flickr: The Arches
A few years ago, our family of six left a congregation full of parents with young children, and joined a church made up mostly of university students.1 This wasn’t an ideological statement on our part: it was simply because my husband works in university ministry, and that’s where we needed to be at the time. But it’s made me aware of some of the benefits and costs of going to church with people from a different age and stage from your own.
Many women find doing one-to-one Bible reading awkward and uncomfortable. But, as Isobel Lin suggests, a little awkwardness can be a good thing. (more…)
Writing or even reviewing a book about the Bible’s teaching on male and female responsibilities within marriage or the church is a task fraught with difficulty. The issue is more emotionally charged than most doctrinal or church practice issues because it reaches to the very heart of what it means to be human. In addition, it is an area that is alien to our culture and a possible impediment to the spread of the gospel in the world. So how important is it to get the role of women in the church right? Is it a so-called ‘gospel’ or ‘first order’ issue, or is it fine for Christians to have a wide range of views on the subject? (more…)
A review of Kevin Giles, The Trinity and Subordinationism, IVP, Downers Grove, 2002.
The long debate among evangelicals about women’s ministry has brought many issues floating to the surface. It has challenged us to think about our view of Scripture and how it speaks to us today. It has prompted us to re-examine ordination itself and the traditional structures of ministry. And most recently, it has put the doctrine of the Trinity back on the agenda.