Clarity Unleashed

For many years before I found my way into the evangelical, “non-denominational” world, I attended a conservative (PCA) church. If you don’t know much about PCA, you can check it out online. What became my sticking point was the stance on ordination of women (they don’t).

I am a leader, a teacher, and an equipper of people. I’m strong-willed, direct, and not afraid to speak my mind and do what’s right. I want to be part of the action, the decisions, the strategy, the development of people. In my career, I used all of those things, all of those pieces of myself, successfully.  But each Sunday,  as I walked into church, I wiped my feet on the welcome mat and left all those pieces of me outside. Over time, I realized that I was in pieces. I was not able to be myself, nor was I able to fully worship God in a community that did not accept all of my pieces.

So is it any different in the evangelical church? Around the world and here in the United States, there are plenty of denominations that support the ordination of women. It all comes down to the church you attend and its denominational roots.

What can we look for? There are obvious roadblocks purposefully placed between women and the pulpit. There are overt attacks against women, like the one in the picture from a self-described Baptist theologian. Clearly I cannot be in community with that guy. There are covert actions too. One is actually inaction, seen in the avoidance of discipleship of women. For example, the “Billy Graham Rule” can be used to completely avoid/neglect opportunities for male leaders to mentor women.

In one of my seminary classes this semester, I am writing a paper on a Christian leadership book that purposefully differentiates between male and female leadership characteristics. The men’s character audit (Appendix I) is vastly different from the women’s character audit (Appendix J). So what do I make of that? It’s a message not just for women, but one that men internalize as well. And the message is, ministry looks different for women than it does for men.

Oh, the irony

What is the opportunity cost borne by churches that are selective in their teaching of stewardship? They say:

• Yes, be good stewards of your finances, and you can tithe here.
• Yes, be good stewards of your time, and you can serve here.
• Yes, be good stewards of your gifts, and you can pursue your calling and purpose here—unless you are a woman (?)

I wonder how many un-Welcome mats there are in front of churches across the world. All of them filled with pieces of leading, teaching, and shepherding that never make it inside for benefit of the community? I am heart-broken when I consider how many women attend these churches in pieces.

Someone told me the other day that I am brave, and that the church needs women who are willing to fight these battles. Yes, there are many women who fight day in, and day out.  I wonder if that is what I need to do, or should I simply find a community that likes all of my pieces? That’s a question each one of us needs to ask.

Resources of interest:

• https://juniaproject.com/resources/resources/
• https://margmowczko.com/
• Biblical Basis for Women’s Service in the Church by N. T. Wright
• https://www.cbeinternational.org/

Adultery? Divorce? Are we missing the point?

The story of the Samaritan woman is a beautiful glimpse at Jesus’s ministry of freedom. But if you’re like me, you’ve only heard of her as a sinful, adulterous woman who was confronted and convicted by Jesus.

Is that really her story? After all, divorce was not legal for women in that time and place. She might have been widowed, divorced due to infertility (or any number of reasons), or a mixture. If she had been caught in adultery, she would have been killed- that was the law. So why do we so often hear her story through the presumption of her sexual sin?

Read more about the history and context that shaped this passage in John 4 here: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

The book of Psalms is best known for its songs of praise and worship, as well as songs of lament. But there are also occurrences of psalms of cursing or vengeance, known as imprecatory psalms. Within these passages, the author “hurls God’s curses on his enemies, in no uncertain terms.”[1] Day proposes that the curses within the psalms are not to be discarded by today’s church due to “a reaction of revulsion,” but seen in a broader context of Old and New Testament verses that call for “divine vengeance” used “in extreme circumstances, against hardened, deceitful, violent, immoral, unjust sinners.”[2]

