Monday, September 25, 2006

Book Review Chapter 1

Women's Ministry in the Local Church
by J. Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt

Before I moved from Beaumont my friend, Ashley Benson, and I were reading this book together. I am just now finishing it, and I feel it is very worthy of your time. This book has encouraged me and helped me see God's pure plan for women in ministry and why it is so vital for every local church.
Chapter 1
"In the whole world there is nothing enduring but the CHURCH.." John Calvin

What a true and powerful statement. How much we should love the local church because it is enduring. Chapter 1 is really just an introduction of how the book came to be. This chapter gives both Duncan and Hunt an opportunity to share why they felt that God wanted them to write this book. I am so glad to see that Hunt wanted to write this book with an elder, Duncan, and show how important and vital male leadership is even in women's ministry.
Ten Affirmations are listed from The Danvers Statement of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
1. Both Adam and Eve were created by God in His image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood.
2. Distictions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order...
3. Adam's headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin
4. The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women.
5. The OT and the NT show the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women.
6. Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions intorduced by the curse.
7. in all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women so that no earthy submission causes us to sin.
8. In both men and women a call to ministry should never be used to set aside biblical doctrine.
9. no man or woman who feels a passion for God to make His grace known in all the world should ever live without fulfilling their ministry for the glory of Christ.
10. We are convinced that a denial of these rinciples will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in our families, our churches, and the culture at large.

These ten affirmations are so true especially the last one. We can see in our culture today how neglecting God's call of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood has caused pain and misunderstanding in our world. Even as a girl growing up in the church, I wasn't taught the true reason I was to submit to male headship. I really thought it was because of the fall, not that God had ordained it from the beginning.
The next chapter deals withe the Need of explaining Biblical Womanhood.

2 comments:

The Taras' said...

"I wasn't taught the true reason I was to submit to male headship."

Even though you are mostly talking about male leadership in the church, it still made me think of something that I learned this weekend at our "Family Life conference" led by Carey Hardy. Really awesome. But one of the things I had never thought about is the picture of a husband and wife. That it is the only relationship that reflects the relationship btwn Christ and the church. I have read Eph. 5 over and over and understood that the husband is to love his wife like Christ loved the church, but I never viewed it quite like that I guess. That while we submit to our husbands and they are lovng us and leading us...we are showing the whole world that relationship. Thats just really awesome to think through!

That sounds like a really awesome book to have! I will have to add it to my "need to read pile" that keeps on growing! Thanks for those words of encouragement!

laura said...

great book report, jean! you are convincing me that i need to read this book- not that i don't want to- but like sarah, i have a huge pile and lack of time/discipline to read all i want to! have a wonderful wednesday- i love you!
laura