Barna’s description of Casual and Captivated Christians

“Barna: The lives of Captive Christians are defined by their faith; their worldview is built around their core spiritual beliefs and resultant values. Casual Christians are defined by the desire to please God, family, and other people while extracting as much enjoyment and comfort from the world as possible. The big difference between these two [...]

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“Neither liberal nor accommodationist”

the real issue here is not the authority of the Bible, but its right interpretation
says Alister McGrath in discussing Augustine’s 5th-century work, The Literal Meaning of Genesis, at ChristianityToday. He is speaking of the “science vs. religion” debates, but could just as well be referring to gender debates in the church. Many [...]

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Giving to, not giving up

I encourage you to read this great post by my friend Sarah Flashing @ CT’s Gifted For Leadership blog. I think Sarah’s really onto something and she’s tapped into a life issue I’ve considered as well.
Sarah talks about the apparent acceptance of a “dualism that God never intended” between gifts and roles, [...]

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The Christian’s responsibility to those who suffer mistreatment

Yesterday in his Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson recommended a novel, Daisy Chain, by Mary E. DeMuth, as an aid to help readers learn about both the horrors of abuse and the hope that God can heal it.
It may not be your typical light summer reading, but it might help change your whole perspective [...]

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Surviving and thriving in a one-way marriage

Another article to consider, from Family Life.com:
Do You Have a One-Way Marriage?
There’s also a shorter version.
I will say that my reaction to this article is mixed. The attitudes recommended are great, yet I also found much to be concerned about approach-wise. I’m very interested to hear what others might think. [...]

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“Recapturing Jesus’ Radical Vision for Women”

is the subtitle to the front-page article of Insight For Living’s monthly newsletter, Insights, written by Chuck Swindoll. His emphasis is not on defining what a woman should be and do, but on her value. He calls for balance:
Today, women and men are often confused about the biblical perspective on the value of women. [...]

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“stimulus package” for gender issues communication

Stimulus packages have been developed during these difficult financial times. They are intended to help restore financial health to the economy.
We all recognize, I think, that it is often difficult to have healthy communication over gender issues. What kinds of “stimulus packages,” or parts of packages, hints, practices have you found helpful in your own [...]

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Birds of a feather … do not all prefer nesting

I’ve noticed a number of comments that the WordPress comment nesting system is confusing, making it difficult for some to find their comments. So I will return the comment system to the previous comment style where there is no comment nesting. Instead, comments will simply appear under a post in the order in which they [...]

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complementarity and Complementarianism

There has been some discussion in recent comments on this blog about what might be a more accurate label for the side in the gender debate which is the other side from egalitarians. It has been correctly noted that egalitarians believe in complementarity within marriage and the church. So do Complementarians.
Here’s how I see a [...]

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A question on I Timothy 2

“First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, [...]

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