Ignorant Historian

For a couple of years now, I’ve been reading the blog of Rachel Held Evans. While I don’t agree with everything she says, I find it helpful to read the views of someone who has a different take than me as it gives me deeper understanding and polishes my views.

Lately, Rachel has talked a lot about some recent comments of  John Piper about the masculinity of Christianity, as well as some things Mark Driscoll has previously said about the subject. I have read John Piper’s original statements and was not phased by them. I believe I, even as an unmarried woman, will benefit by the strengthening of the men in my church. When they grow in faith, we all grow.

If I understand Rachel correctly (and I’m open for correction), she and many of her blog followers feels like statements like these are evidence that women are being silenced in the evangelical church.

I’d like to go on the record as saying, as a woman, that in no way do I feel silenced in the church.

Yes, my church and I believe that God only calls men to the pastorate. I believe that both the home and the church are rightfully led by men. Not because they are better or smarter than women, but because this is the order that God has set up.

I don’t think I, as a woman, have a lesser status if I choose to submit to authority. Jesus submitted to the Father’s authority, and I don’t think that makes him inferior to the Father.

I don’t claim to be speaking for all evangelical churches. But in this post, I will gladly talk about my own.

If I will never speak from the pulpit, in what ways do I have a voice in my church?

1. In my small group. Public teaching is great, but it’s in this small group time that the real sussing out of our faith happens. It’s where we work on applying the sound teaching we’ve heard and work out what it means in our daily lives.

2. Through access to the pastors. Any concern I have I can take to the leadership of my church and they will listen. I know this, because they have listened previously. They don’t treat me like a child who needs correcting, but as a sister in Christ with valid opinions and concerns.

3. I’m encouraged to not stick to soft topics in my studies. My church supported me while I was receiving my Master of Divinity, not a “soft” degree. I studied theology and biblical languages, among other subjects that interested me. I’m not using this degree professionally today by choice, not by force.

4. My church believes that being a woman is not an excuse for poor or weak theology.

5. I’m a vital part of my church. If I did not do my part, my church would suffer for it. This is as God designed the body of Christ. Most of us aren’t the flashy parts of the body, but we are all necessary for a well-functioning body.

6. My church leaders know my strengths and will seek my help and even advice when they see that they could benefit from it. They don’t seem to think arrogantly that women have nothing to contribute.

7. My church invests in me, providing me the training and support I need to take a more active role in our church’s counseling ministry.

These are just a few points that came to me easily…I’m sure I’d come up with a more complete set of points if I spent even more time on it. But I do want to be clear that I am not silenced.

Thursday before Labor Day…our last challenge for the summer! Here goes…

“That you see Biblical guidelines for what is appropriate and inappropriate for men and women in relation to each other not as arbitrary constraints on freedom but as wise and gracious prescriptions for how to discover the true freedom of God’s ideal of complementarity. That you not measure your potential by the few roles withheld but by the countless roles offered. That you turn off the TV and Radio and think about…” (see the challenge for the huge list of what to think about!)

I need to work on turning off the TV. It’s easy to turn to, especially when I get tired and work gets busy. I don’t think it’s evil, but I don’t need to b e watching every night, let alone several hours every night.

As far as gender roles in the Bible go, the “few roles withheld” become the sole focus of discussion, it seems. But it’s true that there are many more things that I can and should do than what I shouldn’t or what it wouldn’t be wise for me to do. Don’t believe me? Look at the list. And consider who has had the most influence on you. I’d guess that by and large, those people haven’t been in the big public teaching and preaching roles.

A whole lot more can be said on the subject and I know I haven’t provide any justification here for mine or John Piper’s (though I wouldn’t try to defend someone else’s beliefs) views on women in the church. Some of that I’ve said here.

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Women of the Book

Women of Prayer

Deep Thinkin’

No More Frittering

Exploiting Not Paralyzing

Fearless Tranquility

Keeping Me Honest

To Be God’s Free Agent

Finite Life

Wartime Mentality

Style and Demeanor

Thanks for understanding about last week. In the end it was definitely a good week, but it was a hard week.

So, on to more hard stuff. Today, John Piper challenges us women:

“That you develop a wartime mentality and lifestyle; that you never forget that life is short, that billions of people hang in the balance of heaven and hell every day, that the love of money is spiritual suicide, that the goals of upward mobility (nicer clothes, cars, houses, vacations, food, hobbies) are a poor and dangerous substitute for the goals of living for Christ with all your might, and maximizing your joy in ministry to people’s needs.”

