2026 CBE Writing Contest Submission Form

Our Mission and Values

CBE International (Christians for Biblical Equality) is a nonprofit organization of Christian women and men who believe that the Bible, properly translated and interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of women and men of all racial and ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all ages, based on the teachings of Scriptures such as Galatians 3:28: 

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (NIV 2011).

As a global community, CBE strives to become an interculturally competent organization committed to advocacy for the equality, equity, and leadership of all women regardless of culture, class, race, ethnicity, or age. To that end, we will intentionally and routinely educate ourselves (CBE staff, board members, and stakeholders) on issues impacting women worldwide. ​

In the spirit of advocacy, CBE collaborates with global pastors, churches, institutions, and NGOs to eliminate sexism, racism, misogyny, gender-based violence, and human trafficking; to raise the status of women; and to promote human flourishing. ​

Mission Statement
CBE exists to promote the biblical message that God calls women and men of all cultures, races, and classes to share authority equally in service and leadership in the home, church, and world. CBE’s mission is to eliminate the power imbalance between men and women resulting from theological patriarchy.

Envisioned Future
CBE envisions a future where all believers are freed to exercise their gifts for God’s glory and purposes, with the full support of their Christian communities.

Statement of Faith

• We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of the universe, eternally existing as three persons equal in power and glory.
  
  
• We believe in the full deity and the full humanity of Jesus Christ.
  
  
• We believe that eternal salvation and restored relationships are only possible through faith in Jesus Christ who died for us, rose from the dead, and is coming again. This salvation is offered to all people.
  
  
• We believe the Holy Spirit equips us for service and sanctifies us from sin.
  
  
• We believe the Bible is the inspired word of God, is reliable, and is the final authority for faith and practice.
• We believe that women and men are equally created in God’s image and given equal authority and stewardship of God’s creation.
  
  
• We believe that women and men are equally responsible for and distorted by sin, resulting in shattered relationships with God, self, and others.
  
  
• Therefore, we lament that the sins of sexism and racism have been used to historically oppress and silence women throughout the life of the church. 

We resolve to value and listen to the voices and lived experiences of women throughout the world who have been impacted by the sins of sexism and racism. ​


Core Values

• Scripture is our authoritative guide for faith, life, and practice.
  
  
• Patriarchy (male dominance) is not a biblical ideal but a result of sin that manifests itself personally, relationally, and structurally.
  
  
• Patriarchy is an abuse of power, taking from women and girls what God has given them: their dignity, freedom, and leadership, and often their very lives.
  
  
• While the Bible reflects a patriarchal culture, the Bible does not teach patriarchy as God’s standard for human relationships. 
  
  
• Christ’s redemptive work frees all people from patriarchy, calling women and men to share authority equally in service and leadership.
  
  
• God’s design for relationships includes faithful marriage between a woman and a man, celibate singleness, and mutual submission in Christian community.  
• The unrestricted use of women’s gifts is integral to the work of the Holy Spirit and essential for the advancement of the gospel worldwide. 
  
  

Followers of Christ are to advance human flourishing by opposing injustice and patriarchal teachings and practices that demean, diminish, marginalize, dominate, abuse, enslave, or exploit women, or restrict women’s access to leadership in the home, church, and world.

Mutuality Blog + Magazine

Mission: To share egalitarian theology and explore its impact on everyday life. We want to educate, inspire, convict, prepare, and mobilize Christians to intentionally advocate for women’s biblical equality in the world. We want to move beyond theory to provide real-life, everyday engagement with egalitarian theology.

Disclaimer: CBE does not necessarily endorse an author’s entire body of work; individual articles are evaluated on their own merits and their agreement with CBE’s mission, core values, and statement of faith, whether or not the author has expressed agreement elsewhere or in other venues. Final selection for all material published in Mutuality is up to the discretion of the editor, publisher, and CBE’s president. Mutuality reserves the right to use or not use any story. Contributions will be edited to maintain the policies and positions of CBE International and to adjust for clarity, style, or length.

Your writing contest entry should align with CBE’s Mission and Core Values and engage with CBE’s mission to promote the full equality of women and men as co-leaders in the home, church, and world. All submissions, aside from poetry, must include adequate relevant sources, Scripture citations, and footnotes, and follow the Mutuality Writer Guidelines. Multiple entries by authors are allowed.

