Being Female in the Image of God: Women's Roles in Christian Life and the Church

This blog is about what it means to be female in the image of God, and why it matters in Christian life and ministry. Do males and females bear the image of God equally? In what ways do females bear the image of God? Does God’s gender matter? What does being made in the image of God have to do with women's roles in Christian life and ministry?

I am aware that different Christians believe differently about this issue. I respect each view. This is not an issue central to salvation in Christ. Therefore, it is something we can disagree about and not divide over. 

"In essentials, unity. In nonessentials, liberty. In all things, charity and love."
(author unknown)

Why I Wrote This Blog

This blog began in 2008 as my final paper in Systematic Theology class at Bethel Seminary, in St. Paul, MN.

I've always been a rather non-traditional female. In childhood, I played with cars, trains, cap guns, race tracks, boxing bags, and Lincoln logs, instead of the traditional girls' toys. In high school, I skipped Home Economics Class in favor of advanced science and math classes. Throughout most of my life, males were my closest friends. Because I focused on education and career, and never really wanted to have children, I never married until age 48. In my first two career roles—first as a college chemistry professor, and then as a leadership and discipleship pastor—I enjoyed being female in predominately male-populated fields.

The reason I decided to write my seminary paper on being female in the image of God was because that topic connects with women's roles in Christian life and ministry.

At that time, I was blessed to be one of the pastors at Crossroads Church in the Pittsburgh area. In that church tradition, for the first time in my life, I was encouraged to prepare for any role that I believed God called me to do. But after 45 years in churches that limited my spiritual gift of leadership, I felt so "behind the curve," compared to my male peers. For the first time in my life, I felt angry and resentful, even blaming God at times for not moving me to different churches sooner.

I sincerely hope this blog will encourage and help other similarly struggling women—and everyone who loves them—grow in their biblical understanding of women's roles in Christian life and ministry.

Where This Blog is Going

In this blog, I will present:

1. A biblical and theological background for 4 common views about what it means to be female in the image of God, and what that means for Christian life and ministry. Below is a table summarizing the 4 views, each of which will be further explained later in this blog.

2. My own personal journey of being female in the image of God, including my church history, my struggles with women's roles in the church, and what I now believe and practice.

3. Some biblical guidelines for what to do if your own theology and practice differ from that of your church.

4. Some recommended resources for further personal study and growth.

Numbers in [brackets] below are footnotes. Go to "Footnotes" at the end of this blog to see them.

View #1 on Being Female in the Image of God: Patriarchy and Women's Roles in the Church

Only Males Are Made Fully in the Image of God

Supporters of the patriarchal view say that only males are made completely in the image of God, because: [1]

• The Bible refers to God using only masculine pronouns.
• The earthly Jesus was male.

Patriarchalists believe that males are more valuable than females, for the following reasons: [2]

• Males were created first (Gen 2:7).
• The first woman was created for the sake of the first man (Gen 2:18-23, 1 Cor 11:9).
• The first woman came out of the first man (Gen 2:21-22, 1 Cor 11:8). 

Patriarchalists believe that women are morally inferior, for the following reasons: [3]

• The serpent approached the weaker female first (Gen 3:1).
• The woman tempted the man in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:6).
• God gave the woman the more severe punishment after the Fall (Gen 3:16) because of her greater moral depravity. 

According to the patriarchal view, 1 Tim 2:11-15 says that it is God’s will that men rule over women because God created the man first, and because it was the woman who was deceived by the serpent. [4]

Females Are Substantively, Morally, and Functionally Inferior to Men

According to the patriarchal view, men are substantively, morally, and functionally superior to women as the image-bearer of God, as reflected by: 

• The structure of the Temple, which prohibits women from entering the inner courts. [5]
• The Old Testament sacrificial system, in which a woman remained unclean twice as long after the birth of a female child. [6]
• Paul’s declarations that men are the head of women (1 Cor 11:3), women should remain silent in the churches (1 Cor. 14:34), and women should not have any authority over men or teach men in church (1 Tim 2:12). [7]

The Purely Patriarchal View Is Uncommon in Christianity Today

The internationally renowned theologian and prolific author, Dr. Stanley Grenz, says, “Although similar attitudes can be found today, thinkers have almost universally rejected this [patriarchal] outlook." [8] By this, Grenz means that most theologians and church leaders today believe that women and men equally bear the image of God with respect to substance, therefore men and women have equal worth.

