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He is Pastor Emeritus at Calvary Church in Muskegon, MI, where he served for 32 years. He and Gloria have been married for over 50 years. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
Aug 17, 2012 · The school was well on its way to independent status when the church congregation in May made the final vote to, as Senior Pastor Bill Rudd puts it, “close its school ministry.”
After decades serving Baptist churches and universities Dr. Bill Rudd made a deep dive into the key passages on women and men and surprised himself with what...
- 23 min
- 263
- Tru316 Foundation
May 30, 2021 · Pastor Bill Rudd 5.30.2021
- Four Spheres of Study
- Genesis 1–3
- Jesus and Women
- Galatians 3:28
- Hierarchy and Headship
- Translations in “Ground Zero” Texts
- What Kind of “Silence” Is specified?
- Women Leaders in The Bible
- Conclusion
Rudd’s goal for the book is: “to present…credible exegesis for every relevant passage, including the most challenging ones, to arrive at a consistent position regarding gender roles in the church and beyond (p. 11).” In chapters 1 and 2, he specifies the reasons an intentional study on gender roles in the church matters. In chapter 1, he briefly de...
Early in the book, Rudd examines the different interpretations of God’s creation intent as seen in Genesis 1–3. The debate centers on whether God designed men to lead and women to follow or for male and female to function in a unified partnership without hierarchy. Did the fall precipitate the breakup of mutuality or confirm male rulership? Rudd th...
Next, Rudd builds a case against gender-role hierarchy in his section on Jesus and gender roles (pp. 83–89). He states two conclusions. The first, within the scriptural record of Jesus’s teachings, “There is not one wordsuggesting hierarchy between the genders. Jesus’ silence speaks volumes (p. 85, emphasis his).” Secondly, Jesus counter-culturally...
Regarding Galatians 3:28, Rudd links the removal of differentiation with the observance of baptism as “the new covenant initiation rite” and “a great equalizer of the genders (p. 104).” He does not argue that Galatians erases the distinctions between genders, ethnicities, or classes. Instead, he probes this question: If Galatians 3:28 allows for a ...
Chapters 5 and 6 focus on relationships in connection with hierarchy and headship, respectively. The premise put forth in these chapters, and throughout the book, is that “concession passages,” (specific scriptural texts directing women, children, and slaves to submit) are “temporary concessions” for the purpose of maintaining peace and preventing ...
The heart of Rudd’s argument against a hierarchal ordering of males and females resides in Chapters 7 through 10, in which he details “mistranslation” issues in the “ground zero” texts of 1 Timothy 2:11–15 and 1 Corinthians 14:33–35. Rudd agrees with Bible scholar Cynthia Westfall’s premise within her book, Paul and Gender: Reclaiming the Apostle’s...
Rudd expresses frustration with inconsistent translations of selected Greek words in passages about women. For example, the Greek word σιγαω, meaning “to be silent, to hold one’s peace,” is found three times in 1 Corinthians 14:26–35 (pp. 235–250). He argues that the first two uses of this word indicate a momentary or temporary halt to conversing b...
Chapter 11 reads like a women’s hall of faith. Rudd provides a biblical survey of the leadership roles women have held—prophet, judge, deacon, teacher, disciple, and apostle. In highlighting the words of Huldah, Anna, and the mother of King Lemuel, he argues that women have been “teaching men authoritatively for thousands of years—every time men re...
Writing in a pastoral manner, Rudd chronicles his journey to gain clarity on what the whole of the Bible says about women, their identity, gifts, and their appropriate areas of service in public ministry. Reminding his readers that the church has made errors in interpretation in the past, he surmises the church has erred with gender roles. His egal...
He is Pastor Emeritus at Calvary Church in Muskegon, MI, where he served for 32 years. He and Gloria have been married for over 50 years. They have four children and ten grandchildren. www.pastorbillrudd.com
Sep 29, 2021 · Dr. Bill Rudd has been a pastor in five churches for over a half century as well as an adjunct seminary professor. In retirement, he serves as a church consultant, interim pastor, and workplace chaplain.
