Somehow, someway, affirm women today, pastor. From the pulpit.

Here’s a post from Becky Castle Miller on Things Women Need to be Hearing in Church.

Last week, Scot shared a post from Arise about the hashtag conversation around Sarah Bessey’s #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear. (Link: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2017/04/21/things-christian-women-hear-women/)

The Twitter conversation generated much conversation in the Christian blogosphere and publishing world. The hashtags #ThingsBlackChristianWomenHear and #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear offer further important insight into prejudice in the church.

As I read the #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear tweets and shared some of my own, I felt heavy-hearted for my sisters in Christ and the ways we have been silenced and marginalized in our churches. It’s such a common experience. Look at this poll:

Sierra White‏ @iSierraNichole

Have you ever felt that being a woman made you less important in the Kingdom? #ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

87%Yes

08%No

04%Yes -by my father/husband

01%No – men have empower me

Suddenly I started seeing, mixed in to the Twitter talk, some beautifully encouraging messages with the hashtag #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear. Thanks to the idea by Bronwen Speedie‏ (@GodsDesignPerth), people were offering ideas for how churches can support women who have been hurt by misogyny. This tweet summed up how I felt about the two hashtags:

Grace Arneberg‏ @ohhgracious

#ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear—accurate. harmful. heartbreaking. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear—accurate. healing. heart mending.

I jumped in with this:

Becky Castle Miller‏ @bcastlemiller

“Junia has been silenced long enough!” –@scotmcknight #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

I was amused that someone responded and tried to argue about the female apostle with Scot, who literally wrote the book on Junia. ***ADD LINK

https://www.amazon.com/Junia-Not-Alone-Scot-McKnight-ebook/dp/B006H4PFZ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1493386289&sr=8-1&keywords=junia+is+not+alone

Here’s a collection of some of my favorite tweets of what Christian women SHOULD be hearing.

Apologies 

Cody McMurrin‏ @codydmac

#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear I’m sorry.

Dr Bex Lewis‏ @drbexl

I’m sorry for how the church has sidelined women #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Angie Sanderson‏ @AngieKSanderson

“We regret giving platform to celebrity pastors who spoke disparagingly abt women.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Julie Meyer Taylor‏ @jloraye

“Your hurt and anger make so much sense. I wouldn’t want to be excluded, silenced, or insulted either.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Katy Weatherly‏ @ktweatherly

Your mental illness is not the result of failing to submit to authority– male, god-given, or otherwise. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Encouragement

Pete Briscoe‏ @petebriscoe

“You bring things we desperately need. Join us, lead alongside us, be you, we will be richer for it.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

chadm02‏ @chadm02

“I am willing to do whatever I can to help you more fully live into your calling, giftedness, and passion.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Chris Roberds‏ @differentpastor

Your gifts, leadership, passions, sermon, & heart helped me look like Jesus today. Thx for preaching. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Mrs. Carruthers‏ @alice_lbc

#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear Your words are worth listening to, your wisdom is important, your participation in Xian life & Mass matters

Andrew Norton-Thorne‏ @AndrewNorThor

The first Xn messenger of the risen Christ was a woman. You follow in worthy footsteps. Be brave. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Gena McCown‏ @GMC3Mama

How can we bless your family while you are seminary? #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Theology

Angie Sanderson‏ @AngieKSanderson

“We apologize for contorting the Trinity to bolster the ‘biblical manhood & womanhood’ movement.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Lindsey Melden‏ @lmelden

We may disagree on our interpretation but I trust that you are seeking God as earnestly as I am.

Lindsey Melden‏ @lmelden

We understand that we also serve the God of Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Gender roles 

St. Simeon the Fool‏ @SimeonTheFool

Don’t you know what Ephesians 5 says? It says I need to submit to you. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear * Yes. Really. Verse 21. Look it up.

Leah Loftus‏ @LeahLoftus

#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear your identity is not rooted in marriage or motherhood. Gentleness isn’t just for women.

