The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 3

FUNDAMENTAL ISSUES
RELEVANT TO THE
STATUS OF WOMEN
IN CHRIST'S CHURCH

Two key elements required to understand the equal status of women with men are often missed by those who interpret the Bible to exclude women from ministry and church leadership. They are:

1. The nature of authority in the church, and
2. The nature of headship.

We will deal with the nature of authority today and the nature of headship tomorrow.

The nature of authority in the church

The first mistake many of us make is to assume that leadership positions in the church are positions that hold authority by virtue of their office. The truth is that leadership and authority are always earned. Spiritual authority is something that comes as one's leadership abilities, wisdom, and character come to be recognized by others.

As for authoritarian leadership, Jesus rejected that outright. Recall:

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant...." (Mt 20:25-26, emphasis added).

How Divine Is Jesus?

If you asked an Evangelical Christian, as late as the mid-1970s, if Jesus was equal to the Father in all respects, or if he was somehow less or subordinate to the Father in authority or rank, the unanimous reply would have been that each member of the Trinity is equal in all respects, and that any suggestion of hierarchy or subordination within the Trinity is an error likened to Arianism and Jehovah Witness teaching.

But something has happened under the "big tent" of Evangelicalism. And that answer is no longer unanimous.

I cut my theological teeth in the late 1970s studying the orthodox view of the Trinity as a reply to the cults. Resources like Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults, and the Spiritual Counterfeits Project Newsletter, helped me shape my understanding of Jesus' full and complete deity. My studies since then, as a theology student, pastor, and Christ-follower have deepened my love for the Trinity doctrine.

It seems that since the late 1970s a group of Christians with a social agenda aimed at imposing gender-based hierarchy in the family, church, and society have found it convenient and expeditious to harvest examples from church history that cast some doubt on the certainty we Evangelicals once had with regards to the total non-hierarchal and equal standings of each Person in the Trinity.

God In Search of Us - Part 2 of 2

When asked how he knew the Bible was God's Word, Karl Barth, the great theologian and scholar put it this way:

“You might as well as a child how she knows her mother's voice is her mother's!”

Something inside us just knows the voice of Yahweh who birthed us into being. Somehow, it is a self-evident thing. This is a wondrous thing that only faith can appreciate.

Imagine you and I are sitting across the table from each other. We see each other, feel each other's warmth, hear each other's voices, and laugh at each other's jokes. Would it make any sense at that point to entertain arguments claiming that either one of us did not really exist? Certainly on a playing field of absolute skepticism such arguments might exhaust us without end. But if we just relax and admit what we know, we each know the other is present and real. The same is so with the soul's knowledge of Yahweh. His reality is evident within us and all around us, as he is everywhere present.

Sometimes we have to get in touch with ourselves to realize this. Self-awareness can be a rare commodity today. And if you doubt this, you are probably among those most guilty of it. It usually takes a self-encounter before someone can step outside the mental maze we get ourselves into as if chasing our own tail. When we come to this self-encounter we discover that it has only been our desire to push away Yahweh and to rule ourselves without him, that we came to block him out of our consciousness by conscious or unconscious choice. But deep down our soul knows. Make no mistake about that. And our heart bears witness to it when it hears his voice and words. It tells us what our mind has resisted: that we have come home, that this is our Source of Being and the One in whom we live and move and have our being.

The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 2

A FUNDAMENTAL

NEW TESTAMENT
ASSUMPTION ABOUT
WOMEN AND MEN
IN CHRIST

It was Martin Luther who pointed out that one great mark of the New Covenant is its radical shift of the holy priesthood from a select elite to all who believe in the covenant Lord (cf. 1Pe 2:9; Re 1:5b-6). The shift to what Luther called "the priesthood of all believers" does more than make men who were not Levites now into priests; it also opens the door to Paul's great declaration:

"For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Ga 3:27-28, emphasis added).

The priesthood of all believers opens the door for all who would call upon the name of the Lord to be clothed in Christ, and therefore to become Christ's representatives, preaching, baptizing, discipling, and interceding as he did on earth among us. As Luther said,

"Everyone who has been baptized may claim already to be consecrated a priest, bishop or pope." (An Appeal to the Ruling Class, 1520).

God In Search of Us - Part 1

Eric wrestled with the so-called scientific evidences for the faith. He was better-read than I was on cutting-edge developments related to the evening's scientific presentation—and I have read my share! But it was clear to him, as it was to me, that the presentation of the evening did not give compelling reasons to embrace Yahweh, the Creator. I had to respect the fact that Eric was, by his own account, “struggling.”

It reminded me of how, years ago, I discovered my college roommate had been wrestling throughout the school year with whether or not to surrender to Christ. It had been happening under my nose and I hadn't seen it. I knew he asked me questions from time to time. But I hadn't picked up on the degree of his struggle. Then one night he shared with me how he'd even been to the brink of suicide at one point in his life over the matter. As he'd stood in his attic one night with a noose around his neck, Bill believed he'd seen a physical light where there was only enclosed darkness and no physical source for it. This compelled him to think in that moment that there must be a spiritual dimension to reality. The experience launched him on a search for God. And that search resulted in the conversation he and I were now having in our dorm room bunks.

