American culture is patriarchal to the core. As author Leslie Dorrough Smith argues, the ideal male identity remains white, heterosexual and given to “family values” (even while their behavior contradicts this supposed conviction).
Do your sources of information and inspiration all look like you and share your point of view?
To limit our intake of books, podcasts, movies, TV shows, sermons and articles to those produced by white men is the equivalent of limiting our understanding of God.
The fundamental issue in the ‘go home’ controversy: women’s agency
By denying women their agency, some Christians are forgetting that women are created in God’s image, and as such they are capable of making their own decisions in response to God’s call in their lives.
Bourbon, boobs and bedrooms: Will the Body of Christ choose people over purity?
Purity codes and other forms of Christian cleanliness have excluded people for centuries, keeping out entire communities who did not follow one way of living, one way of interpreting scripture and one way that works for one group of people – namely, those with all the power.
Evangelical women superstars: power, celebrity and influence within the façade of submission
In many ways, the superstar women of evangelicalism use the same tools to access power, not just at home but also in the public arena – the rhetoric of submission, conformity to gender norms and resourceful influence within the constraints of patriarchy.
Sister, don’t ‘go home’; go preach!
John MacArthur’s “go home” comment directed toward Beth Moore was an insult to her and to her ministry of teaching and preaching. But it was more than that. It was an insult to every female preacher, teacher and pastor living out God’s call to ministry.
The stained-glass cliff and the Riverside Church: a double standard for our first female senior minister
Riverside’s church council held a double standard against the first woman to serve as our senior minister. Two contrasting investigations demonstrate how the council acted differently towards a woman versus a man.
‘Prophetic or pastoral?’ A trio of black women preachers expose this false dichotomy
In American Christianity today, many pastors and other ministry leaders in the dominant culture are afraid of being prophetically pastoral. As a result, the Church and the Gospel suffer.
Baptist World Alliance supports ‘equal space’ for women in church leadership
During a recent meeting in the Bahamas, the General Council of the Baptist World Alliance issued a strongly worded resolution calling on global Baptists to repent of teachings, language and practices that are harmful to women.