The article discusses the need for churches to address historic prejudice and imbalance against women in leadership and teaching roles. It emphasizes the importance of encouraging, training, and mentoring women, setting explicit goals, and providing suitable role models. It also highlights the need to support mothers in church leadership and ministry without neglecting their caregiving responsibilities.
By the time Jesus walked the dusty trails of Judaea, centuries of mistrust and mutual accusation had created palpable enmity between “true” Jews and Samaritans. So, when making the journey between Galilee and Judea, respectable Jews would choose the hotter, longer desert route that ran to the east of the Jordan river rather than the … Continue reading “Talking with a woman…”
Pak Loki and Joko smiled as I emerged into the arrivals hall at Jakarta airport in Indonesia. I was just off a night flight from Amsterdam and would be speaking in the morning service at their church a few hours later. “How about some breakfast?” Joko asked, once we had finished the customary greetings and … Continue reading The Gospel According to Zeffirelli
At the end of Refugee Week, this comes in recognition of all those people who are displaced and seeking a better life, a safer life, far from home. I take it you know something of the story of Ruth. To set the scene, you could read the first three chapters of this short book for … Continue reading Take Two: Boaz and Ruth
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and … Continue reading Take Two: Jesus, Martha and Mary (Luke 10)
I managed to catch most of Channel 4's Sunday night special, 'Jesus’ Female Disciples: The New Evidence'. I guess I'm not your average Sunday night Channel 4 viewer, but there wasn't a lot of new evidence for me. In fact, I reckon there's a whole lot of old evidence that could happily have added to … Continue reading Evidence or attitude?
But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. Mary -- the first on the scene. Confusion. The stone's been moved from across the entrance. Panic. Wait, no body? What the... Quick, Peter, he'll know what to do. Or John. Come on! They've taken him. Gone. Gone! Peter and John did little but confirm what she already … Continue reading A veil of tears
Enough has been written on the subject of women bishops in the Church of England in the last 24 hours, is there anything left unsaid? Probably not, but I may as well add my pennysworth to the fray... I understand, and share, the disappointment. Having taken the step of allowing the ordination of women, it … Continue reading I suffer not a woman…
One of these days I am going to get myself a bracelet made with WDJW on. And before you ask, no, I haven’t spelled that wrong – if I wanted a “What Would Jesus Do”bracelet, I could just go and buy one. I wonder if anyone would notice the difference? And if they did, what … Continue reading WDJW
Having just watched A.N. Jacobs' TED talk on "The Year of Living Biblically", in which he tried to live out - literally - every one of the Bible's commands, I thought it a good moment to fire off a couple of thoughts on biblical interpretation. You see, a couple of Sundays ago we hit 1 … Continue reading “The audience are literally electrified and glued to their seats”
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