Women in Ministry Today
Baptist Women in Ministry http://www. bwim.info/index.php/welcome - see Resources
Carolyn Goodman Plampin http://home.netcom.com/~cplampin
flower bar

Series-Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion about Christian Women in Ministry

WOMEN IN MINISTRY TODAY

First created in January, 1996, Revised January 10, 2007
flower bar

Baptist Women in Ministry http://www.bwim.info/index.php/welcome
c/o McAfee School of Theology
3001 Mercer University Drive
Atlanta, GA 30341
(678) 547-6475
e-mail: BWIM@hotmail.com

Email BWIM
Questions, comments, or suggestions
of bibliography or sites to include may be sent to
Carolyn Goodman Plampin
Coordinator Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion
1220 Vienna Dr., #504
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-2007
(408) 734-5141
Master of Teaching, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, March 20, 1968
Master of Divinity, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, June 2, 1978
Missionary to Brazil of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1957-1988
Academic dean (without title) and professor, Instituto Biblico Batista, A.B. Deter and
Seminário Teológico Batista do Paraná, Curitiba, 1959-1979
Academic dean and professor, Seminário de Educacao Crista, Recife, 1980-1986
e-mail: cplampin@ix.netcom.com
Email CGP

Bar

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WOMEN IN MINISTRY
BAPTIST STUDIES

Bar

INTRODUCTION

Women are responding to God's call to ministry today at great personal sacrifice because of the hostility caused by us not understanding the biblical material and not knowing church history.

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. ... For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ. (Eph 4:7, 12.)
The books are many. CLOUSE and CLOUSE say:
"Each of the interpretations presented here has devout evangelical Christian adherents. The statements are written by those who hold the view on women and Christian ministry that they express."
ROBERT CULVER gives the traditional view that women are not to be involved in Christian ministry.
SUSAN FOH presents the case for a limited involvement of women in ministry as long as they are under the direction of a male senior pastor.
WALTER LIEFIELD supports the position that all believers are ministers and that an overemphasis on ordination has caused Christians to argue over women's roles in the church to a greater extent than they should.
ALVERA MICKELSEN discussed the egalitarian view that fully supports female ministry. She explains that women should be able to engage in any kind of service for which God has endowed them and to which they feel called, p. 20.

On another level entirely is Rhodes, who says: "This book addresses the insights of a particular group of women: feminists in Christian ministry. They are women who are developing a vision of Christianity that cares passionately about the well-being, the full dignity, and the humanity of all women. I have examined how these women are interpreting the meaning of authority, salvation, mission, and vocation as they carry out their work and develop their theory. This is not a systematic or comprehensive survey of Christian theology, but an examination of issues central to a Christian feminist vision of ministry," Rhodes, CO-CREATING: A FEMINIST VISION OF MINISTRY. p. 11.

Bibliography on Women in Ministry Today

Booth, Catherine. FEMALE MINISTRY, OR WOMAN'S RIGHT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. London: Morgan and Chase, 1859, reprinted, New York: The Salvation Army Supplies Printing and Publishing Department, 1975.

Clouse, Bonnidell and Robert G. Clouse. WOMEN IN MINISTRY, FOUR VIEWS. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989.

Cowles, C. S. A WOMAN'S PLACE: LEADERSHIP IN THE CHURCH. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1993.

DAUGHTERS OF SARAH, Vol. 19, No. 2, Spring 1993. Issue on Women in Ministry

Diehl, Judith Ruhe. WOMAN'S PLACE, EQUAL PARTNERSHIP IN DAILY MINISTRY. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985.

Eldred, O. John. WOMEN PASTORS, IF GOD CALLS, WHY NOT THE CHURCH? Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1981.

Grissen, Lillian, ed. FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS, TWENTY-SIX WOMEN OF VISION AND FAITH TELL THEIR STORIES. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991.

Hassey,Janette. NO TIME FOR SILENCE, EVANGELICAL WOMEN IN PUBLIC MINISTRY AROUND THE TURN OF THE CENTURY. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986.