John Eshleman‏ @badrobot28

Your husband’s cookies were to die for at the church’s potluck on Sunday!#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

(((Teresa Rincon)))‏ @ymmarta

“Why don’t you ask that nice guy from church out for coffee?” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Ministry work

Lisa Deam‏ @LisaKDeam

We’ve got nursery covered, so maybe you’d like to speak on the topics you’ve researched for ten years. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Elizabeth Hagan‏ @elizabethagan

You’re a great speaker & teacher. You should go to seminary. We can’t wait to ordain you &hire you to preach #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Taryn Eudaly‏ @turborev86

I have no problem meeting in the children’s room so your kids can play while we discuss your ministry. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Beth Fox‏ @BothFex

Being approached after your sermon by a junior high girl: “I want to be a pastor one day, too.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Katrina‏ @brgmnk

“We’re so glad to have you here. You bring a much needed POV to the table.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Katy Weatherly‏ @ktweatherly

Thank you for your emotional and physical labor, in building and caring for Christ’s church. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Sierra White‏ @iSierraNichole

I’m the pastors husband, glad you’re visiting our church today! My wife always brings a good word! #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Daniel Hopkins‏ @danielmhopkins

This is me. My wife is a wonderful pastor. I’m her greatest supporter, and incredibly proud of her. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Kathryn Stenta‏ @bookkats

We don’t think we are paying you enough…any female employees of #church #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Ashley Easter‏ @ashleymeaster

You are an amazing leader! Let’s add you to the senior ministry team. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Tim Amor‏ @TimAAmor

We’ve been praying, and would like you to consider becoming an elder #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Shelley Bryan Wee‏ @shelbwee

#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear Martha 1st to declare Jesus Messiah. Mary Magdalene 1st to proclaim him risen. Sister you go out & preach!!!

Abuse

Kristen Marie‏ @kilinkia3012

We believe you when you said you were abused. It’s not your fault. It’s the abuser’s fault. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Jess Duncan‏ @jessdunc3

“I’m sorry for what you were told by the church. That is spiritual abuse.” #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Andie Redwine‏ @AndieRedwine

We called the police. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Janelle Mack‏ @schoolsoutlaw

Being raped and abused was not God’s plan for you. What do you need from the church to help you heal? #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

Ezer Rising‏ @EzerRising

I believe you. I’m sorry our Pastor sexually abused you. It’s not your fault. He is no longer in leadership. #ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear

What do you think Christian women should hear?

Tara‏ @tamDuffy

#ThingsChristianWomenShouldHear was everything I didn’t know I needed to hear. It’s like I was holding my breath and now I can breathe.

By Amy Buckley, from Arise

Amy R. Buckley (M. Div., George Fox Evangelical Seminary) is a writer, speaker, editor, and activist. Amy has contributed to Strengthening Families and Ending Abuse, Churches and Their Leaders Look to the Future. She founded the Stop the Silence Initiative as an editor for SheLoves.com, bringing to light domestic and sexual violence in Christian communities, calling for a response in Jesus’ name. Amy serves on the board of Life Together International, empowering church leaders to build strong communities in Uganda and the US. She has written articles for RELEVANT, Mutuality, PRISM, SheLoves.com, Shared Justice, and Catapult. She is a member of The Redbud Writer’s Guild. Amy lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband and two adopted daughters. Read more at amyrbuckley.com and find her on Twitter @AmyR_Buckley.

Language matters—what we say, where we say it, and to whom.

If, for example, a Victorian era Brit planned to “knock someone up,” he meant to get a person out of bed. Listeners in his day would have understood the popular phrase from a Sherlock Holmes novel. If a 21st century North American plans to “knock someone up,” however, he expresses less-than-honorable intentions toward a woman.

Depending on the context and intent, it would be appropriate to say, “Thank you.” Or, it would make sense to take out a restraining order and install an extra bolt on the front door.

Context matters. I heard it all the time in seminary. It’s no small thing to translate biblical passages from Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek into English. This requires getting into the minds of the biblical authors to figure out what they intended to say to specific people in certain situations at a specific time in history. Academics call the science of interpretation hermeneutics. The goal is to know what God is saying about faith and practice in a certain context.

Those of us who read modern translations rely on interpretation of the text by translators. “Too often,” a seminary professor once said to me, “some scholars adjust materials to fit the mindset they have developed toward certain difficult passages of Paul.” And it reinforces a bias toward male privilege.

For example, some who interpret 1 Timothy 2:8-15 to mandate the universal subordination of women to men adjust other passages to fit their preconceived notions.

