The CBE Scroll

Today, August 21st, the Associated Press released a tragic story from Watertown, New York (view full story). For Mary Lambert, the decision from her young pastor ended 54 years of service as a Sunday school teacher. The decision was reached after adopting a “literal interpretation” of Scripture. That passage, as you may have guessed, is 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man…” The pastor, however, thinks that women outside of the church are not limited by the biblical command. Rev. LaBouf wrote this on Saturday: “‘I believe that a woman can perform any job and fulfill any responsibility that she desires to’ outside of the church.”

So if he truly believes that women can “perform any job” outside of the church, I would assume Rev. LaBouf would not oppose women being teachers, say in public or possibly even private schools—as long as they did not teach anything about the Bible. But if women can be capable and even gifted teachers in that setting, why would he be opposed to letting those women use their gifts in a Sunday school setting? The inconsistencies abound. Even most complementarians I know do not oppose women teaching Sunday school. They take the word “man” as literally as possible to exclude children. Therefore, women can teach male children but not adult males. Then of course, the decision for when a male child becomes a male adult is arbitrarily drawn—usually during the adolescent years. And aren’t children the most impressionable of all?

With the same level of “literal interpretation,” I hope LaBouf takes the command for “men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing,” which appears in 1 Timothy only a few verses earlier. The “literal” interpretation becomes nothing more than a “selective” interpretation to justify a theology that restricts women. This inconsistent interpretation is demonstrated in any church that is concerned about the *apparent restrictions* placed on women in 1 Tim. 2:12. They are quick to limit women from teaching, but not as quick to command the men to lift up their hands while praying, or even to stop them from disputing. A holistic and biblical perspective of gender recognizes that our identity is not in gender, but in Christ, as articulated by Galatians 3:28, Colossians 3:11-12, and 2 Corinthians 5:16-17.

While Mary Lambert’s story made the Associated Press today, we at CBE hear stories like this all the time. CBE affirms that God uses the gifts of all people, regardless of gender. When I speak with our members I ask them what they appreciate about our ministry; most say “knowing they’re not alone.” Lambert is also not alone either, and our prayers go out to her.

Sometimes the simplest conversations can turn out to be the most complicated. Take for example, the insistence of a relative of mine that a woman should accept her husband’s last name in deference to his headship. Even though I pointed out that the idea of a surname is a relatively recent invention in human history—not even addressed by Scripture—the conversation meandered into several uncomfortable moments leaving him to resolve it by admitting he just preferred it. There was a certain quaintness and comfort in the tradition from which he wasn’t yet ready to part. Admittedly, I understood, even if I disagreed.

While egalitarians are often accused by patriarchalists of capitulating to culture and its demands, there is no doubt in my mind that this is a trap from which the patriarchal side cannot boast freedom. For example, after coming across a website that sold “modest clothing”—which as it turns out requires Victorian clothing patterns—I found that “virtuous” women wear bonnets or that godly women prefer floral prints. Of course, if one prefers ruffles and lace, then by all means, fill the dresser drawers. That is not a problem. The problem I found was an idolizing of a culture of the past, an infusion of the days-gone-by with images of virtue and the insinuation that only the clothing of a particular era or only those who looked a certain way were truly godly.

I was then reminded of a full-page ad I once saw for a conservative Christian boarding school in a leading conservative evangelical magazine. The image used stock photography of a smiling and pleasant looking blond-haired woman, sporting some smart black glasses and a black business suit. The tag line for the school was something like, “Do you want this woman to be your child’s advisor?” What seemed to be implied was that the kind of woman who wears a business suit and takes her career seriously is probably in some way evil, corrupted, or a feminist seeking to destroy your children’s morals.

There is a serious danger when one invests virtue in mere appearance. Whether it is long hair and dresses or power suits, virtue is not in the packaging. That is why I cringe when a perfume labeled “Virtuous Woman” is being sold at the Christian Retail Show. How can virtue be captured in a scent?

I’m reminded of Flannery O’ Connor’s classic short story, Good Country People, in which Manley Pointer, a used Bible salesman from “Willohobie, not even from a place, just near a place,” came knocking on Joy-Hulga Hopewell’s door selling Bibles. Joy-Hulga lost her leg in a hunting accident and spent her life mourning her displacement from society by burying herself in her schooling and earning her Ph.D. A Bible salesman didn’t really impress her, she long lost her belief in God and boasted a new “born-again” freedom in nihilism.

As a “good country” person, Pointer won the trust of Joy-Hulga’s mother, and found himself a guest at their dinner table for the evening. He also managed to win a taste of Joy-Hulga’s lips and maneuver her into a date in a hayloft. After his incessant begging, she gave in to Pointer’s request to see how her wooden leg attached. She took it off and put it back on. Then he took it off and put it back on. This happened repeatedly until he removed it and pushed it away from her.

Now somewhat frightened, Joy-Hulga watched as Manley pulled his Bible out of his briefcase. To her surprise it was hollow, containing a flask, a deck of playing cards, and an assortment of unsavory items. And then it hit her, “aren’t you just good country people?” she asked in shock.

“Come on now,” said Manley avoiding the question and moving uncomfortably closer, “we ain’t got to know one another good yet.” Joy-Hulga tried pushing away and demanding her leg back, but Manley thought she protested too much for a woman who “didn’t believe in nothing.”

“You’re a Christian!” she hissed. “You’re a fine Christian! You’re just like them all—say one thing and do another. You’re a perfect Christian, you’re…”

Manley tossed his Bible and her wooden leg back in the briefcase, and climbed out of the loft. “I’ve gotten a lot of interesting things,” he bragged, “one time I got a woman’s glass eye this way.”

