I found the following quote at http://townhall.com/news/religion/2009/04/20/promise_keepers_welcome_women_to_summer_conference

“It’s time for Promise Keepers men to step up and honor women,” Raleigh Washington, the group’s president, said Monday. “We’re going to heal the gender divide that exists in America.”

Does anyone know what their plans include to heal the divide? I checked their (PK) website and saw that they will be having one female conference speaker and eight male speakers. Perhaps this is a baby step forward, but it feels to me like a token gesture.

Also, the article wrote, “Washington said it hasn’t been decided whether women will be welcome at future events.”

I’m wondering how the divide will be healed if they reapply segregation after this conference.

Regarding “Fireproof”–we saw it, and I was surprised. Pleasantly so. While not specifically egalitarian, it is not another slick presentation of complimentarianism either. It is not Oscar worthy movie making, but it is a good discussion starter. The main focus was the responsibility to LOVE.

How the material is presented is, of course, going to depend somewhat on the point of reference of the presenter. I resigned the pastorate of my church before I could do so, but I had planned something similar.

I hope you are pleased with what your pastor does, or were, if it has happened already.

And Trevor–excellent points. Yes, we have created an artificial environment. Can it change in this generation? I doubt it. I hope so, but I am not optimistic.

Perhaps this helps explain why the women’s ministry at my former church was so much more active than the men’s ministry.

I’m glad to read that folks here are interested in reducing the amount of separation of the sexes. I think some separation along the lines of sex is fine, but it can be taken too far. The reasoning nearly always given at my last church was that the men wouldn’t be comfortable talking about their pornography problem(s) if they were in a mixed-sex group. As I type that, I note that it sounds ridiculous enough to almost not need further comment.

That makes it sound as though: !) Every man in the church has a pornography problem, 2) He’d want to talk about it at every group with which he met, and 3) the presence of women would prevent the men from doing this. Hmmmmm……

And while I know that it is no guarantee, I still wonder whether interacting with women as fellow human beings made in the image of God (e.g., in Christian groups rather than “just” in society in general) might be a part of recovering from a pornography problem/addiction.

Why is that so difficult to understand? Why look at someone by GENDER before ever considering them a human being created by God first?

Why exacerbate, emphasize, and MAXIMIZE “differences” between genders instead of bringing us all together in Christ? Paul certainly didn’t want division and I can’t imagine our High Priest does either.

Not only is their thinking/peculiar theology blatantly wrong Scripturally (look into the original koine Greek; and Christians historically didn’t read the original Hebrew because of anti-Semitism or they just couldn’t read at all!), but also this is such legalism too.

The nitpicking on prescribed “roles” because supposedly God wants it that way (when the word “role” is nowhere in the Bible and is applied here as a new, 20th century false theological construct in reaction to social changes of the 60s and 70s). These folks really, ACTUALLY believe they’re the only ones speaking for God!

You think you speak for God? No, when I pray for you I’m going to REPORT you to God. For what? Theft! You’re stealing the God-given value and worth that countless women have in Christ. Amen.

It’s either this, the racial prejudice (and yes, that exists in the Church too), and the lack of focus on other social injustices/oppression and poverty that the Bible mentions in over 2100 verses that’s ignored and that makes me sick. And, of course, I’m saddened.

This is what Christianity has come to?

More than ever before, as God works with us like Potter to clay, through history, there is no excuse for these kinds of prejudices, including extreme gender bias. It’s time to grow up. Paul would understand. (1 Cor. 13:11)

Donald Guffey said:

“Oh and just on a side note the ‘best’ comment that was made was ” Man was made in the image of God and Woman was made in the image of a man” ( Yes I am totally serious).”

Yeah, that had to be the good one of the night.

They didn’t even get the text right. Woman is the “glory” man. There is nothing about her being his “image”. (1 Cor. 11:7)

Yes, I guess they just ignored Gen. 1:27 then??

Unfortunately, that’s not atypical with them.

Then just one verse later, Paul apparently considers whatever comes out of something else its “glory” (or — the best part coming out of the original). (1 Cor. 11:8). Such as a woman’s HAIR coming out of her, her glory. (1 Cor. 11:15)

So yes woman is man’s glory — like hair!

I’m amused and yet I’m crying:

So very often the people who most claim to hold so tightly to Scripture don’t even accurately capture the text they say they have such a high regard for . . . !

Caroline SC said:

“A more appropriate name would be “Love OR Respect” because they emphasize that we need either love OR respect, totally depending on what sex we are.”

I’m not familiar with this book but I am with the notion that women/wives are to only respect their husbands while the husbands are to only love their wives (or something to the effect that this matters the most to each gender — that is, that the difference is mentioned . . .)

And, of course, if you don’t like that, then the implication is that there is something wrong with you, you’re not wanting what God wants, etc.

I have no idea where people come from with these ridiculous ideas. I really don’t. Just off the wall. As if love AND respect aren’t priorities for BOTH wives and husbands?

Well, they couldn’t have gotten it from Scripture . . .because in Titus 2:4, older women are to teach younger women to LOVE their husbands . . .and in 1 Pet. 3:7 we learn that husbands are to RESPECT their wives!

Wow! I guess husbands and wives are to both LOVE and RESPECT each other. : ) I suppose it must be important to both of them (and, of course, to God).

The next time someone voices support for this particular theology on marriage they should be asked to look up the divorce rate of athiests vs. conservative (or traditional, complementarian, etc.) Christians.

Yes, I know the athiest couples are going to hell — but they’re going to hell with their first marriages intact!

Regrettably, I’d be more inclined to take marriage advice from an athiest couple than anyone who supported a setup that enlarges gender differences in the home or Church. The complementarians just don’t have the proof of reality to back themselves up with for what it takes to have a truly successful marriage.