Editor’s Note: CBE’s 2024 international conference, “Tell Her Story: Women in Scripture and History” will be taking place this weekend in Denver, Colorado. Many of the brilliant speakers and workshop leaders who will be featured there have written books where you can learn more about their research and experience. We encourage you to check out CBE Bookstore’s table at the conference, but if you can’t be there, here are some of their latest offerings. All links are CBE-affiliated.
Commentary on Esther: From The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary
By Hélène Dallaire
Each volume of The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary is a nontechnical, section-by-section commentary on one book or section of the Bible that provides reliable and readable interpretations of the Scriptures from leading evangelical scholars. This information-packed commentary will help you gain a deeper understanding of the Bible in your own personal study or in preparation for teaching. It tackles problematic questions, calls attention to the spiritual and personal aspects of the biblical message, and brings out important points of biblical theology, making it invaluable to anyone seeking to get the most out of their Bible study.
Dallaire is also the author of 200 Devotionals from the Hebrew Bible.
Penny Preaches: God Gives Good Gifts to Everyone!
By Amy Dixon and Rob Dixon
Illustrated by Jennifer Davison
Penny loves the sermon on Sunday because she loves to think about big things. But when preaching from the front porch to her friends doesn’t turn out quite as she expected, Penny wonders if she was wrong to want to teach others about God.
Written by Amy Dixon and Rob Dixon, and featuring delightful illustrations from Jennifer Davison, Penny’s story reminds us that God gives good gifts to everyone! Penny Preaches will be enjoyed by children as well as the adults who read with them. Also included is a note from the authors to encourage further conversation about the topic.
Together in Ministry: Women and Men in Flourishing Partnerships
By Rob Dixon
Women and men are designed to work together in fulfilling God’s mission on earth. Yet God’s original intent for equal partnership has been so distorted that churches and organizations continually struggle to foster healthy mixed-gender ministry collaboration. Is it even possible to return to the Genesis ideal of co-laborers in today’s contexts?
. . . Based on qualitative field research among ministry practitioners, Together in Ministry offers a prophetic roadmap for individuals and communities as they seek to develop flourishing ministry partnerships for women and men.
Organized around the key domains of inner life, community culture, and intentional practices, this model identifies ten key attributes of partnerships that are both personally satisfying and missionally effective. For each attribute Dixon presents research findings and biblical examples, along with benefits, barriers, and practical next steps. With plenty of real-life stories from ministry leaders and reflection questions in each chapter, Together in Ministry casts a compelling―and encouraging―vision for flourishing partnerships and equips teams and individuals with next steps for making that vision a reality.
Gender Roles: A Grace-Based Perspective
By Taffi L. Dollar
Taffi Dollar has a new and powerful revelation for the Body of Christ! Order your copy of her latest book, Gender Roles, and learn how God views gender equality.
Dollar is also the author of Your Spiritual Makeover: Experience the Beauty of a Balanced Life.
Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church
By Nijay K. Gupta
For centuries, discussions of early Christianity have focused on male leaders in the church. But there is ample evidence right in the New Testament that women were actively involved in ministry, at the frontier of the gospel mission, and as respected leaders.
Nijay Gupta calls us to bring these women out of the shadows by shining light on their many inspiring contributions to the planting, growth, and health of the first Christian churches. He sets the context by exploring the lives of first-century women and addressing common misconceptions, then focuses on the women leaders of the early churches as revealed in Paul’s writings. . . .
When we understand the world in which Jesus and his followers lived and what the New Testament actually attests about women in the churches, it becomes clear that women were active participants and trusted leaders all along. They were welcomed by Paul and other apostles, were equipped and trained for ministry leadership, instructed others, traveled long distances, were imprisoned—and once in a while became heroes and giants.
The New Testament writers tell their stories. It’s time for the church to retell them, again and again.
Is Women’s Equality a Biblical Ideal? A Five-Part Series
By Mimi Haddad
Should women be allowed to lead in the church and the home? What does the Bible mean when it calls Eve “helper”? How do cultural beliefs devalue women? How can we foster women’s equality in other cultures?
These are just some of the questions answered in Is Women’s Equality a Biblical Ideal? This five-part lecture series explores the biblical, historical, and social precedent for women’s shared leadership in the home, church, and world. Topics include Old and New Testament evidence of women’s leadership, women’s leadership in church history, understanding power dynamics, and working cross-culturally.
Originally developed for NGOs, humanitarian organizations, and Christian leaders to effectively promote the full gifting, vocation, and authority of women throughout the world, this lecture series and companion workbook make a wonderful resource for both personal and group study.
