Derek Rishmawy, James Wood, and Alastair Roberts welcome Dr. Lyndon Jost, author of Transfiguring Headship: A Figural Theology of Gender. Jost argues that headship is rooted in Old Testament figural theology rather than Greco-Roman culture, that it fundamentally means representation rather than authority, and that this reframes debates between complementarians and egalitarians alike.

—

Get your copy of our free ebook, Spiritual Formation for the Family, at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family.

Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.

Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity

Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD

—

Chapters

01:15 - Overview of Transfiguring Headship

03:06 - Headship as Representation, Not Authority

06:09 - Critiquing Complementarian and Egalitarian Readings

10:32 - Figural Theology and the Fourfold Senses of Scripture

17:05 - Against Greco-Roman Readings of Headship

20:13 - 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Trinitarian Headship

25:35 - Ivan Illich, Gender vs. Sex, and Vernacular Gender

32:48 - Headship, Marriage, and the One-Flesh Union

43:23 - Essentialism, Gender Realism, and Minimalist Claims

50:36 - Headship as Unity, Not Opposition

55:59 - Male Responsibility and the Final Account

58:28 - Headship, Creation Order, and External Representation

01:02:14 - Closing Remarks

What 'Headship' Really Means with Dr. Lyndon Jost