Author Archives: javenbear

It’s often true, especially in very conservative church environments, that men can move much more easily between the church and the world than women can. The church’s teachings and standards keep women tightly bound to the church community which makes the thought of leaving that much harder. While women are often discouraged from getting jobsContinue reading “Feb 12”

In the New Testament, we see women like Lydia, a wealthy merchant woman who helps fund Jesus’ ministry. Paul calls a woman, Junia, an apostle. He entrusts Phoebe to deliver and read one of his letters in which he describes her as a deacon and a benefactor. The easy thing to do is cry “feminism!”Continue reading “Feb 11”

Here we see how women are invited into spaces where their physical gifts (like their singing voice, ability to play an instrument, or willingness to cook/clean/etc.) are desired as they serve the church. Some folks, like Jimothy, start to get uncomfortable when a woman starts talking between songs or is tapped to head up aContinue reading “Feb 10”

I remember sitting in a small group and hearing Jimothy’s explanation voiced regarding people who didn’t live or believe quite like the person speaking (this had nothing to do with women). I believe the person’s exact words were, maybe they ought to just go on down the road. We must also consider that if aContinue reading “Feb 9”

Sometimes we believe that God isn’t pleased with us if we admit we don’t know what’s going on, that he’ll be disappointed if we don’t have answers. When we view scripture as a textbook full of answers to life problems, we often are left having to choose and then defend our choice whatever the cost.Continue reading “Feb 8”

If we wonder how our church views what men and women are capable of, we can take a look at the way we delegate responsibilities. If the missions committee is made up of all men, and the hospitality committee is make up of all women, that says a lot about what we believe women areContinue reading “Feb 7”

Denominations have different procedures for making church decisions. In some churches, members vote in a democratic process. If only men are empowered to voice their opinions, not only does it remove every woman from a participatory role in the decision making process, it also ensures that the agenda, debate, and decisions make in meetings areContinue reading “Feb 6”

My mom and my aunt tell me how when I was a very young boy I used to give passionate sermons to them both about how women need to submit to men, how men are leaders and women need to obey them. I was an impassioned fundamentalist of a child. 20 years later, the questionsContinue reading “Feb 5”

Interpreting and applying scripture is an active process. When we read, and especially when we tell each other what passages mean, we are making choices about what we think the author is doing. Many of us cite Genesis 3:16 as a “prescription” for how things ought to be. It is also read, more correctly IContinue reading “Feb 4”

Around 2005 a new translation of the Bible was released which sought to accurately translate scripture with regard to pronouns. Whereas the translators of the KJV used almost exclusively male pronouns even in cases where the original Greek and Hebrew words were gender neutral (or included men and woman), this new translation sought more accuratelyContinue reading “Feb 3”