Because it's sMARTA

No the title doesn't really mean I'm insinuating taking public transit intrinsically indicates or imparts heightened intellectual capabilities--but I think public transit is a good idea.

A Pastor at the church I've been visiting lately (Trinity Vineyard) feels Summer was created to slow down the pace of humanity (I'm paraphrasing); this of course means the direct pace of people's "daily" lives but one could assume said pace would be the same for "humanity" as a whole--also this aforementioned slowly pace is not sluggish nor does it operate out of fear but rather is the fruition of wisdom and prudence and also values the idea of rest (and humanity's need for rest is a matter I love exploring but since I am already long winded as it is with this post I'll save it).

So with this in mind I've taken it upon myself to take public transit as often as I can; this offers me the chance to walk outside for extended periods which affords me moments of prayer, scripture meditation, and time to meditate on the Holy Spirit and how He can manifest Christ more in myself.  

Once I am on the bus I have time to read and meet new people.  Just Saturday I met a man named Gavin.  Smart man.  He studied Mechanical engineering for three years, started to do some financial management for various clients, and travels the country playing jazz; we discussed philosophy, the scriptures, evangelism, ministry, so many great things.  This alone is worth taking the bus.  Yes it can almost double my trip time in some circumstances but it is worth it.  Why?  Because it slows life down to a pace where I can find more time (in addition to the time I specifically set aside) to enjoy God through meditation, prayer, and people.  Totally worth it.

Pollen: 2 David: 0

I am a weak man.  Something as small as pollen particles wield enough power over my body  to drastically inhibit me for two consecutive days.  Alas, I can only rejoice.  Pollen kicks my butt and am therefore humbled all the more into realizing how feeble and powerless I am with the Spirit of God within me and the Life of His Word.

Thank you sweet Jesus for the Life of John 6:63!  You ARE LIFE!

What's in a name--a joyful reminder

What’s up with the name of my blog--"Above All Else Is Joy"?  The name of the blog serves as a reminder to myself.  In all efforts, all activities, all encounters, in every facet of my life I must champion this notion: above all else is the joy found in savoring the goodness of God.  This joy cannot be tackled because of the supremacy of it’s source.  For me to not champion this notion, to not run with this joy, to trade this glory for any another, is death; It’s trading the abundance of the greatest good I will ever hope to find for something infinitely less, as in Christ’s parable it’d be like finding a most valuable treasure and not trading--when compared to the treasure--my most insufficient and worthless rags.  That’s where the name comes from.  

I want to champion said notion with every breath I have in these lungs until the Lord sees fit I fight for it no more.  That’s sort of the jugular of the blog too; I suppose not directly but simply because this blog is an extension of who I am and what I value and is also a platform for my thoughts and convictions--these things make up who I am and would therefore constitute extensions of myself (i.e. The blog).

I explore theology with zeal and endurance; where the act the end itself I would argue it to be “empty religion” and the makings of staunch legalism; however, I find the more biblical theology I explore the more I understand the nature and mysteries of God (but praise Him nothing is ever quite that simple when it comes to the Kingdom--though I would argue even that’s a question worth exploring in that the complexities and grandness of God can be championed by men by a “backwards working down” of our complex preconceived notions and loaded questions.  This is why scriptures are so rich with calls to be like a child--their prayers can render the Enemy to his weakest [psalm 8:2].  To understand God more fully and submit to His goodness all we have to do is minimize our selves more?  More dependance like a child?  Less needing to know and more eager to trust?  Re-rendering our years of built up knowledge and confidence in our own ability to understand into the simplicities of trusting like a child?  Wonderful!  Simply wonderful!  This is why I love God’s sort of economics [that is to suggest God has a sort of science he works at in His kingdom]).

The more I understand the more questions I have; the more I understand the more affection I find; the more I understand the smaller I find myself when in front of the throne and glory of the Father and the more I find I still have a long way to go on the road of sanctification.

And yet I digress....

So that’s the name more or less.  It is a reminder to myself and a testimony of hope to those who read, that because of the redeeming works of Christ I am granted the joy to savor God and will rejoice in Him for eternity.  Amen!

