Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women, by Carolyn Custis James
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Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women, by Carolyn Custis James
Free Ebook PDF Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women, by Carolyn Custis James
Women comprise at least half the world, and usually more than half the church, but so often Christian teaching to women either fails to move beyond a discussion of roles or assumes a particular economic situation or stage of life. This all but shuts women out from contributing to God’s kingdom as they were designed to do. Furthermore, the plight of women in the Majority World demands a Christian response, a holistic embrace of all that God calls women and men to be in his world.
The loudest voices speaking into women’s lives in the twenty-first century thus far come from either fundamentalist Islam or radical feminism. And neither can be allowed to carry the day.
The Bible contains the highest possible view of women and invests women’s lives with cosmic significance regardless of their age, stage of life, social status, or culture. Carolyn Custis James unpacks three transformative themes the Bible presents to women that raise the bar for women and calls them to join their brothers in advancing God’s gracious kingdom on earth. These new images of what can be in Christ free women to embrace the life God gives them, no matter what happens. Carolyn encourages readers with a positive, kingdom approach to the changes, challenges, and opportunities facing women throughout the world today.
Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women, by Carolyn Custis James- Amazon Sales Rank: #280088 in Books
- Brand: James, Carolyn Custis
- Published on: 2015-06-02
- Released on: 2015-06-02
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.39" h x .59" w x 5.47" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 208 pages
From the Back Cover "Carolyn Custis James has written an unusual and compelling book, mixing her personal story with the dramatic changes in today's world and her thoughtful interpretations of the Scriptures and how women can respond with greater fervor to the Bible's call for change and betterment of the world." --Sheryl WuDunn, co-author of Half the Sky "Half the Church is a significant contribution to the current public discourse of the role and responsibility of the church in responding to the suffering of millions of women and girls due to oppressive cultural and traditional norms. In her excellent book, Carolyn James reminds us of the urgent need for action in order to protect girls and women from gender-based violence and cultural practices such as trafficking, forced child-marriage, gang rapes, abduction, infanticide, and female genital mutilation." --Fatuma Hashi, Director, Gender and Development World Vision International "Carolyn Custis James combines passion for the suffering women of our world with rigorous biblical observation and exegesis. The result is a prophetic word that challenges both our apathy and ignorance in the face of terrifying facts, and our theological shallowness in the face of abundant biblical teaching. The title and subtitle only tell half the story. For this is a book for the whole church and urges us to see God's global vision for men and women. Half the church badly needs to think again about the message of this book. So does the other half. Otherwise both halves are the tragic losers." --Christopher J. H. Wright, International Director The Langham Partnership International"With the care of an experienced scout, Carolyn James has lined the fire pit with stones, then assembled the kindling and logs, and in the final chapters of this remarkable book has struck the match to ignite a blaze for God and his kingdom. No thoughtful Christian woman can walk away from this book unchallenged or unmoved, as she senses the glory of her ezer-warrior calling. Nor can any thoughtful Christian man remain unmoved by the vision of the Blessed Alliance so skillfully sketched in these pages. The challenge of Half the Church is to the whole church to fulfill God's purpose in creating all of us as iconoclastic bearers of the divine image in a broken world." --Alice Mathews, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary "Carolyn Custis James expertly weaves contemporary reality with biblical story. Reaching into the Old Testament as well as the New, Carolyn shows that God has always been and continues to be at work through women and girls. They are, like men and boys, His image bearers. This book should open the eyes of everyone who takes Jesus seriously to the horrendous injustices against women around the world and provoke within us a serious drive to do something about it. The day is near (and I believe this book will help usher it in) when the church will be a significant cultural catalyst for bringing equality and dignity to women and girls around the world by providing education, empowering women with microloans, and liberating them from oppressive regimes, sex trafficking circles, and secular philosophies that are ultimately degrading to them. It is time for the other half of the church, men, to be strong and courageous and do all we can with all we have to bring divine freedom to women and girls so they can be all that God created them to be." --Mark L. Russell, coauthor, Routes and Radishes "Once again Carolyn Custis James calls us to radical thinking and living. Half the Church opens our eyes to the global problems facing women, drives us to God as the only solution, and refreshes our passion that we can 'do something.' And the writer in me loves Carolyn's exquisite phrases and vibrant images. This book is a must-read and I will be giving it to many