Why I Can No Longer Defend the Ministry of Women in the Church by Steve Holmes

Why I Can No Longer Defend the Ministry of Women in the Church

Steve Holmes is a Baptist minister, currently teaching theology at St Mary’s College, St Andrews, Scotland. He blogs about theology and culture from an Evangelical perspective at Shored Fragments.

 The following column is posted with permission from his blog.

http://blog.cbeinternational.org/2013/05/no-defence-needed/ 

I have defended the ministry of women in the church in public for a while now, including on my blog. I don’t think I can do it any longer. Not because of any lack of calling or gifting in their ministry, but because of a lack in mine.

Take Phoebe Palmer. She began to be involved in leading a Bible study in New York around 1830. She soon received invitations to preach across the USA and in the UK. Something like 25,000 people were converted by her ministry. 25,000 people. Converted. Does that need defense? Really?

She visited prisons regularly, ran a society helping poor people in need of medical attention, and was involved in an ambitious project to challenge the new problem of urban poverty through the provision of low-cost housing, free schooling, and employment. She had a particular concern for orphans throughout her life. Challenging injustice on a grand scale. Do you want me to defend that?

In The Promise of the Father, and 20-odd other books, she stressed the idea that God could and would give the blessing of holiness in an instant to a believer, and taught that holiness would be gained by faith. This teaching gave rise to the Holiness Movement, which by 1900 had changed the beliefs and practices of almost every evangelical church in America and Britain. Her ideas shaped the early Pentecostal movement, and the modern charismatic movement.

She formed the spirituality that formed me. She changed the world. Who am I to even think of defending her? By any standards, she was one of the most powerful preachers, and most influential leaders, of nineteenth-century American evangelicalism. For me to try to defend her ministry would be as ridiculous as a worm trying to defend a lion.

She did not often encounter criticism for presuming to preach as a woman, but eventually she wrote a defense of the ministry of women, The Promise of the Father (1859). She argued that it was a clear mark that the gift of the Holy Spirit had come that women as well as men could “prophesy,” which to her meant preach powerfully and evangelistically to spread the gospel.

In the face of so evident a work of the Spirit as was seen in her life, who am I to even consider the question of whether God had called her to preach? It would be offensive, presumptuous—approaching blasphemous—to even accept that the question can be asked.

And then there’s Catherine Booth. And Mary Dyer. And Catherine of Sienna. And Mother Julian. And Rose Clapham, all-but forgotten, whose first sermon, preached when she was 18, saw 700 miners converted to Christ. Defend that? Why?

There’s a thousand stories like it that I know. Ten thousand times ten thousand that have gone untold, no doubt.

And I think of women who I have the privilege to know, who I sit in awe of, some of whom graciously allow me to call them friends. If I could preach one tenth as powerfully or effectively as Ness Wilson, or Bev Murrill, or Miriam Swaffield, or if I had a tiny portion of the vision and capacity to inspire change of Cathy Madavan or Natalie Collins, or if I had some little echo of the pastoral wisdom and visible holiness of Pat Took or Ruth Goldbourne, or if I could even once in my life make something happen the way Wendy Beech-Ward or Ann Holt do every day—then I might think the question of whether these women are permitted by God to lead and preach was worth thinking about.

As it is, no. I can’t defend their ministries. I am not worthy to.

I will continue to fight sexism and bad teaching wherever I see it. I will continue to explain, as well as I can, the truth of Scripture, that it is a crucial mark of the Kingdom that God calls women and men indifferently to every ministry. I want to give more time in coming months and years to tracing the real harm that bad theologies of gender do. I might even write my big book on a theology of gender one of these years. (The story roughly runs: Augustine meets Judith Butler and they get on surprisingly well…)

But I’m not going to try to illuminate the sun. And I’m not going to try to dampen the sea. And I’m not, any longer, going to try to defend the ministry of women in the church.

Do you agree? Disagree?

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Staying Humble as it Gets Personal by Rob Dixon

Sometimes, you can't own a value until it gets personal. 

At least that's the story of my journey regarding gender equality. Along the way, I've gone from someone who holds a value but has little conviction to someone who is a determined advocate.

God's grace to me was that I grew up in a church where women and men could exercise their gifts equally and without limitations with regard to gender. On top of that, as I grew in my faith, many of my early mentors were women. Still, when I got to college and my faith begain to bloom, gender equality remained something on the periphery, something that I merely valued, as opposed to a "hill to die on." I was no gender equality revolutionary.

But then it got personal.

