By: Sean Dean on April 5, 2019
Last night I had the opportunity to sit and talk with some future foster parents about their journey so far. It was a fascinating conversation about their first interest in foster care and adoption and how it has grown and how their church community is helping to foster their movement in this direction. One of…
By: Jason Turbeville on April 5, 2019
Where I live there is a sports radio station that I enjoy listening to, one of the sayings which has made its way into my vernacular is the word “tired head”. The definition of this word is a discussion that you have been through multiple times and would rather just move on from, but instead…
By: Rhonda Davis on April 5, 2019
When I began my career in student development, I was excited by the opportunity to come alongside the university classroom to aid in the holistic development of the student. In my context of the Christian university, we had a lot of freedom at that time to discuss issues of character and justice. We were aware…
By: Rev Jacob Bolton on April 5, 2019
The image above shared with me by Union Theological Seminary Professor Emeriti Larry Rasmussen demonstrates one of the largest hurdles climate scientists face when discussing the issues of climate change. Often when discussing global warming, climate change or the climate crisis, changing our lifestyles, our former beliefs, or dare I say our elephants[i], ends up…
By: Trisha Welstad on April 5, 2019
If you can suspend your bias and personal belief (and maybe your identity) to read through the text Two Views on Women in Ministry, you would likely finish with the perspective of, “I could be either a complementarian or an egalitarian.” This is because the biblical scholars have argued through Old and New Testament Scriptures…
By: Andrea Lathrop on April 4, 2019
I found Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion fascinating. I wish I had more time to explore all his research on moral psychology and the ways we are wired to judge, exclude and include. I do not have to look deep at my own elephant or those close…
By: Nancy VanderRoest on April 4, 2019
I had the blessed opportunity to officiate a funeral for one of my Hospice patients on Monday. Now, I’ve done many funerals because of my chaplaincy role, but this one was different. This is a fractured family situation that I would be speaking to and the most diverse grouping of attendees I had ever met.…
By: Digby Wilkinson on April 4, 2019
I need to say right at the beginning; there is a difference between the American version of Jonathan Haidt’s, The Righteous Mind, and the UK option published by Penguin.[1] The English version has a different cover and it’s special! It makes you wonder what’s inside and precisely who is ‘flipping the bird‘ to whom? Rather…
By: Kyle Chalko on April 4, 2019
What an exciting last run of books for us to end on! I am truly excited to dive into the blogs this week and see how all of you are wrong. just kidding __ Growing up in the Assemblies of God I have seen many women ministers, all of whom I have considered very effective…
By: Jean Ollis on April 4, 2019
“What does the word ‘ordain-able’ mean? It literally means, ‘possesses a penis,’”…“It does not mean, ‘is currently in seminary, has graduated with an M.Div,” or master’s in divinity, “‘and has gone before a licensure committee.’”[1] It’s no surprise that this week’s text by James R. Beck, Two Views of Women in Ministry, is controversial, emotionally…
By: Mark Petersen on April 4, 2019
At one time Two Views on Women in Ministry would have kindled my interest and passion. I was the first man to enroll in the first Women in Leadership course at my seminary when such topics were controversial in 1989, and when my evangelical institution was pioneering new ways of considering traditional texts which relegated…
By: Dave Watermulder on April 4, 2019
“Most Christians do not realize how much our backgrounds and traditions affect the ways we read the Bible. Having held both egalitarian and complimentarian (or hierarchicalist) views on women’s ministry with sincerity at different times in my life, in both cases dependent on my desire to be faithful to God’s Word, I recognize the sincere reasons…
By: Chris Pritchett on April 4, 2019
It hasn’t been since 2005 when I last took a serious crack at studying the various sides of this debate about whether the Bible permits women to serve in ordained and other leadership capacities in the church. It strikes me that Beck’sTwo Views on Women in Ministryfails to add anything new to this conversation, even…
By: Jenn Burnett on April 4, 2019
The first week our family was back in Canada after many years abroad, we decided to take a relaxing trip to the movies after months of stress preparing for the move. Given my children’s ages at the time, the cartoon was the obvious choice and it happened to be “Inside Out”[1] ; a humourous tale…
By: Jake Dean-Hill on April 3, 2019
Obviously, everyone knows this topic is near and dear to my heart, which is why I’m devoting my dissertation research and future to advocating for women to equally lead alongside men. Being married to an amazing female leader and working with many gifted females over the years has emboldened my passion to help close this…
By: Jay Forseth on April 3, 2019
A few statements from our DMin have been forever etched in my memory. “God is queer” started it off, and “Jesus is egalitarian” followed later. I have worked past the first but am still a work-in-progress on the second. Similarly, in a later Zoom discussion, it was mentioned, “The Bible is egalitarian.” I have already…
By: Harry Fritzenschaft on April 3, 2019
Haidt (as a social and cultural psychologist who has spent sixteen years researching and teaching at the University of Virginia) explores why society has such trouble discussing religion, and why we can’t, “make conversations about morality, politics, and religion more common, more civil and more fun.” Haidt contends that politics and religion as expressions of our…
By: Dan Kreiss on April 3, 2019
It has only been legal for 100 years in the U.S. It’s not too late to repeal the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote. In the UAE it is illegal for most women to drive, imagine the reduction in traffic congestion and even carbon emissions if we prevent women from driving. Why stop at…
By: Colleen Batchelder on April 3, 2019
Welcome to the montage of Christian dialogue – a blistering didactic that bears the scars of experience, the endless boxes of research and the ultimate quest for conversion. We’ve all starred into our opponent’s eyes – peering into their soul and questioning the validity of their argument. However, most of us have not sought to…
By: Jennifer Williamson on April 3, 2019
I can’t tell you what a privilege it is for me to work alongside you for the sake of the Kingdom and the glory of the King. Your passion for the gospel and the sincerity with which you approach the Word of God inspire and bless me. I share your love and reverence for the…
