The CBE Scroll

Second Day of CBE International Conference in Toronto – July 19, 2008

 Faith-friend writes:

 Another good day…but a hard one too.

 Listening to the story of gender discrimination in the firing of one of our workshop leaders from her seminary professorship and of failings in her personal life due to a difficult marriage brought the issues of a “woman’s place” sharply among us. 

 The professional pain that this very accomplished speaker underwent was shared by several in the room.  When stories were invited from others, one woman shared that her pastoring of a small church had been degraded by her current pastor as meaningless because of her gender.  His view is that women ought not to be in ministry.  The irony she described, however, is that this pastor, a pony-tailed, “modern guy,” is supposed to be bringing what is new and fresh to the Church.  The thing that appears to be intact is that too small view of a woman’s place.

How different is the perspective of some of the leaders of house churches in India and China, we heard in another workshop.  They have no time for debates about 1 Timothy 2:12.  Lives are at stake!!  The new Christians in China feel that their baptism is their commissioning to go and preach the gospel, men and women both.  They feel an urgency to share the gospel and speak even of taking it to the Muslim world – back down the silk roads and on towards Jerusalem.

 One Indian man speaking joyfully of shared ministry with his wife on a video, commented that the Great Commission has not been completed in “every nook and cranny of the world because men and women have not worked together.”

 The urgency of spreading the gospel causes Christians in these parts of the world to press on.  We heard of one Chinese woman leader, and others with her, hand-copying the Bible!  She spent 9 years in prison (she called IT her seminary), and yet none of this slowed her down.  She and others have planted countless house churches and continue to do so. 

 The main point made again and again as we spoke of the Great Commission in these sessions was that of Jesus, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field.”  (Matthew 9:38) 

God needs women to also be released into this field so that all might be reached with the gospel…now!

First Day of CBE International Conference in Toronto – July 18, 2008

 Faith-friend writes:

 The second half of this year’s Conference’s title is: “Women and Men Using Their Gifts for the Great Commission” and it was clear from the first general session today that we would be emphasizing having a heart “for the nations” in this conference.

 Our opening speaker, a senior vice president from Coca-Cola, spoke of her Christian theology of work – that her company has global influence and she sees her work, in that company, as a way to aid the carrying out of the Great Commission.   Not only can she practice Christian ethics in the workplace and evangelize people she has contact with at appropriate moments, but the work creates improved environments where people are enabled to hear the gospel by having jobs, improved social conditions through the company’s philanthropic work, etc. 

She quoted Michael Novak as saying, “A business enterprise is…with the exception of Christianity, the greatest transforming power of the condition of the poor of the earth.” 

This first speaker came from a family of ministers, missionaries, etc, but she felt led by God to the business world.  She had no role models of women in business, but it proved a good fit for her giftedness.  Though business is often condemned as exploitive, she commented that we need “more people in business who understand how and desire to glorify God in the product and process of their work.”

The focus on the need of people of all nations to hear the gospel as well as to receive real aid for poverty, disease and hunger brought us back to the urgency for more Christian workers to be released around the world in the afternoon panel discussion.  We need to have “a full team” – women as well as men, allowed to do that for which God has gifted them.  One speaker in the panel session said, “Imagine if you kept half your soccer team on the bench.  There’d be no way to win.  Isn’t it just the same for the Christian community charged with bringing the gospel to all people?”  With half the team on the bench, we’re hard pressed to carry out this mandate from God.  We were reminded by personal anecdotes and stories of others from the speakers that oppression of women, in general, and in the Church is still very real and painful.

But, notes of hope were sounded in this panel session of missionaries – stories were shared, for example, of more Indian leaders being open to gifts-based ministry, men and women working together, and of urgency for the gospel in India.  Indigenous women church planters and women house church leaders having fruitful ministries in other parts of Asia were also described.  One panelist noted, “This is the most exciting time for expansion of the gospel we have ever known.”  Wherever there have been great movements of God, he said, “There has been a hunger for the Word, creativity in worship, holiness, evangelistic effort, AND equality of men and women!!