I believe this happens among some who insist that Jesus only had male disciples. True, Jesus initially selected twelve men, probably because the surrounding culture perceived “the voice of a woman to be an invitation to lasciviousness.” A “pious” rabbi would have refused to discuss religious matters with a woman, even a wife. In fact, Jesus broke from social norms by accepting women as learners (Luke 10:38-42). And a significant number of women traveled with him and took part in his ministry (Luke 8:1-3; Mark 15:40-41; Matt. 27:55-56).

God’s Word names specific women in conjunction with the twelve disciples:

Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples (Luke 8:2-3).

They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus (Acts 1:14).

Jesus additionally offered female followers special instructions (Luke 24:6-8; John 11:27) and included them in tasks of proclamation and evangelism (John 4:27-42).

It’s notable too that women were the central witnesses to the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. And he waited until the men left to appear to Mary and the other women (John 20:1-18; Matt. 28:9-10). Jesus commissioned them first to proclaim the most significant theological message—the resurrection—to the men (Matt. 28:7-10; Mark 16:7; John 20:17).

Clearly, problems arise when translating Jesus’ relationships with women through a filter that subordinates women to men, universally, in passages such as 1 Timothy 2:8-15.

Those of this mindset also face problems when translating the masculine word for “elder” (presbyter) in the case of a man (1 Tim. 5:1) while rendering its feminine equivalent (presbytera) as an “older woman.” (1 Tim. 5:2)

In light of 1 Corinthians 12-13, which in no way distinguishes male versus female gifts of the Spirit, it makes no sense for leadership gifts to hinge on being male. Paul’s meticulous attention to detail would surely have made that clear. Instead God expresses desire for all believers—men and women—to aspire to the greater gifts:

“But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And I show you a still more excellent way.” (1 Cor. 12:3)

To those who believe God equips males exclusively with special gifts to be elders, I question the corresponding logic of God equipping women with special gifts to be old.

It makes no sense.

A single post cannot unpack all the ways some translators wrongly interpret the subjection of women to men, for all time, in God’s Word.

This article was originally published on Amy Buckley’s website. 

Where do women belong? Are the Mommy Wars really over? Is raising children women’s highest and most important calling? Today, Katelyn Beaty and I are conversing about all of this through her groundbreaking new book, A Woman’s Place : A Christian Vision for Your Calling in the Office, the Home and the World (Howard Books). Beaty is the former managing editor of Christianity Today and the co-founder of the award-winning Her.maneutics blog, a website covering cultural trends and theology from a Christian women’s perspective.

 Would you give your elevator pitch for A Woman’ Place? What’s the core message of your book?

My elevator pitch takes less than 30 seconds: Women are human beings, all human beings are created to work; therefore, women are created to work.

On one level this sounds obvious. Of course women are human, and of course all women work in some capacity.

On another level, many women I’ve met—especially women in the church—face a lot of churning around their work. In some circles, there are questions about whether work done outside the home is as valuable or as eternally meaningful as work done inside of it. In other circles, there are questions about whether unpaid work is as “world-changing” as paid, professional work. There are competing messages and confusion surrounding the topic, so my book aims to give readers a strong theological and cultural foundation for wading through the tensions.

Thank you. I hate asking that question, just as I hate being asked it myself. I always want to say, “Read the book!”  Because every book takes you 20,000 leagues under the sea. When you just flash a thesis, straight to the depths, people are missing out on the incredible journey that moves you to this wondrous new destination! So I want to make it clear to everyone that this is a fabulous book, full of fresh research, insights, theology, cultural analysis. And, for all of this, it’s entertaining and highly readable. So! Before we go any further, KNOW that these questions don’t replace the book in any way. I hope you’ll pick it up or buy it for your book club or small group. It will be incredibly fruitful, I promise you. Okay! Next! 

Some have claimed that Hillary Clinton lost primarily because she was a woman and the nation wasn’t ready yet for a female president. What’s your take on that perspective? 

It’s hard to know how many Americans who voted against Clinton opposed her presidency because of her ideas and policies, or because of her gender. The truth almost certainly lies in the middle. On the one hand, there are plenty of female political leaders who those with more traditional views on gender have supported; Condoleezza Rice, Sarah Palin, and Nikki Haley are three who come to mind. That suggests that there’s openness to female political leaders with more conservative policies. On the other hand, I believe that most of us are biased to vote for people whom we like as people. It’s hard to completely separate policy from personality. On this front, many Americans found Clinton “unlikeable” or unapproachable, and part of why they found her unlikeable, I would venture, is because she does not fit traditional notions of femaleness. In many ways, she leads in stereotypically masculine ways. I believe this made a lot of Americans uncomfortable on a visceral level, and thus unlikely to support her on Election Day.

