Simply ChurchWould you want to become a Christian if you were told that your role in church would be limited, solely because of your gender? That because of your gender, you would never be allowed to teach or to lead in any strategic way. That because of your gender, you would be expected to wait for… Read More
Sometimes the thought crosses my mind, “Are you just making all this stuff up about men and women working together as co-equals in the church? Who do you think you are? You aren’t qualified to make judgments about the Scriptures–you don’t have any training in these areas.” And it’s true. I don’t. So I love… Read More
Julie Ross, one of the co-authors of The Black Swan Effect: A response to gender hierarchy in the church compiled these scary statistics: Half the world’s population is female. They comprise 40% of the world’s workforce but own 1%of the world’s wealth. Seventy percent of those living in poverty in the world are female, globally. 100 million… Read More
We may have just helped to start another church. Sometimes starting a simple church can be just that–simple. We’ve had a wonderful couple from a Hindu background who have part of the church in our home for a while. We’ve prayed with them, baptized them, rejoiced with them at the miracles they’ve seen. When they… Read More
Bonnie Sloat often sends me comments on my posts–always insightful and encouraging. So when she sent me some ideas based on the results of the Fall–curse or consequence, which I found very helpful, I asked if she would consider writing a guest post for me on that topic. Here’s what she writes: As a marriage and… Read More
I’m sometimes told that when God uses a woman to lead or to teach, it’s an exception–usually because he cannot find a suitable man. (This gives justification for women on the mission field.) I’ve even had Balaam’s ass cited as an example, as in, if God can use Balaam’s donkey, then he can even use… Read More
Regular readers of my blog know that there’s a book I quote perhaps more than any other (excepting the Bible itself.) That book is Man and Woman, One in Christ: An Exegetical and Theological Study of Paul’s Letters by Philip B. Payne. It’s a 500+ page, deep theological study of the writings of Paul concerning women,… Read More
In the Old Testament, a male only ritual signified being a Jew–circumcision. In the New Testament, becoming a follower of Jesus is symbolized by baptism–something any believer, male or female, can obey. Not only that, but women can baptize too (Matthew 28:18-20) Just sayin’…
I am no theologian. Nor do I have a background in ancient languages. So I’m very grateful for the many prominent theologians who hold the same position that I do on the topic of women in ministry. Scot McKnight, in his excellent book, The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible, describes a visit to… Read More
Like it or not, for most women in the church there is a stained glass ceiling. Women have limits. In most churches, they are not allowed to baptize or to give communion. In many other churches they cannot teach from the pulpit or hold a position of authority. The stained glass ceiling is a reality,… Read More
Join our mailing list to get occasional updates from me!