One Woman's Journey | A Call To Reflect, part 3: the gospel
In this new blog series, our first anonymous contributor describes how her Bible studies, conversations and personal experiences lead her to re-evaluate women's roles in the church.
One Woman’s Journey
A Call to Reflect
part 3: the gospel
I have always brought people along to the meeting. Probably scores of folk over the years - not bragging just building a picture for you. A few of my friends were subsequently baptised. At some point though, I was no longer comfortable bringing friends along. How did this happen? I felt as though there was too much “Christadelphian baggage” which had now become an obstacle for some in accessing the Lord Jesus Christ. Amongst this baggage, I would include women sitting in silence, with their heads covered, in our churches.
In this age of equality, many of my friends would have taken one look and run a mile. But if this is how God wants it, then so be it. It isn’t because of women’s lack of ability that we are not allowed to speak. Indeed, our community would be better off if women were heard as we often have a refreshingly different perspective. But if this is how God wants it, then so be it. But if it isn’t what God wants…
If it isn’t what God wants, we are actually in a position where we are discrediting Him, and putting stumbling blocks in the way of potential believers. I know of three people who will not attend my current ecclesia because of our position on gender roles - and we are much more moderate in our complementarianism than conventional ecclesias. I’ve heard of young people who have never been baptised, because of, amongst other things, the general Christadelphian position of a strict brand of complementarianism.
So we really have to be sure that what we’re doing is right, because we are hemorrhaging potential and actual members. People who might be on the fringe, or are bruised reeds and smoking flaxes, can be immediately crushed and extinguished by the perception that women are discriminated against in ways which cannot be adequately evidenced by scripture.
Paul was at pains to insist that the first century church acted in a way that would gain members - according to the culture of those times:
So, in the culture of the first century, slaves and women in particular were not to use their new-found freedom in Christ to act in a way which would discredit the preaching of the gospel. It appears that the gospel and spiritual salvation mattered more than immediately abolishing harmful cultural norms of the time. Does this principle apply to us in our day? Is spiritual salvation more important than being counter-cultural in our stance on gender roles?
When it aided Paul’s preaching he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3). When it would have harmed the preaching of the gospel, he refused to have Titus circumcised (Galatians 2:3). Paul became all things to all people that he might bring them to Christ. Is there a principle here that if head coverings and the silence of women have now formed an obstacle for some in following Christ, then such things need to be re-evaluated so that, “the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed?”
In our Western Culture, potential believers are refusing to pursue a relationship with Christadelphians further because of our implementation of gender roles. More than this, many members of my ecclesia feel that they cannot bring along interested friends to our meetings because they would throw the baby out with the bath water upon seeing any appearance of inequality.
Maintaining the status quo is losing eternal lives. And so, we need to look as impartially as we can at what God really wants and make sure that: “our practices are firmly based on the principles of God’s word, and not on the traditions and precepts of men—either those of past generations or those of the modern world.”[1]
And this is what has made me think that the “time to keep silence” must now give way to the “time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). As a community, or even as individual ecclesias, are we able to discuss these things in gentleness and a Christ-like spirit, speaking the truth in love, without “othering” those with a different interpretation of scripture? If, as a community, we are serious about the importance of such a discussion, both sides of the debate need to be fairly represented. If, as individuals, we are serious about these issues, we need to read literature from complementarians and egalitarians alike. I suggest that a good starting point would be to read Two Views on Women in Ministry by Linda L. Belleville & Craig L. Blomberg, et al (Zondervan, 2005).
In this age of equality, many of my friends would have taken one look and run a mile. But if this is how God wants it, then so be it. It isn’t because of women’s lack of ability that we are not allowed to speak. Indeed, our community would be better off if women were heard as we often have a refreshingly different perspective. But if this is how God wants it, then so be it. But if it isn’t what God wants…
If it isn’t what God wants, we are actually in a position where we are discrediting Him, and putting stumbling blocks in the way of potential believers. I know of three people who will not attend my current ecclesia because of our position on gender roles - and we are much more moderate in our complementarianism than conventional ecclesias. I’ve heard of young people who have never been baptised, because of, amongst other things, the general Christadelphian position of a strict brand of complementarianism.
So we really have to be sure that what we’re doing is right, because we are hemorrhaging potential and actual members. People who might be on the fringe, or are bruised reeds and smoking flaxes, can be immediately crushed and extinguished by the perception that women are discriminated against in ways which cannot be adequately evidenced by scripture.
Paul was at pains to insist that the first century church acted in a way that would gain members - according to the culture of those times:
"Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behavior, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited."
Titus 2:3-6 (NRSV; emphasis added)
"Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed."
1 Timothy 6:1-3 (NRSV; emphasis added)
So, in the culture of the first century, slaves and women in particular were not to use their new-found freedom in Christ to act in a way which would discredit the preaching of the gospel. It appears that the gospel and spiritual salvation mattered more than immediately abolishing harmful cultural norms of the time. Does this principle apply to us in our day? Is spiritual salvation more important than being counter-cultural in our stance on gender roles?
When it aided Paul’s preaching he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3). When it would have harmed the preaching of the gospel, he refused to have Titus circumcised (Galatians 2:3). Paul became all things to all people that he might bring them to Christ. Is there a principle here that if head coverings and the silence of women have now formed an obstacle for some in following Christ, then such things need to be re-evaluated so that, “the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed?”
In our Western Culture, potential believers are refusing to pursue a relationship with Christadelphians further because of our implementation of gender roles. More than this, many members of my ecclesia feel that they cannot bring along interested friends to our meetings because they would throw the baby out with the bath water upon seeing any appearance of inequality.
Maintaining the status quo is losing eternal lives. And so, we need to look as impartially as we can at what God really wants and make sure that: “our practices are firmly based on the principles of God’s word, and not on the traditions and precepts of men—either those of past generations or those of the modern world.”[1]
And this is what has made me think that the “time to keep silence” must now give way to the “time to speak” (Ecclesiastes 3:7). As a community, or even as individual ecclesias, are we able to discuss these things in gentleness and a Christ-like spirit, speaking the truth in love, without “othering” those with a different interpretation of scripture? If, as a community, we are serious about the importance of such a discussion, both sides of the debate need to be fairly represented. If, as individuals, we are serious about these issues, we need to read literature from complementarians and egalitarians alike. I suggest that a good starting point would be to read Two Views on Women in Ministry by Linda L. Belleville & Craig L. Blomberg, et al (Zondervan, 2005).
[1] Belleville, Blomberg, Keener & Schreiner, Two Views on Women in Ministry (Counterpoints), p65. Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
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