I just finished listening to Hillary Clinton interview on the “Today Show.” No, you are not privy to my political views in this post. In fact, seldom in my activism will you find me focused upon politics; secular activists will tell you that change can only come at the voting box. I say change must come to hearts that have heard the messages, and then voting at the political box will reflect that. I place matters of righteousness above matters of the state. Balancing righteousness is one of the jobs the Lord expects me to do expertly.
So, Hillary Clinton speaks of one of her admired feminist heads that said race, as in the matter of the election of President Obama, is much more likely to stir voters to that side, when compared to gender. While I suspect that claim is probably true in the secular world, I know with total confidence that I can speak about female leadership in relationship to the things of God associated with faith.
Most of the churches are filled with women; you would be hard-pressed to find one that had a majority of men. Yet, most of the churches are led by the leadership of men. There are many qualified women that have sacrificed a great deal to receive the highest level educations in religion, yet, confined to leadership of a Sunday School for children, or one the worship team; seldom are they promoted to the place of leadership in the major denominations of Christianity.
This problem of ignoring legitimately “called-by-God” Christian leadership by the separation of women from men in the eligibility of application is active. What do “called-by-God” educated women do? At this time, there are just a few options:
- Go to an Independent Church that sometimes restricts the conservative Word of God from being preached, and where the congregation controls every aspect of the leader’s management.
- Find a denomination that liberally accepts everyone, of every religion. Universalism is their mantra, the Word of God loses its authority, and the issues of activism and politics are usually focused upon more than the shepherding of God’s people.
- Reject churches and stay away, while trying to ignore the compulsion of God that is forcing you to move toward, rather than away from the establishment of His Word.
- Demand a platform opportunity, stand strong in the midst of hatred and ridicule, and do the job given to you by God. If it is His Will, He has prepared the path. If it is not, move on.
The rejection of Christian woman leadership is real, especially in the conservative branches of religion. It seems very, very wrong to me that women are forced to quiet their conservative belief in order to fulfill their God directed works by moving to a liberal Methodist or United church.
If you are a conservative woman, and God is moving you to ministry, and you have received your Master of Divinity degree, email me. I’m going to start a list of conservative ministries that are seeking educated leaders; let us start applying even if it means rejection. When the Lord senses your commitments and sees your dedicated effort to break that glass ceiling, I suspect it will fall.
Email me! As our list of job opportunities grow, I will forward those to strong Christian female leaders who have been prepared for that important job. Keep looking, applying, and praying for your chance to assume the leadership role that God has chosen for you to accomplish. Christian conservative, called by God, women leaders, you have my vote!