These leaders further believe that creational priority is not necessarily equivalent to greater substantive worth. 

But many leaders and theologians still do believe that women and men do not equally bear the image of God in other respects, including functionally and morally. Most of these thinkers hold to the view of complementarianism, to which we now turn.

View #2 on Being Female in the Image of God: Complementarianism and Women's Roles in the Church

God's Created Order of Authority

This view is called complementarianism because of the different but complementary roles of men and women. [9]

The Complementarist Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood says that God created men and women “equal in personhood and in value, but different in roles.” [10] This view is also sometimes called hierarchicalism because of the perceived order of authority: God first (sometimes distinguished as Father, then Son, then Holy Spirit), then men, then women, and then nature. [11] 

Men Fully Image God and Women Partially Image God

Complementarianism nevertheless does say that men bear the image of God more fully than women.

Hurley says that both genders image God equally with respect to nature, or the “cultural mandate” to have dominion over the earth (Gen 1:26). But women do not image God with respect to their husbands, nor with respect to the church.

Complementarists partially base their view on 1 Cor 11:3, which says, “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” Therefore, men have authority over women because God created Adam first and because Eve fell to temptation first (1 Tim 2:13-14). [12]

Women Are Equal in Personhood and Value, But Different in Roles

Many complementarians do not agree with patriarchalists that women should remain silent in the church in all circumstances, as some interpret 1 Cor 14:33. For example, Hurley says that 1 Cor 11-14 presumes that women will pray, prophesy, and participate in church, in certain ways. He believes that the command in 1 Cor 14:33 for women to be silent in church applies to the judging of prophets, which is the context of this passage, and which is consistent with the divinely ordained order of men having authority over women. [13]

With respect to 1 Tim 2:11-14, complementarian theologian James Hurley says that Paul’s admonition to women to remain silent is not the same use of “silent” as in 1 Cor 14:33. In the latter, the Greek word for “silent” means not to speak. In 1 Tim 2:11-12, the different Greek word for “silent” means peacefulness and humility. Hurley interprets straightforwardly Paul’s injunction in 1 Tim 2:11-12 that women not teach or exercise authority over men, and he believes the reason is given in verses 13-14: Adam was created first, and Eve was the one who sinned most egregiously. [14]

Hurley does believe that women can hold some offices and do other things in the church, if they do not exercise authority over men. For example, women can be deacons if the office is that of service and not of leadership. Similarly, women may prophesy, but they may not teach men. [15]

View #3 on Being Female in the Image of God: Radical and Moderate Religious Feminism

In This View, the Bible Is not the Ultimate Source about God

Radical religious feminists do not hold to the Judeo-Christian faith. Moderate feminists recognize to varying degrees the authority of the Bible, but none as strongly as evangelical Christians. 

When moderate feminists perceive that the Bible disagrees with their views, they conclude that the Bible is wrong, archaic, and harmful to women. Therefore, they often cite the Bible as a cause of female oppression, instead of trying to find evidence for their arguments in the Bible. [16]

The Gender of God Is Central to Male and Female Identity

To many radical and moderate feminists, the gender of God is central to what it means to be made in the image of God. Feminist Rosemary Reuther notes the radical feminist view of the “peculiarity” of the monotheistic nature of Christianity. She says, “Male monotheism reinforces the social hierarchy of patriarchal rule through its religious system in a way that was not the case with the paired images of God and Goddess … [Males] are his representatives, the responsible partners of the covenant with him." [17] Radical feminist Mary Daly said, “If God is male, then the male must be God.” She believes that only a female God can save women. [18]

Other radical and moderate feminists believe that God is androgynous, and thereby can save both males and females, although “salvation” often means something entirely different than the evangelical definition. Ruether conceives of a “God/ess” who is omnipresent but not omnipotent, because she believes that omnipotence is patriarchal. [19]