A response to a question posed by a very dear friend

Below is the question of a very dear friend of mine.  We have been exceptionally affectionate friends for years and have been in the business of encouraging one another from the get go.  First his question, then his response.  That simple.

"hi friends-

these are some thoughts.
this is a discussion board.
this is a very controversial topic and i know this. please respond if you'd like, but please be respectful of this topic and other people's responses. 
i want to hear from you. i want to hear your thoughts.

my question is: has the female voice been lost? (specifically in ministry and leadership roles in the christian and church realms) if so, why? if not, why?

my thoughts:
i consider all people being created by God, for God, and in the image of God! we are each created uniquely and intentionally to proclaim the kingdom of God here on Earth. should women be given the opportunity to lead, speak out, have a voice, serve, "do ministry," etc. yes. can women be effective in ministry/leadership? yes. 

i think the female voice has been lost, however, this is not a new idea or topic and i understand this. but why? in my limited experience, i have experienced 3 main types of women in ministry/leadership roles: (1) women who think they should be heard and think they deserve respect, when they haven't earned/deserve respect or honestly have nothing really to say, (2) women who don't say enough, they sit quiet on some occasions, but have extraordinary things to say, and (3) women who don't speak up at all, they remain silent, timid, or afraid, but should talk!

women should be in ministry and in leadership, which includes: pastor, speaker, book-writer, teacher, professor, shepherd, counselor, leader, communicator, etc.

do you think there is scriptural evidence that support women NOT being in ministry? if so, where and why? if not, why?

what are your thoughts on this loaded topic?"

and my response

There are some important frameworks that need to be established before diving into the practical implications on women's roles vs. men's roles in the church. .  The truth is it is an issue that does not exist in a vacuum but in a web related to the rest of God’s moral will, natural law, and his character

 

Jason, the three points you bring to the conversation are more "practical implications" of how one attempts to bring to fruition whatever the scriptures teach about masculine and feminine roles in church; And that's not to say they aren't worth discussing, Paul teaches on practical implications of this matter in Titus and 2 Timothy--it is important to recognize why Paul injects his opinions into these practical matters; it is imperative to keep in mind these are an extension of Paul's understanding of "the deeper issue (i.e. the aforementioned framework--I'm going to get to it I promise) and given that we hold Paul's teachings as canonical we must therefore revere Paul's statements as being directly ordained from God rather than a mere "Pastor's opinion".

 

This “deeper issue”, the important framework to first establish before approaching the points you raise is this—has God created men and women with strictly feminine and masculine characteristics and roles?  To first answer this I encourage you to look at the created order (Genesis 1:26-27):

       “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.  So God created man, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

And in Genesis 2 we first see a distinction between masculinity and femininity:

            “18 Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him…’ 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man…24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

 

            Now we see God created man and woman both in His own image (Gen. 1:27) and we see an initial distinction in the role of a man and woman; The reason woman was created was to be a “helper” to man (2:18) —I realize this can sound like loaded diction but let me paint the whole picture before any sort of emotional or intellectual responses well up. 

            God created both man and woman in His own image and both with distinct traits of His own likeness.  To assume one likeness is better than the other is scripturally unfounded and absolutely prideful.  That being said, men who claim the distinctions between women and men Holy likeness to God’s image as true but merit that the likeness of men as superior are simply scripturally out of line and tyrannical—it is an injustice that God will not stand for.  Women were created to be the helper of men—this infers submission.  The leadership men are called to display is NOT tyrannical (though such is the case far too often—a truth that truly burdens my heart) but rather to be that of Christ characterized by servitude, humility, (Matt. 20:24-28) and the desire to disperse good; the good to which I refer is the ultimate Goodness and Glory of God—that He be made famous, be praised, be glorified in all things. It is to this end all roles, positions, and pursuits are to exist—to glorify God and savor His goodness (which are two sides of the same coin). 

