The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy And Women In Leadership -- By: Mimi Haddad
Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 37:4 (Autumn 2023)
Article: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy And Women In Leadership
Author: Mimi Haddad
PP 37:4 (Autumn 2023) p. 8
The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy And Women In Leadership
Mimi Haddad serves as president and CEO of CBE International. She has taught as an adjunct associate professor of historical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, Olivet University and has taught for institutes and organizations worldwide. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Summa Cum Laude). She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. Mimi received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in 2013. She was a founding member of the Evangelicals and Women Study Section at the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) and Evangelicals for Justice. She continues to serve on the leadership of ETS’s Evangelicals and Women.
This article was first presented at the 2022 Evangelical Theological Society in Denver, Colorado. Much of this content is also available in “History Matters: Evangelicals and Woman,” ch. 1 in Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural & Practical Perspectives, ed. Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfall, and Christa L. McKirland (IVP Academic, 2021) esp. 22–28.
Oral history is crucial. Listening to several women working at CBE’s offices opened a universe of insight on why women’s preaching is often viewed as liberal. Here’s what happened.
Three elderly women were volunteering at CBE in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Seated at a table about fifteen feet away from my desk, I could not help but notice their laughter and animated conversation. Leaning in, I learned that all were graduates of Wheaton College, a prominent evangelical college near Chicago, Illinois. Each shared memories from their youth of women preaching in their churches. Laughing out loud, one woman—Alvera Mickelsen (1919–2016), a founder of CBE—said, “You know, it wasn’t until after 1950 that women preaching was considered liberal!” Mickelsen continued sharing her own story, which I had never heard before.
She told these women, “not only did I study Greek with the famous Esther Sabel (1893–1993) at Bethel Bible Institute, but I was also part of the Bethel Trio—an evangelistic team of women representing our denomination, singing and preaching in Baptist General Conference (BGC) churches throughout the Midwest.” In fact, the trio ended their summer tour by singing and giving “a gospel message on Moody Bible Radio,” which she said, “would never happen today!” I decided more people needed to know this history. Here’s what I learned.
Sabel graduated with honors in Greek and English from the University of Chicago. Soon afterwards, she applied for missio...
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