24th March, 2006

LLOYD HARKNESS

Women, Leadership & the Church
Jim Reiher
Published by Acorn Press Limited
ISBN 0 908284 53 5

"Women, Leadership & the Church is a good short read with a call to recognise the leadership, gifts and talents God has given to women in His church for His glory."

Does the Bible present a set of guidelines for women, different to those for men, on ministry opportunities and leadership responsibilities in the church?

According to Jim Reiher the answer is no and his avowed task in writing this short book is to win the "diehards" who cling to a tradition rather than the scripture.

Let's "look again", says Reiher, at the foundational texts on men and women, the verses that are timeless and the verses that address local or situational issues.

He identifies Genesis 1, Acts 2 and Galatians 3 as "foundational moments" because they deal with "the start of humanity, the start of the New Covenant and the explanation of the gospel". In each of these chapters God's heart for men and women to be equal in "worth" and in "the function of rulership" are evident.

Explanations are offered for key words and phrases, such as Paul's reference to women being "silent" in church and Peter's line that women are the "weaker sex", with keen insight to the cultural situations being addressed.

The book is neatly packaged into 22 short chapters that don't become bogged down with too many references to other public figures and writers on the topic.

An added feature is that for two key sections of scripture, 1 Corinthians 10:31-11:17 and 1 Timothy 2:8-15, the reader is given an Amplified Bible style of translation which helps maintain a flow and integrity to the position Reiher presents.

In mid-March Reiher wrote an adaptation of Chapter 6 on "Why didn't Jesus make women apostles"? for Sight. He argued men were the only accepted legal witnesses of the day and that Jesus testimony was the more credible because these twelve sons of Jacob, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, stood as the "trademark" of the greater New Covenant. This article will give you a taste of his writing style.

Women, Leadership & the Church is a good short read with a call to recognise the leadership, gifts and talents God has given to women in His church for His glory.