What do the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the institution of marriage have to do with each other?

Everything according to Tom Ascol, executive director of Founders Ministries, Inc. and pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla. In his 18 years as pastor at Grace, he has sought to teach biblical gender roles in the home, not through a legalistic list of ‘how-tos,’ but through the lens of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

"(Gospel-driven marriage) is not just ‘do this, do this, do this,’ but [it is] looking at the fact that Jesus Christ loves the church because the church is His bride," Ascol said. "As the husband, I am the bride of Christ and I need to see myself in that light and then take my cue in relating to my wife.

"The purpose of marriage is to be a lived-out parable of the relationship between Christ and the church. That puts it in a different light. It gives you a different motivation. It gives you power, it gives you hope, [through] the fact that Jesus has died for you to fulfill your calling as His ambassador, His representative in all your relationships."

Grace Baptist recently held a conference featuring Founders leader and veteran pastor Fed Malone on the topic of the Gospel and marriage. Ascol says that relationships in general and the marriage union in particular provide the main theatre in which the vast majority of spiritual warfare is waged.

Ascol preaches verse-by-verse exposition and when he arrived at Eph. 5-6 a few years ago, the opportunity arose naturally to address issues such as submission and headship within the home.

When Paul seems to make a transition to writing on spiritual warfare in 6:10 after writing on relationships within the home, Ascol says the apostle is not changing subjects but is fleshing out the battlefield upon which spiritual warfare is most likely to take place: the home.

"Paul is addressing spiritual warfare in light of what he has just taught about these spheres of relationships that we all live in, and the main theater for spiritual warfare is our relationships," he said.

"And so the reason I believe Paul says what he does in verses 10-12 (of chapter six) and addresses spiritual armor in verses 13 and following is because he knows that he has just told husbands to love their wives as Christ loves the church and he knows they can’t do that. That’s a fight. It’s a battle and a lot of husbands give up.

"They (husbands) may say ‘you don’t know my wife, you don’t know my background, you don’t know the baggage I carry.’ Of course it’s hard because it is a battle. You need to see yourself as a soldier and you are in a fight and realize that your enemy is not flesh and blood. Your enemy is the devil. He doesn’t want you to have this kind of marriage."

Grace Baptist holds firmly to the complementarian view of roles within the church, Ascol said. While Ascol says the church is clear on the position of God-ordained gender roles, Grace Baptist takes an approach that is affirming of the numerous vital roles women may play within the church.

"We have tried to take the approach of, rather than looking at what a women can’t do in church, looking at the multitude of ministries that a woman can have in church," he said. "And we have some wonderful, godly women who serve in a variety of capacities. And so I don’t think any of our women feel slighted."

So critical are the contemporary issues facing families, Founders Ministries will address the issue next summer in its 23^rd annual national conference to be held July 12-15, 2005, in Ormond Beach, Fla. The conference theme will be "The Gospel and the Family." Speakers will include authors Ted and Paul Tripp.

"Founders very much holds to the complementarian view because of our confessional identity, our stance on Scripture as authoritative, and our lack of embarrassment over any of the teaching of Scripture," Ascol said.

"We are addressing it next year because of the incredible need. If a man’s family is not right, it doesn’t matter how much doctrine he’s got right, he’s going to disqualify himself from ministry and we need as much good, solid instruction on this subject as we can get. The Tripps have done us a great favor in their writings."

One Illinois pastor believes you can tell a lot about a local church by examining its stance on gender roles in the home and church.

Steve Farish, pastor of Crossroads Church in Grayslake, Ill., says a complementarian church is typically a solid church. In the same way the doctrine of the virgin birth was something of a litmus test in the church 120 years ago, Farish says gender views speak volumes about a church in the contemporary culture.

"It seems to me that, not in every case, but in most cases, you can tell a lot about a church based on its stance on gender issues," Farish said. "It is sort of the part of the iceberg that is above the water. By its stance on gender roles, you can tell where a church stands on the doctrine of inerrancy, for example.

"I think this is true because it is the place where the church is most tempted to compromise with the society. It is easier to teach that men and women are not just equal before God, but their roles are essentially the same—some sort of joint headship or mutual headship or mutual submission. Those are much more palatable to our society than to teach male headship. It’s just a place where compromise is easy."

