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"1I1bn !quila: sub ~i$tiUa ba~ beat~ IpollOJ, tfJq took bim wto tbnl, atL~ txPOUUbu Uttto bttlt tlJe tua}! of ~ 1ItOfC pcriutll/.ttlets .tS:26 When Will We Be "Real"? For years I've loved the story abou~ the . Velveteen Rabbi. who was preoccUpIed WIth her identity. - whether she was real or not! Sitting among the toys in a child's room, she asks the skin horse about it, and gets the profound reply, "You are real when you are loved. When I was cuddled so much that I began to lose my skin, then I knew that I was real." As women, many of us have found out how wonderful it is to be loved by our families. We agree with the skin horse that we are real when we are loved. But then we venture out beyond the shelter of our home and loved ones. and go to the edge of the woods - - into the male w?rld - - and we discover that we are not taken senously. "But she's not real. She's not like us," the rabbits in the woods shout In the world of the Velveteen Rabbit, the Fairy Godmother comes on the scene and makes everything right, so that she gets the same hind legs as all the othe~ rabbits in the woods. But in our male-dominated evangelical world, how can we grow ~e ,"hind legs" that will give us status as real ~sclples of Jesus Christ. ready to lay down our hves for the Kingdom? . Instead of a Fairy Godmother to nght the wrong, we have the Gospel: "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the saving power of God ...because here is revealed God's way of righting wrong" (Rom. 1:16 NEB) Because ~e are created in God's image, redeemed by Christ on the Cross, and empowered by the Holy Spirit with all the giflS given to the church, we are real disciples, in partnership with our brothers. There is no limited atonement for women, even though one popular radio pastor preaches one Gospel for men and another for women. We will always bear the sin of Eve, according to his teaching. Paul was prepared for such heresy when he wrote:"I am astonished to fInd you turning so quickly away from Him who called you by grace, and following a different gospel ... there are persons'who unsettle your min~ by trying .to distort the gospel of Christ. But if anyone, if we ourselves or an angel from heaven, should preach a gospel at variance with the gospel we preached to you, he shall be held outcast. : the ~ospel you heard from me is no h~an mvenuon .: -} received it through a revelauon of Iesus Christ (Gal. 1:6-8,11-12 NEB) While the dramatic issue in Galatia was circumcision the great issue facing the church today is wo~an's equal staUlS and responsibility in home, church and society. To us being
When Will We Be Free? by Karl Malcolm accepted as "real" should notl~.to sexual promiscuity, nor to selfish ambluon to fmd. fulfillment in a career at the expense of famIly. When we are "real· - - set free by Christ - - we are set free to serve - • to lay down our lives for family. friends, enemies and strangers. . As I am writing these lines, today's mail brought a Chrisunas greeting from Sweden, from Rose-Marie Frebran. I shall never forgoet one of her challenges: ·1 am not free till every woman on earth is free." That's why we cannot just lay down our lives for our famililes and forget about the rest of the world. It is not a matter of either/or, but both! God can enlarge my heart and my capacity to care for my family and go beyond the four walls of my home to care for the worl~ . for which Christ died (In 3:16, Acts 1:8). Being "real" - - or set free - - means looking beyond ourselves and our homes, first to the conservative women in our churches who are not "real" - - not taken seriously. Our task is to provide friendship, fo~s for disc~n o~ women's status, infonnauon and BIble studies on women, written from a conservative perspective about the freedom Christ has given us in the Gospel After penetrating evangelical churches with the liberating Good News, we have to go beyond the church and beyond our shores to women of other cultures who continue to live in some sort of patriarchal bondage that makes them less than "real" human beings. What about the 500 million Muslim women who have not been set free by the Gospel, and therefore are not taken seriously? As a missionary and as a Biblical feminist, ~ have to agree with Rose-Marie: ·1 am not free till every woman on earth is free."