Day argues that imprecations cannot be avoided or minimized. God’s people face evil in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and in modern times. To the extent a need exists today for divine intervention due to unrepentant sin, there is a need for imprecatory prayers.[3] One of his strongest arguments for the applicability of imprecations to the modern church is that “the character of God does not change, so the essence of God’s ethical requirements does not change.”[4] God’s righteousness and vengeance will not be understood by humanity, but He is unchanging (Rev 1:8). The love He showed as He parted the Red Sea for Israel is also reflected in His action that brought the Sea crashing down, drowning the Egyptians. And what about the New Testament? Did Jesus’s ministry bring with it an end to cursing God’s enemies? Day contrasts two passages, one from the Old Testament, and one from the New. In the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen 12:3) God promises blessings upon those who bless Abraham’s descendants, and curses upon those who curse them. The same sentiment is expressed, Day cites, in Matthew 10:11-15. Jesus sends out the twelve disciples with instructions to bless those who receive them, and to curse those who do not. In fact, Jesus alludes to Old Testament judgement, saying that those who do not receive the disciples will be judged more harshly than were the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The entirety of scripture remains consistent in its declaration to love God and love others, even our enemies. In the Old Testament, Proverbs 24 and 25 contain instruction to provide food and water to enemies and a reminder to not rejoice when enemies stumble. Providing food and water is one thing, but we see in the Old and New Testaments a call for Christians to turn the other cheek to evildoers (Lam 3:30, Matt 5:39). Looking at these instructions through modern eyes, we might assume that Christians are called to sacrificially accept abuse. The good news is that is not the case. In scriptural context, “turning the cheek” means a believer’s response to abuse cannot take the form of a similarly evil act.[5]

Context is important, as is the act of wrestling with difficult passages of scripture. It might be less confrontational to avoid imprecatory scripture. But in our wrestling, we add to our understanding of the complex character of our God. As Moisés Silva observes, “Everyone must struggle with the dilemma of reconciling the surface meaning of such biblical narratives and texts with the need to show how these same texts edify contemporary readers.”[6]

A wrong interpretation might cause further harm to victims that was never intended. Taken to an extreme, an abused woman who seeks biblical counsel might be told to “turn the other cheek” and thus believe her only option as a Christian is to stay in the abusive relationship. However, if taught in context, and with the inclusion of imprecations, the counsel would align with the consistency of God’s character and demonstrate love, protection, and judgement. A more contextual counsel might encourage the woman to not return violence against her abuser (Mat 5:39, Luk 6:29, Lam 3:30), to pray for her abuser (Luke 6:28), and to leave the presence of the abuser (Luk 9:5).

As a woman who has experienced a destructive and abusive relationship, I see a tangible role for imprecation in the lives of Christians today. Providing victims with contextually accurate teachings reinforces the power of God’s love, the refuge found under His protection, and His role as the sole arbiter of justice. Yes, we must understand that we are called to love God and love others. But loving others sometimes means that we remove ourselves from their midst, so they can no longer sin against us. It is a reminder that we are sent out into this world as “sheep in the midst of wolves” which requires us to sometimes “shake the dust off” our sandals when peace is not extended within a household (Matt 10:13-16).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If you need resources about destructive relationships, and a community of support, contact me. I will be happy to connect you with some of the books and people that helped me sort through my experience, and connect to scripture and a God who loves me and values my heart more than my marital status.

Footnotes:

[1] Henry H. Halley, Halley’s Bible Handbook, Deluxe Ed. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2014), 307.

[2] John N. Day, “The Imprecatory Psalms and Christian Ethics,” Bibliotheca Sacra (April-June 2002): 166, 168.

[3] Ibid., 186.

[4] Ibid., 168.

[5] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary, Ed. Arthur L. Farstad (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 948, 1330.

[6] Walter C. Kaiser Jr. and Moisés Silva, Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning, Rev. and Expanded Ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007), 322.

Hope you enjoy this latest article, posted today on LinkedIn.

After wrapping up 20+ years in corporate leadership, I became an intern at a local church. I had led in many areas of my life, but not within a church. During my internship I discovered a lot about myself and certainly strengthened my relationship with God. My practical take-away was this – churches suffer from the same leadership issues that companies do. And I wanted to do something about it.

