I have a dream. I’m looking forward to the day when churches argue and fight about things that really matter. Okay, maybe I don’t really want the arguing and fighting part. Still, I’d love to see a large portion of our membership get passionate about things that happen outside of our church walls.
I long for the day when someone writing about feeding the hungry can generate as much attention as someone arguing about what women can and can’t do in the assembly. I’d love to see members competing to get more attention for their style of evangelism, rather than their style of music. Wouldn’t it be neat to hear someone say, “We liked that church, but they didn’t seem to be focused enough on missions, so we’re going elsewhere”?
I’d like churches to be measured not by the number of people in the pews on Sunday but the number of people on their knees on Monday. I’d love for faithfulness to be seen as growing to be more like Christ, not just attending church every time the doors are open. I dream of the day when we care less about who stands up front and more about who washes feet.
Yet, just as God told Elijah of the unknown thousands who weren’t worshipping Baal, I know that God has an army of people out there that aren’t writing blogs or speaking at lectureships or promoting the doctrine du jour. Those people are too busy going about their ministries, too busy serving, too busy changing this world to get bogged down in our silly squabbles. God bless them. May their tribe be increased.
…and many of those quietly and busily going about the work of God in the world are women. !!!!!!
And the matter of what women can and cannot do in the service of God and God’s people certainly matters to women who are told “you can’t.”
It is a matter of privilege, that upholds an unjust status quo, to relegate this question to the sidelines as one that simply “doesn’t matter.” It may not matter to you; but then again, it doesn’t prevent you from doing anything you feel called and compelled to do. It’s women who suffer the fire shut up in their bones, unable to use that fire and energy in the way it should be used, until they sit in the pews and silently self-combust.
Please, please hear and take seriously the cries of those sitting there silently burning to death with the intensity of being denied the proper, God-inspired expression of their God-created and redeemed selves.
Tim, we’ve had a long on-and-off blog back and forth and many times it’s been good. I’m grateful for that. This time, for many reasons (some personal), I’m just going to say this one thing, and let it stand without further comment. God bless.
JTB,
I started to put “gender” in the title just to see how many moths I could draw to that flame. I do understand that you feel called to activism in that one area of the body, so it may be that you hesitate to speak out on anything else. It’s just sad to me that I attract a pack of one-topic commenters when I bring up the role of women yet none of them seem to feel moved by other issues like immigration, evangelism, etc. that have to be seen at least as of equal importance.
I try to ignore those one-time drive-by shooters and listen to more rational voices like yours. But it’s sad. Yesterday’s post was one that I consider to be vitally important to our church, the whole church, men and women. It was based on something written by a woman! And not one comment. I’m hoping some of the activists at least read it.
Grace and peace,
Tim
Thank you, Tim, for your kind words about those of us who serve God in the shadows. Don’t be discouraged by the lack of comments. Personally, I would love to be responding to most of your posts (especially yesterday’s about the need for changing worldviews), but this thing called “life” keeps getting in the way.
I dream of a day when we spend more on feeding the hungry than we do on our A/V systems.
I dream of a day when our mission budget is prioritized over our facilities budget (at the congregation I attend, we set a minimum of 20% of our budget for mission work).
I dream of a day when people spend as much time in face to face interactions with The Other (those who are not like me) as we do in writing about them (and conferences don’t count: eat with them, worship with them, do good works together with them, get to know them as people).
Most of all, I dream of a day when God’s people have the courage to stop dreaming and start living those dreams. I’m less optimistic about this, because actually living our dreams will mean tearing down the edifices (and the worldviews) to which we’ve become addicted. In the meantime, I’ll focus on the only two labels that matter: are you a hearer of the Word, or a doer of the Word?
Thanks Robert.