God Has Both Feminine and Masculine Traits

The main way in which radical and moderate feminists use the Bible in a more orthodox way is to point out that the Judeo-Christian God has both “feminine” and “masculine” traits. The “feminine” trait most often mentioned is that of relationship, connectivity, or community. God also possesses other "feminine" characteristics such as compassion, suffering, servanthood, and liberation. However, feminist Mary Grey advocates not identifying such characteristics as either masculine or feminine, but as ideal for all of humanity in the image of God. [20]

Radical and moderate feminists also refer to Sophia in the Old Testament as the feminine word for the Spirit of God. Grey says, “When feminist theologians speak of Sophia, we can begin to see the link – but not the identification – between the roles of Spirit and Sophia.” To identify Sophia with the Holy Spirit would mean that the Father and Son are male and the Holy Spirit is female, which would be a primarily masculine Trinity. Instead, Grey sees Sophia as illuminating the feminine character of the overall androgynous Trinity. [21]

View #4 About Being Female in the Image of God: Egalitarianism and Women's Roles in the Church

Relationship Best Defines What It Means to Be Made in the Image of God

Egalitarians say that men and women equally bear the image of God in all ways, including substantively, functionally, morally, and relationally. [22, 23] The word egalitarian comes from Latin and French words meaning equal, specifically "relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities." [24]

Egalitarian author Stanley Grenz says that both complementarians and some egalitarians “miss the boat” about what it means to be made in the image of God, because both focus on “individual possession” of the divine image. But Grenz says that imago Dei (image of God) is primarily a relational concept, a social reality. Imago Dei refers chiefly to the capacity of humans for relationship with God and with other people, which relates to Jesus’ summation of the Law and the Prophets as loving God and loving other people. [25]

The well-known egalitarian theologian, Glen Scorgie agrees that, while substantiveness, function, and morality partially compose imago Dei, relationship is the defining descriptor. He derives this conclusion from the fact that God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (Gen 1:26), which shows the extension of the relational nature of the Trinity to humankind. The conclusion is also based on the fact that God created the woman to be in community with the man (Gen 2:18). [26] 

Women and Men Equally Image God Substantively, Morally, and Functionally

Because the emphasis of imago Dei is relationship, egalitarians believe that men and women are equal in all of the other characteristics of imago Dei, including substantively, functionally, and morally. 

With regard to substance and imago Dei, well-known theologian Gilbert Bilezikian notes that Gen 1:27 says that God created both man and woman in His image. Gen 5:2 clarifies that “man” means both man and woman, because it says, “He blessed them and called them ‘man.’” [27] Regarding the comparative worth of the man and woman, Scorgie says that “helper” in Gen 2:8 is used variously in the Bible to mean “an inferior (like a servant), an equal (like a partner), or a superior (like God).” Therefore, to say that this verse must mean that woman was created for man in the sense that she is inferior to him and therefore images God less than man, is incorrect. [28]

With regard to morality and imago Dei, Scorgie notes that Adam was with Eve when she ate the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:6). This is different from the complementarian interpretation of the Fall, which says that the serpent tempted Eve alone because she was less moral and more gullible than the man. [29] Egalitarians say that the respective punishments God gave to the man and woman do not define creational gender roles (men’s roles in public life and business, women’s roles in private life and the home), but they reflect the consequences of the fallen human nature. In particular, the consequence that the man rule over the woman (Gen 3:16) was not God’s original plan, but was the result of sin and the Fall of humanity. [30]

With regard to functionality and imago Dei, many scholars believe humans image God primarily with regard to relationship, which Grenz associates with the structural view of imago Dei. [31] Scorgie includes roles of men and women in marriage and church as illuminating the meaning of imago Dei. He notes that the patriarchal and complementarian interpretation of 1 Tim 2:13-14 is that Eve is morally inferior to Adam because she was created last but sinned first. Egalitarians believe instead that women image God not only in substance, but in every other way, including morality and function (the latter of which includes capacity for reason and potential for authoritative roles). [32]

The Apostle Paul's Writings about Women Being Silent in the Church

Scorgie interprets 1 Tim 2:11-14 in the following way. Because of the respective meanings of the Greek words for “silent” (hesuchia) and “speak” (didasko) in these verses, and because of the immediate context of these verses, Scorgie believes that Paul was speaking to Timothy about some women in Ephesus who were being haughty and disruptive, perhaps because of the teaching of the Artemis cult that women were superior to men in spiritual insight. [33]

