I cannot quite believe that I first wrote this three years ago; it seems like yesterday. As with the debates on sexuality, the debates in the Church of England seem to be becoming intractable. The more we debate the question, the further we are from a common mind, and the more entrenched the views become. And, also as with sexuality, the Church appears to be failing to engage with the one vital resource that it has at its fingertips: scripture. What we find in the New Testament is a deliberate description of the apparently effortless diversity of the community of those following Jesus. Yet it was not in fact 'effortless'; the heated debate about gentile inclusion shows that, at one level at least, this diversity was hard-won. But the basis of it was the ultimate biblical vision found in the Jewish scriptures: that 'all nations' would be drawn to the God of Israel; salvation is 'from the Jews' (John 4.22) but it is for the whole world. And this diversity wa
It is commonly acknowledged among Evangelical Christians that it is unwise to build a doctrine on one verse or on one passage of Scripture. Still, many Christians use 1 Timothy 2:12 as the primary text and cornerstone of their understanding of women in ministry, especially of women as Bible teachers
January 26, 2021
Former first lady Michelle Obama spoke to an Indiana crowd about training up our children to be resilient, work hard and become our next generation of leaders.
“Our kids need to know we cannot cherish them to death,” she said. “Put in the work. Be accountable. You will fail too, but you will learn that you are more than able.”
Sage words that Christian families likewise want to impart as we train up our children in the way they should go. However, what of our daughters, who sit in congregation seats, waiting to hear the same kind of, “work hard, lead well” mantras that they hear from secular sources?