Hayter, Mary. "Woman's Status and Function in Ministry," pp. 81-171 in THE NEW EVE IN CHRIST, The Use and Abuse of the Bible in the Debate about Women in the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1986.

Hearn, Virginia, ed. OUR STRUGGLE TO SERVE, THE STORIES OF 15 EVANGELICAL WOMEN. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1979.

Howe, E. Margaret. WOMEN AND CHURCH LEADERSHIP. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982.

Hull, Gretchen Gaebelein. EQUAL TO SERVE, WOMEN AND MEN IN THE CHURCH AND HOME. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1987.

Rhodes, Lynn N. CO-CREATING: A FEMINIST VISION OF MINISTRY. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1987.

Tucker, Ruth A. and Walter L. Liefeld. DAUGHTERS OF THE CHURCH: WOMEN AND MINISTRY FROM NEW TESTAMENT TIMES TO THE PRESENT. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1987.

Weidman, Judith L., ed. WOMEN MINISTERS, HOW WOMEN ARE REDEFINING TRADITIONAL ROLES. Cambridge: Harper and Row, Publishers, San Francisco, 1981.

Bar

BIBLICAL BASIS FOR WOMEN IN MINISTRY

In this book the authoritative and reliable Scriptures are exegetically studied in depth to ascertain exactly why women are and should be called to minister as leaders. Although the question of woman's ordination and church leadership has been discussed for years, only now is the conservative church beginning to take it seriously. The Bible offers a coherent systems of principles to guide those individuals and churches who are willing to listen, so says Spencer, p. 13. in BEYOND THE CURSE: WOMEN CALLED TO MINISTRY.
Bibliography on Biblical Basis for Women in Ministry

Grenz, Stanley J. & Denise Muir Kjesbo. WOMEN IN THE CHURCH, A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF WOMEN IN MINISTRY. InterVarsity Press, 1995.

Haubert, Katherine M. WOMEN AS LEADERS: ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE OF SCRIPTURE. MARC Publishing, 1993.

Johnston, Robert, Jean Lambert, David Scholer, and Klyne Snodgrass. "A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry," An Occasional Paper (#1), Covenant Publications, Chicago, Ill. 60625, 11 pages. Order from Christians for Biblical Equality, http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/index.shtml, 122 West Franklin Ave., Suite 218, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2451, (612) 872-6898, e-mail: cbe@minn.net.

Pierce, Ronald W. "Evangelicals and Gender Roles in the 1990s: I Timothy 2:8-15: A Test Case," JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, September 1993, pp. 343-355.

Scholer, David M. "Women in Ministry" (Eight study sessions, 1-Its Basis in Creation, 2-Its Basis in Jesus' Ministry, 3-Its Basis in the Early Church, 4-Its Basis in Paul (Part 1), 5-Its Basis in Paul (Part 2), 6-I Corinthians 14:34-35, 7-I Timothy 2:8-15; 8-Summary -- Consistency and Balance), THE COVENANT COMPANION, December 1, 1983, pp. 8-9; December 15, 1983, pp. 14-15; January 1, 1984, pp. 12-13; February 1984, pp. 12-15.

Spencer, Aida Besancon. BEYOND THE CURSE: WOMEN CALLED TO MINISTRY. Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1985.

Bar

BAPTIST STUDIES

Some of the Baptist studies on women in ministry are:

BAPTIST HISTORY AND HERITAGE, Vol. XII (12), No. 1, January, 1977. This issue is on The Role of Women in Baptist History.

  • Owens, Loulie Latimer. Guest Editorial, "Women, Baptists, and Progress," pp. 1-2.
  • McBeth, Harry Leon. "The Role of Women in Southern Baptist History," pp. 3-25.
  • Falls, Helen Emery. "Baptist Women in Missions Support in the Nineteenth Century," pp. 26-36.
  • Letsinger, Norman H. "The Status of Women in the Southern Baptist Convention in Historical Perspective," pp. 37-44.
  • Summers, Bill. "Southern Baptists and Women's Right to Vote, 1910-1920," pp. 45-51.
  • Deweese, Charles W. "Deaconesses in Baptist History: A Preliminary Study," pp. 51-57.