            When looking at scriptures parsing the relationship between men and women they paint the picture of how Christ relates to the church (Ephesians 5:22-29); the church does not submit to Christ out of inferiority but out of joy; Christ works to perfect the Church not to clean up a rotten mess (as an ultimate end) but to restore People to a state of absolute joy by enjoying that which is perfectly good—being God in His fully majesty.  This is what leadership and submission looks like when executed in the scripturally sound fashion God intends—it is an inexhaustible cycle of absolute joy. 

                        So now that I have made the case for 1) a distinction in the roles of men and women and 2) that these roles do not carry implicit value over their counterpart but rather complete the human likeness in God when they come together (this is seen in Genesis 2:24 that “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh”). 

            What exactly are these distinctions in the characteristic traits of men and women?  Well from scripture we see men are called to be leaders in families and churches (Ephesians 5:22-29); the role of women would then naturally need to be the same as that in a family—nurturing, supportive to leadership in submission and servitude all with the end goal of Glorifying God and savoring Him and all His Fullness. 

            Why these specific distinctions?  It seems they are based on the notion that women have an experience they share with our Creator that men will never understand—being a life giver.  From this experience we see the flood of nurture and provision women are programmed with that men simply struggle even at their best times to understand.  This is an experience they share solely with God the creator. 

            God had the distinction designed from the beginning with the intention of bringing them together allowing a deeper appreciation for Himself—this gloriously beautiful unity is reflected in how Christ relates to the Church (I will even argue marriage exists so we can better understand how Christ relates to the church in addition to better understanding the character of God—though I am sure at some level these are yet again two sides of the same coin but it is a notion I have yet to visit in study and meditation) and can be recognized, I argue, in any interaction between men and women. 

            Now let’s keep this in mind—this doesn’t say that all women submit to all men in all circumstances.  (I’m borrowing this next example from C.S. Lewis) Would a woman relate to a paperboy the same as she would relate to her boss at work, her husband, father, or even her son?  This woman has no more business submitting to this paperboy than she does to her very own son; the same would hold true for a woman superior in a the workplace and her subordinates.  Women are encouraged to be savvy in economies and societies (look at the woman described in Proverbs 31—she hardly seems timid and weak yet she ascribes to the biblical role of being a wife and has no problem submitting to her husband).  So for men that try to carry biblical roles in churches and families into other environments are simply fools.  Also, keep in mind submission to authority in God’s kingdom doesn’t translate into inferiority as it does traditionally in the economies of Man.  This article delves into the concept of Biblical authority that can be applied to this issue as well (http://www.cbmw.org/Resources/Articles/Embracing-God-s-Plan-for-Authority)

            Now to the nitty-gritty of your three points Jason.  The first type of person you describe is full of pride and lack the Christ-like humility we are called to as disciples—both men and women.  A male voice in a church like that would be equally horrific.

            The second person is a sad case also.  A church that does not offer opportunities for it’s members to fellowship, talk, share ideas (in small groups or other venues) and foster healthy dialogues and faith issues is not a healthy church--Hebrews 10:23-25 encourage us to meet together, spur one another on, and encourage each other regularly.   This second person sounds like they’re not in an environment encouraging said community.

            The third person you described sounds like they need to be built up and encouraged, even discipled by another woman to teach them how to be in healthy, edifying community (Titus 2:3-5). 

            So in short, should women teach?  Yes there are environments where they should teach and no there are environments where they should not teach.  Should they pastor?  No, that violates the scripture out right 1 Timothy 2:11-15 instructs women to not teach as with authority over men in the church—but shows that their role in leadership lies in the other likeness of God attributed to them through life-giving and nurturing.  Submitting to authority is a beautiful thing whose function is to show us the ultimate Majesty of God—even the end of gender distinction is the Glory of the Father.  This utility of submission is true for both men and women as all are subject the rules of submitting to authority. 

            I hope I have painted a picture showing that the scriptural distinctions between men and women in churches (and families) are far from a bad thing.  It offers complete experience in rejoicing in God’s goodness and savoring His Glory.  I find it simply stunning that God created both men and women in His image to communicate a more full reality of His Fullness.  Also, I’ve found http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1059_womens_ministry_in_the_local_church/ to be a great resource on the matter and is a gateway to other issues tying into the subject.