What If?

Typically when I study this issue of women in the church, I look at Scripture to do so. I think that its dangerous to create my own ideas and theories that do not align with God's word. However, today I'd lke to veer from Scriptural references and propose a what if scenario...

What if the roles given men and women were simply pragmatic for the time in which they lived? For a developing society to thrive, someone has to commit the day to making meals and caring for the children. Women were given this place in society- as helper- and she would spend all day helping. Yet in this day and age where meals are easily microwavable or just quick to make, and child care is readily available, that is no longer necessary. A woman can care for her home with time left over for many other activities. We have time to be as educated as men, to work in the same jobs, to develop the same talents, and to serve the church. Is it a new time for new roles for women in the church?

"Well, the reason given in Scripture for these distinct roles is creation- man was created before woman, so man is the head. This is a universal truth, not just a cultural norm," I've been told. But what if this order in creation is how God established who would be the helper when a helper was needed, but now that a full time helper is no longer necessary, maybe this distinction is no longer necessary. Not to mention the numerous single women who do not play the role of helper at all.

Equal????

I feel like I'm on a roller coaster with this issue of women in the church. I've decided to read through the gospels to see how Jesus treats women, what role He gives them in His ministry, and what He has to say about them.
The first thing that I noticed today was that none of the apostles were women. This doesn't really fit my picture of how I think things should be. =) I don't understand why God wouldn't give women a role in ministry similar to the role he gives men. Does this speak to a lack of equality between men and women? Some would say that He was following a cultural norm. However, Jesus was not afraid of debunking those. He could have chosen anyone He wanted to to be on his starting line up, and He chose all men. Why?
"Well, there were women who served in other capacities with Jesus," I can hear you saying. Yes, they did. But why the deliberate decision to only name men in the role of apostle? Why does it seem that women serve in the same capacity as men, but are not named into that role?
I'm not so sure that God is concerned about making sure that men and women are treated equally. That is bothersome.

Elders and Deacons Class

I've been asked to participate in a class that is preparation for being an elder or deacon in our church. I'm not going to hold an office, but the information will be helpful in ministry.
I enjoy learning new stuff. I want to know more fully what my church believes. And so I'm going to the class.
Yet it feels strange for a team player to come to something each week, knowing that I'm not going to be on "the team". There's a continual distinction made between those in the class who are going to need to memorize everything and be tested, and those (the two women) who are not. I don't know how I feel about all of this stuff. But this is an experience I've never had before.
I don't feel called to be an elder or deacon. I don't have a deep desire to be ordained into one of these positions. Again- my question is: does scripture allow women to do so?
When it comes down to it, it doesn't really matter how I feel in the class. Its just a part of the whole story.
As I was leaving, I was asked if it felt like the "boys club"? It kind of does. I mean its two women and lots of men. How does God want to use this in a redemptive way? Or is this exclusivity against His plan?
Still struggling for the answers.

God created men and women differently- anatomically, horomonally- I don't know what else- I hated Biology class. Do these differences put up fences around us? Am I best suited for something that a man isn't because of my gender?
I've always been outspoken. The verse about women having a gentle and quiet spirit makes me nervous. In school I always had tons of questions. I loved to learn the why behind things, and I wasn't afraid to ask. My mom tells me that she got extremely frustrated by all of my why's. I've always wanted to be in the front of the class/ in the front of the pack. I was never accused of being a follower. This obviously has good and bad consequences.
My dad didn't get any boys to do manly stuff with. I tried to fill in when possible- watching football, talking politics, shooting hoops, lifting heavy stuff, etc. I really enjoyed all of that stuff and still do.
My older sister on the other hand wasn't interested in any of that stuff. She played with dolls until she was old enough to babysit. And babysat until she was old enough to have her own kids. She has 5. She loved shopping at Laura Ashley with my mom and wearing big bows and flowery stuff.
Growing up in the south around Country Clubs and private schools, there was always this tension of knowing that it was considered more feminine to giggle a lot, not have a strong opinion, and to look manicured- yet I had a natural pull towards other things that were stereotypically not girly. Don't get me wrong. I had lots of boyfriends and liked to play with dolls. But there was this desire to start stuff, learn stuff, and lead stuff- rather than meekly follow.
How do I stay true to who God made me to be and be submissive at the same time? I know that its possible. I'm just wrestling through where the line falls.
Have we followed these social norms that tell us what is feminine and masculine that God did not intend? Or are these norms the fruit of His creation?

Cafeteria Line

My dad loves a good cafeteria. Find him a K&W, and he'll be very happy.
Once when he went to a bible study with me, the leader commented that you couldn't view the bible as a cafeteria line, picking and choosing the verses that you want to believe. My dad didn't agree and maybe embarrassed me a hair with his comments. (I guess I come by my boldness honestly.)
Unfortunately, I agree with the bible study leader. If Scripture can be viewed like a cafeteria line, who would have the authority to do the picking and the choosing. And what if one day they feel like fried chicken and the next like salisbury steak? It seems like you are on much safer ground, beleiving the whole thing.
And yet there are many verses that I would like to overlook.
Can't I just skip to the dessert? A little pecan pie, maybe?

The following have been particularly hard to swallow:

1 Cor 11:3, 7-9 Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God... A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.

(I can see a man receiving glory from his wife, but I'm not married. I'm not anyone's glory, at least as far as I know. What do I do with this? Do I have a head? I'm created for man? What man? If I don't get married, is there no point in my creation?)

Genesis 3: 16-19
To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, ... "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. 18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. 19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground."
(What does this mean for me today? What does it mean that my husband will rule over me? And it seems like many women have to toil all the days of their life? Do we get both Adam and Eve's curse?)

I'm really not trying to be argumentative. I really do want to know. What do these verses mean for me? How does God view women? Better yet, how does God view a single woman's role in ministry in 2006?

Rocking the Boat

The people pleaser in me didn't want to rock the boat. She won over for at least 10 years.
But the curiosity, desire for justice, and distrust in me has recently kicked the people pleaser's a$$. (Why do people do that thing with the $ signs? Does that make it less than profane?)

So, I knew it was coming. I knew that women couldn't be elders or deacons in the PCA church. But that knowledge didn't nullify the blow. (I am an "F" after all, not a "T") Maybe because I trust the bearers of the blow... maybe because it is just time to deal with the pain of this issue... I don't know why it is happening now and not 10 years ago... but it is time to delve into the depths... it is time to look at the pain that's there because of this male leadership stuff... and it is time to figure out where I stand and why I stand there.

I can't just pretend that the issue isn't that important. I can't just brush it off as something that isn't worth taking a stance on since I can't change what my church thinks. I can't just leave it up to other folks to figure it out. (The Lord knows, I wouldn't necessarily buy it, even if they did.)

Why? Why research the issue of women in the church? Simply, because I'm a woman and I'm in the church. God's word matters for me. Is He calling me to a submission that I haven't embraced? Or is the church supressing a call that God gives to women? This matters.

Petunias and Policemen

The first thing I notice when I come home is the purple petunias in my front yard. There might not be any grass for all of the weeds, but there are lots of pretty petunias.
At the same time we (me and the petunias) see much more of the police men in our district than we would like. Whether they are answering a 911 call that I made, strolling through the neighborhood, or speeding down my street with a siren blaring, it doesn't matter. I wish I saw more flowers and fewer officers.