Right now I'm following a book study that a guy in our church is doing on Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood Available at Amazon or for free HERE), and I'm thinking of suggesting that our women's morning Bible study consider it for our next book. With that said, those involved in/are thinking that they might want to be involved in this study, please take this as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with a bit of the book's content. To others who are not part of that study/are just reading this, take it as a challenge to consider your viewpoint and actual day to day behavior on this subject.

One of the main topics addressed at the beginning of the book seems to be that of the Scriptural support for believers being either egalitarian or complementarian in their understanding of how men and women are to relate to each other in marriage and in the church. I didn't know the details of either viewpoint and both, by name, seemed "okay" as biblical view points. After all, I do believe that God created men and women equal before him - we each are created in His image. I also believe that, in the ideal circumstances where we are each walking in obedience, women and men complement each other in how they are wired. I knew, though, that these simplistic first impressions were probably, just that, "simplistic." So I went ahead and read through THIS paper which fleshes out the evidences, objections/and responses to those objections for those, like me, who didn't know. Very interesting. A somewhat longer, "academic" read (I looked up a couple of terms), but DON'T be daunted! If you are a believer, it is well worth reading through (on the longer side, but I saved it for a time where I could really think and be without distractions - again, I'm challenging my sisters in Christ to rise to the challenge rather than think, "Oh, I'm not that brainy/into the deeper stuff, I can just go to a study and have people tell me what to think.") because it does affect how we treat/view our spouses and how we view our own role/other's roles in the church body.

Questions that I'm asking myself after reading just the paper on defining egalitarnian and complementarian viewpoints (Oh, and by the way, I've determined, thus far, that I count myself as a complementarian, though I am finding myself behaving more like an egalitarian in some areas of my marriage).

1a. If I believe that I am created in God's image and to be a helper (as defined by a complementarian) to my husband, how does that affect how I make decisions in my daily life?

1b. Do I rationalize sin (selfishness, greed/spending $, laziness, not holding my tongue, gossip) because I think, "Oh, I'm just a stronger personality than my husband, that's just how God made me. God made him more patient and self-controlled by nature so he's naturally good at that,"?

2. How often does the more evangelical feminist tendencies (not to mention the overwhelming feminist viewpoints of our world) affect how I view myself and my behavior in my marriage?

3. How do I submit to my husband in our marriage? Is this truly a joy or do I view it as drudgery/that I've "lost" in a competition?

4. Do I seek out the wisdom of my husband (in bigger and smaller things -not just waiting for the "biggies" to come along that involve spending a lot of money), or do I automatically think, "Oh, I know how to deal with this," not giving him the chance to guide me as the leader of our family? (Obviously not all decisions can/should be discussed and I do have a decent idea of what I do know how to handle - don't read this as I need to ask him which cereal to buy.)

5. How often do I pray for my husband in his career, his position in our family, his role in our church body, etc.?

6. How do I honor him in our marriage - recognizing him and appreciating him for who God created him to be and not taking advantage of how he loves me (ie. giving him "guys' nights" and opportunities to go have fun/relax as much as he is willing to serve and give them to me - again, not thinking that I "need" them more because I'm wired the way I am)?

Okay, I could go on, and we'll have to see how much more I am able to process. This book study could stretch on longer than I am able to keep up with it (with baby coming etc.), so I might not be able to follow through with it all, but it's fun to get the brain cells juiced and allow God to instruct/convict me...

Thoughts?