Announcing A Conference with
Elaine Storkey March 6 & 7, 1987 at the Summit Avenue Assemblies of God Church at the corner of Summit Avenue & Victoria (see next Dape)
Conference The conference will begin on March 6 at 6:30 p.m.with a reception so that all of us can meet Elaine and each other. The reception will be held at the home of Catherine and Richard Kroeger, 19 Kenwood Parkway, about five blocks from the church. A simple supper will be served, and there will be no formal lecture in order 10 promote vigorous informal discussion and cross·flow of ideas. On SaturdaY, March 7, Elaine will give three addresses: 1) Peace and Justice in a Patriarchal Church 2) Men and Women in the Image of God 3) Getting Acquanted with "Men, Women and God." There will then be an opportunity 10 discuss the possibility of forming an evangelical group to promote the equality and ministry of women and men. The conference is scheduled to close 814:30 p.m., but the discussion may continue later if the need arises. Elaine SlOrkey is a colleague of John Stott and a staff member of the Institute for Comtemporary Christianity in London. A sociologist. she also teaches at Oak Hills College, the evangelical Anglican seminary in London. Her book, What's Righi with Feminism has recently been released by Eerdman's. Elaine is a board member and major spokesperson of the organization, "Men, Women, and God." She appears frequently in England at conferences, on television and radio. The conference is being sponsored jointly by a Minnesota group mown as Christians for Biblical Equality and the North Central Center for Christian Studies. There is limited housing in private homes on a fust-come, first served basis. Motel accommodations are available 81 reasonable rates. For infonnation call Diane Chynoweth 81612-825-2392. The registrar is Susan McCoubrie, 2830 Lower 138th Street W., Rosemount, MN, 55068.(The registration fee is $15.00, but smaller contributions are accepted. We want your presence more than your money!) Other inquiries may be sent 10 the North Central Center for Christian Studies, 2160 Edgebrook Ave, St. Paul, MN, 55119.
What you write us It is our hope that this newsletter responds to the needs of women as expressed by our readers. The following are exerj>ts from letters we have received recently.
From overseas:
.
Being a finance offu:er in charge of the Budget Section within the Ministry of Fmance, my heavy work loads began in June. It took me 3 months 10 go through all the Budget meetings and eventually get the ·State Budget for the year 1987" fmalized. I praise and thank the Lord that
he is the source of my strength dUring the time I found most difficult 10 cope with work pressure. I feel so much relieved now as I have completed the State Budget ready for drafting the ·State Budget Speech 1987" by another senior officer. I shared your news aboUt the convention in Minnesota with those sisters in my Bible study group. I am sorry 10 say that none of US will be able 10 make iL I myself wouldn't dare to dream for such an opportunity as I am still a very young Christian. I fully agree with your views given in the paper "Some Women in the Bible" - The same goes for the IOpics published in the green book entitled "Woman Elders - Sinners or Servanis." I have passed on your articles to a few sisters in our group and requested them 10 contribute some ideas. Lily Chong, who has just returned after completing her theological course in Singapore, told me that Christian women's leadership is genrally accepted in our country except the number is small However, discrimination does exist.
Alison Barnes is an Inter-Vasrsity Christian Fellowship staffworur in tM Boston area. SM writes 0/ hu concerns/or tM stude1llS oJ WheoJon. a college/or women in W~oJon. Massaclwsetts. Lack of self-confidence seems 10 be impeding many of my women students and me from leading with the kind of conviction and strength wanted. This has prompted me 10 consider the role of feminine socialization and its effects on women's self·image, self-confidence, and therefore inclinations 10 lead with confidence, especially when the necessary convictions clearly exist. I ask., "What word does the gospel hold for us when we have been socialized 10 be 'nice' instead of speaking our minds, to accommodate and circumvent instead of confronting, 10 work around the figures of power instead of being one?" The women of Scripture and Jesus' dealings with women indicate to me that we are to struggle 10 overcome this socialization in order 10 respond 10 God. and lead as He and our convictions direcL This often requires steps of faith 10 act and lead decisively when we're scared, 10 Uike confidence in God's calling even though we lack., often, confidence in ourselves. As for me, I am, as referred 10 above, also struggling with the results of my feminine socialization: poor self-image and self-worth. and a tendency 10 operate out of a psychology of powerlessness. I am coming IG know the-. healing power of the Holy SpiriL In addition. I am pondering the larger questions ()f race, class, sex and culture in America. It appears that evangelicals have, 10 date, failed 10 address these questions in an intellectually thorough, biblical, and honest manner, at least not in order 10 merit the respect of the broader religious and secular academic community. I am looking at Saipture with a fresh view, and seeking God's direction.
