A Flood of Books on Women

 

Looking from my European standpoint, I am astonished at the number of recently released books on Biblical Womanhood and associated topics in the English language. There are more books than anyone can keep up with. Very good books. Each one brings something old, something new, something borrowed, something … true. Many of these books have opened my eyes and my understanding. Some helped me get a grip on Bible texts that seemed to contradict each other. As a book-lover, I would like to read all of these books, but I am slowly realizing that even the whole world would not have room for all the books that could be written, as John the Apostle said.[1] Maybe, however, all that needs to be said has already been written. At least, I have found the answers I have been looking for.

Something seems to be happening in American Christianity. While women in complementarian churches are waking up to the injustice of the discrimination they have been subjected to for the last forty years, the leadership of the SBC threatens to disfellowship whole churches that install women as (ordained) pastors. The topic of women in ministry is being discussed in podcasts and interviews, creating a huge wave of open-mindedness among Christian women who are now realizing that discrimination against them is not biblical.

At the same time, the church that I belong to is being tested from within. While women may serve as pastors, according to the working policy, they are second-class pastors. Out of fear that the church could split over the issue, the top leadership has tried to discipline church entities that refuse to put women and men in different categories of pastors. There are current efforts to stop women pastors, even elders. These efforts want to change how the church empowered women in its early days. If we could look back about 150 years, we would be astonished to see how prominent male pastors defended the right of women to preach and serve in ministry.

Starting with the Great Awakening, women in many Christian communities were allowed to follow God’s call to proclaim the gospel. When we look at what happened in the complementarian churches, it was not God who changed his mind about who should minister but rather men in positions of leadership who used their influence to change church policies and doctrines.

I now see powerful men surrounding themselves with acolytes and trying to appoint like-minded leaders for the years to come, so that their doctrinal perceptions will be continued even after they depart from office.

If all these good books about the role of women in the church have a liberating influence on women in complementarian churches, I hope that they will also prevent my church from repeating that history. Let them sound a warning signal and open our eyes to what could happen.

 





 


[1] John 21:25 NIV

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