In his 11 years as pastor at Crossroads, Farish has faithfully held the line by asserting the historic Christian position that God has ordained particular complementary roles for men and women.

Farish preaches expository sermons in verse-by-verse, book-by-book fashion. This allows him to deal with gender roles as they arise in Scripture within the context of the entire inspired account of redemptive history.

Before Farish will marry a Christian man and women, they must undergo premarital counseling. As part of this, couples learn their biblically-ordained roles in the home which Farish teaches by using the Danvers Statement adopted in 1987 by The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

"I love the adjectives [in the Danvers Statement]," Farish said. "They say that male headship should be humble and loving and the wife’s submission should be willing and intelligent.

"I unpack those adjectives for the couple and we really spend a lot of time because obviously a lot of people misapprehend headship and submission in our society. Couples find those explanations in the Danvers Statement extremely helpful. There’s one paragraph in the middle that says what headship is and isn’t and what submission is and isn’t. I walk through the paragraph with them and it is enormously helpful."

While Farish says a few couples have balked at the teaching, the vast majority of the burgeoning families have embraced the biblical teaching enthusiastically. In fact, some wives have expressed a desire for their husbands to fill their biblically-mandated roles as spiritual head of the home, he said. Crossroads consistently teaches biblical manhood and womanhood within both its men’s and women’s ministries.

"Through the years in counseling I have had a number of wives come to me who are crying out for their husbands to lead in their families," Farish said.

"They see the biblical teaching and they want to be led. Their husbands, who are these incredible Type-A personalities at work, come home and they absolutely disappear in terms of leadership [particularly] of the children in spiritual matters. So I have occasion to exhort the men of the church."

While teaching gender roles in a local church can be thorny business, Farish advises young pastors to stand firm upon the Bible, teaching the full counsel of God and dealing honestly with the issue as it arises in the text.

"I can’t give any better advice than Paul in 2 Tim. 4: just preach the Word," he said. "Preach what the Scriptures teach about gender roles. I’ll still be teaching this 20 years from now, Lord willing. And the church will still be growing in it.

"I think there’s a risk seminary students run in that they learn how to preach good, solid expository messages and they begin to do so and there’s not just overwhelming reaction immediately and they begin to grow discouraged and they can tempted to compromise the message, frankly.

"But if you persevere in it year after year after year after year, that’s when you are really going to see God blessing the congregation and God blessing the marriages. You’ll see the fruit of preaching biblical manhood and womanhood in families. Just stick to it."

Faithfully setting forth biblical teaching on gender roles is critical because both the health of families and the glory of God are at stake, he said.

"The glory of God is at stake and this is the most valuable thing in the universe because God has designed marriage to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church," he said.

"I preach regularly that God has unusually staked His glory, if I may say it that way, on Christian marriage. Nothing less than God’s glory is at stake."

LEXINGTON, Ky.—David and Gayle Fee are proof positive that teaching biblical gender roles without compromise does not have to lead to a church split.

The issue of gender roles arose recently in the Baptist church David Fee pastors on the outskirts of Lexington, Ky., when he learned that one of his Sunday school teachers was scheduled to work on his job for 12 consecutive Sundays.

The teacher’s wife volunteered to fill in for her husband and teach the adult co-ed class during his absence. When the teacher’s wife informed Gayle Fee of her plans, the pastor’s wife saw an open door to teach the biblical view of gender roles.

"Because the class was a basic doctrine class she encouraged me to teach the class," Gayle Fee said. "That opened the door for me to graciously and honestly share with her why I would not step into that role.

"I shared with her that even though I had teaching gifts, and I’ve studied Greek, Hebrew and Systematic Theology and I knew more than some of the men in that class, God had not given me the scriptural permission to step into that role."

Initially, Gayle spent nearly three hours in a telephone conversation with the women, explaining God’s plan for gender roles in the church from the scriptures.

"I wanted her to understand the biblical teaching that men and women can be equal yet different in roles just like the Father and Son are equal yet differ in function," she said. "I told her that I am no less created in the image of God than my husband, but my calling is different.