people." --Judy Douglass, Director of Women's Resources Campus Crusade "With hope, beauty, and clarity of vision, Carolyn Custis James takes a megaphone to the biblical call to mobilize justice on behalf of those who suffer violent injustice in our world today. She argues that all in the Body of Christ are God's image bearers, called to be used by God in restoring His image in those who have been most deeply stripped of the freedom and dignity intended for them. We are more aware of the scope of violent injustice in our world today than in any other time of human history; brutal abuse is committed against our neighbors-- neighbors next door and neighbors across the globe. Carolyn calls the whole Church to see the opportunity at hand--to rise up, together, and make God's justice and restoration known." --Bethany H. Hoang, Director of the IJM Institute INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE MISSION "In Half the Church, Carolyn Custis James offers a striking theology as to why men and women are called to live and lead together. Her insightful, integrated and unapologetic plea leaves us with no option but to get on with it ... all of us ... men and women together urgently working for God's best in this world." --Elisa Morgan, author, speaker, and publisher of FullFill
About the Author
Carolyn Custis James (MA, Biblical Studies) travels extensively as a popular speaker for women's conferences, churches, colleges, seminaries, and other Christian organizations. Her ministry organization, WhitbyForum, promotes thoughtful biblical discussion to help men and women serve God together. Carolyn founded and is president of the Synergy Women’s Network. She is a consulting editor for Zondervan's Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament and author of When Life and Beliefs Collide and Lost Women of the Bible. Carolyn and her husband live in Sellersville, Pennsylvania. They have one grown daughter.
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful. well-written, thought-provoking call for women to rise to the call of investing in kingdom objectives By R. Hayton Many books are written to inform. Of those, several aim to change the reader's opinion of the given topic. Only a few succeed in forcing the reader to rethink previous assumptions and actually see the world through an entirely new perspective. It takes a special talent to draw a reader out of their shell and get them to really engage with the vision the author is struggling to convey.In "Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women", Carolyn Custis James gives us a book of this exceedingly rare kind. She has a burden to share and she draws the reader in and delivers her message well. Her book is a riveting account of the trials of women in today's world and a passionate plea aimed primarily at women, to take up the call and make their lives count for the kingdom of God.Carolyn Custis James builds a case on the creation story of man and women being joint image-bearers for God called to subdue His world. She approaches the text with insight from studying today's patriarchal societies of the Middle East. Her insight into the first few chapters of Genesis, the tales of Ruth and Esther and to several stories in the New Testament is alone worth the price of getting this book. She brings a fresh perspective and makes these passages come alive, yet she is not offering an innovative rewrite that unfaithfully handles God's Word.This book awakened in me a new awareness of the horrible prejudice and persecution women around the world endure. In India, girls between 1 and 5 are twice as likely to die as boys. They die of neglect and deprivation -- no one cares for girls. And if they do make it into the young teenage years, they are open to being trafficked as a way to get rid of them. The fathers make a little bit of money out of it and get rid of the disgrace that is their daughter. The girls are abused in horrific ways. Not just India, in China a father is quoted as saying, "We don't have to have daughters anymore!" This is his exclamation upon learning of technology that enables sex-selective abortion.With the backdrop of such a world-wide low view of women, the author approaches the state of women in today's church. She argues that too often our message for women only applies if they have a husband and children, and if their husband is living (or hasn't left them). We ignore other women, and more than 50% of women are not in this class. She doesn't denigrate motherhood, but she challenges us to see that being a woman is so much more than just having a motherhood role.She stops short of openly challenging a complementarian position. Her message actually is worth listening to, by people on all sides of that debate. There are plenty of ways women can be involved in church-based and other ministry and yet not transgress Scriptural prohibitions. James shows how the very word "helper" (in Hebrew it is ezer) from Gen. 2 which describes the women, is usually a military term and often applied to God's help for Israel. She shows how the language describing the Proverbs 31 women betokens a valorous, military context. She is literally, a "woman of valor". The book calls women to champion the needs of suffering women, to rise up to God's kingdom task of living out the gospel in this fallen world. These messages are needed by women in all kinds of churches.While I still am bound by the word of God to see some divisions of roles in the home and the church, I was challenged to rethink just how much room and need there is for women to be active participants in the ministry God calls us to. I do think some of the church today is endeared of a traditional view which is not necessarily biblical. Our prizing of the motherly role, which is special (and which Carolyn Custis James seems not to give enough props to), can nevertheless be a message of despair for women who long to have children or long to be married but aren't. Do we communicate to them that they should just sit around and wait, dolefully for Mr. Right? Or do we empower them to serve God with their whole being in a fulfilling way as women?The book will stretch your mind and cause you to think, but it will be worth it. I encourage you to pick up a copy of this well written, riveting book. I highly recommend it.Disclaimer: This book was provided by Zondervan for review as part of the Half the Church Blog Tour. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