Scorgie agrees with complementarians that the Greek word for “silent” does not mean not to speak at all, but means speaking peacefully and with humility. Scorgie also says that the Greek word for “teach” in 1 Tim 1:12 is not found anywhere else in the NT; but in other literature from this period, the word means to dominate, inappropriately control, or lord it over someone. Therefore, Paul was not telling the women not to speak or teach in the usual sense, but not to be domineering in ways that would be inappropriate for either gender. Similarly, Scorgie notes that the Greek word for “head” (kephale) in 1 Cor 11:2-16 means that man is the “source” of life for woman because he was created first, not because he is her “authority." [33]

Scorgie does not analyze 1 Cor 14:34-35. However, Grenz does say that the Greek word for “silent” (sigao) in these verses—different than “silent” in 1 Tim 2:12—does mean not to speak. Grenz believes, based on the context of the entire book of 1 Cor, that the Corinthian church was experiencing disorder and false teaching, and that Paul admonished women to be silent in this particular church because of its localized problems. [34]

Regarding the reasons cited by Paul for women being “silent” and for men being the “head” of women, Scorgie says that, in both 1 Tim 2:13-14 and 1 Cor 11:8-10, Paul is arguing not from normative theology but from prevailing culture to make his point. Rabbinic teaching was that women were inferior to men because Eve was created last but sinned first. Scorgie’s evidence that Paul spoke from prevailing culture is Paul’s eventual theological statement in 1 Cor 11:11-12 that men and women are interdependent, and that each comes from the other. Scorgie gives other examples when Paul used prevailing cultural arguments instead of theological ones to persuade his audience, including 1 Cor 15:29: “Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?" [35]

Men, Women, and Authority in the Church

Scorgie, believes that men and women shared authority in the New Testament church. Scorgie cites Pentecost, when the early believers recognized the fulfillment of the prophecy in Joel 2:28-29: “Your sons and daughters will prophesy … Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (italics added) Scorgie notes that both Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple, taught Apollos, who was a man (Acts 18:24-26), and that in one case Priscilla is listed first (Acts 18:18). Many translators believe that the apostle whose name has often been translated “Junius” was actually “Junia,” a woman (Rom 16:7). [36]

Regarding patriarchal and complementarian beliefs that the Temple structure and Jewish sacrificial system reflected women’s incomplete imaging of God, Bilezikian believes these are reflections of fallen human nature and not of creational reality. Bilezikian cites these examples of the apparent lesser value of women in the Old Testament: polygamy, the double standard on adultery, trial by ordeal, and divorce legislation. However, Bilizekian also notes these bright spots in the Old Testament of the true reflection of imago Dei in females: the occasional female authority in religious and civil life (i.e., Miriam, Deborah, Huldah), the “strong wife” of Proverbs 31, and “feminine” characteristics of God in Song of Songs and other wisdom literature. [37]

The Trinity Transcends Our Understanding of Gender

Egalitarians focus less on the gender of God than do radical and moderate feminists. However, it does seem that most egalitarians tend to think of God as neither male nor female, but possessing qualities of both genders. Scorgie says, “If the church ascribes maleness to God, we can expect the church to prioritize male attributes over female and to privilege men over women. The church will not be able to help itself, for we instinctively attach greater honor to those things we believe are closer to the way God is.” 

Scorgie bases his belief that God transcends gender on the fact that both males and females are equally like God. He believes that the reference to “Father” in the Bible is metaphorical. He believes that Jesus was incarnated as a male because He had to be either male or female, and a female Messiah would not have been credible to that culture. The Holy Spirit is often portrayed with feminine language in the Bible, but so also are the Father and Son. Scorgie does not believe that Father and Son are male and the Holy Spirit is female—because that would mean that God is more male than female—but that the entire Trinity transcends gender in some way that we cannot understand. [38]

The Future New Creation and the Church

An even more illuminating argument is Grenz’ notion of  “new creation and the church." [39] Grenz interprets all of the above Bible passages similarly to Scorgie. Then Grenz pulls back to consider the entire meta-narrative of salvation in the Bible. Grenz affirms that male domination of women was a result of the Fall, and not a consequence of an inherent moral inferiority of women. 

