Baptists are keen to go directly to the New Testament in all major issues of faith. If the Bible is the first argument, then history (and therefore tradition) is another line of argument, that both promoters and opponents of women's ordination can and do use. This book is largely concerned with not just the history of women's ordination, or even of Baptists and women's ordination, but offers perspectives from history that may be useful for the discussion of this issue. The thrust of the arguments are aimed at highlighting that differing biblical interpretations are possible, and it must be admitted that Baptists have their own history, over which, much diversity has developed.

This book presents a story of the experiences of being church of the pastors’ wives within the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). Formed in 1970 out of the missionary endeavours of the North American-based Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), BACOMA is a voluntary national association of Baptist churches. Molly Longwe‘s book presents a concise picture of African Feminist Theology and to relates it to the lived experiences of pastors‘ wives in the Baptist Convention of Malawi.

Thomas Schirmacher argues that from the biblical teaching that man is the head of woman (1 Cr 11:3) the Corinthians had drawn the false conclusion that in prayer a woman must be veiled and a man is forbidden to be veiled, and that the wife exists for the husband but not the husband for the wife. Paul, however, rejects these conclusions and shows in 11:10-16 why the veiling of women did not belong to God's commandments binding upon all the Christian communities. Schirmacher presents an alternative exposition, discusses quotations and irony in 1 Corinthians, and deals with other New Testament texts about women's clothing and prayer and about the subordination of wives.

Grace, Tolerance, & Forgiveness The fact that African women cooperated to have a male American missionary document their stories speaks volumes of the capacity for grace, tolerance, and forgiveness on their part. It also speaks to the regard that they had for the Hayashidas. Nelson Hayashida has demonstrated how skilled people can facilitate the liberation process for others. This book exposes the gap between carefully crafted statements affirming women and the reality of reluctant submission to women in leadership. We hear the voices of women themselves. This book is academically sound and characterized by excellence based on sound methodology. The questions raised, the voices heard, and the potential corrective measures are a vital contribution to an important conversation within the church community. While this book is mainly focused on the Baptist church in South Africa, it presents many possibilities for stimulating debates and policy and experiential changes in other faith communities. —DESMOND HOFFMEISTER Executive Director, Global Prophetic Network American Baptist Seminary of the West

"Kusadziwa Nkufa Komwe"(Lack of Knowledge is as Being Dead) is a Nyanja maxim, African Philosophy that is true the world over. A person who lacks knowledge is as good as dead, inactive and insensitive. A dead person does not contribute to good life. Lack of knowledge leads to destruction, but having knowledge leads to informed decisions and freedom. Setting the Record Straight is about correction wrong understanding and replacing it with liberating knowledge, to the benefit of both church and society.

Over the last decades, an ever-growing gap has developed between traditional marriage and the officiation of it as a church wedding, because of the expenses involved in a "proper" church wedding. These are not demanded by the churches, but by common social expectations. Irrespective of whether a church sees marriage as a sacrament or as a civil order, much emphasis is put on it, by the churches and by society. Many churches exclude those "not properly married" from the sacraments. But why should the churches put so much emphasis on their church wed-dings, a ritual not found in the New Testament, and which came into the church only almost a thousand years later?

"Let My people go and serve Me regardless of sex" is the ultimate appeal from God. Unfortunately, some cultural practices and wrong interpretations of the Bible have excluded some, especially women, from attaining key leadership roles. Culturally, women are considered second class and men's property, source of evil and "weaker vessels." A wrong interpretation of the scriptures has sidelined women from obtaining decision making positions. This is the result of what may be called, "a One-Dimensional Approach," and a recommendation is made to "re-read" the biblical texts as well as Chewa culture and the history of the synod with a "Multi-Dimensional Approach" in which the literary, theological-rhetorical and historical-cultural aspects are all considered, because this approach liberates the oppressed and the marginalized.