Commission on Biblical Gender Equality

A special Thank You to Mary Miller for her years of serving as member and former chair of the CBGE.  Mary just finished her final term of service on the Commission.  She currently serves as Chaplain at Covenant Village of Cromwell and Adjunt Faculty for the Weborg Center for Spiritual Direction at North Park Theological Seminary.  Her post below gives us a glimpse of her heart.

Three or four years old, my Mom watched me strain to see what was happening at the front of our church. All I could see were the bottoms of the standing adults in front of me! Gently she lifted me and let me stand on the pew so I could see the ritual and sacredness surrounding the Lord’s Supper.

Fast forward a few decades. Standing for the Apostles’ Creed as part of Holy Communion, I looked across the aisle. A Dad was letting his 5 or 6 year old slide from one side of him to the other so she could stand in the aisle. There she could see her mother lead the congregation with the words of institution of the Lord’s Supper. My grin felt my eyes filling with tears. Thank you God!

Spiritual journey has to do with how we choose, what we feel, what we see. We don’t so much think about or dream up God. We live in God in the ever present moment. Jesus gives us new beginnings not just with each repentance, but with the opportunities of each day and hour.

How glad I am these moments later my personal history! How glad I am to see the kingdom of God advancing as a kingdom on earth! The Covenant Church has grown since I participated in it through my formative years! It is growing to include the gifts and graces the Holy Spirit provides to all people in its faith family! Thanks be to God!

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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

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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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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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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Author
Mimi Haddad (PhD) is president of Christians for Biblical Equality.
This article first appeared in the April 18, 2013 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

Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. —Jeremiah 5:21

Twenty-three years ago an economist from India, Amartya Sen, reported the largest human holocaust in all of history. His research showed that over 100 million females were missing! Though Sen was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work, few were mobilized by the horror he had uncovered. Even the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists Kristoff and WuDunn said that “when a prominent dissident was arrested in China, we would write a front-page article; when 100,000 girls were routinely kidnapped and trafficked into brothels, we didn’t even consider it news” (Kristoff and WuDunn, Half the Sky, xiv). How could the world be so disinterested in the sufferings of females? Continue Reading »

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This summer while caring for grandchildren, I reflected on the years of balancing ministry with raising our own children. I remembered the work done late at night just as I was doing this summer while waiting for teenagers to get home or younger ones to fall asleep. Balancing work and family (raising children, caring for parents, and now being present with grandchildren) has been the only path that I have known in fifty-one years of marriage, except for five years after the younger son’s birth. Initially, as a young parent I was teaching, completing graduate studies, and serving as a volunteer in local and conference ministry. My first paid ministry role began when our sons were ages 6 and 10. 

We now enjoy watching our two sons live into a parenting partnership with their spouses — the type of partnership that we found essential. As Phil says, “each of us gave 70%.” I was blessed to have my husband along with grandparents, extended family, and close friends near. But, whether raising children with two parents or as a single parent, it does “take a village to raise a child!” Overall, we put boundaries on extras and committed discretionary time to being with the boys. Vacations as a family, simplified holiday celebrations, and dedicated evenings for watching TV together or playing games were “musts.” When I traveled or was absent due to evening or weekend meetings, we agreed that no attempt would be made to “catch up” or question decisions made while I was gone.

But, most importantly, I believe that having my husband, sons, and close friends value and respect my call was the crucial element. Although I was tempted at times to be a “supermom,” I lived with assurance from God and those close me that the concept was not part of the obedience equation when one is called to ministry. Rather, for me the equation was value + respect (husband + children + close friends) + call to ministry = lives transformed, both ours and others within my sphere of influence.

Evelyn M.R. Johnson

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