81 of 105 people found the following review helpful. Equally Insightful and Frustrating By Aaron Armstrong The role of women continues to be a question that looms large. In business, politics, education and countless other arenas, the opportunities for women in the western world are virtually unlimited. Yet in other parts of the world, in the Middle East or in nations ravaged by poverty, these opportunities don't exist. Indeed, in many countries, women are treated as little more than property.This issue has not left the church unscathed. Are women "merely" to be focused on the home and family? Are there limits to how women can serve or should serve? Does the church give women--who comprise at least half of it--an inspiring, captivating vision of what it means to be a woman created in the image of God?Carolyn Custis James seeks to answer these questions in Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women. In many ways this book is a companion piece to Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, which focuses on the abuses perpetrated against women around the world--among them sex trafficking, genital mutilation and honor killings. In light of the horrific crimes being perpetrated against women globally every day, James asks why the Church is not the loudest voice in this crisis; why the Church is not "the most visible at the forefront of addressing this humanitarian crisis" (p. 21). Half the Church, in James' estimation, represents a call to action in combating these atrocities as the author describe what she sees as God's vision for women.From a male perspective, reading Half the Church was an unusual experience. It's primary audience is women and James writes with that assumption in mind. In some ways this was quite refreshing as it gave me a glimpse into the female perspective, but it was also difficult at times to relate, particularly as she got into the nitty-gritty of her argument. And her arguments are where things get really interesting.I need to be upfront about one thing before I go any farther: Half the Church was incredibly difficult for me to review. This is not because I wasn't able to form opinions on it, but because my concern is that by voicing any disagreement with James' premise or arguments I would be viewed as a misogynist (or worse). And nothing could be further from the truth. As a husband and father, ensuring that the dignity of women is protected is very, very high on my priority list. My daughters are learning how valuable they are in their Daddy's sight, as is my wife (I hope!). I also acknowledge that I can't possibly hope to cover every part with which I agree, any more than I can cover every point of disagreement. So if something you loved isn't discussed, please be aware that I'm in no way trying to misrepresent the book's message. With all that said, let's continue.James writes that we in the West have been guilty of having tunnel vision, particularly when it comes to women. We're unaware of our own cultural blindness and its impact on our understanding of the Bible's teaching about women. "I marvel that we could imagine understanding God's message for women without acquainting ourselves with the ancient cultural context through which that message is communicated" (p. 33). With this statement, I am in complete agreement. We must do all we can to understand the culture in which the Scriptures were written in order to be good interpreters of the text. However, in the surrounding context of this quote, James seems to be suggesting that we have, by and large, failed in that duty.Indeed, in many places, James makes comments such as, "Contrary to long-held interpretations, biblical narratives that spotlight women hold their own next to the weighty and impassioned preaching of Old Testament prophets..." (p.33), that we are blinded by the insulation of prosperity and thus at risk of transmitting a message that is entirely irrelevant and unworkable (p. 36), that the message the church offers is "too small for successful women leaders in the secular world and too weak to restore full meaning and purpose to women who have been trampled" (p. 40), and that "warnings about the 'feminization of the church' communicate a clear message that there is 'enough' of us and what the church really needs is more sons" (p. 49).As I read, I found myself making the same note, over and over again: "That's a pretty big assumption, isn't it?" While I don't question the reality that some do indeed portray a role for women that is far too small in comparison to what Christianity offers, it seems like James is writing off everyone as being guilty of this. There's every chance I could be wrong in my interpretation of what she's saying, but it just didn't sit right with me. Likewise, those who have warned against the "feminization of the church" are not saying there are "enough" women or that women don't have great value. Far from it. The reality they're pointing to is that strong, faithful men are of the utmost necessity for the health and sustainability of the local church. And this is as true in the suburbs of