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NEITHER COMPLEMENTARIAN NOR EGALITARIAN: A Kingdom Corrective to the Evangelical Gender Debate PB

Availability: OUT OF STOCK, AVAILABLE TO ORDER
  • ISBN 9780801039577
  • Author LEE-BARNEWALL MICHELLE
  • Pub Date 15/03/2016
Publisher Baker Academic
Regarding gender relations, the evangelical world is divided between complementarians and egalitarians. While both perspectives have much to contribute, the discussion has reached a stalemate. Michelle Lee-Barnewall critiques both sides of the debate
£16.15
£16.99
Regarding gender relations, the evangelical world is divided between complementarians and egalitarians. While both perspectives have much to contribute, the discussion has reached a stalemate. Michelle Lee-Barnewall critiques both sides of the debate, challenging the standard premises and arguments and offering new insight into a perennially divisive issue in the church.

She brings fresh biblical exegesis to bear on our cultural situation, presenting an alternative way to move the discussion forward based on a corporate perspective and on kingdom values. The book includes a foreword by Craig L. Blomberg and an afterword by Lynn H. Cohick.

From the Back Cover
'Imagine using core biblical themes like corporateness, servant leadership, mutuality, and unity to discuss issues of the relationship of men and women to one another in the church. Imagine focusing not on power or rights but on the example of Christ. If you imagine reframing the gender discussion in helpful ways, then you will be interested in Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian. When one serves while leading and pays special attention to corporate versus individual themes, things are transformed from the way the world (and sometimes the way the church on both sides of the debate) talks about them. Read this book no matter which side of the debate you are on--and think afresh.
--Darrell L. Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary

'The church's debate over gender and leadership has become an intractable problem because we have adopted the model of the world, where leadership is about equality, rights, privilege, power, and position. Michelle Lee-Barnewall calls for a radical paradigm shift that adopts the upside-down values of the kingdom of God, where humility, love, service, unity, and responsibility replace power, privilege, and position as the guiding principles for true servant leadership. If put into practice, this book would transform not only the gender debate but also the prevailing model for all Christian leadership.'
--Mark L. Strauss, Bethel Seminary San Diego

'This well-written book offers a gentle word of correction to sincere Christ followers who are honestly trying to search for biblical truth. It's a perspective-giving message that describes in biblical terms the only way to establish church unity, and it issues a quiet, radical call for pastors and church elders to imitate Christ and the apostles and recall the real cost of discipleship. I highly recommend it as a required textbook for seminary leadership courses.'
--Sarah Sumner, author of Men and Women in the Church: Building Consensus on Christian Leadership

'In a debate often polarized by shrill rhetoric, Lee-Barnewall rightly urges us instead to take each passage and argument on its own terms and to put kingdom principles first. Regardless of whether one agrees with every detail of Lee-Barnewall's reconstruction, her spirit and larger vision offer a constructive way forward, including a willingness to hear and learn from those with whom we may not agree on every point.'
--Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary



About the Author
Michelle Lee-Barnewall (PhD, University of Notre Dame) is associate professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in La Mirada, California. She is the author of 'Paul, the Stoics, and the Body of Christ.'

Book review by GLO General Director, Dr. Stephen McQuoid 11/09/2017
'Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian' is a new attempt by Michelle Lee-Barnewall to deal with the contentious issue of the role of women in the church. As a professor of biblical and theological studies at Biola she is well equipped to tackle such a difficult issue and she does so with freshness and honesty. From the outset she recognises that sincere Christians on both sides of the debate feel impassioned with egalitarians arguing that the differences between men and women are overplayed and dealt with in the atonement, while complementarians, though respecting women, nevertheless believe their God given role is different from that of men, but not inferior.

Barnewall argues that we often approach the debate from the wrong perspective. She suggests that if we use a kingdom lens we would see issues such as authority, leadership and ministry in a different way and our focus would not be on who should be in charge, but rather, what should service look like in practice? She then tackles some difficult passages such as Genesis 2&3 and Ephesians 5 with a helpful exposition that enables the reader to see what is really foundational in terms of the attitudes we should have, rather than merely assigning roles based on gender.

In one sense Barnewall does not actually define what a woman’s role should be in church or in the home, so this book does not actually resolve the conundrum that has dogged the church for centuries. However, this is deliberate as she wants us to think beyond the debates and squabbles and reflect deeply on what we should all be as church. Certainly her tone, thoughtful and sympathetic use of scripture, as well as her humility and grace are worth noting and make this book a helpful contribution to the discussion. In that sense she is 'neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian' in a typical sense, but someone who is more concerned about attitude than rules. I loved the gracious spirit of this book and it will help me to discuss the issue with others in a more positive way.


Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Baker Academic (15 Mar. 2016)