O’Connor’s point is ultimately about Hulga’s nihilism and the wooden leg is an example of her usual literary tool representing the human condition known as “the grotesque.” With the theft of her leg, came the theft of her belief in nothing, for only something could hurt like that. Even more, as he disappeared for the last time, the Bible salesman turned to Joy-Hulga and said smirkingly, “you ain’t so smart. I been believing in nothing ever since I was born.” Her lesson came at the hands of one who looked and talked like “good country people” but on the inside his heart was as wooden as the leg.

Try as we may to define persons by our standards, the human heart is where we find the real person and it is a treacherous place. Christ came to save sinners, we would do well to remember that no amount of window dressing, whether by clothing or perfume, can do what only he can accomplish.

We aren’t always able to separate what we believe culturally from the actual truth. And at times, people intentionally use cultural identifiers to make a statement. But don’t be fooled, while the devil may have the blue dress on, there are both floral dresses and power suits in his closet as well.

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Flannery O’Connor, “Good Country People,” in Heritage of American Literature: Civil War to the Present, Vol. 2, ed. By James E. Miller, Jr. and Kathleen Farley (New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1991), 1917-1929. All quotations are to this edition.

It’s wonderful, and perhaps all too rare, when countries realize their mistakes and take steps to correct them. China Daily reports that the imbalance between the numbers of boys and girls in China is growing so severe that if left unchecked there will be 25 million men in China between 2015 and 2030 with no hope of finding a mate.

Many Chinese parents abort the wife’s pregnancy if tests show the fetus is female so that they can try again for a boy. As a result, there are 119 boys born for every 100 girls in China; the rest of the world averages between 103 and 107 boys for 100 girls.

But China has stepped up legal action and has prosecuted 3,000 cases of gender selective abortion for non-medical purposes over the past two years.

China’s State Population and Family Planning Commission’s (SCPFP) three-year-old “Care for Girls” program offers hope that the imbalance can be corrected by providing social benefits, including cash payments, to families with only girls, in order to boost the status of girls and women. The program has significantly reduced the boys-to-girls ratio in the 21 counties that ran the pilot program. The SCPFP will now extend the program to all provincial regions.

Population Research Institute reports that over a hundred million baby girls in China have died by abortion, infanticide, abandonment and neglect since the beginning of China’s one-child policy in 1981.

Families in other countries are now adopting abandoned Chinese baby girls to do what they can to rescue these precious children of God.

Kirsten tours with a theatrical production of Don Richardson’s Peace Child. In her down time, she greets people as a receptionist for our missions ministry here in Montana. As a 20 year old, she heard me teach on the value of daily Bible reading. This morning, four years later, I noticed that she was writing out the gospel of John longhand. I asked her about it. She told me that four years ago, after she heard me teach about Bible study, she decided to starting writing the Bible out longhand. Since 2002, she has written out during her daily devotional time the following Bible books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Johsua, Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timonthy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. She is presently writing out the gospel of John and Ezekiel. She told me, “I have filled up notebook after notebook.”

As we spoke, I noticed an engagement ring on her finger. I told her that I hope her fiance knows what a treasure he is getting in her. In fact, the writer of the Proverbs wrote that “her worth is far more precious than jewels.”

You can access Kirsten’s ministry at Sidewalk Productions.

How have you dealt with those who are opposed to women in ministry?

I have had to learn that those opposed to women in ministry are not necessarily opposed to me. For a while, I took their opposition personally, as if I were the problem. Then I learned that an individual’s opposition to women in ministry says much more about him or her than it does about me. That theological view has nothing to do with me personally. Often some experience in someone’s background has caused him or her to hold that view. When I remember that, I usually find that I am much more patient and tolerant of different views. I still become angry when those opposed to women in ministry speak out in hostile or hurtful ways, but I think that anger is justified.

Do you perceive that you serve the church differently because you are a woman? Is there anything in your leadership style or whatever that you think of as “feminine”?

As the only woman serving on a ministerial staff with three men, I certainly see aspects of my ministry style that are different. I am sensitive to different issues and situations. I connect with congregants, particularly women and girls, differently from the male staff members. My preaching offers a different voice, and I think it is positive for a congregation to hear from both male and female preachers. I tend to be an advocate for women’s and children’s issues of which my colleagues are sometimes unaware.

I became aware during seminary that many of the minister’s tasks are stereotypically feminine traits. Pastoral care requires nurturing and relational gifts that are feminine. Serving in a laity driven Baptist congregation takes leadership skills that are less about power and more about relational influence and sharing of responsibility. I tend to be able to tap into my feminine resources to offer a different perspective.

What do you wish churches understood about women in ministry?

I wish that churches were willing to take the risk to hire women as pastors. Many churches are verbally supportive of women in ministry, but there are very few women serving as pastors of these churches. One hindrance is that churches look to hire “experienced” pastors, and women who have never been given the opportunity to pastor cannot very well claim to be experienced. I wish these churches would be more willing to take the risk and do what they have been claiming is right for so long.

What would you say to girls and young women who are wondering about how they fit into the Body of Christ?

I would tell them that they have unique gifts to offer. Each member of the body has a particular function. Without each member performing her specific function, the body would not be in working order as it was intended to be. Women have gifts that are different from men, but only when all members use their gifts will be body of the church be what it is intended to be.

My friend Wendy Joyner, pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Americus, Ga., tells the story of a little girl in her church who, after hearing a male guest preacher, turned to her mother and said, “Mom! Boys can be preachers, too!” I think that story illustrates that perspective matters. A little girl who had only known a woman pastor thought nothing unusual about her situation. She experienced God through a woman pastor just as many children experience God by means of a male pastor.

I try to encourage girls and women interested in entering ministry that they are not alone. I provide them with role models, encourage them to trust their instincts, and challenge them to rely on the calling of God’s spirit within them.