From Arise:
I’ve taken this entire post, apart from the questions, from the CBE newsletter linked above. The post is by Alan Johnson (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary) and he is Emeritus Professor of New Testament and Christian Ethics, Emeritus Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics (CACE) at Wheaton College, and editor of How I Changed My Mind About Women In Leadership.
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I’ve seen folks change views, but this one is a particularly difficult one for many because the issue of women in ministry and egalitarianism have become politicized issues. What are some good examples of people changing views? What are the obstacles of changing one’s view on women in ministry?
I was recently told that to be a member/inner circle of an official organization, whose name need not be mentioned, one had to be complementarian — and any suggestion of being an egalitarian meant one should withdraw. The person who told me this withdrew.
We had a wonderful opportunity at the 2010 Evangelical Theological Society meeting, held in Atlanta, to present some of the stories found in How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership. We were able to secure four consecutive sessions in which three of the book’s twenty-seven authors presented their stories. This was followed by a panel session devoted to reflections on the place of “lived experience” and biblical interpretation as they relate to gender. The presentations were well attended and well received, and I was aware of the Holy Spirit’s presence and oversight in all that took place in these sessions. What follows are a few highlights of the afternoon.
The first presenter was Dr. Alice Mathews (author, dean of Gordon-Conwell Seminary, and Radio Bible Class Bible Teacher). Alice stressed the “fear” factor that keeps us from thinking outside the box in gender issues. Sometimes, pastors’ opinions can be perceived as the word of God and what is “sacred” becomes unalterable. To not obey them (the pastors’ views) is to disobey God and this is often how fear is generated. She comments further, “During the 1990s, denominations that had formerly been open to the full ministry of women as pastors and teachers began tightening down on women. The rhetoric supporting this shift exacerbated the chasm between the camps of those who supported women in leadership and those who denied it. And women wept. In the past two decades, I’ve come alongside scores of Christian women who, like me, have felt trapped between God’s gifts and a church saying ‘no’.” (more…)