"This is a deep and important book, with a significance far beyond what the title alone would suggest . . . I strongly encourage anyone who is concerned about the conduct of visible life in the church to study this book carefully.”

Dallas Willard, Ph.D.

 

Men and Women in the Church is Sarah Sumner's first book, now in its 10th printing.  

 

In Men and Women in the Church, Dr. Sumner devotes four full chapters to discussing I Timothy 2:8-15, a highly controversial passage that is cited in typical arguments for prohibiting Christian women in leadership. Unlike complementarians, who argue that church leadership must be male, Sarah explains why it is biblical for some women to be pastors and preachers.  Unlike egalitarians, whose arguments for female leadership are usually based on Galatians 3:28 (which says "there is neither male nor female in Christ,"  Sarah Sumner contends exegetically that the Galatians passage is talking about salvation, not ministry roles.  What makes Sarah Sumner's book so fresh is that she points to the Great Commission (as opposed to I Tim 2:11-12 or Galatians 3:28) as the starting point for the debate on gender leadership in the church. 

 

While used as a textbook in a number of Christian universities and seminaries, even at the doctoral level, it's easy enough for a 14 year old Christian youth to read.

In the Foreword, Phil Johnson, author of Darwin on Trial, wrote this in 2002:

 

If as Sarah's friend and mentor I have made any contribution to this book, it is by urging her to put more of herself into her writing, to let the reader see her ideas and arguments in the context of her family background and personal struggle to be accepted in a male world that did not make it easy for her.  If some of her teachers warned her not to 'show the full color of [her] plume,' I told her the opposite.

 

Not everyone will agree with all of Dr. Sumner's answers, but I think it more important that impartial readers will agree that she raises the right questions.

 

I remember a distinguished scholar, who, informed that I was supporting Sarah's project, assumed that it must be primarily about which church offices should be open to women.  That is precisely the wrong question to start with, akin to the wrangling for position that characterized the disciples at their worst.  Sarah starts with a much better question.  How should men and women regard and treat each other if they are both truly faithful to the gospel of Christ and value truth more than personal power?