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In my last post I presented one of the best sermons<\/strong><\/a> that I have ever heard on Ephesians 5, regarding the evidence of Spirit-filled lives for both men and women.\u00a0 This post is on the opposite of the Spirit-filled life which is an influx of worldly infection through male-centered pride. The outgrowth of this infection is the teaching that encourages men to focus their efforts on taking the \u201clead\u201d over women, putting them under their authority and control. They are taught that women were made to be led and when men don\u2019t take leadership over women\u2019s lives, women will not be able to fulfill their \u201crole\u201d in Christ.\u00a0 Recently I heard a teaching where young Christian men were rebuked for taking the authority over their girlfriend\u2019s by deciding for them what university courses they would register for. The speaker chastised the young men and told them that they were \u201cnot yet\u201d responsible for making their girlfriend\u2019s decisions. They needed to wait until they actually became their husbands and then they had this authority. It is no wonder that many women are surprised with an entirely different man on their wedding day than who they thought they were marrying. The teaching that men are responsible for the entire home including their wife and her spirituality has caused many young men to subjugate their women in order to fulfill their calling and for the wife\u2019s \u201cown good\u201d. The spiritual harm that has resulted from the teaching that the man has the mandate to rule his wife for God, has caused untold pain and suffering and a stifling of the woman\u2019s ability to seek after God for her own life. She is no longer in control of the exercise of her own gifts and calling \u2013 he is.\u00a0<\/p>\n This alternate \u201cChristian\u201d worldview results in man-centered pride and arrogance which breeds dominance and spiritual abuse rather than Christ-centered living through the filling of the Holy Spirit. Wade Burleson has written an excellent article<\/strong><\/a> where he identifies several organizations that are guilty of promoting unethical, unbiblical, and godless treatment of women. I have listed three movements below and made my own comments on their historical push for male rule.<\/p>\n 1. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.<\/strong><\/p>\n No organization has worked harder to spread the message of male only leadership in the home and church than CBMW has.\u00a0 Be Strong and Show Yourself a Man<\/strong><\/a> was the theme for their 2005 Conference at Denton Bible Church.\u00a0 To CBMW, manhood is connected to the Kingdom of God and the Bible gives us a mandate to raise \u201cmasculine\u201d sons and \u201cfeminine\u201d daughters.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Together for the Gospel.<\/strong><\/p>\n T4G has spearheaded a view of complementarianism that has gone so far as to include their view of male leadership in the gospel so that not having a clear view of complementarianism is said to damage a Christian\u2019s witness to the gospel.\u00a0 Their Article XVI<\/strong><\/a> reads:<\/p>\n We affirm that the Scripture reveals a pattern of complementary order between men and women, and that this order is itself a testimony to the Gospel, even as it is the gift of our Creator and Redeemer. We also affirm that all Christians are called to service within the body of Christ, and that God has given to both men and women important and strategic roles within the home, the Church, and the society. We further affirm that the teaching office of the Church is assigned only to those men who are called of God in fulfillment of the biblical teachings and that men are to lead in their homes as husbands and fathers who fear and love God.<\/p>\n We deny that the distinction of roles between men and women revealed in the Bible is evidence of mere cultural conditioning or a manifestation of male oppression or prejudice against women. We also deny that this biblical distinction of roles excludes women from meaningful ministry in Christ\u2019s kingdom. We further deny that any Church can confuse these issues without damaging its witness to the Gospel.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 3. The resurgence movement and Mark Driscoll.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mark Driscoll has influenced a lot of younger Christians to accept limitations on the \u201croles\u201d of women.\u00a0 Mark has adopted Bruce Ware\u2019s view that a person\u2019s view of gender roles will reveal their view of God, the Bible as God\u2019s Word, and how the Bible is to be interpreted. Mark\u2019s view is that complementarianism, or male rule in the home and church, is vital for the well-being of God\u2019s people<\/strong><\/a>, and his job, as well as other New Calvinist\u2019s job, is to present fresh ways of saying this \u201cold truth\u201d.<\/p>\n Wade Burleson concludes that complementarianism leads to power-hungry men seeking positions of authority and control, and an almost cultish like god complex. \u201cI am in the image of God. My word is Law. You submit to what I say, and don\u2019t dare try to tell me what I should do.\u201d He gives three examples of where complementarianism has hurt women.<\/p>\n 1. A Pastor moved his family to a more expensive home against his wife\u2019s will.\u00a0 Wade writes:<\/p>\n Before the move the pastor\u2019s wife insisted that the family should not move. She had several very good and valid reasons. However, the pastor informed his wife, that as the man in the home\u2013\u201cthe one with authority\u201d\u2013he would make the decision to move and overrule any objections he heard. He said moving was \u201cthe right thing\u201d to do, and submission to his authority was \u201cthe right thing\u201d for her to do.\u00a0 So the pastor\u2019s family moved. I have withheld names, but I do hope the pastor reads this blog and realizes the dysfunctional nature of the argument he had with his wife. Multiply this by hundreds of times in conservative, evangelical homes and you get a picture of the problems created when Christian men have a warped view of their authority.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 2. A long-time member of a baptist church was not allowed to have her funeral in the church since her son wanted two women to read Scriptures at his mother\u2019s funeral.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 There is a commentary on the Bible<\/strong><\/a> just for women. Wade\u2019s blog<\/strong><\/a> gives his whole rant about how culture is bringing in \u201cbizarre and unbiblical views of women that are being taught by our seminary Presidents, their wives, and other \u2018leaders\u2019 in the SBC.\u201d<\/p>\n The complementarian movement has been one of the causes of division in the Church today that has caused godly, gifted women to leave many evangelical churches in order to be faithful to use their gifts in ministry. Please pray with us that God will bring wide spread repentance to those who have used their authority and control to hold back God\u2019s female \u201csons\u201d. May there come a time that we will all be in unity with no more men seeking after position, power, authority and control.\u00a0 Jesus said it is to be \u201cnot so among you\u201d.<\/p>\n![\"CBMW](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mmoutreach.org\/wim\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/cbmw.jpg?resize=400%2C84\")
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