Stimulate your thinking about local church life.
The Role of Women in the Local Church by David Gilliland is a cautious little book. Brother Gilliland has two objectives: to refute current feminist influences, and to be a wise encourager to Christian women in their God-given roles. Reading it, no one can say that among conservative Christians the extent of legitimate ministry for women is limited to preparing the tea, so that the big men can sit and discuss the real issues of the day.
Gilliland gives a few brief examples; he is not exhaustive. We could stand more of this sort of teaching. We would welcome hearing a bit more about the speaking of Anna in the temple to all those who looked for redemption in Israel, or the query of the Samaritan woman to the men of the city, “Come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is this not the Christ?” or the teaching of Priscilla and Aquilla to Apollos. How do these passages size up with 1 Timothy 2:11-12? Evidently Anna, the Samaritan woman and Priscilla were not usurping authority. Rather they appear to be speaking as oracles of God (1 Pet. 4:11).
To charge the New Testament as biased against women is false. The gospel has been the greatest women’s liberation movement the world has ever seen. Remove the gospel and mankind is led in a downward spiral ending in perversion and loss of dignity.
The Role of Women in the Local Church by David Gilliland (John Richie, 32 pp.).
Loizeaux has issued Understanding the Church, compiled and edited by Joseph M. Vogl and John H. Fish III, a symposium of messages delivered in St. Louis, MO in 1997. David MacLeod has a vital opening chapter on the Primacy of Scripture and the Church.
I found most helpful Jack Spender’s chapter on The Autonomy of Local Churches and Alexander Strauch’s balancing final chapter on The Interdependence of Local Churches. Spender and Strauch’s articles could be issued as a booklet. A better understanding of Scripture on this issue of relationships between nearby assemblies could help cool off many a hot potato.
One unfortunate remark in this book is Charles T. Grant’s statement on page 70. In his message Grant takes several pages to discuss the identity of the rock on which the Church is built (Mt. 16:18). As he sums up the varying views, he says, “Nevertheless, the Roman Catholic view is surely correct in identifying Peter as the rock in verse 18 upon which the church is built.” Is that surely correct? I wish that was a typo, not what Mr. Grant really said.
We know one Greek student who arrived at a different conclusion. His name was Peter, and he tells us how he understood Jesus’ words when he wrote his first epistle (1 Pet. 2:4-8).
Understanding the Church: The Biblical Ideal for the 21st Century, compiled and edited by Joseph M. Vogl and John H. Fish III (Loizeaux, 235 pp.).
Church Symbols for Today is a thoughtful book. It is readable, and thorough. Brother Gourlay refers to the obvious NT symbols and then focuses in a sustained way on baptism, the headcovering, and the bread and wine. Church Symbols will not displace A. P. Gibbs’ classic books on Christian Baptism and The Lord’s Supper, but it deserves to be read.
Elders who have often hashed over practical issues related to these ordinances will enjoy Gourlay’s conversational writing style. The author states his opinions but is not dogmatic on matters that are not so plainly stated in Scripture. You will enjoy his honesty. He does not write a book to bolster the party line. It was refreshing to me to see the dust blown off some old notions.
Gourlay does not always state his proof texts (perhaps in the next edition). He writes for the Christian familiar with the pertinent passages.
The book is not parochial. It is the kind of book you can recommend. Joseph Hewitt of the Evangelical Times says about Church Symbols for Today, “I warmly welcome this book. I applaud the author’s aims and thank God for his ‘fresh’ approach, which is not sectarian but scriptural. I urge all churches to buy a copy to pass around the members. In that way perhaps the matter of headcovering and headship will cease to be the ‘Cinderella subject of the New Testament.’”
Church Symbols for Today, by Norman J. Gourlay, md, (Walterick, 313 pp.).