Serving Shoulder to Shoulder

“One Another” principles are spiritual weapons. The practical application of these principles may look different in various cultures. This simple type of earth-shaking relationship will challenge the foundation of every world religion. Pick up your “One Another” weapons and learn to use them!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

No Bible verse exists that distinguishes roles between men and women. The Bible never states, “leadership is male” or “cooking is female.” By true definition, roles are interchangeable. Multiple people can do the job. Often cultural context determines whether a job is held by a man or woman. But when it comes to Christian leadership, some people have changed the definition of role, describing leadership as fixed, permanent, and based on gender.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Submit to one another...that was the example of Christ. That is also the goal of husbands and wives (brothers/ sisters). Did Jesus limit himself, deny himself, humble himself, put his Bride’s needs ahead of his own? Yes! When men and women exemplify mutual submission as in Ephesians 5, the world will take note. We become a humble, harmonious, darkness-shaking model of Jesus!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Very clearly Paul laid out the qualifications for leaders in the church. He described episcopos (overseers), deaconos (deacons), and presbuteros (elders). Such responsibility does not suit everyone. It requires high moral character. Let’s examine the requirements found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God wants humble, godly teachers of truth to flourish. But in the pagan city of Ephesus, false teachers abounded in the church. Paul instructed Timothy to stop them. In 1 Timothy, Paul repeatedly mentioned the false teachers of myths and genealogies and used neuter pronouns to describe them - certain people, these, some, they. These neuter pronouns show that false teachers were both male and female. (See 1:3-7, 4:7, 5:15, 6:3, 6:9, 6:17-18, 6:20). Paul wanted all false teaching to cease immediately!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Some Christian teachers seek to limit women teaching the Bible because they claim women are more easily deceived. Consider, who began Buddhism? Buddha. Islam? Mohammed. Mormonism? Joseph Smith. Those three men have influenced the spiritual destinies of 2+ billion people. Both men and women can be deceived and can lead others astray! It’s not just a girl thing. It’s not just a boy thing. Deception is a human thing!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God does not consider the voices of his daughters in the Church shameful! This teaching grieves his heart. Where does the idea come from? In his pastoral letter to Corinth, Paul the church planter, corrects a dysfunctional church. Let’s dig into 1 Corinthians 14:34-40.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Observe Paul’s structure of 1 Corinthians 14:34-40. Paul structured this chiasm to help display unity and peace in the church of Corinth. Paul corrected the chaos caused by two main groups — Spiritual indulgers and Ascetic legalists. Paul first corrected the expressive Spirituals by limiting tongues, prophets, and inquisitive women. Then he corrected the Ascetics by setting free the same three groups.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

The original Greek manuscript had no punctuation - no commas, question marks, quotations, or periods. This linguistic detail may sound minor, but it can make a huge difference in translation and the meaning of a passage.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit eternally share power and authority, with “none greater or lesser.” God is NOT ranked in a fixed, eternal hierarchy. Neither should men and women be ranked in a fixed hierarchy.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Jesus has ALL authority in heaven and on earth (exousia epi). Jesus gives his men and women disciples authority to make disciples of all nations. Jesus shares power, and we should too! In Scripture, the word exousia is never used to express men’s authority over women!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

The 2-2-2 Principle displays Paul’s heart to multiply the Good News. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul opened up biblical teaching to all godly teachers, and he laid out a plan for Gospel multiplication. Are you a leader like Paul who sought to multiply the Gospel, or do you use Paul to try to limit the Good News teachers?To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Paul passionately wanted the entire world to know Jesus. As the Church’s most fruitful missionary, he wanted more laborers. As an on-fire evangelist, Paul desired to INCREASE Good News going out. As a spirit-led equipper, he refused to dishonor and quench the Holy Spirit’s gifting in any believer. As a brilliant thinker and strategist, Paul would not foolishly “sit down half the football team.”To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

1 Corinthians 11:7-9 has simple answers where some have sought to show male superiority. Both male and female are made in God’s image; you know it, and Paul knew it. De can mean “also.” Dia can mean “because of.” Understanding these prepositions clears up any confusion,To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

YES! rosh = Physical head = kephale. But Greek translators who intended to indicate a “leader with authority,” HARDLY EVER used kephale as the most appropriate Greek word. The amazing Greek language had many options to show leadership or command.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Yes, he did. Aristotle believed that males were superior, and females were inferior. Warning: This next bit of information might shock you. Aristotle based his belief that men were complete/preferred because they could produce semen, while women could not. Because of this ability/lack of ability, Aristotle considered men superior and women as “defective males.” Aristotle shaped culture. When Paul used the word kephale (head), his first century Greek audience would likely share Aristotle’s view and think of body imagery. Again, kephale rarely meant “authority.” But “origin of life, growth, and nourishment” makes perfect sense.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Yes, but probably not how you think! We need to dig into the Greek context of Paul’s first century audience to see how they understood the word “head” (kephale).To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Because God looks at the heart, all believers should exercise their God-given spiritual gifts for the benefit and building up of the Body of Christ. May we not dishonor the Holy Spirit by quenching or grieving or denying God’s daughters and sons from using their spiritual gifts. May we also consider the heart!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God is consistent. If we find ONE example of a godly woman leading in Scripture, and God approves them, then God must approve of godly women leading.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Paul flipped the Jewish prayer on its head — the Beraka was no longer in effect! No longer were free, Jewish males the only blessed ones. No longer would a person’s physical or cultural status limit their entry or full participation in the Church. Now in Christ, all belong, all are sons, all inherit, all are Beraka...blessed!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

