Submitted by
Gary Walter, President
Evangelical Covenant Church

In the Covenant at our most elemental we are simply people of the Book who have joined together to do mission. So for us, these two questions are always paramount: What does the Bible say? And what does the mission need? These two questions are relevant to the work of the Biblical Gender Equality Commission.

As to what the Bible says,  as we read the entirety of Scripture, we are convinced the Bible normatively affirms women in leadership  throughout the pages of both the Old and New Testaments. Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Esther, Anna, Rachel, Hannah, Abigail, Ruth, Tabitha, Lydia, Priscilla…the list of stories recounting women in leadership in Scripture goes on. Of particular interest to me is Romans 16, written by the Apostle Paul. He lists 27 people of importance and influence, 7 of them women. There appears to be no distinction in leadership roles based on gender, listing both for the same positions, notably Phoebe as a deacon and Junia as an apostle. Continue Reading »

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Doing ministry is hard work. It is especially challenging for women who have school age kids. Juggling schedules takes careful planning and good communication. Women do very well at multitasking. Ask any woman who is pastoring a church and they will tell you it involves collaborative efforts at every level.  It is refreshing to see more husbands who are not threatened by the gifts and calling of their wives. Godly men who are authentically advocating for women. Single women are also answering the call to ministry.

Many churches are learning that being a mom does not exclude women from being effective leaders. On the contrary, it empowers them. My sons have never known me not to be at some capacity of leadership in the church from Senior Pastor to Church Planter to Chairperson of several organizations. I have also preached before, during and after pregnancies. Being a mom has only served to enhance my leadership capabilities. Continue Reading »

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Written by Cindy Wu

Asian. Woman. Disciple.

As a disciple of Christ, I recognize that my primary identity is who I am in Christ. I find, however, that my ethnic, cultural, and gender identities actually serve as the initial filters through which I view my primary self. Sometimes my identity filters enhance the primary image; oftentimes they compete with it and I struggle to live out my identity in Christ to the full. Why should any identity ever have the opportunity to usurp my primary one? One reason is that as a second-generation immigrant, first-generation Christian, Asian-American female, I sometimes go through an identity crisis.

I am Asian.

I was born and raised in America to immigrant parents from Taiwan. Technically, that makes me “Taiwanese-American”, although I usually introduce myself as Chinese-American to emphasize my ethnic, rather than cultural or political, identity (sorry, Mom). As a generalization, “Asian-American” works pretty well, although as an insider to this label I still want outsiders to realize how much diversity resides within “Asian” without being too much of a stickler for nomenclature. I think we all understand the term “Asian” in this context to mean “East Asian”, or its outdated predecessor “Oriental”.  It is important to note that those terms are not monolithic. Among East Asians, we differentiate ourselves by our language, food, physical features, and culture. In a room full of black-haired men and women, I can often “Name that Asian” by distinguishing between Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Cantonese based solely on appearance. (Of course, sometimes I get it wrong.)

I’m not just Asian, but Asian-American. Navigating between those east and west worlds sometimes gets my compass needles crossed. But that’s another story. Continue Reading »

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