Women in Ministry?

This is a clip out of our Baptist associational newsletter. The wives of our ministers apparently meet once a month. A part of me wants to laugh at the foolishness of Baptist and a part of me wants to throw things. I usually try to stay away from this subject because I find it so disturbing. The clip in the newsletter caused me to do a quick search on Baptist women and their role in the church body. I found an article today about Sheri Klouda, a former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, who lost her job teaching Hebrew in the seminary’s school of theology because she is a woman.

Wade Burleson comments on this tragedy and gives us some insight on the president of this seminary, Paige Patterson:

There it is. Patterson's narrow interpretation of I Timothy 2:12 says it
all and should cause our convention some serious concern. Paige is saying
that this verse is not just addressing 'women pastors', but rather no woman
shall have 'authority' over a man - period. No woman shall teach a man -
period. No woman shall have 'authority' over a man - period. Dr. Klouda needed to be replaced as a professor because she was a woman.

Then he added, “there are ample numbers of men who are well-qualified for
those positions.” Patterson said he planned to build the faculty with
“God-called men.”

This quote sounds like a contradiction:

“Every woman, like every man, is made in the imago Dei, in the image ofGod.
Every woman has the right and responsibility to come to God for herself.Every
woman, like every man, has the right to study God’s Word and apply it toher
life. Every woman is fully equal and quite a lot of them more than equal toany
man I ever saw,” Patterson said.

Apparently, God has called women to make babies. Maybe our association should discuss this in their next Ministers' Wives' Fellowshipinstead of discussing how to maintain good financial records:

“Ladies, the highest and noblest calling of God is motherand grandmother. Equal
to men, yes, but do what God has called you to do,” Patterson said. “Write
it in bold letters with a big magic marker.”

Here are some bold letters for you Paige: How can you get away with this injustice? Why don't more men speak out about this issue? Why aren't thousands of women leaving our denomination over this issue? Why am I such a coward on this issue? Why does my church not have any women deacons (deaconesses)? Why are so many of our Sunday school classes taught by women? Can I not learn anything from these women? Do you ever wrestle with scripture or do you have everything figured out?

Dressing Up For Jesus

This post is not about dressing up Jesus. I do not even know where to begin on that subject. This post is about a little experiment that I have been conducting on Sunday mornings. Three years ago, I accepted a position as the Minister of Youth and Children at a church in my home town. I do not regret taking the position but things change. I'll have to address that subject in another post.

About a year ago, I decided to gradually start dressing more casual. I figured I couldn't just walk in one Sunday morning wearing a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. I went from a formal suit to a shirt, tie, and khaki pants. Two weeks ago, I dropped the tie and opted for a collared shirt and khakis. I happened to pass by a sweet old lady in our congregation who mumbled, "I see you forgot your tie". I just laughed and kept walking. What made me laugh more is that she is on the Personnel Committee. The laughter stopped when I realized that the majority of our church believes that we should dress up for Jesus.

I know that people have misused scripture to argue both sides of this issue. Some people would argue that true worship requires reverence. Others would say that God looks at our heart and man looks at our appearance. What amazes me is that my normal outfit for Sunday and Wednesday nights is a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals. I'm glad I haven't heard any complaints because I might have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe.

Does Jesus only care what I wear on Sunday mornings? If I spill some coffee on my shirt on the way to the church building, would Jesus want me to turn around and change shirts (I know my wife would)? Should we all wear choir robes? Should I wear a tie so that everyone knows that I am a "special holy person" with a higher calling than the average believer? Should our next youth Bible study be titled: "How to tie a Windsor knot"? Did God give us the spinning jenny so that almost everyone can afford a nice outfit? Is a five dollar tie alright or should I go for the fifty dollar tie?

I am really not concerned about church marketing and how dressing casual could help us reach more people. I also would never have the intestinal fortitude to wear a shirt that says, "These Are My Church Clothes!" I think that you might hurt someone that actually enjoys dressing up for church. There seems to be a fine line. I choose to walk that line without a tie for now.

Hey God! What Should We Name Our Church?

Church Central has an article about changing a name of a church in order to reach the unchurched. Apparently a church in New Hampshire changed their name from First Baptist Church to Center Point Church. The people on the website look like they are really enjoying their new name. I'll have to bring up this topic at the next business meeting. I don't think that the idea will become popular since we just bought a $4,000 church sign. There seems to be a problem with these sign companies. They can sure make some cool looking signs. But how do we change our name once we buy one of these signs?

Actually, I think the title of this post is irrelevant. I really do not care what my church is named. I like to think about what the New Testament Church was really like in those first couple of centuries. Paul seems to only write to one church in each city. We know that these churches continued to grow. What happened when they could not fit into a house anymore? We know that they knocked out walls to make room for the growth. I'm sure they eventually had to split the group up and meet in different houses throughout the city. I wonder if they named their assembly? Did they name them after people like Paul, Peter, Luke, Barnabus, or James? Did they name them after their particular location in the city? At what point did their focus shift from the people being the church to the building being the church? What if we took a sledge hammer to our church sign and we brainwashed everyone into thinking that we do not have a name? Would our identity be found in Christ?


Then again, Get Anchored tells about a few churches that probably should change their names.

There’s the Jesus Lives Here Methodist Church in Roan Mountain, Tennessee.
And in Campbell, Alabama, you’ll find the Witch Creek Baptist Church.
There’s the Happy Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, or the Welcome Home Baptist
Church in Mount Airy, Georgia (Great Hills Baptist Church can loan them some
of their bumper stickers). I’m a little curious about why some churches
chose their names: Rising Daughter Church in Camden County, South Carolina,
or the Hanging Dog Baptist Church in North Carolina

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