In my first year as the staff leader of my campus ministry chapter, a local pastor who barely knew me sat me down and told me that because I was allowing women to teach the Scriptures in the ministry I was leading, I would be held accountable for my false teaching.

Wow. The accusation was painful for me, and it sent me into a months-long quest to learn as much as possible about the theology around the topic of women in leadership. I read, studied, prayed, talked, debated and then read some more. And when I was done with that intense burst of learning, my understanding of the Scriptures continued to lead me to the conviction that men and women are to be full partners together in ministry and, in particular, that women are to be free (better yet, empowered) to lead in the Kingdom according to their gifting.

But here’s the catch. When I emerged from this season of learning, I was militant. I mean, if you disagreed with me on the issue, I had no time for you. Looking back, the experience of being rebuked very nearly turned me into a rebuker. Pretty quickly, the issue of women in authority became a litmus test for me: if you agreed with me, we were good. If you didn’t, we had problems.

Thankfully, God provoked a trusted mentor to challenge my posture. My friend sat me down one day and basically said, “Rob, I’m concerned that you’re headed toward becoming like that guy. You need to learn how to hold your convictions with humility.”

“Hold your convictions with humility.” That was the word I needed to hear.

Because we need that posture in order to engage with others around these issues in healthy ways. Particularly when things are unclear or in dispute, we must be humble.

These days, my journey has taken me into the world of thinking about my male privilege. Specifically, I'm considering how Christian men ought to respond to the reality of our socially-granted privilege and power. For the last 6 months, I've been blogging on this stuff twice a week, every week at challengingtertullian.com.

As I've gone along, I've experienced a wide range of emotions. This stuff is complex! At once it's been interesting and encouraging, uncomfortable and vexing.

And, above all else, it's been personal.

Struggling Together - Part One by Mickey Sanchez

Mickey Sanchez is a Harvard Chaplain, representing InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Graduate & Faculty Ministries.

In this post I’d like to share a bit about my own experience supporting my wife as she wrestled with gender equality issues while in seminary. (In a future post I hope to share about my experience supporting her as a full-time working mom in ministry)

My wife is a gifted woman and while we were both in seminary we tried to sort out what biblical gender roles meant for her work in the church and at home. We went to a seminary that had professors from each camp in the debate and my wife won a scholarship to do extensive research and interviews with some of the leading evangelical figures in that debate. That said, we each had personal challenges in looking into this issue.

We both came from a complementarian church that we loved. That church had a lot to do with my own initial growth in faith right after I became a Christian and it laid the groundwork for how I would approach God and the Bible, which is still operative for me today. My wife and I fell in love within that church’s community and hoped to serve with them in the future. So I was somewhat wary of moving toward an egalitarian position which would leave us outside that church/denomination’s doctrinal boundaries. Also, I thought much of what the main pastor taught was right and was worried that disagreeing with him meant I was making an intellectual error. Moreover, the time it took to rigorously look into this debate concerned me as I had other questions I wanted to look into as well. All that to say, I had reasons to be disinclined toward delving too deeply into this issue myself.

However, my church’s emphasis on the gospel and its implication paved the way for me to be supportive of my wife as she wrestled with the gender roles question. For one, the gospel gave me compassion for my wife and a desire to help with this time consuming project. If God could be so put upon to leave his royal throne for my sake, the least I could do for my wife was take the time to make this long journey with her. Also, Jesus empowered people for ministry and I wanted to make sure I did that for my wife as I thought she had a lot to offer the church from her giftings.  Beyond that, I became a Christian because I followed the evidence against my will and found the gospel to be true. Why should I stop following the evidence now with this issue just to save time or for comfort’s sake? And if the evidence pointed to the egalitarian position, then we’re keeping roughly half of the church from fully utilizing all their giftings!

Perhaps most practically, though, the gospel helped me to anchor my wife in the midst of her research. She had such a desire to get this question right, to please God and not disobey him, that she feared God’s judgment if she was wrong – a fear that some complementarians unfortunately encourage. But the gospel is not that we are saved because we have all our theology right or because we’re smarter than others. We’re saved by grace. So even if we made a mistake here, and we’re all likely mistaken on something as we’re not saved because of our intelligence, God’s grace would cover us. That allayed the fear and allowed us to think more clearly together.

