The CBE Scroll

The early evangelicals were the first to provide a biblical foundation for women’s leadership in church and society, though many evangelicals today have abandoned the hard-won gains for women’s leadership made by their ancestors. Those who advance women’s liberation and those who would deny it both turn to Scripture for support.

It was the Bible that drove the early evangelicals in their work as suffragists, abolitionists, and as missionaries. They were the first to develop a whole-Bible approach to their advocacy of ethnic and gender equality. While some today believe women can lead a country but not a church, the Bible consistently celebrates women like Deborah whose leadership as a judge and also a prophet influenced all of Israel. In fact, Israel refused to go into battle without her (Judg. 4:6-9)! Prophets as a group held positions of leadership over all God’s people. Whereas priests petitioned God on behalf of the people, God used prophets to guide the covenant community—especially the priests and kings. Because of this, prophets like Deborah and Huldah brought leadership, exhortation, and correction to the highest levels—to Israel’s kings, priests, and also other prophets. Deborah led Israel’s civil and religious leaders!

Huldah is another example of a female prophet whose leadership brought sweeping reform, both religiously and socially. When the Book of the Law was discovered (2 Chron. 34:14-33, 2 Kings 22), King Josiah (622 B.C.) and his committee sought Huldah’s advice, rather than Zephaniah’s or Jeremiah’s, both of whom were prophets during this time. Huldah’s exhortation to obey the Torah shaped Israel for nearly 1000 years.

And, there is more! Consider the leadership of the business woman mentioned in Proverbs 31, or female warriors like Jael and Deborah, or the women who were leaders at the city gates of Jerusalem. The legacy of women’s leadership carries forward into the early Christian community. Here we find women house church leaders like Nympha (Acts 16:13-15, 40), Lydia (Acts 16:13-15, 40), Chloe (1 Cor. 1:11), Apphia (Philem. 1:2), the Elect Lady (2 John 1:10) and Priscilla (Acts 18:2, 18-19, 26, Rom. 16:3, 1 Corin. 16:19, 1 Tim. 4:19). There was also Junia—an apostle (Rom. 16:7), and Phoebe a deacon (Rom. 16:1), both of whom held positions of prominent leadership.

Given the patriarchal culture of the ancient world, it is revolutionary that Scripture celebrates women leading Israel’s army; judging disputes; advising Israel’s prophets, priests, and kings; and serving as apostles, deacons and house-church leaders. God delights in using whomever God wishes despite the cultural expectations of ancient or modern people. Scripture provides no refuge to those who wish to grant women opportunities for leadership in the secular sphere while excluding them from leadership in the spiritual sphere. Just as the gifts of leadership are not restricted by gender, neither are the spheres in which these gifts are used—the secular or spiritual, as biblical history illustrates.

Among responsible and useful methods of promoting egalitarian thinking — writing about it, supporting organizations like CBE that promote it, seeking out churches that put it into practice — my favorite is what I call the “auntie model”:  consistently giving loving ideological nudges to those in my closest circle, especially the little ones.

I grew up in a patriarchal family and church.  Though I have had my “aha!” moment and embraced the egalitarian position, most of the rest of my family continue in the patriarchal tradition.  And they take “be fruitful and multiply” seriously: just three siblings have given me (so far) 13 nieces and nephews, none older than 8.  For the most part, their parents are not actively cultivating gender bias, but if there’s one thing kids are good at, it’s picking up on and interpreting adult signals!  So in addition to trying to influence the “big people,” I also have regular opportunities to steer little minds in a new direction, to provide tiny course corrections in the context of a non-parental but just-as-safe-and-unconditional relationship.

Nearly every conversation opens a window to subtle worldview adjustment.  As evidence, I present the following transcripts, all real interactions with my precious little buddies:

NIECE:  Aunt Mindy, why do you have so many folders and file boxes in your office?
AUNTIE:  I guess I’m the kind of person that likes to be neat and organized.
NIECE:  But you’re not a person — you’re a woman!
AUNTIE:  Interesting observation!  Yes, I am a woman, and you will be too when you grow up.  Sit here with me for a second and let’s talk about a big word: “personhood”…

NIECE:  One of our hens is stupid.  We’re going to get rid of her.
AUNTIE:  How do you know she’s stupid?
NIECE:  Because she doesn’t lay eggs!  She’s a girl chicken, it’s her job.  What kind of girl chicken doesn’t want to be a mother?
AUNTIE:  You know, sweetie, God designed hens to do more than lay eggs.  They also eat grubs to keep pastures clean and fertile, they scratch at the dirt and keep it aerated, they help other hens with big families raise their chicks, and they give their feathers and their meat for people to use.  So just because she’s not laying eggs doesn’t mean she’s not valuable to the farm…

NEPHEW:   Wife, make my dinner!  Daughter, make my bed!
AUNTIE:  Whoa – what are you talking about?
NEPHEW:  We’re playing house.  I’m the dad.
AUNTIE:  Oh, I see.  Well, Dad, do your wife and daughter have names?  Yes?  Don’t you think it would be a lot more respectful to call them by their names?  I agree.  And while you’re at it, wouldn’t you really show your love for them if you offered to make them dinner?…

AUNTIE:  So you really like science, huh?  You think you might want to study that in college?
NIECE:  Girls don’t go to college.
AUNTIE:  Really?  Says who?
NIECE:  Well, my dad went to college, but my mom didn’t.
AUNTIE:  That’s true.  College isn’t for everybody.  But I went to college, and there were lots of girls in my science classes.  And some of my professors were girls, too…

You get the idea.  And, no, I am not brainwashing them or disregarding their parents’ authority.  I don’t tell them their parents’ hierarchical structures are unbiblical.  I just stand in their lives as a glimpse of a bigger picture, an alternate voice, a different vision of the world than the one by which they are most often surrounded.  My hope is that they will grow up knowing good people have different ways of understanding these issues rather than unthinkingly parroting what was demonstrated at home.

