Should women lead in church?

Recently I had another person ask by what authority a woman could lead a church. You would think I'd have my answer down pat after 15 years of doing this. But I still don't, and as a result I started a conversation about it with friends. Here's what came out of it.

No agreement necessary
Churches don't agree on this issue any more than they agree on divorce, the virgin birth, homosexuality, the Pope, or drums and projectors in church. And honestly, most of the issues we argue and fuss about in the church are field mice, not tigers, and the forces that oppose God get a lot of mileage out of our being embroiled in them. The question of whether women should lead churches is a field mouse. You can feel one way or the other (and go to a church that agrees with you) but it is not a question which will lead to your salvation. In fact, you can get so tangled up with it that you never get on the road with Jesus.

Scripture
You know, I had the classes in seminary on the "texts of terror" so often used to keep women from leadership in the church. Paul takes both sides of the issue, depending on where you look. Jesus doesn't say anything about it, but women fund his ministry, travel and minister with him, and are consistently accepted (healed, touched, fed, loved) by him. There are powerful women of scripture who prophesy, lead, judge, and serve God's people in a multitude of ways.

Experience
I didn't grow up in a church with a model of women in leadership. My experience of being called into ministry started the first time I ever saw a woman lead a worship service; I was about 25 years old, and utterly astonished by the power of that service. A year or so later Jesus came to me in a dream (very Biblical), and invited me to enter the life he led; guiding, being in relationship with, and teaching his people. My pastor and community affirmed this call, and here I am. Were all of us wrong? Could be. And I'm okay with that. I feel ready to face God and tell how I spent my life.

Err on the side of grace
My girlfriend Alicia had this wonderful thing to say: "If I’m going to err, I’d rather err on the side of freedom to serve Christ. I think the radical freedom God offers us in Christ — some have called it scandalous — has to be more than just freedom from… Yes, we have freedom from sin, freedom from rules, freedom from fear. But, we also have freedom to… We are free to serve, free to worship without fear of God’s rejection, free to love God and other people in wild and extravagant ways. For me, that’s the heart of pastoral ministry." You can read the rest of her thoughts here.

You shall know them by their fruits
The best response I heard to my inquiry came from my friend Mary Jo, who posed (and answered) the question this way: Does God have the power to call women into ministry if God chooses? If God has the power, how do we know if God has used that power to call women into ministry? As John Wesley said (and he got it from Jesus): by their fruits.

I'm good with that.

Meet a modern-day Paul

by Marty Linn

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " Acts 20:35 (New International Version)

My perspective on the life of the apostle Paul is that he was so totally convicted by his experience of Jesus that he gave up everything to embrace a life of serving the world and encouraging everyone he encountered to follow the Way of Jesus. He became completely reliant on God for all provisions for his life and God provided it to Paul through God's people.

Recently I have gotten to know a modern-day Paul. Some of you met him when he was at Connections in February: his name is Wadsene.

Wadsene lives with his father, who was a preacher and never had much money with which to support his family. When Wadsene was a child, they sometimes had only mangos to eat for an entire week at a time. Wadsene said that growing up he understood that in order of prominence, God was first, the Haitian President was second, and missionaries were third. The reason missionaries were so prominent? They could bring their families something to eat other than mangos.

Wadsene is a US citizen but he chooses to stay in Haiti and serve his people. He is the administrator for the ministry called Horizontal Love Ministries, which offers food, medical care, and other services to elderly persons in the city of Les Cayes and south Haiti. From time to time, HLM brings the individuals they serve together. They play dominoes and other games and enjoy each other's company. When it’s time to go home, none of them want to leave.

All of the workers at HLM are volunteers; Wadsene says that he is somewhat embarrassed at times because he cannot pay them. Wadsene is actively involved in the care giving as well, and rides his bike to visit the various individuals who receive HLM's services.

He tries to have a few dollars to give when he visits someone. One time when he was visiting a 70 year old man he didn’t have any money, and Wadsene apologized for not having anything to give him. The old gentleman told him he shouldn’t apologize because just the fact that Wadsene was visiting him had changed his life. Seeing Wadsene visit, the people in his community had changed their perceptions of the older man and had begun to watch out for him and give him food. Wadsene says that even the smallest gesture or deed in Haiti is significant. Wadsene put it well: "I have a lot more than the boy with two fishes, and look what the Lord did with that!"