It took a while to sort it all out, but I’m glad I journeyed with her on this. It opened my eyes to various struggles women go through and how men could do more to help them. For example, in seminary I learned that a number of women struggle with low confidence in their opinions and in their ability to disagree with others, even though they have good reasons to do so. Despite my wife’s natural confidence in other areas, she struggled in this debate to have confidence in her opinion at a point when I thought we both could be confident of the egalitarian position. I realized I could help her grow in this area, not by giving her another authority figure to trust, but by helping her trust the gospel so her fear would melt away. With that gone, she was better able to make up her own mind, thanks be to God.

Co-Conspiritors by Tom Yaccino

Dee and Tom Yaccino are co-connectors and founders of Del Camino Connection, an organization passionate about serving and supporting church based networks in Latin America that live out the call to be agents of change and reconcilers for Christ and the Kingdom of God here on earth. DCC offers consulting and coaching services to churches that are passionate about partnering with the Global Church. They help churches and organizations leverage their shared spiritual, human, and financial resources in response to Jesus’ mission to make all things new. Together, Tom and Dee work to facilitate global connections among churches to embody Christ's dream that we be One, as we participate in revealing the love and Justice of God in our communities. www.delcaminoconnection.org

My name is Tom Yaccino.  I am Dee Yaccino’s husband, friend, partner in ministry and parenthood, and co conspirator with her in God’s amazing and beautiful Kingdom project here on earth.  It is remarkable that the way I just introduced myself, as her husband, might seem odd to others, especially among many with whom I share a common faith and mission in Jesus Christ.  I say odd because for many, her role should be recognized as secondary or complimentary to mine such that I am seen as “above” her.

I must confess that, more often than not, I too easily fall into the cultural and religious framework, which places more importance and attention on the male in that partnership than the woman.  I confess that when Dee feels that sense of being invisible or a mere appendage to me in conversations or gatherings – even those of the Kingdom sort – and when she makes her uncomfortable feelings known to me, I have been known to question her feelings: “Really?  I don’t think they mean that!”  “Huh?!?  I didn’t catch that vibe at all in their interaction with us…”

I confess that I am a product of the cultural, socioeconomic, religious constructs that represent the patriarchal system that dominates our world and particular faith context in the west.  And I confess that it is incredibly easy for me to remain blind to how that system diminishes, controls and determines the role and responsibilities of women – of Dee, my covenant partner in life.

But as followers of Jesus, we have been redeemed by His blood and restored supernaturally to our true identities as icons of the Lord.  We are privileged participants in the amazing, grace-infused, holy community that God intended for humankind and all of creation.  In this light, my complicity with the dominant system is shaken to the foundations.  The Holy Spirit is breaking down the hard casing that the world has built up around my heart and mind which casts parts in this play with pre-determined roles for men and women. The Spirit is exposing me to the Way, the truth and the life that announces another Way – Way that was made possible and promotes community and connectedness without domination, or positional power.   

Dee and I lived for 25 years in Latin America, a strange and wonderful place where machismo (male domination) and marianismo (reverence for feminine virtue, purity and moral strength, as made in the image of Mary) co-exist, but where men definitely dominate the scene.  As a God-gifted leader in ministry, this was a challenging sea for Dee to navigate.  Not only did she survive, but she was able to influence leaders and communities, loving them into new understandings of Jesus and His Kingdom; not without pain and struggle, but with a lot of grace and perseverance.  Dee became a deep friend and partner in ministry with my own Dominican best friend, who when we first met, was prejudiced against “gringos” and women!  She served the bride of Christ as a teaching pastor, elder, counselor and dear friend.  In the ministry God has called us to, she is the mind and heart behind all of our awareness-raising, educational, paradigm-shifting materials and workshops. She is an anthropologist, a pastor & teacher, a researcher and now is currently a PhD fellow where she is being celebrated as a woman in a male-dominated academic institution.  She is being valued and invited to teach because of her capabilities and unique contribution. 

On the enneagram Dee is an “8”; I am a “4.”  We are both influencers and leaders but of a very different stripe.  Being a female “8” in a male-dominated world permeated with “type A” power-centered leadership models is no easy thing.  But Dee has stayed true to herself and has spoken up even in the face of the pain and rejection that often results.  She flows into who God has created her to be – despite the “man” made barriers, some that I admittedly have built – and she leads.

She is an incredible mom, who hasn’t stopped being a mom in our home, while she ministers and serves and leads ministry outside of the home.  I thank God for her example as she lives in the tension with grace and flows into her identity as a woman, created in the image and likeness of God, the creator and sustainer of life.  She leads, cares for, and parents with me our 4 wonderful children which include 3 amazingly talented girls (19, 17 and 13) who are like their mother (& father) gifted with leadership, as well as one amazing little boy (6).  They all see how God’s designs for life and wholeness are working out in males and females. I shudder to think that my girls will be limited in their full and free expression of who they were created to be by God, especially among well-intentioned fellow believers.  May they follow in their mother’s footsteps as women and grow into their full identity and design as God has intended for them be that leaders, artists, influencers, servants, etc., without being controlled, limited or “allowed”  by others.  