An Appeal from a man in West Virginia: You shared with us some of the work and study you had done on the role of women in the church. as well as some of the period costuming you had researched. We are involved in a small local independent church that is beginning to struggle with some of the issues of Ihe role of women in the church. I am writing now because I have been asked to lead a group that will sLUdy the issue of women as deacons. I wonder if you have done anything more on the subject A sharing or growtb: My early years were dominated by the church I auended. a very conservative denomination which took literally every word of the Bible. We practised baptism by immersion. elders rather than ministers as leaders of the congregation. subservient roles for women. and above all. children obedient and respectful to those in charge. I can remember as a very young child memorizing scripture after scripture. alending one service after another and listening to my father preach countless sermons. He was an elder and still is. and it was his duty as an elder to preach. It was my duty to listen and not to question Later. all the things that attract a teenager movies. rock music. parties - were considered sinful and Ihus became very attractive to a young girl who wanted freedom. However. when it carne to a choice of the college I would attend. I chose the safe route of a well-respected fundamentalist college. Although my parents of course wanted me to make this choice. I wonder now if in the end I was not yet ready to leave the safe world I was used to for a secular world of which I had liule understanding. Two years later. however. after trying to conform and not succeeding very well. I transferred to a large university. There I was exposed to all the influences, pressures. and problems of life on a large campus in the early seventies... Whether it was the enveloping sense of my early years or the rebelling of my l.eenage years or the sense of acceptance - now in recent years. its influence has been felt Because of it. I believe strongly in what a good church can do in Ihe life of children. This. I believe. has been its strongest influence in my life· in the raising of my children. Although I do not go along with the "no questions asked" philosophy of my parents - and I strongly suppon every woman's choice to panicipate in every facet of church life - I do proteSt the departure from"the basic teaching of God and His Word in our churches today, God's name must come before aIJ else. and our children must know Him.
From an innovator: My own journey in discovering who I am as an evangelical woman has been a painful one.
In high school and early college, I often objected to the status of women in my church and at the very conservative evangelical college which I auended. I was often labe1Jed as a radical and a troublemaker. At 20 years old I leftlhe fundamentalist college and the institutional evangelical chuch I had grown up in because I felt like a misfit I remained on Ihe outskirts of evangelicalism for a few years. but I could not leave Ihe roots of my faith. I re~ntered the institutional church my fmal year of college. Because I wanted very much to be a good Christian· woman. I began giving up my power to those in leadership at the church. I wanted so badly to be a good Christian woman that I chose to become a shon-tenn missionary for two years. Sadly. the mission I chose Ihrived on taking away the worker's power. especially educated women's power. When I questioned some of Ihe mission's policies. I was told I had been duped by "feminist bullshit" I have since reclaimed my power and I am eager to actively promol.e Biblical feminism again. I believe there is a void in the evangelical church that makes Biblical feminism inaccessible to the "average evangelical." I hope this new organization will IJ)' to flll that void. I'm wondering if we could focus on a two fold vision. One part of the vision would be what is currently being done· working to change the theological thinking towards Biblical feminism; working to change the minds and heans of those who have the power to change popular misconceptions either in chuches or seminaries. The other part of the vision would be to Vo'Ork actively with the women sitting in the church perws who don't believe they have the right. the power to stand up for themselves and use the giflS God has given them. I think history has shown that any significant change must be supponed by the "masses." In our case, the women I sit next to in church. Too often. those women become scared of the direction they are moving towards. They fear that if they continue spealcing up. they will become radical bra burners. Somehow those fears need to be addressed.
