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"I befriended a man once, an old Irish-Catholic chaplain named Paul. One day he said do you know what God’s going to ask you when you get to heaven? God’s going to ask if you found out who you were supposed to be." - John Blase, The Doubt
Turns out that when you search on the internet for “Great
Women in Church History,” you find out that women are intimidating and we might
take over the world. Therefore, we must be stopped.
You think I’m kidding. Try the title of this famous sermon
from John Knox:
First
Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women
No joke. Monstrous Regiment of Women.
The page I pulled up also included misogynistic quotes from
Origen, Martin Luther, and John Calvin.
Oh dear…
So, I’m thinking about what this means for my girls. For the
one who declared she will be a “girl pastor” and the older one with leadership
leanings.
I know this: I won’t squelch it. I want to find healthy ways
of feeding into what God is already doing in their hearts, even if their little
heart is only in Kindergarten.
As I think about these things for myself and for my girls,
I’m preparing to read a book called Jesus Feminist. I know. The title is…interesting, huh?
I’m very excited about this book. Not because I believe in
girl power. Not because I want to adopt this title for myself. In fact, I think
we better consider long and hard and pray and converse with trusted people if
we are going to adopt a strong title like feminist. I’m excited because the
author of this book recently said this about Jesus Feminist:
“…the book is less about Christian feminism and more about the kingdom
of God and what it looks like when we are all walking in fullness and freedom
together. I see it as this kind of a love letter, maybe a provocative love
letter, to the church that I really love to come outside.”
We need some sort of this call to the church. We need better
ways of living out what God has called for all
of His children, men and women. How can it be the good news otherwise? Would
Jesus die for life, full and abundant, to be handed only to a select few,
limited by gender, race, or age?
I think not.
As we talk about the ideas of equality and let the
conversation of God’s gifting to each of His children open up, I want to be
cautious of not sliding into saying this “movement” can only come from women
now, given the history of what men have said and done that was oppressive.
While I want my girls to be surrounded by strong women who
are confidently living out of who God made them to be, I can say the same about
the men. I want the girls in the presence of men who step out in faith and
trust Him with His church, all of
His church. In fact, I know from my own life that I gained a lot of my own
voice from a handful of respected men who saw not my gender but my place in
God’s kingdom. They heard me and treated me like a human being, never a second-rate child of God who should know my place and my (man-made) roles. They opened
up opportunities for me to use my words and talents among God’s people with no questions
asked.
That is what I hope for in the church. That is what I dream
of when I think of my son, still in my womb, growing up do too.
We can’t change the past in the church, and I believe there
are still female role models in church history to help my girls discover. We
have found a few to read about: Deborah (judge and military leader from the
Book of Judges), Blandina and Joan of Arc (Christian martyrs and saints),
Catherine Booth and Evangeline Booth (founders of the Salvation Army, mother
and daughter!).
In addition, I will keep talking with Kyla about leadership
and allow Kaelyn to tell me over and over about all she wants to be when she grows
up. They should know what it’s like to be able to express themselves with confidence
and receive respect.
I will surround them with God’s people who offer space for
my little women to do the same.
I will sit them in the front row this week as we watch their
daddy take some vows and put on a stole, symbolizing a yoke, around his neck to
show his willingness to step into his calling as a priest in God’s church. They
know this calling has taken five long years of walking through an ordination process to complete. They have walked it with us.
May we as the people of God never be a monstrous regiment of
anything. May we be fully His, fully free, and fully living into who He gifted
all of us to be.
What will a young mom find when she searches on the internet
for that in a century?
