We know this is now old news but in case you have not come across it, click here. If you have the stomach for it, after reading the ad, scroll down to the comments section to follow some of the chatter. You will see from the comments, why the ad does speak to a very real truth in the attitudes many still have towards women. On a positive note, the ad at least generated discussion. I am perplexed on how we should respond to people who’s arguments seem so extreme or who’s attitudes are so far from our own? Proverbs 26:4,5 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you will be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, or he will be wise in his own eyes.” So that leaves me even more perplexed. Any thoughts?
Resources
UN Ad Campaign
A Blog Site Worth Visiting
If 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.
Visit the latest edition of the Covenant Companion
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?
Book review: your recommendations!
We would love to have your input about the books that you have been reading relating to the topic of women in leadership and ministry in the church. Would you be willing to share a book review? Maybe you’ve read something that you would like to encourage others to read? Or maybe it’s been something that you just found frustrating – and would welcome further discussion? Please get in touch via the comments section (comments do not go public immediately so your contact details will not be published).
Or maybe you’d like to challenge yourself to engage with a book on this topic and share with us: there are some great ideas here at the bookstore of Campaign for Biblical Equality.
We welcome your contributions.
Posted by Alice Hague.
Looking Back to Move Forward 3
This is the third and final installation of Looking Back to Move Forward. We have been posting a series of three articles that were published back in 1976 in The Covenant Quarterly. Donald W. Dayton who authored this article entitled The Evangelical Roots of Feminism, was at that time an assistant professor of theology and librarian at North Park Theological Seminary. Here are Dayton’s own words which outline the three sections of his article:
“With these comments in the background I would like to discuss in three steps the interrelationships between evangelicalism and feminism. First. I will indicate some features of the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century that contributed to a new role for women in the church and derivatively in society. Second. I will suggest how these themes were transformed into feminism in the pre-Civil War conjunction of revivalism and social reform (especially abolitionism). Finally. I will attempt to confirm this argument by sketching how this feminism was incorporated into the forms of evangelicalism that are close to our own experience.”
To read the article, click on Evangelical Roots of Feminism
Looking Back to Move Forward 2
This is the second in a series of three articles that were published in the Covenant Quarterly back in 1976. Amazingly, this article was written nearly 120 years ago! It was originally published in German, and authored by Fredrik Franson who was born in Sweden in 1852. It was later translated into Norwegian and then later still to English by Sigurd F. Westberg. It is important that you read the introduction by Glenn Anderson in order to get the historical background on the author. Clearly a man before his time with regard to his interpretation of scripture and the importance that women follow their calling to be preachers, teachers and evangelists.
To view the article click on the title Prophesying Daughters by Fredrik Franson.
Looking Back to Move Forward
Over the next couple of months we will post a series of articles that were published in the Covenant Quarterly back in 1976. Today’s post, was written by Klyne Snodgrass, who, back then, was assistant professor at North Park Theological Seminary. He is now the Paul W. Brandel Professor of New Testament Studies at North Park Theological Seminary and has been a consistent voice outlining the scriptural case for women in leadership in the church. This article discusses key scriptural references in Paul’s writings to the congregations. How does this 1976 article resonate with you today?
To download and read the article “Paul and Women,” click here.
Women in Ministry Articles, May 2009
This collection of articles (from The Covenant Quarterly, May 2009) is a continuation of the dialogue on women in ministry in the Covenant. The articles represent several views of persons recognized in the ECC for their scholarship and leadership: Jo Ann Deasy, Paul E. Koptak, Hauna Ondrey, Klyne Snodgrass, Amanda Olson, and Mae Cannon. Some of the titles include, A Case for Unrestricted Ministry of Women, Reframing the Issue: Women’s Ordination in the ECC, and Three Decades Later: Credentialed Clergywomen in the Covenant.
Download the articles below
Book review: How I changed my mind about women in leadership
R.T. France, a British theologian, is quoted in the introduction as saying that many people have changed their mind from having a more restrictive view of women in leadership to an inclusive view, but no-one seems to have changed their mind the other way. Why is this so? This book provides the personal stories and testimonies of leaders in the evangelical church – pastors, business leaders, publishers, biblical scholars and seminary professors – as they share their experience of how and why they came to realize that God does indeed call men and women equally to leadership in the church.
Containing 27 stories from people who have been humble enough to go back and investigate the Scriptures again, and honest enough to admit that they have had their hearts and minds changed on the issue, some of the common threads that emerge are the influence of strong, gifted women in people’s lives, looking at Scripture in its broader historical, cultural and theological context, the experience of working side-by-side with gifted female leaders and pastors, and hearing stories of others who have changed their viewpoints.
This is a great book that serves as an encouragement to all of those seeking to advocate for and empower women for ministry, as well as providing some interesting reflection on the many ways in which God works in people’s lives to bring about change.
Highly recommended reading if you are looking for encouragement that people can and do change their minds on this seemingly never-ending issue, and a great book to put in the hands of those who are still questioning.
Buy this book at IndieBound or Amazon.
Book review by Alice Hague
Unladylike
Filed under: Book & Commentary, Resources
Unladylike, Resisting the Injustice of Inequality in the Church written by Pam Hogeweide is a book that unapologetically advocates for a strong stance (as the subtitle states) against injustice in the church. In this book she speaks of her own personal journey of trying to be the “good” woman follower of Christ that the church so readily urges and supports to the ultimate realization that the common teachings of a large body of the Christian church is unjust. She shares about the many years and experiences of keeping silent, in the quest of “not stirring up trouble” despite the gnawing internal pain and incongruencies that was her increasing experience as she endeavored to follow the actual teachings and behaviors of Jesus. The secular book Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg (reviewed in an earlier post on this blog) highlights the importance of coming to this place where women can lean in – going toward the problems that exist, and even speaking out on them rather than simply accepting “what is.” Pam clearly does this in her book, leaning in and speaking out about how women are often treated in the church. Continue Reading »
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