“So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

— Genesis 1:17 (TNIV)

Very often, our perspectives on the relationship between gender and Christian leadership take shape around a few seemingly poignant texts in the New Testament (Acts 2, 1 Cor. 11, 1 Tim 2, 1 Peter 3, Gal. 3, etc.). All of these texts, however, find their fullest meaning when set in the perspective of the grand narrative of the Bible – from creation to re-creation. Sadly, a “creational” framework is seldom employed when it comes to questions and conversation about gender and leadership.

Additionally, we know that many church leaders across North America (men and women alike) are asking questions about “women in ministry.” Some operate within systems and structures in which the answers to these questions are so sacrosanct that they don’t feel safe even asking the questions. Others operate within systems and structures that are so orientated toward cultural accommodation, they aren’t even sure where or how to have this kind of conversation on biblical and theological levels.

For all these reasons and still others, we see hosting presentations and discussions on the topic of “gender and leadership” as an important part of our work – one that has the potential to greatly impact the shape of our mission-focused thinking and practice.

This week, we want to create a space for questions and discussion on this issue of “gender and leadership.”

• How has your thinking and practice with regard to “gender and leadership” been shaped?
• What resources have been most valuable to you in engaging this topic?
• What challenges do you see facing the Church on this front?

And to help set the stage, we hope you’ll download and listen to this workshop featuring presentations by Cherith Fee-Nordling and Fred Harrell. They share their own experiences of thinking (and rethinking!) about this issue and seek to offer theological and pastoral wisdom out of their own stories.

Workshop Description:

This workshop will address the issue of women in ministry. We will share personal stories of our own theological and pastoral developments with regard to this issue and offer fresh theological perspectives for changing the way this debate often unfolds. Time will be given for questions and dialogue related to engaging this issue personally as well as in community with specific attention given to issues of Church leadership.

The audio download of this workshop is available HERE and is available for free all day today, 7/29/13 (discount automatically applied when you add the workshop to your cart).

More resources by Cherith Fee-Nordling are here. Others featuring Fred Harrell are here.