Grenz concludes: "God intends for women and men to serve together in all aspects of church life. What we found implicit in creation we now claim is explicit in the biblical vision of the new creation. The phrase ‘new creation’ refers to the goal of God’s action in the world as described in the Bible. Although inaugurated in the final sense in the earthly ministry of Christ, God’s purpose for creation reaches its culmination only at our Lord’s return." [40]

Until that time of final culmination, both males and females struggle with our “old nature” because of the Fall (Eph 4:22).

My Journey of Being Female in the Image of God

My Church History

I grew up in a church tradition that was mostly complementarian, and I stayed in that denomination for the first 37 years of my life. 

Occasionally but infrequently during those 37 years, I served in a church led by a male pastor with the strongly patriarchal view that men are more valuable than women because of Eve's role in the Fall. Whenever I encountered that view, I felt devalued, and I spent enormous amounts of energy fighting feelings of inferiority and anger. And in fact, research by theologians Lambert and Kurpius showed that the patriarchal view is associated with feelings of inferiority in women. [41]

But most of the time in that denomination, pastors and others affirmed that God values males and females equally—that men's and women's different roles in the church have nothing to do with comparative worth. Nevertheless, I always felt somewhat second-rate.

From my earliest memories , my deepest desire was that God would work through me to make a difference in his Kingdom. And He did, but I felt restricted. In the so-called "secular world," as a college student, and later as a college chemistry professor, I won awards for both leadership and teaching. But the leaders in my churches limited those roles in some rather odd ways. For example, for several months during which our church was without a pastor and I helped to lead Wednesday night services, my talks were called "devotionals" instead of "sermons." Additionally, the churches often "allowed" me to fill roles when "there was no man to fill them."

I left that denomination in 1998, after it became even more conservative about women's roles, and after our new pastor refused to allow women to teach or lead men in any way. I joined another church that holds egalitarian views. My leadership and speaking roles immediately and rapidly grew.

On Palm Sunday of 2003, I felt strongly called into vocational ministry. My lead pastor began mentoring me. In 2006, I left a 15-year college teaching career as chair of the Chemistry Department, to become one of five pastors at Crossroads Church in the Pittsburgh area.

I served on the pastoral staff of Crossroads Church for 7 years. A sudden health crisis in 2011 eventually prompted me to resign that position in 2013. I then became a certified Christian life coach, specializing in helping people find and fulfill their Christian calling.

My Struggles with Women's Roles in the Church

My beliefs have always been egalitarian, in the sense that I've always believed men and women should be allowed to do the same roles. However, because I hadn't done any in-depth Bible study and theological survey of the topic, I still struggled with feelings of inferiority.

For example, while I was a pastor, our church staff travelled to a leadership conference where most of the speakers were complementarian pastors. These pastors routinely addressed the audience by saying, "Men, [do this or that]" and addressed all of the women present as "You wives who are here, [do this or that]." As a female pastor, I felt dismissed by these speakers and leaders, so I struggled to learn from them. Nevertheless I lacked the concepts and language to understand my own point of view.

Shortly after I attended that conference in 2008, I researched and wrote a seminary paper upon which this blog is partially based. Through that experience, I gained a theological and biblical foundation for my egalitarian beliefs.

Nancy Beach, formerly a member of the leadership team at Willow Creek Community Church, relates similar stories in her groundbreaking book, Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church. Like me, she grew up and served in complementarian churches before God called her to lead at Willow Creek, which is egalitarian. In her new leadership roles, she says, "I often felt behind in leadership development, because I was learning leadership fundamentals while male leaders my age were beginning to hit their stride." [42]

And like me, Beach had to work through the biblical and theological background of her own beliefs. 

My Current Egalitarian Beliefs

Here again, I will say that if your biblical interpretation is different than mine, I respect that. The issue of women's roles in the church—and what it means to be female in the image of God—is not central to salvation in Christ. Therefore, we will not divide over it.

As an egalitarian, I believe the following:

About males and females:

• Both males and females are fully created in God's image: substantially, morally, and functionally.
• Males and females are equally valuable to God and to one another. 
• Males and females have equal potential for morality, because of the redemptive death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
• God calls males and females equally to all roles in the church and society.

