Women and Pulpits

In studying for my upcoming sermon on Ephesians 5:21-33, I've been reading up on gender roles in the church. The role of women in ministry, in the home, and in our culture is such a hot topic these days. In fact, the issue recently was the subject of the Dallas News:

Irving Bible Church will have a woman preaching Sunday for the first time in its 40-year history, a move that has caused alarm among fellow conservative evangelicals in North Texas and beyond.The church's elders – all men – spent 18 months studying the Bible, reading other books, hearing guest speakers and praying. They concluded that despite "problem" passages, the Bible doesn't prohibit a woman from instructing men in theological matters.

This decision is very controversial. According to the article, Pastor Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church

said his friends in Irving are on "dangerous" ground.
"If the Bible is not true and authoritative on the roles of men and women, then maybe the Bible will not be finally true on premarital sex, the homosexual issue, adultery or any other moral issue," he said. "I believe this issue is the carrier of a virus by which liberalism will enter the evangelical church."

The news article sums up the 18 month study by the elders of Irving Bible Church with these statements:

Elders of Irving Bible Church spent 18 months studying the question of women in ministry, including whether women should be allowed to preach. Their key conclusions:

•The accounts of creation and the fall (Genesis 1-3) reveal a fundamental equality between men and women.

•Women exercised significant ministry roles of teaching and leading with God's blessing in both Old and New Testaments.

•Though the role of women was historically limited, the progress of revelation indicates an ethic in progress leading to full freedom for women to exercise their giftedness in the local church.

•Key New Testament passages restricting women's roles were culturally and historically specific, not universal principles for all time and places.

•Though women are free to use all of their giftedness in teaching and leading in the church, the role of elder seems to be biblically relegated to men.

So what do you think?

Scandal!

Scandal!
Originally uploaded by demanufactured

Time magazine has a very interesting article on "mega-preachers" and scandals. The article names several of these mega-preachers who have been involved in scandals: Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Juanita Bynum, Paula White, and Ted Haggard. Sadly the list could go on and on.

The article in Time questions whether pentecostal pastors are more prone to scandal then their non-pentecostal counterparts. I doubt it. We are all human after all. The main difference as noted in the Time article is that pentecostal pastors are on TV much more often and therefore their scandals are in the public eye.

This article serves as yet another warning to me. I know that I am marred by sin. I am the second worst sinner in the world...the Apostle Paul was the worst (1 Timothy 1:15). The allure of power, prestige, and perks are very real. Living a hidden, ugly, double life is very real for many pastors.

So how can pastors avoid scandals? Here are some thoughts:

1. Admit that you are scandal prone. Every last one of us. We are sinners. We are finite. We are selfish. We are short-sighted. We are dumb. Combine these and you have the right ingredients for scandal.
2. Create accountability. Pastors have to go out of their way to find someone that they can trust to tell them the truth about themselves. Find people who will hold you accountable. Create systems in the church that have built in accountability. Filter the internet. Have a committee oversee the finances. Create systems with checks and balances. Never be alone with a woman other than your spouse (this is very hard to live by in a small church, yet it is very wise none the less).
3. Keep the main thing the main thing. Keep pursuing God. Stay focused on Jesus Christ. Read your Bible and not just for sermon preparation. Pray. Fast from food and the media. Develop spiritual disciplines that help you grow closer to Christ...and do not grow lax...they are disciplines!
4. Practice Sabbath. Take at least a full 24 hours off every week! It's better if you can take 2 full days off...one for personal errands and chores that need to be done and one for doing nothing at all, at true Sabbath. Sabbath reminds us that it isn't up to us to grow the church. It isn't up to us to fix everything and everyone. Sabbath reminds pastors and congregations that the pastor is not the savior. Maybe there's a reason it's listed as one of the Big Ten.
   
5. Knock yourself off the pedestal. Don't let them put you up there. Fight it. Maybe even let them down every once in awhile. And for heaven's sake don't put yourself up there either! (Have you ever noticed how many scandal prone pastors name their ministry after themselves?)

So that's a start. What else can pastors do to avoid scandal?

Eating the Elephant

I am reading a great book called Eating the Elephant: Leading the Established Church to Growth. This is a quote from my reading today:

...the empirical evidence, from a variety of different sources, points to the fact that a pastor's most productive years often begin after their seventh year.

On November 1 of this year, I will begin my 5th full year of ministry here in Wray. A quote like the one above excites me! I hope it does you as well. What if we the best years are yet to come for First Christian Church here in Wray? What if we have only begun to experience a little taste of what God wants to accomplish with our church?

I am praying for God to do great things here in Wray. I am praying that many people will come to know Jesus Christ through our ministry here. Will you join me in praying for the many people who need to know Jesus in Wray?