I think the idea of wartime mentality—a metaphor found in scripture—is a helpful one. It reminds me of World War II when the whole country made sacrifices for the war cause.

So what does this look like? Let’s look at the wartime mentality in Scripture:

“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” – 2 Timothy 2:3-4 NASU

This is such a vivid image for me. If I was a soldier, I would not worry about the little stuff, you know? I should have the singular focus in my life.

It’s hard not to have the same goals and aims as those around me. We pick up a lot from our environment, and everything we let into our lives will influence us. Not to say that I should be a hermit—I do wish that was possible sometimes—but I need to be immersed in Scripture to the point that God’s priorities become mine.

I also think getting outside of my comfortable, middle class, Western bubble helps gain perspective. I’ve been incredibly blessed, but most of the world hasn’t had the family, financial, and educational advantages I have.

I know the goal is not to have stuff. I know the point of life isn’t to be comfortable.

But I have to remind myself of this daily.

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Women of the Book

Women of Prayer

Deep Thinkin’

No More Frittering

Exploiting Not Paralyzing

Keeping Me Honest

To Be God’s Free Agent

Finite Life

Photo by US Army

The next part of John Piper’s Challenge to Women is a bit complex when it comes to single women like me. Still, it bears considering:

“That you not assume that secular employment is a greater challenge or a better use of your life than the countless opportunities of service and witness in the home the neighborhood, the community, the church, and the world. That you not only pose the question: Career vs. full time mom? But that you ask as seriously: Full time career vs. freedom for ministry? That you ask: Which would be greater for the Kingdom— to be in the employ of someone telling you what to do to make his business prosper, or to be God’s free agent dreaming your own dream about how your time and your home and your creativity could make God’s business prosper? And that in all this you make your choices not on the basis of secular trends or yuppie lifestyle expectations, but on the basis of what will strengthen the family and advance the cause of Christ.”

Obviously, I don’t have the opportunity to choose between working full-time and ministry. Whatever else I do and however else I use my free time, I must have full-time employment in order to provide for myself. That said, I don’t define myself by my job. It’s something that I do (and try to do well), but it’s not who I am.

I may “have” to spend 40 hours a week doing what someone else tells me “to do to make his business prosper,” but there are over 100 waking hours in a week. Even considering that some of those are spent on the necessaries of commuting, personal hygiene, and chores, I have at least as many hours to spend as I choose in a week as I do hours spent doing someone else’s biding.

And how do I choose to spend those hours?

I want to be able to use my time and talents to serve God and others. Obviously, I’m still working out how that looks like in my life, and probably always will.

But perhaps one day I won’t need to be employed full-time, having a man to provide the necessities of life. Am I making choices now that will make such a transition easier? This is why I want to work hard at paying off my student debt (though this move has made that difficult), the only debt I have. I’d love not to have to carry debt into a marriage.

I’d also like not to have an expensive lifestyle, something that would hinder me now and in the future. I’m working on ways to live on less, a skill that can reap dividends over the years.

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Women of the Book

Women of Prayer

Deep Thinkin’

No More Frittering

Exploiting Not Paralyzing

Keeping Me Honest

Photo by wjserson

I’m not a John Piper fanatic, but lately, some of the things I’ve been reading of his have really “clicked.”  I mentioned last week that I really enjoyed his chapter in Voices of the True Woman Movement. In particular, there was one section where I highlighted almost the whole thing. Appropriately enough, it was addressed to single women.

Piper lists 3 things that illustrated by me (and other single women) by being single, that wouldn’t be if I was married. I’ve never really thought about it before, and it was very encouraging to see my singleness not as a lack, but as a gain. Those three things are:

“A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that the family of God grows not by propagation through sexual intercourse, but by regeneration through faith in Christ.”

I love the large families in our church, but sometimes I wonder if people get the wrong idea when they see large biological families. Do they think that we think we grow the church through popping out babies? Just one of the many random thoughts that run through my head…

“A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that relationships in Christ are more permanent, and more precious, than relationships in families.”

I love my family (hi, Mom!), but this is very true. My closest relationships are those within my church. These are the people that I turn to with the good and the bad things. When I found out I’d need to move with short notice, they jumped right in, helping me find a place, gather everything I needed, and making the move smooth and simple. I was so encouraged by the fact I didn’t even have to ask for the help.

“A life of Christ-exalting singleness bears witness that marriage is temporary, and finally gives way to the relationship to which it was pointing all along: Christ and the church—the way a picture is no longer needed when you see face-to-face.”

It’s hard on this earth to think about marriage being temporary. Everyone’s doing it; when will it be my turn?

