Subordination of Women?

As some friends who differ with me on the role of women in church leadership have engaged me on the topic, I am struck by their basic premise; that the permanent subordination of women is God’s ideal. I am indebted to Kevin Giles and the late David Scholer for much of my thought formation on this subject and they have certainly said it better that I ever well and some of their ideas and writing are excerpted below.

My friends tend to judge fellow evangelicals who disagree with them on this matter to be “theological liberals,” or at least implicit liberals. It seems that they cannot differentiate between the interpretation of Scripture and Scripture itself. For them, if I debate their interpretation of the key texts on which they base their case for the permanent subordination of women, then I am by definition rejecting the authority of Scripture.

As Giles says, “What this means is that the methodological challenge to interpret Scripture rightly in its given historical and cultural context and to apply what is said rightly in another historical and cultural context is solved by assuming and asserting that “my interpretation” tells you exactly what the Bible says. When (one) claims that one’s interpretation of God’s word is God’s word without any caveats, then, by implication, one is claiming to speak for God. (One) is asserting that what (one) says the Bible says is what God says, and, thus, if you disagree with him, you are disagreeing with God.”

The Roman Catholic Church has neatly solved the challenge of interpretation the same way. At the end of the day, it is the Pope who tells the faithful what the Bible is saying on any matter. In both the Protestant and the Catholic versions of this system, the inerrancy is not in the Scriptures, but in the interpretation given by someone claiming to speak for God.

As long as those who prefer the permanent subordination of women use this argument, there is really no way to find common ground on the question of the status and ministry of women. In order to have a beginning dialogue, we must agree that the issue is not the authority of Scripture, but how Scripture is to be interpreted and applied.

I don’t reject the authority of Scripture; but I do reject an interpretation of the Scriptures that supports and promulgates the concept that God’s unchanging ideal is the subordination of women.

I continue to hear two different ways of interpreting Scripture to prove the subordination of women. There has been a consistent historical interpretation of the biblical texts on women. For at least seventeen or eighteen centuries, most theologians and teacher said that the Bible taught that men were “superior,” women are “inferior,” and women were more prone to sin and error than men. For these reasons, women were the “weaker” and subordinated sex. In this historic position, men and women were differentiated not simply by their roles, but because God made them men and women. Women were seen as being second in rank or status because Eve was created second. That is, women are subordinated on the basis of the timeline of creation, not on the basis of a supposedly Creator-given, pre-fall hierarchical social order in which woman were subordinate to men.

To their credit, most contemporary evangelical hierarchists, as well as all evangelical egalitarians, reject this historic interpretation that women are ontologically inferior to men, even though it held sway for the better part of eighteen centuries and was adopted by some of the greatest theologians of the past.

Now as Giles points out, there is the novel post-1970s interpretation of a selected number of biblical texts on women that is now adopted almost word for word by all contemporary evangelical hierarchists and rejected by all egalitarians. This view point generally says men and women are equal, but role-differentiated, which, when simply said, means that women are permanently subordinated to male authority. Typically the hierarchists argue that women’s subordination is not a consequence of sin or a reflection of cultural values, but, rather, is predicated on a hierarchical social order established before the Genesis fall. They state (with solemn and grave faces, no less) that this is the ideal that is pleasing to God and, therefore, is unchangeable. Why this humanly devised theological construct should be judged the only true interpretation of Scripture is truly puzzling.

The Bible never suggests that men and women are role-differentiated, and actually says much to the contrary. Instead, we are differentiated in our very being as man and woman by God’s creative act as described in the first chapter of Genesis. Giles points out that the term “role” refers to the part a person plays. It belongs to the world of the theater and the study of humanistic sociology, not the Bible. At creation, man and woman were both bearers of the image of God and both were given authority to rule God’s world. The idea that there is a once-given, unchanging, unchangeable hierarchical social order established before the fall that permanently sets men over women is simply a figment of (largely) male imagination. It speaks more of the male will to hold power than of anything found in the Bible. The Bible makes the subordination of women a consequence of the fall (Gen. 3:16).