As you’ve traveled, spoken, done interviews for the book and now after its release, do you find many women identifying themselves clearly and as  “egalitarian” or”complementarian,” coming from a theological perspective first, or do the various positions toward work appear to be more pragmatically based?

This is a really interesting question, because I wrote the book so that both egalitarians and complementarians could affirm the core message. I believe readers of various convictions on women’s leadership in the home and the church can nonetheless affirm the value of women’s work in professional settings. Beyond this, our views on women, and what Scripture teaches about women’s and men’s roles, don’t always neatly work themselves out in the ways we live day to day. A complementarian marriage can look very egalitarian in the daily churn. An egalitarian church, without a vision of empowering women for leadership, can look rather complementarian on Sunday morning. At some point, these labels go back to differences in scriptural interpretation, not lived experience.

That said, what we think of women’s work ultimately is rooted in what we think about women. If one believes that women are uniquely qualified or called to raise children and manage the home—or, related, that men are uniquely qualified or called to provide economically for their families—then it follows that women’s work outside the home will be valued inasmuch as it doesn’t conflict with more central work done inside the home. The Gospel Coalition gave a positive review of the book but noted that it had egalitarian underpinnings. Their reviewer, who did a wonderful, gracious job, wasn’t wrong in that interpretation.

As a single woman without children, do you find yourself readily accepted among women with children? Describe the experience of being a single woman in our family-oriented churches. 

I’ve been blessed over the past several years with friendships with lots of women who have children, and I love being a part of their and their children’s lives. (Being an auntie is truly the highest vocation.) I’ve never sensed from them that not having children puts me in a different category, or means we can’t be in each other’s lives.

What happens in many local churches is more complicated and can be painful for single and/or childless women. I share a story in the book of finding myself in a circle of women after church one Sunday two years ago, and of the seven women, three were pregnant. Naturally the conversation went to having children and pregnancy, and unfortunately there was no attempt made to find a topic that all of us could talk about. What happened that morning, I think, is emblematic of what happens for many single women in the local church, especially in suburban settings. It’s not that anyone explicitly intends to exclude women without children. It’s that the programming and messages for women so often revolve around parenting, so that women who are investing a majority of their lives in professional work, often through no choice of their own, wonder where they fit. This is compounded when faith-and-work resources are tied to the men’s ministry—it communicates that women aren’t working outside the home or that professional work is uniquely a man’s thing. Raising children is a beautiful and crucial kind of work. Work is a topic that all Christians can engage, and it’s a topic that extends naturally to those without spouses or children.

In my myths of parenting book, I challenged some of the notions about parenting that are still prevalent, that women’s primary contribution to the kingdom of God is through raising godly children. When the kids “turn out” well, your life’s work has been a success. Of course, if your kids turn aside in any way, you’ve failed in your primary mission. This perspective is in step, of course, with our whole  outcomes-based educational system. But you’ve got some really terrific news for mothers laboring under this impossible weight. Would you speak to that?

Any wisdom I’ve gleaned on this topic has come from conversations with women raising children. One thing I’ve observed among them is that whether or not a mother works outside the home is not a predictor of how a child will “turn out.” I think of adult friends whose fathers had passed away and whose mothers had to work to make ends meet. Or friends whose moms were simply invested in their careers and who were away from home during the day while the children were growing up. There’s no sign that these friends turned out much differently from friends whose moms were full-time at home. What matters is love, nurture, affection, attention, education, and spiritual investment.

I’ve also been struck by women who have told me that they are more engaged, happier and more present when they have some professional or creative outlet outside the home, even if it’s 10-15 hours a week. Common wisdom would say that a mother has to be at home all the time for “maximum impact” on a young child’s life, but that’s not necessarily true.

We also can’t neglect the crucial role of fathers in this equation. I’m encouraged that men of my generation seem interested and highly engaged in the work of parenting and home management. Women’s work outside the home necessarily affects and shapes men’s work, and I think we are culturally moving to a 50-50 model of marriage rather than a roles-based model of marriage.

