John Piper Suggests Allowing Women To Lead in Parachurch Organizations Is ‘Naïve,’ ‘Culturally Compromised’

John Piper
Micah Chiang, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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“But in any case, regardless of the relationships in which a woman finds herself, mature femininity will seek to express itself in appropriate ways,” Piper went on to write. “There are ways for a woman to interact even with a male subordinate that signal to him and others her endorsement of his mature manhood in relationship to her as a woman.”

To illustrate, Piper described a woman guiding a man by giving him directions to the freeway, saying, “She has superior knowledge that the man needs and he submits himself to her guidance. But we all know that there is a way for that housewife to direct the man that neither of them feels their mature femininity or masculinity compromised.”

Responses to Piper

As Piper’s words have begun to circulate on social media, a number of people have weighed in with criticism. 

One person, responding satirically, wrote, “Not only are we going to claim patriarchy, we’re going to gaslight you into feeling empathetic for us males…Let’s go ahead and step wildly out of context to apply patriarchy to every area of life.”

Another remarked, “I would like to see women walk out en masse from churches that treat them as second class citizens.”

“Piper keeps digging in deeper,” wrote Nancy Pearcy, professor and scholar in residence at Houston Christian University. “I am a professor at a Christian university. Some of my students are men—which means, I teach men. Many men also read my books, which could be construed as a type of teaching.”

“Add to that the fact that I get invited to speak at colleges, seminaries, conferences, and schools,” Pearcy continued. “That is another form of teaching.”

RELATED: John Piper Denounces Sexual Role-Playing, Calls It ‘The Way of the Fool’

Derwin Gray, North Carolina pastor and former NFL player, responded to Pearcy, “Keep going Nancy! I addressed this awhile back.”

In his reply, Gray linked to a sermon in which he preached against the notion that women must “remain silent in the church.”

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Dale Chamberlain
Dale Chamberlain (M.Div) is Content Manager for ChurchLeaders. With experience in pastoral ministry as well as the corporate marketing world, he is also an author and podcaster who is passionate about helping people tackle ancient truths in everyday settings. Dale lives in Southern California with his wife Tamara and their three sons.

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