In celebration of another year coming to its end, here are the top ten Mutuality Blog articles readers engaged with most in 2023. This year, Mutuality Blog authors talked about decision-making in marriage, Bible women, becoming egalitarian, the pitfalls of complementarianism, and the church—all with the goal of living out biblical equality.
Mutuality Blog’s top ten most-read articles of 2023 are below, starting with number ten and counting down to number one. Sign up for Mutuality’s weekly emails to make sure you never miss a Mutuality Blog article in 2024.
10. Marriage Is Not a Monarchy: Decision-Making in a Crisis
My husband and I rolled up to the train station in Bordeaux, France in the middle of the worst heat wave in French history. We were riding overly heavy rental bikes, grimy with sweat and road dust, and hauling a trailer that contained a broken two-man tent and our four-month-old baby. . . READ.
By Mikaela Bell | June 1, 2023
9. Should I Stay or Should I Go? Guidance for Egalitarians in Complementarian Contexts
Mindy loved her church. She and her husband were married there. They were raising their children there. Her husband’s entire family had belonged to the church for generations. Mindy and her husband had made deep roots of friendship in a Bible study and prayer group that had been going for the past seven years. Mindy trusted this group with her deepest pain and considered them her closest friends. . . READ.
By April Fiet and Rob Dixon | November 16, 2023
8. If Complementarianism Isn’t Working for Some, It Isn’t Working for All
My close friend, let’s call her Ally, is a strong woman. We were in our early twenties when we first met, attending the same complementarian evangelical church. She had just moved across the country to work as a travel nurse. Since then, she has moved abroad and spent countless hours learning a notoriously difficult language, worked and volunteered with a plethora of nonprofits. . . READ.
By Liz Cooledge Jenkins | April 20, 2023
7. Women, Stand as Pillars for God’s Kingdom
A week ago, I responded to a young woman’s Facebook question, “I’ve always been taught that women should only teach women and children. Have I missed something?” Then, last night I began a class with twenty women, ages 28–70, teaching God’s design for women. They are excited. They’ve never heard of most of the ten women we will be studying from the Old and New Testaments. . . READ.
By Ruth Conard | May 25, 2023
6. The Bias of History and the SBC
As summer launched, my husband and I ramped up our binge on history. We’re relishing podcast episodes of The Rest is History, and loading up on the classics. Because of their enduring impact for good, we also sent copies of Christian classics to family members. Our niece received an unabridged Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, and our nephew is enjoying Adam Mako’s Devotion. . . READ.
By Mimi Haddad | June 22, 2023
5. Becoming Egalitarian: Reconciling Experience with Scripture
I was raised in a patriarchal home, and by adulthood I was a staunch patriarchalist. I believed God created men superior in rank to women and subjected wives to their husbands as part of a created hierarchy. I believed these roles applied to every aspect of life, including in the home, church, and world. . . READ.
By Israel Steinmetz | November 2, 2023
4. Let’s Stop Doing as the Romans Do
When we lived in the US, my wife Renee and I would occasionally turn the television to 17 (then 18, then 19) Kids and Counting to watch the Duggars “Duggaring.” It was mildly amusing to watch this massive clan dressing in their homemade prairie clothes, playing violins, and cooking 1,387 waffles for their family breakfast. . . READ.
By Adam Benner | May 4, 2023
3. El Roi: The God Who Sees, Values, and Hears Women
Who am I? Am I defined by whether I am married? Whether or not I have children? What I contribute to the community around me? If I focus on these things then my worth depends on my circumstances and what I do, rather than who I am. Do I have intrinsic worth?. . . READ.
By Joy Smith | July 13, 2023
2. Jairus and the Church Today: Lessons from the Bleeding Woman
Many churches keep women from exercising their God-given gifts and fulfilling their calling by barring them from being ordained, preaching, or leading Bible study groups with both women and men in them. Often churches “reassure” women by telling them they are “equal, but different,” so their ministry too must be different from that of a man. How sustainable, however, is this argument?. . . READ.
By Anna Beresford | January 11, 2023
1. Let God Reign: Ditching the Umbrellas of Hierarchy
Chances are that you have seen some version of the “Umbrella Illustration” that claims to depict God’s “divine order” for authority within the family. Some versions include more umbrellas than others, but the original illustration came from Bill Gothard and consisted of three umbrellas: Christ at the top, followed by the husband, then the wife. Rain trickles down from the edges of each umbrella. . . READ.
By Julie R. Frady | October 11, 2023