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As a woman, I was interested recently to read what female faith leaders in Australia had to say on International Women’s Day.

However, I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see the prevalence of DEI rhetoric among senior female faith leaders.

Phrases such as “gender equality”, “women’s voices”, and “biblical gender equality theology” permeated their narratives, indicating a pervasive worldly indoctrination rather than a grounded understanding of scripture and humility.

DEI – diversity, equity and inclusion – has its roots in cultural Marxism. On the surface, it seeks to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination on the basis of identity or disability.

Although admirable, these aims are a Trojan horse for socialism. As James Lindsay explains,

“Equity is the goal of all DEI programs, which is to say that DEI programs exist to force captive audiences of people to achieve ‘equitable’ redistribution of resources, status, and wealth according to neo-Marxist Identity Theories like Critical Race Theory.

Equity is an administered political economy in which shares are adjusted so that citizens are made equal, including shares of social and cultural capital. In other words, it’s an expansion of socialism.”

DEI fundamentally embodies atheism, relying on a totalitarian approach to dictate its own moral framework and compelling universal compliance.

Enablers Like Adam

Disturbingly, I’m seeing Christian men as enablers in this madness, in two predominant ways. One category of men, mainly from academia, live in a bubble where DEI is the air they breathe, and they are convinced, perhaps deluded, that DEI represents Christian righteousness at its core, so much so that many feel they must continually virtue signal their progressive views.

The second category includes those Christian men who submit to the DEI secular guidelines that now determine morality and leadership, whether they agree or not, to the point that these good men become desensitised into passive conformity.

I have noticed a concerning trend that has been accelerated since the unlawful government overreach during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a palpable pressure on Christian men, particularly those in leadership, to bear the weight of perceived historical injustices perpetrated by their gender. To do penance, they must submit to the new DEI morality set by the secular world.

Christian women have increasingly become advocates for DEI with their male allies or enablers, and they are pushing it, knowingly or unknowingly, within their spheres of influence, including the church and family.

This is despite the fact that a growing number of critics recognise the ideological Marxist framework within DEI, a framework that fundamentally clashes with core Christian teaching and values, and this should be obvious to any biblically literate Christian.

Clashing Worldviews

Yes, it’s difficult being a woman, but not because of men and the patriarchy – it’s because our fallen world has made it so. Fighting for our women and girls in the DEI worldly way will never win the battle; it simply creates division between men and women. This should not be so in the church.

The gender equality and inclusiveness narrative not only undermines the sacred Scriptural teachings, but also perpetuates the false notion of men suppressing women and women living as victims in contemporary society, as though women are completely innocent of any failings, such as bullying, malicious talk, cutdowns, manipulation and other destructive behaviour toward men, and yes, to other women.

I fear for our young women in the church who look up to female faith leaders who ignorantly embrace the pseudo-righteousness of DEI and see our men as the perpetrators of oppression.

The wave of woke ideologies embraced in both DEI and its ugly stepsister, feminism, is toxic to our boys and young men, leaving them adrift in a sea of confusion regarding their identity and role in society in which they have no clue as to their purpose and what Biblical manhood looks like.

These ideologies fundamentally dishonour men and Biblical manhood, and Christian women who engage in this are walking on dangerous ground. In both secular and Christian contexts, men find themselves navigating a minefield of perceived oppression, forced to tread carefully to avoid causing offence or perpetuating perceived injustices.

They are continually cut down by the self-righteous feminist cultural narratives and are made to feel guilty because “they are born into a system that unconsciously oppresses women.” Moreover, in the corporate world, men are tiptoeing around women, showing deference, and trying not to be “oppressive” or doing “oppressive” things, whatever that might mean.

In Christian boardrooms, we are taking our instructions from secular Babylon rather than from God. The DEI ideology rules in many Christian boardrooms, requiring quotas for women and forcing boards to recruit for diversity and gender inclusion rather than meritocracy.

However, the scriptural mandate for overseers, as outlined in the Book of Titus, provides a clear blueprint for leadership qualities that prioritise a life of integrity, applying God’s principles, maturity, sound doctrine, and moral uprightness:

An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain.

Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

~ Titus 1:6-8 (NIV)

Although these qualifications speak about church overseers, they provide excellent guidelines for any Christian organisation that seeks to glorify God in its mission. Yet, in the current climate, such criteria are dismissed as antiquated and exclusionary, falling short of the DEI benchmarks set by secular society.

And to even think that Biblical leadership is male is deemed outright misogynistic! This discord between Biblical precepts and secular mandates and guidelines underscores a profound ideological divergence that demands attention within Christian circles.

Ancient boundary stones have been moved, and we must take heed.

Poisonous Fruit

Some years ago, I found myself engaged in a conversation with a young Christian couple, both of whom served on boards for Christian not-for-profit organisations. Though I can’t recall the exact segue, the discussion veered towards Marxism, prompting a remark from the wife, echoed by her husband, that sent alarm bells ringing for me.

The wife’s assertion, “I studied Marxism at university, and I think it is very beautiful at its core,” served as a stark reminder of a trend I’ve observed: the gradual embrace by the next generation of church leaders of ideologies diametrically opposed to Christian principles. This encounter, among others, has deepened my concerns regarding the ideological undercurrents that are influencing the future trajectory of Christian leadership.

Christian boards striving to achieve gender balance often encounter a significant challenge in finding qualified women who are genuinely enthusiastic about governance and committed to serving on boards. The women who tend to be available often come from academia – the world of DEI – or are younger professionals without children who have been indoctrinated with DEI through the universities. Nevertheless, they are snapped up to serve on Christian boards in an overseer role to fill a quota.

I believe that we must get serious about God’s requirements for these roles as overseers, or Christian organisations such as mission agencies and not-for-profits with a Christian mission, face serious mission drift, and Christian orthodoxy is threatened.

Over the decades, we’ve all observed mission drift among certain church denominations and Christian organisations as they’ve forgotten Biblical principles, embraced progressive lies and departed from orthodoxy. This departure marks the onset of their decline.

Christian men also need to meet the requirements of an overseer in Christian leadership and on governance boards – by no means do I exclude them from responsibility.

G. Campbell Morgan wrote: “The Church did the most, when the church was least like the world.” If we are the same as the world, we have nothing to offer. May we take our orders from God, not from the spirit of the age, for then we will bear true fruit.

Every high civilisation decays by forgetting obvious things.
– G. K. Chesterton

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Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko.