Ministry
Last year Naomi Tutu and I met on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to keep vigil on the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Friends joined us from around the country. We asked the visitors gathered there: "What keeps us from living the Dream?" Most folks spoke of fear. Some spoke of ignorance.
Many of us were raised in churches that taught that women should be silent in the church because of the teachings of Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:34.
While awaiting sentencing for defrauding investors with a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, Bernard Madoff has undergone what friends and family are describing as a jailhouse conversion that has given him new hope despite the near certainty of life imprisonment.
If I had a dollar for every person who has asked me "So, what IS the emerging church?" we could meet our budget this year. Here's my own definition, and it is just that -- my definition. Not the definition. This is descriptive, not prescriptive. When I use the term "emerging church" here's what I mean by that. (I feel like I'm walking into a minefield, but here we go ...)
I don't honestly think about "women in ministry issues" a whole lot. I guess I just go about my work not thinking of myself as a female pastor, just a pastor. I have almost never felt directly discounted for being a woman in my work.