Have you ever entered a room and immediately sensed joy and enthusiasm in the air? That was my experience at this year’s Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) convention. Walking into the exhibit hall, our first day felt like being welcomed (and delighted!) by a room filled with saintly colleagues to appreciate, and oh so many books to devour and grow as Christian scholars. Within minutes, energetic editors from Wipf and Stock, seated across from our booth, greeted CBE’s team with bright smiles, warm handshakes, and enthusiasm for a shared commitment to crucial theological topics. As we chatted, their academic editor took copious notes on future titles needed in CBE’s bookstore. We developed quite an extensive list. Having completed this important task, it seemed the perfect time to stroll down the exhibit aisles to meet new organizations, and to catch up with those well-known to CBE. Given more than twenty-five years participating in yearly ETS conventions, CBE has developed deep friendships and fruitful partnerships, some of which were hard-won. Because of this, sharing warm words of appreciation, and a few sisterly hugs, were gifts from God’s Spirit, healing the church. Even more…
Despite differing views on Scripture, women, and leadership, conversations this year at CBE’s booth, during paper presentations, in hallways, and over meals were marked by a peaceful, generous commitment to “come let us reason together.”[1] As one professor who stopped at our booth said, “If we are serious about academics, we must stretch ourselves and learn from those with whom we would normally disagree.” Proving her commitment to this statement, she revealed that she was familiar with many of our resources and found some to be particularly helpful in addressing abuse in the church. Another woman spoke of the great assistance our resources provided, as complementarian theology was distracting the Chinese church’s evangelistic outreach by challenging the female leadership of more than half of their churches. Yet another spoke of the incredible changes in their family after her husband’s required seminary reading included Dr. Cynthia Westfall’s Paul and Gender. She also emphasized the need for her larger Spanish-speaking community to hear this freeing news.
While the longstanding theological critique of women’s value and purpose has borne much fruit, egalitarians continue to present new reasons for the theological hope we have.[2] For complementarians, many also recognize the biblical commitment of egalitarians. Through years of tightly reasoned egalitarian papers, there is now more than ever an energetic welcome to women’s God-given gifts and contributions at ETS. While I remember well the scarcity of women at ETS years ago, and the courage it took to press forward, this is mercifully an experience fewer women today encounter. Significantly, the presentations by ETS women consistently demonstrate the power of critical thinking as propositions are evaluated through the disciplines represented at ETS. Certainly, the palpable joy at this year’s ETS was also the result of carefully critiquing ideologies. The necessary back-and-forth scrutiny of ideas and assumptions proved, once again, an essential way of discerning the mind of Christ. Toward this goal, this year’s ETS offered powerful sessions on women and Scripture, like those sponsored by Evangelicals and Women—now a section of ETS. Evangelicals and Women had the opportunity of providing four hours of invited papers exploring the theme, “Women in the Early Church.” Our first paper was based on the archaeological research of Dr. Carina Prestes—who presented content from her book, Excavating Women: The Archaeology of Leaders in Early Christianity.[3] Carina showed how the archaeological evidence that identified women’s leadership in pre-Christian catacombs, were the same markers used to honor women leading churches as deacons, priests, and bishops in the early Christian centuries. Following this fascinating lecture and slideshow, Rev. Dr. Aída Besançon Spencer explored the New Testament content for “Women Elders at Crete.” Dr. Lynn Cohick followed with the archaeological and written evidence of “Women Deacons and the Council of Nicaea.” Lastly, Dr. John Herbst considered how “Jesus Reframes daikon in Acts 6 & Luke 22:26.” In addition to co-moderating the invited papers on women in the early Church, Dr. Cynthia Long Westfall and I also moderated four exegetical papers sponsored by Evangelicals and Women. Both sessions were well attended and allowed time for thoughtful questions from the audience. If you are interested in hearing these presentations, all ETS papers are recorded and available for purchase at https://www.wordmp3.com.
