Woman, you be that Bishop! (Church of England, Please Do Not Read This)

The Church of England synod in London have voted against the ordination of women as bishops. Anglicanism has come under fire today, after a two-thirds majority within the three houses of the General Synod did not eventuate. Ironically, the bishops voted 44 in favour of female Bishops (89.8 %), and only three against. The male bishops voted FOR the change. The clergy, they voted 148 in favour of female Bishops and 45 against (76.7 %). What caused the Church of England to fail to allow ordained women Bishops was in fact the 'laity' (that is, the people allowed to vote from within the church congregation). They voted 132 in favour of female Bishops, but 74 were against which failed to reach the required two-thirds agreement (64.1%).

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The Church of England dates back to its separation from the Roman Catholic Church during the time of King Henry VIII in the early 16th Century. King Henry VIII resisted coming under papal authority of his day, and through the English Reformation, became the supreme head of the Church of England in 1534. Since those times, men have been appointed as bishops and priests and not women.

 

In fact it has only been recent decades in which the Church of England in various countries have began voting to allow women to be priests. It seems some parts of the Church of England still have a way to go before they recognise women in leadership. Complentarianism is still in vogue.

 

I have been asked on different occasions, 'What's your thoughts on females in ministry'? Call me simplisitc, but personally, I don't even think there is an argument to be had today. Women and men. Men and women. Either can be leaders and either can be in ministry. To me, involvement in ministry and/or leadership relates more to spiritual gifts and skill sets, than the sex of the person in question. I know full well that some Christian traditions still hold very passionately to only men being allowed in leadership positions. I rarely come across Christian traditions though that fail to recognise women's involvement in ministry.

So what is the big deal with women being appointed into positions of leadership? In the New Testament we know that the twelve disciples were male. Our assumption is that the Jewish leaders in the Synagogues were all male, and when and if they converted to Christianity, they would have kept their strong views on men in leadership. Though, for me, the message of Christ, and the freedom that is found in him, sought to challenge the Pharisaical views of his day. I would argue that if Jesus was here on earth today, he would not have an issue with women in leadership. This is an egalitarian view. While he did not challange every social issue of his day, that is noted, he was nonetheless very revolutionary in his approach to being a Rabbi in the first century.

I would like to comment and say, while women in leadership and eldership can be an issue in some Christian circles and a debate that flairs up occassionally, the fact is, women in ANY form of leadership in the world today find themselves in a minority (CEO and senior management roles mostly). More must be done to seek after equality (especially when men are chosen over women when the women clearly has the greater skill set, and is the better Godly choice).

To support my argument from a biblical perspective I quote Galatians 3:28 that says, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' This was not a sudden burst of compassion for the Apostle Paul, but rather a shifting mindset in his previously strongly held Jewish faith. What a paradigm shift over time for the Apostle Paul! With all respect, it would be helpful if there were more people in the Church of England, that shifted their mindset on their view of women serving as Bishops.

 

For more on women in leadership, Bishop of Durnham, N.T. Wright pens the article, 'Women's Service in the Church' - Click here.  He unpacks 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 which is a prickly passage on women in ministry. I will not seek to delve into that passage here, but by all means, check that one out.

From being deeply involved in The Salvation Army, I have witnessed God use women significantly in ministry and leadership, and thank God for their contribution to the growing of the Kingdom of God. In fact, our current worldwide leader, the General, is a woman.

Church of England, please stop the nonsense. Woman, you be that Bishop!

See also:

--> ABC News report on Women Bishops.

--> Top 10 Reasons Why People Don't Go to Church

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Females in Ministry and Leadership

I was asked recently, 'What's your thoughts on females in ministry'? I presuppose that the question derives itself from a history of predominantly men in ministry and seeks for me to add fuel to the kindling...

Personally, I don't even think there is an argument to be had today. Women and men. Men and women. Either can be leaders and either can be in ministry. To me, involvement in ministry and/or leadership relates more to spiritual gifts and skill sets, than the sex of the person in question. I know full well that some Christian traditions still hold very passionately to only men being allowed in leadership positions. I rarely come across Christian traditions though that fail to recognise women in ministry.

So what is the big deal with women being appointed into positions of leadership? In the New Testament we know that the twelve disciples were male. Our assumption is that the Jewish leaders in the Synagogues were all male, and when and if they converted to Christianity, they would have kept their strong views on men in leadership. Though, for me, the message of Christ, and the freedom that is found in him, sought to challenge the Pharisaical views of his day. I would argue that if Jesus was here on earth today, he would not have an issue with women in leadership. While he did not challange every social issue of his day, that is noted, he was nonetheless very revolutionary in his approach to being a Rabbi in the first century.

I would like to comment and say, while this can be an issue in some Christian circles and a debate that flairs up occassionally, the fact is, women in ANY form of leadership in the world today find themselves in a minority (CEO and senior management roles mostly). More must be done to seek after equality (especially when men are chosen over women when the women clearly has the greater skill set, and is the better Godly choice).

To support my argument from a biblical perspective I quote Galatians 3:28 that says, 'There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.' This was not a sudden burst of compassion for the Apostle Paul, but rather a shifting mindset in his previously strongly held Jewish faith. What a paradigm shift over time for the Apostle Paul! For more on women in leadership, Bishop of Durnham, N.T. Wright pens the article, 'Women's Service in the Church' - Click here.  He unpacks 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 which is a prickly passage on women in ministry. I will not seek to delve into that passage here, but by all means, check that one out.

