The editor of "Charisma" magazine tackles 25 tough questions that men and women have asked regarding the role of women in the church--from questions on leadership to how to deal with an abusive marriage.

Although women in the United States have civil freedoms, equal rights in the workplace, and the full protection of law, many church leaders continue to quench the fire that burns in our sisters. We deny them equal rights to participate in the life of the church, and we slam the door on opportunities for leadership. In Women and the Church Grady takes these attitudes to task, providing answers from God's Word that will set women free.

From Christian Piatt: "When I was a teenager, my youth minister threw a bible at my head for asking questions." Too often, for various reasons, people don't have the opportunity to ask the hard questions they have about faith, religion, salvation and the bible. And when questions are left unanswered in communities of faith, people either seek answers elsewhere or lose interest all together. The purpose of the series is to collect the most compelling and challenging questions from various theological areas and pose them to a panel of "experts" who are challenged with responding in two hundred words or less in plain English. This volume addresses challenging or controversial questions about scripture collected from people on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social networking media. Respondents include theology professors, clergy, lay leaders, liberals, conservatives and voices representing a spectrum of views. The idea behind the books is not so much to provide definitive answers as it is to stimulate thought, reflection and discussion. By offering multiple perspectives, readers have the opportunity to arrive at their own questions. Better, they come to understand that questioning faith is not taboo, but rather that it can be at the foundation of a strong and growing faith. The directive given to each respondent guided them to be concise and to speak in plan language, but also not to rely exclusively on "the Bible says it" justifications, or to wax abstract or overly intellectual. Instead, they write from personal experience as much as possible, and provide real-life contexts that will allow the average seeker or churchgoer to apply such ideas to their daily lives.

In this book the authors explore some dynamic trends in society and church that are pushing believers into simpler ways of doing church. -- from back cover.

Does Paul teach a hierarchy of authority of man over woman, or does he teach the full equality of man and woman in the church and home? In Man and Woman, One in Christ, Philip Barton Payne answers this question and more, injecting crucial insights into the discussion of Paul’s view of women. Condensing over three decades of research on this topic, Payne’s rigorous exegetical analysis demonstrates the consistency of Paul’s message on this topic and its coherence with the rest of his theology. Payne’s exegetical examination of the Pauline corpus is thorough, exploring the influences on Paul, his practice as a church leader, and his teachings to various Christian communities. Paul’s theology, instruction, and practice consistently affirm the equal standing of men and women, with profound implications for the church today. Man and Woman, One in Christ is required reading for all who desire to understand the meaning of Paul’s statements regarding women and their relevance for Christian relationships and ministry today. This work has the potential of uniting the church on this contentious issue.

For many years I have had an interest in the equality of women and men, particularly in the church, where it has been woefully lacking for the most part. More recently Fundamentalist theologians have become increasingly blatant in asserting that the Bible teaches subordination of women to men both inside and outside the church. I have argued that this idea results from an irresponsible proof-texting from the Bible. I am convinced that, when taken as a whole, looking at all passages referring to women, the Bible supports the complete equality of women with men. I have undertaken to demonstrate this fact by looking carefully at the stories of women in the Bible, both named and unnamed, who were not submissive to men and who refused to settle for the role which their society attempted to assign them. I have taken these passages from the Bible and interpreted them within the context into which they are placed, to the degree that this can be determined. My goal was to find every story in the Bible in which a woman stepped out of her societal role and did something only men were supposed to do. I leave to the reader to decide whether or not I have succeeded.

In The Lost Apostle award-winning journalist Rena Pederson investigates a little known subject in early Christian history—the life and times of the female apostle Junia. Junia was an early convert and leading missionary whose story was “lost” when her name was masculinized to Junias in later centuries. The Lost Apostle unfolds like a well-written detective story, presenting Pederson’s lively search for insight and information about a woman some say was the first female apostle.

1 Timothy is one of the more controversial documents in the New Testament. For years, critical scholars have rejected Pauline authorship, highlighted the apparent misogynistic quality of the text, and argued against any coherence in the letter. Jeon takes a fresh look at the letter, incorporating many recent advancements in NT scholarship. In detail he demonstrates the macro- and micro- chiastic arrangement of the entire letter and explains how the presumed first-century audience would have heard and responded to an oral performance of the letter. In doing so, Jeon offers a fresh challenge to more popular ways of (mis)understanding the letter and points a way forward for appropriating the letter both in academia and in the church.

A respected charismatic journalist critiques the charismatic renewal, recent and past, from a balanced biblical perspective to understand mistakes and identify positive role models.

DIV God is building His body around the world in the most unexpected ways through the most unexpected people. Take a self-test to find out where your gifts lie and what area of ministry God may have custom-designed you for. /div