I am so thankful for Dee.  I am so impacted by her life.  As a man, who is recognized as a leader among my peers, I not only acknowledge that her support and encouragement have helped shape me into the servant leader that I hopefully am, but I acknowledge that her leadership is one that I am privileged to be able to follow."

Praise Her at the Gates by Ken Wytsma

Ken Wytsma is a leader, innovator, and social entrepreneur respected for his insight and collaborative spirit. He is the president of Kilns College, where he teaches courses on philosophy and justice. He is the founder of The Justice Conference—an annual international conference that introduces men and women to a wide range of organizations and conversations relating to biblical justice and God’s call to give our lives away.

Ken is a consultant and creative advisor to nonprofits such as World Relief and Food for the Hungry. Ken is also a church planter and the lead pastor at Antioch Church. The son of a Dutch immigrant, Ken lives in Bend, Oregon, with his wife, Tamara, and their four daughters.

Ken’s first book, Pursuing Justice: The Call to Live and Die for Bigger Things, was recently released by Thomas Nelson Publishers. http://kenwytsma.com/pursuingjustice/

from Women's Liberty Bell Blog
As we pray for the victims of yesterday's cruel act of inhumanity, let us commit ourselves to conquering all forms of evil & fear with good, to building bridges of peace, and to working together to create a more just, humane world that honors the full humanity of all human beings around the globe, right here at our doorsteps & within our own homes.  

Tragedies have a way of clarifying deep within our souls the lesser from the "bigger things" of Life.  As people of faith, our task it seems in this generation--where our world has for centuries seen and continues to see the lesser side of religion--is without fear to look within and, with God's help, to courageously let go of anything & everything that builds walls instead of bridges and does not ring with the full spiritual & moral clarity of our north star ideals--the bigger things--of our faith and our shared humanity.  

Thank you Ken for your passion for the higher ideals of justice that lie at the very core of Biblical faith.  Thank you for this humble message within your own Christian community to not fall into the familiar exegetical traps which seek to prove loyalty to scripture by "putting women in their place".  Thank you for your solidarity in affirming the beauty and goodness of living fully into our shared humanity as male and female created differently, but equally in God's image.  

http://kenwytsma.com/2013/04/10/praiser-her-at-the-gates/

Praise Her at the Gates

Maybe this is controversial, but we need to make sure we’re talking sense and using biblical logic when we talk about women.

Here is the message, “Praise Her at the Gates,” from Antioch’s Proverbs Sermon Series. The title is taken from the last chapter of Proverbs and the exhortation to praise noble women at the gates of the city and in the public square.

May we all be found praising women at the gates!

Proverbs Part 6 | Praise Her at the Gates from Antioch Church on Vimeo.

"The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice" ~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Ken is one of the leading forces behind The Justice Conference which took place this past February in Philadelphia. Check out the speaker videos http://thejusticeconference.com/videos2013.html including a few inspiring talks around the centrality of gender justice in the larger movement of justice by Sheryl Wu Dunn, Mimi Haddad, Chaig Ling, and Brenda Salter McNeil and others too numerous to mention.  Consider coming to the Justice Conference in 2014 and becoming part of this movement to keep bending the moral arc toward justice within our faith communities and within our world.  http://thejusticeconference.com/ 

What I Think About Empowering Women by David Drury

David Drury has a passion for teaching on the deep mysteries of God’s Word in a way that is relevant to the next generation but true to the orthodox Christian faith. His writing and speaking comes with a healthy dose of both heart and humor—but is centered on teaching scripture. He serves as Chief of Staff to Jo Anne Lyon, the General Superintendent of theWesleyan Church and previously served as Executive Pastor and Connections Pastor at two large churches for 10 years. David is the architect of the all-church spiritual formation journey SoulShift which includes more than 30 related published or free resources for churches engaging in the Shift journey in their church. He is also co-author of SoulShift: The Measure of a Life Transformed along with Steve DeNeff the spiritual formation book which inspired the all-church resources for adults, youth & children.http://www.daviddrury.com/2013/03/08/what-i-think-about-empowering-women/

On International Women's Day, David posted the following statement on Facebook: “When they question the idea of empowering women I question men on why they are so threatened by the idea of empowered women.” It caused some conversation to develop. 