As a professional woman, I’ve often felt much more comfortable in the workplace and mainstream culture than I have in churches where men, particularly older men who may not be used to working with women, didn’t quite know what to do with me. They were accustomed to women who worked at home and who were less interested in theology. I think this is changing, as more and more women attend seminary and pursue degrees in ministry and theology. But I also know there’s a lot of frustration among qualified, educated women with a heart to serve and lead, who are not given those opportunities. Could you speak to that? 

We can’t be surprised that women with leadership, intellectual, and educational aspirations are turning to workplaces to find channels to express those aspirations, and to work alongside men who see them primarily as colleagues and comrades rather than as oddities or temptations. Whether or not a church or denomination ordains women to pastoral roles, what all churches can do is intentionally tap into the gifts and experiences of the women in the church for full and effective gospel witness. There are so many unseen resources and insights among half the members of any church; if church leaders can’t or won’t see those resources and insights, women will take them elsewhere. This is a great opportunity for the local church, but without the vision and intentionality among church leadership, it could easily be a missed opportunity.

How does a biblical view of feminine equality and strength differ from our mainstream cultural view?

First, I’ll say it’s hard to name one biblical view of feminine equality and strength, because there are so many models of femininity reflected in the whole of Scripture. We have the life-giving power of Eve, the shrewdness of Esther, the faithfulness of Ruth, the wisdom of Deborah, the industry of the woman of Proverbs 31, the hope of Anna, the obedience of Mary—and many more. While there are specific descriptions of women’s roles in sections of the Bible, there’s no one way to be a faithful woman of God. I find this wonderfully life-giving as a woman of God.

Having said that, feminine equality and strength in the Christian account comes ultimately from being created, known, and loved by God, not from self-will and self-determination. So ultimately we root our identity in our belovedness in God, not in whatever we can accomplish or carve out for ourselves. That’s not to say that ambition or accomplishments are bad—I devote a chapter of the book to giving women permission to pursue their ambitions. But even our ambitions find their proper source and aim in the Lord and his call upon our lives, not simply in trying to keep up with men amid their own ambitions and accomplishments.

Without a comprehensive vision of women and men flourishing alongside each other, mainstream feminism can sometimes operate on the ground as if there’s only space in the world for one sex or the other. There are only so many opportunities and invitations and opened doors, and women and men have to duke it out in order for one to get ahead. The problem that mainstream feminism is rightly addressing is that women have systemically been denied opportunity and advancement because of their sex, for a very long time. A Christian response to this reality is that sexism is sinful, plain and simple, and that workplaces and schools need to pursue more equitable cultures in which women’s gifts and talents are sought and celebrated.

That said, I believe men and women are meant to share the world, not to compete for their share of the world. Power is meant to be spent in order to empower others, not to lord it over others. Christianity provides a vision of women and men flourishing alongside each other in mutual dependence and trust. Feminist movements name a real problem on the ground; a Christian vision of reality can provide the solution.

Ben Pickett is the Discipleship Minister at the Highland Church of Christ in Abilene Texas.

I entered full-time ministry later in life after a career in business and discovered quickly the importance of training and education. Fact is, I’m still learning. I’m finding that with each new ministry context I learn more about myself, my calling, and my relationship with God.

My role in ministry is called “Discipleship Ministry,” but it could just as easily be called a “2^nd Chair” role. Because I’m in a support role, I don’t carry the same kind of weekly burden that my ministry friends in the pulpit carry. It’s different. People who serve in a similar role to mine tend to find themselves serving behind the scenes. They are the education or small group ministers, the pastoral care or outreach ministers. They work with, and minister to, adults.

Ministers in these roles, are as essential to the life of the church as any other. Too often, I think, churches fail to take the role as seriously as it deserves because the tasks (at least on the surface) may seem simple and manageable. At times, leadership doesn’t see its importance either and will hire inexperienced or untrained people to take on the ministry. I call this the Holiday Inn Syndrome. Do you remember those commercials? “I’m not a surgeon (insert whatever profession), but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.” This happens in churches all the time. While this “priesthood of all believers” inspired impulse to hire someone without training may be well-meaning, the outcome produces all kinds of problems – which leads me to the focus of this brief article.