What are Your Ideas for a New Organization? Sherrie Shares by Sherrie Aeschliman Evangelical women are at a crossroads and will go down one of three paths: 1) recreate a democratically run study group, 2) create a study group run by a Board. or 3) creal.e an organiza.tion run by a Board dedicated to servicing the needs of Ihe movement Let's look briefly at all three: A democratically run study group is the most non-threa1ening fonn to encourage research and ' acceptance of ideas. It works great for beginning
a movement. The drawback is that the vision is subject to the views of the membership and can easily lose its evangelical moorings. At bestlhis fonn is a risley venture when dealing with such controversial subjects as female liberation. The second possibility. creating a study group run by a Board - prot.ects the vision but is perllaps narrow in scope and somewhat reactionary. Although it allows a sound pursuit of academic exce1lence in peace, we have 10 face the reality that there is a very good chance others less Biblically sound will meet the needs of those in the movement already liberated by present lil.erature. The third possibility -an organiztion run by a Board dedicated to servicing the needs of the movement - has all the advantages of the second possibility and more! 1be difference between the two is the broadness of vision and scope of involvement. This foem requires a Board with strong leadership, Biblical integrity, sensitivity to issues related to women of color, abuse and poverty. Inherent must be the courage to address systems which underlie the bondage women e;t;perience. Such a Board should have the creative energy to implement means actually to make a difference in women's lives beyond the idea stage. It need not be a lOp heavy or cumbersome Board to be able aggressively and actively 10 address the critical concerns. We need to assess the movement and ask: God what our response 10 it should be. Ten years ago there simply were mere rumblings of a movement in evangelical circles. 1banks to the delern1ined sezvice of many sincecc followers of Jesus Christ, lOday the movement is rapidly gaining momentum such that even Chrislianiry Today should witness 10 its legitimacy (Issue no. 14, vol. 30. Oct. 3. 1986). The time for research is not yet passed- there is still need to encourage. fund and disseminate creative thought on both scholarly and popular levels. Yet, simultaneously the evangelical world is showing signs that il'S convinced and is ready 10 move OIl to the next step - integrating theory with practice, spreading the vision. and aiding those powerless to release lhemselves. We don't need to tip-toe around any more. In fact. timidity at this critical stage could resull in 'exorcising one demon from the house only to be filled with many more' if the only people filling the void have loS! their Biblical moorings. Let us move forward with boldness and let God make the most of the opportunity before us. With knowledge comes responsibility. "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." Heb. 10:39. The world is waiting.
Whal are your Ihoughts abourrite projecred orgCUlizarion? Please co~ 10 rite conference on Apri/6 and 7 prepared ro share lhoughss. queslioflS, ideas. willingMss. and enrwiasm!
Pat Ponders: from Patricia Gundry It seems to me· to be very important that any . organization that is fonned be separate organicaUy from the one in England so it can be kept in the direction it is aimed. Also. a board at the top with relatively few members is easier to keep on track than an organizational government that is elected by widely scauered people with liaJe knowledge of each other and their views on peripheral matters. The danger of the board government is that it could deteriorate. For that reason. I think a self· destruct button needs 10 be built in. The organization needs to disband when its worlc is done. preparing for that up front. Otherwise it will become just another institution in later years, with the disadvantages and abuses institutions are prone to.
