2019 Conference Presentation Descriptions

Keynote Sessions

Shane Claiborne

Shine in the Darkness

Light shines bright when the darkness is thick. Christians are meant to leave off the fragrance of Jesus in the world, like air fresheners in the bathroom. And women throughout history have been at the forefront of the holy resistance to violence and hatred and death. This is a time for love to shine!

Lisa Sharon Harper

The Very Good News for Women for Such a Time as This?

In an era of me-too, church-too and separation of black and brown mothers from their children by mass detention and mass incarceration, what is the very good news for women? What transformative work might God have yet to do for and through our silenced voices and traded bodies? Come along as Lisa Sharon Harper takes us back to the beginning with deep exploration of Genesis 1-3 and considers its profound implications on the lives and calling of women right now. 

Eugene Hung

Leading Your Church’s Response to #MeToo and #ChurchToo

Many pastors have struggled to help their congregations respond wisely and compassionately in the era of #MeToo and #ChurchToo. A pastor-turned-activist for women’s rights, Eugene Hung provides practical guidance and recommendations for church leaders seeking to address the crisis of gender-based violence in their faith communities.

Emily Onyango

Working Towards Mutuality as a Mark of Christian Identity: A Case of the Work of the African Church For Biblical Equality

The session will focus on the work of the African Church For Biblical Equality (ACFBE) in advocacy work towards achieving mutuality of men and women in the Church and society as a mark of Christian identity. For reasons ranging from the improper interpretation of scripture to societal sterotypes and lack of opportunity for girls, there is no mutuality between men and women even among Christians in Kenya. The session will look at some of the work by ACFBE as a source for advocacy work in both Church and society. ACFBE has done advocacy work through conscientization and training.

Workshops

Sarah Ago

Introduction to Egalitarian Marriage

This workshop will build a foundation for anyone who is new to the idea of egalitarian marriage.  Our starting point will be God’s original design as described in Genesis 1 and 2 and how the fall in Genesis 3 changes the dynamic of how relationships are lived out.  We will examine the redemption that the cross brings into the relationship between men and women, touching on some of the confusing passages on the New Testament.  Practical advice on decision-making will be offered within the context of an egalitarian relationship.

Linda Lee Smith Barkman

Who’s Talking & Who’s Listening: Using Muted Group Theory to Enhance Interactions Between Churches and Marginalized Women

How can churches become more effective at hearing what our marginalized sisters are wanting to communicate to us? In this workship, Muted Group Theory (MGT) will be presented as a tool for explaining and promoting communication between churches and marginalized women. First, after a brief overview of MGT and its tenets, participants will look at how MGT informs gendered communication generally. Then MGT will be specifically applied within the micro-differential power dynamics that further complicate communication

Beth Birmingham

Women in Leadership: A Business and Biblical Rationale

For more than one decade, business research demonstrates that adding women to leadership teams improves productivity while lowering unethical practices. Diverse teams that include women are not only more creative, they also outperform all male teams. Yet, churches and Christian organizations are slow to welcome women at all levels of leadership because of three poorly interpreted passages in Scripture. This workshop will review the business and biblical data supporting the shared leadership of men and women in churches and organizations.

Jodi Chung

Egalitarian Parenting: A Strengths-based vs. Gender-based Model

Raising kids in the church culture can be hard. Sometimes, roles assigned to mom and dad are too rigid and narrow. This workshop explores how parenting to one’s strengths and growing one’s weaknesses can contribute to growing kids.

Michael Chung

Egalitarian Parenting: A Strengths-based vs. Gender-based Model

Raising kids in the church culture can be hard. Sometimes, roles assigned to mom and dad are too rigid and narrow. This workshop explores how parenting to one’s strengths and growing one’s weaknesses can contribute to growing kids.

Shane Claiborne

Another Way of Doing Life

Christians are not meant to be defenders of the status quo. At our best, Christians have always been holy troublemakers, creators of divine mischief, folks who refuse to accept the world as it is and insist on buildling the world God dreams of. Let’s talk about what it means to see our faith as a way of life, God’s holy counterculture in the world. 

