THE GENDER AGENDA
By Lis Goddard & Clare Hendry
IVP. 167 pages. £8.99
ISBN 978 1 844 744 947
This book is a debate on whether women should be in leadership in the church. I was eager to begin — to see how ‘the other side’ thinks. The biggest surprise was to discover that both of the authors preach to mixed congregations!
The debate takes the form of an email correspondence, which, after a brief autobiographical introduction, travels through the Bible from Genesis to Judges, to the Gospels, Acts, Galatians, Corinthians, Ephesians and Timothy. The exchange takes place in a spirit of Christian love and unity in gospel truths. The homely details of the joys and trials of family life at the beginning of each email may not appeal to all readers, but, that aside, both women argue passionately, using Scripture. Their application of some key passages, particularly in Genesis, is how they come to their different understandings.
