Building Global Partnership
at CBE's International Symposium in Durham, England.
By Chelsea DeArmond
The International Symposium in Durham, England was truly a milestone
in CBE's journey toward building global partnerships for biblical
equality. This Fall we co-sponsored the event with the British
organizations Men, Women and God (MWG; also active in India) and Women
and the Church (WATCH).
The event was hosted on the campus of St. John's College at the
University of Durham. The campus is mostly comprised of a row of
Georgian houses that were connected to form a single building. Since the
floors of each house are at different levels, staircases meet at odd
angles and doors lead to unexpected locations where the buildings
connect.
Though this feature made finding our way around campus a little more complicated, it also added to the structure's charm. St. John's College was a wonderful setting for the many connections that were made, in which people came together from different contexts around the world, creating new angles of insight and opening doors to new opportunities.
Diverse symposium sessions share commitment to biblical equality
We were blessed to have N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham, speak at our symposium. Though Bishop Wright was busy presiding over the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the translation of St. Cuthbert's relics to Durham Cathedral, he still committed to speaking at our symposium that same evening. N. T. Wright is an example of a world-renowned scholar who is also deeply committed to service in the Church.
The symposium sessions were marked by their scholarship, diversity and commitment to biblical views of men and women in ministry together. N. T. Wright captured the essence of this commitment when he said, "We've got to get back to the biblical model in order to move forward in the love of God," at the close of his general session on "The Biblical Basis for Women's Service in the Church."
Other general session speakers also modeled this commitment from different perspectives. Esther Reed's session explored how Esther's story offers us an example of how the Bible makes clear distinctions between authority and authoritarian abuses such as patriarchy and legalism.
David Instone-Brewer showed how early Christians largely adopted
Aristotle's household code in order to win more people to Christ. But as
the New Testament shows, they also made important changes that
introduced greater mutuality in relationships that were otherwise
exclusively hierarchical.
Elaine Storkey surveyed the status of Christian women in the church over
the last twenty years. Along the way she highlighted how excluding women
from leadership roles in the church damages our mission. She showed how
far women and men have to go, but also how far we have come together.
The last general session was full of wisdom and humor from Michele
Guinness's experience as a woman who fulfills her responsibilities in
the home and workplace with skill, wit and trust in God.
The workshop sessions were also full of biblical, theological and pastoral resources from around the world. For the first time, CBE is able to offer DVD, CD, and MP3 recordings of the sessions from our symposium. Our I.T. Coordinator, Nathan St. Clair traveled to Durham and worked tirelessly to record the sessions, and generous donations enabled us to purchase a duplicator when we returned.
Though it has taken longer than we anticipated to make the recordings available, we are excited about the quality of the results. We're also excited about how these recordings can help spread to message of biblical equality. For example, we were able to give copies of N. T. Wright's general session to scholars at the Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting who teach in seminaries and colleges around the U.S.
Symposium offers opportunity to form global partnerships
Syamson Roberts and other delegates from India began advocating for the Christian women who ministed in their country as soon as they arrived at the symposium. Ellen Alexander and Beulah Wood led a workshop session on "Helping Christians Set Trends for Oppressed Women in India" that also helped raise awareness the tremendous struggles women face in India. CBE was eager to learn more about what we could do to help.
Mimi Haddad strategized with Indian delegates at the symposium about the possibility of partnering with them to help resource the women and men who have suffered so much together for the sake of the Gospel. These discussions continued throughout the symposium and have now grown into a plan to gather at the South Asia Institute of Advanced Christian Studies (SAIACS) in Bangalore, India for the 2006 International Symposium. We are very excited about this new opportunity to support women in ministry in a context where their gifts are so desperately needed.
The planning for the 2006 International Symposium is just one example of
many important connections that were made at the symposium in Durham.
Ministry leaders from around the world met and discussed ways they could
work together to help men and women use the gifts God has given them.
For example, Medad Birungi (Uganda), Anne Mikkola (Finland) and Patti
Ricotta (U.S.) laid the groundwork for a conference on biblical equality
in Uganda in January 2005. Mimi was also able to meet with Lily Lee and
other Chinese Christian leaders to plan their important role in CBE's
9th International Conference in St. Davids, Pennsylvania (see pg. 32 for
more information).
Christians from around the world returned to their communities encouraged by the connections they made at the conference and the resources they brought home with them. One woman from Finland commented that, "Most wonderful were the meetings with the revolutionaries from India, Uganda, Bulgaria, Germany, US and the contacts that were made. To be in the atmosphere where so many people share the mission was something I have never imagined would feel this good." Another woman from Tasmania said, "The people I met and the inspiration given by the presenters have given me hope and vision for the church in Australia."
However, a delegate from Singapore reminded us of the greater challenges that come along with the blessing of building global partnerships in ministry: "…it was difficult to assimilate with the predominantly American/British participants. I believe Asian women and churches face rather different issues-at least in terms of where we are in our personal history and the history of the churches we represent."
The range of issues women and churches face differs greatly across the globe. The symposium in Durham was a very significant milestone in CBE's journey toward building global partnerships, and we are eager to continue learning and growing in this area. As we step out in faith together, God is faithful to guide us to new levels and open new doors of opportunity.
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