Addressing Questions Regarding Gender Roles

At CityView Church and the Network in which I’m involved, we hold to a position that is known as the “complementary” view of gender roles—a belief that men are to lead in both church and home…and by “lead”, we don’t mean dominate or abuse, but to lead and love like Jesus (Ephesians 5:22-27).

Male leadership does not imply superiority on the part of the male or inferiority on the part of the female.  On the contrary, the idea of male headship in both church and home is 100% consistent with the understanding of equality of status and dignity given to both men and women in Genesis 1:26-27.

Thus, male headship is not in conflict with the incredible redemption found in the Gospel that prompts Paul to declare that we are “neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28-29).

Now…having said all this, I believe many complementarians do a terrible job of offering a defense for their views.  Thus, I would like to suggest a way to think through how we communicate these important truths to those that might be reasonably skeptical of male headship.

In light of former President Jimmy Carter’s recent article related to this matter and having recently spoken on the subject of men and boys during our Fathers’ Day service at CityView Church, I felt that an essay on this matter would be timely (and hopefully, helpful).

It is my conviction that those who hold to a male-headship view need to think through a defense of their views on three fronts.  First, we need to think through this subject biblically.  What does the Bible say on this matter?  What are the most basic and elemental texts that speak to gender roles?  If you can’t make a scripturally sound defense of the complementary view, it will be difficult to speak intelligently on the matter.  Here’s an example of how I approach this (minus some nuanced points I might make in a more in-depth discussion):

Feeling the Weight of Jesus’ Sacrifice

Did Jesus “cleanse” or “clear” the Temple?

This past Sunday at CityView, we took a look at Mark 11 and Jesus’ reaction to the activities taking place in the Temple near Passover.  The actual account starts in verse 15, but the story needs to be placed in context, going back to verse one.  To listen to the sermon, go HERE.

In Pursuit of Organization

I’m rarely the first to find the cool and useful tools…but I usually find a way to use them in such a way for  maximum usefulness for what I do.  Since my system has been useful to at least one other person recently, I thought I’d share what I do.  Caution…if you don’t use gmail in any way, this will be useless to you…and shame on you for not using gmail.  Also…if you’re an organization guru, this won’t impress you.  This is for regular people that are drowning in their own appointments, details and to-do lists.

Thoughts on Communication and Social Networking

With the never ending options for Communication and Social Networking, I’ve come to develop philosophies on how or when something should be used. Of course, these are MY rules and do not apply to you, necessarily. Whatever your approach, I’m beginning to think it’s both counter-productive and even dangerous not to have a clear sense as to why you use what you use.

Great Article…on the Money

I rarely fire off a link and run…but that’s what I’m going to do in this post. One of our pastor candidates sent this to me today. The author of THIS article has nailed it on the head regarding the “new conservative” amongst southern baptists. I look forward to his subsequent articles.

Grand Opening

To say that things have been busy would be a monumental understatement. I can’t recall another time in my life where I have felt so completely overwhelmed with things to do. Of course, I enjoy to write…but the 20 year baton is a luxury that must take a back seat when life is full.

Having said that, I wanted to at least make a quick plug, prayer request and announcement that this Sunday, February 15th, we will have our grand opening service at the new campus of CityView Church. We’re excited to say the least. This weekend, we will begin a series of messages asking the question “What if…?”.

The idea behind the series is to introduce CityView again to our community by talking about the things that we seem to do well. Every church has a list like this…so over the next 6 weeks, we’ll be preaching through some passages that highlight what we bring to the table.

A final note: In way or another, this blog will be changing. Either this blog will feed our new blog on CityView’s soon-to-come new web site OR vice versa. Either way, it probably means some shorter entries added to the typical essay’s I tend to write.

Central Eastern Europe

The following is the final edited video from my recent trip to Poland. The video is meant to give a snapshot of the need and opportunity that exists in the former Soviet block. If you’re not involved anywhere in the world, consider these opportunities…

more about "Central Eastern Europe", posted with vodpod

Acts 29 Boot Camp–Session 1 (Matt Chandler)

A good crowd this morning at The Village for the DFW church planters boot camp.  Chandler is talking out of Matthew 5:13…Salt and Light.  Matt started out talking about the “width” of our churches…and our lack of depth.  As I’m listening, I keep thinking about how the evangelical tendency is to speak the Gospel unto “justification” and ignore the power of the Gospel unto “sanctification”.  Said another way, we preach and communicate the Gospel so as to walk people past the line of faith, but don’t continue to offer the Gospel as the only answer to their continued problems with lust…pride…arrogance…laziness.  You get the point.

Some believe depth is knowledge of the Bible and all things theology…but how can this be so if we don’t live what we believe?  Still others say that depth is about living out what we believe…but how can this be depth if we do this with white-knuckled power or with poor motivations?

Depth…how can we ever go deep without seeing the Gospel as our continued hope that goes far beyond the baptism tank?

Acts 29 Bootcamp–Dallas, TX @ The Village Church

Starting tomorrow, the Acts 29 Network will be sponsoring a church planter’s boot camp at The Village Church.  Between boot camps where I was assessed and now as an assessor, I’ve attended a total of six of these events.  While that’s a lot of boot camps, I find myself always learning something new each time.

In addition, I can’t help but be refreshed and encouraged by the many young men answering the call to plant a church.  Some will be assessed and “green-lit” while others will be told to wait.  No matter which category a man finds himself in, I’m always amazed by the willingness of young men to risk secure jobs and safety to explore a potential call on their life.  I’m also amazed at how many of these men actually trust other men to speak truth and authority into their life regarding their call.

If you’re in the DFW area, it’s too late to pre-register…but take a chance to register at the door.  It’s going to be a great time and worth your dollars.  Main speakers are Scott Thomas, Matt Chandler, Darrin Patrick, JR Vassar, Mark Driscoll, Jonathan Dodson and Matt Carter.  On a CityView Church note, I’m super-excited that our Worship Pastor–Adam Crawford–will be leading the morning worship each day.  In addition to doing assessments, I’ll be co-leading a breakout with Jonathan Dodson.  For those already attending, see you there!

Door-to-Door Data

There’s some fascinating information regarding the effectiveness of door-to-door communication from churches at Ed Stetzer’s web site.  The research is surprising…and very useful.  Go HERE to read more.