve of him. He's a normal guy. He talks like a normal guy. He jokes around. He gets on podcasts and talks for an hour or two without a manuscript protecting him. He answers questions he hasn't seen in advance. He's put himself on the record about an astonishing number of subjects. That is risky. And yet, after all those hours of material, you know what the guy believes. That's authenticity.
I've watched some pastors on podcasts, and they're as boring as can be, some of them not too bright. Joby knows his theology and he knows current events, and the guy has many talents.
I have watched Jacksonville Baptist pastors for a very long time. I watched the Homer Lindsay era at First Baptist Jacksonville. I watched what came afterward, and it led to total destruction and probably to some extent has fueled the rapid rise at Eleven22 the past decade. And I've watched Eleven22 grow from a church plant into one of the most influential churches this city has ever seen. Last year or so I said Joby Martin might become the next Homer Lindsay in Jacksonville. I was wrong. He has already exceeded Homer Lindsay in reach and influence and it is not even close.
That's not a knock on Homer. It's simply recognition of what has happened. Joby's pulpit is no longer merely Jacksonville. Through podcasts, books, social media, streaming and the extraordinary growth of Eleven22, his ministry reaches far beyond Northeast Florida. And Saturated 2026 showed something else about him that I appreciate: he isn't afraid. He apparently doesn't need permission from the complementarian police before deciding whom God can use to proclaim His Word.
Jennie Allen came to Eleven22. Jennie Allen preached. Men listened. Women listened. People repented. And Joby Martin didn't apologize for any of it.
Good.
Don't start now, Joby.