Before I direct you to this link, I just want to say that I am undecided on the question of whether women can share fully in church ministries with men. "Can" here meaning a matter of having permission from God rather than being designed or equipped to, as I would argue that they are. However, I would not suggest that a women who is bearing and raising young children is in a position to do full-time or sometimes even part-time ministry, whether it be allowable otherwise or not.
At Christians for Biblical Equality is a sound defense of why we need to look at (or revisit) the matter of women in ministry. Points cited include the fact that there are still inequities in treatment of the sexes in both society and the church, the fact that evangelicals are divided on the matter, and that
Many evangelicals are inconsistent in the applications of their beliefs. For example, many churches allow women to teach children (the most vulnerable learners) but not adults (who should be able to understand that their teacher is fallible).
Most importantly, "It's not some distant theological issue," but something that we face and deal with daily -- the way that men and women relate is basic to existence. The matter has
immediate implications for our church activities and leadership, for our own identities, for how we raise our kids, for the political issues we stand for, for the way we operate in cross-gender and same-gender relationships.
The article asks that attention be given to the "gender-related brokenness" in our world, since God is in the reconciliation and restoration business, which I believe is true. Yes, He's also in the judgment business. But were He not in the reconciliation and restoration business, there'd be no reason to evangelize, disciple, or minister to the poor and needy. Therefore, as the post says, it is important "to understand exactly what God intends for us as men and women."
We need to understand what wholeness and peace look like when applied to gender so we can pursue those in our own lives and communities.
I would reword that to read "We need to understand what God designed and intended regarding gender so we can pursue this in our own lives and communities.
