During Spring Break I had the opportunity to spend time in California speaking in a variety of locales. One of the churches where I was invited to preach opened its doors 55 years ago. It is a great church with good people and an excellent pastor. I am the fourth women in the history of the church to preach from its pulpit. This means that in this church a woman preaches every 13.75 years.
When I returned from my trip on Sunday night, I took a cab home from O’Hare airport. As usual I struck up a conversation about Jesus with the driver. Halfway home this kind and inquisitive man asked me what I did for a living. When I told him I was a pastor, he responded that I was the first woman pastor he had ever met. I responded, “There aren’t that many of us.”
On Monday, I was leading a discipleship group with three North Park students and I had them recite the memory verse I had assigned, Romans 8:29. “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”(NIV) After they had finished reciting the verse I said, “and sisters... It is appropriate for us to say that Jesus is the ‘firstborn among many brothers and sisters.’(TNIV) It’s important that we use language that makes it clear that Jesus is calling everyone.”
For the most part I don’t think about being a woman in ministry. Most days I just think about being a Judy in ministry. I ask myself “what has God called Judy to do this day and how can Judy be faithful to the task?” Perhaps I don’t think about it very often because the Evangelical Covenant Church has been ordaining women since 1976. The doors have always been open for me and when doors are always open we are not forced to think about what keeps some people locked out on the other side. However, there are seasons where I become aware that the doors that have been opened for Judy to be faithful are not doors that have been opened for all women.
Women remain second class citizens in many countries around the world; at birth they are seen as a runner-up gift to male offspring and in life are seen as a possession or a commodity. Although this blatant discrimination has been and is being challenged in many places, much of the church has withstood the challenge by declaring that the Bible makes it clear that there are roles in the church hierarchy that remain the privilege of men, thus rendering women second class citizens in the pew and keeping them out of the pulpit entirely.
Let me say boldly and without apology, God never intended for one gender to be the primary care giver of creation and God never intended for half of his human resources to be shackled. In the beginning male and female were both given the commission to govern. Standing beside one another they were to be co-laborers in the care of the world. It wasn’t until after sin entered the world that the man began to rule over the woman and the woman accepted this rule as good. But, thank goodness for our Savior who came to reverse the curse, to set all people free, and to restore in us a way of relating that creates no second class citizens.
I know that not all of the discrimination is blatant, not all of the exclusion is intentional. I am also aware that without some blatant and intentional work to equip and empower called and gifted women to all levels of leadership in the world and in the church one of our greatest resources will be wasted. Let’s make sure our churches don’t wait 13.75 years for a woman to enter the pulpit. Let’s make sure that our cab drivers meet more women pastors. And let’s make sure the language we use never excludes those whom Christ is calling.
