For the last two hours, I have been sitting here in my office pondering an issue that will form the basis for what I feel is going to be my most controversial message to date that I’ve given in my current church. That’s right, I plan on Sunday to deal with the issue of women in ministry and the relevance of gender roles in the context of church leadership.
This has been a very important issue in the context of our church for at least the last 20 years or so. I’ve known about it since my very first face to face conversation with any church member here. I still recall my first interview with the “Pastoral Search Committee” back in the fall of 2000.
There I sat with my wife and 9 month old son facing a room full of people who were set to evaluate me and my qualifications for ministry in this church. The chair of the committee asked the first question:
We have a lot of women in leadership in our church. How well do you think you would be able to work with women in leadership?
In my innocence and ignorance of the true meaning of that question, I declared that I have no problem with women in leadership, but that I have been known to have relational problems with a certain type of woman that frequently rises to a position of leadership—particularly, I had and still have an issue with anyone who becomes a leader to accomplish a particular self-serving agenda, and I personally have encountered a number of agenda-wielding people in positions of leadership. Honestly, I am more at ease dealing with strong-willed agenda-wielding men than with women who share that same personality type.
I knew enough about myself at the time to describe that honestly, and I’m continuing to struggle through some personal issues regarding how I relate to strong-willed people; however, I had no idea that the issue of women in leadership touched so many deep chords in the environment of NWBC. Within my first 12 months here, I unknowingly alienated two strong-willed women (the worship leader and my secretary / church moderator). Then, in the next 6 months, as we began to discuss some of those issues and as my “complementarian” theology began to come out in those discussions, a few more people became fearful of the direction in which I would be taking the church, and a couple more families left.
I was completely surprised at the intensity with which this topic was received by members with whom I thought I had a good relationship.
As a result, I have intentionally avoided the topic of women in ministry as much as possible over the past four years. Now, however, in my most recent series of messages Shhhh! God’s Talking, I have been dealing with specific questions raised by members of the congregation regarding the teaching of the Bible. I have already dealt with a number of difficult questions, and this week will be my concluding message in the series, but that means I finally have to deal with this one question that I’ve been avoiding for some time.
Wish me luck! (But prayers would be more helpful!)