Regarding the issue of women in church leadership, both the complementarian and the egalitarian view can be supported by Scripture. It’s only possible for one of these views to be correct, though—either women should be barred from at least some leadership roles in the church, or they should not be excluded from any. While the debate between evangelical scholars on this issue continues, real people are affected by the theological positions held by those whose voices they trust. What happens if we get this wrong? If egalitarians are incorrect in their view that Continue Reading
What does “Different Roles” Mean?
Some Christians believe women and men share equal worth but have different, complementary, God-given roles. This belief is called complementarianism. Photo by Marc Stress on Unsplash Differing but complementary roles sounds like it means certain roles are only for men, and other roles are only for women. (This would logically include leadership roles, right?) Let’s look a little closer, beginning with defining “role.” Sociologically speaking, a “role” refers to routine behavior or acts that can change over time and differ from culture to culture. (Think of Continue Reading
Why “Destiny” Must Take a Back Seat to Humility
Two young sons of a pastor got involved in a typical sibling squabble. They sparred verbally until the older brother had enough—and he knew just how to shut down the fight. Photo by Danica Tanjutco on Unsplash With condescending glance and tone, he simply stated, “You have no destiny.” If you’re a charismatic Christian, you know that’s the worst insult he could have come up with! I’ve spent my entire life in Pentecostal/Charismatic circles, and I’m grateful for my background and history in many ways. That said, I see both strengths and weaknesses in my Continue Reading
No, Sister, You Don’t Have a “Jezebel Spirit”
Author’s note: this article was originally published by CBEinternational.org. The church faces a huge crisis today. More and more (mostly) female survivors are courageously speaking out about the sexual abuse they’ve endured from pastors and other spiritual leaders. Photo by Aditya Saxena at Unsplash One deflection method used by guilty parties is pointing out the sin of other ministers so people won’t detect their own similar behavior. Another is crying, “I’m under demonic attack!” And within these deflections, an evil spirit named after a certain woman Continue Reading