Submitted by:
David Swanson

I forget that it’s not always normal. In our 4 year old church the leadership team chairperson, Sonia Wang, is an Asian American woman. We are led by three different worship leaders: two African American women – Kelly Redmond and Markeyta Boone – and an Asian American woman – Esther Gallentine. Michelle Dodson, an African American woman, is our Associate Pastor; she and I serve the Lord’s Supper together and pray for members of the church after the worship service. We’re joined in the preaching task by Ramelia Williams, an African American woman and seminarian at North Park. They are both, I suspect, stronger preachers than myself and I learn about preaching from them even as the Spirit forms me through their preaching.

Of course there are plenty of men who serve and lead our congregation, including me. That’s our normal: men and women serving and leading together, responding to the gifts of the Spirit and the needs of the congregation.

I can forget that our normal is exceptional for others until I overhear someone mentioning how grateful they are for the women who lead our church. They are remembering times and places where these leaders’ voices, experiences, and gifts wouldn’t have been welcomed- not in the same normal way they are within our community.

I’m afraid this is beginning to sound as if our young church really has our act together. We don’t. We’re a pretty normal group of people learning how to be church together. It’s just that that Gospel of the Kingdom is making the exceptional normal to us and for us. We can’t imagine it any other way.

David Swanson is the pastor of New Community Covenant Church in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood and the Director of Church Planting for the Central Conference. He blogs regularly at davidswanson.wordpress.com/

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Submitted by:
Lisa Olsen, member, CBGE

I had not heard of this before. Have you? For 27 years there exists a foundation called
Women’s Sports Foundation. Here is an excerpt from their website (www.womenssportsfoundaation.org):

From Capitol Hill to hundreds of cities and towns across America, 2014’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) is one to celebrate women’s and girl’s participation and excellence in sports. While NGWSD started in 1987 as a single event in our nation’s capital to honor Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman, the day has since grown into a nationwide commemoration spanning all 50 states.

NGWSD is marked annually with events around the country and on Capitol Hill to commemorate the achievements of girls and women in athletics. It is also an important day to promote the continued expansion of opportunities for girls and women to play sports and live physically active lives. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Ramelia Williams, member, CBGE

As my birthday month, February has always been very special but mostly because it is Black History Month and celebrates my sun-kissed skin and my ancestors who fought for my civil, political and human rights freedoms. This is the month that the nation takes notice of African-American she’ros and heroes. As we settle into this month of celebration it only makes sense to reflect on the role of African-American women in the Church. This short video incites the voice of church patriarchs to celebrate the unsung role of specifically African-American women and their impact on the Church. Today let us celebrate African American women in ministry.

To view the video, click here

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Submitted by:
Brian Wiele,CBGE Chairperson

Several weeks ago, my wife Linda noticed that a street sign by our home was bent. How did that happen, we wondered? ? It’s bent in the wrong direction to have been hit by a car. Could it have been the strong winds just a day or two before? It’s hard to believe, but that was our best guess, and we’re sticking with it.

We get uncomfortable with the idea of signs being blown about by the wind; those are supposed to be secure and firmly established – like many other dimensions of life, including believers in their faith. Jesus encourages us remain strong in the face of trials. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Pastor Jan Bros, Abbey Way Covenant Church

Part of my personal work as a member of the Commission on Biblical
Gender Equality has been to become more aware of the conversation that
is happening within the Evangelical Covenant Church and among
Christians elsewhere concerning the understanding of the roles of men
and women in the church and in particular church leadership. There is
much written conveying multiple viewpoints. I can get easily
discouraged when I read literature that uses mean spirited or unkind
words to convey meaning. In these moments, when my soul is sad, it is
important for me to remember the truth we hold together as the body of
Christ even when we do not agree on the particulars.

