The Gender Agenda Paperback

Ministry can polarise, and gender has all too often been a defining factor: rightly or wrongly! The breadth of whether women can be bishops or even open-their-mouths in church today is covered ably in this attractive and significant new IVP publication. In this email exchange, Lis Goddard and Clare Hendry search the scriptures for guidance on the roles of women and men in church leadership today. Against the busy backdrop of everyday life, their conversation covers all the key passages, leaving no scripture unexamined. Passionately reasoning their respective corners, they outline agreement and disagreement well. Goddard & Hendry have a deep love of the Bible and their conversation with each other is respectful, robust and profound. The emails are set in the context of the realities of their lives and the intersection of family, work and personal concerns with the theological issues they are wrestling with. This is not a dry academic debate; it is rooted in the identity and passion of two women wanting to serve God to the best of their ability, being true to what they believe God is calling them to in his word. While neither changes their mind by the close of the exchange, they are able to affirm what unites them and both call for women to be encouraged to use their gifts in the work of God’s kingdom.

Fully thought through in a comprehensive yet heavy-spirited manner. There is added value in the glossary: the foundational quality to the spirit of dialogue offered here and alongside the 'ponder & prayer' paragraphs, this is a significant and potent summary in the complex challenges of the gender challenge for Christ's church today. Comprehensive, engaging and progressive!