Mimi Haddad is president of Christians for Biblical Equality.
Posts By This Author
Finding Shalom Among Genders
Tracing God’s indomitable shalom throughout Scripture, The Very Good Gospel celebrates the blessed web of creation where the flourishing of one is the flourishing of all. Devoting nearly 20 pages to shalom between the genders, Lisa Sharon Harper considers her own experiences in Christian ministry where too often God’s gifts to women are shamed and marginalized. Harper challenges the theological distortions that rob men and women of that blessed partnership beaming throughout the pages of Scripture.
From the Malls of America to the Destitute and Lost
The Elephant in the Sanctuary: Women and Abuse
Is Women's Leadership in the Church a Primary Issue?
Is Christ's Gender Paramount?
How many of us come from traditions where we have been told that women cannot serve in positions of leadership because Jesus was male?
Why did God Create Women?
In Half the Sky, Pulitzer Prize-winning authors Kristof and WuDunn document the global exploitation of women an abuse to which we have become indifferent.
All Are Equally Called to 'Servant Leadership'
Boys are Warriors and Girls are Princesses? Spiritual Gifts are not Divided by Gender
Jesus Didn't Overlook Gender, He Transcended It
A Woman with Full Authority
Don't Isolate Gender from the Biblical Big Picture
Bible Translation Debates: The Challenge of Changing Language
Preserve Biblical Accuracy
Science, Salvation, Slavery, and Equality: The Bible and Historic Reforms
When it Comes to Biblical 'Authority,' Words Matter
Criteria for Spiritual Leadership: Content of Character
Speaking Truth in Love
Honoring Deacon Phoebe
In last week's post, I argued that because the apostle Paul commended the work of Phoebe-a deacon (Romans 16:1-2)-the tradition of female deacons continued throughout the early centuries, as noted both by the archaeological evidence and also in Christian literature preserved from this period.
Women Leaders in the Early Church
As you may know, the question of whether women can serve as deacons has been recently debated among many evangelicals. Since scripture makes clear that Phoebe served as a deacon in the church in Cenchrea, there is an abundance of historical and archeological evidence that women deacons were upheld by the apostles. Both Clement of Alexandria and John Chrysostom recognize Phoebe was a deacon.