“Must manage his own household well” (1 Timothy 3:4-5)
I was recently asked if 1 Timothy 3:4a (“managing his own household well”) is a command that shows men, and not women, are to rule or lead their households. Here’s my response.
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Category: Equality in Ministry
Junia: The Jewish Woman who was Imprisoned with Paul
This article looks at Junia, a Christian missionary mentioned in Romans 16:7, who was persecuted for her faith and may have known Jesus personally. Was she also known as Joanna?
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Paul on Gender Roles in Ministry and Marriage
A few verses in Paul’s letters are frequently cited by Christians who exclude women from some ministries. Did Paul really restrict women in either ministry or marriage? This is part 3 of a series on gender roles in the Bible.
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Jesus on Gender Roles and Gendered Activities
Does Jesus give instructions about gender roles as complementarians understand them? What does Jesus teach and say to women in the Gospels? This is part 2 in a series of gender roles in the Bible.
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The authority of police officers, ship’s captains, and men
In this short post, I respond to a reader’s question about how the authority of police officers is used as an analogy by some complementarians to support male-only authority in the church.
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Lydia of Thyatira: The foreigner who became the founding member of the Philippian Church
Lydia of Thyatira (Acts 16:14ff), and women like her, were vital and strategic players at the forefront of the expanding Christian mission.
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Video Series: Should Women Teach in Church?
Here are four short clever videos which look at 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-14 and intelligently discuss whether women can teach in church.
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Were there women elders in New Testament churches?
Three times this past week I’ve been in online conversations where a person has stated that women were not leaders or elders in early churches. Was this really the case?
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Two Brave Women in 2 Samuel 17
This post is about two brave unnamed women mentioned in 2 Samuel 17 who each risked their lives to help King David’s, and God’s, cause.
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Qualified for every good work (2 Timothy 2:2; 3:16-17)
A thorough knowledge of scripture is an important qualification for many Christian ministries. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which mentions this qualification, does not exclude women, women like Priscilla.
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The Means of Ministry: Gifts, Grace, Faith . . . Gender?
If Paul had meant for only men to be leaders and teachers, why doesn’t he mention this in his lists of ministries in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:28, and Ephesians 4:11?
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Church cultures that include and exclude women leaders
One reason why some Christians reject the idea that women were leaders in a few New Testament churches is a poor understanding of how the first Christian communities fellowshipped and functioned.
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