2022 Christianity Today Award of Merit, Christian Living & Spiritual Formation
2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist, Religion
A new vision for loving one another as sisters and brothers in Jesus. Many Christian women and men carry heavy burdens. Much teaching on gender relations, roles, and rules binds the conscience beyond what Scripture actually teaches. Gender has become a battleground for power. But God created men and women not to compete for glory but to cooperate for his glory.
In Jesus and Gender, Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher paint a new vision for gender--Christ's gentle and lowly heart. The centrality of the gospel has been lost in gender debates. Our ultimate example is Jesus, our humble king, who used his power to serve others. So we must rethink our identities, roles, and relationships around him. Christ transformed enemies into family. Men and women are allies in God's mission.
Drawing from Scripture and experience, Fitzpatrick and Schumacher show how Jesus's example speaks to all areas of our lives as men and women, including vocation, marriage, parenting, friendships, and relating to each other as sisters and brothers in Christ. Real-life testimonies from a variety of Christians--including Christine Caine, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb, and Karen Swallow Prior--show a variety of men and women freed to pursue their gifts for God's glory.
Fitzpatrick and Schumacher's perspective untangles what God has said about gender from what he hasn't. By coming to Jesus, women and men can find rest.
Eric Schumacher is associate pastor of Grand Avenue Baptist Church in Ames, Iowa, and coauthor, with Elyse Fitzpatrick, of Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women. He earned his MDiv from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has been married for over a decade.
If you only ever read one book about God's intention for female and male relationships, read this one.
--Christine Caine, founder of A21 and Propel Women
Powerful. Enlightening. Inspiring. ... This book is a gift to all siblings in Christ.
--Derwin L. Gray, cofounder and lead pastor of Transformation Church; author of How To Heal Our Racial Divide
This book overflows with theological understanding, deep comfort, and wise insights.
--Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb, authors of God Made All of Me, God Made Me in His Image, Is It My Fault?, and Rid of My Disgrace
This is a refreshing read, especially for someone who is burned out on gender roles debates and is looking for a meaningful way to uphold and celebrate God's image in all our brothers and sisters.
--Barnabas Piper, pastor and author
Two distinct voices blend into one strong message that, if heeded, will bless and distinguish the body of Christ as a place of uncommon oneness.
--Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God's Global Vision for Women and Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World
Jesus and Gender provides new insights and clarity to Christic masculinity and feminity and what our relationship with one another should look like.
--Hyepin Im, president, CEO, and founder of Faith and Community Empowerment
This book is a balanced and biblical work that affirms the equal value of both men and women and yet still leaves room for brothers and sisters to graciously agree to disagree. I wasn't sure that this kind of balanced approach was even achievable in a single book. I am now convinced.
--Brian Croft, executive director, Practical Shepherding