* My Objection to Alliance Canada's 2022 Moratorium on Licensing Transgender Persons for Ministry
This is what I posted on social media after Assembly in order to make available what I had read from the floor (because of questions and hearsay). It is now followed by a brief epilogue and explainer.
The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada now has a rather long history of varied practices and debates on this issue, including up to and beyond its bi-annual General Assembly of 2014. Despite the decision to ordain women at its 2012 Assembly, there remains a division of conviction on this issue and so there is more discussion to come.
* Updated, Ongoing History of Women in Leadership in the C&MA in Canada
Including summary details from Alex Meek's The Great Debate and Barbara Howe's Forgotten Voices, this provides a concise history including developments in the 2000s.
* A 2012 Sermon on Women in Leadership
This is the audio of a sermon I preached at Beverly Alliance Church in
Edmonton Alberta at a time when they were considering the denomination's
move to allow women in leadership.
* My 2008 position paper on women in leadership
An informal, abridged version of a paper I wrote for an Epistles class in Seminary. I think it gives a succinct appeal for what would normally be labelled an "egalitarian" position, although I would rather it be more nuanced as a believer in mutual submission than pigeon-holed according to some preconceived label. If you are just wading into this discussion, this might be a good place to start.
* My review of John Stackhouse's Finally Feminist
This book remains the most clear, concise, and accessible description of the view I hold and that I think our denomination needs to grapple with and embrace. You can buy the book here (last I checked) for under $10, which is money well spent.
* Tinker, Tailor, Complementarian, Egalitarian: Taking a Look at our Labels Again
An important clarification regarding the labels we use for either 'side' in the contemporary debate, showing how close they are in the scope of history, and how inaccurately the terms point out for us their precise differentiations and emphases.
* Who are the Daughters of Zelophehad Today?
An appeal for honest (re)consideration of this issue stemming from the example of Moses when faced with related questions and appeals in his own day.
* If a Woman Aspires to be an Elder, Does She Desire a Noble Task?
An abridged version of a 2014 sermon preached at Richmond Alliance Church, on 1 Timothy 2-3.
* Exegetical study of 1 Timothy 2:11-15 - by former President Dr. Franklin Pyles.
Although there are other resources one could cite, I've always thought this is a very well informed and compelling analysis of one of the key "problem" texts in this debate.
* Why IS The Gospel Coalition Complementarian?: Questioning Carson, Keller and Piper
A review of this explanatory video which questions both the positive and negative rationale of those who approach the gender roles issue as they do.
* Colossians 3 (and Ephesians 5) via Chrysostom
Some reflections on the treatment of this passage from a commentator who is chronologically closer to the period of the early church and culturally closer to the patriarchal milieu in which the epistles were written, and yet makes some distinctions that I find intriguing.
* Karl Barth on Gender Roles in the Church
From the other blog I participate in writing, this is a look at a circumstance in Barth's pastorate which may add insight to recent studies investigating his position on the matter.
* The following set of links comprise my 2008 response to the inaction of that year's General Assembly, which postponed indefinitely a motion to deal with the now-outdated Statement on Women in Ministry. Though I might say some things different today, this still by and large represents my views of that episode. Time has told how this indefinite postponement only snowballed the difficulty.
Intro: Trying to Think Clearly
Part 1: General (Dis)Assembly: What is this Kingdom Business?
Part 2, Take 1: The Gender Roles Issue
Part 2, Take 2: Painting the Issue Again
Part 2, Take 3: The Statement in Question
Part 3: The Proposal
In 2014 some of us had proposed that we should alter policy so that an incoming church member could ratify (for lack of a better word) their baptism with a proclamation of belief without having to redo the act itself. The proposal was deferred to committee so it could come back at a time when it had been or could be more fully considered.
In 2018, after the efforts of a special committee and an accepted amendment by the General Assembly, the Local Church Constitution was altered to say the following:
"While affirming the above as normative, the Board of Elders of the local church may discern on a case by case basis whether to extend membership to individuals who were baptized as infants and who now present a credible testimony of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ before members of the Board; a commitment to the principles of the Preamble; a commitment to the Purpose (Article 2), and statement of faith (Article 3) of this church; submission to the discipline procedures of The Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada; and such further qualifications as may be specified in the bylaws."For the sake of those who still want to think through the rationale, the following links lead to official denominational information, and to some of our thinking behind the original proposal.
* C&MA resources and explanation of the change
* About our Ecumenical Guidelines
* The Motion on Church Membership and Baptism - The original motion behind the recommendation that was passed at General Assembly 2014, complete with F.A.Q.
My explorations on this matter were prompted by Rob Bell's Love Wins and the controversy it sparked within evangelicalism (see the links at bottom to read my thoughts on that). One post in particular, entitled The Best Response to That Book, ended up serving as a preamble to the series that follows, which sought to contextualize my response within a review of my own denomination's Statement of Faith rather than evangelicalism in general.
1. The C&MA Statement on Hell
A formal introduction to the series, including the most relevant parts of the local church constitution as it regards both the letter and the spirit of the church policy in question.
2. Examining the C&MA Statement on Hell
A ten-point exploration of what point five of the statement could possibly mean.
3a. Biblical Backing for the C&MA View on Hell, Part 1
Here I check the first three references for article five of the statement of faith to further analyze its range of interpretive meanings as well as the credibility of its own biblical footnotes.
3b. Biblical Backing for the C&MA View on Hell, Part 2
Here I check the last two references for article five of the statement of faith (Matthew 25:41-46 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10) - to further analyze its range of interpretive meanings as well as the credibility of its own biblical footnotes.
3c. Biblical Backing for the C&MA View on Hell, Part 3
Here I give my summary conclusions of the biblical assessment and make a modest proposal regarding the statement of faith's specificity.
4. Rob Bell, Love Wins, and the C&MA View on Hell
The series finale which picks apart Bell's book, sees its own internal tensions, and reckons that it is more of an imaginative exercise than a dogmatic treatise propounding an alternate view (regarding hell, that is).
For more responses to Love Wins, check out the archive below:
What has Lotso to do with Bashir? - using Toy Story 3 to address the 'palatable gospel' charge
Rob Bell, Love Wins, and Karl Barth
What Wins in Your Doctrine of Election?
Barth's thoughts on judgment
Barth's answer to the question on universalism
And, finally, a review from a friend's blog which put my series in the best light possible.
5. Apokatastasis as a Framework for Decolonizing the Motive of Missions
When we cover the eschatological options in theology class, the question I am most often asked is what the motive for missions would be if in the end all things are restored to Christ. This presentation for the Canadian Theological Society conference of 2021 was part of my attempt not only to put together a fulsome answer to that question, but to put it in dialogue with the motive for missions provided by A.B. Simpson.