The gender equality of the two differentiated sexes, and marriage between them, are definitely Creator-given, but social ordering is not. Social ordering is always a human construct that human beings can change. History proves this point. “Created second” only speaks of chronological order, not social order or hierarchy. In addition, the whole Bible is predicated on a forward-looking eschatology where the “new creation” Christ inaugurates introduces something altogether new (2 Cor. 5:17). The perfection of creation lies in the future, when the new creation will be brought to its consummation on the last day. In the Garden of Eden, the Devil was present and sin possible. This will not be the case when the new creation is fully realized. Evangelical hierarchists may think they have the very highest view of Scripture, but, by making their theory the channel through which the Bible’s teaching on women is to be interpreted, they dishonor Scripture by not allowing Scripture to speak in its own terms.

Incorporation

Well, the church incorporation paperwork is off to the California Secretary of State for Every Road Church. We have had interesting conversations with the Evangelical Covenant Church planting management; and while we both wish to associate with each other and they are OK with us using “Covenant” in our name for common useage, we are not using it in a legal sense because we have not met all the criteria they require as far our organization goes – and we have not yet begun to meet as much more than a bible study (but we have been doing that for about a year)and we are ready to get out into the public. So for now, we will continue to operate as if we are a Covenant church without the formal designation or recognition.

Moving with trepidation!

Well, we are working towards a launch of our first public services in February or March of 2009! What an exciting, faith-testing and unnerving time.

We don’t have a place to meet (but we are working on it,) we don’t have an amazing worship team (but we are working on it,) we don’t have an entertaining, yet wonderfully meaningful and instructional childrens program (but we are working on it!)

What we do have is small knot of dedicated believing people who have been called by God to start a new and radically different ministry in the Santa Clarita Valley.

We are excited and thrilled and a little scared. Pray for us and His work here in the SCV.

Conservative & Compassionate

This election cycle has had me thinking as I listen to all of the grand plans and positions of various politicians.  It seems to me that evangelical American Christians are seriously mis-portrayed by the media and perhaps misunderstood by much of the population in the country if not the world.   It seems to me as if it is generally thought that being conservative theologically, and having and open heart and care for the forgotten and hurting are seen as being mutually exclusive.

This is NOT the message and mission that Jesus charged us with.  He said that we should be known by our love.  He was always moved by the poor and hurting.  He said we should be known by our amazing love.  The Apostle Paul wrote that “true religion” was practiced by those who cared for the widows and the orphans.   Mercy, justice, and compassion are the fruits of a deeply spiritual life.  This does not mean that the Church needs to “water down” mankind’s need for salvation or to turn to a “social gospel” that only focuses on the needs of the less fortunate.  Instead we should combine both into the truly powerful message that Jesus gave us – they are both critcally important.

For example, when the evangelical church talks about being “pro-life” this should not only mean that we care about valuing our unborn sisters and brothers and saving them from the murder of  abortion – but it should also to extend to valuing the lives of those being killed in the multiple genocidal regimes around the world, it means that we should care about the starving multitudes in areas of the world that are currently unable to feed themselves, it means we should care about basic adequate health care for all mankind, it means we should get actively involved in helping solve the horror of the AIDS epidemic, it means we should protect those being abused and destroyed when they can not defend themselves in life threatening situations.  

This is not the government’s job.  It is the work of the Body of Christ.  We have abdicated our duties to secular governments who are ill-equipped to love, care and be merciful.

We must reach the world with the whole gospel; both the soul saving work of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, AND the fruit of living a life that exemplifies what experiencing that salvation does to us, in us and through us.

Zeroing In

We are starting to zero in on the Mission and Core Values of our church.  With just a little editing, here is the latest posting from Pastor Tess.  This has not been finalized, but we are getting closer.

EVERY ROAD COVENANT CHURCH  

Key Verse:“What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 

We Believe:  God intentionally draws humanity from every road of life to:  Turn from darkness and turn to light.  Turn from despair and turn to love. Turn from death and turn to life. 

Mission Statement:  We are an intentional people who are loved by God to: Express Love; Extend Mercy; Encourage Growth; Effect Change 

EVERY ROAD COVENANT CHURCH:  Rooted in God  - to express love to God and on behalf of God; Restored by God  - to extend mercy and forgiveness in community; Relying on God  - to encourage growth and effect change through His Word.

 Core Values:  Intentional in Loving – “Whatever it takes;”    Intentional in Living – “No matter what the circumstances;”    Intentional in Maturing – “We won’t give up;”  

Intentional in Loving – We are rooted in God’s Love through the power of His gift to the world, His Son, Jesus Christ.  “Whatever it takes” We are committed to love God and to be an expression of God’s love to others without bias, with acceptance, sacrificially, with patience, vulnerability, and going beyond.