Many churches have leadership programs that attract people of all ages who want to serve well in ministry. What often happens is that the programs are built around ministry work. Showing up at all hours, getting the administrative work of the church accomplished, as well as the physical aspects of making church services happen. Sounds vaguely like a corporate job too?

In corporate America, we offer a lot of training that helps us engage employees, identify leaders, and manage good and bad conflict within our teams. In churches today, much less time is spent on this type of training (if any). What are the long term impacts? In either setting, if you praise managers and elevate work, you attract workers, managers, and administrators. You are less likely to retain or attract leaders, problem-solvers and visionaries.

The fact is, work is not relationship. It’s work. And without a balance between the two, the leadership program is at best, a management program. At its worst, it is a work detail.

I believe that leading well in corporations is important for our time on earth, but leading well in ministry has an eternal significance. I want to partner with churches that are seeking long-term leadership strategies. It’s not as easy as getting the work done, that’s true. But there is a longer term benefit – growing and attracting leaders who want to improve on what you’re doing today. Men and women who want to be developed, so they can in turn, develop others. I see it very clearly when I look at Ephesians 4. Each person needs to gain clarity of purpose, so they can perform their function properly within the body of Christ.

Interested in building a custom strategy for your leaders or your staff? Check out some of the practical, sample reporting available by clicking this link. I look forward to hearing your goals and working with you to achieve them!

“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.”

Matthew 7:15-20, CSB

Churches today are busy, understaffed, and overworked. Volunteers are welcomed with open arms. Those who are consistent, those who say and do what is expected, gain more and more influence in the flock.

According to Christ’s own words in Matthew 7:15, we have wolves in our midst, maybe even sitting next to us at the 11am service.  Let’s face the truth. Predators of Christians hunt AT CHURCH. The enemy is camouflaged in a Christian suit.

In Matthew 7:15 word prosechō is used, which translates to be wary of, or to be cautious of.  Are we greeting church visitors with caution? Are we wary of our volunteers and leaders?  Perhaps this feels uncomfortable, and in opposition to the greatest commandment. After all, how do we love everyone and be cautious at the same time?  Yet we are given many examples of shepherds and shepherdesses in the Bible. Every day they cared for the lambs, tended the sheep, and killed predators. It can be done.

We have to see with spiritual eyesight, and past the Christian camouflage. Matthew 7:16-20 tells us how to recognize wolves. Through their fruit. It’s not about what they DO at church, it’s about who they ARE. Yes, they attend consistently. Yes, they post scripture on social media. Yes, they claim Christianity. Be on your guard. Watch for fruit, because a bad tree cannot create good fruit.

Jesus calls us to act on these words. Our local church, our house,  is going to get hit by winds, rivers, and rain. It will be under attack. If we’ve chosen the right foundation, our house will withstand the storm.

I don’t know about you, but I am just as astonished by this as the crowds must have been back then. The enemy wants to destroy Christians, and the local church is his hunting ground. There are people in our midst who claim Christ, but are not His. There are wolves in sheep’s clothing. There are bad trees in our orchard. There are houses built on sand.

I’m equally astonished by the love that Christ demonstrates through this passage. A love for His children, for His flock. Love that protects, confronts, and acts.

I heard from the Holy Spirit on Tuesday. I have a running list of His messages to me, and this morning I reflected on them.  Sometimes it’s a word or phrase, other times it’s a clear picture in my mind.  So I will take you on my journey so far, and highlight some words along the way. My testimony has been woven by and through these interactions. It all points back to God, and I give Him all the glory.

In 1989 I had my first message from Him, right before I started college.  While driving down a country road in Alabama, I was hit with a revelation. I knew I was supposed to be a Warrior. For me, that took the form of becoming an Army ROTC Cadet. That’s the type of warrior I was familiar with, as the daughter of an Army officer.