all
Women and the Church in China by Alvera Mickelsen The church in China is different from that anywhere else in the world. But then. China itself is also quite different from other countries. China, more perhaps than in any other place and time since of beginning of USA. is a nation trying to forge its destiny in new ways that are not really copied from anywhere else. It has made many mistakes. as its current leaders readily admit. 1bat in itself makes it quite different from most other nations! This summer I spent three weeks in the People's Republic of China with a group of ten other people. Our primary interest, in addition to sight-seeing, was to learn as much as we could about the current church in China. We attended church services in ·open (official) churches on the two Sundays when we were in cities where an open church was available. We visited pastors and Christians in serveral other cities. This was possible because we had as our tour 1e.1der Mildred Lovegren. who was born in China of missionary parents. She later retwned to China as a missionary until the Communist take-over and then spent the rest of her liIe until retirement in missionary work in Hong Kong and Macau. Fluent in Olinese. and knowledgeable about Chinese culture. she brought us into contact with people in ways not possible for most American tourists. What did we see in the churches? Crowds of people! One pastor told us that people began arriving at 6:30 a.m. on Sundays to get a seat for the 10 o'clock service! In the in-between hours. they taught hymns, Bible verses. had Bible studies. The two churches we visited each sealed more than 500 people. People sat on stairs leading to balconies. stood in the aisles and against the walls. In one church, a canvas had been spread ovec the courtyard outside. and at least 150 people sat on little stools out 1htte and listened to the service over a primitive public
ad~ system. Many people DID have Bibles -
the Chinese government is now permiuing Bibles to be printed, but the demand far exceeds the supply. Most churches have several pastors. and we learned that most pastoral staffs included women pastors. In fact.. one male pastor asked us. ~Do you have women pastors in your churches in your country?~ I swallowed hard and answered, "Some do and some don'L" He went on to explain wi!h pride that all pastors, male ol female, carry the same lcinds of responsibilities. All take turns preaching, leading the communion services, baptizing. We wondeced why Chinese churches were so far ahead of many churches in the USA. Perhaps they learned from the MODELS of missionary women and wives -. most of whom did evangelizing, preaching. and teaching as well as child care and hoene-making. Of course, the Chinese government makes a big point of equality between men and women in the workplace. We visited factories, farms, craft industries, stores, and always saw men and women working in similar kinds of wode.. We had women guides and men guides; we saw women and men supervising others, we saw women and men doing manual work. Since that is official government policy, it would naturally be applied to government-approved churches. Most of the current male pastors are mOle than 60 years old and were trained in seminaries before the communists lOOk over in 1948. Many of them suffered Ihrough the Cultural Revolution (l96~~ ~~ns. or in man ~. . in the coon :.-Uh ?'4' m e, all churc'P.~ After the.de.aUt-of Gkainnan M;.o and Ihc • of the Cul~~~!~on, new l~ cam~~ power w~~ ~ allow some. chuTdies"ttl reopen:"nleSe.'olotC:re,Snown as the Thr~Serf Patrioiic MovemenL Three-Self refers to self governing. self-suppponing, and self propagating. ~Paaiotic~ means !hey do not fight the Communist goverment.. and they have NO ties with ~foreign" groups - - mision boards or other foreign agencies. As pan of the movement to elminate aything "foreign,~ !he government has said that the churches in China cannot bear a denominational name - they cannot be Baptist.. Methodist. Presbyterian. Lutheran, for such denominations are a part of the WesL They can only be ·Christian. ~ One Chinese woman pastor pointed to the symbol of a dove at the front of the church and said. ·Perhaps we are fulfLlling the final prayer of Jesus in John 17 - that they may all be one." She said they try to make all believers comfortable in the services by offering a variety of choices. reople may choose to be baptised either by immersion or by sprinkling. (Infants cannot be baptized, however, for the government insists that ~religion~ cannot be forced on a child. VWhen a person is of legal age they can make their own choice. Children are pennitted, however. to auend church with their parents.
1be open churches include"Seventh Day Adventists among their membels. Services are _held for !hem on SllIJiday, and others who worle. on Sunday can also attend those services. (Everyone in O1ina works six days a week and many must work on Sundays.) The Lord's Supper is conducted in several ways. and members can go to the service of their choice. One male pastor said'that his only concern about women pasrors was that the seminaries (there are six open seminaries 11 present) are getting more women students than men. One seminary has SO students - 30 women and 20 men. ·Women seem more open to the call of God than men do," he said wistfully. All students who wish to go to seminary must spend about [wo years working in their home clwrch before they go. In this process, pastors have a chance to evaluate the depth of their commitment to Quist and their doctrinal SOWldness. If the church recommends the stUdent to seminary, the church also supports him (X' bc:r during seminary training. Some of the seminaries are quite primitive. We visited roe that met in two small dark basement rooms in a church in Beijing. The library consisted of a few shelves of boob. Each classrooom had a few chairs and tables, and a blackboard.
