EMBRACING COMPLEMENTARIANISM:
Turning Biblical convictions into posi-tive church culture
By Graham Beynon and Jane Tooher
The Good Book Company. 159 pages £10
ISBN 978 1 784 987 671
Here is a book that does what it says on the cover. It embraces complementarianism – Biblical equality and distinctiveness of men and women.
It engages with the spectrum of views held mostly by evangelicals ranging from ‘Traditional’ to ‘Egalitarian’ interpretations of specific Bible texts typically used to expound God’s design for men and women. Its goal is to help the reader to distill and apply overarching Biblical convictions to a positive church culture.
Largely a book for those in Christian ministry, this is a valuable read for any Christian keen to engage positively with complementarianism in an ever-shifting culture that imposes its own gender agenda.
Whilst not saying anything particularly new, it highlights the subtle dangers of over-reacting or under-reacting in ways that fall short of the beautiful Biblical model God intended. This short and helpful resource insightfully tackles the perhaps unconscious ways we may fall prey to this. It engages the reader with overarching Biblical principles that positively affirm the equal but different roles of men and women, largely in ‘church’. Once past the jargony title, the rest of the book is an easy read. It does not shy away from the cultural challenges that deny the distinctiveness of men and women, nor the unhelpful ways that God’s word has been applied using stereotyping or undermining the value and role of women particularly. It provides positive and practical alternatives which have been tried and tested by the authors.
I have but one reservation. In positively affirming complementarianism, some of the worked examples felt largely ‘Western’ and ‘middle-class’ in theory and application. If we are truly trusting in the Servant King, the invisible, less esteemed roles of cleaning, mothering, nurturing, care-taking, quietly serving, etc., have no small place in God’s great Kingdom, no matter our culture or class. More on this may have been helpful.