But it’s not about my marital status. IT’S NOT ABOUT MY MARITAL STATUS. Sorry, just have to beat that into me sometimes.

Photo by Mr. T in DC

So, last week we had the challenge to single women. This week, we turn to married women.

So does that mean I get to take a week off? Not at all! While I have no idea if I’ll ever get married (though I still hope), I am working on developing skills and characteristics that would be helpful as a wife.

So here’s the challenge from John Piper:

“That, if you are married, you creatively and intelligently and sincerely support the leadership of your husband as deeply as obedience to Christ will allow; that you encourage him in his God-appointed role as head; that you influence him spiritually primarily through your fearless tranquility and holiness and prayer.”

“Fearless tranquility”…wow. That’s what I want. I want to be so content in Christ that any disturbance in my life will not affect me. Not that I have to be stoic, but that I’m not perturbed by things not going my way. No situation is hopeless, because no situation is without God.

I recently read John Piper’s chapter in Voices of the True Woman Movement which I found incredibly encouraging (more on that later). In it, he talks about how wimpy theology makes for wimpy women. Despite the popular caricature of the evangelical view of women (weak, mindless servants), this is not at all what the Bible calls us to be, and definitely not what I want to be.

Yes, I try to live in submission to my Lord, my elders, and one day, my husband, but that’s not at all the same as blindly following. Instead, I must work on gaining skills, knowledge, experience, and wisdom that will help me better fulfill my calling.

Another thing I’ve been working on is to be more of an encouragement to the men around me. While I can’t encourage them in the same ways or to the same degree as my future husband, I can be supportive of their endeavors and let them know when they’ve been a blessing to me.

Also, I can continue to learn from the examples of the married women around me. I’ve been blessed with having many godly women in my life, and I have a lot to learn from them.

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Women of the Book

Women of Prayer

Deep Thinkin’

No More Frittering

Exploiting Not Paralyzing

Photo by nanotechi

A few years ago I read the biography of Adoniram Judson (To the Golden Shore by Courtney Anderson) and was really encouraged by it. Since then, I had wanted to read more about his first wife, Ann.

My Heart in His Hands is the story of Ann Judson, among the first group of missionaries to head out from America. Within two weeks of marrying Adoniram, they boarded a boat to India, with the assumption of never returning. They didn’t know where they were going or who they might work with when they got there.

Ann had a great life in early America. She could have lived a very happy, ordinary life here, but God grabbed her heart. I’ve considered international missions, but when I think about it, it’s with things like email and planes. The costs were much higher 200 years ago.

Ann’s life in Burma, where they ended up, was hard. They had to learn the language the hard way, point and naming objects with their tutors. English-speaking people came and went in their lives; most of the time they were alone among foreigners. Tropical diseases and unhelpful medical treatment made it physically difficult as well.

But eventually, they saw the fruit of their labor, and Burmans were coming to Christ. But things weren’t all getting easier—when war came between Britain and Burma, the Burmese government took Adoniram and the other foreign men hostage, chaining them in the filthiest of conditions.

Ann’s actions during this two-year period were the most encouraging to me. She fought day after day, trying to convince every official she could to get better conditions for her husband if not release. She did so pregnant, too, later carrying her young daughter with her as she continued to fight diligently.

And it was her dedication first to her God and then to her husband that lead to her early death. As I read that her final word of pain was in Burmese, I bawled. I haven’t cried that hard at a book in a long time.

I strongly recommend this biography.

Another week, another part of the Challenge to Women. Let’s get to the meat (this week is especially meaty!):

“That you be women of the Book, who love and study and obey the Bible in every area of its teaching. That meditation on Biblical truth be the source of hope and faith. And that you continue to grow in understanding through all the chapters of your life, never thinking that study and growth are only for others.”

Of the ones we’ve done so far, this is the most encouraging. One of the thing that frustrates me about programs, speakers, and books targeted at Christian women is that they are often lacking in depth, focusing on relationships, feelings, purpose…anything but the truth of Jesus Christ as found in God’s Word.

Sure, these are important things to talk about and they certainly have a place, but just because we’re women doesn’t mean that we need the Bible lite, as many of these give. They throw around a few Scripture verses here and there that begin to sound trite after a while. What an incredible shame to make the Bible sound trite, given its richness and depth!

No, we don’t need a few verses here and there scattered among worldly wisdom. We need the Bible. While I know that many women haven’t had the privilege of the great educational opportunities I have had, I still think that we can bring the Bible to women of all educational levels. You don’t need a degree to understand the Bible (and sometimes the degree might be a hindrance!).

