“Whether or not women are on an equal plane with men in work and ministry does not seem like it should be a subject of debate,” writes Dr. JoAnn Butrin. “Many Christian organizations … would say they welcome female leadership … Continue reading Normalize Men and Women Working Together!
A well-regarded California megachurch was recently expelled from its evangelical denomination because it ordained women as pastors. “The issue of women serving in the pastorate is an issue of fundamental biblical authority,” one minister said in defense of the expulsion … Continue reading Women In Ministry
On January 22, 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Roe v. Wade. The court declared that the Constitution confers a right to abortion through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. That decision governed American … Continue reading The Story of Abortion in America | Book Review
What were New Testament women really like? The conventional opinion is that they were powerless. “Women were subject to men and unable to wield real authority,” writes Susan E. Hylen, summarizing this view. “They did not own property or participate … Continue reading Review of ‘Finding Phoebe’ by Susan E. Helen
This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Biologically speaking, none of us would be here without our moms. So make sure to honor your mom this weekend — if not every day — for the gift of life! We have moms to … Continue reading The Story of Scripture in Four Moms | Influence Magazine
Ministry of Women in the New Testament Dorothy A. Lee (Baker Academic) Does Scripture limit the ministries of Christian women based on their sex? According to this book, it does not. Instead, writes the author, the New Testament teaches that “women should have full access to the church’s ministry, whether in lay or ordained ministries, and that this access needs to depend not on gender but rather on a sense of vocation and on the church’s discernment of calling.” In an era of rising complementarianism among some evangelicals, this book offers a much-needed corrective. P.S. If you liked this recommendation, … Continue reading Three Books on Women in Leadership | Book Recommendations
Women constitute a majority of church attendees but a minority of its pastoral leaders. In the Assemblies of God, for example, women and girls account for 55 percent of all Sunday morning attendees, but only 25 percent of credentialed ministers. This is true even though AG theology affirms that “God pours out His Spirit upon both men and women and thereby gifts both sexes for ministry in His Church.” This raises the obvious question: How can we do better at developing women leaders? That’s the question I’m exploring with Kadi Cole in this episode of the Influence Podcast. I’m George … Continue reading Best Practices for Developing Women Leaders | Influence Podcast
Roughly half the U.S. population is male, but fewer men attend church on average than women do. In the Assemblies of God, for example, the latest statistics indicate that men account for 31.5 percent of Sunday morning attendees, while women account for 40.4 percent. This gap in attendance reveals a ministry opportunity. Earlier this year, Michael Zigarelli — professor of Leadership and Strategy at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania — conducted a qualitative survey of seven Protestant churches with greater parity in attendance between men and women. His working paper, “Churches that Attract Men,” identified transferable principles of man-friendly churches … Continue reading How to Be a Man-Friendly Church
In 1924, Ruth and Elizabeth Weidman — my great-aunt and grandmother, respectively — sailed from the U.S. for China. Like many Pentecostal women, they felt God had called and empowered them to share the gospel as missionaries. Other Pentecostal women felt a similar call and empowerment to minister in the United States. This call to ministry was part and parcel of their baptism in the Holy Spirit, an empowerment for service promised by Jesus Christ in Acts 1:8 and first realized on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1–11. The apostle Peter interpreted the event of Pentecost as the fulfillment … Continue reading God Forgive Us for Being Women | Book Review
“One Half of the World does not know how the Other Half lives,” wrote Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard’s Almanack. That is certainly true of church history, the standard volumes of which are dominated by accounts of the thoughts and deeds of men. Ruth A. Tucker’s Extraordinary Women of Christian History tells readers about the “Other Half” of Christendom by means of biographical snippets of famous Christian women. Tucker has served as a professor of church history at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and Calvin Theological Seminary. She is best-known for her biographical approach to both the history of Christian missions … Continue reading Extraordinary Women of Christian History | Book Review
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