"As a woman in my family and in our church I get to show the world how Christ submitted to the Father and how the church is to submit to the Son. That means that as I walk in my God-ordained role I can show others what Jesus is like. I wanted her to understand that roles in the family and in the church are there for God’s glory."

As Gayle unfolded the doctrines from Scripture, the woman enthusiastically warmed to the complementarian view.

"She said, ‘I want to see God bless our church and if I do something that is against Scripture, then He is not going to bless our church,’" Gayle Fee said. "I told her, ‘Let’s study this issue together and continue to talk.’

"The situation reminded me how important it is for those who lead and teach to be able to articulate a biblical theology of manhood and womanhood."

The woman and her husband continued to study the issue from Scripture and then met with David to find a suitable male fill-in teacher for the Sunday school class. After three months passed, David said God drew a man to the church who was a perfect fit to teach the class. The man presently co-teaches the class alongside the original teacher.

"We were all amazed and reminded that when you honor God’s Word rather than being pragmatic, God takes care of His church," David Fee said.

The Fees seek to faithfully expound gender roles from Scripture when the subject arises in the biblical text. Many members of the congregation are beginning to understand and embrace the complementarian position and others are willing to learn, he said.

Both David and Gayle are recent graduates from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in nearby Louisville. And both agree that gracious, patient teaching from the Scripture is key in helping members of the congregation to develop a thoroughly biblical view on controversial doctrines such as gender roles.

"Not everyone is at the same place, so you have to teach the Word with love and grace," David Fee said. "It is a process of teaching. Our congregational makeup consists of individuals at various stages in their Christian walk.

"I am preaching through Acts on Sunday nights and Proverbs on Sunday mornings so when the subject of biblical manhood or womanhood comes up, I preach it.

Gayle has been doing extensive research on the subject of biblical manhood and womanhood and casually shares what she is learning with individuals within the congregation. She is also doing a lot of intentional mentoring of women in the church."

Last week's election of J. Ligon Duncan III as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) places a committed complementarian at the head of one of the fastest-growing denominations in the United States.

Duncan, senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Miss., serves as board chairman for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW). Randy Stinson, executive director of CBMW, said Duncan's election further cements the PCA's commitment to complementarianism.

"Ligon Duncan is a great leader, an unparalleled scholar, and a fearless defender of Orthodoxy," Stinson said. "There is no doubt that he is an asset to CBMW and will be to the PCA.

"The PCA is clear on their complementarian position and CBMW is thankful for their role in helping the church deal biblically with gender issues."

Duncan was elected Moderator at the PCA's annual denominational meeting held last week in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The PCA has roots stretching back to the colonial period of American history and is the largest theologically conservative Presbyterian denomination in the English-speaking world.

The PCA is one of the faster growing denominations in the United States, with over 1500 churches and missions throughout the USA and Canada, with a membership of approximately 350,000 and has the largest Presbyterian missionary force in the world. A Greenville, South Carolina native, Duncan is a graduate of Furman University (1983 BA History), Covenant Theological Seminary (1986 Master of Divinity; 1987 MA Historical Theology), having received the J. Oliver Buswell Award for Church History and Systematic Theology, and earned the PhD (1995 Ecclesiastical History and Systematic Theology) at the University of Edinburgh, New College, Scotland.   Dr. Duncan is the Convener of the Twin Lakes Fellowship, adjunct professor of Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, a council member of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, board member of Highland Theological College of the University of the Highlands and Islands (Dingwall, Scotland), and Secretary of the board of Belhaven University.

He has authored numerous articles in various magazines, edited several collections, and most recently was a joint author and editor of Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship-A Celebration of the Legacy of James Montgomery Boice (with Phillip Graham Ryken and Derek W.H. Thomas) and was editor and contributor of The Westminster Confession in the 21st Century, volumes 1-3. 

Dr. Duncan is married to Anne Harley Duncan. They have two children, Sarah Kennedy Duncan and Jennings Ligon Duncan (IV).

At CBE's "Equality Depot Bookstore," works can be found on mutual submission such as Heirs Together by Patricia Gundry. And there are tomes arguing against historic Christianity's view of gender roles in the home and church the likes of 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady.