One of the best and most lasting works on the posture of the Christian minister is Henri Nouwen’s work, The Wounded Healer. Published in 1972, the book was meant to speak to ministers in the 70’s coming out of a tumultuous time in American history and written in a very different time than ours – on the surface. I’m struck by the way Nouwen describes the culture and find similarities to ours now 45 years later. In his description of the generation in his day and the challenge of leadership, he writes:

“Christian leadership must be shaped by at least three of the characteristics that the descendants of the lonely crowd share: inwardness, fatherlessness, and convulsiveness. The new minister must take a very serious look at these characteristics and consider them carefully…”

And later..

“In a study of college students, published in Oct. 1969, J.K. Hadden suggested that the best phrase with which to characterize those young men and women was the “inward generation.” It was the generation that gave absolute priority to the personal and that tended, in a remarkable way, to withdraw into the self.” (p. 31)

Now contrast his thoughts here with this more recent reflection on the postmodern mindset from Sandra Schneiders:

“Postmodernity is characterized by fragmentation of thought and experience which focuses attention on the present moment, on immediate satisfaction, on what works for me rather than on historical continuity, social consensus, or shared hopes for a common future. In this foundationless, relativistic, and alienated context there is, nevertheless, often a powerfully experienced need for some focus of meaning, some source of direction and value. The intense interest in spirituality today is no doubt partially an expression of this need.”

In a time when Americans are talking more and more about loneliness, with some calling it a new “age of loneliness,” Christian ministers find themselves in a similar spiritual role as Nouwen called ministers to in his day. The culture is turning in on itself and, in an attempt to find purpose and meaning in the self rather than in Christ, is losing its way.

For ministers to be effective in this culture, particularly as ministers to adults, we need to be a non-anxious presence that, as Nouwen puts it, seeks to “clarify the immense confusion that can arise when people enter this internal world [of the self-bp].” What I’m suggesting is not new, but I think needs a renewed emphasis.

Our first task then, when entering a new context, or re-dedicating ourselves in our current context, is to focus on our relationship with God and our relationship with people. In other words, for ministers to be effective, we must embrace and love our churches before we ask them to join us in the work of the church. The church is a volunteer environment. Every member attends by choice and for all kinds of reasons. Like the gospel, our appeals for new ministry efforts are also by invitation. If the church discovers our love for God, they will be more likely to trust us when we ask them to risk something new for God whether it be in their personal relationship or in the practice of ministry.

Over the years, I think all of us in congregational ministry develop a list of “do’s and don’ts” for ministry that we acquire in various ways. We look back and remember those times in ministry where all seemed right in the world, when God seemed near and our dream for ministry was materializing right before our eyes. You feel like anything is possible and like every ministry “lever” you pull works. It’s as if all the effort and hard work aligns perfectly and you watch as your church courageously practices their faith in new ways.

Then there are other times in ministry where we find out the hard way that our dreams for ministry prove more difficult to realize. Sometimes, like when we were kids and found out from mom the hard way that stealing was a bad idea, we learn from our mistakes. Maybe it was that ambitious small group ministry re-structuring program that didn’t quite take off, the hospital visit with the awkward ending, or that special Sunday event when you forgot to order the catering (Recalling that great quote from “Parks and Recreation”: “Let me just say, from the bottom of my heart, my bad.”).

These experiences are important, but they lose their meaning if we, as ministers, fail to nurture our relationship with God and with our church. Only then can we help adults see again the beautiful alternative for joy, peace, and fulfillment in Christ our culture simply cannot offer.

Debbie Fulthorp:

For a little over five years, I served as a lead pastor. I loved this position, but circumstances beyond my control (here is my story) have placed me on the other side of the pulpit these past few years. My search for a lead pastorate as a woman remains daunting.

As a former lead pastor and now candidate pastor, I’d like to offer ten strategies that churches can implement toward the full inclusion of women in leadership. These strategies are meant to help churches create space for women in church leadership positions with the ultimate goal of ensuring equal opportunity for women at all levels of leadership.

From Carolyn Custis James, Malestrom, something to be read slowly and treasured:

Blame [the rise of women into leadership, the breaking of the patriarchal boundaries] on feminism, contraception, affirmative action, access to higher education, postmodernism, economic changes, exploding technology, the Internet, or global warming, but make no mistake about it—the world has changed. Even in cultures where advances for women are lagging and the disparity between the sexes leaves women at an appalling disadvantage, women continue to defy the odds by creating “unforeseen situations” of the most improbable sort.

