Why it is important that we don’t assume that ethics based on God’s Word alone is arbitrary

I’ve recently been writing a little about the different strands of complementarian thinking. You can read about my attempts to map out the field of play, here. I’ve also commented about the problems when you don’t hear each other well, here.  I wanted to pick up a little more on the specific aspect of the… Continue reading Why it is important that we don’t assume that ethics based on God’s Word alone is arbitrary

Complementarians disagreeing badly

I’ve recently included a series of articles looking at tools to help us to map out the different positions withing evangelical Christianity on the role of men and women in church and family.  One of my reasons for doing this is that I wanted to help us to have a better conversation and even if… Continue reading Complementarians disagreeing badly

A third perspective on complementarian and egalitarian conversations

In two recent articles I’ve tried to map out the different types of egalitarian and the different types of complementarian.  My aim in those articles has not been to argue for a specific position, not that I don’t have strong views or won’t argue for them but rather that I think it would be helpful… Continue reading A third perspective on complementarian and egalitarian conversations

Who is in charge?

In response to my recent article on the different types of complementarianism, one stand out comment came back.  A reader suggested that both complementarians and egalitarians alike have the same problem, they are essentially arguing about “who is in charge?”  The result is that essentially the debate is about status, hierarchy and power.  This goes… Continue reading Who is in charge?

Wanted -church mothers

For some time, I’ve been arguing that both complementarians and egalitarians alike have been letting the church down by failing to give proper place to women in the church.  For complementarians, the failure has perhaps been more obvious.  The focus has been so much on saying “this is what women cannot do” that the result… Continue reading Wanted -church mothers

The Complementarian compass

When we think about questions relating to the relationship between husbands and wives in the home and the role of men and women in the church, we tend to think of the debate being primarily between complementarians and egalitarians with a binary choice.  I want to suggest that there are good reasons for not seeing… Continue reading The Complementarian compass

Let’s get the complementarianism/ egalitarianism debate in perspective

I wrote my MTh dissertations on pastoral ethics relating to marriage. My current work is focused on raising up leaders to plant churches in urban contexts. This combined with another factor means that a particular topic comes up from time to time and you will find me writing about it here. The third factor is… Continue reading Let’s get the complementarianism/ egalitarianism debate in perspective

Pastoral and unpastoral pastors?

The Southern Baptist Convention has recently made waves by deciding to add to its rules that associating churches must not include women pastors on their staff. This links in part to the decision by Saddleback Church to appoint female pastors and Rick Warren’s change of mind on complementarianism.  However, the decision has caused consternation not… Continue reading Pastoral and unpastoral pastors?

First and second things

At the weekend, the Keswick Convention put out a statement on social media as follows.  It seems that the convention has been subject to a bit of a protest about their stance on women speakers. It’s not the first time that Christians have decided to protest Christian events. In fact, back when we attended Keswick,… Continue reading First and second things

The ideal wife?

Sometimes in discussions about the roles of men and women, especially with regards to the debate about complementarianism and egalitarianism, Proverbs 31 is cited as significant.   How relevant exactly is this passage to the debate? That will depend on the purpose of the passage. There are three options. Different commentators have made their case in… Continue reading The ideal wife?