The CBE Scroll

We have a situation where recently, at the church where one of our sons and his family attend, the senior minister felt called to resign and accept a teaching position at a Theological college. Some years previously this same Baptist Church had agreed to inviting persons to become a part of the Pastoral team on the basis of giftedness, regardless of gender. This openness led them to appoint a male senior Pastor and a female Associate. The team worked very successfully with each bringing their unique contribution to the ministry and the church flourished in every area of its life. So much so that in time the Associate title was dropped in favor of both being recognized as Pastors.

The resignation of the Team leader placed the Board of Elders (which includes a woman) in an unforeseen dilemma because the female Pastor strongly feels the call of God to step up into the vacated position of Team leader. The ministry Team had discussed and prayed over this possible outcome and could readily affirm this could well be  what God has in mind for the church’s future. What needed to happen next was that the Board of Elders should be convinced of this possibility too and make a recommendation to the church membership in order to ratify such a decision.

Interestingly, initially, two members of the Elder Board could not see, from the Scriptures, that a woman could/should be placed in the position of Team leader. The sticking point for them was the issue of headship. One of the men felt really exercised, after a restless night, to have another, Spirit prompted look at Galatians 3:28 in the early hours of the morning. As a consequence he felt God was encouraging him to concede that gender should not be a reason for any person to be disqualified from holding a senior leadership responsibility within the church. When the Elders conferred again he shared his experience and declared his modified position.

Meanwhile, the other dissenting Elder felt, after much prayer and an expression of willingness to change his view if God so instructed him, to hold firm because he remained unconvinced even after reviewing the various arguments. He then offered to resign rather than be in disagreement with the other Elders. While this was admirable it was unacceptable because, up to this point, everything had been accomplished at Elder Board level by total unanimity. So he agreed to stay on and support the recommendation that the rest of the Board were wanting to put before the church membership.

It needs to be said in all of this that the female Pastor had exceeded all expectations in terms of ministry giftedness and performance and no one doubted her ability, under God, to lead the ministry Team and the Church into the future. As mentioned earlier, the sticking point for this one Elder, was the matter of headship even though, in every other way he conceded that she was, without doubt,  gifted and capable. It’s as if his heart said one thing and his head another.

For him the contentious passage is 1 Corinthians 11:3 where it states categorically, as expressed in the NLT (New Living Translation), “… A man is responsible to Christ, a woman is responsible to her husband, and Christ is responsible to God.” No amount of persuasive argument could help this Elder to see that this verse could be interpreted any differently than what it literally appears to say. For the present time he cannot get around his personal conviction that for some reason God has invested in men the responsibility to lead.

Which leads to the question for you our bloggers. In what ways have you been convinced from Scripture, or has God shown you, that male “headship”, or leadership, both in the Church and the home, is not what He had in mind at all?

“… the righteous will live by their faith” (Habakkuk 2:4, NRSV)

Even before South Africa began to dismantle apartheid, Desmond Tutu did something very profound. Though he had no official platform or office, though he was without institutional power, he invited his opponents to join him. He treated them as colleagues who one day would work together as equals. His actions were prophetic and filled with faith in God’s redeeming work in our world. His actions reminded me of another story I heard recently, from the front lines of the gender debate within the church.

A scholar working at an institution unsympathetic to biblical equality quietly shared his journey away from gender-hierarchy. He said that though he had grown up in a church that gave authority in the home and church to men, he had recently reconsidered his position because of an act of kindness shown him by an egalitarian leader. He was scheduled to present a paper at a conference when suddenly he found himself without a projector. A prominent egalitarian offered hers. This simple act spoke louder than many books! It said to him that we are questing after the same goal—biblical truth. We are redeemed by the blood of the same Savior, and together we constitute the body
of Christ.

He also told me that the schools where he was trained were not only suspicious of egalitarians, the schools questioned their faith and integrity. Thus, when an egalitarian treated him with kindness, caring for his immediate needs, he began to question whether theological assessment of egalitarians was also in error.

Friends, Desmond Tutu knew apartheid would crumble. Egalitarians feel certain that the biblical message of mutuality, of shared leadership, will be victorious. Because of this, we can in confidence walk in newness of life because, though we greet this promised-land at a distance, it will be our home, a home we will share with all of God’s people.

Kudos to the people at The Jesus Film Project for their latest release, Magdalena: Released from Shame. I have not yet seen the film, but according to a Christianity Today reviewer, Magdalena “combines footage from the original Jesus film with new material emphasizing Christ’s compassion for women.” Apparently the purpose of the new film is to deliver the essential message of the original film specifically to women, as well as to non-Western cultures in which “honor and shame are more powerful paradigms than guilt and innocence.”

The Jesus Film Project website describes the film this way:

One woman caught in the scandalous act of adultery; another, rejected and ignored because of her promiscuous lifestyle; another, shunned for 12 years because of a shameful condition; a widow, cast out from society, mourning the loss of her only son. An ugly thread of shame, sorrow and hopelessness painfully weaves its way through the lives of each of these women.

After following Jesus for three years, Mary Magdalene observed all these things and more. She also witnessed changed lives, miracles, and the results of restored hope. Watching with amazement, Mary learned from Jesus a new way to look at people. He also radically transformed her life by healing her from demon possession—releasing her from shame.

The film’s action is narrated by the Mary Magdalene character, played by Rebecca Ritz (of Minority Report), presenting Jesus’ life through the eyes of one of his female disciples. According to Christianity Today, “After a recent showing in Israel, one viewer emotionally expressed her appreciation for the way Jesus ‘dealt with women in respect’ and ‘released them from fear.’ In every culture, in every language, that’s a story women need to hear.” Amen!

Sneak previews are available on the film’s gorgeous interactive website, www.magdalenamovie.com, and DVDs can be purchased at The Jesus Film Store.

Will here, administrator of The CBE Scroll this past year. I am writing to let you, the community of the Scroll, know that I will no longer be serving blog administrator, as I will be stepping away from employment at CBE and taking the time necessary to complete my translation into the Eastern Orthodox Church as well as explore graduate school options. Stepping in to serve as administrators will be Liz and Trevor, already well known here.

Thank you for having allowed me to read your posts and comments, to interact with you, and to be a part of the community here. I will continue to be around and to read, if in a less-official manner, and I look forward to seeing the Scroll continue to be the place of growing, learning, and of challenge and dialogue that it has become. I want to encourage you to continue to do the critical work and ask the hard questions that you do here, and realize that it is heard and that it makes a difference. As administrator I saw it on more than one occasion.

So once again, thank you. I have appreciated all of you and my interaction with you both on and off of The CBE Scroll. Carry on, and be sure to make Liz and Trevor feel just as welcome as you did me!

CBE was recently contacted by Paula Fether, who has working to assemble a wiki-type document, here, attempting to provide a concise summary of egalitarianism.

She is looking for people to help contribute to and edit/critique the summary. If you would be interested in helping with this, please get in contact with her by using the contact form on her blog, www.fether.net.