Pastors assured us they were getting no persecution or rressure from the government • only support. One ~d, "Sometimes visitors ask us if we must submit our sermons to the government befcre we JRlCh them. Of course noL We are free to peach the GospeL• At present there are about 4,000 open churches in China, with throe or four new ones being opened each week. There are only a few hundred Roman Catholic churches open. although !here were more Catholics in China before the Communist victory man there were Protestants. The government has permiaed Catholic churches to open only if they do not profess loyalty to Rome. The one great insisLence for all churches is that they- be 0Unese and not under any kind of foreign influence. During the Cultural Revolution when all churches were closed. the buildings were turned into factories, stores, apartments, or other uses. lbe current users must be moved before the churches can be reopened. This is not always
easy. Four thousand churches may soWld like a lot.. but when we remember that 0Una has more than one billion people. we realize Iha1there is on average ooc open church for each 250,000 people! In addition to the "open~ (government appoved) churcbcs., there arc also many, many "house~ churches - s.mall groups of believers who meet together in a home to worship, pray, study the Bible. These began as ~undcrcover" dwrches after the Communist revoluilion. Many of these churches (pethaps a ~rily) were led by
women. This may be one reason the open churches have been able to ordain women even though seminary education is just gelling under way. (Seminaries have been open less than six years.) Not all Christians from "house churches" are willing to join the open churches. Some do not trust anylhing that is approved by the Communist government. They fear that if Iheir names get on open church rolls, Ihey will be subject to persecution and harrassment if Ihe goverment policy toward religion changes again. Women seem to be playing important roles in every aspect of Chinese liCe. Since wages are very low (an average of $25 per monlh for full time worle.) almost all women are employed. We wece swprised at how well-dressed Ihe women of China were. They all wear western clothes, with bright colors and increasingly good fashions. (A few years ago, almost everyone ware white and light blue only.) We walChed women pedal down the street on their bikes in heeled sandals, panty hose (yes, on miserable hot days!) and auractive skirts and blouses or dresses. Current Chinese policy permits only one child per family. Housing is critically shan and apanments very small. Whether mothers should work hardly seems a question. Child care is available and government operated. Children of school age are provided after-g:;hool activities until parents can come to get Ihem. Since only one child is permiUed pee couple, children are very valued and cherished. , It will be many y~ bd'ore CJUna begins to match the standard of living of the Western world. but Ihe attitude toward women inside and outside the church is one from whi.ch we in the Uni~ States may be able to learn. We asked pastors what we as Christians could do to help them. "Pray for us," was Ihe response. And we answered, "Yes, and please plaY for us, too. Our churches in United States need renewal and Ihe power of God worldng in and Ihraugh us." Musings on I Timothy 2:12 by Catherine Kroeger One of the great missionary heroines of Protestant evangelicalism is Mary S1essor of Calabar. A woman who was mighty in the Word, she braved the wilds of Africa to bring the Gospel to often hostile people, to rescue abandoned infants, to minister to the deepest spiritual needs of those without Christ. She is aedited wilh having opened a signifcant part of Africa to a reception of the Gospel. Beside I Tim. 2: 12 (I suffa not a woman to leaCh or usurp aulhority ova a man) she had pencilled in her Bible, "Nay, Paul laddie. This will na do!" Like many another woman who seeks to respond to God's call, she was perplexed and frustrated by this passage. How was she to reconcile this troubling verse with the command to go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel? She was fully convinced that God had called her, and she had staked her very life upon the
promises and commands of Scripnue. She could not bring Christ to Calabar unless she ~dy to teach men and women alilc.e of His grace and love. Her dilemma is still ours IO-day, and it requires olD' best efforts It resolution. How are we to uphold the Bible as the Wad of God, our only infallible rule of faith and practise - and yet come to temlS with a precept which seems to contradict other commands such as Romans 12: 1 8; Matthew 28:19-20? We are commanded to compare Scripnue with Saipnue, and certainly the Bible reveals women in many types of leadership roles. Part of the answer appears to lie in diligent searching and researching of the "bard sayings." We need to encourage vigorous scholarship and a variety of approaches. tt is not necessary that theze be entire agreement between the various scholars, but it is necessary that dlC wOC'k be done. We honor God best by delving into the Word, by handling it bonestly, by understanding the time, place, and citcwnstanees"in which ~ part was given. In this way I believe that we shall gain • beuet undecstanding of the whole ~d of God's purposes for oUr lives and ministr.t~ ._, •And ye shalllc.nO\l( \Qe truth, andthc "UU~ make ~ {ree." , ""
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