Archive for October, 2013

A Blog Site Worth Visiting

Post a Comment » Written on October 30th, 2013     
Filed under: Resources

Junia Project BrandingIf you click here you will link to a post on a site called The Junia Project.  This particular post was written by Tim Peck and lists five lessons he”learned about living out my theology of gender with authenticity.”  Speaking from a male point of view, I think you will find these five lessons both enlightening and practical in living out a more egalitarian way of seeing, speaking, and acting.

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Ultimate Advocate

Post a Comment » Written on October 25th, 2013     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

This is the final posting by Gricel Medina as chairperson of the Commission for Biblical Gender Equality. We extend our great appreciation for her leadership, her service to the CBGE, her regular contributions to this blog, and for her advocacy for women in ministry and in leadership. It is no surprise that her last post as our leader is about advocacy.

submitted by:
Gricel Medina

Advocate 1

An advocate publicly supports. It does not hide in shame or timidity.

Advocates speak!
Advocates plead!
Advocates argue in favor of!

Advocacy is a mission of Jesus.
HE is… the Ultimate Advocate!

 

…we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2:1

In these times of change, transitions and even uncertainty… the need to advocate for Biblical Gender Equality remains stronger than ever. Women continue to need advocates at all levels of leadership. Why? One of the reasons is that we have a new generation of church planters and churches. Another reason is that we have so few visible women in positions of authority. Continue Reading »

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Ideas Have Consequences: Power, Gender, and Evangelicals

1 Comment » Written on October 20th, 2013     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

Author 
Mimi Haddad (PhD) is president of Christians for Biblical Equality.

This article first appeared in the April 12, 2012 issue of Arise and is reposted here with permission of CBE International.  Arise is a newsletter of the CBE and can be found at www.cbeinternational.org


 

Because attitudes and actions begin as an idea, Paul reminds us to “take every thought captive to Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). What have been the attitudes and actions that have resulted from the church’s teachings on male-only authority? Few Christians today deny the equal value of females, yet when Scripture is used to justify the unilateral submission of females to males, it is hard to avoid the conclusion (conscious or unconscious) that females are less valuable and are even inferior to males. To require male authority throughout the whole of life not only devalues females, but it also places them in positions of dependence and vulnerability. To exclude women from positions of decision-making in their lives and in the lives of their children also places far too many at risk for abuse. For this reason, abuse is often an unavoidable issue in churches and Christian communities because biblical ideas regarding authority and gender have daily consequences. Continue Reading »

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Visit the latest edition of the Covenant Companion

Post a Comment » Written on October 15th, 2013     
Filed under: Resources

The October 2013 edition of the Covenant Companion features several articles about women in the church.  Click here to read some timely articles.  Here are excerpts from the opening introduction to the issue by the editor, Jane K. Swanson-Nystrom…

“The Covenant Church decided in 1976 to ordain women.  The Covenant Church affirms the gifts of all women-including women called by God to ministry in the church.  Not every church body does-and for the life of me, I don’t understand that- but our church does.  The Covenant Church does. And yet here we are again, addressing the issue of women in ministry. I admit I’m both weary and mystified. Why do we still need to talk about this as if the decision to ordain women was made recently? Why do we have to continually defend our stance on women in ministry and leadership?”

And…

“Consider what’s at stake. How many gifts and talents are we wasting? How many women are not answering God’s call because they don’t see the opportunities? How many of our daughters are leaving the church to live out their call elsewhere? How much have we lost because of that? How long will it take before we can say we’ve solved this riddle?

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Women In Ministry: On The Front Burner Again

1 Comment » Written on October 9th, 2013     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

Submitted by:
Kurt N. Fredrickson

I grew up in an evangelical church quite typical for the Sixties.  The pastor was male. Lay leaders were male. Ushers were male. Adult Sunday School teachers were male. Women were important in the church too, but in very defined roles. They taught children’s Sunday School. They worked in the nursery. The official role women were given was serving as a deaconess. They prepared and cleaned up the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. They visited the sick and arranged for meals. Some women did serve as teachers and church planters, but only in places like Africa and Asia.

This was the evangelical world I grew up in. I didn’t question it. This is just how it was. As I got older, I met other Christians from a variety of traditions. In those churches, women served in a wider range of ways; in fact, there was no distinction made. Women were able to fully serve the church as they were called and gifted. As I learned of this, and thought about it, this understanding simply made sense. Continue Reading »

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