Dorothy A. Lee - The Ministry of Women in the New Testament: Reclaiming the Biblical Vision for Church Leadership

In this timely and much-needed study, Lee offers a balanced, scholarly, and accessible foray into New Testament and early church understandings and presentations of ministerial roles for women. Her holistic approach makes sense of both these often-difficult writings and their treatment in developing Christian traditions. Her powerful conclusion leaves no doubt about proper contextualization and paths forward in our continual interpretation of Scripture and tradition for the vocational calls of all people. As the apostle Paul says, No longer Jew or Greek,... slave or free,... male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams offspring, heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:2829 NRSV).

Sherri Brown , Creighton University

Scholar Dorothy Lee strongly urges the church to go beyond the biblical texts usually cited as obstacles to the full acceptance of women in the ministry and leadership of the church. Instead, she urges the church to turn to the deeper currents of Jesuss own example and to the New Testament vision of a church in which all women and men are recognized as equal sharers in the mission of the Risen Christ for the renewal of the world. Her study engages key New Testament texts and motifs and traces their evolving interpretations across time and cultures.

Donald Senior, CP , Catholic Theological Union, Chicago

Lee offers a fresh review of the relevant New Testament texts related to women and ministry. She looks at women not only in the Gospels and in Pauls letters but also in important passages in Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation, and she includes reflections on early Christian tradition and systematic theology. Newcomers to this conversation will find this book a great place to begin. Others will benefit from her discussions of the latest scholarship. Lee makes a well-rounded and compelling case for women in ministry.

Nijay K. Gupta , Northern Seminary

Lee is a biblical theologian, and this is evident in her outstanding study of womens ministry in the New Testament. Her biblical analysis is thorough as she carefully examines key texts. Her discussion of the household codes helps readers to understand this particular genre, how it developed, and its purpose within a society where the gospel was preached in the face of hostility and persecution. She also moves beyond the biblical texts to other writings in the early church to examine how the canonical texts were received and interpreted in later centuries. Lee then moves into the theology of interpretation and reveals the deliberate suppression of womens leadership. I wholeheartedly IIIrecommend this book to all who seek to expand their knowledge of the Scriptures, the tradition, and theological thinking. Bravo, Dorothy.

Mary Coloe , Australian Catholic University

In her deeply researched yet accessible new book, Lee provides a much-needed antidote to the misperception that women in early communities of Christ followers were not community and church leaders. She aptly demonstrates from a variety of evidence and perspectives that the ministry of women flourished during the early Christian era.

Ally Kateusz , Wijngaards Institute of Catholic Research, Rickmansworth, London

Lee brings together a knowledge of the scriptural and theological sources and a sensitive engagement with the many facets of the debate in this accessible and persuasive volume. She takes her readers through the varying voices of the New Testament as well as the lesser-known early church evidence for womens participation in the work of the gospel, and she tackles these questions with confidence from a theological and social perspective. This book will surely encourage respectful discussion among all who look to Scripture and tradition as they wrestle with contemporary challenges.

Judith M. Lieu , University of Cambridge (emerita)

Lees study of the Christian traditions surrounding the ministry of women makes a major contribution to an important debate. This crucial discussion is too often marred by shrill dogmatism from both sides. Her analysis leads her to affirm convincingly that baptism is the primary symbol that draws women and men into a relationship with Christ that transcends all human barriers.... All Christians have the capacity to communicate Christ to others and to share his life in multiple forms of ministry.

Francis J . Moloney, SDB , Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity, Melbourne, Australia