    BAPTIST HISTORY AND HERITAGE, Vol. XXII (22), No. 3, July, 1987. This issue is on Women in Southern Baptist History.

  • Davis, C. Anne. Guest Editorial "Women in Southern Baptist History," pp. 2-3.
  • McBeth, H. Leon, "Perspectives on Women in Baptist Life," pp. 4-11.
  • Weatherford, Carolyn, "Shaping of Leadership among Southern Baptist Women," pp. 12-20.
  • Sorrill, Bobbie, "Southern Baptist Laywomen in Missions," pp. 21-28.
  • Beck, Rosalie, Kay W. Shurden, and Catherine B. Allen, "The Impact of Southern Baptist Women on Social Issues: Three Viewpoints," pp. 29-40.
  • Blevins, Carolyn DeArmond, "Patterns of Ministry among Southern Baptist Women," pp. 41-49.
  • Thompson, Evelyn Wingo, "Southern Baptist Women as Writers and Editors," pp. 50-58.

    Drumwright, Minette (Mrs. Huber). WOMEN IN THE CHURCH. Nashville: Seminary Extension Department of the Seminaries of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1981.

    FINDINGS OF THE CONSULTATION ON WOMEN IN CHURCH-RELATED VOCATIONS, Southern Baptist Convention, September 20-22, 1978. Sponsored by the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, Brotherhood Commission, Christian Life Commission, Foreign Mission Board, Historical Commission, Home Mission Board, Radio and Television Commission, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Sunday School Board and Woman's Missionary Union.

    Hollis Jr., Harry N., Vera Mace, David Mace, and Sarah Frances Anders. CHRISTIAN FREEDOM FOR WOMEN, AND OTHER HUMAN BEINGS. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1975. This book is the result of a conference sponsored by the Christian Life Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, August, 1974, Glorieta Conference Center, New Mexico.

    McBeth, Leon. WOMEN IN BAPTIST LIFE. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979.

    Neil, Anne Thomas. THE NEW HAS COME, EMERGING ROLES AMONG SOUTHERN BAPTIST WOMEN. Washington, D.C.: Southern Baptist Alliance, 1989.

    REVIEW AND EXPOSITOR, Vol. LXXII (72), No. 1, Winter 1975. This issue is on Women and the Church.

  • Hull, William E. "Woman in Her Place: Biblical Perspectives," pp. 5-17. An expanded version is “Women and the Southern Baptist Convention”
  • Hinson, E. Glenn. "The Church: Liberator or Oppressor of Women?" pp. 19-29.
  • Anders, Sarah Frances. "Woman's Role in the Southern Baptist Convention and Its Churches as Compared with Selected Other Denominations," pp. 31-39.
  • Harrison, Beverly Wildung. "The Early Feminists and the Clergy: A Case Study in the Dynamics of Secularization," pp. 41-62.
  • Pate, Billie. "Birth and Rebirth of Feminism: Responses of Church Women," pp. 53-61.
  • Davis, C. Anne. "Liberation, Not Separation," pp. 63-69.

    REVIEW AND EXPOSITOR, Vol. LXXXIII (83), No. 1, Winter 1986. This issue is on Women in Ministry.

  • Scalise, Pamela J."Women in Ministry:Reclaiming Our Old Testament Heritage," pp. 7-13.
  • Omanson, Roger L. "The Role of Women in the New Testament Church," pp.15-25.
  • Marshall-Green, Molly. "When Keeping Silent No Longer Will Do": A Theological Agenda for the Contemporary Church," pp. 27-33.
  • Hunter, Jim Ernest. "Blessed Art Thou among Women? Mary in the History of Christian Thought," pp. 35-49.
  • Blevins, Carolyn DeArmond. "Women in Baptist History," pp. 51-61.
  • Lester, Andrew D. "Some Observations on the Psychological Effects of Women in Ministry," pp. 63-70.
  • Sehested, Nancy Hastings. "Women and Ministry in the Local Congregation," pp. 71-79.

    Go to Mutual Submission in Marriage

    Return to Index

    Pat's Web Graphics