I have to agree with some of the other reviewers that the book fails to take into account other trends affecting church attendance. While increases in women's education are a factor, I think it's mainly a factor in women's postponing marriage and just generally feeling out of place at church due to being single.

Singles are far more excluded in the church than women are overall (singles of both genders). Since over 50% of Americans are single, and nearly 50% of all American women over 35 have not had children (yet), it stands to reason that churches that cater to very traditional families and traditional early marriage patterns would see a significant drop in female attendance.

I was raised Methodist, so there weren't many obstacles to women holding positions of leadership in my church. My grandmother's church also had a female senior minister, back in the 1980s and 1990s, so it wasn't an issue, and certainly not the reason I stopped attending church myself around 1995-ish. I had finished college, and if you aren't married by the time you finish college, it seems like the church has no place for you. My church was fairly large, and they had very active youth and college groups, but the singles group was sort of weak, and men in the group tended to be a little creepy (a case of the odds being good, but the goods being very odd! LOL). I was uncomfortable attending the singles Sunday school class because I was always on my guard lest one of the creepies latch onto me and give everyone the impression we were "together". For some reason, that was never a problem in college, but once you graduate to the singles group, look out. There wasn't an alternative to the singles group. I think churches need to deal with that. Also, around that time my church also started some sort of ministry to homosexuals, to I guess help them become straight (if that's even possible!), so I was leery of attending the singles group because I didn't want to be 'fixed up' with a gay man who was in denial about his sexuality. The singles group met in a room in the basement, away from the other adult Sunday school classes, which felt a little degrading, although I'm sure it wasn't meant to be, it felt that way. It got to the point where I just felt so uncomfortable even sitting alone through church services, that I just gave up and quit.

So, I wouldn't say that leadership obstacles are keeping women away from the church so much as the church hasn't, structurally, kept up with women's changing roles in society at large. We don't get married right out of high school or college any more. That gap is a very big gap, and it's not being serviced very well by even the most mainline liberal protestant churches like mine.

I think every church in the United States should read, study, and consider the timely message of Jim Henderson's latest work, The Resignation of Eve.

I'd like to take a moment to personally thank Jim Henderson (and the Barna research group) for providing a platform to engage the topic of "women in the church" from the perspective of women. Thank you for sharing the stories of so many women who have struggled against, wrestled with, coasted under, or challenged the status quo. Most importantly, thank you for using your influence and position to promote egalitarian cooperation, affirmation and partnership within the church and among the body of Christ.

What you will not find in The Resignation of Eve: theological banter dissecting the pro's or con's surrounding the debate of the role(s) of women in the church or a biblical exegesis affirming or critiquing the role of women in the church. To my surprise, but the author's credit, Henderson avoids that road. In doing so, the reader is able to focus on the stories of the many women interviewed by the author, allowing the reader a space to offer their undivided attention.

What you can expect to gain from The Resignation of Eve:

(1) A candid look at how traditional, conventional, complementarian views of women in the church harm women, stifle church growth, and damage the witness and effectiveness of the church body as a whole.

(2) The opportunity to engage and wrestle with the topic personally through thoughtful conversations (and a full study guide).

(3) A challenge to the Church to consider the emotional and psychological effects of the message(s) communicated to women, be it via direct discourse or non-verbal cues, regarding their perceived and actual place in church polity, leadership, pastorate, and staff.

Whether the church cares to admit to admit it or not, she is in crisis. Young people, ages 18-30 are leaving the church in staggering numbers. Second to this demographic, women are leaving the church in large numbers as well. According to Barna research, church avoidance by women rose from 18% to 30% in the period between 1991 and 2003. In 2005 the number of unchurched women jumped to 38%! (pg xix) What would your church look like if 38% of the church up and left?

If the Church doesn't take note and begin partnering with women in ways that validate, affirm, integrate and appoint women into all levels of church life, women will continue to leave the church. Jim Henderson's book, The Resignation of Eve, is an essential tool to help any church begin the process of implementing genuine dialogue, egalitarian partnership, and biblical reconciliation.

