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February 17, 2011

Egalitarian Founder of Christians for Biblical Equality Dies

Catherine Clark Kroeger also spoke out against domestic abuse as president of Peace and Safety in the Christian Home.

Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Catherine Clark Kroeger, who founded the egalitarian group Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) in 1988, died Monday. President of CBE Mimi Haddad said in a statement that Kroeger contracted pneumonia and died suddenly.

Among other issues, CBE advocates that women may serve as pastors, teachers, and leaders of churches. Kroeger's books included No Place for Abuse, I Suffer Not a Woman, and The IVP Women's Bible Commentary.

Kroeger also spoke out against domestic abuse as president of Peace and Safety in the Christian Home, according to her obituary in the Boston Globe. She served in leadership roles in many other organizations, and served on the Board of Trustees at Whitworth College and was included in Helen Kooiman Hosier's 100 Christian Women Who Changed the 20th Century.

She taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from 1990 until her death. The seminary has posted links to interviews with Kroeger.

(h/t Denny Burk)

posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey | Comments (5)

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As a man who has been profoundly, positively impacted by CBE, I mourn our loss of Catherine Clark Kroeger. I am sure she is happy now with her God and Savior, but she will be missed here, and honored as well.

Posted By: H. Edgar Hix | February 18, 2011 9:46 PM

As a young 20-something woman following a call that's "crazy" for a young 20-something woman to be following, I have been incredibly blessed by the work of CBE and Catherine Kroeger. The books and statements resulting from her movement encouraged me to continue moving forward when others told me I must have heard wrong. I'm so thankful for her work and life!

Posted By: Sarah | February 18, 2011 10:21 PM

I was sorry to hear of Catherine Kroeger's passing. Yet I celebrate her life and work not only as a founder of CBE and a promoter of biblical equality, but also in her calling the Evangelical churches to wake up to the serious blight of spousal abuse and domestic violence in their midst. Now she has entered into joyful rest and direct fellowship with the Lord who she faithfully served. May we all run our race as well as she ran hers.

Posted By: Francis H. Geis | February 19, 2011 6:14 PM

Catherine Clark Kroeger is a biblical scholar and confronts the issue with both objectivity and compassion. I teach a distance learning course about family violence and 'No place for abuse' is required reading. Christians can easily hide abuse that happens within the home. We can easily put on our "Sunday face" when we're around our church family, but at home, it's a different story. If you work in any ministry within the church, I would recommend that you read this book. What I like about this book is that it also has an international focus - it's not just focused on the U.S. So, even if you're a missionary in another country, this is a good read for you too. This will help you to understand the problem and cycle of spousal abuse and how you can help those in the midst of it.

Posted By: Christian Book Publishers | February 24, 2011 1:22 AM

Catherine Clark Kroeger is a biblical scholar, and confronted these difficult issue with both objectivity and compassion.

Posted By: Book Publisher | February 24, 2011 1:25 AM