Jeannette Cochran

Advancing Biblical Equality through Local Churches and CBE Chapters

Are you passionate about biblical equality but not sure how to share the message with others? Do you long to see men and women leading together equally in the church and home but not sure how you can make a difference? There are people, right where you live, longing for the good news of mutuality and you don’t have to be pastor, seminary professor, or theologian to bring them hope. This session will share principles and practical actions you can take to advance biblical equality through local CBE chapters and your circle of influence.

Rob Dixon

Becoming an Ally: A Roadmap for Men Who Aspire to Advocate for Women

As we pursue the goal of a thriving church where women and men serve on equal footing, it will be crucial for men to advocate for women as allies. If only this were easy to do! Using a fresh research model, this seminar will outline key steps that men can take in order to become champions for women in their contexts, with the goal of developing more men into more effective advocates. This seminar is open to both women and men.

Taffi Dollar

Who’s the Boss?

In this session, we will share a revelation from God about his design for women and men. Both women and men have been damaged by misinterpretations of Scripture and the consequences of Adam and Eve’s transgressions, but Jesus came to restore us all to the equal partnership that God intended from the beginning. Taffi tackles tough questions head-on and exposes how gender inequality and hierarchy have prevented us from living the best life.

Sandra Glahn

Artemis of the Ephesians in First-Century Ephesus and Ramifications for How We Read 1 Timothy

Many scholars have asserted that Artemis of the Ephesians was a fertility goddess—but the evidence for that view is several centuries after the apostle Paul. So who was Artemis Ephesia at the time of the earliest Christians, and what, if any ramifications are there for how we understand 1Timothy?

Nell Green

Advocating for Equality among the Marginalized

We as American women experience equality in a much different way than the women who are coming to us from other countries. We will compare the American woman’s experience of equality as compared to displaced women such as refugees, immigrants, and victims of trafficking and learn how we can advocate for them even as we work further towards our own equality.

Mimi Haddad

Women in Leadership: A Business and Biblical Rationale

For more than a decade, business research has shown that adding women to leadership teams improves productivity while lowering unethical practices. Diverse teams that include women are not only more creative, they also outperform all male teams. Yet, churches and Christian organizations are slow to welcome women at all levels of leadership because of three poorly interpreted passages in Scripture. This workshop will review the business and biblical data supporting the shared leadership of men and women in churches and organizations.

Lisa Sharon Harper

Faith-Rooted Organizing

Faith-Rooted Organizing draws from the roots of our traditions to help faith communities engage the larger movement for justice in our world. In this workshop Lisa Sharon Harper will equip participants to engage the issues at play in their towns and cities by examining the response of Nehemiah to his colonized context.

Eugene Hung

What’s a Man to Do?

Violence against women on college campuses is often seen as a “women’s issue” – that is, a problem for women to lead the way in solving. But with males representing the primary perpetrators of such violence, men must be at the forefront of calling out bad behavior and changing social norms. In this workshop, former UC Irvine violence prevention educator Eugene Hung will discuss ways that men can promote healthy masculinity and stop violence in college settings.

Sandra Morgan

Pornography for Profit: The Link to Sex Trafficking

The crime of human trafficking is a human rights offense.  Like other trafficking in weapons or drugs, it is big business selling something that society has determined is harmful and should not be sold. This workshop will explore pornography in the context of sex trafficking as a cycle of abuse driven by demand and fueled by greed. Participants will learn how to redefine the frontline in a united battle for dignity and sacred spaces and leave with tools to do their part.

Annette Oltmans

Understanding Double Abuse® and its Consequences

The incidence of abuse is far more common than we believe. According to the CDC half of all relationships involve lifelong emotional abuse. Recent studies point to much higher numbers. However, when a victim finds the courage to finally speak up, more often than not she is dismissed, not believed, given unhealthy ultimatums, criticized, or shunned. The response sustains the abuse and causes further harms. This second layer of abuse is what I have termed Double Abuse®. Double Abuse® exacerbates trauma caused by original abuse and can lead a victim to develop complex trauma, or Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD). In this breakout session, we will take a look at this complicated topic and provide tangible solutions. You will walk away with a new perspective, equipped with tools to respond in healthy and helpful ways to prevent further harm and promote healing and restoration when a victim comes forward with their story of abuse.