Wadsene was recently able to buy a small piece of land, and his dream is to build a 3 to 4 room house in which the people he serves can live.

I am grateful that Connections is already supporting this ministry but I also think we can do more. Haiti is a hidden corner of the world where this ministry may well be the only hope some people have to see Jesus. As we enthusiastically pursue growing the kingdom here, I propose we also consider doing the same there.

The Jesus Tomb

There's lots of press right now around the small ossuary (bone box) that was found in the 1980's, which is now being said to hold the bones of Jesus. If you google "jesus tomb" you'll get over two million hits. The fuss is heating up because of a "documentary" (by Hollywood directors, not scientists, if that tells you anything) that will be aired to coincide with Easter celebrations. Some of the press is eagerly casting doubt on the resurrection of Jesus as a result of this dubious film, in much the same way as the DaVinci Code (which was a work of fiction) press did.

Here's a great quote from a master on the subject:

"There is more evidence that Jesus rose from the dead than there is that Julius Caesar ever lived or Alexander the Great died at the age of 33. It is strange that historians accept thousands of facts for which they can produce only shreds of evidence. But in the face of overwhelming evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ they cast a skeptical eye and hold intellectual doubts. The trouble with those people is that they do not want to believe." - Billy Graham, Peace with God 


Looking ahead to Palm Sunday

"Both children and theologians were part of the Palm Sunday throng. One can only imagine that the theologians had spent a very hard morning working with old Hebrew word roots. Their scholarship was rigorous, and it left them so distracted, they never saw the Son of God when he entered the city. The children, well ... they were quite another matter. They loved Jesus and were so glad to see him coming into Jerusalem, they began to shout their uninhibited praises." - Calvin Miller, The Christ of Easter (Broadman & Holman, 2004) 


Turn-Key or Fixer-Upper: Which church is best for you?

By Shane Bazer

If you are thinking about finding a new church home, you might want to consider doing your shopping with a real-estate tip in mind. The "perfect" church might not be the best spiritual investment.

In the real estate market, a house that is in tip-top shape is often referred to as a "turn-key" house. Someone else has done all the work and the only work you need to do is "turn the key" and move in. Such homes are popular, and they usually sell for a premium.

My wife and I, on the other hand, have purchased seven fixer-upper properties over the years. These homes needed "cosmetic" repairs, rather than highly qualified, skilled work. They needed new paint, flooring and fixtures; maybe a new kitchen counter or bathroom sink. We’ve put many hours of labor into our properties, and we've spent quite a bit of money on tools and supplies. Sound crazy? Let me share with you some of the benefits of getting involved with a fixer-upper:

• The more work you put into a place, the more it feels like a home.
• You might wonder at times if all the work is worth it, but when the job is complete you realize it was worth every bit of effort you put into it.
• By doing most of the work yourself instead of paying others to do it, you discover and develop skills and talents you might not have realized you had.
• By choosing your own colors and decorating schemes, you can create an atmosphere that meets your particular needs.
• You have more pride in your property. You are more likely to take better care of it and want to share it with others.
• And of course, the financial rewards can be substantial.

I’ve found that it’s much the same with a church. (I’m speaking of a congregation, not a building, of course.)

• The more work you put into church, the more it feels like home.
• You might wonder at times if all the work is worth it, but when you see how your work has touched people’s lives, you realize it was worth every bit of effort you put into it.
• By doing some work yourself instead of paying others to do it, you discover and develop skills and talents you might not have realized God has given you.
• By choosing your own name, styles of worship, children’s church program, women’s and men’s ministry programs, etc. you can create an atmosphere that meets your particular needs.
• You have more pride in your church. You are more likely to pray for it and take better care of it and want to share it with others.
• And of course, the spiritual rewards can be substantial.

If you are interested in "fixing-up" your church, make sure you aren’t doing it alone. Otherwise you will soon become overworked and burned out. Find a handful of others who see the potential and sit down together to assess the areas that need to be improved, figure out who has the skills and tools to do the job, and even consider whether you need to hire outside laborers to help.

As long as your church has the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and the leaders are supportive of the makeover project, it will be well worth it to roll up your sleeves and start making your church the glorious spiritual home it is meant to be.