To “the beginning!” Where in the Hebrew Bible would you turn to find a good example of marriage? Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and Leah/ Rachel/Bilhah/Zilpah, David and Bathsheba, Solomon and his 700? Where should WE look in Scripture to find the ideal marriage?To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

TO FULFIL A SYMBOL! The reason Jesus chose “males” is the same reason he chose “Jews,” and the same reason he chose “twelve”…to represent the New Israel! To fulfil this “type” he could not pick slaves, or women, or Gentiles. No other arrangement would convey the same meaning to his audience. So, Jesus intentionally selected 12 Jewish males to lead on a miracle-filled, wilderness journey of divine healing, mountain-top teaching, and conquering of demonic forces. Generations earlier, God himself had guided the 12 tribes of Israel through 40 years of wandering and miracles. By his choice, Jesus pointed to new Israel, AND he symbolically revealed his own divinity, by placing HIMSELF as the leader of the new Israel, giving new commands, and establishing a new covenant in his own blood!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

He treated them as valuable and trusted sisters. He loved, cherished, and honored them, which is NORMAL in God’s kingdom, but SHOCKING in Jewish culture. His blood overcame sin, and his resurrection defeated death and the Fallen world, establishing the REDEEMED Family.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Every fallen culture has a similar list of poor and broken relationships. You can probably think of many examples in your own life. Every society has drifted far from God’s Ideal Family. Into this sad, depressed, dark, unjust, sinful world... Jesus entered! Praise God! Jesus came and shined out with a new standard, a new honor, a new hope.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

So much changed at the Fall! Not only did sin enter the world and break people’s fellowship with God, it also fractured the relationship between male and female. With the word t’suqah, God revealed a tendency of females due to the Fall. They would struggle to devote themselves to God - often preferring the smile of a man. To this day all believers must battle to turn eyes, focus, and desires toward God, rather than turning toward the world.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

In Genesis 3, God described the consequences of a fallen world. Female t’suqah and male mashal were not God’s plan for a harmonious and powerful world-changing family. They indicated the horrendous tragedy that occurred at the Fall— the breakdown of God’s powerful, harmonious, and collaborative team.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

“First” does not equal “leader.” In Genesis 2, the peak of creation (man) parallels the other peak of creation (woman). Both were created in God’s image, with shared blessings, commands, responsibilities. The first woman came from man; now every man comes from a woman. What a powerful couple created to bless the world! Rather than reading “created first = leader/authority,” into the text, celebrate God’s powerful, mutual design!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God intended, by the creation of woman, to make a “strength” or “power” that would “correspond” to the man—equal strengths. Nothing in the text indicates the woman is inferior, weaker, lesser, limited, or in any way carries less authority than the man. God created the man and woman to be powerful counterparts with a worldwide mission!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God honored and blessed the first man and woman and gave them both five key commands. In the ideal perfection of sinless creation, we find God’s heart to bless humanity and establish a world reaching mandate that leads to human flourishing.Consider God’s first words to people in Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” God used plural verbs and plural pronouns.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

BOTH male and female are made in God’s image. Created by God, men and women are NOT divine. However, God stamps us with the Creator’s imprint. Every human has inherent value - given as a gift from the Creator. We do not earn this value or worth. God doesn’t wait to stamp boys and girls at birth with his image. God’s image is deeply woven into the being of every child - from the moment of conception.Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ”To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

God is neither male nor female! Unlike the Canaanite deities from Old Testament days, and unlike certain Hindu, tribal, or ancestral deities that modern people worship, God is above gender.Christians do not believe that God is “an old man with a beard and ten fingers and ten toes.” Absolutely not! Neither does God consist of female body parts. Absolutely not! In John 4:24, Jesus made it clear when he explained, “God is Spirit.” When the Word became flesh, Jesus was certainly male. However, the eternal, Triune God is neither male nor female.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

How is a verse from a minor Old Testament prophet relevant to this topic?To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

How was Shoulder to Shoulder founded? Why is there a need to explain the biblical passages about men and women serving Christ?To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

S2S seeks to encourage followers of Jesus who want to obey the Bible and figure out how men and women can work together in the Gospel.Our audience is: - FRONT-LINE DISCIPLE MAKERS/CHURCH PLANTERS - CURIOUS INDIVIDUAL FOLLOWERS of Jesus who love the Bible and want ALL Jesus offers. - CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH LEADERS who see the potential of women in your congregation.- NOT THE ANGRY WOMAN OR MAN who wants to use the Bible for your own purposes in a way that violates the holiness of God. - NOT THOSE AGAINST WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP in the Church. For more information and videos, check out www.servingshouldertoshoulder.comYou can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

S2S seeks to encourage followers of Jesus who want to obey the Bible and figure out how men and women can work together in the Gospel.The Bible remains trustworthy, withstanding attacks for centuries.Rest assured. Not only the content, but also the literary structure of the Bible reveals that there HAD to be a divine author!To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.You can also watch the full video version of this podcast.

Men and Women Running Together to Complete the Great Commission. Serving Shoulder to Shoulder dives into the Hebrew, Greek, and Biblical culture to address today's most popular questions, limitations, and misinterpretations of the Bible about women and men.To view more content visit the website www.servingshouldertoshoulder.com.