The CBE Scroll

Lean and lanky, the thirty-something teacher probed the congregation with a practiced eye as he wound down his presentation.  Ezekiel “Zeke” (pseudonym) teaches at a secondary school in another country.  Backed up by a carefully constructed PowerPoint presentation, Ezekiel shared his passion for sensitively pouring truth and grace into the lives of his students, particularly the girls.  His blue eyes blazed as he asked if a woman in the Community Christian Church (not its real name) congregation would be willing to come forward and pray for the women of his host country.

No one moved.

Thinking his request was muddled or unheard, Zeke repeated it.  He was met with crossed arms, averted eyes, and the creaks of bodies shifting uneasily in the pews.  Silence wrapped the Northwest church like a pea-soup fog.

“Sorry brother,” Elder Darrell strode to the platform and stood next to Ezekiel behind the podium.  Smiling, he clapped Zeke on the shoulder and explained, “We don’t allow that sort of thing here.”

“What thing?”

“The Bible is clear when it tells us that women are not to usurp authority over men,” explained Elder Darrell.  The members of Community Christian believe that includes pulpit ministry, any form of church leadership, and public prayer, particularly prayer that takes place under its roof.  “Corporate” prayer meetings are divided along gender lines: women and girls pray in one room, men and boys in another.

Zeke felt like a country fair snow cone on a sweltering August afternoon.  A porcupine silence ensued until “Brother Franklin” came forward and prayed for the women of Zeke’s host country.

“What did he pray?” I asked Zeke as he unrolled his story over lunch a few days later.

“Franklin prayed that God would teach the women of that country to submit to the men.”

I swallowed.  Hard.  ”Aside from the fact that ‘women submitting to men’ is a pseudo-biblical view,” I probed, “what else did Darrell say?”

Zeke sighed as he raked a sun-bronzed hand through his sandy hair.  “It’s like Community Christian’s view of ‘biblical womanhood’ is ‘clipped wings’ and ‘seen but not heard.’   I don’t get it,” Zeke dabbed a French fry into a pool of ketchup.  “That’s the kind of thing that goes on in my host county.”  He cited instances of female subservience, male dominance, and gender discrimination in education, work, worship, and the legal system.

“Didn’t the Lord Jesus come to set the captives free?  Is that just spiritual, or is it something more?” my young friend wondered between bites of his cheeseburger.  “How come some Christians refuse to see women as full partners in kingdom work, as equal joint-heirs in Jesus?”  Zeke sipped his lemonade while I listened.  “What’s with the top-down totem pole view of gender roles?  How is that different from the country where I work?”

“I don’t get it,” Zeke reiterated, shaking his head. “Why would an ‘evangelical, Bible-believing church’ treat women just like some of those who are outside Christendom?”

Why, indeed?

I’m trying to understand the appeal of Civil War Balls or Civil War Dances. They seem as out of place as Remember the Alamo Celebrations or World War II Festivities would be. Why celebrate a time of death and destruction? In my quest for understanding, I traveled to various destinations on the world wide web. I visited sites dedicated to promoting future, and recently past, Civil War Balls and read firsthand accounts of ball attendees. Here is what I’ve learned.

Many of these Civil War Balls are offered as a “ministry” to homeschooling families, though non-homeschoolers can also be invited. These dances serve as a replacement for high school proms. Rather than holding an equivalent, modern-day prom, hosting an old-fashioned dance is intended to keep clothing modest and to keep manners respectful. Young women are encouraged to wear dresses with hoop skirts, while the young men are encouraged to dress in military uniforms. In keeping with the time period re-enactment, dance cards are used and dances conform to the style of the 1860s.

So I wonder if that is part of the appeal of these balls? Men dressed as soldiers—warriors. Women dressed as belles—beauties. Dance cards setting up males-only in initiating in the choice of dance partners. Period dances requiring men to lead and women to follow. Are these dances seen as an acceptable alternative for families who embrace patriarchy? It seems like modest dress codes could still be enforced and suggestive dancing could be prohibited at a modern-day prom replacement if modesty and manners were the only concern.