What a privilege to be an egalitarian auntie!

Questions to start the discussion:
What does the “auntie (or uncle) model” look like in your situation?  Do you employ it in your biological relationships, or perhaps honorary ones with friends’ children or kids at church?  Have you, over time, seen fruit from such endeavors?  And — bonus points for this one! — have you learned anything from your interactions with these little ones about your own blindspots/hang-ups in how you relate to or value others?

Suppressing the Gospel-leadership of Women: The SBC Kicking Against God’s Will?

By Mimi Haddad

Just recently more than 100 bookstores controlled by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) removed the recent issue of Gospel Today—a magazine that highlighted the gospel-work of women. Have you ever wondered if the SBC might be “kicking against the goads” in their tireless efforts to censor the obvious fact that God, throughout history, has and continues to gift, call, and bless the gospel-service of women? Removing copies of Gospel Today, as it celebrates women leading the world to Jesus, is like trying to suppress the early apostles! It is a futile effort because it opposes the will of God.
Removing Gospel Today from 100 bookstores no more suppresses God’s power in women than throwing Peter in jail stopped the growth of the early church. Though the SBC works to restrain the gospel-work of female pastors, missionaries, professors, and those who support them, yet God’s favor rests upon women, and evidence of this keeps popping everywhere! It is hard to ignore the parallels between SBC efforts to rein in women, and the story of the apostles in Acts 5.
As the apostles performed many “signs and wonders” (Acts 5:12), “more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number” (5:14). God’s favor and power was impossible to ignore. Thus, because of their jealousy, the religious leaders arrested the apostles (5:18). But the angels released them from prison, putting them back on the streets to preach. Finally, the religious leaders asked Peter why he had disobeyed them by preaching the gospel. Peter said, “We must obey God rather than men” (5:29)! Peter’s words enraged the Sanhedrin, who wanted to put him to death. But Gamaliel, a Pharisee honored for his wisdom and learning, offered this important warning:
Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God (Acts 5:35-39).
As Gamaliel predicted, Peter and the other believers continued to preach, and their neighbors and communities came to faith in Christ. Infuriated by their efforts, Saul of Tarsus, a formidable opponent, devoted his talent to punish and silence believers—both men and women. But even Saul had to face the truth. Knocked off his horse, and blinded by a bright light, Saul heard a voice amid these astonishing events asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14).
Women have been called to gospel-leadership since the empty tomb and their God-given abilities have and will draw many to Christ. This is a historic reality. In fact, in the largest expanse of Christian faith in all of history, women outnumbered men on mission-fields two to one. Their prominence is hard to ignore and impossible to suppress because their power is not of human origins, but is from God!

It has come to our attention that there is to be a debate on the Trinity between two staunch proponents of hierarchy, namely Wayne Grudem and Bruce Ware and two theologians of apparent egalitarian persuasion, Tom McCall and Keith Yandell. The following announcement was made by the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

The Carl F.H. Henry Center for Theological understanding of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is excited to announce that on October 9th, 2008 at 6.30 pm, it will host a Trinity Debate at the TEDS Chapel featuring Drs. Bruce Ware (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) and Wayne Grudem (Phoenix Seminary) versus Drs. Tom McCall (TEDS) and Keith Yandell (University of Wisconsin-Madison) on the question: “Do relations of authority and submission exist eternally among the Persons of the Godhead?”

This is a very significant event which happens to be scheduled just one month prior to the annual gathering of the Evangelical Theological Society and may very well provide impetus for a challenge to be presented to the ETS on their collective standing on the matter. Kevin Giles, our man on the ground in this ever widening debate says of those who will oppose the proposition “Tom McCall has his doctorate from Calvin and has published on the Trinity and Keith Yandell is a very competent and well published philosopher in his 60’s.”

This debate is of tremendous significance to egalitarians, as a further comment by Kevin Giles reveals, as quoted from his more recent work, Jesus and the Father, page 42. The chapter is titled, “Contemporary Evangelicals and the Doctrine of the Trinity.”  

“Virtually every evangelical theologian who has written in support of the eternal subordination of the Son in function and authority is committed to the permanent subordination of women in the church and home. Because the subordination of women and the subordination of the Son are inextricably united in the minds of those with whom I am debating, getting them to consider honestly and openly what they are saying on the Trinity is almost impossible. Too much for them is at stake. Some of them have said to me quite openly, “We will never give way on the Trinity, because this would be the first step in giving way on our case for the subordination of women.” Professor Wayne Grudem is firmly of this opinion. He says the “most decisive factor” in the case for the permanent subordination of women is “a proper understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity,” by which he means understanding the Trinity as hierarchically ordered so that the Son is bound to obey the Father. Nothing is more important “in the whole universe,” he says, than maintaining “the equality of being together with authority and submission” in the relationship between the Father and Son in the immanent Trinity.” (Grudem, Evangelical Feminism, 411 and n. 12; ibid., 429.)

We invite your comments and encourage you to follow the progress and outcome of this important event.