I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. (John 10:16b TNIV, italics added)

Everyone can follow our Good Shepherd directly without any mediators or middlemen. Yet many teach that a husband is supposed to tell his wife what God’s will is for her and their family. This idea that husbands have spiritual authority over their wives can cause ewes to second guess their ability to hear the Shepherd’s voice. These teachings encourage a wife to heed the audible voice of her spouse even when it contradicts the inaudible voice that she is hearing within her spirit. Fallible men can end up usurping the Holy Spirit’s direction for their wives, and wives are encouraged to become followers of men instead of God.

Since many of the decisions that we make in our lives are not clearly a matter of right or wrong but are based on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, wouldn’t it be negligent to tell a wife that she must follow the leadership of her husband unless he asks her to sin? And how does this not convey to wives that they are spiritually inferior to their husbands because they were born female instead of male?

Suffice it to say, this same thing happened when my suspicions were confirmed about God’s love for equality. For many years, I had been so conflicted because of what I thought the Scriptures taught about men and women. I feared that if such a hierarchy were true, then an incongruous nature about God was being revealed, and that greatly troubled me. But it wasn’t true. It really is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Gal 5:1), and the freeing nature of the truth overwhelmed me so much, I wanted to tell everyone about it. What I saw and understood was such great news, I was sure everyone would thank me for it once they really understood what those passages of Scripture really mean and how Jesus really views women. If only I could explain it clearly enough so that they could understand! My persistent excitement and eagerness to bring freedom dribbled down into an excess of obnoxious argumentation. Rather than helping people understand, I found myself offending, instead. I lost a few friends in the process and was so disheartened by it that I was effectually silenced.

Something I learned after I had walked with Jesus for a few years is that if you live out the gospel, then skeptics will eventually inquire about and welcome your good news. The proof is in the pudding.

Recently, I found myself worshiping next to an old friend who grew up in a church with a strong hierarchical stance in the church and in the home. I have never had any biblical or theological debate with him about biblical equality, but I assume that he thinks that the office of the pastor is for men and not women and that the head of the household is the man. I don’t think these beliefs are based on any conscious biblical investigation but exist simply because these ideas are the bedrock of his church culture. But that day, he chose to be at our church, and, coincidentally, that day, our woman pastor was preaching. Sitting next to him, I heard him laugh at her jokes and could tell that he was listening attentively. Discussion about the sermon later confirmed that he had indeed learned from her — a woman.

This is when I realized something I should’ve known all along. I’ve been saying all these years that it didn’t make sense why revelation from God spoken out of a woman’s mouth would be nullified simply because she was a woman. If children can learn from a woman, and other women can learn from a woman, why couldn’t men? Truth is truth no matter who speaks it. But this time I didn’t have to argue it. It just happened in real time. A man learned from a woman (how revolutionary is that!). And it dawned on me that perhaps that is how this revolution will really take place — not solely and primarily through arguments and debates (although there is a time for explaining and theologizing) but — by living out the gospel of equality. If it is really true, then it will stand the test of time and prevail. It will prevail! And I’m looking forward to that day.

I wonder what comes to mind when one meditates on the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). Does the thought of gender even come into the picture?

Yet it seems that the ideal the church has placed on masculinity is often at odds with the fruit of the Spirit. We live in an age where the church is obsessed with “men being men” and “women being women.” This is evident in the plethora of Christian books on the issues of manhood, womanhood, dating, and marriage that emphasize a man’s wild heart and hunter/warrior spirit. But is this really how a man is supposed to be? Is this overly macho, blue-faced Mel Gibson from Braveheart (who, if you recall, did the whole movie in a skirt…I mean kilt) the only idea of maleness?  

As a male preschool teacher who loves to sing, knit, and hug people, I am a bit disturbed at the concept that God created me with a wild heart and warrior instinct. For if this is the case, then as a sensitive, emotional, nurturing man, I am obviously defective. As a young teen in junior high, I learned quickly that my personality didn’t fit the mold. Because I was a softer male type, the other students constantly harassed me. However I was determined to be who I was in spite of the opposition because there was just something inside of me that said that I was fine the way I was.

My personal church congregation was wonderful and let me be who I was, loving and supporting me through this difficult time in my life. But I wonder what the majority of the church would think of me. Based on their assumptions about what it means to be a man, many Christians might even tell me that I’m out of God’s will.

In her book My Brother’s Keeper, Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen discusses an experiment with a group of college students to see how the fruits of the Spirit were perceived. A list of random traits, which included synonyms for the fruits of the Spirit, was given to the students and they were asked to label each trait as masculine, feminine, or neutral. Overall, most of the fruits of the Spirit were labeled neutral, yet many of the guys in the class labeled them as feminine traits. This is unfortunate, as God tells us all to exhibit these qualities—that these traits are Christian and not specific to one gender.

