Tom Dahlman

When it comes to women in ministry, there are hundreds of examples across Scripture of women leading, prophesying, teaching, and breaking cultural barriers in the name of God. Yet, again and again, parts of the church bypass all of that and land on the two New Testament passages that seem to restrict women — passages that, conveniently, happen to confirm what our culture already expected. This pattern itself is ancient.

When my friend Chris told me he was driving up from Dallas to tell me something, I was very confused. It was a five-hour drive. Whatever he needed to say, couldn't he just say it over the phone? But maybe there are some things that need to be said face to face. We had been friends for more than a decade. Somewhere in the back of my mind I had noticed that Chris had never had a girlfriend, never even been on a date. I assumed he was shy. By the time I hung up the phone, I was pretty sure I...

Looking back, I can only describe it as a kind of violent mercy — because what shattered was not really my faith in God. What shattered was an idol that had been wearing God’s face.