Throughout the history of Christianity, the roles and responsibilities of women in ministry have been a hotly debated and highly controversial topic.
Questions abound . . .
- Should women be ordained?
- Can women serve as elders, pastors, and teachers in the church?
- Hat about women “usurping” authority from men?
- What about Paul’s teaching that women should be silent in church and be submissive and obedient to male leadership, both at home and in ministry?
After years of study and research, long-time pastor and Bible teacher Kevin Conner addresses these questions and more as he fully deals with the role, function, and place of women in church life. He lays out the case for women functioning together with men as partners in the body of Christ. He supports women whom God has gifted for prophetic, teaching, evangelistic, and shepherding roles. He challenges assumptions and encourages both men and women to fulfill the will of God in the redeemed community – the church – as it carries out His will in the earth.
Table of Contents:
Preface to the New Edition
Introduction: Presenting the Controversial Issue
Chapter 1: Principles of Interpreting Scripture
Chapter 2: In the Beginning – God
Chapter 3: Divine Order in Creation
Chapter 4: Order in the Fall
Chapter 5: Order in Divine Judgment
Chapter 6: Order in Redemption
Chapter 7: Order in the Israelite Home
Chapter 8: Ministry in Old Testament Times
Chapter 9: Old Testament Prophecies of New Testament Times
Chapter 10: The Oral Law – The Talmud
Chapter 11: Then Jesus Came
Chapter 12: Four Position Schools
Chapter 13: Paul on Creation and Redemption
Chapter 14: Men and Women in Christ
Chapter 15: Order in the Christian Home
Chapter 16: Paul on Women Keeping Silence
Chapter 17: Paul on Women Usurping Authority
Chapter 18: Paul on Headship and Covering Veils
Chapter 19: Christian Men and Women in the Book of Acts
Chapter 20: Christian Men and Women in the Pauline Epistles
Chapter 21: Men and Women in the Functioning Body of Christ
Chapter 22: Men and Women in Church Leadership
Chapter 23: What About Ordination?
Chapter 24: What About Submission and Obedience?
Chapter 25: What About Church Government?
Chapter 26: From Creation to Redemption
Appendix 1: School Positions on Women in Ministry
Appendix 2: Comparison of the Lord Jesus, Jewish Rabbis, and the Apostle Paul
Appendix 3: Divine Order in Creation and Redemption
Appendix 4: In Christ There is Neither Male Nor Female
Bibliography
Works Consulted
About the Author
About the Author:
Born in Melbourne, Australia, and saved at the age of fourteen, Kevin Conner served the Lord in the Salvation Army until the age of twenty-one before entering the pastoral ministry. Since then, he has been involved in teaching ministry in Australia, New Zealand, and at City Bible Church in Portland, Oregon. After serving as senior minister of CityLife Church in Melbourne, he turned his responsibilities over to his son, Mark Conner, in 1995. Since that time, along with his wife, Rene, he has served the church locally as well as ministering at various conferences and writing many books.
