Study Conference: Women in Pastoral Ministry

The U.S. Board of Faith and Life (BFL) will host a study conference to discuss what God’s Word says about women in ministry Jan. 14-16, 2019, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Phoenix Tempe in Tempe, Arizona.

The objective of the study conference is to study God’s Word and to listen collectively to the Holy Spirit regarding the issue and to be faithful to the promise of additional study and conversation made decades ago by delegates to the national convention, says BFL chair Tim Sullivan.

Topics of discussion include how the New Testament church handled controversial issues; a historical overview of how Mennonite Brethren have dealt with the issue; theological arguments for the different positions; as well as prayer, table conversations and listening to the Holy Spirit.

Speakers include: Larry Martens, former president of Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary and pastor; Craig Keener, professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary; James R. Beck, editor of Two Views of Women in Ministry; Michelle Lee-Barnewall, author of Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective to the Gender Debate; Doug Heidebrecht, director of Global Training at MB Biblical Seminary in Canada; and Valerie Rempel, Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary dean; with others yet to be named.

The event is open to anyone who call a Mennonite Brethren church home, Sullivan says.

“This is an open invitation to anyone and everyone who would like to learn more about what the Bible says regarding this issue,” Sullivan says. “It is also an encouragement to come and participate in the way in which our faith family works at theological issues by going directly to the Bible to seek answers and understanding and listening together to the Holy Spirit.”

Cost to attend the event is yet to be determined.

The BFL welcomes the USMB national family to begin praying for this time together at the study conference.

*This article first appeared in the Christian Leader. See original article here.