Male and female / He created them

So God created / man in His own image, In the image of God / He created him; Male and female / He created them. Genesis 1:27

Although there is much debate about the meaning of the image of God, the Hebrew poetic parallelism clearly demonstrates that the female of the human species is created in possession of this same feature. She participates in the divine image in no grammatically, demonstrably different way in contrast to the male. Mary Hayter, when discussing the Imago Dei, says:

Whatever it is correct to say about the creation of the male in the image and likeness of God applies to the female. Anything and everything that may be deduced from the text about “man,” “mankind,” “humanity,” is relevant not simply to one half of the human race but to all men and women (Hayter 92).

Therefore any claims to variation of degree in bearing the divine image based upon gender distinctions should be rejected. Such readings overlook or ignore the plain reading of the text. The third line of this poetic refrain candidly recounts the creation of a plurality of persons, “them,” in genders male and female. Article from Wesleyan/Holiness Women Clergy

Help meet?

If the Hebrew phrase simply meant “helper”, then could a woman hold a leadership position in the church, let alone a single woman?... In the beginning, men and women were both created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and they were created to be equals. They were both given the commands to be fruitful and to rule over the earth (Gen. 1:28-30). The woman was not created to be a subordinate helper to her husband. She was created as an autonomous being; she was a complete human being, just as the man was. Her existence was not dependent on him as his existence was not dependent on her: their existence depended on God alone who created them both.

Call Me What You Will...

Call me what you will, but God calls me....

How would you finish this sentence?

Gender and roles?

Marriage is hard even when both parties believe in mutuality and equality in marriage. Sharing. Negotiating. Swallowing your pride. Censuring yourself. Finding a rhythm between the two of you. Trusting the other. Forgiving. Letting go of the hurts. Overlooking. Growing older and changing. Finding a new rhythm. Renegotiating. Starting over. It’s messy, bruising work that wreaks havoc on your self-esteem and ego. But you can survive the bruisi-ness of marriage when you know that you’re not the only one in the relationship “dying to ego.” Marriage is about mutual sacrifice, mutually giving and forgiving, and mutually surrendering one’s wants and needs for the sake of the other– not because of some preconceived notion about roles and gender, but because you love each other, and because forever is a long time to be sad, miserable, and subjugated.

How much of the problem people have with viewing women in ministry as leaders is based on the these preconceived notions about roles and gender which say the woman must be submissive to the man?

"The Deeper Places Insider Her"

"A girl, forming her identity also experiences herself missing from pronouns in scripture, hymns, and prayers... she will experience the otherness, the lessness, of herself; all the pious talk in the world about females being equal to males will fail to compute in the deeper places inside her."-Sue Monk Kidd

Inclusive language is more important than we may want to acknowledge. If the church is not contextualized for over half of its participants then it is missing the opportunity to minister to the "deeper places inside her."

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!