Please write for one (or more!) of the following categories:

• A unique biblical exposition and/or theological exploration of women in the Old Testament or New Testament.
• A well-reasoned defense of the egalitarian position on a topic or passage of Scripture, engaging key complementarian arguments through Scripture and relevant scholarship.
• A sermon or devotional that expounds on mutuality in the home, church, and world through Scripture.
• Biography or article on Bible women and women in Church history, art, theology, or archaeology.
• Commentary on a movie, book, or other aspect of popular culture (either Christian or secular) through a mutualist lens.
• Poetry or original song lyrics that explore biblical mutuality, womanhood, feminism in a Christian context, or the intersection of women and race.

Have something important to say, but feel it doesn’t fit into any of the above categories? Please submit it anyway! We’ll still consider it for publication.

 
Additional Rules

• All writing contest entries must be original content not yet published elsewhere, unless you host a personal blog that has a small audience. (You must indicate if this is the case.) AI-generated content will not be accepted.
• Late entries will not be accepted for the contest, but may still be considered for publication.
• All entries should have correct spelling, grammar, and Chicago notes-style citation for any outside sources.
• All historical or theological claims should be cited.
• You may submit more than one entry for consideration. CBE may publish multiple entries from the same author, but no more than one entry per author will be recognized as a winner or honorable mention.
• You agree to participate in the editing process with CBE’s editorial team. Changes made or requested by the editorial team will be sent to you, the author, for comment and approval before publication. Titles may be changed.

Review the Mutuality Writer’s Guidelines for more information. Feel free to send any questions to mutuality@cbeinternational.org.

By signing this form and returning it to CBE, you are agreeing to the following rights and responsibilities with regard to your Material (including your name, picture, title, and short biography). If CBE accepts your Material for publication, it is for first rights. You are free—even encouraged—to publish it in other print or online publications and keep any income.

CBE Rights and Responsibilities

CBE requests:

·       That if this material appears later in print or online, CBE will be cited as the original publisher per the First Rights notice below.

·       That the Material may not be used in any context or form that might be injurious or reflect unfavorably on CBE or its publications.

·       The right to edit content or delete content after the publication date if a problem arises that puts CBE at risk for legal action, content is deemed offensive to CBE’s audience, or is against CBE’s mission and core values.

·       The right to edit content when errors are discovered after publication, e.g., misquoting sources such as Scripture, etc. 

CBE requests the following nonexclusive rights, acknowledging you as the author:

·       To use your Material in CBE promotions.

·       To reuse the Material in a CBE anthology, reprint, and on the CBE website, and to change the title of the Material as befits alternate formats or platforms.

·       To approve international reprint requests and grant foreign-language translation rights.

·       To reproduce this Material in other media formats now known or hereafter devised.

·       To sell this Material, in any and all media and forms of expression now known or hereafter devised, in the CBE bookstore or as part of an academic database or library product for a nominal fee, CBE retaining all profit.

·       To give permission to quote short excerpts and to distribute up to 1,000 copies of the article for ministry or educational use (church newsletters, classroom or workshop handouts, conferences, CBE booths, etc.).

If reprint requests come to CBE beyond what we can grant, we will forward the request to the author’s last known address.

CBE’s Publishing Code of Ethics
You, the author(s), understand that:

Incorporated is a 501c3 Christian US educational nonprofit. CBE’s mission is to advance the biblical basis for women’s equal value, service, and leadership in church, home, and the world. In accomplishing its educational mission, and to the extent we are able, CBE will uphold the Evangelical Press Association Code of Ethics. As a theological educational organization, CBE’s published content is theological rather than journalistic in nature and content.

Author Responsibility
In submitting this article to CBE, you, the author(s), affirm that:

·       This Material represents original work. No portion of the Material is covered by a prior copyright; nor for any portion copyrighted, the author has obtained proper permission.

·       The Material and this permission form identify all co-authors who have substantially contributed to the concept, data collection, analysis, or preparation of the manuscript, and therefore who may have intellectual property claims to the content.

·       All references, quotations, citations, and facts (or content presented as facts) are accurate, accurately documented, and clearly identified and acknowledged within the text.

·       Author will include the First Rights notice with any subsequent use of this article.

·       Author accepts all responsibilities noted within the Disclaimer.

·       Author understands that, given time constraints, once CBE publishes your work, edits to non-material issues cannot be made.

·       As a theological educational organization, published content should be theological rather than journalistic in nature and content.

First Rights
CBE requests that the following notice (or a translation thereof) be included with any other use of this article, along with a link to the original article on CBE’s website:

“This article first appeared in CBE International’s blog, Mutuality, on MM/DD/YYYY.”

Disclaimer
Please note that neither CBE International, nor the editor, nor the editorial team is responsible or legally liable for any content or any statements made by any author, but the legal responsibility is solely the author’s once an article appears in Mutuality.