Thankful For Those Who’ve Gone Before Me
This morning, I got the opportunity to sit at the feet of a woman who has fought for my right to be in ministry.
She was told that even though she had a seminary degree, her gender prevented her from getting an internship.
She shared how being a mom kept her from being paid for her ministry work.
For decades she has fought to follow Jesus into ministry. And in the process smashed barriers so that other women - like myself - could follow.
The Gift of Circumstances
I was coasting. I knew I was coasting. I felt depressed, less than, and I was blaming my stage of life. This new stage of life that I had prayed for, I had begged for, this gift of being a Mom, which God had graciously given me, was making me feel less.
I felt less because I could no longer devote 40 plus hours a week to staff, which made me feel like I was failing. I had enough energy, barely to say hello to my husband, and I felt distant. And I always felt like I didn’t have enough time for my daughter. I can’t even mention the time I devoted to Jesus, because my time for Jesus, was whatever I had at the bottom of the barrel. In every area of my life, I felt like I had less capacity. And I felt like I was unable to change that, I felt stuck, like I was coasting.
So, I coasted into Church on the third week of Advent, unprepared for what God had in store.
Are Some Complementarian Practices Gaslighting?
In our diverse church, we have a plethora of theologies. Distinctives help us see different aspects of God and different interpretations of Scripture. But what do we do when the practice of certain beliefs harms members of the church? How do we deal with the fact that some churches take theological stances that gaslight women?
Maybe Just Maybe…
he judge Deborah is described as a prophet, a wife and the leader of Israel. Her husband is mentioned once before the writer of Judges explains the way God used her to defeat the King of Canaan. She led an entire country. She led men into battle. In her song, she sang
“Villagers in Israel would not fight;
they held back until I, Deborah arose,
until I arose, a mother in Israel.”
This badass woman rose up to defend God’s people. She led her people – which included her husband – to victory. And her story is memorialized in the scriptures.
The Myth of Esther
The romanticizing of Esther helped to create a culture where women are still seeking to win men’s favor while being dehumanized, and men are given a free pass to be perverted.
The book of Esther is not about a submissive woman. But rather it is about two women who stand up to a tyrant. When we study the book of Esther, we realize that it is a story that gives all women hope.
A Woman’s Place
A woman’s place is in the kitchen; she had always been told. Cleaning, cooking and preparing a house was holy. And as she watched her sister skillfully perform those duties, she wondered, but where do I fit in?
Her sister allowed for the hospitality of their culture to be realized. Her skill in the kitchen created a great banquet to host this new teacher. But as she watched her sister work, she felt called to go to the teacher. Aware of the culture’s expectation of her as a woman, she left her sister to sit at this new teacher’s feet.