But CBE's website also offers books by at least two authors whose lifestyles and ideologies seem to conflict with both the organization's parameters for resources and its self-professed commitment to serve the evangelical church.

One such book Is it Okay to Call God Mother? is written by Paul R. Smith, an openly-homosexual Baptist minister. In his work, Smith argues that it is necessary and proper for Christians to refer to God as mother. Smith claims that patriarchal language has come to dominate contemporary speech and that referring to God as "mother" will help offset a sexism patent to the vernacular of modern culture.

Smith serves as co-pastor for Broadway Church in Kansas City, Mo. Alongside Marcia Fleshmian. The church's website touts a congregation that is "inclusive and theologically progressive," openly accepting to communion any person regardless of sexual orientation.

Broadway is anything but an evangelical congregation. On its welcome page, Broadway presents its belief in a Jesus who rejected "all images of God as punishing, vengeful or violent, and, therefore, never teaching an unending hell for anyone."

CBE's website sets forth "Evaluation Criteria for CBE Resources" which seems to oppose Smith's sinful lifestyle. In choosing the resources it offers, CBE rejects homosexuality as unbiblical: "All resources affirm 'the family, celibate singleness and faithful heterosexual marriage as the patterns God designed for us.' While CBE addresses the subject of homosexuality with kindness and carefulness, CBE does not affirm homosexual practices."

A second book that seems to present problems for the CBE mission is God, A Word for Boys and Girls by feminist theologian Jann Aldredge Clanton. In the book Clanton argues for the use of feminine pronouns for deity in teaching children about God.

She posits that "children cannot grasp a theology of God as transcendent spirit if they hear trusted authority figures in the church constantly referring calling God 'he,' 'father,' 'king.' Forget "Jesus Loves Me," Aldredge-Clanton says using feminine language for God will rid boys of arrogance and enable girls to stop devaluing themselves.

Not only is Aldredge-Clanton a feminist theologian, she is also a committed worshiper of the false pagan god "Sophia-Christ." Aldredge-Clanton is the author of Praying With Christ-Sophia: Services for Healing and Renewal in which she offers a number of hymns and songs written to accompany worship of "Christ-Sophia."

While CBE's resource criteria confesses that all the materials the group makes available affirm the Bible as "the inspired Word of God and … the final authority of faith and practice," it is difficult to see how using feminine pronouns in reference to God-something the original biblical languages do not validate-fits that rubric.

In an e-mail reply on the availability of works by Smith and Aldredge-Clanton, Marketing and Book Services Coordinator Jamie Hunt says CBE considers each individual work and not the lifestyles or beliefs of the authors in question. CBE uses only works that "further its mission," she said.

"Each resource we carry has first been evaluated by our team of reviewers to ensure that it furthers CBE's mission and vision," Hunt said. "Each resource is chosen on its own merit. (CBE does not necessarily endorse an author's entire body of work, nor does carrying the book imply that we endorse the author's personal life.)"

But CBE's selling of books by Smith and Aldredge are telling as to the overall direction of the organization, said J. Ligon Duncan, chairman of the Board of Directors for The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

"It is very telling," Duncan said. "The willingness of CBE to sell this kind of material shows the inevitable trajectory of so-called 'evangelical egalitarianism.' Over time, it becomes less evangelical and more egalitarian, because the heartbeat of its own philosophy is not drawn from the Scriptures but from a worldview that is in conflict with the Scriptures.

"Over time voices within CBE, like that of the great Roger Nicole, who is so imminently biblical in so many areas of his thinking and theology--though incorrect in this one--will diminish, and more strident and less evangelical voices will come to the fore."

Offering books by authors the likes of Smith and Aldredge-Clanton is also pastorally wreckless, Duncan said.

"I think it is pastorally insensitive and even irresponsible to give the sheep material by people whose lives are in patent contradiction of biblical norms and whose books reflect views that are inimical to biblical Christianity," Duncan said. "All of us should take care in recommending and conveying material to the Christian reading public. The content of that material ought to be scripturally sound, and the lives of its authors ought to commend its truth."