Simply ChurchThis awesome ad from Procter and Gamble is very thought provoking, especially for those of us who believe God doesn’t place limits on women. Check it out. It will only take three minutes. What can we learn from this? What are the implications of its message for men and women in the church?
Pro-slavery advocates of the 18th and 19th centuries used five basic tenets based on the Bible to express the heart of their argument: God established slavery and there are numerous examples through the Old Testament Righteous people practiced it The moral law allowed for it Jesus accepted it The apostles upheld it. For those of us who believe that… 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
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
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
A few weeks back we had a round table at our home. The purpose of it was to follow up on The Black Swan Effect: A response to gender hierarchy in the church. What is God doing? Should we be doing anything more to follow up from the book? To my amazement, even though the team… Read More
I love it when I discover pragmatism in a Bible story. I’m sure you remember this one. An angel appears to the Gentile army captain, Cornelius, and tells him to summon Peter, who is staying in Joppa, a day’s journey away. As Cornelius’ servants near Joppa, Peter is praying on the rooftop. Through a vision,… Read More
I have been so blessed by the caliber of men who were willing to contribute chapters to The Black Swan Effect: A Response to Gender Hierarchy in the Church. Here’s a quote from the book by missiologist and author, Michael Frost. But it is pretty hollow when we guys say we stand for the inclusion… Read More