I am not a non-essential doctrine. Neither are you. We are breathing, living representatives of the Creator whom I call God.
“Why not just leave and find a church that does practice equality and let go of all this hollering?” some have asked. “Why focus your energy on this?”
Keep reading …Pam Hogeweide writes that the issue of women in the church is not an issue of theology, but an issue of justice.
Keep reading …Pam Hogeweide writes an Unladylike Manifesto in response to The True Woman Manifesto
Keep reading …Why did I write Unladylike? I call complementarianism Christianized sexism.
Keep reading …Pam Hogeweide spoke about Unladylike at The Refuge
Keep reading …rachel held evans likes unladylike
Keep reading …Several times at one of my Women’s Listening Parties theological concepts have been brought up. I noticed that women hung on to the edge of their seats as they learned that the Bible is actually brimming with theological messaging that affirms a woman’s full personhood. The Word of God apparently is not sexist after all! So a few months ago I began thinking about pulling together a Womens Theology Camp, a concentrated time together of women learning about a theology for themselves from other women. My first one, hosted coincidentally during a Super moon cycle on Saturday night, went way beyond … Keep reading …
I had an opportunity to hear Pulitzer prize winning journalist Nick Kristof speak last night at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, just an hour drive south from my home in Portland. At the invitation of my new friend Diana. I attended his lecture with another friend from Portland. Nick Kristof is best known for his most recent book which he co-wrote with his wife. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide has received widespread acclaim and has raised awareness about the struggles of women in the developing world. If you’ve read my blog very much, you know I … Keep reading …
A quote from Unladylike: Resisting the Injustice of Inequality in the Church (page 144) This quote is dedicated to the women who quietly commit subversive acts in the story they find themselves in. Much like Katniss in The Hunger Games, there is a growing company of women who are becoming agitated within their faith tribes as they realize that women are sidelined. I think this agitation will continue to grow until we see women and men joined together in the fullness of collaboration and equality within the global tribe known as The Body of Christ.
My friend Tiffany posted this on her Facebook a while back. It is from Father Bob, who adapted this look at male privilege from a tool used to help recognize white privilege. You can access that link HERE. 1. If I wish, I can arrange to be in the company of my gender most of the time. 2. When I am told about our national heritage or about “civilization,” I am shown that people of my gender made it what it is. 3. I can be quite sure of having my voice heard in the group in which I am the only member … Keep reading …
W hen I was in middle school and high school I played the trombone. I was a good horn player and had even earned my way into the city’s high school honor band. But in my own school band I held second chair. The first chair trombone player was a boy. My mom recently reminded me that I didn’t want to challenge him for first chair since I thought a boy ought to hold it, even though I was a better player than he was. Somehow I got the courage and finally challenged this boy for the first chair. … Keep reading …
**The following excerpt is from my new book, Unladylike: Resisting the Injustice of Inequality in the Church available now at Amazon in print and on Kindle. This excerpt comes from Chapter Five, The Bible Tells Me So {Part One} : The Search for Biblical Equality*** I’ve been involved in discussions and debates about the issue of gender equality in the church for more than twenty years. I’ve been on both sides of the issue, having once been a devout evangelical woman who was desperate to please God and gain and keep the approval of the men and women around me, … Keep reading …
Unladylike officially launches on Monday, January 23!! Here’s a book trailer my friend Craig Spinks of Recycle Your Faith produced for it. Craig was able to include the voices of some of the women who attend my Women’s Listening Parties which adds so much more depth to the promo. He absolutely captures my voice and the message of Unladylike. Feel free to share this book trailer on your blogs, Facebook page, by email or any other social media. Help me spread the word!
Vague understanding becomes the murky curtain by whichtrue equality is trapped behind. Pam Hogeweide
The first resistance to social change is to say it’s not necessary. — Gloria Steinem Late last night after I got home from a typical shift at the hospital, I switched on the tv and lo and behold, a HBO documentary was airing about an iconic American woman who’s influence in the struggle for gender equality cannot be understated. Gloria Steinem is a name that I’ve heard tossed around for decades. Within the evangelical circles I’ve run with in the past, her voice and influence were viewed as the devil’s work. I’ve honestly avoided her because I was conditioned to not … Keep reading …
Over the weekend I was fortunate enough to make it to the Saturday sessions for the Christians for Biblical Equality conference in nearby Seattle, Washington. CBE is an international organization devoted to promoting equality and mutuality between men and women. They have a robust website filled with resources such as scholarly biblical articles that show how the Bible is not sexist after all and that God (nor Paul) are misogynistic. I was so surprised by how many internationals were among the 200 or so attendees. I heard people speaking in Chinese and Spanish and there were several brothers present who … Keep reading …
T-shirt available HERE “The courts overturned the legality of same-sex marriage,” said the young woman in conversation with me about gay rights. “I watched how it hurt my mom and her partner…” her voice paused as tears filled her eyes, “It hurt me, too. They love each other and they just want the same rights as other couples.” As the words tumbled out of her, I flash-backed to 2004. The battle for DOMA raged across Oregon and much of the nation (DOMA = Defense of Marriage Act). The faith circles I ran with at that time raged back. I was … Keep reading …
Discovered this image at Critical Discipleship who blogged a great post about complementarianism. I wrote a post a long while back titled Complementarianism Sucks: Telling Women to be Quiet in the Name of Jesus. It’s a collection of excerpts from other bloggers about the subjugation of women in the modern Christian church as I was participating in a synchroblog, which is when a bunch of bloggers all blog on the same topic. Every now and then a reader will stumble through my blog and leave a comment on this post, reminding me that the issue of women and men and equality is … Keep reading …
When I was in Montgomery, AL recently for my grandmother’s funeral, I had a chance to visit the Rosa Parks Museum with my daughter, mother and my sister. It was a rich two-hour history lesson as we watched a video and viewed artifacts, phởtos and documents from that time. Rosa Parks was not the first Black woman to act up on a bus during the years of segregation, but she was timely and she was connected. Rosa, aged 42, was a civil rights activist and was the secretary of a civil rights organization in Montgomery. When she was arrested they were … Keep reading …
What if women stopped being polite about the whole inequity deal in many Christian settings and took aim and threw great, big rocks at that pretty stained-glass ceiling aka as complementarianism. This is a fancy theological word that simple means Women remain relegated to certain roles. Period. Many Christians feel safe and comfy with this position because it seems so nice and moderate. “Women and men are equal,” they insist, “it’s just that women have certain roles and so do men. As women can’t be fathers and men can’t be mothers, so women have limitations on certain roles within the body … Keep reading …