From being deeply involved in The Salvation Army, I have witnessed God use women significantly in ministry and leadership, and thank God for their contribution to the growing of the Kingdom of God.

Women Should be Silent in Church? - 1 Corinthians 14

Should women be silent in Church?

What was Paul thinking when he wrote to the Corinthian church? Have a read of 1 Corinthians 14:33-35 - Does it clearly make a case that women should not preach in the church?

1 Corinthians 14: 33-35 'As in all the congregations of the saints, 34women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. 35If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.'

This is a verse used by some to discredit the authority women have to preach in the church today. What is Paul saying in this Scripture? Is this a blanket statement that holds true in today's church? I argue that this verse is laden with cultural underpinnings, that need to be explored.

N.T. Wright discusses 1 Cor 14, where Paul urges the Corinthian women to be silent in Church, and while he admits it may well be an interpolation [that is a verse that was added later] from outside of Paul, he also offers another suggestion.

Back in the 1st Century Middle East, men and women would sit separately in Church, and the service would be spoken in classical Arabic, a language in which the men understood and the women did not. During the sermon, as you could imagine, the women begin chatting to themselves, slowly increasing their volume, until the point where the minister must tell the women to keep the noise down. Therefore Paul’s call for women to be silent in church was more of a practical request, so that at least the men could hear the message. To read more on N.T.Wright's article on Women in Ministry, click here.

Galatians 3:28 is known to hold the key to Paul's view on women in ministry, and while a verse plucked out by itself is not always helpful, this verse is foundational to understand Paul's view on the topic. Galatians 3:28 says, 'There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.' Paul's understanding of equality between women and men, was one that developed following his conversion to Christ, and one that goes against the grain of the male-dominated Jewish culture of his day. Taking Galatians 3:28 and feeding that into 1 Corinthians 14, says to me, that men and women are equal, and while Paul may have given a practical request to the Corinthian church, both women and men have the authority and God-given power to preach the gospel of Jesus today.

Should women be silent in the church? No.
Are women and men equal in ministry? Yes.
Are women and men equal in the eyes of God? Of course. (God shows no favourtism)

The 'I like it on ....' Facebook phenomenon

If you are confused as to what 'campaign' Pete was discussing in yesterday's blog. Here is all the inside info as to what the "I like it on ..." Facebook game is all about. This is the only information available from the source of this campaign, it is not linked with any official Breast Cancer Awareness Organisation, nor is there any indication as to whose 'brainchild' it was.

"Remember the game last year about what color bra you were wearing at the moment? The purpose was to increase awareness of October Breast Cancer Awareness month. It was a tremendous success and we had men wondering for days what was with the colors and it made it to the news. This year's game has to do with your handbag/purse, where we put our handbag the moment we get home for example "I like it on the couch", "I like it on the kitchen counter", "I like it on the dresser" well u get the idea. Just put your answer as your status with nothing more than that and cut n paste this message and forward to all your FB female friends to their inbox. The bra game made it to the news. Let's see how powerful we women really are!!!

REMEMBER - DO NOT PUT YOUR ANSWER AS A REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE- PUT IT IN YOUR STATUS!!! PASS THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW"

Breast Cancer awareness/support/cure are very important issues to promote. I have huge respect for organisations that are committed to these causes and seek to support them any way I can. I have my own family connection to breast cancer which has caused me to have huge respect for those who have to cope with the horrible effects of this and other cancers.

I have one question, if the one reference to Breast Cancer was removed, what would you think about this message?

I like it on the Rubbish Tip - Breast Cancer Awareness

We all need to become more aware about Breast Cancer. So lets use SEX as our marketing tool. It is sure to work. Women will have a chuckle as they update their facebook status:
* I like it on the staircase
* I like it on the kitchen table (supposedly refering to their handbags)

Is this good marketing or a pathetic use at using sex to sell an idea?

We very quickly become confused. Lets break it down. We use marketing technique 'A' to sell the idea 'B'. If 'A' is effective then 'B' will catch on as an idea. Now if 'B' is extremely important, and life altering, does it then matter what the substance of 'A' is? I mean if 'B' is so very important, surely it is irrelevant what the content of 'A' is? Or are they ethically mutually exclusive, and so if 'A' is wrong in and of itself, then it is irrelevant regarding the importance of 'B'.

I argue strongly here, that the Breast Cancer Awareness marketing techniques used (that is, 'A') is related to the sexualisation of women, and is moraly wrong. I am saying that this marketing technique is wrong in and of itself; and while the idea of breast cancer awareness is very important, using sex to drive home the idea is just the brain child of a lazy marketing department and it continues to pervade our culture with lustful sex and the sexualisation of women.

Please don't use the argument - "well there are more important things to worry about than this". Sure. But there always is. We could talk about a blog regarding someone with foot pain - but is this irrelevant because someone in Sri Lanka has elephantitis? We could talk about how to stop a migraine - but should we stop talking about this because there is someone who is on life-support needing brain surgery? The sexualisation of women is wrong, and this marketing technique taken on face value, is cheap and pathetic.

Ohh, I just thought of a new Prostate Cancer awareness idea - Every man drop their dacks, tack a picture of their private parts and upload it to facebook... Ohh, sorry, did I go too far that time? Or am I just creatively using sex to get my idea across?