London, Ontario, as it is in Sub Saharan Africa.Moving forward, James reminds readers that both men and women are created in the image of God. Both, equally, are image bearers. Yet, she is frustrated by what seems to be our generally blasé attitude towards this great truth. Pointing to Psalm 8, wherein David marvels at mankind's place in the created order, James writes, "[W]hat surprised the king as he pondered his image bearer status from a kingly elevation was that his opinion of himself was actually too low." She continues:"So earthshaking was this discovery and the language he used to describe it is so over the top that many biblical translators have been reluctant to give us the straight translation. Most, but not all: "Yet you have made them [human beings] a little lower than God [Elohim], and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5 NRSV, emphasis added)... By making us "a little lower" than himself, God affixed the highest possible value on his daughters and his sons. It also means... that the Bible's high view of women cannot be surpassed... The Bible calls us to raise our eyes and our aspirations and strive to be like God." (pp. 54-55)There is an important truth in this passage: We absolutely must have a high view of the inherent dignity of men and women who have been created in the image and likeness of God. Regardless of how far any of us have fallen, or what our culture tells us, we all have equal dignity and value by the very fact that we are humans. This should (and must) cause us to act on behalf of those whose dignity is being robbed from them.Yet I'm uncertain about her application of Psalm 8:5 in light of its context. When we see David's awe in Psalm 8, it's important to recognize that what he is saying is not simply "mankind is awesome"--he is in awe of the fact that God is mindful of man, bestowing honor and glory on him though he is so unworthy due to his fallen nature (see v. 3). Put simply, it's the grace of God that compels us to live in light of this reality.However, in her efforts to show us the value and prominence of women in the Scriptures, she winds up... maybe not necessarily tearing down men, but certainly kicking a little dirt on them in the process. For example, in her interpretation of the book of Ruth, she places Ruth at the center. Thus, she becomes Naomi's savior and the one who gives us a glimpse of the coming Savior. And as for Boaz, James description of him is certainly less appealing than what's explicitly said in Scripture. She writes that given the fact that this was a patriarchal society, it would have been unheard of for him to not already have been married with sons, given his age and reputation as a godly man."Romantic diehards may resist, but this was a polygamous culture," writes James (p. 91). But here's the thing: from the beginning of the Bible until the end, God's intention for marriage is one man with one woman. Polygamy does appear in Scripture, but it is never endorsed. The first polygamist was part of the line of Cain. Abraham and Jacob's polygamous marriages only wrought havoc on their families. Solomon's polygamy led the nation into an unyielding pattern of idolatry that ultimately ended in the destruction of Israel. Deut. 17:17 explicitly forbids the king from "acquir[ing] many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away." Indeed, one could reasonably argue that the command implies that he ought to have one wife if he wants to ensure that his heart will not be turned.So what about Boaz? Could he have been married already? Sure, he might have been. But the Bible doesn't say he was--and truthfully, that's a pretty big thing to be silent about.Again, while James is absolutely right that we must be careful to consider the cultural context of the Scriptures, we must also be careful not to read in things that may not have been there. You can't look to the Middle East today (specifically the nations with a patriarchal society) and apply that culture to ancient Israel. The Scriptures are too radical in their portrayal of women--especially in the Pentateuch--to allow for this. The Law displays a great concern for the poor, the widow and the orphan and it shows provision made for their inheritance (cf. Numbers 27:2, 36:2). So while there might be some level of crossover, it's not an apples to apples comparison.Genesis 2:18 is a significant verse in the Scriptures, for there God gives His description of what a woman is to be. Noting that it is not good for the man to be alone, He says, "I will make a helper fit for him" (ESV). The KJV calls the woman a "help-meet." James astutely points out that the two words used here, "'ezer" and "kenegdo," do not convey a meaning of subservience, but of equality. The woman is the man's equal, not his servant or slave.She also rightly observes that how we talk about the role of women has led to the suggestion that women are somehow second-class citizens at home and in the church. In correcting this, we must take our cues for our roles and relationships from Scripture, not import our culture's views into the Scriptures.In light of this, though, I am uncertain as to whether or not the moniker she applies to women, the ezer warrior, is entirely helpful. `Ezer does carry the meaning of offering assistance, especially in a time of difficulty, and I know that in many of my most difficult moments, the person I turn to for comfort and support is my wife.But as I've been considering James' work, I keep coming back to one thing: What about Genesis 3?On page 117, she writes:"After humanity's departure from Eden, relationships between men and women start to unravel. Instead of battling the Enemy, we battle each other, and women are reduced to supporting roles. Is God's vision for his daughters a lost relic from the