Speaking of Women

Here we go again! Speaking of women, I had a most disturbing event take place last Sunday. I was out of the state at a meeting in Indiana, so I asked a friend and fellow Church of God minister to fill the pulpit for me in Santa Ana. I never, in my wildest dreams, thought that this would create a problem either for her of for anyone in this small, 15-20 member congregation. Oh, how wrong I was. One guy, a prominent and key leader in this small band of folks, didn't show up for service and his wife, who did, promptly told my wife and the guest pastor that he didn't show up because he didn't believe in sitting under a woman in the pulpit!

You should also know that my wife is an ordained minister in the Church of God. In two congregations of the Church of God, my wife has been devalued because she is a woman who is called to ministry. In the church we pastored in Indiana, the decided to pick on her as a way to get to me. They tried to tell her that she was not a "real" minister and that she was not doing a good job (neither of which were true then or now). In our last pastorate in Fresno, the congregation actually voted on hiring her part-time and voted not to - not because she was not qualified or talented, but because she was a woman and married to the pastor. All this in a church that has a 127 year tradition of having women in ministry.

As I teach and assist in classes here at Fuller, I am astounded by the number of women who have horror stories from just about every denominational group you can imagine. Here they are preparing to follow the call of God on their lives for ministry only to be devalued and repressed by their own narrow minded denominational authorities. I hope to be able to find a job following my PhD studies teaching preaching in a seminary. Wherever I teach, there will be women in the classroom preparing for pastoral ministry. How do I justify continuing to preach in a place where such an attitude exists? I am tempted to resign and not go back. And, that may be my course of action. I will talk to this man face to face and share with him both my frustration at his "biblical interpretation" and my disappointment in how he has treated my wife and someone who is called of God. If he responds with some sense of understanding and contrition, I may stay. If he is adamant, I will leave rather than compromise the principles I teach and live with.

Oh, did I mention that after the service was over, the church was having a fellowship time (coffee and cookies) and, lo and behold, this guy showed up! He wouldn't sit under her ministry, but he came to break bread with her and join her in fellowship. How pathetic is that? Ah, well, the church has a long way to go. But there are times, like tonight, that I grow impatient and weary of the little progress that seems to be made. Maranatha, Lord Jesus, Maranatha.