FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Mimi Haddad, President
Christians for Biblical Equality
Phone: 612-872-6898 Fax: 612-872-6891
cbe@cbeinternational.org
www.cbeinternational.org

MINNEAPOLIS – March 2008

Sent to Preach the Gospel: Men and Women Using Their Gifts for the Great Commission

How can we take seriously our call to fulfill the great commission if we deny women opportunity to use their teaching and preaching gifts? As Paul says in Romans 10:14, “How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?” In other words, without hearing the gospel, how will people come to Christ?

Join Christians for Biblical Equality as they explore evangelism and gender with their conference, “Sent to Preach the Gospel: Men and Women Using Their Gifts for the Great Commission” this July 18-20 in Toronto, Ontario. Hear impassioned leaders like Esme Bowers (leader of the Pan African Christian Women’s Alliance), Ruth Tucker (professor and author), Bonnie Wurzbacher (vice president at Coca-Cola), and William Webb (professor and author) reflect upon Scripture and gender. CBE’s conference will also feature 5 workshop sessions with options ranging from John Kohlenberger’s scholarly look at the language Paul used when referring to his female co-workers to Austin Stouffer’s hilarious and accessible workshop, “Considering Equality…Just for Laughs.”

The president of Evangelicals for Social Action, Ron Sider, will lead a workshop entitled “Justice and Evangelism: How Do They Fit Together?” Arbutus Sider, a marriage and family therapist, will also be at the conference presenting her own workshop, “The Essence of Marriage: Relationship and Mission.”

Ron Sider praised the significance of CBE’s work with these words: “CBE’s mission is vital,” adding “it is a tragedy that only half the body of Christ can use their gifts fully.”

”Sent to Preach the Gospel,” more than any other CBE conference, is foundational for Christians because sharing the good news is foundational to Christianity! Regardless of gender, all Christians are called to use their God-given gifts for the Great Commission. As Sider adds, “now is the time to live out the teachings of Scripture, that the Holy Spirit gifts individuals and does not discriminate on the basis of gender.”

Registration for this event is open to everyone. For more information about this conference, contact Christians for Biblical Equality at (612) 872-6898 or visit CBE’s website at www.cbeinternational.org.