Holiness, Women, and the Church with Carla Sunberg

Dr. Sunberg highlighted the overarching biblical (prescriptive and descriptive) texts supporting women’s shared leadership such as: Genesis 1:26–30, and Galatians 3:28, and Romans 16:1–16. These texts are the “rings that rule overall rings” to use a JRR Tolkien image. Even more, throughout Scripture we see, the power of the Holy Spirit empowering, guiding, encouraging women leaders. Paul’s Gospel vision clearly includes women as part of the Great Commission, to share Jesus with the entire world. Phoebe’s leadership cited in Romans 16:1–2 implemented Paul’s vision. Paul’s vision of church planting takes shape and flourishes beside his female workers, like Junia, Phoebe, and Priscilla. While many Christians tend to gloss over these details, they are crucial in planting, serving, and leading churches today.     Carla addressed “the sociology of Scripture” which includes both biblical manhood and biblical womanhood as partners in the Gospel, not adversaries. Supremely, Proverbs 31 celebrates God’s ideal or vision for woman—one of gift-based ministry and service not limited by gender.  Referencing Dr. Ben Witherington, biblical patriarchy, is an exegete without clothes.   Citing an extensive history noting the steady growth of women leaders/pastors in the Wesleyan Holiness church that began initially with only 2% women, to now 20% of clergy are women in the Church of the Nazarenewhich Carla is a member. Carla and discussed meeting this year, in person for the first time, during the recent Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy Conference held in Minneapolis. This event aimed at supporting women clergy and CBE was invited to join in to support their inter-racial, international women’s leadership which parallels that of CBE’s ministry.   We ended by discussing the needs women clergy have for flexibility given all they manage in their lives. women need support for the many responsibilities of being a Christian mother, wife, pastor, scholar, etc. Often these women are a minority serving beside men who have centuries of traditions supporting male-leaders. We ended in prayer. This was indeed an information, wisdom, holiness packed podcast!!  Books Carla has contributed to:  Viewing the whole sweep of scripture, Carla edited the book: Faithful to the Call, Women in Ministry. She wrote, The Christian Life: A Nazarene Perspective and Why Holiness?: The Transformational Message That Unites Us and Teach us to Pray: What We can Learn from Scripture.      Carla coauthored, Reclaiming Eve: The Identity and Calling of Women in the Kingdom of God; Color: God’s Intention for Diversity; The Cappadocian Mothers: Deification Exemplified in the Writings of Basil, Gregory and Gregory; Uncommon Virtues: Seven Saints Who shaped our Faith; Reflecting the Image: Our Call to Mirror Christ to the World, and Pulling Back the Curtain on the Former Soviet Union.