This
has been a great week for reading in the blogosphere, particularly
with Rachel Held Evans leading a conversation about mutuality.
As we close out this week, I offer here some links and excerpts from
some of the many interesting things I've read. Not all of these
relate to the mutuality theme, but all offer some great food for
thought.
The
image of God is reflected most clearly when we come together in
community, not when we engage in a patriarchal marriage
relationship. The image of God that we get from orthodox
understanding of the Godhead is fundamentally egalitarian; it is
fundamentally based in the love of equal partners, not in one part
taking leadership over the other. All lead, and all are saved.
Together.
Equality
in marriage gives husbands and wives the freedom to express
their God-given personalities to work together honestly,
without guilt or shame that they’re not doing it right.
Living life together with an equal partner creates balance,
acceptance, and the joy that exists in freedom.
The
possibilities that exist when the shackles of tradition are lifted
are infinite.
I
think Jesus is making me softer. In the words of my dad I’m
becoming more of a “sissy.” I am trying to take seriously Jesus’
command to love my enemies. I want to be like Jesus. I want imitate a
man who like Jesus could experience a slap in the face and not feel
the need to return the insult. My dad, and several prominent
preachers, would advise me differently.
Courage
is laying oneself down for the sake of another. Courage is humbly
seeing ourselves as not only man and wife, but also brother and
sister in Christ. Courage is encouraging each other, supporting each
other in every season of life, working as a team and not as
competitors. Courage is following your convictions and seeking
after the heart of God, even when others tell you that you are not.
Courage is working out your Faith in fear and trembling and finding
that Jesus is your anchor, and trusting that that is all that
matters.
5
actions for men:
1. “advocate” –
i love the Greek word for this–parakletos–because it is used to
describe the holy spirit and means “summoned, called to one’s
side or aid”. advocating for equality means coming alongside
and using voices & power & influence on behalf of
change, supporting women in all kinds of ways, and calling out
injustices instead of remaining silent.
2. “invite” –
ask and ask some more. invite your wives & sisters &
daughters to show up more fully to dreams, to friendship, to
leadership, to heart-to-heart conversations, to partnerships, to
life.
3. “risk” –
actively risk your pride, power & control, reputations,
comfort on behalf of change. these are all things Jesus tells us are
worth losing as we follow him. put them on the line and trust God
will show the way.
4. “submit” –
listen deeply to each other and respond humbly. let go of
winning or being “right”. defer to wisdom and giftedness tempered
by humiity. lead and follow.
5. “encourage” –
draw out your wives’ & sisters’ & daughters’
gifts and passions and give them love & tangible support to
try what needs trying. celebrate what’s good, honor courage,
affirm.
This
view that you’re either a man and all the roles that come with
“manhood,” or you’re a woman and all the roles that come with
“womanhood” is reductive and dehumanizing. It ignores God-given
talents. It ignores the hard work that it takes to prepare for some
roles. It ignores socialization. It ignores personality. It ignores
personal happiness. It ignores the complexity of human beings.
It
puts all people, regardless of who they are, into one of two tiny
boxes and calls that freedom.
********************
I
haven't put a link to Rachel's posts for the week because they are
all worth reading. I'm sure I've left off many others that I
should include. Share with me in your comments what you're
reading. I'm always interested in thoughtful writing!
I have long thought that you should check out my friend Danny Coleman's blog. I think you would find a lot of points of empathy (as well as some stuff that will challenge you further).
ReplyDeleteFor a start, look at his entry from last December 18 where he does some exegesis on the role of women in the church (you'll have to scroll down the page a couple of entries to get it):
http://dannycoleman.blogspot.com/2011_12_01_archive.html
I read the post you mentioned. He offers a solid, well-reasoned and thoughtfully-presented explication of two difficult passages that corresponds to what others have written. I agree with and appreciate his emphasis on understanding the context of these letters, something that most preachers would acknowledge in theory but then somehow forget in practice. Of course, as Coleman says, when we can only "hear" part of a conversation, we are left to make our best approximation of the other half and we tend to do that in line with our own theological leanings.
DeleteI shall add this to my list of blogs to follow and trust I shall not be disappointed!