Archive for October, 2012

Ten Year Review of Women in Ministry

Post a Comment » Written on October 25th, 2012     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

Dave Kersten on the Commission on Biblical Gender Equality

Dave Kersten, former executive minister of the Department of the Ordered Ministry and current dean of North Park Theological Seminary, spoke briefly on the history and current status of the Commission on Biblical Gender Equality at the March 30, 2012 meeting. To hear more from Dave, check out the full version of this video here.

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Book review: How I changed my mind about women in leadership

Post a Comment » Written on October 18th, 2012     
Filed under: Book & Commentary, Resources

R.T. France, a British theologian, is quoted in the introduction as saying that many people have changed their mind from having a more restrictive view of women in leadership to an inclusive view, but no-one seems to have changed their mind the other way. Why is this so? This book provides the personal stories and testimonies of leaders in the evangelical church – pastors, business leaders, publishers, biblical scholars and seminary professors – as they share their experience of how and why they came to realize that God does indeed call men and women equally to leadership in the church.

Containing 27 stories from people who have been humble enough to go back and investigate the Scriptures again, and honest enough to admit that they have had their hearts and minds changed on the issue, some of the common threads that emerge are the influence of strong, gifted women in people’s lives, looking at Scripture in its broader historical, cultural and theological context, the experience of working side-by-side with gifted female leaders and pastors, and hearing stories of others who have changed their viewpoints.

This is a great book that serves as an encouragement to all of those seeking to advocate for and empower women for ministry, as well as providing some interesting reflection on the many ways in which God works in people’s lives to bring about change.

Highly recommended reading if you are looking for encouragement that people can and do change their minds on this seemingly never-ending issue, and a great book to put in the hands of those who are still questioning.

Buy this book at IndieBound or Amazon.

 

Book review by Alice Hague

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How Goes the Waiting?

Post a Comment » Written on October 9th, 2012     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

This post was submitted by Reverend Karen Hinz

Psalm 40:1 says “I waited patiently for the Lord.” Six simple words, but how hard to do! Especially when we desire great changes to take place in our personal lives or in the world.

I don’t know anyone who likes to wait, but it seems that nearly everyone is waiting for something. And when we are forced to wait, we often do so impatiently, tapping our fingers and sighing. What would it take for you to “wait patiently”?

It’s common to say, “I don’t have the gift of patience,” even though patience is never defined in the Bible as a spiritual gift. Over and over again, the Bible uses command language to call us ALL to wait patiently. But the last three words of Psalm 40:1 are the most important: “I waited patiently for the Lord.” Often, when we finally decide to try to wait patiently for something, we are still waiting to get our own way, instead of waiting “for the Lord.”

I spent three years waiting for a ministry job, and God used that time to do some Potter’s molding in my life. I resisted waiting, feeling that I was already “behind” my seminary peers because I had spent years doing ministry part time while raising small children. But God was not anxious. God the Potter was removing the impurity of comparing myself to others.

In my waiting, I was very impatient at times, and yet through it all, God the Potter was smoothing and calming my spirit. I was waiting for my own dreams to be fulfilled, and yet God the Potter was teaching me to envision his own dreams for my future. I cannot say yet that I love to wait. But God worked on my willingness to wait, on my patience in waiting, and on my focus of waiting – to be on the Lord.

What are you waiting for? And what has waiting taught you?

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Fresh Vision

Post a Comment » Written on October 1st, 2012     
Filed under: Testimonies and Stories

This post was submitted by Rev. Gricel Medina, CBGE Chairperson

The Covenant’s Commission on Biblical Gender Equality has consistently and diligently provided a strong voice of advocacy for women in every position of leadership within the church including pastoral.  It has brought visibility to an often misunderstood issue within the local church. It continues to make significant forward momentum for women. Women are now being seriously considered in positions traditionally held by men. The Commission on Biblical Gender Equality has seen women strategically succeeding in positions of leadership including Superintendents and executive positions within the denomination. CBGE continues to be a unified and strong advocate voice for all women seeking positions of leadership within the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC).

As chairperson it is my passion to ignite a fresh vision that creates dialogue affirming Biblical Gender Equality in the church, in the home, in the seminary, in the university and in our communities.  Our long-term goals are to continue making people aware of our affirmation of women at every stage of life.  The guiding factors of our mission are to grow collaboratively as men and women in the journey of Biblical Gender Equality.

It is a privilege to come up with creative ways we can continue to nurture an empowering landscape of gender equality throughout our Evangelical Covenant Churches. Our continued prayer is that believers would search the Holy Scriptures and become inspired, convicted and compelled to follow the Biblical model of gender equality.

Recently, we sent approximately 300 pieces of our egalitarian materials to the people of Kenya, Africa. Young women are offered Summer of Wonder at our CHIC events. We are intentionally searching for ways we can create new resources that spread the message. We look forward to the upcoming release of a video of Dr. Rev. Dave Kersten sharing an historical landscape on the journey of women in pastoral ministry entitled “The Journey of a Decade”.  Stay tuned to this blog as we share relevant stories of women in the church, home and community.  Along with these stories we will provide occasional book reviews relevant to biblical gender equality issues as well as offer a host of reference materials and articles already in print in various Covenant publications.  We hope that these offerings and your comments might be inspiring, informative, and helpful for the journey.

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