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Women shepherd
Several months ago, some colleagues and I founded The Visual Museum of Women in Christianity. With the help of a pool of volunteers, we’re capturing images from around the world that document women in the visual record of the church. Often what’s written tells only decisions about problems and debates—certainly not the whole story. Imagine if someone read only your church’s notes from town-hall or business meetings rather than reading the bulletins or seeing website photos or hearing oral histories. If the former were the only records you had, you might never imagine all the hospital visits, unhoused neighbors served, funeral meals prepared, recovery ministries led, marriage counseling and classes…
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‘Bible Women’ Founded and Established the Chinese Church
Please join me in welcoming guest blogger Dr. Cynthia Hester. She contributed her expertise on women’s history to the book 40 Questions about Women in Ministry Leadership. Today she’s sharing with readers about the remarkable women in ministry leadership in China and Cambodia. God chose to work largely through women to found and establish the Christian church in China and Cambodia. Nineteenth-century pre-literate Chinese women, evangelized by Protestant women missionaries, were taught how to read Chinese characters, which enabled them to teach from the Mandarin Bible. These ‘Bible women,’ such as Dora Yu (1873–1931), publicly shared the gospel and taught the Bible to mixed-sex groups. Peace Lin and her son…
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Guest post: How to Handle Church Hurt
I vaguely remember my parents arguing about some friends from church. I was about 15 and did not know precisely the reason for the argument. I knew only that my mother was distraught. The arguments eventually led to our leaving the church we had attended for nearly eight years. Their friends had deeply hurt them. This was not the only time that happened. Eight years ago, we left the first church our family attended as immigrants to Oman. The pastor had stolen church money, which led to many arguments, and the congregation splintered. The broken relationships caused so much pain, especially for my mother. Some of her friendships have never…
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The Office of Widow on the Early Church
As I’ve done some speaking and writing about 1 Timothy 5, I’ve received requests for sources relating to widows as an office in the early church. Below is a short bibliography in chronological order by publication date. I recommend that you read the books in this order so you can see the development of the research: Gryson, Roger. The Ministry of Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1976. Martimort, A. Georges. Deaconesses: An Historical Study. Translated by K. D. Whitehead. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1986. *Thurston, Bonnie Bowman. The Widows: A Women’s Ministry in the Early Church. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989. 117 pages. Elm, Susanna. Virgins of…
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End Times: I Wish We’d All Been…Discipled
I’ve seen and heard my colleague Dr. Mike Svigel, who teaches eschatology at the premillennial dispensational seminary where I also teach, say, “If your eschatology leads you to fear the antichrist rather than to hope in the Christ…or to hate unbelievers rather than to love your enemies…then get a new eschatology.” Can I get an amen? Abigail Dunlap, a Millennial friend, grew up with a family member steeped in the former sort of end-times focus to which Dr. Svigel is referring, so I invited her to write a guest-post adding her voice to the active end-times conversation (recently seen here, here, and here): The American evangelical church of the 1980s and 90s can…
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The “image that fell from heaven” in Ephesus (Acts 19:35)
Bonus material: Stuff I discovered while researching my forthcoming book, Nobody’s Mother: Artemis of the Ephesians in Antiquity and the NT: When the Ephesian silver workers caused a disturbance over the apostle Paul’s ministry cutting into their souvenir trade, the city clerk delivered a speech in which he referenced Artemis’s “image that fell from heaven.” That’s the translation, at least. It’s awkward to render into English, because the Greek has diopetous (διοπετοῦς), “Dio” being the Greek name for Zeus. Literally, the image is “Zeus-fallen.” Zeus was Artemis’s father. So what exactly was the image to which the clerk referred? It’s possible the artifact is sitting in storage in the Liverpool…
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Gender and Bible Translation
My former student Rick Hale compared how different Bible translations rendered the Greek word “anthropos” (from which we get “anthropology,” the study of humans) in passages that (a) could reasonably have both men and women in view and (b) are translated with gender inclusive language in the NET Bible. The table provides interpretation of ‘anthropos’ in the specified Bible translations for each passage listed. Translation of ‘anthropos’ (Strongs 444) Passages below (a) could reasonably have both men and women in view and (b) are translated with gender inclusive language in the NET Bible. The table provides interpretation of ‘anthropos’ in the specified Bible translations for each passage listed. Passage KJV…
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3 Book Recommendations for Ministry Leaders
I am here to commend to you three new ministry resources that belong on your reading (or listening) list. All three are available on Audible and read by the authors themselves: Releasing today: Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church (IVP Academic), by Nijay Gupta Matthew. Mark. Luke. John. Jesus. Paul. When most of us learn about the early church, we hear stories of prominent men. But ample evidence exists in the New Testament that women were actively involved on the front lines of the gospel mission, too. And not just baking cookies. They were respected leaders. Mary Magdalene supported Jesus and the male disciples…
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The Jar I Broke
Society pages dished details of Simon’s soirees. Pictures showcased jetsetters and dignitaries alike in attendance. The article closed announcing the date and guest list for his next gathering. Jaw squarely set, I knew I had to attend. You know when you really want to meet that one person? You follow their activities. You listen to others share their experiences which only intensifies your own hunger. I would attend. I didn’t care that it was invitation only. I wouldn’t let an all-male guest list derail me. Candles glimmered as shadows danced in the darkened room. The opulence dazzled. Resolute, I walked beneath the arched entry with my shoulders back, head high,…
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Who Gets Lost in Bible Translation?
Today I’m happy to host guest blogger Cynthia Hester, DMin. Dr. Hester writes and teaches about women and church leadership. She writes at cynthiahester.com and is a contributing author to the book 40 Questions About Women in Ministry. In 2021, she founded Theology of Women Academy® to teach Christ-followers, including ministry leaders, the spectrum of orthodox views on women and church leadership to equip them to develop their beliefs—their theology of women. Today’s Bible readers mostly read English translations, rather than Greek and Hebrew texts. Though we don’t have the original writings, we do have thousands of ancient biblical manuscripts from which translations have been written. The Bible, in its original form, is the inspired…