Intentional in Living:  We have been restored by God’s Love through the power of the Holy Spirit.“No matter what the circumstances” We are confident of God’s presence in our lives to extend mercy and advocate justice through  exercising forgiveness, reconciling relationships, living in the moment, listening, and being in communion with God. 

Intentional in Maturing:  We look forward to reaching out to others through the power of God’s love, Scripture, and work of the Holy Spirit.  “We won’t give up” – We are a community willing to grow and mature in our faith in Jesus Christ by our obedience, reliability, partnership, encouragement, and willing to process the events of life with our companions in this journey.  

About Us – Every Road:  We have walked many different roads to come to a depth of understanding God’s unconditional and steadfast love – God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.  Through the different roads traveled, we have come to understand and confidently rely on God’s presence in our lives – through the power of the Holy Spirit who is present in our lives, no matter what our circumstances.  As we continue to travel our unique life roads by faith, our lives our encouraged together to grow in love and mature in our ability to walk by faith in Jesus Christ – through the power of the Scriptures that give us life.  Every Road that has been traveled has led us to the love of God through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.  Every Road we’ve traveled, we have learned and we have been drawn to God.  

 Intentional in Living:  Our prayer:  May we extend mercy and advocates of justice to those who God brings into our lives to serve in love. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (James 1:27). “…Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’  For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Mt. 9:12-13). “…But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found” (Luke 15:11-32). “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death” (Rom. 8:1-2). “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sister, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom. 12:1-2). “For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.  For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 1:5-7).   

Intentional in Maturing:  Our prayer:  May we effect change in our community through our confidence in God’s Word to change every heart, soul, and mind. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt. 28:19-20). “…For I was hungry and you gave me food.  I wan thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothing. I was sick and you took care of me.  I was in prison and you visited me” (Mt. 25:35-36). “Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts. 2:14-21). “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts. 2:37-38). “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts. 2:42). “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13). “By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control… If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-25).

The Message & Mission of Jesus

The Message: The Good News That Jesus Came To Speak.

He came:

- To forgive our sins and reconcile us with God.

- To destroy the power of Satan and deliver people from bondage,

- To change hearts of stone to hearts of flesh.

- To treat people with compassion, mercy and justice, as God’s beloved creation.

- To love and invite followers to become The New People of God.

The Mission: The Good News That Jesus Came to Act Out.

He came:

- To be the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world.

- To personally fight the deciding battle with Satan and triumph through the grave.

- To be physically authenticated as the Son of God through the power and shock of His  ressurection.

- To challenge the earthly principalities and powers through His ascension.

- To establish His Church as the New People of God on the Day of Pentecost.

(Source: Dave Olson, Evangelical Covenant Church, Director of Church Planting)

Naming The Baby III

We had an interesting exchange of ideas and free flowing discussion as we zeroed in on a name.  We have submitted two to the Covenant for review and approval:  Every Road Covenant Church, and Life Journey Covenant church.

As “The Rev”  aka “Pastor Tess”  wrote today, “Each one of our stories reflects a unique road of  coming to know and understand our relationship with Jesus Christ.  We all have been drawn into relationship with him, understand our sinfulness and need of His forgiveness, and believe in his death, burial, and resurrection.  Our lives reflect different continents that we were born, different denominational influences, different professional roles, different family structures, and certainly different personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. We have traveled many different roads and Jesus has brought us together for this time and purpose.”

Naming The Baby II

As rudimentary as the process may seem, we have tried to be wise and considerate with the process of naming this new outpost for Christ.  As I wrote before, you suddenly become aware of all the various shades and meanings of words and their juxtaposition with others.We hope to have this nailed down and approved by the Covenant in the next couple of weeks.

Having the name and the core values agreed upon will allow us to do so much more in attracting additional help to our launch team.The discussions among our team have ranged across the possibilities, and the concepts of “journey” “progress” and “road” kept cropping up.  

So we started visiting various scriptures and fairly quickly we realized how often “roads, ways, and streets” were mentioned in various contexts and meanings.   In addition, both journeys and progress are made on roads; and these same scriptures emphasize movement, journey, progress, and action.