Here are the nine fruits of the Spirit, their Greek word, and their meaning:

• Love (agape):  brotherly and sisterly love, affection, benevolence (males are to be affectionate!)
• Joy (chara): gladness (men: don’t get mad—or aggressive, macho, or rough—get glad!)
• Peace (eirene): a state of national tranquility, exemption from the rage and havoc of war (so much for the mighty warrior looking for a battle to fight!)
• Longsuffering (makrothumia): patience, forbearance, slowness in avenging wrongs (help me with this one, Lord!)
• Kindness (chrestotes): “the good,” as being morally honorable, pleasing to God, and therefore beneficial (is it honorable and pleasing to God to rule over your spouse and demand submission?)
• Goodness (agathosune): uprightness of heart and life, goodness, kindness (I once heard a preacher say men weren’t suppose to be nice guys. Well, whose report will we believe? We shall believe the report of the Lord!)
• Faith (pistis): conviction of truth, belief; in the New Testament, of a conviction or belief respecting our relationship to God and divine things, generally included with the idea of trust and holy fervor (do you struggle with the mountain of gender stereotyping? With faith the size of a mustard seed, how about we tell that mountain to jump into the sea!)
• Meekness (prautes): gentleness, mildness (God’s definition of a gentleman!)
• Self-control (egkrateia): the virtue of one who masters desires and passions, especially sensual appetites (he can’t help it he’s just a visual creature built for sex, right? Wrong!)

I’ll leave you with this encouragement: God created us the way we are for a reason. We do not answer to culture. We answer to God, and he tells us how to be and to live. So it is my hope that we will all become secure in who God has made us to be. May God bless you all to overflow with the fruit of the Spirit!

Surely if we are faithful, humble followers of Jesus and relying on the indwelling Holy Spirit, we will display God-likeness in all aspects of our human life, both in our family relationships and within the Body of Christ.

“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the pig.

The Little Red Hen asked for help many times: when it was time to cut the wheat, to thresh it and to grind it into flour, to bake the flour into bread. Each time, her unwilling friends responded, “Not I–not I–not I.” To which The Little Red Hen responded each time, “Then I will.” And she did.

When the bread had been baked, The Little Red Hen asked again, “Who will help me eat this bread?” Her friends replied eagerly,

“I will!” said the duck.
“I will!” said the cat.
“I will!” said the pig.

“Oh no, you won’t!” said The Little Red Hen. “I will!” And she did.

I hope you can see the connection between this story and the account from Scripture of repairing the city of Jerusalem when the residents returned from exile. The high priest and his brethren led the way, apparently not considering that this was work for only common laborers. Some, the “nobles” from the town of Tekoa, refused to assist, but Nehemiah lists many others (chapter 3) who made themselves available. There are no expert builders and carpenters available? “Then we will!” said the priests, and goldsmiths, perfume makers, district leaders, merchants and women.

Women? Yes, the daughters of Shallum, leader of half the district of Jerusalem, helped their father with the work of reconstruction. No sons in the family? “Then we will!” said the daughters. And they did.

Were they sturdy teenagers who could tramp among the ruins to locate burned bricks and carry them to the building site? Or were they older women of means, perhaps heiresses or rich widows, who gave liberally to advance the project? Were there two of them—or six? We don’t know, but they are the only women mentioned among men and their sons who made a significant contribution to the work.

Never believe that what we as women have to offer our families, our communities, our churches, or the Kingdom of God is unimportant. Often all it takes is seeing where we are meant to help and saying, “Then I will!” and doing it.

Gregory of Nazianzus, who lived at the end of the fourth century stated, “To gar aprosleptom atherapeuton,” which in English means, “What is not assumed is not redeemed.” His words remind us that Christ came to represent all of humanity on the Cross. Thus, if we absolutize one aspect of Christ, such as his gender, ethnicity, or class, we run the risk of excluding people without those characteristics from Christ’s atoning work on Calvary. Because Scripture teaches that Christ is the Savior of the whole world (John 4:42), we diminish Christ’s atoning work when speaking of his gender as paramount. Perhaps that is one reason why Scripture speaks most often of Christ as the “Son of anthropos,” or humanity, rather than “Son of aner,” or male. He was a sacrifice of humanity, for humanity. Indeed, Christ’s sacrifice was for everyone, as the Scriptures note. Because of this, the whole church may take the whole Gospel to the whole world.

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!!

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.