The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) has as its central theme "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World."

Thus, there would seem to be no obvious reason why complementarian leaders would be excluded from LCWE’s 2004 Forum for World Evangelization held last fall in Pattaya, Thailand, where nearly 2,000 Christian leaders from around the world met to discuss issues facing world evangelism.

But that is precisely what happened.

Participants--broken up into "issue groups"--examined 31 issues, ranging from prayer in evangelism, evangelization of children, redeeming the arts, and reaching the youth generation, to confronting racial conflict, the exclusivity of Christ, and post-9/11 mission realities.

But it was "Issue 24" and its group that grabbed the attention of complementarian groups such as The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. Issue 24 dealt with "Empowering women and men to utilize their gifts together for the spread of the Gospel."

The groups themselves were composed of 30-70 topic experts, theologians, pastors, researchers, educators, and evangelists, as well as denominational leaders, laypersons, mission agencies and prayer movements. The issue groups were charged with developing an action plan to answer individual issues in local churches, through denominations, and within various "focused" ministries.

Though Issue 24 fell under an innocuous title, a closer examination of the focus group that considered it revealed a trend surprising for an organization committed to "the whole church:" All the leaders for the group looking at Issue 24 were staunch egalitarians.

The group’s convener was Mimi Haddad, president for the evangelical feminist group Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE). Co-conveners were Juliet Thomas of Women’s Prayer Network and Lorry Lutz, a consultant for Global Action Women’s Network. The group’s facilitator was Nanci Hogan of Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in the United Kingdom, an organization that is openly egalitarian.

While empowering both men and women to use their gifts together for the spread of the Gospel is by no means a violation of biblical gender roles, one of the expected outcomes of Issue 24 exposes an agenda of a more sociopolitical nature.

The fourth of four "expected outcomes," according to the forum website, was to "Suggest ways that women can be freed from the various bondages placed upon them so they can effectively use their gifts in the proclamation of the gospel."

What those "various bondages" entail is not known, but the issue group’s stacked deck suggests at least one answer, says Randy Stinson, executive director for the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).

"The fact that no representative from CBMW was asked to participate only underscores the appearance of an egalitarian agenda," Stinson said. "The problem is that usually this type of activity happens below the radar and the broader evangelical community never knows it happened. I’m just glad we were able to find out in time to rectify the inequity."

None of the four "expected outcomes" speak to the issue of men and evangelism, only women and the use of their gifts. Stinson points out that men are far more prone to abdicate their responsibility within the church when it comes to evangelism or any other type of Christian responsibility. Men often need more aggressive prodding to fulfill their roles within the church and home, he said.

"Why would the topic of men be completely left out of a group concerned about gender issues and evangelism?" Stinson said.

"It does not make sense. Statistics show over and over that it is men who are in danger of being left behind when it comes to evangelism. We are not saying that the committee should focus on men only, but should at least acknowledge that there are many shortcomings when it comes to men and evangelism."

The Lausanne movement is an outgrowth of a 1974 International Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland, convened by Billy Graham. At that meeting, several thousand participants from 150 countries signed the Lausanne Covenant that aimed at being "more intentional about world evangelization."

Lausanne’s stated vision is to energize churches, mission agencies, networks and individuals "to respond with vigor and courage to the cause of world evangelization." The Lausanne Covenant’s central theme is, "The Whole Church Taking the Whole Gospel to the Whole World."

Up to now, there has been no reason to doubt the accuracy of Lausanne’s unifying theme. However, Stinson wonders why the whole church was not included in Issue Group 24. If the inclusion of all evangelical viewpoints is part of Lausanne’s mission--a mission all evangelicals unequivocally share--why was the complementarian voice shut out in this case?

Doug Birdsall admits that this should not have happened.

Birdsall was installed in October as International Chairman of LCWE during the global forum. An ordained minister in the conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Birdsall serves as director of the J. Christy Wilson Center for World Missions at Gordon-Conwell Seminary. LCWE father Billy Graham was instrumental in founding Gordon-Conwell.

Lausanne’s new leader is also a complementarian. He had not yet joined LCWE’s leadership when the global forum’s issue groups were determined and was surprised to learn of the egalitarian-only approach to Issue 24. Birdsall learned of the group’s makeup through an interview with Gender-News.com.

Since LCWE is non-denominational and broadly evangelical, Birdsall said next time he would want to make sure both sides of the issue were fairly represented.

