The Release of “Mere Complementarianism”

Yesterday was the official release day of my new book Mere Complementarianism: Male and Female in the Image of God. It is now available at a variety of your favorite online booksellers:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Westminster | 10 of Those | TGC

I want to share with you a little bit about this project and why I hope that you’ll read it.

In the last few decades, debates about gender have become louder, sharper, and more confusing, both in the culture and even, sadly, in the church. Many Christians sense that something important is at stake, but they aren’t sure what to make of it, biblically or theologically. And yet, every single follower of Christ is called to be a disciple as either a male or female, or perhaps even as a husband or a wife, or a brother or a sister, or a mother or a father. But what does a gendered discipleship look like in real life? What does the Bible say about it?

I’ve written this book to answer those questions, and I’m trying to cast a vision for manhood and womanhood that moves beyond mere stereotypes and goes straight to the heart of what Scripture and nature teach us about being a man or a woman in the image of God. For that reason, the main goal of this work is to introduce readers to a doctrine called complementarianism and to show you its basis in Scripture and in the natural law.

The Bible teaches that men and women are created equally in the image of God, and yet God puts different callings on our lives based on our sex. These callings matter for the family, for the church, and really for all of life.

The Bible’s gendered commands are not arbitrary rules imposed on some kind of an egalitarian nature. The Bible’s teaching is fitted to our natures as male or female, and coming to terms with that is crucial for faithfulness to Christ.

So this is a book for pastors trying to lead faithfully, for couples trying to build healthy marriages, for students navigating a chaotic conversation about gender. And really for anyone who wants a calm, biblical, and thoughtful account of what’s really at stake in all this.

The title is Mere Complementarianism, which must not be confused with minimal complementarianism or soft complementarianism. I employ the term mere complementarianism in the same way that C. S. Lewis spoke of mere Christianity. For Lewis, Mere Christianity outlines what a person must believe in order to be considered in any sense a Christian.

Likewise, my aim is to set forth what a person must believe in order to be called a complementarian. It is not my aim in this book to posit some kind of Aristotelian mean between the two poles of so-called “soft” and “hard” complementarianism. I aim to show that mere complementarianism is rooted not only in direct scriptural revelation but also in the created order. If our differences as men and women are grounded in nature, then there must be broad application of these realities in every sphere of life. We do not leave our male and female natures behind when we leave the church and go to work in the marketplace.

So that’s the gist of what I am addressing in this book, but there is much more. Below are the endorsements that appear on the back cover and the first pages of the book. I hope you will take time to read Mere Complementarianism and that it will be helpful to you in your walk with Christ.

“It is a sign of theological distress that such a book is necessary. It is nonetheless, in response to that necessity, that Denny Burk has done the church a great service in giving us this book.”
R. Albert Mohler
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

“This is simply an outstanding book in many ways. It argues that complementarianism is built into the very structure of creation …. And it demonstrates admirable exegetical skill in explaining numerous biblical texts and defending their clear meaning in contrast to misleading interpretations. Highly recommended!”
Wayne Grudem
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary, Phoenix, Arizona

“In a time of widespread confusion about the most basic features of human identity, this book helpfully returns us to Scripture, to the goodness of God’s design in creation, and to the beauty of male and female complementarity.”
Ligon Duncan
Chancellor and CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary

“… a faithful and sensible book. This book serves many purposes: it introduces the essence of complementarianism (‘mere’) and promises to unify Christians under biblical truth. I recommend Pastor Burk’s book highly!”
Rosaria Butterfield
Author of ‘The Gospel Comes with a House Key’ and ‘The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert’

“I love this book because it is biblically faithful, theologically astute, and practically applicable.”
Thomas R. Schreiner
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

“Denny Burk does an outstanding job at addressing old and new challenges to complementarianism.  If the last book you read on the topic was twenty years ago, it’s time to get caught up.”
Jonathan Leeman
President, 9Marks

“God’s glory, male headship, the complementary design of male and female, body and soul: this book is so rich. Read and relish.”
James M. Hamilton Jr.
Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Denny Burk introduces his new book Mere Complementarianism: Male and Female in the Image of God, which released yesterday.

You can find the book at a variety of your favorite online retailers. The Amazon link is in the thread below.@CBMWorg @DennyBurk pic.twitter.com/bxzChbokRF

— CBMW (@CBMWorg) July 15, 2026