Here is a post I wrote a number of years ago in reflection and review
of Miroslav Volf’s work on repentance and reconciliation. I think it
is important we do not forget the essentials in the work God calls us
to do. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Valeri C. Tao

I grew up in an immigrant church in the Washington DC metro area. In 7th grade, I entered the youth group and over the next six years and beyond it became a great influence on the formation and growth of my faith. While officially, my church did not believe that women should hold the office of a pastor, we had two youth directors, one male and one female. I saw both of them preaching, teaching, mentoring, leading Bible studies, hanging out with the youth….all things that a pastor would do. While I did not realize it at the time how unique this was within the immigrant church, it was normal to be growing up. Through the lens of hindsight, I can see how having gender balanced leadership in my formative years has affected me today. However, the whole issue of gender equality in ministry is not something we talked about at all in my immigrant church.

I was introduced to the Evangelical Covenant Church through my enrollment at North Park Theological Seminary. It was strange at first to be in a place where men and women were seen as equally in ministry. I have had many roles in leadership and serving in church and non-profit ministry. I’ve never explicitly thought I could not do pastoral ministry, but I never explicitly though I could either. Through my studies, I was able to hear, understand and own for myself the biblical basis for gender equality in ministry.

Seeing gender equality modeled in my youth and the biblical foundation I gained in seminary, have allowed me to understand the issue from both an experiential and theological point of view. How can we both teach and model for the young people of the church today what biblical gender equality looks like?

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Submitted by:
Jan Bros, church planter, Abbey Way, Albertville, MN, member CBGE

The theme song of my life might be “Climb Every Mountain.”

Climb every mountain,
Search high and low,
Follow every byway,
Every path you know.

Climb every mountain,
Ford every stream,
Follow every rainbow,
‘Till you find your dream.

Yeah, I know, pretty cheesy. Yet there is a deep truth in this song that resonates for me. Maybe it is the context in which I first heard it sung: an older wise woman singing to a younger one. Maybe it is the truth that the words contain: all lives are called to embody a holy perseverance come what may. I think it is a little bit of both. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Jan Bros, church planter, Abbey Way, Albertville, MN, Member CBGE

Ministry calls for us to stretch ourselves into unexpected places. When we say “yes” to God’s call, our “yes” must be full and without conditions. Whether we are male or female, pastor or missionary, paid or unpaid, the interior response asked by God is the same. God wants our undivided hearts. God desires our undivided attention. We have faith that as we give ourselves to God, God will empower and strengthen us even in our frailties.

The Evangelical Covenant Church is unique in its understanding that this fundamental vocational call to minister in Christ’s name is available to all. There are no divisions of labor or assignment of giftings according to a set of prescribed gender roles. We are free to follow God’s voice into places of ministry men and women alike. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Mark Novak, Executive Minister of the Ordered Ministry

I can’t believe that I am on a plane going to Seattle for Christmas. It seems that I was enjoying the summer sun such a short time ago. But here it is and with it the Good News of the birth of Jesus. An event that set in motion the great plan of salvation for all mankind. It is my wife’s favorite holiday:  full of joy, bright lights, lots of candles, great music, and most profoundly, the hope for a better world because The Messiah was born.

The Bad News is that so many miss the meaning of Christmas! It comes and it goes – full of gifts, grinches, and holiday specials. The fact that we are free to imagine a new world and a new future as we embrace the Christ Child goes unappreciated and even ignored, missing the fullness of life God intended for us. Continue Reading »

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Submitted by:
Meagan Gillan, Executive Minister, Women’s Ministries
Advisory Member CBGE

It started with a lunch conversation. As I met with Chris (not her real name), an older woman in the church, I thought, “She’s so great. She sure seems to have it together.” I was her pastor’s wife, yet I felt a longing to know her better, to connect regularly—perhaps even to be mentored by her, although the “m” word was never used.

Later, I was surprised to learn that a close friend of mine felt the same way toward Chris. Our children and life stages were similar, and she confessed to me, “If Chris only knew how much we need her wisdom. What a difference time with her could make in our lives.” Neither of us approached Chris about mentoring or getting together regularly; her responsibilities seemed to indicate that it wouldn’t be feasible. Yet, when I think about Chris, I know that periodic, intentional conversations would have been wonderful, and I could have learned so much. Continue Reading »

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