Do these Civil War partiers realize that their alternative glamorizes war?

Civil War Balls give the appearance of celebrating a dark time in our nation’s history—the United States no longer united but divided and at war with itself. Partygoers coming to celebrate—not  commemorate—a time where more than half a million people perished in an unnatural disaster. It seems odd to celebrate a war where pain, death and destruction occurred in epidemic proportions.

If the celebration is meant to focus on the ending of legalized slavery, why are some of the men wearing gray, confederate uniforms at these balls? After all, the confederate soldiers were fighting to maintain the right to own slaves in their states. The most disturbing site I visited on my journey advertised a “Belles and Rebels Masquerade Ball” where “smart gray uniforms slipped through swaying, colorful hoop skirts.” They also billed re-enacting the time of the Civil War as “a fun, family activity.” Does anyone else find this trend disturbing?

Men with egalitarian attitudes about the role of women in society earn significantly less on average than men who hold more traditional views about women’s place in the world according to a recent study.

The Labour Department’s National Longitudinal Survey of Youth began tracking 12,000 people when they were 14-22 years old for 25 years in order to observe whether a person’s view on gender roles affected their income.

It was the first time social scientists produced evidence that large numbers of men might be victims of gender-related income disparities. The differences found were substantial. Men with traditional attitudes about gender roles earned over $11,000 more a year than men with egalitarian views and over $14,000 more a year than women with traditional attitudes. These comparisons were made on men and women working in the same kinds of jobs with the same levels of education and putting in the same number of hours per week.

We are used to thinking about women being disadvantaged in the workplace, but this study shows that men are also treated differently if they do not hold traditional views on the place of women and men.

I’m wondering if anyone reading this has experienced this discrimination either for themselves or their fathers, husbands, brothers or sons.

We arrived at the Jasper Hotel in downtown Melbourne at midday on Friday and found that already the organising committee were hard at work preparing to receive those who would come early to register for the first CBE conference in Australia. This was the culmination of a year’s hard work by a dedicated group who had prayed for at least 200 people to participate.

By the time the first people came through the doors, there were already over 220 names registered and the steady stream of eager people was so heartening to see as the time for the first meeting approached. A perceptible feeling of anticipation could be felt as folks chatted over cups of tea and coffee, meeting new and old friends and the common question of “Well, what brings you to this conference?” Africa, New Zealand, Asia and America were represented as well as Australians from several states.

The first meeting for the conference included a welcoming address from General Eva Burrows (retired) from the Salvation Army in Melbourne who was so inspiring and exemplified what one dedicated woman could achieve for God. We also were amazed by a dramatised reading of John chapter 4 by Rob Turnbull ………very powerful to hear the story of the “Woman at the Well” read aloud. Graham Cole gave the keynote address on the biblical ideal of “Better Together” which is the theme of the conference.

By the time the first session began today, the crowd had grown and it was to a packed room that Funmi Para-Mallam spoke on “Women and girls in Africa: Issues, challenges and ministry strategies” We heard the history of women in Africa and how the religious culture maintains the oppression of women in both subtle and overt ways. Funmi is actively involved in interventions to bring about gender equality in her country which is also experiencing great persecution and bloodshed.

From the outset, we could see that this conference would be looking at the issue of Biblical Equality from three perspectives….

*The biblical and theological framework for equality

*Gender in the Australian church and culture

*Equality and justice on the global scene

During the day we had opportunity to attend three electives within these three streams and the general consensus was that there was never enough time to fully discuss the issues and share experiences.

The conference dinner  featured the presentation of awards to three students whose papers on biblical equality had been chosen from  a large number of entries. These papers can be read on the Australian CBE website www.cbe.org.au The speaker for the evening was Jessie Taylor, a young woman who has a passion for social justice and is particularly concerned with the plight of refugees. Photos taken at some risk in detention camps gave occasion for us to see ‘refugees’ as real families and particularly the pain of parents as they mourn the loss of ability to provide for and protect their children. Again, we were reminded that biblical equality is concerned with far more than the sanctioning of women in the pulpit.

