Mutuality | Blog + Magazine | Autumn 2014
The print + digital magazine of CBE International
Mutuality offers articles from diverse writers who share egalitarian theology and explore its intersection with everyday life.
Blog + Magazine ArticlesThe opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of CBE International or its members.
Autumn 2014
Volume: 21 | Number: 3
Singleness: Family, Identity, and Service Beyond Marriage
This issue of Mutuality explores singleness from an egalitarian perspective. We analyze the evangelical obsession with marriage, we rethink identity and cross-gender friendship, and we share the voices of single adults.
Contents
Paul laments that the demands of family distract from serving the Lord; we teach that service to the Lord and the demands of family are one and the same.
As a single Christian woman in leadership, I often find that people are curious about my marital status.
The church can be a difficult environment for single people to navigate. Theologies that emphasize Christian fulfillment through marriage and parenting have caused marriage and the nuclear family to be so elevated that many singles feel like there is no place for them in Christian community.
Single adults have much to offer those who are married. And, married adults have much to offer those who are single. By shifting our theological framework to our common, mutual identity as family and friends, we create equality among all adults, and enhance our unity in the body of Christ.
A church should resemble a healthy family, in which all relationships—regardless of gender or marital status—are deeply valued.
Single. Female. Pastor. Three words that are hard to swallow for the general population, much less the Christian community.
I was specifically interested in learning from single adults in complementarian churches like the one my friend attended—churches that often teach or imply that marriage and parenting are the Bible’s ideal for men and women. These questions became the basis of a six-month research project.
Just as our sexuality is more than intercourse, purity is far more than sex. Purity stems from the heart. It is a way of being, seeing, speaking, and living. It is a gift of grace from God.
Exulting in celibacy and singlehood, the apostle Paul reminds the church in Corinth that the anxieties of marriage are part of a world that is “passing away” (1 Cor. 7:31).
