Excavate

It is imperative to pair Paul’s teachings about women in his letters with the way we see women integrated and highlighted in the early church in the book of Acts and beyond. This is the first of two episodes looking at the way women were a core part of the Church from the beginning. Today we’re in the book of Acts, next week we’ll also study Acts and Paul’s greetings in his letters. We’ll see the Apostles value and elevate women, and the ways that “brothers and sisters” worshiped and led side by side.

Read along with us:

Acts 9:32-43

Acts 16:11-15, 40

Acts 17:4, 34

Acts 21:5-9

Galatians 3:26-28

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In light of all the recent coverage of abuses in churches and pastors advising women to stay in abusive relationships, we wanted to devote an entire episode to passages that have often been used against victims in the Church. It is all too common for women to have the Bible quoted to them about why they should stay in unhealthy relationships or why their abuse is being covered up. We believe this is a severe injustice and misuse of scripture. Today we’ll be digging into some of these passages and trying to uncover their real intent for women and families.

This will touch on heavy topics but without graphic detail, so we’re offering a moderate trigger warning for the emotions that could come up in response to these topics. Also some words used regarding marriage relationships might not be suitable for young listeners. We hope you’ll ultimately find affirmation and healing from God’s Word, but make sure to pay attention to yourself and what you need as you dig in with us.

Read along with us:

1 Cor. 7:1-7, 15-16

Further resources:

No Place for Abuse: Biblical Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence

by Catherine Clark Kroeger and Nancy Nason-Clark

Healing the Hurting: Giving Hope and Help to Abused Women

by Catherine Clark Kroeger and James R. Beck

The IVP Women's Bible Commentary

by Catherine Clark Kroeger and Mary J. Evans

The Allender Center resources on spiritual abuse

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To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast

Paul’s teachings have been a major basis for the belief that women should not have leadership roles in the Church. On the surface his writings can seem extremely harsh and dismissive, and have been a source of pain and confusion for many women (us included). In this episode we are digging deeper into the historical context and Greek translation of 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2-3, the main places where Paul seems to command women to be silent in church and not have positions of authority. We offer some compelling reasons why this isn’t the fullness of Paul’s teaching and brush back layers that have been added onto his words. Regardless of what you believe about women in leadership in the Church, this episode wrestles with important questions we should all consider.

Read along with us:

1 Cor. 14:29-40

1 Tim. 2:8-15

1 Tim. 3:1-11

Jamie mentions the Greek word for authority that Paul uses in 1 Tim. 2:12, the spelling is authentein if you want to dig into your own further research.

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To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast

We’re moving into the wider New Testament and looking at Paul’s letters. His teachings about women are most often used to reinforce patriarchal gender norms, and have been a source of pain and confusion for many of us. In today’s episode we’ll begin digging into those very entrenched biblical interpretations about male headship and gender roles in marriage. We believe that God was instilling great beauty in these metaphors but patriarchal readings have often twisted them to become oppressive to women and girls. This may be controversial for some, but our hope today is to put forth multiple options for interpretation and give women and men greater freedom in how we relate to one another.

Read along with us:

1 Cor. 11:1-16

Eph. 5:21-22

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To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast

Jesus empowers women during His ministry and also through His death and resurrection. In this week’s episode we dig into the crucial role women played in being present with Jesus during the crucifixion, and the ways Jesus reveals Himself to them at the resurrection and emboldens them for evangelism. We believe this was not just for the sake of creating an airtight apologetic for the validity of the resurrection, but was also a sign of the love and value Jesus places on women in the Church.

Read along with us:

John 12

Luke 23:44-56

Luke 24:1-12

John 20:11-18

Mark 16:14

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To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast

We’re thrilled to welcome a very special guest to the podcast, New York Times Best Selling author, Cole Arthur Riley. Cole’s work in the last 2 years through her Instagram account @blackliturgies, her online writing, and her recent book “This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that make us” have been such a powerful voice.

The three of us dig in to the story of the Woman at the Well. We look at Jesus’s invitation to belonging and question traditional narratives about this woman. We explore her storytelling as an act of liberation and how the narrative of her story continues in church history (did you know she has a name and a feast day?!).

If you’re new to Excavate, our typical format is to discuss one or more passages of the Bible and what it reveals about the story and role of women in Christianity and in the world. We hope today’s episode resonated with you and we invite you to keep digging in with us as we uncover our place in God’s story

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To support the podcast on patreon visit: www.patreon.com/excavatepodcast

To see more from Cole Arthur Riley follow @blackliturgies on instagram or visit www.colearthurriley.com

Who do you picture when you hear the word, “disciple”? Most of us probably instinctively picture a man, but the Gospels show us that Jesus encouraged and empowered women disciples in his ministry. Today we’re looking at Jesus’s interactions with women from a grieving widow to a wealthy benefactress. Jesus has an inspiring track record of involving women in His life and ministry, and making a place of welcome for us in His presence. This episode also has some meaningful reflections from the story of Mary and Martha that can be for men as well as women, so (as always) all are welcome to dig in with us!

Read along with us:

Luke 2:36-38 (Anna)

Luke 7:11-17 (the grieving widow)

Luke 8:1-3 // Luke 24:10 (women in Jesus’ ministry)

Luke 10:38-42 (Mary and Martha)

John 12:1-8 (Mary anoints Jesus)

Today we’re digging into the Magnificat (Mary’s song of praise), and her stories with Jesus after his birth. Patriarchy has so often assumed that Jesus takes a dismissive or irritated tone with Mary in their interactions, but we believe these stories reveal the depth to which Mary knew and understood her son, and partnered with his ministry. Perhaps more than any other human in his life, Mary exemplified what it meant to be attentive to him, to treasure their interactions, and to support the heart of Jesus.

Read along with us:

Luke 1:46-55

Luke 2:41-52

Matt 12:46-50

John 2:1-5, 11-12

The Protestant evangelical church has historically been all too reluctant to elevate and honor the legacy of Mary the mother of Jesus. We think Mary is such an important woman in scripture that she deserves 2 episodes! Today we’re talking about her call by God and her yes to being part of the salvation story, and her crucial time with her cousin Elizabeth and what they teach us about encouragement and hope in community.

Read along with us:

Luke 1:26-56

We’re moving into women in the New Testament! And to do that we’re going to dig back into the Old Testament. The Gospel of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus which has some peculiarities that would have been surprising to its readers, namely that 5 women are included in what would normally be a list of men only. This was a deliberate choice by the author to teach us something about who shaped Jesus and who He came to save. They also show us that Jesus chose to join a family with generations of turmoil, trauma, beauty and tragedy. So today we’re going to look at their stories and discuss what they show us about the character of Christ and how Jesus joins our stories.

Follow along in your Bible:

Matt. 1:3-6, 16

Tamar: Gen. 38:6-26

Rahab: Josh. 2:8-14, 21

(Check our episode “Squad Goals” for Ruth’s story)

Bathsheba: 2 Sam. 11:2-5

Mary gets a whole episode to herself to come back for next week’s episode to dig into Mary’s story!