Following are a few of the Roads we found in scripture.  We are certain we can help each other find even more examples. 

The Wilderness Road:  The Road of Seeking & Salvation    Acts 8: 26-36 tells the story of Phillip meeting the Ethiopian eunuch on the road and leading him to Jesus. 

The Damascus Road:  The Road of Confrontation                 Acts 9:1-8 & 27 tells the story of Paul being confronted on the road by Christ and called to a new life.         

The Samaritan Road: The Road of Mercy                               Luke 10:30-37 Jesus tells the story of the man being beaten and left for dead on the road until the Samaritan comes and put mercy into action by caring for him.                     

The Prodigal Road:  The Road of Reconciliation & Restoration of Dignity                                                                                     Luke 15:11-32  Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son and how his father ran to meet him when he was still far down the road from home and restored him to his family.

The Jericho Road:  The Road of Healing                                  Mark 10:46-52; Matthew 20: 29-34; Luke 18:35-43 all tell the story of Jesus healing Blind Bartemaeus on the road to Jericho 

The Emmaus Road: The Road of Understanding                   Luke 14:13-35 Luke recounts the story of the disciples  coming to understand that Jesus was truly the Christ when he encountered them on the road to Emmaus.

The Jerusalem Road: The Road of Celebration                            Mark 11:1-10; Matthew 21:1-9;Luke 19:28-40 tell the story of Jesus triumphal entry on the road into Jerusalem

The Road to God: The Road of Decision                                John 14:6-7 Jesus proclaims himself to be the only road to the Father

The Road of Hope: The Street of Gold                          Revelation 21 describes the main street of heaven appearing to be paved with pure gold.

Everyone in life is traveling their own road. Every Road has its shares of joy, sorrow, pain, happiness, and despair.  Life’s Journey has the potential for decision and growth.  The Way requires decision and choice.  The Path provides opportunities for healing and restoration.  The Journey ultimately leads to a confrontation with the Word, the Creator, the Christ.  Ultimately, no one can approach the Father except through Jesus Christ – The New Road.

A general theme seems to be emerging…

Working on Sticky Ideas

It will be interesting to see what we ultimately settle on as the passions, values and ideas that drive us to plant a new church.  Here are some of the writings and thoughts from our launch team at this time.  I have edited them down from several sets of notes and emails.  I trust I caught the spirit and essence of each. 

One concept was expressed in these four core values.

Our church is driven by these values and their progression:

Express Love:   Christ’s love is what sets His church apart from any other movement or religion in the world.   We are required to love everyone at all times.  ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ John 13:34-35 “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Matthew 22:37-39

Extend Mercy:  Christ’s words and example consistently showed that love had to be demonstrated by actions of mercy.  ‘…Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.’ Matthew 9: 12-13 

Expect Growth:  As we come to experience the expression of Christ’s love and mercy as demonstrated by his Church, we are then expected to grow, mature and multiply as we walk these healing paths.  ^‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ Matthew 28:19-20 ‘Do not be conformed to this world,^* but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:2^{* *}           

Effect Change:  Finally in addition to basking in Christ’s love and mercy, and growing in our spiritual walk we must actually do something with what we have been given, and so in effecting change in our world we allow the cycle to start again for those to whom we serve. “…For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.”  Matthew 25: 35-36

Another view point includes these concepts: 

Orientation->Disorientation->Reorientation: – in general, psalmists are dealing with situations from Orientation (seeking God’s will and direction in life) to Disorientation (through trials/sufferings/sins) to, by the end, Reorientation (through acknowledging the presence of God). That leads to the acknowledgement of peace not as the absence of suffering; but as the presence of God. 

The Restoration of Human Dignity: – Luke 15 – the return of prodigal son. This passage depicts a son’s return to community and is restored fully. The Fall leads the human beings to become ‘less’. The restoration covers more than just the physical need, but emotional and spiritual. Human dignity is crucial and far more important than JUST providing physical needs. 

The Shift of Focal Point: – shifting from changeable and unstable leadership of human beings to the unchangeable and stable leadership of God brings out the true humanity. Human beings are created in the image of God and can only be truly and fully ‘reflected’ through the leadership of Jesus.

Humanize the Spirituality: – in general, church is considered to be a place to spiritualize people’s humanity. To humanize our spirituality, we acknowledge human beings are created in the image of God (our dignity), human beings are created in BOTH male and female (our gender), and human beings are created in community (not good for human be alone.)

