Thursday Thinking - Women in Church

Mike Goldsworthy, Lead Pastor of Parkcrest Christian Church in Long Beach, CA, recently blogged about the roles and giftedness of women in the church in a post titled, On Women in the Church. Honestly, I wish this were old news, but it's not. We really should have worked through this issue by now, but in many Christian circles and churches we haven't. Some haven't moved at all, and worse yet, haven't even considered the need or possibility of moving.

Many churches, including the church where I serve, do not have any explicit policies limiting the roles of women, but may do so implicitly (intentionally or otherwise) by abiding denominational tradition, unspoken expectations, and unexamined assumptions. Moving beyond these old limitations takes pastoral care, wisdom, and patience, but church leaders must have the courage and conviction to help their churches do so. Churches may not do the same things in exactly the same ways or at the same speeds, but they need to thoughtfully, prayerfully, and humbly do something.

Scot McKnight re-posted Goldsworthy's article on the Jesus Creed Blog with this introductory remark: "One of the strategies to recognize, encourage and mobilize the gifts God gives to women is for males, in positions that can render decisions or empower women, to speak up, stand up and create opportunities for women to speak." I couldn't agree more, and I'm adding my "Amen" by posting about it today.

Here are a couple of excerpts from Goldsworthy's article:

"Today, I was challenged in a sermon by one of the best preachers I get to hear on a regular basis. That preacher happened to be a woman. ... If our church did not allow her to preach, we would be missing out on that gift. If she was relegated to only teaching children or women, I would have missed the challenge that I received today from her teaching, and so would the 50% of our congregation that happens to be the same gender as me."

"The church that I grew up in didn’t have space for women to lead and teach in that kind of way. In fact, I don’t remember a woman ever even doing something such as serving communion. I don’t know if it was an official policy or a stated theological position, but it was just known that didn’t happen."

"So, to my friends who lead churches where there are incredibly gifted women who don’t fit into the narrow roles that you have defined as acceptable for them. As you find yourself in battles as they try use their gifts, and you don’t have a place for them…Send them my way. We have a church full of strong, capable women serving and using their gifts, but I could always use even more role models for my daughter. I don’t know that I have a better answer than that. I can’t change your church, but I can keep making sure that there is space in the one I lead for people to serve with the gifts God has given them, regardless of gender."

Click Here to read the entire article: "On Women in the Church..."