It seems like I have used that title for another post before...uh..oh well. So much for originality.
I posted a link on Facebook tonight to an article about being fatherless. Check it out here
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/relationship/features/21970-fatherless-day
It goes into detail about how the epidemic of fatherlessness is having far reaching effects. So many children are growing up without fathers in the home that many don't think having one or being one is of any importance. Wow.
Throughout my time in the Church I have had people say repeatedly that we need to be careful about how we talk about God as Father, because may people have negative connotations due to their own relationship with their dad and that may carry over. Ok, maybe. But until reading this I had not considered something even more far reaching. Is the epidemic of fatherlessness somehow connected to the decline of the Church? Have the many that been raised without a father been convinced that they don't need one? never did? Perhaps similarly they don't think they need a Father in heaven. If we can make the connection of bad relationships with dad to negative connotations about God as Father why not the lack of a father to the conscious decision to not seek a relationship with God the Father?
We do need our fathers. Statistically children are much more stable and well adjusted in a two parent home. As a woman many of us buy into the lie, that's right I said lie, that we can do it all. Some women have to. I do get that. But often times we sell short the difference a father or even a father figure can make in a child's life. There is a lot more to say about this! Talk to me!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Women in ministry, what's a man to do?
I originally posted this last August. Although the church has been ordaining women for more than half a century now, some still do not quite know what to do with a female pastor/preacher. I thought this deserved a repost :)
Lest you think I am about to launch into some biblical exegesis on what Paul had to say about women in leadership in the church, fear not. That is not what this is about. And just so you know if I believed that what I was doing was counter to God and His word I would not be doing it. And just so you know, having learned, survived, and persevered through what I have in the last 3 years I would have to be absolutely crazy to do what I am doing without absolutely believing and knowing, that this is what God, very clearly, asked me to do, so...What is a man to do?
I would ask you to consider not only the challenges women in ministry continue to face but the challenges that their husbands face as well.
Pastors: If you know a woman in ministry, seek out her husband. Provide the support, accountability, and spiritual guidance that he needs from another man. His wife might be the pastor, but he is still called to be the spiritual leader in his home. A pastor's wife will always seek out and find others to support her, a pastor's husband is a whole different thing.
Men of the church: Support this man. Give him a place to vent. Never refer to him as so and so's husband. He has his own identity and place in ministry. Respect the fact that he is supporting the call God has placed on his wife's life and that he and his entire family have been called along with her. It takes a special kind of man to agree to go along for this ride!
Men/husbands: You have been called along with your spouse. The part you play will not be the one she does, but you are nevertheless called along with her, as is your family. Find ways to support her as her husband and as a family.
Finally,
Veteran Women in Ministry: Reach out to your younger sister's, most especially those who are married. It is one thing to be a second career pastor (your spouse did not exactly sign up for this when they married you), it is something else all together when the second career pastor is the wife. You and your spouse have spent year's navigating these waters and can be a wonderful source of support both individually and as a couple.
I am sure this list will grow and develop over the years, but this is a start!
Lest you think I am about to launch into some biblical exegesis on what Paul had to say about women in leadership in the church, fear not. That is not what this is about. And just so you know if I believed that what I was doing was counter to God and His word I would not be doing it. And just so you know, having learned, survived, and persevered through what I have in the last 3 years I would have to be absolutely crazy to do what I am doing without absolutely believing and knowing, that this is what God, very clearly, asked me to do, so...What is a man to do?
I would ask you to consider not only the challenges women in ministry continue to face but the challenges that their husbands face as well.
Pastors: If you know a woman in ministry, seek out her husband. Provide the support, accountability, and spiritual guidance that he needs from another man. His wife might be the pastor, but he is still called to be the spiritual leader in his home. A pastor's wife will always seek out and find others to support her, a pastor's husband is a whole different thing.
Men of the church: Support this man. Give him a place to vent. Never refer to him as so and so's husband. He has his own identity and place in ministry. Respect the fact that he is supporting the call God has placed on his wife's life and that he and his entire family have been called along with her. It takes a special kind of man to agree to go along for this ride!
Men/husbands: You have been called along with your spouse. The part you play will not be the one she does, but you are nevertheless called along with her, as is your family. Find ways to support her as her husband and as a family.
Finally,
Veteran Women in Ministry: Reach out to your younger sister's, most especially those who are married. It is one thing to be a second career pastor (your spouse did not exactly sign up for this when they married you), it is something else all together when the second career pastor is the wife. You and your spouse have spent year's navigating these waters and can be a wonderful source of support both individually and as a couple.
I am sure this list will grow and develop over the years, but this is a start!
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