35: WHERE EVANGELICAL FEMINISM ALREADY HAS INFLUENCE 259viewpoint, at least according to their 2004 “Lausanne Occasional
Paper No. 53: Empowering Women and Men to Use Their Gifts
Together in Advancing the Gospel.”^5 The paper was edited by Alvera
Mickelsen, founding chair of the board of Christians for Biblical
Equality, and includes significant contributions from egalitarian author
Kevin Giles and CBE executive director Mimi Haddad, but no input
from complementarian writers. Sadly, the authors did not deem it nec-
essary even to give readers access to an alternative position: the bibli-
ography given “for further reading” (106-107) lists over twenty
evangelical feminist books, but not one complementarian book, and
only the CBE website is given for more information (108, 112). When
the complementarian position is summarized in eight points (92-93),
the paper makes such absurd statements as the claim that the comple-
mentarian view of men and women is “completely novel” (92) and that
“Never before in the history of the church has anyone suggested that
this is what the Bible teaches” (93).
Among denominations that are not already egalitarian, there are
strong egalitarian components in the Baptist General Conference and the
Association of Vineyard Churches,^6 and among large numbers of inde-
pendent charismatic churches. In addition, evangelical feminism is the
only position allowed at Willow Creek Community Church, and it is
strongly promoted through the Willow Creek Association.
But the fountainhead of all evangelical feminist influence is the orga-
nization Christians for Biblical Equality, based in Minneapolis.
One telltale sign that a church or organization is moving in an egal-
itarian direction is often the use of a gender-neutral Bible (such as the
(^5) Accessed June 23, 2006 at http://www.lausanne.org/lcwe/assets/LOP53_IG24.pdf.
(^6) More specifically, about five years ago the Board of Directors of the Association of Vineyard
Churches agreed that the question of the ordination of women “should be settled in each local
church as they endeavor to live under the Lordship of Jesus Christ” (see
http://www.vineyardusa.org/publications/positionpapers.aspx, accessed 6-23-06). But then in early
2006 the board adopted guidelines that will likely begin to force complementarian pastors out
of the denomination. The guidelines say, “Those who do not believe women should be senior
pastors should not show disrespect to women speakers or women pastors in any of the gath-
erings. They should bless these women.. .” (quoted in Jeff Robinson, “Vineyard Ministries
Moves Toward Accepting Both Views of Female Pastors,” May 16, 2006, at http://www.gender-
news.com/article.php?id=121, accessed 6/23/06). It will be difficult for people who think
women pastors are disobeying God by serving as pastors to “bless” them in that activity. How
can I in good conscience bless someone who I think is directly disobeying God’s Word? This
is the most recent example of a pattern in which the evangelical feminist view first seeks accep-
tance as a permitted option but soon moves to exclude all other views.