One mission of CBMW is to help Christians think through secular and ecclesial trends on gender and sexuality. Through this work, we pore over a lot of different news reports and articles as we attempt to wade through the ceaseless flow of information on the web. In our weekly Gender and Sexuality News Roundups, we aim to distill some of the more pertinent information for you.

The articles below are from a wide variety of sectors and publications, organized generally into three categories. They are presented in aggregate, not necessarily endorsed.

If you see an article that you think should be featured in future CBMW News Roundups, you can send it to [email protected] with the subject “News Roundup.”

Ecclesial Trends on Gender and Sexuality

Women’s Leadership Network begins blog, podcast, FB, Baptist Press (Diana Chandler)

“The newly launched SBC Women’s Leadership Network will empower Southern Baptist women while concurrently embracing theological complementarianism, two network leaders told Baptist Press.”

Half of Pastors Worry Speaking Out on Social Issues Will Offend People, Christianity Today (Griffin Paul Jackson)

“According to a comprehensive new religious freedom and pluralism report released by the Barna Group this year, 9 out of 10 Christian pastors say helping Christians have biblical beliefs about specific issues is a major part of their role as clergy. But they sense the pressure from all sides: Many express being subject to scrutiny from outside their congregations as well as within them. ‘The stakes are high in the public square,’ the researchers wrote. ‘The issues pastors feel most pressured to speak out on are the same ones they feel limited to speak on,’ with LGBT issues and same-sex marriage at the top.”

The Storm-Tossed Family and the Question of Idolatry, CBMW.org (Matt Damico)

“Christians can agree that the family’s importance is revealed by the breadth of attempts to undermine and redefine it. And churches can agree that the call to light up the darkness involves honoring marital faithfulness and godly parenting. If the unbelieving world thinks evangelicals talk too much about the family, my response would be the same as it is toward those who think evangelicals should stop talking about sexuality: we’re not the ones who started the whirlwind of obsession and change. We’re talking because we’re trying to conserve something.”

Secular Trends on Gender and Sexuality

So Yale Law School endorses anti-religious bigotry now?, USA Today (Samuel Adkisson)

“In an effort to appease campus protesters, Yale announced that it would begin discriminating against religious students. This should concern all who value intellectual diversity and religious freedom. But even more troubling is the fact that this anti-religious bigotry is unlikely to confine itself to the ivory tower for long.”

Nebraska grandmother acts as surrogate for gay son, BBC

“A 61-year-old Nebraskan woman has told of her joy after giving birth to her own grandchild, acting as the surrogate for her son and his husband.”

Buttigieg to Mike Pence: ‘Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator’ Vox (Catherine Kim)

“Pete Buttigieg had a message for Vice President Mike Pence during a speech on Sunday: If you have a problem with my gayness, take it up with God.

“During his speech on Sunday, which was made at the LGBTQ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch, the presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana, mayor spoke candidly about his sexuality, emphasizing how his gay identity is intertwined with his faith. A key point he emphasized: being gay is not a personal choice.”

Gender and Sexuality Miscellany

Abortion will be considered unthinkable 50 years from now, Vox (Karen Swallow Prior)

“Nothing marks the progress of any society more than the expansion of human rights to those who formerly lacked them. I believe that if such progress is to continue, prenatal human beings will be included in this group, and we will consider elective abortion primitive and cruel in the future.”

What is a Christian Woman? An Interview with Abigail Dodds, CBMW.org (Colin Smothers)

Colin Smothers interviews Abigail Dodds about her new book, (A)Typical Woman, where they discuss what it means to be a woman in Christ. Abigail Dodds (BA, Bethel University) is a wife and mother of five children. She writes and teaches Bible studies for the women at Bethlehem Baptist Church, where her husband, Tom, serves as an elder. She contributes to desiringGod.org and blogs at her personal site, hopeandstay.com.

Why Am I Still Like This? My Experience with Same-Sex Attraction, Desiring God (Christopher Asmus)

“Make no mistake: sin is deadly, sin defames God, and killing sin by the Spirit is the Christian’s daily work (Galatians 5:17). Therefore, we must beat our temptations to sin down to nothing (Romans 8:12–13), and relentlessly pray for them to cease, never assuming they’re ours to battle for life. If you are a Christian who struggles with SSA, resolve through daily repentance to drag your SSA out of the weeds and slay it without mercy. Jesus died so you would die to your SSA (1 Peter 2:24).”

Katie Wussow on a woman’s place in life, church, and work, ERLC (Trillia Newbell)

“Today’s podcast features business owner and entrepreneur, Katie Wussow. Wussow explores complementarianism and a woman’s place in life, church, and work.”

20 Quotes on Identity from Jackie Hill Perry, The Gospel Coalition (Matt Smethurst)

“Being strengthened to endure and being given the power to obey doesn’t make obedience easy, but it does make it possible.”

The Beauty of Biblically Broad Complementarianism, Kevin DeYoung

“Kevin DeYoung speaks on the topic of “The Beauty of Biblically Broad Complementarianism” at CBMW’s TGC 2019 lunch event.

“DeYoung is a Reformed Evangelical theologian and author. He is married with 8 children, and he currently serves as the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church, in Matthews, North Carolina. DeYoung is the author of several books, including Freedom and Boundaries: A Pastoral Primer on the Role of Women in the Church and What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality?”