I blog about the things I think about. And based on some of my recent entries I’m sure it has been obvious that I’ve been thinking about the role of women in the church. Katy asked me if I would share a bit more about this and so I’m going to.
The Role of Women in the Church
I will admit to doing this with some apprehension. First, I know how passionately people feel about this and it can be such an emotionally charged topic. Second, I really don’t want to get into a huge discussion about this with people who normally don’t read here, but have the role of women as one of their pet issues. And, yes, these people exist and love to go from site to site diving into every jot and tittle about this topic. I’d rather have this be like a discussion over a cup of coffee with the folks who regularly read here, not a free for all with whoever seeks out these topics online. And, third, it is just scary for me to start in on a topic where I do not feel I can answer every question or challenge someone might make. Nobody wants to look stupid, including me. So I hereby reserve the right to use the answer, “I just don’t know.”
The past few days I’ve been thinking about this post and it’s huge. It’s huge in its importance, scope, and magnitude. To try to do it justice in one lengthy post isn’t going to happen. Today I’m going to start the ball rolling and we’ll see where this goes. I have no agenda except to start and see where God leads.
II don’t have all the answers. I have some convictions, some theories, and lots of questions. But to get started I’ll share a few key points that impact how I view this whole topic.
Women in the Church Doctrine is Complex
First, the topic of the role of women in the church is not cut and dried. Anyone who gives pat answers and can explain the proper role of women in a few sentences in which they quote a couple of verses has probably never really studied the issue in depth. People who say they know how all women are supposed to live and can tell you in detail what a woman’s role is and isn’t make me run in the other direction.
Second, many people don’t want to study this issue because the implications if they find out they need to change their mind are too overwhelming. So people ignore it and hope it will go away or at least not impact them directly. This includes people in church leadership. They say it isn’t important enough and it’s too divisive so they don’t want to go there. But for the women sitting in the pew who are treated like second class citizens and are unable to use their gifts, it is devastatingly important.
Third, the application of a church’s so-called convictions can be incredibly inconsistent. Many churches say they believe one way but act differently. It drives me nuts to see how churches try to justify all kinds of behaviors that are just plain wrong.
An Egalitarian Marriage
David and I were discussing this last night (when we should have been asleep) and we agreed that we definitely are egalitarian in how we run our home and interact with each other in our marriage. When we look at the way we live there is just no doubt about it. We serve each other and submit to each other. I can only think of one time in the eleven years we’ve been married when we had a difference of opinion about something major and could not come to an agreement on it. We work very hard to communicate and respect the opinion of the other. We don’t do it perfectly all the time, but we do make it a top priority.
The only way I can think of that David “leads” in the traditional sense of the term is that he usually says grace before we eat. But I bet if I went to him right now and asked if we could take turns he would say yes without even needing to think about it.
So would David and I define ourselves as biblical egalitarians? I’m not sure. What are we? I guess that would be another post. 🙂
Stories of Men Changing Their Mind About Women’s Roles
To close this post, here are two interesting personal stories. The first one, Patriarchy Challenged: One Man’s Story, resonated strongly with David because his experience in marrying me closely paralleled a lot of what this man went through. The second is lengthy, but very good: From Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives and Women Preachers to Woman Be Free: My Story.
In closing, I thought I would share a good quote from the first link. (Bold mine)
One of the most compelling arguments against gender roles in the life and ministry of the church is simply the experience of seeing God-called women exercise their God-given gifts for the sake of the Gospel and the church. This is an argument from experience, and it compliments the good theology on this subject.
The deepest questions of theology and practice are not answered exclusively by exegesis. We, of course, desire to place the Scriptures in the highest authority and center our beliefs and practices upon them. But there are limitations. John Stackhouse is right when he states that the task of Christian theology is to, “formulate an interpretation that does the best job, relative to the other options, of explaining most of the most important data and as much of the remainder as possible” (Stackhouse, 75). In other words, we don’t have to have a watertight position, just one that is stronger than the alternatives.
If you can accept that I won’t have a watertight position but am looking for the best one I can understand, then I look forward to exploring this topic here.
May God bless you with wisdom from the Holy Spirit as you think through these issues for yourself. 🙂
