Before We Start, I Just Want To Say...

I'm here at the CBE Conference. It starts at 2:00 PM my time, five or six or seven hours ahead of you, depending on if you're EST, CST or MST. I don't know anyone in Alaska or Hawaii, so I'll assume no one from those two glorious states are reading.

I know I have a lot of days to catch you up on, and I will get to work soon. But I wanted to say somethings before the conference, so you, and I, would be more clear on where I stand.

Now. I just have to organize these thoughts...

Point 1 - Equality

Equality does not mean "same," so that when people say things like, "men and women are not the same," I agree. I don't agree with the typical mentality that goes along with it, which usually sounds something like this: "Men are all the same, but they are different than women, who are all the same." Even biologically, there is no universal sameness to being female, only general approximations. "Generally speaking the female body looks like this (point to diagram)," but not one female body is the same. Not one female body has the exact same mix of hormones - to be female is a general biological category that is experienced uniquely by each female. Therefore, John Eldredge, you can eat your "three desires of every woman's heart - (1) fight over me (2) rescue me (3) let me take off my clothes for you - or as he says - "reveal her beauty." Equality does not mean that persons are the same (but people are, and that's another story).

The second thing about equality is that it does not mean "Person A, who helps everyone, and Person B, who is a selfish pig, are equally valuable." Let's stay away from niceties and PC junk here. As for contributions to society or to the Kingdom or whatever, Person B is not contributing much, and we all know that. Person B is choosing to become a less valuable person. Equality does not mean we are all equally helpful.

Equality is this. Jesus paid one price - the same price - for each of us. I must mention that there is of course, the salvation "get to heaven" way of looking at this, which is true and accurate - if not the whole story. There is also the communal way of seeing this, which is also true and accurate - if not the whole story. The point here is that God paid the same price for me as he did for you, for men as he did for women.

Now the funny thing is that you will hardly find one Christian that will disagree with me here. We all know that Jesus died for you and me. The question though, is for what did he die? If it is a gift to me, what exactly is the gift?

Point 2 - Freedom

In the spirit of Scotland and William Wallace, I announce to you that "freedom is our gift, and we must take it."

A more popular way of answering the question, "Why did Jesus die?" is to say "salvation," and that is true. It is simply unfortunate that salvation has been reduced to mean: "the way to get to heaven." Salvation originally comes from the word that means "to heal" or "to be made whole" and the point here is simply that salvation frees us from those things that make us sick or broken (sin). And my friends, salvation is offered today.

I should repeat that, though. Salvation is offered today. Freedom is an offer. We have the opportunity to be free, to be whole, to be healed.

By the cross of Jesus, I have been given the opportunity to be free.

By the cross of Jesus, I am offered the opportunity to be wholly me.

And it is by the cross that I do not accept limitations placed on me that restrict me and disallow me to become fully me - particularly in the church!

I do not accept these limitations because they are an affront to the cross of Christ. I know many people try to explain my - and others - standing on this issue as "oh, she must have been hurt...she just needs some healing, just needs to know how to be female and then she'll be so happy..." Yes. I've been hurt. We've all been hurt though. And just because I've experienced the injustice, does that exclude me from talking about it? In any other situation, you would call me an expert. I've been hurt. But this hardly means that I am brainlessly responding like a wounded animal. I am one who has been hurt and then said "why am I hurt?"

It is for freedom that we've been set free. And the cost, my friends, was high.

Here is what I war against.

1) Ideological control over young girls which limits them and cloaks the freedom offered by God.
2) Ideological control over women for the same reasons as above.
3) Ideological control over men for the same reasons as above.
4) Ideological control over anyone, anywhere, anytime.

A Riddle

Ideological control is to truth as ___________ is the Christ.

Answer

The antichrist

They are polar opposites. Do you doubt me? Listen...
"You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free"
"I am the way, the truth and the life..."

Point 3 - "And so..."

There is a girl out there who is highly spiritually minded, let her be! Do not encourage her to seek a man who can guide her, let her seek God!

And there are women who are really pastoral - they should not be limited by goofy rules that say a man must be in authority. If she is the most pastoral, most spiritually wise person in a congregation, let her pastor! How hard is that?

And there are situations that require leadership and where the most godly, faith-filled person is a woman, let her lead!

And there are times in marriage and in relationships when a man (who is human after all) feels weak and discouraged, and the woman is strong, let her in strength support him!

Point 4 - Some Final Thought On The Trinity

The thing is, I am convinced that imago dei, being made in the image of God, on one level indicates that as God is one essence and three persons, humanity is one essence and many persons. I have said this before and won't drag the whole thing out again. For now, let me just get to the point (after all this, finally!)

The Trinity loves each other and values each other - not hierarchically, but equally. In other words the Father doesn't love Jesus more than the Spirit. And thus, my first point, equality is found here in the Trinity.

The Trinity do not limit each other or force each other to play roles. For example, we know that Jesus submitted to the Father when he was here, on earth. But as Philippians says, Jesus found himself in the likeness of humans and therefore submitted to God (paraphrased!). This is how Jesus behaved in that situation, but it does not limit him. It is descriptive of the way Jesus behaved then. It is not prescriptive of the way he "must" be have today. Who knows? Perhaps the Father may decide to become human, and then the Father, being found in the likeness of humanity, would submit to the Son. Or the Spirit. Or perhaps he would adjust the rules so he didn't need to submit to anyone. Who knows?

The point is, God is free and we, made in the image, are offered the opportunity to be as well.

It is for freedom that we've been set free.

And I, for one, will not spit at the gift God offers me.

And you will all just have to forgive me (or not) if I'm angry - no, furious - when someone who is older tries to rip the gift of freedom out of the hands of young girls. I mean this (God helping me) when I say that I would face death with steely determination so that the girls in my youth group could have the gift of freedom.

The gift to be fully themselves.

posted by Headless-in-GR @ 9/03/2004 03:37:00 AM