"By calling it to my attention, you are doing the right thing," he told the interviewer. "I am not trying at all to shift the blame but just to say that now that I am aware of it when it presents itself again, I would say, absolutely, we must include both sides."

Birdsall rightly said he would not bring a complementarian agenda to LCWE but agreed with CBMW leadership that both sides should be heard in discussing gender issues as they relate to world evangelization.

"That (complementarianism) is not going to be the main issue that is going to define my leadership but it is not going to be an issue I am going to ignore either," Birdsall said. "I do believe God has called men and women and I don’t think that has been a primary focus of Lausanne, but Lausanne has included women who have played major roles in the cause of world evangelization."

Robyn Claydon and husband Doug chose the participants who led the individual issue groups. Robyn Claydon is the founder of the Lausanne Women’s Network and is also an egalitarian, Birdsall said. Claydon, who lives in Australia, did not respond to an interview request by Gender-News.com.

Claydon is the author of two books--Doors are for Walking Through and Keep Walking. On Lausanne’s website, Claydon explains her role at LCWE as ministering to women on world evangelization. Claydon says her role includes "preaching in churches," along with speaking in conferences, leading seminars, and meeting one-on-one with women in countries where Christian faith is tested.

While Birdsall said he did not know whether the egalitarian-only drift of Issue 24 was intentional, it appears that the group’s makeup reflected Claydon’s view on the gender question. The driving issue at LCWE is how to best proclaim the Gospel to the nations and not gender roles, he said. Birdsall wants to see LCWE to reflect all of evangelicalism to the degree that is possible.

"It would not be accurate to say a complementarian has been chosen (as International Chairman of LCWE)," Birdsall said. "The person who was chosen happens to be a complementarian. It would not be an accurate representation of the thinking (of Lausanne as a whole). That was never part of the discussion. It just so happens that is my position.

"I would say in my own situation, I am not defined by being an egalitarian or a complementarian, though I do believe in (male) headship…I think it is a very thin line, actually. I look at what some complementarians say and I think it can be harsh. I think it can be accurate theologically, but unloving and kind of a ‘hard-hat mentality.’

"I can look at other egalitarians who I wouldn’t agree with quite the way they write out their statement but I like the way they practice serving one another. I see some egalitarians where I think they’ve got it backwards in terms of theology and practice and I see some complementarians who are exemplary….My pattern is how does Christ want me as a man to lead my family?" he said. "How does He want me to love and raise my children? We have always worked off the principle of servant leadership in tenderness."

Roger Parrott, Belhaven College president and USA president for LCWE, said the exclusion of the complementarian viewpoint from the global forum was an oversight that should have been corrected.

"To have you (complementarian representatives) was certainly an oversight," Parrott said. "I didn’t know about it and frankly, I am disappointed with that. We want to give groups the flexibility to speak to the whole church. So, to exclude a group is not what we wanted…If we had known about it, we would have rectified it."

Lausanne will not hold another event until 2006 when it will sponsor a younger leaders conference. A third major conference on world evangelism is in the works for 2010.

In the vein of President Bush’s education slogan, LCWE’s goal for future events might well be "no view left behind;" Birdsall says he wants to make certain that future meetings reflect the theological breadth of evangelicalism. The new leader of LCWE extended a personal invitation to CBMW for future involvement.

"That is a very firm commitment I have," Birdsall said. "I have said to the leadership team that I want for the participation to represent the demographic and theological breadth of the evangelical movement.

"(To CBMW) I say to you, ‘welcome.’ My arms are extended to you as brother(s) in Christ and as a [group that] shares a commitment to the Great Commission and world evangelization…I can tell you that you are not excluded from the leadership of the movement (LCWE) as a whole."

"CBMW is grateful for Birdsall’s leadership but does not expect him or the committee to have a complementarian agenda," Stinson said.

"We also do not bemoan the involvement of representatives from CBE. We are glad to have a place at the table to further evangelism around the world. Those who would intentionally exclude us have put their personal agenda ahead of the broader intention of the LCWE and I am thankful that this seems to have been brought to an end."

For more information on Lausanne, please see:

Lausanne Covenant: http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/statements/covenant.html

Lausanne history: http://www.gospelcom.net/lcwe/history.htm

With the release of the whole-Bible edition of the gender-neutral Today's New International Version (TNIV) on the horizon, a book on gender-neutral Bible translations by Wayne A. Grudem and Vern S. Poythress has been significantly expanded and republished.