I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit, I didn't always realize that there was a gender issue in church. I actually attend a church and am a member of a denomination that has had women pastors as long as I can remember, and even as far back as twenty years ago, one of the local ministers my dad had preach on occasion was a woman who found the Lord late in life, and felt led to ministry. She eventually moved, with her husband and children to Denver, Colorado for Bible College, and became an ordained minister. She serves as a senior pastor today. Our church also has had women in senior leadership positions throughout its history.

Indeed, my dad also licensed my sister to minister in California, and I am actually two Sunday night sermons into recognizing my own call to preach. I don't even know if I realized that there was so much restriction on women until I heard a story about Beth Moore, who taught a mixed Sunday School class at her church. She was receiving much criticism from people who didn't think she should do that. I still don't understand why a woman who has an obvious gift for explaining scripture should be compelled to restrict her teaching to one gender. What God has called someone to do should be supported and respected — regardless of her sex.

As I read Jim's book I started to realize something. It is when we get caught up in gender identification — so certain of our perspective as one sex or the other that we begin to change our focus from following Christ to idolizing our gender. Sometimes that means we are too concerned with whether or not opportunities to serve are available or permissible (on either side of the debate) than whether or not we further the kingdom. I think Jim's book is good fodder for discussion.

I'm blessed to go to a church that allows me to grow in the ways that are beneficial to the kingdom — not primarily what's best for me, not primarily what's comfortable for the congregation, but what is best for God's Word to be proclaimed. I've read scripture, I've read books, and I consider myself reasonably intelligent, and what I see in the Word is that God never limits himself to what is acceptable and comfortable, He always uses those who are willing and sometimes even those who are less than able. God calls whom he calls. And she who hears his voice had best do what God asks.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

I have mixed feelings about this book, while I thought the author presented some challenging ideas within his book, I feel that the whole premise of the book (that women are leaving the church due to lack of influence or feelings of being overworked) doesn't quite fit the reality (that I've seen at least). I'm not sure which denomination the author was studying (I can't recall if he mentioned that the numbers reflected an inter-denominational survey, etc...) but in my experience women have a great deal of influence within the church, as well as they tend to (at least in the circles I've seen) dominate the leadership roles for the most part. I however live in Canada, so perhaps it is different here?

I do though appreciate that the author points out that many women are feeling under appreciated, and actually do agree with him on this point. In my experience a lot of ministries (that are not solely men focused) have a majority of female leadership, who do tend to get over worked/under appreciated. (especially since in my experience (my husband is a pastor) there are fewer willing volunteers so when you get one, they tend to get a lot of work thrown at them!)

I think too that the author and I might differ on some doctrinal issues which is perhaps why I didn't agree with the book, I'm more of a traditional mind set, so the whole quietly working behind the scenes works well with me!

All in all though, I do have to give this book a thumbs up, it did challenge me to consider why I hold certain views towards not only women in the church, but also leadership. Plus it caused me to look deeper into the Bible to see what it had to say about my role, and the role of my gender. Also I appreciated that the author, while he presented his views straightforwardly, didn't belittle those with other views. (that's sometimes hard to find in books such as these!)

So this does get a recommendation from me, if nothing else it will challenge you to consider why you hold the beliefs that you do!

This book was provided to me by Tyndale for reviewing purposes.

Some women want to have an active role in the Evangelical church, some have fled to other churches where their voices and contributions can be appreciated. Some have resigned themselves to fit into the mold of a church where women are not a dominant voice. The central part of this book are the interviews discussing the lives, traditional and nontraditional viewpoints, and experiences of many different women concerning the woman's role in the church and home life. What is a woman's influence in the different available church positions and are they being utilized with what they are capable of contributing?

What an eyeopener this book was to me. Not giving much thought before to a woman's role in the success/failure of a church, I now have a good understanding of the whys and viewpoints that make up some of the women in the churches population today. Also beneficial to me was what bloggers wrote at the end of each interview/chapter. They added greatly to the conversation and brought a whole new perspective to the material that was being presented. I did not know what to expect when I first started reading The Resignation of Eve and was surprised at how much I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend this book to others especially to those who feel their voice is surpressed when it comes to voicing concerns in the church.