Preaching in/and the Borderlands
Edited by J. Dwayne Howell and Charles L. Aaron
What is to be the church’s response to the immigrant? Most immigrants in American society are seeking a better life. They are among the most vulnerable, possessing little and at the mercy of those they work for in the communities where they live. The essays in this book address issues for churches to consider as they seek to better understand how to respond to immigration. The book examines biblical, ethical, theological, and homiletical areas of the topic and includes contributions from experienced pastors, theologians, legal experts, and activists.
1 Peter, 2nd ed.
(Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Series)
By Karen H. Jobes
Jobes takes a historical-grammatical approach to exegeting 1 Peter and considers the possibility that the original readers of the letter were actual exiles who had known Peter in some other location, probably Rome. She analyzes each discourse unit of the Greek text with a view toward not only what the letter meant in its original setting but how it speaks to readers today.
As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features an acclaimed, user-friendly design and admirably achieves the dual aims of the series—academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility—making it a useful tool for pastors, church leaders, students, and teachers.
The Marys of the Bible: The Original #MeToo Movement
By Boaz Johnson
The #MeToo movement is a global phenomenon. Several Christian organizations have been engaging with issues of abuse against women in places like Africa and Asia. Much of this happens among internally displaced or external refugees. These kinds of atrocities against girls and women rightly raise much anger. Are there solutions?
The Marys of the Bible provides a biblical response to issues raised by the #MeToo movement. Boaz Johnson’s thesis is that women experienced these abuses in ancient societies in very heinous ways. This is seen clearly in ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Roman etc. religions. He argues that the Bible sets out to counter attitudes and religious practices of sexual abuse against women. It is the Bible that is the original #MeToo movement.
The Bible vs. Biblical Womanhood: How God’s Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality
By Philip B. Payne
What if the biblical passages that supposedly endorse male headship and female subordination actually teach gender equality? Exploring Greek and Hebrew word meanings and historical and cultural context in fourteen Scriptures, Philip B. Payne highlights the Holy Spirit’s gifting of all believers; the oneness of Christ’s body; the humility, service, and mutual submission required of every Christian; and more.
Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives
Edited by Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfall, and Christa L. McKirland
“There is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” The conversation about the relationship between women and men and their roles in the Christian life and the church has evolved, but the topic continues to inspire debate and disagreement. The third edition of this groundbreaking work brings together scholars firmly committed to the authority of Scripture to explore historical, biblical, theological, cultural, and practical aspects of this discussion. This fresh, positive defense of gender equality is at once scholarly and practical, irenic yet spirited, up-to-date, and cognizant of opposing positions. In this edition, readers will find both revised essays and new essays on biblical equality in relation to several issues, including the image of God, the analogy of slavery, same-sex marriage, abortion, domestic abuse, race, and human flourishing. Discover for yourself God’s vision for gender equality.
Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s Vision for Men and Women in Christ
By Cynthia Long Westfall
In this volume, Westfall offers a coherent Pauline theology of gender, which includes fresh perspectives on the most controverted texts. Westfall interprets passages on women and men together and places those passages in the context of the Pauline corpus as a whole. Her inclusion of the entire Pauline canon enables her to address the issues effectively, and she reads the texts in light of their own claims of authorship, recipient, and circumstances. She also gleans new insights by making sense of the passages in the context of the Greco-Roman culture.
. . . As Westfall explores the significance of Paul’s teaching on both genders, she seeks to support and equip males and females to serve in their area of gifting, regardless of social status, race, or gender.
Paul and Gender is a call for all who study Paul and gender to learn to distinguish between their assumptions and the presuppositions they use to make sense of the texts.
How God Sees Women: The End of Patriarchy
By Terran Williams
“Terran Williams develops a meticulous case that shows God’s moral compass always points to the unity of men and women, in creation, in the church, and in Christ. A terrific resource for anyone wrestling with this topic.”
– Dr. Michael Bird, author of Evangelical Theology
“In a landmark book of our generation, Terran plumbs the depths of Scripture to reclaim the heights women (and men) are called to.”
– Starla and Dan Webster, senior pastors of City Lights, Dubai
“A compelling narrative of one dedicated theologian’s search for truth as well as a full-scale study in complementarian and egalitarian theologies and practices. ”
– Kadi Cole, author of Developing Female Leaders
“With his relentless and honest logic, I gained fresh insights as I read the evidence that compelled Williams to change his own view.”
– Dr. Craig Keener, editor of NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
“What Lee Strobel did to atheism in writing The Case for Christ, Terran does here to complementarianism: making it an increasingly indefensible position for any who seek to be shaped by the evidence.”
– Dr. Katia Adams, senior pastor of The Table Boston, author of Equal
“Terran Williams takes us on a journey of theological, exegetical, and personal transformation. With an uncompromising commitment to the authority of Scripture, his conversational and engaging approach makes his complex research accessible.”
– Dr. Cynthia Westfall, author of Paul and Gender