The church is not immune to this tidal wave of change. Today’s churches are filled with successful Christian women who are climbing the corporate ladder and occupying leadership positions in a wide range of professions. More and more women are in the workplace by choice and calling—not out of necessity. Evangelical seminaries are producing gifted female graduates, and many are moving into all sorts of ministry and pastoral leadership positions. In this age of the Internet, some evangelical female bloggers have followings that surpass megachurch attendance. Young girls have ambitions and dreams that are different than those of their parents. Those dreams may include marriage and children, but they have other dreams as well.

Plenty of Christian men welcome these changes and in fact have advocated for them. But others view the rise of women with concern, even alarm, and strive to stem the tide. The belief in a zero-sum game between the genders, where gains for women represent losses for men, makes the rise of women difficult to swallow. Women once lauded as “the backbone of the church’ are now perceived as a threat.

This is not a new situation. The Bible contains plenty of unforeseen situations” where women appear to outshine the men. These stories create enormous problems for interpreters because they violate the patriarchal principle that men lead and women follow. The power of these biblical narratives is intensified by the fact that these stories aren’t situated in an egalitarian western culture, but are embedded in a full-blown patriarchal context where men are primary and hold the reins of power.

She points us to Deborah, whom recent advocates of one extreme kind of complementarianism either ignore totally or diminish. Over to Carolyn, who points to their language but it illustrates what I call “being in a corner and spinning in circles.”

Complementarians respond to the Deborah story by scaling down her significance and caricaturing her leadership as nothing more than a punishment for men—”a living indictment of the weakness of Barak and other men in Israel who should have been more courageous leaders.” They warn against drawing conclusions about female leadership from her story and argue that modern Christians ought not to make theological deductions from the “precarious” period of the judges. [She’s quoting Piper and Grudem.] The inference is that Deborah would never have risen to power if men had been leading as God intends. Deborah, they insist, is an exception to the rule and “a special case.” Some complementarians even go so far as to reduce her prophetic role “to private and individual instruction”—despite the fact that she publicly calls the nation to war and publicly accompanies the general and his army into battle. [Now quoting Tom Schreiner.]

Carolyn’s right: this is all made up. The Bible doesn’t criticize Barak or Deborah in the text, nor is there critique of Jael — and her story of the “tent peg termination.”

Deborah was one awesome woman, leaderly, courageous, godly, fierce and 100% female.

TGC chose to republish a video with D.A. Carson, Tim Keller and John Piper about their beliefs about the roles of women and courage to hold true to the Bible and critique of the lack of courage on the part of those who don’t hold those views. That seems a fair description.

Because they reposted their video I thought it would be good to repost Krish Kandiah’s original response to that video. Before we get to his response I want to make an observation or two about this so-called “courage.”

Courage is determined by one’s social group. It takes no courage at Northern Seminary to affirm women in ministry while it might take more than a little courage in some TGC churches or conferences to stand publicly for women as senior pastors and pulpit preachers. To say it again, it takes no courage in TGC settings to stand against women in ministry while it would take some courage to stand up in a class at Northern and oppose women pastors.

Thus, for the folks in this video to posture themselves as courageous is to say they are in a safe tribe that will support their views. It takes no courage for them to say folks in other settings don’t have their courage.

Put differently, the claim of courage is little more than patting one another on the back. [Now to Krish Kandiah’s piece.]

Used by permission

Just in case it needs reiterating- the views represented on my blog and in this post are my own – I am not speaking on behalf of any organisation that I work for.

If you know me a little or if you have read this blog before you know I love Tim Keller. He is one of my favourite authors and preachers. His gracious tone makes him one of a very small number of people I know of who have the capacity to take on the role of Global elder statesman in the mold of John Stott and Billy Graham (in his prime). I have had the opportunity to tell him this in person. I also had the opportunity to ask him directly about one area where I found his position puzzling. It was on the role of women. Tim was one of the founders of the Gospel Coalition whose name suggests that it is a gathering of Christians around the gospel. Indeed on the Gospel Coalition website it says “We are a fellowship of evangelical churches deeply committed to renewing our faith in the gospel of Christ and to reforming our ministry practices to conform fully to the Scriptures.”

Included in the Gospel Coalition’s founding documents are very clear statements around the distinctive roles of men and women in church and home:

God ordains that they assume distinctive roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive leadership role within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments.

