Sermon

It has been said, "A sermon is only as great as it moves listeners to do something. To become different. To act differently in the world. To change — self and the world."
How long (if ever) has it been since you heard a sermon on the biblical foundations for women in ministry? I would imagine if we started having some serious preaching on this topic, we just might see listeners moved!

Resistance from pastor's wives?

...I am married to a gifted pastor but wondering whether my mate will get a real chance to maximize her God-given potential in the present pastoral system. This is no idle worry because I know of eminently qualified...women who have literally begged for a home mission church just for the chance of proving their gifts. In frustration, some have united with denominations that readily welcome their ministries. The other rub is an occasional sense of resistance from pastors' wives who may feel threatened by the egalitarian tenor of our marriage and working relationships. Some feel strongly that a woman's place is in the home and on ideological grounds, not evidence, suspect that our kids must be warped. They are not.--Anonymous Pastor's Husband

Hmmm...do you think the woman in ministry feels resistance from pastor's wives? If so, what a shame!

Is it sin?

Anyone who resists the notion of women preachers is functioning as a tool of the devil...'It's one thing to be wrong, but that isn't wrong, that's sinful. The Bible says, 'neglect not the gift that is in you,' and when women are gifted with the gift of preaching, anybody who frustrates that gift is an instrument of the devil,' Campolo said.-Tony Campolo,

What do you think?

Why Men Should Not Be Ordained

You may have seen this before, but I ran across this again and thought it was pretty funny and interesting. You can click on the title to see where I found it.
" Why Men Should Not Be Ordained " from The MENNONITE REPORTER, "Fly on the newsprint" by Ivan Emke (with acknowledgement for inspiration to Rosemary Radfore Ruether.)

1. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as picking turnips or de-horning cattle. It would indeed be "unnatural" for them to do other forms of work. How can we argue with the intended order that is instituted and enforced by nature?
2. For men who have children, their duties as ministers might detract from their responsibilities as parents. Instead of teaching their children important life skills like how to make a wiener-roasting stick, they would be off at some committee meeting or preparing a sermon. Thus these unfortunate children of ordained men would almost certainly receive less attention from their male parent. Some couples might even go so far as to put their children into secular daycare centers to permit the man to fulfill his duties as a minister.
3. According to the Genesis account, men were created before women, presumably as a prototype. It is thus obvious that men represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.
4. Men are overly prone to violence. They are responsible for the vast majority of crime in our country, especially violent crime. Thus they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.
5. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinate position that all men should take. The story also illustrates the natural tendency of all men to be either unwilling or unable to take a stand. From the Garden of Gethsemane to football locker rooms, men still have this habit of buckling under the weight of the lowest common denominator. It is expected that even ordained men would still embarrass themselves with their natural tendency toward a pack mentality.
6. Jesus didn't ordain men. He didn't ordain any women either, but two wrongs don't make a right.
7. If men got ordained, then they wouldn't be satisfied with that; they'd want more and more power. Next thing most of the Conference leaders would be men and then where would we be? No. The line must be drawn clearly now before it's too late.
8. Many, if not most, men who seek to be ordained have been influenced by the radical "men's movement" (or "masculist movement"). How can they be good leaders if their loyalties are divided between leading a church and championing the masculist drive for men's rights? The tract writers haven't pronounced on it yet, but the masculist movement is probably profoundly un- Christian.
9. To be an ordained pastor is to nurture and strengthen a whole congregation. But these are not traditional male roles. Rather, throughout the history of Christianity, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. Women, the myth goes, are fulfilled and completed only by their service to others. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination. But if men try to fit into this nurturing role, our young people might grow up with Role Confusion Syndrome, which could lead to such terrible traumas as the Questioning Tradition Syndrome.
10. Men can still be involved in Church activities, without having to be ordained. They can still take up the offering, shovel the sidewalk, and maybe even lead the singing on Father's Day. In other words, by confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church. Why should they feel left out?

Women's Leadership in the Church

An article from our Wesleyan Publication Wesleyan Life:

Leadership for Women in the Church

By Anita Carrión Quinoñes

Current opportunities for leadership for women in the church vary from country to country. Within any culture, the church can choose attitudes and actions that help strengthen it by recognizing the ministry gifts of both male and female members.

These might include the following:

• Allow women to become ordained as ministers in the church, using the same requirements that are in place for men.
• Respect any woman who is in a place of spiritual authority within the church. Celebrate her ability to obey God’s call on her life.
• When a position of leadership within the church becomes vacant, seek God’s person—male or female—to fill that vacancy.
• Accept spiritual instruction from women as well as men. The Holy Spirit uses both male and female leaders to teach truth from God’s Word.

— Anita Carrión Quinoñes, former national superintendent of Peru

from “Women’s Leadership in the Church,” Global Voices, edited by Joy Bray

I don't think sex plays much part....

I've been a woman for a little over 50 years and have gotten over my initial astonishment. As for conducting an orchestra, that's a job where I don't think sex plays much part.-Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979)

--on becoming the first woman to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra, recalled on her death, International Herald Tribune, October 23, 1979

Nadia was the first woman to break this particular all-male barrier. Women have been breaking barriers for many years. Perhaps we should not find it so unusual that the same barriers must be broken within the church!

The Gospel is Radical!

Have you thought much about how radical the gospel was in Jesus' and Paul's day? If it was radical then, it certainly is now as well. Below is a quote from an interesting discussion about Galatians 3:28. The author challenges the idea that when Paul says there “is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28), he is speaking only of access to Christ or salvation. Given the fact that this was written to a church that was having difficulty assimilating both Jews and Gentiles, Paul obviously is addressing more than just access to Christ. He was advocating that we are all one and our

...mutuality in Jesus weaves us together so that gender and ethnic differences no longer estrange or oppress but rather become the means of reflecting God’s presence, forgiveness, and love to the world...The gospel is radical medicine for a world divided by ethnicity, gender, and class, a world that, like ours today, emphasizes these differences in order to maintain divisions and inequities. -Mimi Haddad