Finally a book that deconstructs the quiet, simpleton wife as the apex of feminine godliness!
Month: September 2008
Womanly Dominion
Mark Chanski has a new book out: Womanly Dominion: More Than a Gentle and Quiet Spirit.
The false stereotype of a Christian woman being a helpless and frail mouse, who passively shades herself under the parasol of her soft femininity, and adoringly waits for her husband to do all the heavy lifting, is shattered by the Scriptures.
Yes, the godly Christian woman wears beautiful ornaments that are “precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4b). But her jewelry is not only the necklace of “a gentle and quiet spirit” (1 Peter 3:4a), but also the bracelets of “strength and dignity” (Proverbs 31:17, 25).
Women, just like men, are called to the grand and challenging mission of subduing and ruling in their God-assigned spheres of life — in personal godliness, in emotional resilience, in marital life, in motherhood, in the church, in the public square. That’s what we explore in Womanly Dominion.
HT:JT
U2 Conference
May 13-15 2009, an academic conference on U2 will be held in New York: U2: The Hype and the Feedback
Scholars, teachers, students, journalists, clergy, musicians and intellectually curious U2 fans: for more than 30 years, U2 has asked us to look at the world, wrestle with ourselves and then dream out loud. From “I Will Follow” and “Running to Stand Still,” to “The Wanderer,” “Walk On,” and “One Step Closer,” U2 has charted the human heart and the ways of the world, calling out some of their more dynamic points of intersection. While doing so, they have created what Bruce Springsteen described as “some of the most beautiful sonic architecture in rock and roll.”
JR Woodward Talks to Austin Planters
Here are some tidbits from JR’s conversation with Austin planters.
JR Woodward on developing missional core teams that are comprised of migrant people. His LA team was composed of white people from Virginia:
- Know the city.
- Care for the team. As people arrive to your city, help them transition into new life, new friends, new jobs, etc.
- Unlearn church. Help people transition from going to church to being the church. To be a people who bring heaven on earth. To be a people who cultivate community outside of meetings.
JR has also developed a five-fold leadership paradigm (along Eph 4), with each leader focusing on two destinations (see descriptions here). His five equippers and ten destinations are used as a lens for him to identify, assess, and cultivate leaders. I got the sense that they aren’t roles that people sign up for. Rather, this paradigm helps him identify and release the gift-offices of the church to the church for the city.
JR will be releasing a book on this stuff called Re-sketching the Church in 2009. Here is an endorsement of the forthcoming book:
“That we need to recover the lost ministry ethos embedded in Ephesians 4, I have no doubt – the missional effectiveness of the church in our time depends to a large degree on this. JR is a sound, practical, and uncommonly wise, guide on this topic and one with ample practical experience in planting churches and leading ministry with the fivefold gifting in mind. A great study guide.” – Alan Hirsch, Author of The Forgotten Ways and The Shaping of Things to Come.