Ever wondered why the "women in ministry" issue is such a big deal for so many Christians?

Well I sure have. The Issue seems to pop out out of nowhere sometimes, but it always rises up with vehemence and strong opinion. I'm the first to admit that it's a hot button issue for me -- it strikes too close to home for my responses to be anything less than passionate when The Issue comes up -- and I have to be really careful that to season my passion carefully with love, compassion, and respect for those who disagree with me.

How did the interrelated Issues of women in ministry, the ordination of women, and male headship become such a big deal for the American church? While I'm sure that some might reply, "because defending biblical truth [in my experience, this usually means a complementarian perspective of some sort] is of the utmost importance!", I just don't think it's quite that simple. Why THIS battle with this amount of energy?

Scot McKnight has some thought-provoking thoughts on this subject. Rather than me summarizing his excellent blog post, read the whole thing here. And if you have the time, click on the category "Women in Ministry" and check out some of his other postings on The Issue. You won't be sorry you did.

Side note: Scot McKnight's blog, Jesus Creed, is well worth exploring for its intriguing discussions and interesting posts, even if you couldn't care less about The Issue mentioned in this post.