The TNIV and the Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy was released last month by Broadman & Holman. Entitled The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy: Muting the Masculinity of God’s Words when published in 2000, the new book includes six additional chapters in which the authors interact with scholars who wrote in defense of the TNIV New Testament.

The TNIV New Testament was published in early 2002 by Zondervan and the International Bible Society (IBS), setting off a spirited debate among scholars opposed to and in favor of the use of gender-neutral language. Within the next few weeks, Zondervan and IBS are expected to release an updated edition of the TNIV that includes both the Old and New Testaments.

The Grudem/Poythress volume includes the original 14 chapters and six appendices that composed the original volume. These chapters deal with such translation issues as use of the generic "he," unacceptable changes that eliminate references to men, and permissible changes in translating gender-related terms, among a myriad of related topics.

The updated edition includes the work of the two authors regarding the TNIV New Testament. Here, Grudem and Poythress offer a brief summary of concerns about the TNIV and interact with gender-neutral advocates such as D.A. Carson, Craig Blomberg, Darrell Bock, Peter Bradley, and Bruce Waltke. Additionally, the authors present a categorized list of 900 translation inaccuracies in the TNIV.

The book also shows how the TNIV avoids using the generic "he" and lists more than 100 evangelical leaders who agree that the TNIV is not sufficiently trustworthy to commend to the church.

"Vern Poythress and Wayne Grudem have presented a well-reasoned and level-headed argument for their case," Valeria Becker Makkai writes in the forward. Makkai is associate professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

"Indeed, they are a voice of reason in a dispute that is fraught with emotion and misinformation. They clearly understand the fluid and changing nature of language and their arguments are based on sound linguistic principles…"

The weighty book, which checks in at 484 pages, is accessible to the lay reader as well as the reader with theological education. The authors seek to couch the issues in ordinary language and attempt to stay clear of technical terms as much as possible.

The authors write in their preface: "Both of us authors think that the issue of Bible translation deserves careful reflection, and that Christians need to be aware of the problems with gender-neutral translations."

The book is available through the CBMW webstore at http://www.cbmw.org/cgi-bin/store?show|509|Gender_Issues.

A new book unpacks the doctrine of the Trinity from both biblical and historical perspectives and also answers the arguments of two egalitarians who assert that the tri-unity of God does not make a case for gender roles.

In his book, The Holy Trinity: In Scripture, History, Theology, and Worship (P&R Publishing), Robert Letham examines the doctrine exegetically and traces its historical development through the 20th century. Letham demonstrates how the Trinity is unfolded throughout the fabric of Scripture.

Further, he shows how the doctrine developed through the early church and the ecumenical councils as the patristic fathers sorted orthodoxy from heresy to establish a Trinitarian doctrine that was faithful to Scripture.

The 551-page work also looks at how key persons in church history-Augustine, Calvin, and Barth among many others-understood and articulated the doctrine. He also engages the Trinity in terms of four pivotal issues: the incarnation, worship and prayer, creation and missions, and persons.

In the two appendices that close the work, Letham interacts with two major egalitarians and their arguments for a Trinity without order.

In the first appendix, Letham argues against Gilbert Bilezikian’s 1997 article that appeared in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS) in which Bilezikian takes Letham to task for his 1990 article arguing for order within the Trinity.

Letham exposes several errors in Bilezikian’s view of the Trinity. Chief among Bilezikian’s errors, Letham says, is his claim that Scripture does not teach that Christ obeys the father in a way that makes Him subordinate to the Father.

Letham also argues that Bilezikian’s conception of a Trinity without order comes dangerously close to modalism, Nestorianism and other heterodox views of the Trinity that were afoot during the early centuries of the church.

In the second appendix, Letham seeks to answer Kevin Giles’ 2002 book The Trinity and Subordinationism (IVP) in which Giles targets conservative evangelicals who maintain a complementary view of the sexes on the basis of a presumed hierarchy of being, function, or role in the Trinity.

Regarding Giles’ thesis, Letham concludes: "In the end, Giles’s argument collapses. It is self-defeating. He has to point to the submission of Christ on earth as a paradigm for the mutual submission the he calls (rightly) on us all to display. So he says repeatedly that ‘voluntary subordination is godlike.’ Indeed, ‘what is Christlike is to subordinate oneself.’

"Giles misses the point that if the Son submits to the Father in eternity, his submission could hardly have been imposed on him, for he is coequal with the Father, of the identical divine being. He submits willingly."