Emily Onyango

The Challenge of the Resurgence of Negative Aspects of African Cultural Practices Among Christians in Kenya

One of the greatest challenges in Kenya is the resurgence of negative aspects of African cultural practices which are oppressive to women. Practices like female genital mutilation, widow inheritance, bride-wealth and polygamy were marks of identity and therefore important in society. The coming of Christian faith led to challenging most of these practices but not uprooting them. Most of the negative aspects of these practices are resurging because Christian world-view has not taken root and Christian identity is not well defined. There is need for interaction between the Bible and the African culture, coming up with a world view informed by scripture.

Jeanne Porter King

Stronger Together: Strategies for Building Alliances for Women’s Leadership

In this workshop Dr. Jeanne Porter King will outline the benefits of having women in key areas of leadership in and out of the church. Dr. Porter King will provide a model of inclusive leadership and strategies that  help equip women to be advocates for themselves and each other, and tools for men to be advocates for women.

Allison Quient

Eve as a “Type” of Christ: Reframing Power, Identity & Gender in 1 Timothy 2

Mitch Randall

Theological Malpractice Stands Culpable in Sexual Abuse

The #MeToo movement has revealed the wide-spreada atrocities of sexual abuse with the larger culture. However, the #ChurchToo movement has exposed the church’s culpability in this matter. More precisely, the theological malpractice of patriarchal authority without question has created an environment for sexual abuse to flourish behind a protective veil of personal and congregational misplaced conviction. Dr. R. Mitch Randall will argue the church must accept responsibility for their part in creating the environment where sexual abuse thrived because the church’s teaching of female subservience established male dominance in the culture. Therefore, if the church honestly seeks repentance of the culpability, then they must also turn to an egalitarian theological praxis.

Ruben Rivera

Christ: Ever Culturally Relevant, Never Culturally Captive: Freeing Christianity from Bias and Cultural Captivity

Why are Christians who seek racial justice not standing with Christians seeking equality for women? Why do gender equity Christians often find themselves working in largely white circles. Why are progressive Christians locked in near perpetual disharmony with conservative believers? The hard news is that becoming Christian does not make us immune to bias and the tendency toward what for over two decades Ruben Rivera has called the cultural captivity of Christ. This helps explain the explosion of “Christianities” in the world and expressions that have justified racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination and oppression. This seminar will introduce participants to the surprising ways that even socially conscious Christians can be hindered by unconscious culturally captive, ingroup influences, and contrast this with what Rivera calls Remarkable Christianity. 

Eeva Sallinen Simard

When Women Succeed at Work, Everyone Benefits. Why Don’t We Let Them?

Nearly 50% of the US workforce are women, working mainly in workplaces designed by and for men. Disadvantages in the work place cut across secular and Christian organizations, disadvantaging women from enjoying meaningful work and motherhood, advancement in careers and ultimately living out their God given gifts and talents. Many of these disadvantages can be tracked down to deeply held beliefs about women, work and leadership, beliefs that Jesus sought to dissolve. This workshop will explore the mutual prosperity of men and women in organizations when women succeed at work and gain a seat around the table. 

Todd Still

“Nevertheless, in the Lord…” (1 Cor 11:11): Interdependence in Christ

This workshop will examine Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians regarding men and women (not) covering their heads when praying and prophesying (see 1 Cor 11:2-16; cf. 1 Cor 14:33b-36). Special attention will be given to the apostle’s contention that “in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman” (1 Cor 11:11; cf. Eph 5:21). It will be noted that this instruction in is keeping with Paul’s teaching regarding “conjugal rights” set forth earlier in the letter (1 Cor 7:1-7).