I will never forget him saying: “I asked you once, 'Why do you believe?' and you gave me a list of intellectual, textbook answers. Well, that really turned me off,” he said. “Because I don't think any of that really has to do with what really made you believe. I think that stuff all came later. So tell me, why do you really believe?”

The Full Stature of Women as Servants of Christ in His Church - Part 1

A great deal of confusion exists today on the question of women in ministry. Although there are numerous examples in Scripture of women who were leaders and ministers, many Bible-believing Christians today allow a few controversial and easily misunderstood statements by Paul to prevent them from helping women come to full maturity as servants of Christ (cf. 2Pe 3:15-16). This series will seek to alleviate some of this confusion and the consequent resistance to women in ministry on the part of Bible believers by considering alternate explanations and interpretations of key biblical passages. At no time will I call into question the authority of the Bible itself, only the interpretations some people have attached to it.

A Dream About Unity

One night I had a dream....

I was on what seemed to be the George Washington Bridge in New York, which I've been on several times and recognized by the fact it had two levels. I was on the lower level, which locals refer to as Martha. But I was not driving a car.

I was engaged in hand-to-hand combat in a one-on-one battle similar to what you might see in an Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi movie. My opponent and I struck at each other with super-human strength, even climbing the cables and rafters that held the bridge together and ripping off pieces of the bridge to strike each other and knock each other around.

Each blow required another part of the bridge and sent either me or my adversary hurling to a death-defying impact somewhere on the bridge. Though we seemed to kill each other over and over again, we kept coming back at each other with ever-increasing determination and ever more threatening assaults.

As we fought, gradually dismantling the bridge, each bloodied fall seemed all the more dangerous as the pavement below us began to sway and dangle with the crumbling structure. Yet we continued to fight even as the bridge dangled perilously, falling apart beneath us over an empty void.

Could Prayer Unite Us?

Today I have been reading some prayers written by a theologian who has been the subject of many a controversy. As I've read these offerings of his heart to God, I have been moved by their spirit and their theological majesty.

I don't always agree with Karl Barth, though I recognize him as one of the greatest thinkers of all time. I also have great admiration and respect for some of those theologians who have questioned and differed with him. Sometimes I've agreed more with Barth's opponents than with Barth. Sometimes vice-versa. But what I have not always appreciated is the mean spirit I've witnessed in attacks on Barth by otherwise respectable scholars. And what really saddens me are those times when I too have allowed myself to become mean-spirited in similar theological debates with others.

Sometimes the tumult of words that both sides pour out are riddled with misunderstandings of each other's positions. Sometimes they are infected with sentiments on the brink of hatefulness. And it really is appalling, when you step back to look at it, to see what respectable leaders and we ourselves are capable of when it comes to spreading misunderstanding and ill will toward others.

And so I wonder, as I sit here reading and even praying these marvelous prayers by Barth: How might the church be different if her factions would simply pray more together? How differently would we feel about
 each other if we could hear each other's hearts being poured out passionately with love for our common Savior and Lord? How much more watchful would we be of each other's wellbeing, and for fairness toward each other, if we were sincerely praying for and with each other? If we could hear each other's most private conversations with God, the intimate lover of our souls?

Love My [Muslim!] Neighbor?

I have been wondering lately what it means to love my neighbor in a world where Muslims are feared and demonized.

A good friend was kind enough to add me to an e-list that discusses this very thing in the interest of building peace between Christians and Muslims and Jews.

Often the discussion focuses on world-scale things, like foreign policies and dialogues between world leaders. But one participant blew me away with a brief list of practical things he does, as an everyday Christian, to be a peacemaker in today's ever evolving world.

New Class @ Willow Creek McHenry County - Starts April 7, 2010

The Study Revolution: WCMC's Midweek Bible Study - ROMANS!

Study Romans and gain insights into what many consider Paul's most revolutionary letter! Meanwhile, this hands-on training series teaches you how to better read, study, and understand the Bible while you're actually doing it! You will end up not just understanding Romans better, but the Bible in general, along with insights into how to apply it to your life.

This course is open to anyone who wants to dig deeper into the rich literature of the Bible in order to go deeper with God. Although each class session stands on its own, classes also build upon each other. So come as often as you can!

Class Schedule - 7-8:30 p.m. every Wednesday from April 7 to June 23

Teacher Bio - Dave Leigh holds an M.A. in theological studies from Wheaton College. His varied ministry experiences include having served as an editor and freelance writer for a number of Christian publications, plus several years in pastoral ministries. Dave says, “I’ve learned more from my many failures than from books. But my greatest life-lesson has been that God’s grace is big enough to include even me.” Dave combines humor with academic and experiential dimensions to his classes that are bound to bring you inspiration and insight.

Required books and Materials - Bibles, notebooks, pens, open minds and curious hearts.

Recommended Reading - How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, Gordon D. Fee & Douglas Stuart

Register Here

http://bit.ly/Register4Romans


Questions? Contact Dave@TheJesusAgenda.net