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.
The legal skirmish over online ordinations offers a chance to reaffirm what ordination really means
Hundreds of thousands of people have gone online to get ordained – not because they had a calling, not because a congregation had affirmed their gifts for ministry, not because they had completed a theological education and preparation for ministry – but so they could certify marriages.
I’m on a mission to rid the world of theological malarkey
I recently used the term “theological malarkey” in response to a question related to Trinitarian theology. That has inspired me to call out a few other forms of theological malarkey in American religion today.
Down by the Riverside: Fractured church picking up pieces after bombshell reports on pastor’s departure
Riverside Church in New York City held a members-only meeting Sunday, following a week of sensational headlines in competing newspapers covering the departure of Pastor Amy Butler.
From her mouth to God’s ear? Women’s voices, homiletical testosterone and radical redemption
Across the years, women in my family, in my classes and in the church have taught me this: Christ’s gospel isn’t measured by biology or hierarchy, but by radical redemption. God hears any voice that preaches Jesus.
Jesus said the ‘gates of hell may not prevail against the Church.’ But ignorance might
The depth of ignorance of science displayed by many religious people today is tragic, and the reach of an anti-intellectual, anti-education mindset threatens our future as a Church and a nation.