About who God is:

• God transcends gender in ways that we do not understand.
• God has traits that are traditionally considered to be both male and female. (See the section above entitled "The Trinity Transcends Our Understanding of Gender.")

 What to Do If You Are an Egalitarian Female in a Non-Egalitarian Church

I admit that I still struggle when I attend a complementarian worship service. I feel devalued because I know that the people in the church look upon me and all other women as only partially redeemed from the Fall, instead of completely transformed creatures through Jesus' death and resurrection. I grieve for the women and girls in complementarian churches, because they cannot be fully who God created them to be. And I grieve for the church itself, because it could be so much stronger if its females were free to develop and deploy all of their spiritual gifts.

Nevertheless, God works wonders in all of His churches. For example, as I learned and served in complementarian churches, I received stellar training in the Bible, missions, and evangelism—and God did indeed transform my life in many marvelous ways. And even though those churches limited my spiritual gift of leadership—which I resented for years because I felt so "behind the developmental curve"—God nevertheless grew that gift within me at the right times.

If you are an egalitarian female in a non-egalitaritan church, what should you do? Should you just do what you can where you are, and trust God with the rest? Or should you look for another church? Of course, God answers that question uniquely for each woman, according to His purposes.

Nevertheless, below are are tips for praying and thinking through your decision:

What to do if you are an egalitarian female in a non-egalitarian church:

1. Study and believe what the Bible says about your personal value and worth.

You are not inferior to males because you are female. Study the section above entitled "View #4 About Being Female in the Image of God: Egalitarianism," with the referenced Bible verses. Read some of the "Recommended Resources" below. 

God Himself, and His truth as presented in the Bible, are the beginning and culmination of your journey to freedom and fruitfulness.

2. Thank God for His past blessings to you through His churches.

God works His good purposes through almost all church experiences, egalitarian or not. But sometimes, it's hard to remember the good because of the bad.

For example, when I first became aware of all that I thought I'd missed because of 37 years in non-egalitarian churches, I temporarily forgot the great blessings God gave me through them: the people who loved me so much they felt like family, sermons so Spirit-filled that God transformed my life through them, and people forever changed because God worked powerfully through us there.

Ask God to help you see all of the good He has accomplished through your past church experiences, and thank Him for those.

3. Forgive the people, churches, and denominations for your bad church experiences.

Forgive what you've felt and what you think you've missed.

After I realized how far "behind the developmental curve" I thought I was as a church leader—because of limited opportunities to grow as a leader in past churches—I deeply resented some of the church leaders in my past. I thought those churches had robbed me of my God-given destiny that might have been but never was.

But here's the truth about that. Fulfilling your purpose in God's Kingdom is not dependent upon human beings opening or closing the right doors at the right times. That's God's job. And He is perfectly capable and motivated to make it happen!

So with that perspective, ask God to help you forgive, and trust Him to move you on.

4. Ask God to lead you to the right decisions about how and where He wants you to grow and serve in a local church.

As you realize your full value to God, His providential work in your past church life, and His divine guidance for your future, you're ready to make wise decisions for moving forward with joy and fruitfulness.

God might even lead you to different church traditions at different times in your life. For example, if it's time for you to be a church leader, God might prompt you to leave a complementarian church for an egalitarian one. On the other hand, if your current season is not one that will include a lot of church leadership, and if other factors are at work instead, God might prompt you to leave an egalitarian church for a complementarian one.

God has uniquely created you to be who you are and to accomplish your Christian calling. And He will certainly fulfill your life and calling according to His purposes. Some seasons are more difficult than others. But He will lead you where He wants you to go, at the right times. And He will teach you to depend upon Him alone for your ultimate sense of value and calling. Trust Him to do His part as you do yours!

Recommended Resources

• Beach, Nancy. Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishers, 2014.
• Bilezikian, Gilbert. Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says About a Woman's Place in Church and Family. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006.
• Grenz, Stanley. Theology for the Community of God. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000.
• Grenz, Stanley, with Denise Muir Kjesbo. Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995.
• Scorgie, Glen G. The Journey Back to Eden: Restoring the Creator’s Design for Women and Men. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 2005.

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Footnotes

R.J. Scherba Christian Coaching is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. R.J. only lists resources that she highly values and uses herself.