Within evangelical complementarian traditions women called to ministry have struggled to find their place of leadership within the church. To what extent can a hermeneutical framework of ‘agency from the margins’ yield a viable practical theological model for women’s flourishing in ministry within, and in fidelity to, complementarian traditions?
The story of Ruth in Biblical history reveals a phenomenology of lived experience from the margins leading to a place of agency in the lineage of Christ. Lottie Moon is a renowned missionary within the Southern Baptist tradition. Her phenomenology of lived experience from the margins profoundly impacted China and the development of missions within the International Mission Board. Both women exercised their agency by identifying the liminal spaces of possibility within their cultural contexts. Integrating a qualitative practical theological methodology the lives of Ruth and Lottie Moon will be explored through the lens of Bonnie Miller-McLemore’s “living web”. A feminist hermeneutical lens will provide theological reflection acknowledging tensions of predisposition and prejudice at play within the complementarian evangelical tradition. Through hermeneutical dialogue a path forward will honor the traditional complementarian views of women and identify spaces of liminality where women have been and can continue to exercise their agency in the mission of God. Using Gadamer’s “fusion of horizons” current theological tensions between tradition and current context will be explored. A literature review will explore stories of women in ministry exercising agency from the margins within complementarian evangelical spaces. Through analysis of published case studies of women in ministry, a theoretical model will be developed. Examples of how the model would apply in different ministry scenarios will be explored to provoke discussion and test the viability of this theoretical model.