If you know my story, you know it didn’t end the way I thought it would.  In my junior year of college, I developed an injury that sidelined me. I prayed for healing, but didn’t receive it. I thought that either God had forgotten His promise to me, or that I simply had failed Him. I graduated from college with a degree in one hand and a crisis of faith in the other.

I moved to Florida and found the job I would keep for almost 22 years. My leadership gift served me well in corporate America. What I loved most was developing and mentoring others.

2014-2016 were hard years, and full of grief and loss. This time, I sought God with all my heart. I asked for signs, and started seeing Compasses and Wings.  Compasses reminded me to let Him set my direction, and Wings were a reminder that my refuge and protection were found in Him (Psalm 91:4).

God is the Way, the Truth, and Life itself.  He is the Light of the world. So when darkness fell and my path was unclear, He showed me the Way. When lies held me captive, He broke my chains and set me free. Life is His abundant promise, and His Light always defeats darkness.

Warrior means more to me now than it did in 1989. 

Recently I started seeing the word ‘ezer. It is a military term, used only 21 times in scripture. It refers to military leaders, to God Himself, and twice in Genesis is used to describe woman’s purpose at creation. She was created to be a warrior, a shield, and a protector.

That’s the benefit of hindsight. I can see what God sparked inside me so long ago, was just a reminder of who He created me to be.

So I keep marching forward. And now I am marching straight into seminary.  It’s a difficult path for women in the evangelical church. There are few women in pastoral positions, outside of women’s and children’s ministries. It’s easy to give up when faced with opposition.

I feel asleep feeling disheartened, knowing many women who want to serve in church leadership but aren’t afforded the opportunity. If there were just more women mentors out there, it would make a difference.

Wouldn’t you know,  I woke up hearing Be What You Need. I needed the reminder that I have a warrior’s heart. And I need to make sure other women know that they are warriors too.

In businesses, as in churches, revenue is required to keep the doors open and programs funded. Therein lies the rub.  You do not make money by developing leaders – you make money by getting your work done. It’s easy to see why many organizations may build goals or vision around employee engagement and development, but then fail in the long run. Their priorities shift to the bottom line – to the work. 

As an experienced corporate leader, I know teams and organizations benefit when all  encouraged to bring their strengths and gifts to the table.  Leaders who subvert this process do harm to their people and to their bottom line. Choosing to place less emphasis on leadership development results in loss of talent and loss of revenue. Ironically, what may take a year or two to damage can take years to repair. Businesses do not often survive that cycle of repair.

I believe the mindset of work may be the hardest to break.  That “heads down” mentality  is so prevalent in today’s workplace.  We put emphasis on deliverables, which reduces the time we have to develop our people. We structure reward systems around metrics-based performance. We interchangeably use the terms management and leadership, because we think they mean the same thing.  

What are some of the symptoms of a work mindset? Employees stop asking why and simply ask what needs to be done. Managers make promotion and hiring decisions based on work performance.  Businesses reduce emphasis (and budget) on training and development programs. “Flexibility” is the mantra of the day.  We attract and retain people with strong administrative gifts, but we lose leaders, who take vision and strategy with them.

Numbers become the primary measurement of capability and success. Bodies fill seats, instead of people.

Do we expect more from our churches?

I worked over 20 years in a corporate environment.  Like most companies, ours had a vision and value statement built around caring for the people we served, and those we employed.  But I drove to work every day knowing that when push came to shove, it was the bottom line that mattered. It was not ideal but it was simply the fact.

I don’t want to feel that way when I drive to church.  As leaders of churches, how do we confront the work mindset? Here are just a few conversations you may want to have with your leadership.

1. How does our church measure success?
2. Do we prioritize things that are immeasurable?
3. Are we raising up managers? How?
4. Are we raising up leaders? How?
5. Do we have a healthy discipleship process?

There is a reason why humans enjoy the concrete. Measuring gives us a way to prove ourselves and differentiate ourselves. Showing up in a “top 10” list certainly makes us feel relevant. And I’m not suggesting we throw away our spreadsheets.  I am suggesting that the risk is that we shift our focus from relationship to religion. We measure and move with the mindset of administration.

