LA MIRADA, CALIF. — Biola’s Talbot School of Theology professor Michelle Lee-Barnewall will release her new book “Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian” on March 15, 2016.

Lee-Barnewall gives a new perspective to the evangelical gender debate about leadership in the church in her new book. The Talbot professor explores beyond the two sides that are common in the evangelical circle and challenges the standard premises and arguments while offering new insights into a perennially divisive issue in the church. “There is a growing sense among many that neither position quite encapsulates what they sense is the biblical view” writes Lee-Barnewall. “I have come to believe that the topic cannot be completely defined by complementarian the egalitarian viewpoint, and that there is room, even a necessity, for an alternative way of conceptualizing gender issues.”

“The church’s debate over gender and leadership has become an intractable problem because we have adopted the model of the world, where leadership is about equality, rights, privilege, power, and position,” said Mark L. Strauss, a professor of New Testament Studies at Bethel Seminary in San Diego. “Michelle Lee-Barnewall calls for a radical paradigm shift that adopts the upside-down values of the kingdom of God, where humility, love, service, unity, and responsibility replace power, privilege, and position as the guiding principles for true servant leadership. If put into practice, this book would transform not only the gender debate but also the prevailing model for all Christian leadership.”

Michelle Lee-Barnewall is trained in New Testament studies and currently teaches biblical interpretation and New Testament studies at Biola University. Her desire is to help students develop their relationship with Christ through an informed and application-oriented understanding of Scripture. Lee-Barnewall has published articles in New Testament Studies and Novum Testamentum and has presented papers at the national meetings of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Society of Biblical Literature. Lee-Barnewall has a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, a masters in science from Pensacola Christian College, masters of arts from Talbot School of Theology and University of Notre Dame, and a Ph. D from the University of Notre Dame. Lee-Barnewall is also the author of “Beauty is Soul Deep,” “Paul, The Stoics, and the Body of Christ” and “World of the New Testament, The: Cultural, Social, and Historical Contexts.”

“Neither Complementarian nor Egalitarian” is available for digital download now on Baker Book House as well as a pre-order on both Baker Book House and Amazon.

 

Written by Drew Mattocks, Public Relations Intern. For further information, contact Jenna Loumagne, media relations specialist, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.