Says David, "Let me clarify:...

Maybe you have other reactions, but here are 5 things I think of when I think of “Empowering Women.”

1) First of all, I think I made a misstatement  It’s not just “men” who I question. Some women question the idea of empowering women as well, and likewise I question them back on why they are threatened by the idea. “Giving more power to women” in a variety of ways has nothing to do with any “biblical” approach, I should say. Many people just plain don’t like the idea of women having more power in any realm (politics, education, family, legal, economic, etc.) This is much bigger than just religion and “women in ministry.” When I think of “empowering women” (meaning, giving more power to women, in a variety of forms) I am reminded of so many people who find that idea fundamentally threatening and off-putting to them. It is dismissed out of hand by some, and mocked by others, with a not-too-subtle misogyny exposing itself. I find that hard to stomach.

2) More importantly, when I think of empowering women I think of Ricky’s mother who I met in Siamazilla, Zambia. Ricky’s mom has AIDS, and so does his sister. Her husband contracted AIDS and passed it on to them. We sponsor her son through Hope for Children. I met the whole family, and laid hands on her family to pray for hope and healing. I want to empower this woman, and in fact we do, beyond the sponsorship. She is empowered to be on the leadership team in her community because the Wesleyan church in her village created a new organization to meet these needs, and she is on the leadership of that—superseding the male-dominated tribal culture that is in fact often times propagating these kinds of cyclical cultural evils.

3) When I think of empowering women I think of my daughters who are 9 and 7 years old. They have many dreams for their lives, and they are far more privileged than Ricky and his sister for sure. However, my daughters are born in to a world where women give birth to 100% of the children and do 66% of the work, but where women only make 10% of the money and only own 1% of the property. Inequities abound. I don’t want the dreams and callings of my own daughters to be limited. And so when I think of empowering women I think of empowering my daughters with the same magnitude and energy that I empower my son (and perhaps even a little more to make up for the head start he’ll get for being male.

4) When I think of empowering women I think of Rose, who is the pastor of the church in Siamazilla, Zambia. Because the church in her community is Wesleyan, she is able to pursue her calling to preach the gospel and lead a church. I was able to hear her speak briefly, and while I didn’t speak her language, I could tell that she spoke to her people with spiritual power, compassion, & authority. When I think of empowering women I think of Pastor Rose

5) If you’re wondering how to engage, I encourage connection with World Hope International, as I’ve personally seen them successfully empowering women to escape human trafficking and also working with microeconomic models and empowering their leadership through helping orphans and vulnerable children in Africa, including the above stories. Many other organizations I might mention are good–but the people at WHI are people I trust and know personally, and they have worked in these arenas for a good long time. When I think of empowering women, I think of World Hope.

I remember walking two miles with Ricky and his sister back to the Church in Siamazilla where I heard Rose speak and we all ate a great meal together in the village. I remember holding Ricky’s hand on the left and his sisters on the right. And I remember praying that the daughters of Africa, and all daughters everywhere, would have a better future.

So, that’s what I think about when I think of empowering women. How about you, what do you think when someone talks about “Empowering Women”?"

The Power of One Woman is Contagious

Opportunity International applauds The Woman’s Liberty Bell Blog along with the voices of Emily Jones and author Sheryl WuDunn who ‘chime in’ and affirm “the challenge that women & girls face around the world is the moral challenge of our time”. Empowering women in one arena paves the way for equality in every arena.   In many regions of the developing world the suffragist movement is just beginning. We stand in solidarity with you as 93% of our micro-entrepreneurs are female – enabling their God-given potential to flourish. The power of One Woman is contagious!  Carpe Diem!

1.5 billion people live in extreme poverty.  Many are women entrepreneurs who have plans for a better future for themselves, their families and their communities. With a little support, they can change many lives.  That’s the power of One Woman.

As a Global Ambassador to Opportunity International, Carly Fiorina will lend her voice and influence to Opportunity’s efforts to build a network of women investing in women to end the cycle of poverty. Now under Opportunity’s umbrella, the One Woman Initiative will support women in the developing world through financial resources, education and training to build sustainable futures.

Watch Opportunity CEO Vicki Escarra and Carly Fiorina chat with CBS Saturday Morning anchor Rebecca Jarvis on the power of one woman to impact so many around her.


You can learn more about Opportunity International by following us on Facebook and Twitter or by contacting Linda VanderWeele at lvanderweele@opportunity.org