The other day, John Piper fielded a question about whether women should be police officers. His response highlights the tortured logic necessary to make patriarchy “work” in the real world. Worth noting: the woman asking is a complementarian. She believes, like Piper, that men lead and women follow. Yet she feels drawn to police work and … Continue reading This is what the tortured, twisted logic of patriarchy looks like
This week I’m thrilled to be guest blogging for my friend Jory Micah. Jory is a Christian feminist committed to finding godly ways to challenge patriarchy. She was recently named one of the top 10 Christian female bloggers. You can connect with Jory’s ministry on Facebook, or check out her blog. —//— Judging by the … Continue reading If you think patriarchy is countercultural…
I mentioned the situation at The Village Church (TVC) in my previous post about patriarchy and sexual abuse. (For those who don’t know, TVC tried to “discipline” a former member for annulling her marriage after she learned her husband was using child porn. Lead pastor Matt Chandler has since apologized. You can read more about … Continue reading Matt Chandler, The Village Church, and the unresolved issue
Bill Gothard. Doug Phillips. Sovereign Grace Ministries. Bob Jones University. Josh Duggar. The Village Church. Oh, and lest we think this is purely an evangelical phenomenon—or that fundamentalists are the only ones who minimize abuse, marginalize women, and harbor their abusers—John Howard Yoder. There is no single, magic answer to the epidemic of abuse in the … Continue reading Sexual abuse won’t stop unless the church puts women in power
Most weekday mornings, I get my daughter up. It’s a frenzied ritual of brushing teeth, combing hair, trying to persuade her that wool sweaters aren’t the greatest choice for the middle of summer (even in Michigan), and finally—after a series of delicate and sometimes tense negotiations—helping her get dressed in her chosen outfit. Then I make my way to my … Continue reading We need feminism because my daughter thinks most TV shows are for boys
I don’t usually find flipping through the Christian book catalog to be an uplifting experience. Take the one that was waiting on my front porch this week… There’s yet another children’s book reducing the gospel to a formula. There’s one reinforcing the notion of heaven as a disembodied reality “out there” somewhere. There are Duck … Continue reading “Boys can be anything they want. Girls can be princesses.”
CBMW’s review of Jesus Feminist — and the fact that they won’t allow comments on their website — prompted this epic Twitter response from Sarah Bessey. (This link is the recap Sarah posted on her Facebook page afterward.) The most telling line in the whole review (which, to CBMW’s credit, struck a softer tone than much … Continue reading For those exiled to the wilderness…
There was a time, even after I had embraced gender equality, when most of the voices I listened to — theologians, bloggers, etc. — were men. I don’t think I planned it that way. But years of believing that only men could talk authoritatively about the Bible had conditioned me to tune out female voices. Even after … Continue reading Listening to other voices: it won’t just happen by accident
Five to one. That’s the ratio of male to female speakers at major Christian conferences in the US, according to an eye-opening analysis by Jonathan Merritt. Only 19% of speakers at these events are women. As Jonathan writes, “Just when it appears we’ve crossed the rubicon on gender equality, we realize we haven’t.” Indeed. It … Continue reading My daughter deserves better than 19%
Sarah Bessey’s new book Jesus Feminist (reviewed here) came out this week. So now it’s time for the synchroblog. Technically, I already wrote a post on “why I’m a Jesus feminist.” But like most people, there’s more to this story than can fit in a single post, so here goes… I am a Jesus feminist … Continue reading Anyone can be a Jesus feminist… even me
