The great betrayal

This is a book that biblically examines the role of women in leadership life in the church, and wow! I have studied, taught, preached, read, endorsed (my wife pastors a church which she founded) and encouraged woman to lead at any level in church. I have read so many books on this subject, for and against. But this book, from my good friend, Bruno Knutzen, is a complete eye opener! I couldn’t put it down and kept reading until finished. 

 

It is not a complex read. But at the same time it opens up complex issues and reveals truth. It is not a boring read. Full of narrative and personal experience, it captures your thoughts. 

 

Bruno talks of looking through a lens when studying scripture. Your lens will determine your view. In this book Bruno has stood way back and drawn perspective from history, narrative and his own experience. And then in a microscopic way, almost surgeon like, he had dealt with detail and individual texts that so often trip people up. This book is a through and complete examination of one of the most polarizing subjects in church life.

 

Bruno will answer your questions and insecurities from so many angles, and to be fair, some I had not even considered.  Bruno does not rest on philosophical debate. He clinically and effectively opens and explains scripture to help the reader understand what it says. 

 

This is a book for all, scholar, searcher of truth, general reader, leader, male and female. It comes with my highest recommendation. 

 

Thank you Bruno for an outstanding examination of this subject and well done!

 

 

When first Bruno asked me to read his manuscript “The great betrayal” I must admit I thought it was either a very brave decision to tackle such a controversial subject, or a slightly crazy one. What added to my concern was his decision to start the book taking an idea out of the book of Revelations which might cause some readers concern, having differing views on that book. 

 

My fears and concerns were quickly allayed as I began to read, I was captured by the narrative and the ideas that Bruno began to expound on. This I think is a must read book for all leaders committed to doing Church in a Biblical and God honouring way. 

 

This subject is a subject the Church and her leaders have always tried to avoid and Bruno rightly points out that this amounts to a betrayal of women and their call to ministry and service. 

 

Most books I’ve read that venture into this discourse always have two major flaws in my opinion, one is a rather feminist agenda that lambasts both men and the Church, and the other is a patronising attempt by mostly men to create space for women. What is so amazing about Bruno’s book is that it succeeds where many others have failed in that it falls into neither of these two ditches but rather gives dignity to both women and the idea of effective ministry within the local Church. 

 

In addition to all of this the book carries the heart and soul of Bruno’s journey with many personal stories and failures that should be helpful to us all. 

 

Finally from a theological perspective this book is in my mind one off the most exhaustive expressions of the study of women in the scriptures. Bruno has worked through all the women of the New Testament and spoken of their contribution to the narrative and the building of the New Testament Church. He does so without it becoming a tedious read and weaves his position of women and ministry skilfully into the exposition. 

 

I approached this book with scepticism and some fear for my friend, but emerged from reading it enlightened and challenged in my own view of the subject. This book creates the platform for renewed conversation on what is a vital subject in the Church....and its about time someone did!