At this year’s ETS, CBE hosted several community meals to catch up with local friends, CBE supporters, and ETS colleagues. At one meal-gathering, we had the pleasure of meeting a new friend and contributor to a significant forthcoming title, edited by myself and Revd. Drs. Aída and Bill Spencer. Given this year’s ETS was held in Boston, we met for lunch and dinner, enjoying Boston’s famous sourdough rolls and lobster bisque. Their flavor lifted our spirits and sustained our bodies over three long days at ETS.
During the ETS Business meeting, we welcomed the happy news that ETS has confirmed their second woman president, Dr. Gwenfair Walters Adam—a Cambridge PhD, church historian, and faculty member at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS). Her academic leadership at GCTS, coupled with her appointment as the second woman president of ETS, added momentous joy to women and egalitarians well beyond the conference. Imagine the delight as we ended this historic ETS business meeting now with a second woman leading our society, founded in 1949. While Dr. Karen H. Jobes served as the first woman president of ETS in 2024, CBE’s research shows that ten years prior, only 7 percent of ETS members were women.[4] While a new survey is needed, based on my observations of this year’s meeting, the number of women attending sessions, presenting papers, or attending this year’s ETS women’s gathering was slightly more than 30 percent of all ETS attendees.[5]
On the last day, I read a paper for a new ETS study group themed, “Public Theology.” Titled, “A Crisis of Truth, Shared Values, Integrity and Humility: Wisdom from Francis Collins,” my paper considered how Dr. Collins offers a practical model to test what theologians call “epistemology”—how we know what we know. My session concluded with observations from a geneticist who collaborated with Francis Collins. Dr. Ming Tong not only offered meaningful, relatable content on the topic, Ming will also contribute to a vital book project on biblical marriage edited by myself and Aída and Bill Spencer, titled When the Tent Is Too Wide.
The delight evident in ETS presentations, social gatherings, and book projects represents the joy of serving Christ with the unique gifts God gives every Christian to fulfill Christ’s purposes in families, churches, and communities worldwide. ETS’s annual gatherings call us together as the body of Christ, in the vital ministry of restoring the theological veracity needed in healing and strengthening families, churches, and organizations. This year’s collective joy reached significant heights well beyond the ranks of CBE, as we collaborated with international Christians who share the same vision and bring their unique skills to achieve the important goals, each in their own discipline, like friends at IVP Academic, Baker Academic, and Wipf and Stock publishing.
As you read this year’s ETS recap, please pray for ETS staff (like Bonnie) who work so hard to make each convention smooth and especially useful to the global church. Please also pray for ETS members newly introduced to CBE; for those in difficult marriages, churches, and organizations; and for those creating needed resources and events on crucial topics to grow human flourishing. Pray especially for CBE staff as they devote hundreds of hours planning, prepping, packing, and presenting the very best CBE resources for ETS members. Add to this the many hours CBE’s community spends preparing content for ETS sessions and for social gatherings at ETS host cities. May Christ guide CBE resources in addressing questions and needs on women and Scripture among the ETS community going forward.
CBE’s egalitarian advocacy at ETS requires months of staff time and incurs significant expenses such as travel, housing, food, printing, shipping, and costs of our ETS booth. We also share costs with IVP related to the ETS luncheon. The total cost is $34,382. Your donation ensures that egalitarian theology—affirming God’s gifts and callings to women at any level—is heard at ETS where so much global faith takes shape. Give securely online at cbe.today/ets or by clicking the button below.
Notes
[1] Isaiah 1:18.
[2] “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).
[3] Dr. Prestes will lead a 2027 archaeological tour of Italy, exploring women’s leadership in pre and early Christianity. Contact CBE for details.
[4] See “A Question Mark Over My Head: Experiences of Women ETS Members at the 2014 ETS Annual Meeting,” by Emily Zimbrick Rogers.
[5] ETS does not track the number of women attending their annual convention.