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: 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: 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…
By: Mike on April 3, 2019
James Beck’s Two Views on Women in Ministry offers the egalitarian and complementarian sides of an evolving inside-outside church debate over whether women should have equal access as men to all church leadership positions. In short, the book says the debate needs more time to solve issues, become more irenic, and review new ideas.[1] I…
By: Greg on March 23, 2019
Crawling out of bed in the morning, I reach over and grab my phone to read the Bible from an app on my phone. There are times after reading a little I turn on some worship music to begin the day with. Turning on my secure tunnel (VPN) I begin to scroll through the four…
By: Trisha Welstad on March 23, 2019
I did not know what a good choice I was making when I announced to my church a few weeks ago that I would be practicing presence for Lent. After having a few conversations prior to Ash Wednesday and thinking about how I would approach the season leading to Easter, I thought about how distracted…
By: Shawn Hart on March 22, 2019
For your reading discomfort: https://babbletop.com/15-most-dangerous-internet-challenges/ As I worked through our reading this week, I could not help but ask the question; “Did we go full circle?” I mean how did we get from Sarah Pink writing, “Pre-field work surveys of literature, digital and other visual texts and examples of how other ethnographers have successfully worked with…
By: Kyle Chalko on March 22, 2019
Cal Newport’s first book we read, Deep Work, was a MAJOR game changer for me. I mean like a serious life change. Because of this, I wanted to take this book very seriously. And so I did. I committed to taking this book as seriously as I could and incorporating as much of it into…
By: Jean Ollis on March 22, 2019
It was refreshing to read another Cal Newport text this week – Digital Minimalism. His premise of ‘technology as distraction” resonates with me. In fact, I want to shout out PREACH IT CAL! I agree with almost every technology concern he raises in his writing. I have been/still am concerned about the role our phones,…
By: Jennifer Williamson on March 22, 2019
A century ago, when missionaries left for the field, they said goodbye to friends and family, expecting never to see them again. Today, with the ease of global travel and the accessibility of global communication, missionaries find it easy to stay connected with people “back home” while serving in even the remotest parts of the…
By: Jay Forseth on March 21, 2019
[1] While reading this week’s book, my mind (yes, evangelicals do occasionally use their mind, Mr. Mark Noll) kept going back to Dr. Henry Cloud and John Townsend in Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life. I used to hand that book out like candy when I was…
By: Dan Kreiss on March 21, 2019
It came on quickly. No one anticipated the outcome and there is still significant uncertainty when considering future implications. Even Steve Jobs had very little idea how the smartphone would transform society. To him the iPhone was an mp3 player that could also be used to make cellular calls and texts.[1](5) Since that time (only…
By: Jason Turbeville on March 21, 2019
This weeks subject matter, on the surface, is a much less controversial task for those who keep track of such things. On the surface, we are talking about something that 77% of the U.S. population carries in their hand a smart phone. [1] Drilling down a bit further 69% of those in the U.S. are…
By: Mark Petersen on March 21, 2019
Cal Newport, with his astonishing productivity fuelled by discipline and strategic boundaries, reminds us in his newest book of the need to digitally declutter. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World is a call to choose the path less travelled, and say a firm no to our culture’s vehement attempts to form…
By: Dave Watermulder on March 21, 2019
Two weeks ago, a distraught woman in my church came up to me with her 6thgrade son. They had moved to our area a year earlier from Shanghai, China and they were struggling. While the mom worked at her well-paying high tech job, her son was floundering at school, and according to her, “all he…
