Women in the Church Resources
Listed below is a partial list of blogs, articles and books that have helped me on my own journey as well as a few items I have not read but come highly recommended by people I trust. The focus and content varies widely, but it all relates to women and Christianity. I will be regularly updating this page in order to provide great information for those thinking through this issue. For those who are struggling to understand how to harmonize the various passages in the Scripture that speak about women in the church, I hope you will find these helpful. And if you know of a good resource that should be listed, please let me know!
Please note: A link here does not mean I am in agreement with everything in the book, article or website.
Books
How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals
What’s With Paul and Women? Unlocking the Cultural Background to 1 Timothy 2
Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry
I Suffer Not a Woman: Rethinking I Timothy 2:11-15 in Light of Ancient Evidence
Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis (New 2/20/12)
Articles
Freeing Our Fellow Workers in Christ: Christianity’s Message of Gender Equality (Word document) (New 2/20/12)
Can Women Teach? An Exegesis of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-40 (New 2/20/12)
The Misuse of the Word “Role” (New 2/20/12)
1 Cor 11:2-16 To What Does “Covered” Refer? (New 2/20/12)
Does “One-Woman Man” in 1 Timothy 3:2 Require that All Overseers be Male? (New 2/20/12)
The Universal Enslavement of Women (New 2/20/12)
Were Women Silent at Pentecost?
Finding the Mind of the Lord Together
Women in the New Testament: A Middle Eastern Cultural View (PDF)
1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and Its Context
A Challenge for Proponents of Female Subordination To Prove Their Case from The Bible
Unmuted – The Welcome Colors of a Woman’s Voice
What Did the Apostle Paul Mean By, “Let your women keep silence in the churches”?
The Eternal Subordination of Christ and of Women
1 Timothy 2:15 going deeper into the results of the prohibition
Websites
Christians for Biblical Equality (They have an excellent free articles section including one section on Short Answers to Challenging Texts)
Phillip B. Payne (New 2/20/12)
Wow my thoughts exactly. I can’t even describe how much happier my husband and I are since we quit role playing and went back to just being ourselves. Patriarchy crippled me and my marriage…praise Jesus for setting us free.
I used to also be fully complementarian…I was a big Nancy Leigh DeMoss fan, listened to Revive Our Hearts every single morning (Nancy LD is a complementarian). Once she talked about speaking at some kind of revival service (men and women in the audience) and I remember thinking that seemed inconsistent with what I’d heard her teach about women’s roles. Why was she speaking to men? Too bad I didn’t follow through on that pondering; perhaps I could’ve saved myself some years of grief.
So encouraging to read of others whom God is leading on the same journey. I don’t call myself an egalitarian either, mostly because I hate labels! But I have most certainly left the complementarian camp and we’ll see where God leads from here.
Becky,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I certainly understand what you mean about the labels. I am sure I lost many readers just by saying I was sympathetic to the egalitarian view. I don’t like the label either, but I’m at a loss what to call my current thinking.
The term complementarian is only a recent development. It was coined by the group that put together the Danvers Statement, the complementarian manifesto, in 1991. This view was called Traditionalist or Hierarchtical before. I think they believed the term complementarian was less loaded and more warm fuzzy feeling and so they changed the language used to describe this view.
David and I completely complement each other. We are amazed at how God has given us different strengths and perspectives that strengthen our marriage. But it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s male and I’m female.
One of the most important ideas that people miss, I think, is that complementarianism is not primarily about men and women complementing each other. It is about power and authority structures. Pure and simple. The more I read, the more this became apparent.
I like you, have been hesitant to name myself egalitarian or complementarian or anything over the years. Perhaps it’s my distaste of labels in the church anyway.
I read something interesting this week in a book – it basically stated that a wife is to be submissive to HER OWN HUSBAND – not all men. I liked that view. The whole Beth Moore can “teach” but not “preach” as long as there is a man in the room kind of thing just bugs me. It has for years. I’ve yet to find the answers on any of it.
Sadly, I think one day when we all get “up there” we will see how truly secondary all of this chatter between Christians to define themselves really is. There are so many lost, so many hungry both spiritually and physically. We tend to major in the minors I’m afraid.
As always love your thoughts Sallie dear
Lindsey – Just a quick reply before I head to bed. Check out Wade Burleson’s post today entitled The Fatal Flaw Within the “Together for the Gospel” Men. This group of influential pastors has made being a complementarian a central, gospel issue. It is one of their four major theological points that they believe is essential. Wade also has a link to the infamous video of John Piper saying that a woman should endure abuse “for a season.” I would sincerely like to watch each of those men sit and actually watch their son-in-law abuse their daughter “for a season.”
I don’t think complementarian versus egalitarian is a central, gospel issue. But I also hesitate to relegate it to a secondary issue. I think it is somewhere between. I’ll have to explain that in another post, but I’m too wiped out to write it right now.
Sallie,
Great idea! I love the idea! Here are some links I have as well.
Dr. Spencer’s Beyond the Curse (http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Curse-Women-Called-Ministry/dp/0801047749/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335670666&sr=1-1) Dr. Spencer is a brilliant mind (I had her in seminary). This book is great, but it is pretty technical (similar to Kroeger’s book).
Another great book is Paul, Women, and Wives (http://www.amazon.com/Paul-Women-Wives-Marriage-Ministry/dp/0801046769/ref=pd_sim_b_9). Unfortunately, I have not read this yet, but I hear it recommended very often.
Anything by Dr. Bilezikian is wonderful, his book, Beyond Sex Roles (http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Sex-Roles-Womans-Church/dp/0801031532/ref=pd_sim_b_10) is a great work.
I hope this helps! Blessings to you.