distant past, or is it still alive and well today?"Going back to my relationship with my wife, in her support of me, she doesn't fight my battles for me. She offers me strength to carry on. This is not a subordinate or supporting role in the negative sense that James suggests in the above passage. This is her acting in the fullness of whom God has uniquely made her.What James fails to address, beyond the sinful actions of men and briefly alluding to it in the above quote, is that when God cursed the woman, He said that her desire would be for her husband (Gen. 3:16b). That word "desire" is significant because it is the same one that God uses when warning Cain that sin's desire is for him (4:7b). It's about domination.Likewise, I don't recall her ever once touching on the characteristics of a godly woman as found in the New Testament, a hallmark of which is a gentleness of spirit, not necessarily a fiery tenacity (although a gentle spirit certainly does not preclude boldness). Instead, they are chuffed off to the side, as "debated texts."My concern is that in seeking to confront a real error, James is overcorrecting. And despite her stated desire that women and men work together in a "Blessed Alliance," the pendulum is swinging a bit too far.So here's the big question: Would I recommend this book?While Half the Church does have a great deal to offer, I'm not certain I could with a clear conscience. I certainly wouldn't stop someone from reading it, but neither would I commend it. Women matter greatly to God. We must be wary of any action or position that relegates them to a second-class citizenship--and we must be careful to protect their God-given uniqueness and dignity, which necessarily includes their distinctness from men.
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful. A Shift in Perspective By R. Hollenbach Christian books for women usually fall into one of two dreadful categories: either a North-American evangelical perspective that sees women as little more than a marketing niche within Christendom, or a feminist-driven perspective that contains a Rosie-the-Riveter "I'll show you" subtext. Books about the role of women in the church usually fall into a dreary debate between highfalutin words like complimentarianism or egalitarianism. Carolyn Custis James' Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women falls into "none of the above." That's refreshing.James invites North American Evangelicals to lift our eyes and see women's issues in global and Biblical perspectives. "I was determined to find out if God's message for women was universal," she writes, "encompassing the full spectrum of every woman's life regardless of her demographics or circumstances." In fact, much of our gospel presentation--beyond gender issues--would benefit from James' perspective. Is the good news good news for everyone? Prosperous or poor, socialist or capitalist, male or female?Half the Church challenges the comfortable reader to think not only globally, but Biblically as well. While avoiding the tiresome debates over whether the opening chapters of Genesis are meant to be "taken literally," this book focuses instead on the meaning of the creation account, especially the meaning of how humanity bears God's image. "[God] gives both male and female the exact same identity--to be his image bearers. He gives both the exact same responsibilities when he entrusts all of creation to his image bearers."Even if creation is broken (and it is) God's purposes and methods remain unchanged, and we would do well to excavate the foundations again. James does so by challenging traditional interpretations of the phrase "suitable helper" found in Genesis. She points out that the problem is not with the Biblical record, but rather the meanings we have attached to these words, applying culturally-bound meanings to what should be culture-changing revelation from God.James borrows heavily from the work of Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn, creators of the Half the Sky movement. Kristof and Wudunn would never fit into an Evangelical mold yet they are about God's work, sometimes to the shame of the prosperous North American church: "Like quarreling siblings," she writes, "we are arguing over how to divide a pie so everyone gets their fair share while the neighbor's house is on fire." The fire she describes is the systematic negation of the value and role of women around the world, and the opportunity wasted by Christians, who possess a universal answer. James is aware of the debate over women's roles in ministry, but refuses to allow herself to be pulled into that swamp: the world of the church is too big for both men and women for us to ignore our missional call while settling matters of doctrine--especially doctrine that is secondary to the mission God has given us. She calls for a "Blessed Alliance" of the sons and daughters of God, who will focus on their creation-mandate instead of culturally-generated arguments.If there are weaknesses in the book, they are weakness of technical merit, not heart or mind: some illustrations she provides may come across as trite, while others perhaps too emotionally laden. Yet her call to action is unmistakable and the larger vision of the Church is laudable in every respect.James states her case clearly in the introduction and stays on point throughout the work: "When half the church holds back--whether by choice or because we have no choice--everybody loses and our mission suffers setbacks. Tragically, we are squandering the opportunity to display to an embattled world a gospel that cause both men and women to flourish and unites us in a Blessed Alliance that only the presence of Jesus can explain." Who could argue with that?
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