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Cheryl Catford (Ph.D.) currently serves as national director for Australian Evangelical Alliance. She spent fifteen years at Tabor College Victoria, first as a lecturer and then as principal. She has a strong interest in the access of women to ministry opportunities and for six years coordinated the network, Women in Ministry. Catford has also worked as Victorian State Coordinator for TEAR Australia, and as operations manager for Urban Neighbours of Hope. She is a mother of two adult children, an owner of a small dog (Eddie), an avid reader, and a dedicated coffee drinker.
Gift-based Ministry, Not Gender-based Ministry
Much of our current thinking about ministry and the involvement of women is tied to church structure. This workshop will examine the teaching and practices of Paul, and argue that he conceived of ministry as emanating from spirit-empowered gifting rather than gender.
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David Clarke (Ph.D.) is a psychiatrist and professor of psychological medicine at Monash University. He has been chair of Keriva, a Christian counseling centre in Melbourne, and editor of Luke's Journal. Clarke is currently research advisor for beyondblue, the national depression initiative in Australia.
Why We Believe What We Believe: The Role of the Psyche in Interpreting the Bible and Forming Attitudes
Does reading the Bible determine attitudes, and therefore behaviours, or could it be the other way round? This workshop will explore to what extent our psyche affects our attitudes and ways of relating, and what that means for our religious beliefs and practice.
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Shane Clifton (Ph.D.) is director of research and professor of theology at Alphacrucis College. He is editor of Australasian Pentecostal Studies and Raising Women Leaders, as well as author of Pentecostal Churches in Transition and Globalization and the Mission of the Church.
What is the Slogan “Equal but Different” All About?
This workshop will address the (il)logic of the argument that women and men are equal “in being” while women are subordinate to men “in function” (as permanently submissive to male leadership). It will also explore the possibility of recognizing gender differences (or tendencies) that do not imply subordination, but that contribute to the development of richly diverse communities.
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Graham Cole (Th.D.) is professor of biblical and systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Ill. He is an ordained Anglican minister and married to Jules, a fashion designer and author. He has written books on the Holy Spirit and the atonement in addition to numerous academic articles. He has three children, two daughters-in-law, and a grandson. He enjoys food, film, and fishing.
The Trinity Without Tiers
Some claim vigorously that God the Son has eternally been subordinated to God the Father and that this provides a model for male-female relations in the church and the home. Others deny this claim strongly as it is hurtful to our understanding of God and male-female relations. This workshop will address the debate and our understanding of the Trinity.
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Denise Cooper-Clarke (Ph.D.) is a voluntary researcher at Evangelical Alliance, an adjunct professor of ethics at Ridley Melbourne, and a tutor of medical ethics at the University of Melbourne. She is a fellow of the Institute for the Study of Christianity in an Age of Science and Technology, secretary of the New Cranmer Society, and chair of the Melbourne chapter of Christians for Biblical Equality.
Are Women More Prone to Error? Gender and Ethical Decision-making
Until the second half of the twentieth century, theologians were agreed that women are more prone to sin, error, and deception than men, and this was considered a reason to bar them from teaching and leadership in the world, church, and home. The idea persists today that women have a different style of decision-making in doctrine and ethics, which renders them unfit to lead and teach. This workshop will examine evidence from studies of gender and ethical decision-making, particularly the work of Carol Gilligan and the notion of feminine ethics and the ethics of care, as well as assess their contribution to the question of whether women are more prone to error.
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Alan Craddock (Ph.D.) is honorary senior professor of psychology at the University of Sydney. He is also national coordinator of Prepare-Enrich.
Research on Marital Satisfaction and Headship
In the last twenty-five years, Australian and North American research has consistently indicated that egalitarian role expectations are strongly associated with marital satisfaction. Egalitarian expectations involve commitment to a democratic role structure and the rejection of rigidly segregated role performances based on conventional sex-role stereotypes and a hierarchical and patriarchal interpretation of “headship” as it is described in some of the New Testament epistles.
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Joanna Cruickshank (Ph.D.) is a professor of history at Deakin University. She has published widely on the history of evangelicalism in Britain and Australia. Cruickshank lives in the western suburbs of Melbourne with her husband, Andrew, where she enjoys the food, the people, and the fellowship at St Mark's Anglican.
Male, Female, Black, White: What We Can Learn About Working Together from the History of Aboriginal Missions
From the early nineteenth century onwards, thousands of Australian indigenous people lived on missions run by non-indigenous missionaries, many of them Evangelicals. This workshop will provide an introduction to this complicated part of Australian history, and the stories of some of the people (both indigenous and non-indigenous) whose lives were deeply affected by the mission experience. We will learn from their experience about how men and women of all races can work together for social justice.
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Barbara Deutschmann manages the indigenous program at TEAR Australia. She has research interests in biblical theology, especially the Old Testament, and seeks to bring the message of the Bible into engagement with current issues. Deutschmann's interest in women's issues stems from years of life and work in India.
Midwives and Concubines: Women's Stories and God's Voice in the Old Testament
How do twenty-first century Christians read and learn from the shocking Old Testament stories about women? This workshop will discuss reading strategies that can help us to hear God's voice within the patriarchal texts of the Old Testament.
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Peter Deutschmann is associate director of the Nossal Institute for Global Health, as well as chairman of the International Council of Interserve. He has over 25 years experience in planning and implementating population-based health programs in countries of the Asia Pacific region.
Releasing the Full Potential of Women
Using stories and images from Asia and Africa, the workshop will explore the consequences to societies of not enabling the full potential of women.
