Complementarians in Closed Rooms: Aimee Byrd, Beth Moore, and Private Words that Reveal a Pressing Problem

When we see the words of some complementarians outed from a private facebook group, perhaps it reminds us that we all have a responsibility to root out misogyny.

"Locker room talk," President Trump called his Access Hollywood hot mic recording. His defenders quickly came to help, saying that kind of talk happens when the guys are alone.

Well, I’ve never heard a conversation quite like that in a locker room, but I’ve heard more than one dismissive conversation about a woman leader in complementarian settings.

Complementarians in closed rooms too often show their misogyny, not just their theology.

Geneva Commons

Yesterday, the world saw what some OPC and PCA elders were saying about Aimee Byrd, questioning her face, her sexuality, and the presence of her husband at Geneva Commons.

Baca Juga

Here are a few examples, and I'm not including the racist comments to stay on point here. These are some screenshots Byrd posted from a private Facebook group, allegedly including some officers in her Orthodox Presbyterian denomination:

Joseph Spurgeon: "I wish her husband loved her enough to tell her to shut up."

Shane Anderson, who said as women age that "they become man-haters because they've used up their sex capitol."

Bennie Castle: "Why can't these women just take their shoes off and make us some sandwiches!?!"

This incident reminded me of an online conversation between Beth Moore and Thabiti Anyabwile. In 2018, Beth posted an open letter that courageously called on her brothers in Christ to stand against inappropriate treatment of women. If you have not read it, you should.

In “A Letter to My Brothers,” Beth wrote of the often awkward and uneasy reality of being a woman who wrote Bible studies in a world of complementarian men. But she observed something deeper than having to relate to complementarians and evangelicals: