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Biblical Foundations for Womanhood
Foreword
9 PART ONE Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four PART TWO Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Conclusion 136 This excerpt from Leadership for Women In the Church by Susan Hunt and Peggy Hutcheson, copyright 1991, is used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI. It is presented here strictly for preview purposes and is not to be reproduced in any form without the express consent of the publisher. Chapter One The Issues Glorify
the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. GOAL: To present the complex questions about roles and the related issues facing women and men in evangelical churches. “I have to admit that I have meetings like this feeling frustrated and not really appreciated. I feel put down by a group of men who seem to be patting me on the head and saying, ‘We’ll take over now.’ ” Christy was cautiously revealing her annoyance, and I had to admit that I could understand her feelings. She had worked so long to raise the consciousness of members of her church to a particular need. At first, no one seemed to share her burden. Then the issue became a “hot item” and suddenly everyone was concerned. The male leadership of the church became involved and organized a meeting to decide how to meet the need. Christy was given a few minutes on the agenda, but the men were clearly the “movers and shakers.” If you asked Christy, she would tell you that she usually has no problems with the traditional biblical interpretation of male headship. But somehow, at times like this when the idea of headship is put into practice, traditional views of headship just do not “fit” for her. The elders of the church were the only ones in the position to make decisions; yet if you had added up their collective knowledge on this issue, it would not even have begun to approach Christy’s expertise. “This issue is a big one to me,” Christy lamented, “My heart is in it, and I’ve been gathering information and working on it for more than a year! They asked me to give them some background on the issue. They also suggested that, since I was concerned about making sure things went smoothly for the meeting, I take charge of the nursery and fellowship time. Then what do they do? The meeting ended with three elders being appointed to do more study.” As we listen to Christy, some important questions come to mind…
The Christian woman today is confronted with many perplexing issues. One of these is the question of her role in the church. Determining how she functions in her local church posses both problems and possibilities for the woman who believes that the Bible is the infallible, authoritative Word of God and who holds to the male-headship role in the church. Too often because of confusion over the role of women in the local church, it is problems rather than possibilities that surface. Consequently, the female population remains an important untapped resource in most churches. Many evangelical leaders agree that one of the most important challenges the church faces in the 1990s is to recognize women’s gifts and free the women to exercise them. We would add that evangelical women face the challenge to speak boldly and clearly on the role of Christian women in the home and church. We hear that this is the decade of women, but we must not allow the world’s voices to set the agenda for the church. We must unashamedly articulate and model the biblical position of male headship on this crucial issue. In order to seize this exciting opportunity, men and women must extend their theological position on the issue to the practice of that position. The position has been stated and restated! Now let’s do some creative thinking about putting our beliefs into practice. Men and women who have attached themselves to evangelical churches that do not ordain women to the position of pastor or elder seem to face a confusing dilemma. There is a tension for those who hold the position that the Bible teaches that women are not to be ordained to positions of authority, but who also hold that all believers are to discover and exercise their gifts for the good of the church. Can women obey both of these truths? If so, how do Christian women identify and focus their leadership abilities on tasks and opportunities within the church? How do Christian men in leadership positions recognize the gifts of women and integrate the full range of abilities that today’s women and integrate the full range of abilities that today’s women have with the tremendous needs in the kingdom of God? We believe that this tension can be resolved and these questions answered without capitulating to those who insist that equal ministry opportunities for women demand ordination for women. The issue is more complicated in today’s evangelical church because of the increasing variety of skills that women possess. Christian women whose gifts are being developed in the business world, who function as managers and professionals directing the activities of others in their work lives, wonder how they can achieve this same level of contribution in their church lives. In many churches, the only opportunities for women to be involved in ministry are in the domestic areas. It is not that these women are unwilling to keep the nursery and plan fellowship suppers, nor do they view these tasks as insignificant. However, because of lack of experience in these areas, they feel insecure and inadequate. They long for opportunities to serve in situations where they can utilize their abilities and experiences to make contributions within their congregations. Yet they do not know what is appropriate. They do not want to appear pushy so they do nothing—and that leads to a stifled, frustrated feeling. Many women who excel in the domestic area also feel confused because frequently their contributions to their churches do not seem to be valued and appreciated. Women who are accomplishing great things in the roles they play in the women’s groups in their churches wonder why their ideas seem to be less valuable than do men’s in the overall functioning of the church. The women who lead the women’s ministries, keep the nursery, and prepare the meals are seldom given the same recognition as the men who teach adult Bible classes or who serve as officers and pastors. Tasks traditionally delegated to women are too often taken for granted and not viewed as significant ministry. This, too, leaves women feeling stifled and frustrated. The confusion is also intensified because women are
usually not involved in the decision-making process in a church.
In most evangelical churches, decisions are made by men ordained to
offices of authority. Few
churches have taken the time to creatively employ women as well as unordained
men in the process of decision-making. For many women, this is not necessarily a raging frustration. They do what needs to be done. But there is an undercurrent of discontent, a feeling of being unfulfilled within the church. Many find opportunities for significant ministry outside the church. Their energies, experiences, and leadership are lost to their local fellowships. There is nothing wrong with giving a portion of our time and abilities to outside-the-church work, yet God’s people are commanded to sue their spiritual gifts within the church “for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7). Women who have a love for the church will not, and should not, be satisfied with pouring all their energies into outside ministry opportunities. This is where shared responsibility comes into play. Women are responsible for using their abilities for the good of their local churches. The churches are responsible for employing the gifts of all their members. As theological debates about “women’s issues” occur in denominations and Christian publications, the local church leadership is faced with the at-hand, practical matter of recognizing and releasing the gifts of women. We wonder whether all the confusion is simply a device of the enemy of the church to divert our attention way from the tremendous needs both within and outside the church. There are hurting people within the church, and there is a world outside the church that is falling apart. Because women are such relational creatures, with the God-given capacity to love and nurture hurting people, it should not surprise us that this is the segment of the Christian population that Satan seeks to immobilize thought he tactic of confusion. The theological questions and the frustrations of women are not to be taken lightly, but it is time for evangelical women to move beyond confusion to active concern. Confusion about our role in the church is a tactic Satan uses to keep us from involved concern regarding the needs around us. The leadership abilities of every member of the kingdom are urgently needed. There is too much kingdom work to be done. How do women who want to serve through the ministry of their church move beyond confusion to active, involved concern? That’s what this book is about. We will begin by developing the concept of women as helper-leaders. Then we will translate this concept into practice through life situations. We believe this concept can form the basis of any women’s ministry in any church, or the personal philosophy of any woman who is struggling with serving in a fulfilling, appropriate way within her church. Our starting point is the beginning—the creation of Eve.
The following excerpts from Leadership for Women In the Church, Leader's Guide by Susan Hunt, copyright 1995, are presented strictly for preview purposes and are not to be reproduced in any form without the express consent of the publisher, Christian Education and Publications.Leader's
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