I have had the whole week off from school for reading week. I spent like two hours making this elaborate schedule on Microsoft Outlook of what I was going to accomplish hourly...Well, needless to say, I am about three days off schedule!
One of my favorite classes this semester is The Role of Women in Ministry. I have a paper coming up that is due. My prof wants a minimum of 15 pages on what I believe women's role in ministry should be. I have read over 1,000 pages on this topic...and I cannot write one single sentence!
I have a bad case of writer's block...
I think the reason why I cannot get started is because I don't know what I believe. I don't think the Church even knows what it believes. I am grateful though that my prof says she doesn't care what we believe as long as we are consistent with our thoughts. That should be a relief, but it isn't helping any words appear on my computer screen.
Maybe you can help! Here are some of my questions I have been battling with all semester. Let me know what your thoughts are!
1. Romans 16:1 says that Phoebe was a "servant," however, the Greek uses the word deacon (masculine, not feminine). Yet, I Timothy 3:11 qualifies that deacons must be the "Husband of one wife." So can women be deacons?
2. Whose headship is a single woman under? Her father, the church, male church leaders, or Christ alone?
3. Was Paul's advice to the church in Ephesus regarding women not teaching men (I Timothy 2) prescriptive or descriptive?
Can you help a sista out??!!!
Thursday, November 17, 2005
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5 comments:
Just listen to what God is telling you. He has lead you this far not to leave you abandoned in thought. Since your ear is no longer "ringing", listen for the tiniest whisper...it will most assuredly be God in his wisdom.
1. Women can most assuredly be deacons. I am living proof. I am a woman and I am also a deacon. (I fill many other roles as well)
2. We are all under the headship of Christ Jesus regardless of marital status, women and men alike. I refer to Him as my audience of one and his opinion of me and my actions is all that matters. If my life lines up with his will, the rest will fall into place.
3. The last question depends on what Paul was trying to get across and needs further study.
The Bible is written with many references to man as well as to women. I believe Jesus looks at men and women equally and that gender has nothing to do with our relationship to him. We are to be obedient servants and he uses men and woman equally. Don't misunderstand me...I think being a woman has significance in my life and he created me this way on purpose, but I feel women are not subject to the headship of men. We are to walk equally toward the same goal which is Jesus Christ our Lord.
in response to much2ponder & julie...this is precisely the issue i have been struggling with all semester...the issue, as my prof says does not lie in inerrancy of the Bible, but in hermeneutics, or interpretation of scripture. for christians like julie, they believe there is an order of headship in the Godhead...for Christians such as much2ponder, they interpret the Godhead as equal in being and function, therefore, they believe there is no hierarchy...thus, there being no hierarchy between male & female. i at this time am remaing neutral until december 12th when my paper is due...i will post it on my blog when it is completed.
in response to julie...i do believe that men & women are equal in being...Genesis depicts both man & woman as image bearers of God. in my class we have not been debating gender differences.it is fruitless b/c it is not exegetical...
WOW Lyn-z, you clearly have a deep understanding for what you speak about, interesting. You are making me think on some things, but you are correct in stating that I believe all man kind is created equal and that gender plays little role in our ability to be used by God, except in considering our sphere of influence. God looks at us as mankind. We fill many roles as women, and there is clearly a reason God created us as such, but I do not for one instant believe God created one gender to be headship over the other. Hope that answers your question as well Lisa. We are created to be equal on all accounts.
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