Thread by @bethallisonbarr

I was alerted that some pastor out there is demanding I answer for why abuse occurs in egalitarian spaces too (instead of just complementarian). I must have the guy muted bc I don't have any notifications from him (I was just sent the screenshot).

But I'll answer.

Because this is easy.

First, you should read @lweaverswartz #StainedGlassCeilings. It is brilliant (as I have said before). Drawing on her substantial study of Asbury Seminary (egalitarian) and Southern Seminary (complementarian),

she argues that because both still "center white married men and decenter other standpoints," both continue to reinforce male authority/power over women (although they do it in different ways).

Listen to her thesis: "evangelicalism in both its complementarian and egalitarian..

expressions buttresses constructions of meaning and power that center men" which "raises weighty questions about evangelicals' capacity to embrace the kind of equity and justice they claim to seek." (p. 163)

Why does abuse still exist in evangelical egalitarian spaces?

Well, because (and this is my Second point) the problem isn't complementarianism per se--the problem is that patriarchy undergirds all of white evangelicalism. White evangelicalism centers white men.

The most dangerous places for women are in spaces that center men the most and

place the most doubt on women's truth-telling and the most weight on protecting the "good" men who are 'fantastic bible teachers' instead of their victims (just go check out the SBC). Egalitarian spaces which have more mechanisms for women to be heard and are attempting to....

dismantle androcentrism are less dangerous for women--but that doesn't mean the danger is gone. Until we uproot the human sin of patriarchy altogether within Christian spaces, men (especially certain kinds of men) will continue to be centered at the cost of those on the margins.

Instead of playing the "they are bad too so why should we change our behavior?" game, we should be asking why male leaders like Bill Hybels and Johnny Hunt (and others I am not naming...)continue to be not only tolerated but celebrated by evangelicals across the spectrum.

As I said in #MakingBiblicalWomanhood, complementarianism is patriarchy and patriarchy is about power. Abuse is more likely for women within rigid patriarchal spaces, but any system that continues to center men over women will continue to treat women as less than men.

Yes, those who espouse egalitarian theology should be better. But the reality is that uprooting patriarchal systems that flow through every aspect of our lives will take time. Simply recognizing the full equality of women theologically isn't enough to get rid of patriarchy.

We have to actively work to decenter white men and raise up those on the margins--not to replace white men but to give everyone a seat at the table. Because that is what Jesus calls us to do. Just read the New Testament.

BTW--recognizing that abuse occurs in egalitarian spaces is recognizing that patriarchy is systemic. It is reinforced by theology, but it exists apart from theology bc it is a human construct. So thank you, pastor, for proving my thesis with your question trying to invalidate it.