the sound of silence: women in the Church ~m

**hi, it's me after I've already written this blog. I just want you to know that I said about 29% of the things I wanted to say in this discussion. I hope I did this topic some sort of justice, but I know it's not all-encompassing or even close to the end-all discussion I wish I could communicate. Enjoy the blog.**

__________________________________________________________________________________________

"Privilege will deceive you.

It will minimize the pain of others.

It will tell you that your opinion is more important than their humanity.

It will make you feel righteous while you oppress and marginalize.

And it will lie to you about how God sees your privilege."

-Carlos A. Rodriguez via Twitter

 _________________________________________________________________________

 *Please note: my request is that before diving in to this blog you would stop for a second and pray for God's presence in the room to make itself evident to you. Allow the Spirit, if you believe in him, to communicate in any way he wants to. To give you some background, I've been praying about this subject so, so much. I'm earnestly seeking God's discernment through new experience, wisdom of those older than me, and of course prayer. 

intro

I’m quite terrified to post this. I’ve normally stayed fairly quiet about most topics that could be seen as controversial, and ones that are sources of division. Part of me is afraid of taking a stand on something that I know smarter and more experienced people than me disagree with. This topic, however, seems to be a source of division when nothing is said or it's only whispered about. Harm is being done by the silence that’s being spoken by respected people who either want to retain their respected title or don't think it's a topic appropriate to address publicly. I disagree fundamentally with that mentality. 

I unfortunately have had this conversation with multiple leaders in the Church who understand the context of certain Bible verses I’ll bring up later and acknowledged together that for the sake of tradition and comfortability the topic would not be immediately discussed or acted upon. So the topic is pushed to the back burner and not thought about. Years later we seem to be having the same attitude and, surprise surprise, nothing seems to have changed. 

I’ve heard and participated in the jokes that are humorous because of the portion of stinging truth in the punchline. 

I have also seen firsthand the desperation, depression, and hopelessness of ministers who aren’t allowed to be called ministers in their home circles. Cries of people who genuinely want to say "yes" to the calling of being a public vessel of Christ have fallen on my ears and when I began to actually listen to them a few years ago my whole life changed. I've seen these ministers lead people to Christ in unique ways that I would never have been able to do but someone else got the credit. 
There have been times when I have seen one or two scriptures quoted more than the Gospel in defending the traditions of old.

I cannot stay non-partial in this subject. Speaking freely, I see people I love who are being oppressed by people I love. I wish we would have learned from our country's history in racism:

Not standing up to or quieting loud, wrong people is a contribution to the noise they are creating. By disagreeing with oppression silently we contribute to that oppression, or at least give it room to grow.

I won't contribute to that silence anymore.

let's jump in

Let me start by asking you questions, please spend time on each one and answer them honestly and to yourself to prepare for the rest of this blog. I'd ask that you answer "yes," or "no" based on what you honestly believe: 

1. Do you believe a woman has a place standing in front of people, with men in the crowd, communicating Truth about God to people who need to hear it? (Judges 4:6, Acts 21:7-9)

2. Do you believe God's power is bigger than and not limited to gender? (Job 26:7-14)

3. Do you fundamentally believe it's a sin or against the Bible for a woman to lead in a group setting? (Exodus 15:20, Micah 6:4)

4. Do you believe a worship service on a Sunday morning is more holy or set apart than a gathering of people in Christ's name on any other day? (Matthew 18:20)

I'm very obviously leading to what I believe with those Bible verses after each question, in case you didn't pick that up. As much as possible I tried to focus more on Biblical examples of the questions being played out in real life, actual history, rather than the taken-out-of-context words in a letter and written instructions that seem to be quoted over and over again. 

These questions are the basis of the four issues that I really had to dig deeply into myself to find a truthful answer on. That was the only way for me to truly come to terms with what I believed. I'd encourage you to do more than just read a blog on this subject, but I'm glad you're still with me at this point. I have a little bit more to talk to you about. 

the sound of silence

            I'd like to call upon this classic song, originally (and performed best) by Simon and Garfunkel. It’s a tune well known by older and younger people alike, and I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t enjoy its haunting melody and shadowy, mysterious lyrics. The “sound of silence” seems like such an oxymoron and yet holds a significant amount of weight in the communicated idea that silence, or the complete absence of sound, is in itself a sound. It talks about thousands of people staying quiet simply for the fear of disturbing the sound that silence was making.

Why do they want to keep the silence...?

Who is benefitting from the silence?

I'm a guy. I've always been guaranteed leadership in the Church whenever I want it. Multiple times it has not been because I have the best things to say but simply because I have been a young man in the Church. I'm more than 80% more likely to be hired as a minister or pastor, and therefore it seems as a man I may be benefitting from the silence.

The more important question: who is being hurt by the silence?

You see where I'm going.

Silence is an action, action communicates belief, and belief is passed from generation to generation and results in more action (silence, in this case).

My point here is this: if you are consistently not saying that discrimination in the Church based on sex is wrong, or if you don't have an answer, or if you are okay with it happening, you are consistently telling those who see your action, or lack thereof, that you believe it is okay.

Perhaps that is what you believe. I just want you to know what you're doing.

God's design

"Male and female, he created them." -Genesis 5

Here's a hot take: God has given us strengths to help us, not weaknesses to limit us. What makes us feel like we need to confine those around us based on sex?  

God has designed us with incredible abilities. But is a man nothing if not a fighter, a father, and a provider? Is a woman nothing if not a homemaker, a mother, and a nurturer? What makes a human less qualified to communicate God's love to another human through speech? 

What environment is too holy to approach God's presence together? From what I understand, with the tearing of the veil (Matthew 27:51) all were given access to His glory and our bodies, male and female, became temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). We all have access to the holiest environment on earth (God's presence), so do we truly believe a church service, a gathering of believers who have ritualized a certain number of songs, prayers, and communion in a certain order somehow qualifies us more effectively for God's standards? I certainly hope not.

where do we go from here?

I want to propose that it's time for us to eliminate discrimination in the Church based upon words that are picked and chosen about one specific scenario. It absolutely tears my heart to think about how many times women must have stayed silent in a situation where they could have spoken the Gospel to people based on conditioning that humans have put on them. Think about how many more people would know Jesus right now if we had taken more time to invest in our women and stopped confining people who are desperately wanting to use their God-given spiritual gifts.

This can no longer just be a topic of theological discussion, though I hope it at least contributes to one being had. The sound of silence is deafening to those who are being hurt by it, though it seems like not a big deal to those who aren't affected. We can no longer make excuses for comfort's sake. You, reader, have to take responsibility for who you are in this scenario. 

Step out, stop contributing to the division and silencing of Kingdom work. Let people who need to hear about Jesus hear about him. Allow those who are called to speak about him to speak about him.

Of all my blogs, thank you for reading this one.