For the first time, the Church of England now ordains more women than men to the priesthood.  According to the BBC, 213 women and 210 men were ordained as Anglican priests last year.  In another first, average Sunday attendance fell to just under a million people.

The General Synod is now locked in a contentious debate over whether women should be ordained as bishops. The Reverend Rosemary Lain-Priestley, secretary to the National Association of Diocesan Advisers in Women's Ministry, said, "Many women priests feel that until women can become bishops they will not be taken seriously and other senior roles, despite the success of women deans and Archdeacon's."   It is feared that this issue may be as divisive as ordination of homosexuals.

CBMW Board of Reference member R. Albert Mohler Jr. commented on his blog, "The feminization of the ministry is one of the most significant trends of this generation. Acceptance of women in the pastoral role reverses centuries of Christian conviction and practice. It also leads to a redefinition of the church and its ministry. Once women begin to fill and represent roles of pastoral leadership men withdraw. This is true, not only in the pulpit, but in the pews. The evacuation of male worshippers from liberal churches is a noticeable phenomenon."

Mohler adds, "The issues of women's ordination and the normalization of homosexuality are closely linked. It is no accident that those churches that most eagerly embraced the ordination of women now either embrace the ordination of homosexuals or are seriously considering such a move.  The reason for this is quite simple. The interpretive games one must play in order to get around the Bible's proscription of women in congregational preaching and teaching roles are precisely the games one must play in order to get around the Bible's clear condemnation of homosexuality."

Mohler poses a final challenge:  The future course of the Church of England seems rather clear. What about your church?

The gospel message itself demonstrates that something valuable can also be available for free.  As Jesus was sending out his disciples to proclaim the good news and heal the sick, he admonished them, "You received without paying; give without pay" (Matthew 10:8).  Beyond that, Jesus gave his own precious life as a ransom for many.  Through his death, grace is freely available to all who believe.

At CBMW, we want to imitate the generosity of our great God.  Our most valuable resources are available free online, and our major concern is that not enough people know about this treasure trove of biblical teaching on manhood and womanhood.  Below you will find a list of a dozen books that are available to edify believers and strengthen the church.

Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood - edited by John Piper and Wayne Grudem

Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood - edited by Wayne Grudem

Biblical Womanhood in the Home - edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Building Strong Families - edited by Dennis Rainey

Equality in Christ - by Richard Hove

Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth - by Wayne Grudem

The Feminist Gospel - by Mary Kassian

The Feminist Mistake - by Mary Kassian

Women, Creation and the Fall - by Mary Kassian

Fifty Crucial Questions - by John Piper and Wayne Grudem

Man and Woman in Christ - by Stephen B. Clark

Pastoral Leadership for Manhood and Womanhood - edited by Wayne Grudem and Dennis Rainey

As you develop your holiday plans, please consider adding one of these books to your reading list.  Visitors from over 90 countries access this website every month, so be encouraged to recommend these books to missionaries or believing friends from nations around the world.  By God's common grace, there is no longer any delay or cost associated with shipping biblical resources across the globe.  (Because it is difficult to put online books under the Christmas tree, we still make the tree-based versions of these books available in our store as holiday gifts.)

Our prayer at CBMW is that homes and churches will be blessed by these biblical teachings on manhood and womanhood.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Thousands of people will fight the crowds at stores all over the country to take advantage of the many deals that will be offered. In light of this, many websites and blogs are offering advice on types of gifts, creative gifts, and best deals. Thingamababy posted an article wondering the types of toys boys play with really matters. The specific toy in question is a dollhouse, but the discussion appropriately turns to the broader topic of play and gender development.

The article generally espouses a quasi-androgynous approach. It seemingly has a desire to make sure that boys aren't too brawny and girls aren't, well, too girly.

Nevertheless, how children play matters. The activities in which they participate end up cultivating certain attitudes, characteristics, desires, inclinations, and skills. Since this is true, it is important to ask "What types of attitudes and skills are we trying to develop in our children?" Then we should ask, "Are any of these attitudes and skills gender specific?"

The Word of God speaks to this issue. The Bible teaches that generally men will be husbands and fathers, and women will be wives and mothers. For this reason, there will be certain skills that children will need to develop and cultivate in order to fulfill these distinct and complementary roles. The toys that boys and girls play with will have a significant part in cultivating these skills.

The current trend of trying to get boys to play with more feminine toys does not cultivate a well rounded boy, it misguides him and potentially handicaps him when he is called upon to exhibit masculine behavior.

In a recent post, I suggested that dads might be the new moms. In this confused culture, it may be that this occurs because first boys are becoming the new girls. This confusion is beginning to impact our churches as well. We don't need softer and prettier boys. We don't need boys who can push a baby carriage and appropriately dress a doll. We need boys who have had a sense of courage, adventure, resilience, toughness, and predilection to protect and provide for others built in them. We need boys who understand that there is such a thing as evil, and that we are engaged in a cosmos-wide conflict. We need boys who are growing in their understanding of what it means to "take up a cross daily." In addition to godly fathers and strong local churches, their toys can play a huge part in getting them there.

