What we’ll be talking about at our Men’s and Women’s Ministry workshop: 

Male and Female are distinct and fundamental ideas in the bible. Lots of good things have been achieved through Men’s and Women’s ministries across evangelical churches and we can thank God for this.  

However, while male and female are distinct and fundamental categories, many men’s and women’s books and resources have unhelpfully said that certain qualities or virtues are essential for what it means to be a ‘man’ or a ‘woman’. This has led to subtle changes that have shifted the focus from men and women pursuing Christlikeness.  

Rather than men and women being encouraged to be fully like Christ, men are encouraged to be a ‘biblical man’ and women to become ‘biblical women’ in ways that are not truly biblical.  

Often the picture of ‘biblical manhood’ or ‘biblical womanhood’ is shaped far more by culture and politics rather than deep engagement with the scriptures.  

We need to reflect deeply on the resources that have shaped our understanding of what it means to be a man or a woman, look again at the scriptures, and then work hard to rebuild men’s and women’s ministries at Living Church so they can serve our vision and mission statement as a church.  

This is what we are going to be doing at the workshop on May 25 and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.