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Leading the Way . . . A Search for the Role of Women in the Church

Since my return to Texas from Florida, I had been thinking that I don't fit in very well over at Stonewater - the church that I had been visiting for the past two or three months.

For one, I am not a couple . . . I am a single . . . which in a church geared to families kind of leaves me at loose ends.  If you are a frequent reader then you know that I am quite content with my "singleness".

Secondly, the "single" groups are broken into baby-boomers and non-boomers . . . and they have defined the baby-boomers as anyone 50+.  I have to be honest with you . . . I do not see myself as a baby-boomer, nor do I act or think like one.  I may be a Presbyterian Deacon, but I am certainly no old f*rt, and although I am 52 36 there is no way I am going to admit to being 52!  I don't care HOW much of a savings I can get through AARP or at Kohls, I am NOT going to join or admit to being eligible to receive a discount! I would rather pay the full price and call it a day!

By the way . . . the other night at the Kroger Self-Checkout, when purchasing a bottle of wine, the clerk came over and overrode the Check ID request. I told the young man that I would have preferred it if he would have just played along with me and asked to see my ID.  In his early twenties, he didn't get it . . . but trust me, some day he will . . . and when he does it will be all about a red Corvette and some young bimbo.  It will not be something as simple as wishing that you are carded when purchasing beer or wine!

Lastly, Stonewater is geared toward men in leadership.  Okay, I understand the "church's" desire to equip men to step up to the plate and take responsibility for their families, and while I am not a professional theologian but a wannabe . . . clearly women were called by God in the old testament and by the Lord in the new to lead and serve.

So here's my dilemma: I love those Baptists in non-denominational clothing over at Stonewater Church in Granbury, Texas!  I love what they are doing to reach out and bring people looking for hope into the body of Christ.  I want to know how they do it . . . and learn how to be able to go out on the Great Commission and get other people to desire to become the hands and feet of Christ . . . but somehow, my servant's heart is struggling with how do I serve at Stonewater?

I don't need to lead . . . I'm doing that in my profession . . . but I am called to serve, and often it is through serving that we, the women of the Church, lead others to Christ through encouragement, hope and caring.

This is merely a reflection . . . a thread of questioning running through my daily musing about Christ, my faith-walk, and organized religion, but I am not quite sure why the Baptists seem to hold fast that women can't be 'senior' Pastors, or don't have the authority to baptize.  I guess if it you don't like it . . . go join the Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians or Episcopalians.

Isn't it interesting that the Bible, the infallible word of God, states that when the risen Christ first appeared he appeared to a woman? If Christ valued the role of men more than women in his church, would He have first appeared before a man?  In fact, given the culture of the day, the record of the risen Christ's first appearances should have been written that He appeared before a man.

I think that there is a compelling argument through the scriptures that the role of women in the church is one of both leadership and service, just as it is for men. We must not isolate a few scriptures and point to men only as leaders, but look at the Bible as a whole to see the contribution that women are ordained to contribute to the body of Christ, i.e., the church.

Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.  ~ 
Harold GeneenChairman, ITT Corp.

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