Mere Complementarianism: Male and Female in the Image of God

by Denny Burk

Genres: Theology

316 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 14, 2026

About the author

Denny Burk (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as associate pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Burk edits The Journal for Biblical Manhood & Womanhood and speaks and writes extensively about gender and sexuality. He keeps a popular blog at DennyBurk.com.

Reviews

[Carson Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific and competent treatment of the issue of men and women in the Bible. This would be a tremendous resource to local churches who wish to disciple their people in biblical anthropology.

[William McElyea · Rating 5 out of 5]

In depth yet easy to read, Dr. Burk goes beyond the few controversial passages and shows how natural law and the narrative arc of Scripture point to a complementary anthropology. This, combined with the helpful excerpts on things like EFS and head coverings, makes this book a much needed update to this conversation.

[Creeds, Confessions, and Catechisms · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christian Focus Publications sent me a copy of “Mere Complementarianism: Male and Female in the Image of God” by Denny Burk in exchange for an honest review.

What does the Bible teach about manhood? What does the Bible teach about womanhood? And what does the Bible say about how men and women are to relate to one another? This is an area in which American evangelicalism has demonstrably gone off the rails. This catastrophic problem demands that we seek to recover the biblical view of men and women. This book is one such attempt.

Burk’s mission with this book is a noble one. Complementarianism is a popular position, but one that has endured its fair share of controversy. Burk begins by giving a concise definition of complementarianism and distinguishing what is and is not essential to the position. He then seeks to biblically defend complementarianism as laid out in The Danvers Statement. The result is a good step in the right direction for modern discourse. It is not my go-to work on the subject. That honor goes to William Gouge’s “Domestical Duties” (I recommend the recent Berith Press republication). On a side note, everyone should read Gouge. Nevertheless, this book is a step in the right direction and worth grappling with.