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VOW
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ONE IN CHRIST
"So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27 (NRSV) "As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:27-28 (NRSV) "He is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us." Ephesians 2:14 (NRSV) Why is it that we always seem to live at extremes? In order to correct one problem, we tend to over correct — and soon we have to correct the over correction. It reminds me of Luther's metaphor of the drunken horseman, who, having fallen off one side of the horse, leans so far to the other side that he falls off again. What I have specifically in mind as I muse about this phenomenon is the whole area of women's ministries. What concerns me is that almost every American mainline denomination has allowed its women's program area functionally to be isolated and cut off from the rest of its design for ministry. For example, in the Presbyterian Church, the Women's Ministries Program Area falls under National Ministries, while every other age and group specific program is located under Congregational Ministries. This was done, of course, to give the Women's Ministry Program Area more freedom to pursue legitimate concerns about equality for women in the church and in society. But, unencumbered by the normal theological and programmatic accountabilities, and determined to make "women's rights" the tail that wags the dog, the Women's Ministry Program area has gone too far. There was good reason, of course, for the church to take a stand for the full inclusion of women in ministry. Jesus' defeat of sin and death on the cross — along with his resurrection — put an end to the old social and cultural distinctions (and inequalities) between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. In the Church of Jesus Christ, each of these is equal with the others. Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is among us, and we are to display the values of that kingdom in every part of life. In turn, that means going back to learn from that time at creation when God created humankind as male and female. Men and women were created to work together in perfect harmony. They were created to be partners, to help one another, and in their mutuality to be a reflection of the Imago Dei — the image of God. My contention, of course, is that in order to actualize this ideal in what was once a patriarchal church, we Presbyterians have leaned so far to the other side of the horse that we are in danger again of falling off. Therefore, the time has come for us as the people of God to reflect God's image (humankind as male and female) in our common work and mission. What this means, of course, is that the time has come to take a hard look at the present "structures" of our church in order to make sure that we are not inadvertently erecting walls between men and women, and between men's ministries and women's ministries. For instance, at the present time, Presbyterian Men is lodged under Congregational Ministries, and that makes sense! Presbyterian Men is an organization that is rooted and grounded in congregations. But what about the lodging of Presbyterian Women? this is an organization that is also rooted and grounded within congregations. But, in the structure of the church, it is lodged under the National Ministries Division with Women's Ministries having its own separate configuration. And that sends a message! What it says is that the correction that was necessary to ensure women an equal opportunity to minister opened the door to an over correction that currently gives the more radical women among us a platform from which to advocate the most extreme theological and political agendas — with little or no accountability (until someone blows the whistle as was done with the NNPCW, or until they shoot themselves in the foot as they did with the Women of Faith Award). And why so little accountability? Because of the pervading fear that should the women of the church be challenged in any way, it will be labeled harassment or patriarchy. This isn't the way that the Body of Christ should operate. Each member of the body is important and should be subject to the others. Peter teaches that we are to come to Christ, and "like living stones" let ourselves be built into a spiritual house, "to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." The focus of the church, its programs and its organizations must be on Christ and not on ourselves. For the more that we know about God and his reconciling work in our lives, the more we are set free to minister together as light and salt to the world. We are "one in Christ." That's a given. God did it. So, let's be done with political agendas that separate men and women, and let's begin to work together as obedient servants of the one Lord. Is there a place for separate organizations for men and women in the church? Of course! But, the overall goal of the church should be to promote harmony and unity, not to build gender specific political and theological walls. |