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Tim Foster (D.Min.) is director of theological education and formation and teaches pastoral theology at Ridley Melbourne. He has served as a youth minister, curate, and vicar in multicultural, suburban, and urban contexts. Foster loves sailing and organic vegetable gardening.
Along Gender Lines: An Egalitarian Reading of 1 Timothy 2:8-14
1 Timothy 2:8-14 remains one of the most challenging passages for egalitarians, and situational readings are often criticised for reading too much into the passage from outside the Epistle. However, there are numerous clues within the book itself suggesting that the Ephesian heresy has created division in the church along gender lines. This opens up new possibilities and strengthens the egalitarian case considerably.
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Kevin Giles (Th.D.) has served as a pastor for forty years. He has written widely on women in the Bible, the church, ministry in the apostolic age, and the Trinity. Giles enjoys looking after his grandchildren.
The Most Important Text in the Whole Bible on the Male Female Relationship: Genesis 1-3
This seminar will examine the most fundamental premise of the so-called complementarian position; namely that in creation, before the fall, God set the man over the woman as her head. Given this premise, woman's subordination is the God-given ideal for all of human history. In reply, it will be shown this interpretation of Genesis 1-3 runs counter to the text itself; today, it finds virtually no scholarly support and is categorically rejected by the Roman Catholic Church.
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Jacqueline Grey (Ph.D.) is academic dean and professor of Old Testament studies at Alphacrucis College. She is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God in Australia and active member in her local church. Grey enjoys coffee with friends and fine Italian food.
Reading the Bible as the Foundation for Equality
This workshop will address how to read the Bible as the foundation for our theology. Using Paul's household code in Ephesians (where he exhorts in parallel women, slaves, and children to be subordinate or obedient) as a case study, we will explore how to interpret the biblical text. From this, we will learn what the Bible says about the role of women and men in the home.
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Mimi Haddad (Ph.D.) is president of Christians for Biblical Equality. She has contributed to eight books, authored more than fifty articles, and speaks frequently on issues related to faith and gender. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Bethel University and an adjunct professor at North Park Theological Seminary.
A Passion for Scripture, Evangelism, Justice, and the Cross: How the Early Evangelicals Helped Liberate Slaves and Women
The early evangelicals were biblicists of the highest order. Their passion for Scripture, evangelism, and social action drove the modern missionary movement, a movement that led to sweeping social justice for slaves and women. This workshop will trace the development of the evangelical movement, assessing its unique characteristics and the prominent manner in which women helped define and shape these qualities.
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Susan Orr is a counsellor and marriage and relationship educator. Since 2006, she has worked at Doncare Community Care with women who have experienced domestic violence. She is married with three children.
“I Just Want the Violence to Stop”: Women and Abuse
This workshop will address how to recognise intimate partner and family violence; how prevalent domestic violence is in Australia; the common beliefs about family violence; how domestic violence impacts women, children and families; and what a person or a congregation can do to respond.
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Oluwafunmilayo (Funmi) Para-Mallam (Ph.D.) works as senior research fellow at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Nigeria. Her publications include: Gender Dimensions of Peace and Security: Issues for Nigeria; Faith and Gender Agendas in Nigeria: Conflicts, Challenges, and Opportunities; and Nigerian Women Speak: An Analysis of Government Policy on Women. Funmi enjoys reading, writing, dancing, and interior decorating.
Issues and Challenges on Gender Justice in an African Context
The session will seek to demonstrate that gender justice is part of the entire gospel mandate to bring good news in practical ways. Eliminating oppression of the weak and vulnerable, including women and girls, was a key concern of Christ as expressed in both the Old and New Testaments. Comparisons between faith-based social justice efforts and secular development concepts and strategies will also be analyzed.
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Jim Reiher (M.Th.) is currently overseeing training programs at Urban Neighbors of Hope. He has been an ambulance officer, a high school teacher, a lecturer of theology, and is a published author of Women, Leadership and the Church. Reiher and his wife, Julie, have four children and seven grandchildren.
Servant Leadership in the Church and Home
The issue of the role of women in the church has been muddied by a tangential discussion about the relationship of husbands and wives in the home. Some use a particular model of life in the home (the man as the authority) and impose that on life in the church. Not only is this model for married relationships flawed, it is also a false imposition to apply in the church. This workshop will consider the biblical call to servant leadership, from both partners in marriage and from both genders in the church. It will show that shared servant leadership does not restrict the outworking of gifts and talents in either the church or the home.
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Deborah Storie is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Melbourne College of Divinity. She also lectures on biblical studies, and aid and development at Whitley College. Storie is committed to reading and responding to the Bible with justice and equity in mind.
Interpreting Parables: Power and Privilege, Context and Culture
Predominant traditions of interpretation tend to 1. read parables in isolation from the broader conversations or conflicts to which they belonged; 2. reduce things with real meaning in the biblical world (money, land, slaves, etc) to allegories for other things; and 3. view powerful characters in parables positively and subordinate characters negatively (unless Jesus or the evangelist explicitly specifies otherwise). This presentation draws on studies of communities living in perilous power-laden situations to suggest that studying the stories and readings of poor and marginalised communities, and reading parables within their narrative and historical contexts, might enable us to interpret and respond to parables more responsibly.
Reading with Hagar and Ishmael: Remembering Familiar Stories
Several Genesis narratives have been interpreted in ways that promote or excuse various forms of religious and ethnic violence. This presentation will describe how exposure to the Hagar and Ishmael stories as a child influenced Storie's attitude to Muslims in subtle but powerful ways. It will examine how unconscious cultural assumptions influence interpretations of these and other biblical narratives, and demonstrate several reading strategies that might enable us to resist oppressive traditions and respond to these stories in life-giving ways.
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