6 Egalitarian-Leaning Books that Won't Scare Off Your Complementarian Friends

Here's a common situation I encounter:

A complementarian-leaning friend, pastor, or parishioner wants to know why our church supports women in ministry leadership and an egalitarian worldview. How did we (or could we) biblically come to this position?

Knowing this is an area of research for me, they reach out asking for good book recommendations to help explore the topic further. They are genuinely curious, even if they've always embraced "traditional" gender roles within the church.

"What's a good book I can read that explains your egalitarian position?"

Often the context is that someone in their own church or circle of friends is an egalitarian and wants to know why their church or pastors are opposed to women in leadership, which sometimes causes the church leadership to consider the other side of the debate.

One recent situation was an independent church whose board was opening up the topic for discussion and considering changing their official written position of male-only leadership. Knowing we have women pastors who lead and preach, they asked for resources that back up our church's position.

There are lots of great blogs, websites, articles, magazines, and more on the topic, which I'll likely put together in a future post. But often (especially those a bit older) the specific ask is for a book, a lengthier and thorough treatment of the subject, something reputable from a well-known author or publisher.

These are amazing opportunities that I approach with great care (and a little fear and trembling!). I want my fellow friends, churches, and leaders to embrace an egalitarian position. I don't want to mess up this chance! But I know they won't respond to a "radical" or "feminist-driven" argument, even if I personally think they are great books or perfectly orthodox and biblical.

So what are some "safe" books you can recommend to your complementarian friends that are well-argued, accessible (not overly academic), take a measured approach that won't scare them off, and fall within the boundaries of evangelical theology? Do such books even exist?! Yes!

I've only included books I've actually read. I'm aware there are some other great books that would fit this category, but I don't like to recommend something that's not on my shelf and I haven't read myself.

Of course I like to think my book could make this list, and it's part of the reason I wrote it, but aside from that, here are (in no particular order and a mix of newer and older books) . . .

6 Egalitarian-Leaning Books that Complementarians Might Consider Reading

(Although I could offer my own summaries and comments on each, I'll simply link to the book's page where you can view its contents, reviews, etc.)

1. Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry by Stanley Grenz and Denise Kjesbo
2. Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, & Practical Perspectives (compilation of essays). Curiously the subtitle of previous editions was Complementarity without Hierarchy. It's obvious why they changed it as it's an egalitarian-leaning book, but the old subtitle sort of proves my point that this is a book complementarians might find palatable.
3. Partners in Christ: A Conservative Case for Egalitarianism by John Stackhouse
4. Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian: A Kingdom Corrective to the Evangelical Gender Debate by Michelle Lee-Barnewall
5. Women, Authority, and the Bible: Some of Today's Leading Evangelicals Seek to Break Through a Critical Impasse (compilation of essays)
6. Paul, Women, & Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul by Craig Keener

I hope you'll pick one or two, get them on your shelf, and lend them out to those genuinely looking for answers. If you think this is a helpful list, please consider sharing this post using the social buttons below!

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