Letham serves as senior minister of Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, Del. He is also adjunct professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary and also teaches at Reformed Theological Seminary.

Letham’s book was released earlier this month. Readers of books on sound doctrine should also anticipate another work soon to be released by Crossway Books on the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance--written by Bruce Ware, a member of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood--is due for release in early 2005.

Ware’s work deals explicitly with the Trinity in terms of the doctrine’s application to gender roles and interpersonal relationships. It will be available in the CBMW webstore at www.cbmw.org/store/ upon release.

Two new books from Crossway seek to rebuild the biblical foundation for marriage, family and sexual morality.

God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation by Andreas J. Kostenberger with David W. Jones and True Sexual Morality: Recovering Biblical Standards for a Culture in Crisis by Daniel R. Heimbach both were released by Crossway Books to coincide with the 56th annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society held Nov. 17-19 in San Antonio, Texas.

In God, Marriage and Family, the authors meet head-on the cultural crisis confronting family by providing an integrated, biblical treatment of the full range of issues surrounding marriage and family.

The work encompasses more than 400 pages and covers in-depth such special issues that arise with marriage and family such as childrearing, singleness, homosexuality, divorce and remarriage.

The overarching purpose of the authors is to develop a biblical theology of marriage and family to fill a glaring void within the present corpus of Christian literature on the topic. Despite the existence of an endless array of books on marriage and family, few, if any, seriously engage the Bible as a whole, the authors argue. God, Marriage, and Family seeks to do just that.

"Many, if not most, of the plethora of popular books written on marriage and family are theologically weak and not fully adequate in their application of sound principles of biblical interpretation," the authors assert.

"Many of these authors have Ph.D.s in counseling or psychology but their formal training in the study of Scripture is lacking. Theological and hermeneutical naiveté gives birth to superficial diagnoses, which in turn issue in superficial remedies. It seems that the dynamics and effects of sin are poorly understood in our day. The result is that many Christian self-help books owe more to secular culture than a thoroughgoing Christian worldview."

God, Marriage, and Family includes chapters on marriage and family in the Old and New Testaments, the nature of marriage, wisdom from Solomon on childrearing, the gift of singleness, the biblical verdict on homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, and qualifications for church leadership. In the final chapter, the authors present a biblical synthesis on marriage and family.

Kostenberger serves as professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D./Th.M. Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a prolific author and distinguished evangelical scholar. Kostenberger and his wife have four children.

Jones is assistant professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Seminary. He is married with two children.

A second new title, True Sexual Morality, examines the biblical teaching on sexual morality alongside four counterfeit views that have crept into a contemporary culture that often prides itself on being "sexually revolutionized."

Heimbach, like Kostenberger and Jones, serves on the faculty of Southeastern Seminary. Born in China of missionary parents and educated at the U.S. Naval Academy, Heimbach serves at Southeastern Seminary as professor of Christian Ethics. He is also a council member of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW).

At more than 500 pages, Heimbach’s work gives readers an in-depth examination of the moral relativism that is spreading with the speed and destructive force of a marauding blaze through contemporary culture. He seeks to open the reader’s eyes to the effects that non-biblical sexual choices have on individuals, the family, the church, and the culture.

In the preface, Heimbach sets forth several ways in which his book differs from others on the topic of sexual morality. His work rejects influences on sexual morality from sources outside the Bible, assumes that universal moral truth can be known and applied, and combines biblical exegesis and analysis with warning and exhortation. Heimbach addresses two different audiences: those within theological education such as seminarians and pastors, along with those outside the academy such as parents, Sunday School teachers and young adults.

In the first chapter, Heimbach places sex squarely at the center of the contemporary moral crisis.

"Since we became a nation, nothing so divisive has threatened common life in America, and never have the stakes been so high," he writes. "In just one generation, we have witnessed a total revolution in the way people think of sex, and this in turn is creating a demand for monumental revisions affecting every social institution at almost every level."

The book is divided into four parts: Sexual Chaos in the Culture, The Biblical View of Sexual Morality, Counterfeit Views of Sexual Morality, and Assessing the State of Sexual Morality. Each section contains several chapters breaking down the particular topic, and the book concludes with four appendices.

Both books are available through the CBMW webstore:
God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation
True Sexual Morality: Recovering Biblcal Standards for a Culture in Crisis.