Toys that allow boys to build and battle are great for this purpose. Try getting them Lincoln logs or real tools. While it is true that sports can get out of hand, it is still one of the best ways to teach boys about resilience, competition, winning and losing, unfairness, character, and abiding by rules. Forts, zip lines, good versus evil games, should be part of every boys childhood. And on rainy days, board games like Chess and Risk can continue this training. And don't forget books. Stay tuned, a future post we will suggest books that epitomize godly masculinity and femininity for boys and girls.

"What does it mean to be a man these days?" ask Time authors Cullen and Grossman in an article that wonders how the modern approach to fatherhood might be redefining previous notions of masculinity. Among other things, the article reports that men are more involved with their children than ever before. But not only are dads more involved, they interact differently that previous generations of fathers. This means that, "Men hug their kids more, help with homework more, tell kids they love them more. Or, as sociologist Scott Coltrane of the University of California, Riverside, says, ‘Fathers are beginning to look more like mothers.'"

The article is illustrative and worth reading, but if you are short on time here is my perspective:

I agree that men should be hugging their kids more, helping with homework more, and telling their children they love them more. But when they do, it should not be understood as being more like a mom and less like a man. In other words, men of the past who lacked affection for their children should not be regarded as properly masculine, but instead delinquent in their responsibilities. The Bible speaks more of mothering and fathering than it does on parenting. Men and women bring masculinity and femininity to the table as opposed to generic personhood.

The teachings of the Bible on manhood and womanhood have not changed, so our understandings of masculinity and femininity should not change. The way we should define masculinity and femininity is based on the roles that the Bible clearly portrays for men and women. The characteristics and qualities needed to effectively live out these roles should be the primary content of definitions and applications of masculinity and femininity.

If this is done, then we will not be reliant upon tradition and stereotypes to provide a baseline for manhood and womanhood as the article does. Dads who are more involved are not necessarily redefining masculinity , nor are the necessarily being more womanly, they are recovering what is good and right about fatherhood.

Having said this, it is also very possible that many men in our culture are becoming more feminized in their relationships with their children. At CBMW, we encourage men to be more affectionate and involved in ways that reflect their role as leader, provider and protector. This will look very different from how a woman might express the same feelings. The new stay at home dad phenomenon (also mentioned in the article) may indicate that when men do not have clear biblical grounding for masculine behavior and expectations, then in their efforts to be more involved, will give up the very things that are at the heart of masculinity.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I wanted to suggest a few ways in which dads can lead their families to honor God and also create a few good memories. Frankly, my family doesn't go all out for this particular holiday because we genuinely try to cultivate gratitude throughout the year. But it is good to take some time on this day and reflect on how God has demonstrated his kindness toward our families. Here are some things to consider:

The first priority is to point to the Cross. Cultivate gratitude for the clearest and greatest demonstration of God's mercy, grace and love: the Cross. Let the Cross be the primary subject of your public prayers and let this be the first and foremost topic of "things we are thankful for."

Also, it would be appropriate to familiarize yourself with some of the history behind Thanksgiving and lead in a brief discussion about why we celebrate this holiday and how it points to God's goodness, mercy and providence. I have in mind a 15-minute discussion here. (Don't try too hard and stress that over do this.)

Lead in prayer. This does not mean that you should not allow others to voice their prayers of thanksgiving and gratitude, but you need to initiate and oversee this process. Make sure that after others have prayed, that you pray a specific fatherly prayer of gratitude for your family and God's goodness and mercy.

Finally, purpose in your heart that your expressions of gratitude will not be relegated to one day per year. Regular expressions of gratitude build humility, and a home characterized by humility is usually filled with harmony. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

There is also the important goal of creating some memories during these types of holidays:

If you have a son, let them participate in carving the turkey. Over time in this culture, he should master the skill of carving before he starts his own family.

Encourage moms and daughters to joyfully work together in any meal preparation and the cleanup. Preparing large meals is an important skill that can and should be learned and cultivated. This is a great opportunity for moms and daughters to build camaraderie, friendship and closeness.

Let your children practice leading in conversation with the guests you have in your home. Work with them in advance and teach them how to ask questions, keep a conversation going, and demonstrate interest in the lives of others. Plan to do this every time you have guests in the future. The skill will serve them the rest of their lives and help build up the church. Start teaching them this week.

If you will be around grandparents, try audio or video taping them as you ask them questions about their life, their history and interesting moments (wartime life, the depression, etc.). If they are believers, see if they can recount key moments of God's providence in their life.

Watching football is fun and I expect to watch plenty. But don't miss the opportunity to spend extended time with your children actually doing something. If weather permits, get outside. Throw the ball around. Go to a park. If the weather is bad, play some board games. How often do you really get a chance to just hang out with your kids? Isn't this a big part of Thanksgiving?