As people shared their last cup of tea or coffee before going their separate ways for the night, there was already conversation about the next CBE conference to be held in Australia – such was the enthusiasm. We are only half-way through this experience as it is a long weekend here in the state of Victoria so we’ll write another report on Monday afternoon after several more workshops and challenging keynote speakers.

In this Australian conference there has been a strong emphasis on justice issues both locally and on the world scene. The organisers of this weekend, were determined that the subject matter would be far broader than just the ordination of women. The perception is often expressed that because there are now many ordained women in some denominations, the whole gender equality issue is ‘done and dusted’ Through the variety of group discussions, this aim was certainly achieved. Topics ranged from what it means to be a young woman in Australian church culture to how we can help women to feed their families in Afghanistan; from how churches welcome people with disabilities  to helping women who are suffering abuse in Christian homes.

Overload was an oft-repeated word as delegates moved through three workshops and at least one plenary session each day. The morning and afternoon tea times went all too quickly and conversations had to hang in the air while we rushed off to the next session.  With so much information and interaction, surely the cause for biblical equality will benefit enormously and each participant will take away a lot of literature and new information to encourage them to ‘not grow weary in well-doing’

There are recordings available for most of the conference sessions and these can be ordered through the Australian website mentioned earlier. Kevin Giles wrote a study book for release over this weekend and every delegate received a free copy of “Better Together” – they sell for $14.95 AUS and can also be ordered from the website. Attendees from Victoria were encouraged to join the CBE chapter and folks from other states and New Zealand are now considering beginning chapters among their  friends and colleagues.

Our final session  was one of the highlights as Cheryl Catford spoke on “Riding the Third Wave” Biblical Equality in the Twenty-First Century”.

After giving an excellent summary of the first and second waves of feminism, we were made aware of what is typical of a young woman’s expectation now. This pointed up how we as Christians have been so influenced by the culture around us through magazines, TV and the media and trying to assimilate this with biblical equality has caused a lack of definition and also given rise to a resurgence of more ‘conservative’ trends in church life.

We were reminded that it is biblical values and principles which should be guiding our lives and not our responses to the waves of change and cultural shifts, even within the church scene. The whole message was one of hope and encouragement to ‘get on our boards’ and be in the action, believing that God is in control and that his Holy Spirit within us will empower us to face the challenge of the coming waves, whatever form they may take. Each one of us will take from the conference a personal challenge to be more proactive in a Christ-like manner and to watch God at work.

Looking forward to reading other comments from those who attended and their sharing of how they were impacted by the whole event. Even if there are some questions still unanswered, please feel free to express them and perhaps we can listen to one another and grow together in understanding.

PS:  Mimi said to say that the food was great too!!

I have worked in Legal Aid offices for some 15 years. I can tell you that many poor are not the kind of people most of us associate with. They tend to be undereducated, unorganized, and often buried under their financial burdens. Many come from longer generations of poverty. Many are weak and do not present or represent themselves well. Some have developed aggressive strategies to deal with people. All-in-all, they need our help.

And, we need theirs.

We get people who call us and, whether or not we can help, they will end the conversation with “Have a blessed day.” They may be choosing between a roof or a meal, between needed medications and feeding their children. They may be, or feel that they are, cast out, abandoned by society, used by politicians, landlords, etc. Yet, time and again I am told “Have a blessed day.” I remember one caller to whom I had to give bad news; we could not represent her. I finished by telling her “good luck.” She came back, “Luck is the devil’s word. God is in charge. It should be ‘blessing,’ not ‘luck.’”

The poor do not exist so we can have someone to give to and pray for. They do serve those functions, but within the Church they are also a great resource for prayer warriors, comforters, and other positions that require great faith. They may not be all that intellectual, and their theological training may be weak, but the Christian poor are a tremendous source of high voltage faith.

As egalitarians, we should be aware of this resource and be helping to see that the poor are used in positions within the church, not just kept as charities. God calls both the rich and the poor, and we want to be sure we’re ready to hear and act on God’s calling to these people whose gifts He can use.