Carolyn Custis James has written a great post at the Huffington Post entitled Pink Smoke and Protestant Popes.

She writes:

No, Protestants don’t have a pope; we have a myriad of popes — pastors and leaders who speak with a quasi-divine authority and whose teachings are regarded as virtually infallible by their devoted followers. Clergy sex abuse scandals and cover-ups are not unique to the Catholic Church; they also occur with devastating effects in Protestant churches. We may not have pink smoke in our services, but Protestant women are troubled too by the lack of women at the leadership table and over decisions made by all-male leaders in many local churches and denominations. We know this inevitably means costly blind spots go undetected in the church’s ministries, messages and priorities — causing harm and missed opportunities.

and

Gaining ground against all forms of abuse — including abuse of power, sexual, spiritual and emotional abuse, domestic violence, as well as sex-trafficking and pornography — will be sporadic until women are routinely part of church leadership. We can no longer accept church leadership that rebukes abused women for failing to submit to male authority and sends them back into harm’s way to try harder. I am reminded of one Protestant church that did not take this seriously until the wife of a church leader showed up at church with bruises and black eyes.

I will repeat my oft-asked question. What is the worst that could happen if egalitarianism was embraced by Protestant churches? Do we really think the church would be destroyed? Or would it be refreshed and released to spread the Gospel and see lives transformed by its power?

I simply do not understand why people think that women sitting at the table and offering their Holy Spirit inspired insights could do anything but benefit the church and, in turn, the spread of the Gospel to those who so desperately need it.