Cynthia Hester

Today’s QQ:  Does Jesus’s Selection of the Twelve Male Apostles Disqualify Female Leaders? Have you ever wondered what you’d ask Jesus if he suddenly appeared while you were walking with a friend as he did with Cleopas on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13­–35)? If that happened to me—after I’d peeled my forehead off the ground and could form words again—I’d ask Jesus about women and the church. I’d query, “What is your ideal for church leadership: Male-female distinctions or complementarity with mutuality in leadership?” In the Bible, multiple stories show that Jesus esteems women. His teaching elevated women’s status, …

Today’s QQ:  Examining Galatians 3:28, does “male and female, one in Christ” have implications for women beyond salvation? Let’s start with a bit of context. Paul sent a letter to the “churches of Galatia” (1:2), in it he describes the newness of life “in Christ.” No longer under the Mosaic Law, believers become “sons of God” through faith in Christ (vv. 25–26). In other words, each person, male or female, who professes faith in Christ becomes a member of the family of God, a “son,” and is declared a full heir “according to the promise” (v 29). Paul further explains …

Today’s QQ:  What Does the Bible Say About the Final Say in Marriage? Where should we go on date night? What extracurricular activities should our child participate in? Which toilet paper brand is preferable? Who will pay the bills? Week in and week out, husbands and wives must make many decisions. When they disagree, who has the final say?In a recent sermon, megachurch pastor Josh Howerton instructed the women in his church that on a bride’s wedding night, she should “stand where he [husband] tells you to stand, wear what he tells you to wear, and do what he tells you to …

Today’s QQ: Jesus chose a woman, Mary Magdalene, as the first witness to his resurrection. What’s the significance? Scriptures: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:1–2). [Peter and John run to the tomb. John looked in and saw that it …

Today’s QQ: What’s the evidence that Phoebe hand-carried Paul’s letter of Romans? Phoebe is the first of ten women that Paul mentioned and affirmed in his letter to the churches at Rome. He introduces and commends Phoebe to the Roman church.     Scriptures: “Now I [Paul] commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon [or servant] of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me” …

Today’s QQ: Is the apostle Paul a misogynist? I’ve often heard this question about Paul. On a recent podcast, a woman commented that she only reads the parts of the Bible that Paul didn’t write because she feels demeaned by what he says about women. Funny, but not funny, an Irish playwright depicted Paul as the “eternal enemy of Woman.” Is Paul the “eternal enemy of woman?” What you believe about Paul impacts your understanding of women and the church. Paul’s letters do contain hard to understand elements (2 Pet 3:16). Especially puzzling are things he writes about women like …