We sit in the shallows of salvation, too preoccupied to swim into the deeper water of sanctification and discipleship.

Stacey is a leadership consultant and coach, as well as a certified facilitator for the MBTI and TotalSDI assessments.  Her passion is taking 20+ years of corporate experience into the faith-based community.  As in business, leadership development is critical for the church. Stacey partners with ministry leaders to develop customized individual and team building programs.  She resides in Jacksonville, FL.

Is salvation enough? It’s really not a trick question.  Once saved, you have the key to the kingdom. You know where you will be in eternity.  As Christians, we diligently pray and work to spread the gospel, for the purpose of salvation.  With each salvation, we add another person to the body of Christ.  But what part of the body are they?

Two years ago, a dear friend of mine mentored me through a difficult spiritual experience. She encouraged me to seek God’s purpose for my life and to identify my spiritual gifts.  She asked me, “What part of the body are you? Have you prayed for that knowledge?”  That’s where the Holy Spirit really started his work within me.

Scripturally, it’s no secret that with our acceptance of the Holy Spirit, we are the recipients of spiritual gifts. Our gifts from the Holy Spirit, which are irrevocable and that God gives without repentance (Romans 11:29). If we believe that each of us is merely a part of the body of believers, and that each part has it’s own purpose (1 Cor 12:12), we should desire that all the individual parts of God’s body would be brought together here on earth, to serve both our individual purposes, as well as to pursue our calling as a body of believers – as the church.

If you’re still reading this, do you believe in God? If so, you also must believe in the enemy.  The “thief who comes to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10).  The enemy who would seek to not only keep us each from finding and fulfilling God’s purpose, but who would love nothing more than to hack apart a body of believers, keeping all parts separate and the body disjointed.

What do we do? We have to first believe. Salvation is ours for the asking, and no one on earth can keep us from it (except ourselves). “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7). Have you asked?

Back to the question – is salvation enough? Being saved is LIFE.  Knowing God’s purpose for your LIFE is a whole other thing. Sanctification is the process of strengthening our relationship with God, in order to reveal His purpose for our lives.  Just like salvation, sanctification is a deeply personal process – spirit to spirit.  I would argue that you can’t really “see” salvation with physical eyes, but sanctification’s results are tangible.

God’s light shines in each of us, and I feel it is brightest when we are fully utilizing our gifts. “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions” (Matt 7:20).  Allow your fruit to announce God’s presence in your life.

What’s the down-side to knowing and using your gifts? The enemy knows them too, and wants nothing more than to keep you from fulfilling your purpose. Sometimes, even those closest to you will reject you because of your gifts. Someone you care about may tell you that the gift you have isn’t real, or that it’s not meant for someone of your gender, your background, your race or your age.  And it’s your choice whether you listen to them, or to that deep yearning and knowledge in your spirit. You get to choose.

Chances are, using your spiritual gifts will take you out of your comfort zone. Allowing yourself to build community with people who have different gifts is also uncomfortable. As humans, and as believers, we build walls of protection around those things that are important to us. We build physical walls around our families (our homes), gates around our communities, borders around our countries.  We build walls around good things, like our churches, our schools, our hospitals. We build walls around bad things too, like prisons. Walls are physical, and they’re also emotional. Walls may keep out the bad things in life, but they also keep out good things!

The minute we build walls that keep us from spiritually connecting as a body of Christ, that’s the minute we’ve departed from God’s desire to build his perfectly functioning body on earth. Your church isn’t the body.  It’s one part. And the rest of the body will be found in churches that differ from yours, and in communities that you’ve never stepped foot in.

Salvation is not hindered by gender, ethnicity or experience. Neither are spiritual gifts. God’s gifts to us are perfect and irrevocable.  When we use our gifts for the purpose of building the body of Christ on earth, we will see, and feel,  walls fall around us.  Let it be so!