Now of course groupings such as these have the right to include and exclude any one they like from their membership. What saddened me was that Tim Keller speaks very highly of the work of Intervarsity and IFES and in fact I have heard him talk about the fact that his theological and apologetic formation happening through such groups. IFES has always taken a clear distinguishing line between first and second order issues and never sought to make views on gender roles an issue that would exclude others from fellowship or ministry. So as one of the founders of GC I was surprised that Keller would include this in his list of entry requirements.

When I had the privilege to spend some time with Keller I asked him if he thought views on the role of women were part of the gospel, he said they weren’t but that they were very important. I came across this video recently on the GC website where along with Don Carson and John Piper he goes a lot further. To say I found this video discouraging is an understatement:

Very recently I commended Keller on some fantastic rules of engagement he had produced on how to deal with views that he didn’t agree with. Particularly:

• Never attribute an opinion to your opponents that they themselves do not hold.
• Represent your opponents’ position in its strongest form, not in a weak ‘straw man’ form.

1. Having a non-complementarian view of gender roles means you have a “loose approach to scripture.” (Keller)

2. Trajectories (John Piper)

Piper’s line of reasoning here is that to take a different view on gender roles will lead to changes in view on homosexuality. This seems to contradict Keller’s rule “never attribute to your opponent a view they do not hold” or even more explicitly never “attribute to antagonist no opinion that he does not own, though it be a necessary consequence.” It is true that some egalitarians have argued that the church should change its views on the role of women and our views on the practice of homosexual sexual intercourse. But it is also true that some have argued that male headship in the home is license for domestic violence against women. Neither of these views are “necessary consequences” and so Keller is wise to argue that you shouldn’t assume the worst when engaging in conversation. But this is precisely what Piper does. As an egalitarian I believe that leadership roles are available to men and women in the church, this does not lead me to change my views on homosexual sex.

Perhaps there is a contextual issue at stake here. Perhaps things are different in the US? Two examples from the UK. The first UK denominations to ordain women were the Salvation Army (c.1870 ) and the Baptist Union of Great Britain (c.1920); neither are liberal today. (Thanks to Steve Holmes for this information). Perhaps a wider contextual awareness may help. But the bigger point is – just because some egalitarians change their minds on homosexuality -doesn’t necessitate that all will. For example just as many complementarians end up becoming AngloCatholic doesn’t mean all will.

3. Egalitarians apparently dont know the difference between men and women – we have nothing to say to 8 year old children on the issue of gender (cf John Piper).

This is a straw man/woman (!) argument. To argue that men and women both have the opportunity to lead in the church does not mean that all egalitarians see no differences between gender. It is true that we may not agree with some of gender differences that some complementarians attribute to men and women – mainly because we think that those differences owe more to culture than biblical exegesis. I have heard a number of complimentarians argue that all women want to be “rescued” and lead by strong men. But this leaves little room for biblical women role models such as Esther, Deborah or Priscilla.

4. Gender is an issue of this time ( baptists and paedobaptists used to argue but this is not the issue that is addressing our culture) (Carson)

5. Confusion on Gender is part of what is at the heart of what is wrong with our culture (Carson)

6. Lack of courage (Piper) “If you arent willing to stand against the tide on this issue you will cave on other issues – gospel issues.”

This doesn’t seem to be portraying egalitarians in their strongest terms. It also contradicts Keller’s fifth rule of engagement “Remember the gospel and stick to criticizing theology–because only God sees the heart.” Writing off egalitarians as cowards is hardly a theological critique. I would like to understand why Piper and Keller who participated fully at the Cape Town 2010: The Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization seem so completely unaware of itscommitment on the issue of unity across views on gender roles:

We recognize that there are different views sincerely held by those who seek to be faithful and obedient to Scripture. Some interpret apostolic teaching to imply that women should not teach or preach, or that they may do so but not in sole authority over men. Others interpret the spiritual equality of women, the exercise of the edifying gift of prophecy by women in the New Testament church, and their hosting of churches in their homes, as implying that the spiritual gifts of leading and teaching may be received and exercised in ministry by both women and men.[96] We call upon those on different sides of the argument to:

1. Accept one another without condemnation in relation to matters of dispute, for while we may disagree, we have no grounds for division, destructive speaking, or ungodly hostility towards one another;[97]

7. We are not listening to what scripture says on its own terms “it is not listening to what God says” to take a contrary view on this is “not to tremble at God’s word” (Carson)

Conclusion

Post Script