Thirdly, these ideas have also been circulating amongst us: 

1. The Concept of “We:” The emphasis of a “we-ness” is based on integration and not assimilation.  It is dynamic, respectful, and at time fluid to allow creativity and growth. As applied to the church, it incorporated the Love and Mercy aspects we all treasure.  If we are to love unconditionally and to show mercy to those who need it the most, we must see them as one of us, he or she is part of the “We.”  Whether it is as simple as we are all humankind; we are all sinners; God loves us all; Jesus died for all.  Or as complex as the idea of we want to be “intentional” people, so therefore we will be open and willing to include others as “We.”  The “We” must exist for the love and mercy to be genuine.  Outreach is a process of inclusion and hopefully not a way to point out the exceptions.   

 2.  Reconciliation & Restoration:  As we as a church acknowledge our openness to meet people where they are at and God’s intentional love to the world, the hope is that the message of reconciliation and restoration is extended.  The primary subject of reconciliation is God.  Yet many churches miss the part of the restoration of the self and the reconciliation to others.  One in our team used the story of the prodigal son in making his point of restoration of personhood, the dignity of being human that was given to us as our birthright by God.  We are after all, the subjects of God’s love.  As the father extends his love to his prodigal son, he was intentional, inclusive and forgiving.  As we all know, reconciliation does not come easy; it is not often done without practice.  We hope that as a church we will be able to provide that safe place for people to practice.   

3. Live the Unlived Life:  We love the meaning of transformation.  Even though the word itself has been so overuse that at times it is meaningless, we have not, at this point, come up with a better alternative.  This a slightly different take on the previously discussed Orientation-Disorientation-Reorientation concept but was described as encouraging, challenging or even awakening people to live their unlived life.  This is where we want the church to emphasis the core value of embracing men and women equally, the values of team building and allowing God to transform us according to His original intent. 

4. Celebrate the Message and Mission of Jesus: We often cycle back to this concept with a sense of excitement.  As much as the four points previous points work together and integrate into some form of spinal upward movement at any given point of the life of a church, this is where we hope our community life will be  based.

Sticky Ideas

We have been working on thinking through and shaping our core values.  As I have written before, so many organizations with which I have been involved have worked on long and hard on defining the mission, purpose and values of the organization only to hang it in the hall or post it to the website and promptly forget about them.  Whatever you call these statements, they must be truly those principles which you constantly use to guide and define the path of the organization.  Obviously, (I hope) in a church setting these should have a foundation in scriptural truth.  But even the most “spiritual” mission means nothing if it does not truly grab you and constantly remind you of why the church was started in the first place.

One of the reasons that many well intentioned efforts get sidelined or forgotten is that they are just too complex and lack any “stickiness.”   The concept of stickiness has been popularized by many writers but I like this recent digest, written by Baldwin Cheng, a co-worker of my son at Publicis & Hal Riney.  It is an abstract of an article from the November 2007 McKinsey Quarterly called “Crafting a message that sticks: An Interview with Chip Heath” by Lenny T. Mendonca and Matt Miller.  Baldwin Cheng’s writes that, ”Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Chip Heath’s research suggests that sticky ideas share six basic traits:

1. Simplicity. Messages are most memorable if they are short and deep. Glib sound bites are short, but they don’t last. Proverbs such as the golden rule are short but also deep enough to guide the behavior of people over generations.

2.  Unexpectedness. Something that sounds like common sense won’t stick. Look for the parts of your message that are uncommon sense. Such messages generate interest and curiosity.

3. Concreteness. Abstract language and ideas don’t leave sensory impressions; concrete images do. Compare “get an American on the moon in this decade” with “seize leadership in the space race through targeted technology initiatives and enhanced team-based routines.”

4. Credibility. Will the audience buy the message? Can a case be made for the message or is it a confabulation of spin? Very often, a person trying to convey a message cites outside experts when the most credible source is the person listening to the message.  Questions—“Have you experienced this?”—are often more credible than outside experts.

5. Emotions. Case studies that involve people also move them. “We are wired,” Heath writes, “to feel things for people, not abstractions.”

6. Stories. We all tell stories every day. Why? “Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encounter that situation,” Heath writes. “Stories act as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively.”