Living Against the Curse
What I am about to share with you may challenge your perspective on a divisive issue within Christianity. I want you to know before we go any further that this is something that I have wrestled through for quite sometime, and this is simply where I am at now. This is where God has led me as I struggled in prayer, scriptures, and study. It is something I was broken down and humbled by enough to change my view entirely. I pray that as you read this you would receive this word in humility as I boldly approach it with the humility and courage that God has called me to.
What I intended to present is that women should have full access to the Kingdom of God. Yes, this means that they are qualified to teach, preach, and lead churches. It means that they can follow God's calling on their lives regardless of the cultural glass ceilings that may exist. In fact, I will argue that as God's creations we should be fighting for, advocating, and championing this Kingdom issue. I believe that this is not an "agree to disagree" topic, but a vitally important doctrine to the Kingdom of God.
I want you to know that I am well aware of all the OT and NT texts that people have grappled with in regards to this issue. I will humbly admit that there are far wiser people on both sides of the debate than I. However, I think we may have overlooked the most vitally important text on this debate. Genesis 1-3. My prayer is that this perspective may illuminate this issue for you in new ways, or at least give you a differing opinion to wrestle with.
Genesis 1:26-27 "Then God said, 'Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."
The imago Dei - or image of God - Is not something to be taken lightly in our theology. In fact, it is one of the foundations of doctrine. In this passage of the Holy Scriptures we see the relational aspect of the imago Dei. We see words like "us", "humankind", "our", and "them". God's intended design for creation was that the Creator and the creation would live in loving and perfect relationship with everything. This is the divine essence of the Trinity being poured out on humanity.
This perfect relationship is explained as the Trinity plans to have both male and female co-reign in dominion over the earth together. This intended created design does not support complementarianism, but something far more beautiful. When God finishes this creation he denotes its beautiful uniqueness by labeling it as "very good".
Genesis 3:16 "To the woman he said, 'I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"
This is God's curse to the woman we call Eve. I want us to acknowledge that the phrase "your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." is a part of the curse, and not the intended created design. This is a result of sin, not what God desires for humanity. Sin has brought about the corruption of the intended divine design of creation. For me, this was a life changing moment.
You see, I was taught that "women were to be silent in a church". I was taught that "men are the leaders of their households". I was taught it was an "atrocity for a woman to be a pastor". This was the way I once viewed things, and it is for this I repent. For what I had done was stifle my view on women, and this narrative created a "less-than" mindset in my conversations with women.
Luckily, I was saved by the grace of a strong single mom. It was through her constant example of godliness, selflessness, and intelligence that I questioned the narrative I was hearing from others. How could I believe what they were saying and reconcile my household reality? I couldn't.
So, I began to explore the notion of women leading and the implications that would follow. As I began to watch and learn from women teaching, leading, and pastoring I was amazed at the fresh perspectives that were brought to the table. Ways I had never conceived of understanding a characteristic of God, a parable of Jesus, or the message of the Good News itself. I was enlightened, but not entirely convinced.
I was finally convinced when I became a full-time youth worker. As I watched women guest speakers at events pour their heart out to students in the name of Jesus. As I watched the girls in my group respond with wide eyes and full hearts. As I watched some of my girls get called to ministry in powerful ways. (I am crying as I write this.) My head and my heart were finally convinced that this was not only the Gospel, but this was the way it was intended to be from the start.
It was a long and grueling journey of silence, humility, and repentance. It takes a lot for a person to throw away everything they thought they once knew, but I needed to remove dogma to make space for doubt. It was through doubt that I found faith and was led by the Spirit to a new place I was unable to go on my own. I am so thankful that God gave me the resiliency to be silent when I wanted to speak and truly listen, to be humble enough to set aside my agenda, and to begin to watch the Kingdom break into the here and now in ways I never knew possible.
I urge us (myself included) to be about living against the curse, and living into the beautiful relationship of co-reigning the Kingdom of God together. The Kingdom of God was brought about by Jesus not so that powerful men could reign it, but that everyone would have place and voice. It is a beautiful, mysterious, and sacred place where all genders, ethnicities, and doctrine collide to give us the whole mosaic of the Kingdom.
I am thankful for you. I am thankful for your story. I am thankful for your part in the Kingdom.
Grace and Peace,
Austin