So could I be called a woman of the book? I want to be. I want to love, study, and obey the Bible more. For me, my slight adaptation of Professor Horner’s Bible-Reading System has helped me gain a new desire to read the Bible–and to read it more. I do feel like I rely on the Bible more today than I did a year ago, but also feel like I have a long ways to go. I suppose we all do.

In the last few weeks, I’ve also upped my reading of good Bible-based books. I’ve had a hard time putting them down, which is both encouraging and convicting.

I’ve always felt like I had a good grasp on the Bible and biblical truths. But lately through many different sources, God has been showing me how much there is still to learn. I’ll never exhaust God’s Word…how refreshing.

I’ve been incredibly blessed with the teaching I’ve sat under, formally and informally. What a shame it’d be to stop there and not seek any more.

Other Posts in This Series:

A Summer of Growth

Peace, Joy, and Strength

Daily Acts of Love

Photo Credit: The Pink Princess

Week 2 of my Summer of Growth challenge and we’re to point 2 of John Piper’s Challenge to Women:

“That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that peace and joy and strength fill your soul to overflowing.”

I’ll take this in pieces. “That the promises of Christ be trusted so fully that…

1. “…peace…fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

Would I characterize my life as being filled with peace?

Yes and no. I don’t fret about the big things: death or the after life. It’s just the little things.

I think I’ve grown in the area of worry, but it’s all too easy to fall into it. I know it’s when I’m focusing too much on those little things, so they seem really big.

I frequently sing the hymn “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” to myself:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

2. “…joy…fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

I think this is an area that I’ve been lacking in lately. My life over the last few months could not be characterized by joy. Ho-hum would be a better term. I’ve allowed my relationship with Christ to become more of a duty and less of a joy. And for that, I do God a disservice. Reading the Bible, prayer, and worship aren’t items to simply be checked off of a list.

3. “…strength fill[s] your soul to overflowing.”

If God’s strength had not filled me during those weeks in April, I wouldn’t have made it. It might sound melodramatic, but I fully believe that without God’s help, I would have struggled more emotionally (that may have exacerbated my physical problems).

But how much more would I know of God’s strength if I was more closely walking with Him?

The truths in the Bible are powerful. But I have to know them and remind myself of them frequently through consistent Bible reading and study…

Last fall I talked about the “S” word, that is, “serve.”  But the more I think about it, the more I’ve realized that what our society hates more than serving one another is submitting to one another.

Submit — another “S” word.

Though I’ve never specifically talked about it on the blog, you may have realized that I have a fairly traditional view of gender (know that the fact that “it’s always been so” has no part in my reasonings for taking this view), formally known as the complementarian position.  Basically, I believe that God created men and women equal in value, but different in function.  (For more on this, check out my discussion of Women’s Ministry in the Local Church over on Offering Hospitality.)

One of the major differences between this view and others found in evangelical churches centers around that “S” word.

I do believe it’s a part of the wife’s role to submit to her husband. (The sound you hear is a dozen readers unsubscribing to this blog.)

I think that this is an unpopular view because:

1.  We like to be gods of our own worlds. We’re sinners whose sin taints everything.

2.  Our culture equates roles with worth. The doctor and lawyer are viewed with respect while the guy who empties the trash or the lady working at the cash register are dopes who don’t qualify for a “real” job.

3.  We wrongly think that being submissive to someone is choosing to be their servant. Yes, serving someone (as in putting their needs before our own) is a part of submission, but doing their biding is not.

4.  Awful, sinful things (spousal abuse, domineering attitudes, slavery, etc.) have been associated with the word “submission.” While the Bible commands submission, it never gives anyone the right to force submission.  Submission is done only by willing choice of the one submitting.

5.  We forget that Jesus Himself is submissive to His Heavenly Father. If we don’t think that Jesus is any lesser for submitting to His Father’s will by dying on the cross, then we shouldn’t think a wife is any lesser because she submits to her husband, letting him have the final say on a family decision. (She definitely has a primary role in the discussion, and should lovingly share her views on the matter to her husband.)

6.  We also forget that all believers are commanded to submit to one another. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21, NIV)  We should all be placing each others’ interests above our own, so a good husband may choose his wife’s preference over his own simply because it’s her preference.

I know that submission in marriage will be hard for me, harder than I probably think it will be.  I’m independent and think I’m always right.  But I’m getting good practice now (or at least I’m learning, in part, how hard it is!) by submitting to God, my church elders, and to others.  Submission isn’t easy, but it’s easier when you know the heart of the one you are submitting to.

Photo by kaimar